Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Music Stickyz goes non-smoking tomorrow
Smoke up, smokers who like to smoke in Stickyz. Tonight's your last chance. Tomorrow, it goes non-smoking. I haven't been able to get owners Chris King or Suzon Awbrey on the phone, but by the looks of the upcoming music calendar, Stickyz doesn't plan on becoming an all-ages venue or even a venue that's always open to 18+. Which makes sense, when you figure how important bar traffic is to the bottom line of a venue.
But the restaurant will be able to get some family business and Lord knows little kids love the hell out of some chicken fingers.
As a non-smoker, I'm thrilled. What say you?
Posted by Lindsey Millar | Permalink | Comments (5)
Film 'Paranormal State' star's doc to LR
Get your spooky pants on! Two of the stars behind A&E's hit paranormal "reality" show "Paranormal State" are coming to Little Rock's Robinson Center September 12 to screen the new documentary "American Ghosthunter" (watch the trailer above). It's part of a 61-city alternative marketing tour for the film.
Press release on the jump...
Posted by David Koon | Permalink | Comments (1)
What's going on / Music Thursday: The Moaners, Free Micah and more
From Chapel Hill comes The Moaners, a well-traveled female duo who specialize in moody, punked-up Delta blues. The band gets compared to the White Stripes a lot, but that's a useful analogue only if you chopped and screwed the Stripes and gave Jack White a little more bass in his voice. Potluck opens the show at White Water, 10 p.m., $5.
It's a night of energetic local rock as Free Micah, Don't Stop Please and Catskill Kids share the bill at Sticky Fingerz, 9 p.m., $5.
For the club crowd, "BLISS" returns to Deep, 10 p.m., while "ONE" continues at Sway, 9 p.m., $1 cover before 11 p.m. It's Shop & Sip in Hillcrest, too, starting at 5 p.m.
Posted by Lindsey Millar | Permalink | Comments
What's going on / Music Weekend To-Do: Hot Springs Blues Festival
15TH ANNUAL HOT SPRINGS BLUES FESTIVAL
5 p.m. Hill Wheatley Plaza. $5.
Blues lovers have it pretty good here in the Natural State. With the long-running King Biscuit Blues Festival, we've got one of the most high-profile blues festivals anywhere, but there is no shortage of quality smaller festivals. That's not to say that the Hot Springs Blues Festival is in any way slight.
The two-day event is packed with performers both national and international, including Saturday night headliner Lee Oskar, who was a co-founder of the omnivorous, long-running funk-blues-R&B-soul-rock-reggae outfit War. In addition to being a renowned harmonica player, Oskar started Lee Oskar Harmonicas back in the early '80s.
Other performers include Salt & Pepper, Schroeter and Breitfelder, Trampled Under Foot, The Lionel Young Band, E.G. Knight, The Joe Pitts Band and more. The whole shebang is bookended with performances by Stella Vees at the Ohio Club — one of the best bars in Hot Springs or, really anywhere. Vees plays Thursday night at 8 p.m. and plays the after party Saturday, which runs from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
What's going on / Music Thursday To-Do: David Allan Coe
DAVID ALLAN COE
9 p.m. Electric Cowboy.
A few years ago, The Onion published a standalone with this headline: "David Allan Coe waiting outside to kick your ass." Below was a grainy shot of Coe in his tattooed, trash-talking, long-haired redneck splendor, looking like George Clinton by way of the San Quentin beauty salon.
The former inmate and Outlaw country pioneer turns 72 next week, and while it might seem logical to presume he's not cracking too many skulls these days, why take that chance? Everybody knows Coe's massive country hits — "Take This Job and Shove It," "You Never Even Called Me By My Name," "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)?" and others.
But you've got to check out his second album, "Requiem for a Harlequin." Country it ain't. It's one of the most out-there albums ever put to wax — an acid-fried, paranoia-soaked, spoken-word freak-out in two acts. Then, of course, there are the notorious "unofficial" albums — inspired by Shel Silverstein no less, and filled with ditties that could charitably be described as extremely un-PC — that were sold exclusively (where else?) in the back pages of Easyrider.
All of this is to say that they just don't make 'em like Coe anymore. And he's playing at the Electric Cowboy for Christ's sake. Cody McCarver opens.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments (3)
Music T.I. doesn't live in Arkansas anymore
- Carla from Atlanta, Georgia
This morning, rapper T.I. was released from the federal clink in Forrest City. He's out one month early after being sentenced to 11 months in prison in October for breaking his probation after he was arrested in L.A. on drug charges. He'd previously served around seven months in the same prison after he was arrested for trying to buy unregistered guns from undercover federal agents.
Posted by Lindsey Millar | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
TV Former Razorback Anthony Lucas on HBO
- Via HBO
- Nick Mangold looks into a 'Hard Knocks' camera.
Yeah, yeah the NFL and the players union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement and averted ruining Sunday, Monday night and a lot of Thursday nights for everyone. But they messed around with the negotiations so long that they still ruined my favorite part of recent seasons — "Hard Knocks" on HBO. No 4th quarter comeback could ever match the joy I got out of Antonio Cromartie struggling to remember the name of all his children or Rex Ryan cursing hilariously during last season with the Jets. But because there wasn't a sufficiently long preseason HBO skipped it, opting instead for a clip-show of sorts that'll look back at the last decade of "Hard Knocks" season.
The hit that ended Lucas' career that "Hard Knocks" captured in 2002 will be included in the round-up. According to the Little Rock Chamber, the segment will include follow-up with Lucas and his more recent work with D1 Sports Training and Therapy in Little Rock.
"Hard Knocks: A Decade Of NFL Training Camps" airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31 on HBO.
Posted by Lindsey Millar | Permalink | Comments
Saturday, August 27, 2011
What's going on Sunday To-Do: 48-Hour Film Project screenings
48-HOUR FILM PROJECT SCREENINGS
7 p.m., 9 p.m. Argenta Community Theater. $8.
For this year's 48-Hour Film Project, 37 fearless (or is that foolhardy?) teams of filmmakers signed on to write, film, edit and score a four- to seven-minute movie over two jam-packed, sleep-deprived days. On Friday night, the teams are given a character, a prop and a line of dialogue that must be used in the film.
This year's Little Rock films had to include the character of J. Butler Bedford, Detective; a bird (real or stuffed); and the line, "Some people say it's unlucky." The Times usually manages to cobble together a team of impulsive misfits who are just crazy enough to take on such a mission.
This was the first time in several years that our scribe David Koon bowed out of writing duties, having taken several for the team, but he said it's usually a delirious good time. The screenings, stretching this year over three nights, include audience awards and overall awards for best film, best actor, best actress and other categories.
A panel of judges decides the overall winner, which will go on to be screened at Filmapalooza along with the 48HFP winners from 80 or so other cities. Koon said the films range from amazing to uniquely terrible, and that while you can do a lot in 48 hours, an overly ambitious project is a nearly surefire way to fail. Or put another way, "some people say it's unlucky."
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
Friday, August 26, 2011
Toby Keith to headline ZooJam
Alright, America-lovers: your favorite country superstar is coming to town to blur the line between sweetly patriotic sentimentality and raw, jingoistic fury. Do I even have to type his name? I don't. But here it is anyway: Toby Keith.
That's right, Toby Keith is playing in Little Rock. So for all you America-haters in the vicinity - and you know who you are - you'd better just get your asses ready for a visit from Keith's, boot, which is probably like a size 17EEEE.
Keith plays War Memorial Park Golf Course Sunday, Oct. 2, with Eric Church, Sara Evans and Diamond Rio warming up the crowd. Doors open at noon, the concert starts at 12:30 and ends at the entirely respectable hour of 9:00 p.m.
Tickets are available here or if you want to pay by cash, go to the Little Rock Zoo box office. Tickets are $65 apiece, except for active-duty members of the military and students, who can get a ticket for $50.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
End draws nigh for Arkansas Travelers regular season
The Arkansas Travelers wind down the regular season over the next few days, facing off with the Tulsa Drillers and the Springfield Cardinals. The team's last stretch of home games starts tonight.
Tonight is also Clunker Car Night, so if you're itching for the chance to win a used car, you'd better get down to Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Travelers finish up the regular season on the road, but the team hosts the Texas League Playoffs on Wednesday, Sept. 7 and Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7:10 p.m.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
Music / Coming soon Big Smith, Ben Nichols, Mountain Sprout and more at Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival
Hot Springs has no shortage of music festivals for all tastes: Valley of the Vapors hosts various punk-flavored acts from all over the world, The Hot Springs Music Festival offers a bounty for classical music lovers and the blues and jazz festivals - both coming up next month - draw big crowds.
The good folks at the nonprofit Low Key Arts are adding another feather to the Spa City's cap with the Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival, scheduled for Oct. 8-9 at Hill Wheatley Plaza downtown.
In addition to showcasing the work of a couple dozen visual artists, the festival includes performances from Big Smith, Ben Nichols of Lucero, Grand Marquis, Mountain Sprout and The Extraordinaires.
There will also be plenty of good old-fashioned family fun, with a pie-eating contest, dunking booth, egg tossing, a hay-bale pyramid and more. All for just $5 a day and free for kids 10 and younger. Food, beer and wine will be available.
The festivities kick off Friday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. and resume the next day at 11 a.m. The live music schedule is after the jump.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
Music / Coming soon Arkansas River Blues Society to host blues competition
For the last 28 years, the Blues Foundation has hosted the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, filling up the bars of Beale Street with dozens of musicians, the whole lot of 'em shoutin', screamin' preachin', hollerin', yellin', testifyin', moanin', wailin' and otherwise singin' the blues.
The Arkansas River Blues Society is hosting its own blues competition for bands and solo/duo acts, and the first-place winners of each category will be sponsored to take their show on the road to the IBC, which takes place Jan. 31-Feb. 4.
ARBS hosts its competition Oct. 29 at Parrot Beach in North Little Rock.
To enter, get in touch with ARBS Chair Aaron Crowder at 870-833-3498 or e-mail: aaron_crowder2000@yahoo.com.
The entry fees are $60 for a band, $30 for a duo and $20 for a solo act. All entry packets must be postmarked by Oct. 8 and mailed to The Arkansas River Blues Society, P.O. Box 128, Alexander, AR 72002.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Coming soon / Heavy Metal Check out some tracks from Rwake's forthcoming album
Rwake - the state's premier exporters of unrelentingly epic, crushing, crusty, blackened, psychedelic metal - have a new album coming out Sept. 27.
"Rest" is the follow-up to 2007's "Voices of Omens" and if these two songs are any indication, it is a dooooozy.
While the album won't be released for another month or so, it might be advisable to pre-order it from Relapse Records, especially if you want to make sure you can get your hands on the 180-gram or olive-colored vinyl editions. Vinyl pressings of Relapse stuff tend to go quick. I'm still kicking myself for not picking up that double-LP copy of Neurosis' utterly essential "Through Silver in Blood" when I had the chance back in '96.
Lars Gotrich, of NPR's All Songs Considered, caught up with Rwake vocalist CT last month.
Also, the band hits the road for a few shows in late September, kicking off Sept. 21 at White Water Tavern. The rest of the dates are after the jump.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
What's going on / Music / Theater Weekend: Benjamin del Shreve, Clunker Car Night at Dickey-Stephens, comedian Adam Dodd and more
FRIDAY 8/26
Genre-bending quartet The Toneadoes tear it up at Cornerstone Pub & Grill starting around 9:30.
Karla Case sings the blues at Dugan's Pub, 8:30 p.m. with no cover charge.
Murry's Dinner Playhouse has the musical classic "The Music Man" at 6 p.m., $23-$33.
Fayetteville's Benjamin del Shreve and Little Rock's Glittercore glam it up at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $6.
Thomas East tickles the ivories at Sonny Williams' Steak Room, 7 p.m.
Bill Scholl, Larry Gatchel and Conrad Wilson offer and evening of jazz at Quapaw Bathhouse in Hot Springs, 6 p.m., $10.
How do you like the chance to win a used car? How about nine chances? Well, it's Clunker Car Night at Dickey-Stephens Park, with the Arkansas Travelers set to take on the Tulsa Drillers, starting at 7:10 p.m., $6-$12.
The gospel music comedy "Smoke on the Mountain" opens at Center on the Square in Searcy, 6:30 p.m., $10-$27.
SATURDAY 8/27
Austin-based roots rockers Band of Heathens plays Stickyz with bluesy Memphis songstress Grace Askew, 9 p.m., $10.
Marquis Hunt and Rodney Block play a jazz brunch fundraiser for the Jill Trice Endowment Scholarship Fund, Philander Smith College, 11:30 a.m., $40 adv., $50 door.
Gospel singer Vickie Woodard plays at New Zion Christian Church, 6:30 p.m.
Alabama's 13 Ghosts tastefully crib — and update — some moves from The Band's playbook. The group plays White Water Tavern with fellow Birmingham rock 'n' rollers Model Citizen, 10 p.m., $5.
Mountain View alternative rockers Silver Service play Reno's Argenta Café, 9 p.m.
Angry Patrick's Comedy Bunker hosts Adam Dodd at Juanita's, 7:30 p.m., $10.
Funny expert Pat Godwin brings the yucks to The Loony Bin, at 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., $12.
Charlotte Taylor and Gypsy Rain host a birthday bash and KABF fundraiser at Parrot Beach Cafe, 7 p.m., $5.
Posted by Robert Bell | Permalink | Comments
Film 'Paradise Lost 3' to qualify for Oscars; HBO wants 4th film
- Brian Chilson
- Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger
"Paradise 3: Purgatory," Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's follow-up to their two previous films on the West Memphis Three, will debut internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and nationally at the New York Film Festival in October. The New York Festival will be the first time the recut version screens, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The quick turnaround to theaters is about the Oscars, according to the HR.
HBO, which produced the new movie, originally planned to air it in November, but now has scheduled it to debut on air in January. That, in turn, opens up time to give it a qualifying Academy run, since docs looking to qualify for Oscar consideration must first be publicly exhibited in theaters before they appear on TV, home video or the Internet. HBO has not yet set the specific dates for the planned theatrical engagements.Under the Academy’s documentary film rules, a doc must play one seven-day commercial run in Los Angeles and a second seven-day run in the borough of Manhattan before Dec. 31.
UPDATE: I see, also on the Hollywood Reporter, that Sheila Nevins, head of HBO's documentary division, wants a fourth "Paradise Lost."
THR: What’s the first thing you did when you heard about the release?Nevins: You burst into tears. Then you say, “Shit, we better get this story. Get down there fast!” [She sent Berlinger and his team to Arkansas to witness the court hearing and interview the men.] Yet there’s still an irony. Under the law, they’re now “innocent but guilty.” Guilty but innocent? What the hell is that all about? Don’t tell Joe but maybe there’s another film there. I think we’re ready for Paradise Lost 4.
THR: Have you thought about what a fourth movie would look like?
Nevins: If you’re guilty, how can you be innocent? Something’s wrong with the system. They have to be free because they are innocent. We have to prove that, and I don’t know how we do that. We’ll have to really work on that.
Posted by Lindsey Millar | Permalink | Comments (3)
Event Calendar
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Re: Friday To-Do: Good Time Ramblers
So excited about this show!!!
- on May 16, 2013
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Re: Ashlie Atkinson will be in the new Fox series 'Us & Them'
Ashlie deserves this great chance and I have some high hopes that they will do…
- on May 15, 2013
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Re: Here's the schedule for Movies in the Park
zzzzzzzzzz
- on May 15, 2013
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