News
Watch the Presidential Debate at 101 Lounge
101 Lounge and Cafe in Downtown Raleigh is one of many places having Presidential Debate on Tuesday night. It is sure to be a big business draw to many bars and living rooms across the city, unless you’ll be in Durham watching Of Montreal.
Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Endorses Barack Obama
A lot has happened today in the world of the Charlotte Observer, first you have the paper endorsing Republican Pat McCrory for North Carolina Governor and now Hugh McColl, the former CEO of Bank of America has a letter in today’s paper chanting his “respect” for John McCain but Barack Obama is “whom we need now.”
Midtown Harvest Run at North Hills
On October 18th at 9am a 5K Fun Run and Kid’s Dash benefiting the American Diabetes Association takes place at North Hills Mall. Register by Friday the 10th and its only 18$. Come out and run in a beautiful part of town for a good cause. More information and registration.
Charlotte Observer Endorses McCrory for Governor
Yesterday The Charlotte paper endorsed their mayor of 13 years. McCrory is a republican, urban-minded mayor who raised taxes to fund the Lynx light rail in Charlotte and when pressed said he would support the same kind of sales tax to fund the Triangles transit ambitions. For the first time in over 20 years, North Carolina could very well elect a Republican Governor.
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin in VP Debate on SNL
If you missed last week’s debate, this Saturday Night Live parody of the vice presidential debate might be an adequate substitute. Watch as Tiny Fey plays Governor Sarah Palin and Queen Latifa moderates as Gwen Ifill. Full Video Below The Fold
Velvet Cloak Inn Considered Unsafe by City
Bob Geary brings us word that the Velvet Cloak Inn has been closed by the city for having ‘non-permitted changes’ and fire code violations. The Velvet Cloak Inn recently changed owners and has been selling condos in old hotel rooms under the moniker of “Velvet Cloak Villas” for the last year. It sucks for those staying in the hotel temporarily, but what about the folks that lived there? More Below the Fold
The Bleeding Hearts Saturday @ Slim’s
The Bleeding Hearts are the kind of cool local band we should be proud to claim as part of Raleigh. Grayson Currin of the Indy regards the band highly: “Among the foremost disciples of Raleigh’s hard-won, rarely forsaken guitar-rock heritage, The Bleeding Hearts received a boost from an unlikely idol, E-Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt. He featured the quartet’s “Rehab Girl” on the “Coolest Song in the World” segment of his popular satellite radio show in August, and the band’s been gathering play and popularity ever since.” If the Hearts are good enough for Currin and Van Zandt, two tastemakers whose opinion I respect, it can be assured to be a great show. $5 @ 10pm Myspace Page
Pro/Con: Political Craft @ Rebus Works
While it is included on our First Friday Guide, we thought Rebus Works’ show Pro/Con was worth highlighting. The politically themed art show is seasonally appropriate and diverse in the forms of political expression it showcases. One of the most exciting parts of the show is work by Combat Paper a project where Iraq War vets use their uniforms to make paper and then create works with that paper reflecting on the war experience. Shown: Joe Grant - Kim Jong-il Full Release Below The Fold
The First Friday Agenda October 2008
Pete Sack at Morning Times Tonight will be a beautiful night to walk through downtown touring galleries and mingling with townies. The shows look good and the weather is just right. DesignBox hosts two shows that look fun, one, a reading of Big Beard, the Raleigh Quarterly’s children’s book that has been illustrated by artists from all over the nation. The artwork will be for sale and the live reading should be a hoot. DesignBox will also host a large selection of halloween masks painted and designed by local artists. Lump looks stellar as usual with a show curated by John Freeborn telling the evolution of the Philadelphia art scene. Rebus Works will host the poignant Pro/Con a politically themed show with masterful works by artists and veterans. More Below The Fold Our Visual Map and Guide to All the Shows
David Byrne to Play Meymandi Hall
Oh yeah! This is probably the most exciting concert announcement that Raleigh has had in years. Fresh off another amazing collaboration with Brian Eno, the legendary Talking Heads singer will grace the capital city with his presence in December.
Cy Rawls, R.I.P.
New Raleigh is sad to report that at 9:51am, Cy Rawls passed away quietly in the company of close friends and family. He will be dearly missed.
Watch the Debate with 30 Threads
Our friends Ginny and Wayne have something interesting going tonight on 30 Threads. A special debate page has been setup with live streams of two debate watching parties: One Democrat and one Republican. 30 Threads has set it up so you can watch both streams while you watch the debate, and participate in two separate chats for each party. Talk about multi-tasking! In any case its a charming way to show the two sides and each others reactions to the debate as it goes on. The biggest debate party
Eagles of Death Metal to Play Lincoln Theatre
The Eagles of Death Metal aren’t a death metal band but the band’s members do have cool names like The Devil, Darlin’ Dave, Big Hands, Carlo von Sexron (Baby Duck) and Teen Dream. This fact alone is enough reason to see their live show at Lincoln Theatre in November….oh and the fact founding member Josh Homme is the driving force behind Queens of the Stone Age.
Tift Merritt to Host Raleigh Medal of Arts Ceremony
On Tuesday October 7th, local singer/songwriter Tift Merritt will host the Raleigh Medal of Arts Ceremony at the Fletcher Theater for Performing Arts in Downtown Raleigh.
RBC Sensitive to Wachovia’s Pain, Base Jump Canceled
Damn, just when you thought downtown could get a little nutty. The base jump scheduled today to open RBC plaza has been canceled. RBC felt that base jumpers would be just too much fun in the face of other bank’s new antacid addiction. The N&O quoted RBC PR “Given the recent market activities, we just didn’t think it was an appropriate time to have people jumping off of a bank building.” and followed up with “We wanted to be very respectful of our financial partners and Wachovia”—a name emblazoned on another Fayetteville Street tower.” Well guys, you may be a bit down in the dumps, sad for your finance homies, if you will, but the rest of us are stoked about that big tower opening, so how about a parachute or two? Wachovia won’t care. Promise.
Downtown Live 2008 Survey
Did you patron the Downtown live shows this summer? DeepSouth wants to know what you think of them: Downtown Live Survey
Purple Armchair to Host Gala Event
Next Saturday, October 11, the vintage furniture shop and art gallery, Purple Armchair, will host a gala fundraiser called “CHAIRity” at their store on West Street.
fashionSpark Fashion Show Review
fashionSpark’s fashion show has always been the biggest event of sparkCon. This year’s lineup included established local designers and newcomers alike in what was a flashy affair drawing a big crowd to the Moore Square outdoor stage. While the third annual event was a shorter, more streamlined affair, it showcased the most professional set of local designers ever collected in the Raleigh area. Over 100 pictures below the fold
Dos Taquitos Centro Year Anniversary Party
Has it only been one year since Dos Taquitos opened its second location on Wilmington Street in Downtown Raleigh? Next week, they’ll celebrate their first year with a big party full of dancing, drink specials and Mariachis!
North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
What do Earl Scruggs, Thelonious Monk, and Shirley Caesar have in common? They are all Grammy Award Winning Musicians from the state of North Carolina. Earl Scruggs (Shelby), Thelonious Monk (Rocky Mount), along with fellow North Carolinians, John Coltrane (Hamlet) and Doc Watson (Deep Gap) have been honored with the Grammy lifetime achievement award. Shirley Caesar (Durham) has received 11 Grammy awards and 7 Dove Awards throughout her career as a gospel singer. In fact North Carolina has produced some of the finest musicians in the modern world, but surprisingly, very few people are aware of North Carolina’s rich musical heritage.
