News
Loft 135 opens above Riviera Resto
Riviera Resto has been open for over 2 years now and just in the past year they have opened their upstairs and downstairs. The restaurant works as as a lunch and dinner spot with fine dining on the main floor and basement. Upstairs initially started as a dance club of sorts but has now switched to a more bar and lounge based atmosphere called Loft 135.
Brooklyn Heights Bar Now Open
Brooklyn Heights Bar has now opened at the dawn of the summer season and promises to provide a cool atmosphere to the expanding Glenwood south strip. Read more
The Bleeding Hearts CD Release Party at Pour House
Local rockers The Bleeding Hearts are having their CD release party at The Pour House this Friday, May 16, at 10 p.m. Joining them will be The Magic Babies and Sir Arthur and His Knights. Tickets are only $6. More below the fold
Last Night’s Party - Go Tell Mama Art Show
On Friday night, graphic artist Ray Noland packed the corner of Hargett and Wilmington with his Go Tell Mama! art show. People of all ages, were eager to meet Noland and buy his artistic depictions of Barack Obama. From 6pm until at least 9pm, the space was full and the energy was high. Click through for slideshow.
Brooklyn Heights Bar Coming to Glenwood South
Another new business is coming soon to Raleigh via Glenwood South. Enriching the string of freestanding businesses that line the west side of Glenwood leading up to the Mellow Mushroom, Brooklyn Heights Bar will provide a hip and comfortable alternative to the establishments across the street that draw business up inside the neighboring mixed-use mid-rise buildings from the 90’s. More…
Last Night’s Party: Grass Widow, Pinche Gringo @ Slims
Last nights show at Slims may not have been as packed as Tuesdays, but the music was just as entertaining. Click here for pix and vids
Last Night’s Party: Dark Meat @ Slims
The other half of a night at Slim’s. It Dark Meat’s turn now. Listen: Freedom Ritual
Last Night’s Party: The Death Set and Team Robespierre
As mentioned earlier in the week, The Death Set and Team Robespierre brought their new brand of electro-punk and colorful garments to The Downtown Event Center last night. It was an show packed with lots of energy and visual stimuli.
Mosaic’s Carnival Night
For those of you that haven’t been to Mosaic, it can be a real treat if you are in the mood. The basement bar is like a cave carved into the side of Glenwood South. A Moroccan theme permeates the decor and music and the atmosphere is a nice change of pace from your typical Raleigh night club. Saturday night Mosaic invites you to join its Carnival at 9pm. They invite masks and “flamboyant” dress to decorate the sound of Samba and Afro beats with live drummers and belly dancers. A rich event for sure. Mosaic requires a $5 one-time membership fee.
Totally 90s Party Tonight
Remember large gold chains, In Living Color, Reebok Pumps, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the beginning of hip hop music? The transition from the 80s to 90s was a tough one for many, but hip hop was one of the guiding forces that led the way into a new decade. Almost 20 years later this music is still influencing the likes of pop, electro and indie music. From mashups to extreme neon colors, the beats and styles of the late 80s and early 90s are back in fashion. If The Downtown Event Center gets its way, tonight will be a dance filled 90s “House Party” full of Das Efx, early Wu Tang, and who else but Biggie and Tupac. At $50 for the best dressed, the threads should be in full effect. Who want EFX?
Fancy A Pint: Landmark Tavern To Open in Raleigh
Irish pubs. Downtown Raleigh has a handful of restaurants/bars that attach this “slogan” to the end of their name, but are they “public houses” in the true sense of the word? Most of them are massive, serve pseudo-Irish food, and are more like mazes than the shotgun bar space that most authentic Irish pubs are known for in Ireland and the UK. The James Joyce in Durham is one of the few spaces in the Triangle that actually resembles a true Irish pub (clientele: career drinkers, locals and raconteurs), but then again it is owned by an Irish lad. The newly finished Smoking Times is another such bar. Historically, the public House is synonymous with neighborhood bar and Raleigh needs more of these. When The Landmark Tavern opens today, Raleigh may gain just that, a big city pub with the small town atmosphere. More Info Below the Fold
But, I Like These Shoes
For awhile, a long, over-priced drinks, waiting half hour for the bathroom, danger of being vomited on while, I thought my options for Raleigh nightlife were confined to Glenwood Avenue South between Tucker and Jones Streets.
Last Night’s Party: Band of Horses
Two weeks ago in The New Yorker, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote, in his (correction) article A Paler Shade of White: How indie rock lost its soul, about the history of “indie-music” and its lack of relation to “soul, blues, reggae, or funk.” It took a couple of pages worth of reading to figure out her point, but last night, it took only the first note of Band of Horses frontman Benjamin Bridwell singing Lamb on the Lam (In the City) at Lincoln Theatre to realize that they have just as much soul as they do “white rock”. More on Band of Horses at Lincoln Theatre
Drag Bingo Comes to Raleigh
What is it? It’s Bingo! With Drag Queens! In Raleigh! Normally, the event is held in Durham but for September and October, it will be held in Raleigh. September’s event is this Saturday, September 29th at 7PM at The Raleigh Little Theatre - Rose Garden Amphitheatre. More below the fold.
