Wind Power

Up here in the mountains at Boone, NC. Staying on top of one of the hills. There's a windmill here for generating electricity. It seems to turn in pretty low wind. Doesn't make much noise. Don't know how much power it is generating.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Here in North Carolina we are blessed to have the Blue Ridge Parkway which was built in the depression era by the Works Project Administration. A favorite pastime of anyone who lives within a few hours off the Parkway is to drive to the mountains and drive the parkway and enjoy the view. This is done year round, weather permitting, but is most likely to be done in the fall when the leaves are changing. The Parkway was not built to get from one place to another, it was simply built for the view. What are we doing today that will resonate 70 years from now purely for the aesthetics?

Tiesto

I have a friend who is in to these DJ's who travel from city to city and seem to have their own respective followings internationally. He had wanted me to go check one out knowing that I am a huge live music fan. So on October 15 I went with him to see a guy named Tiesto at the Forum in Charlotte. It was quite a show. What is most impressive is how the DJ can feel the energy of the crowd and how he can bring that energy up, up, up and into a crescendo and then breaking it back down again. The place was extremely crowded and so you had to let go of your fear of a "Who" concert debacle and just accept the flow of the whole gig. You could find yourself literally floating across the dance floor from the energy of music and the people who were crammed next to you. An interesting experience and a lot of fun.

Historic Chicago Theatre

While in Chicago we had an opportunity to see a wonderful performance of Forever Tango at the Chicago Theatre. The Theatre is one of those artistic masterpieces from the 1920's or 1930's. The elaborate detail work sets these places apart and makes any event at such a place special. I love seeing my favorite rock bands in these venues. I saw Gov't Mule at the historic Tennesee Theater in Knoxville, a venue that is very similar to the Chicago Theatre. I also have a couple of vids from the performance up on my youtube.

Blues and Burritos

Legendary guitarists Max Drake and Rusty Barkley.
Part-Time Blues Band.

September 25, 2009 marked the 9th Annual Blues and Burritos at our law firm. This started as a small event to acknowledge and entertain our clients. It quickly grew into a party open to the entire community. Our firm underwrites the entire event with free burritos and beer for all comers and an all star lineup of blues players and singers each year. This year was unusual because the weather was not beautiful. A an odd low pressure system had settled into the southeast. We postponed the event on September 18 because it had rained and rained and it was too wet. We figured that by 9/25 the rains would be gone completely. Nonetheless, by 9/25 the system was still in town and there was a 60 percent chance of rain. It was sunny most of the day, but after we had spent the afternoon setting up, dark clouds rolled in as the event was to begin. It looked like it was going to rain buckets. Instead, it drizzled occasionally and weather cooled to a comfortable temperature. Amazingly, we were hearing that it was raining all around town except right at our event. The weather held for most of the night and we had a crowd close to 1,000 people. We ask for donations and this year our charities were the Mooresville Soup Kitchen and HealthReach Community Clinic. Folks just reach in their pockets and give what they have with them that night. We have raised well in excess of $40,000 over the years. Come see us next September.

Top Fuel Dragsters

The start.
The burnout.

Motorcycles.

The venue.

I went to the NHRA Drag Racing event at Z-Max Dragway in Concord, North Carolina today. There is nothing quite like drag racing and I recommend that anyone experience even if your stomach is turned by the concept of racing. The event is so accessible to all fans. In the garage area, all fans are welcome to watch the preparations of the cars. The sport does a great job of crossing over its marketing opportunities with the sport itself. The entire garage area is essentially mobile as it is set up in a paved area behind the track itself. As such the higher funded top fuel and funny car programs are able to have hospitality trailers next to where they prepare the cars so the sponsors can entertain their customers while allowing them to view the preparations of the race car. There are several types of cars such as the pro stock as well as motorcycles. But there is nothing like top fuel and funny cars which top out at 315 miles an hour, less than 4 seconds to cover 1000 feet. To feel the full power of these machines is to have an experience that is unanticipated and almost overwhelming. As the cars pull from the start, the noise is beyond loud and ear plugs are required. But even more shocking than the noise is almost like a wave of undefinable energy that emanates from the cars, kind of like those waves of destruction that come from a nuclear bomb on that old footage from the desert tests. It truly simply blows you away. Check it out some time.

Futbol, I mean Football

At one time, I loved going to the college football games, the tailgating, the camaraderie, yelling so loud that I lost my voice. It still can be a pleasant experience, but I am not dialed into it like I used to be. It seems to last a long time to get there and the games last about 3.5 hours and the TV commercials seem to last forever. And, sometimes when we get back, I think to myself, I could have done something else with that time.

Iranian Diaspora

A group of folks organized a vigil to honor those who sought to be the new revolutionaries in Iran. A small turnout but one of respect for those who are willing to die in Iran for a chance at Democracy. Here in America where we have a true Democracy with a free election, we now have people who are absolutely refusing to respect the duly elected president of the United States. These are the same people who merrily followed Bush and Cheney for the eight years that put our country in the position it is in today. Astonishing. Well, back to the point of Iran--and the point is with all the folks out there with their tea parties and their pretended disgust with universal health care (which is really simply a veil for their hatred of a Black President), they can't find the time to stand in unison with those who truly are fighting an entrenched, fascist, theocratic regime. Okay, glad I got that out.

Contrasting Farmer's Markets

A chef at Davidson Farmer's Market.

Went to a couple of farmer's markets today. The one in Mooresville is old school with a bit of a twist. By old school I mean the farmer's are just gardeners who are selling their stuff for extremely reasonable prices such as $1.00 per pound for tomatoes (hey, does an "e" go on there?). And the stuff is really grown in somebody's garden, probably not using much in the way of sophisticated methods. The "twist" is the fact that some folks from an Indian grocery show up in their van every other week and sell about everything you might find in an Indian grocery: Basmati rice, hot peppers of all kinds, eggplant, unripe mango, Indian cheese, you name it. And word is out as Indian people come from all around to buy their week's supply instead of having to drive in to Charlotte. I wish I knew what some of the stuff is and how to cook with it.

The Davidson farmer's market is a different scene. It carries the vibe of the bucolic college town and the feel of the influence of the "slow" food movement. Some of the farmers are probably gardeners but I get the sense some of the others are commercial operations who are targeting the upscale market. Though there may be 20 vendors, price fixing is in effect. Everybody was selling their tomatoes for $2.50 per pound (as opposed to $1.00 per pound in Mooresville). There were chefs and people selling free range pig meat and such. Always can get a good deal on basil from some Chinese folks who are there--$1.00 for a nice size fresh bunch. There are some Mennonites (kind of like liberal Amish--I saw one teenager messing with her digital camera) who sell some organize veggies and baked goods.

So the two markets are a little different and kind of the same. Not knocking either one. You about have to go to both to get the cross section of what you need. I bought some peaches and tomatoes from the locals in Mooresville and some eggplant from the Indian folks. In Davidson, I picked up some basil from the Chinese folks and some tomatoes from the Mennonites. I am just pointing out the ethnicity of these folks to kind of help you understand the interesting variety of people to be found at these markets. Oh, and the Davidson market has live music which is an added bonus. Hell, I might have written about this before, I am seeing the keywords pop up as I type them !

Further out Central

Vietnamese coffee after a large bowl of pho.

As a teenager in the 1970's we liked to drive to Charlotte to Eastland Mall to go to the midnight movies. Eastland Mall at that time essentially anchored a longstanding middle class predominantly white neighborhood in East Charlotte. Upscale apartment complexes had sprung up catering to the 20 somethings who were beginning to be attracted to the city in the late 1970's. However, ultimately thirty years later Eastland Mall is all but closed and East Charlotte has transformed into a multi-ethnic enclave primarily consisting of apartment complexes filled with Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Chinese, Vietnamese and the mainstay as the low man on the ladder, African-Americans. Though the neighborhoods are clearly poor and somewhat dangerous depending on the place and time of day, they have a flavor not really seen elsewhere in the Carolinas. There are numerous restaurants serving all of the ethnicities. And, if you are suburbanites who like to experience the real food of our many immigrants, Central Avenue can be a wonderland. Tonight we enjoyed a pho meal at Ben Thanh at 4900 Central Avenue. Other restaurants we enjoy out this way on Central are Dim Sum, serving, of course, dim sum as well as Pho Hoa, another Vietnamese place and the Landmark, a Greek owned place serving traditional American food like Italian (okay, that's supposed to be joke) and fantastic homemade desserts. Tonight, as we sat at the restaurant, we watched the locals as they struggled to cross busy Central Avenue to get their groceries or some takeout. We noticed how many people were walking everywhere, probably because not as many own cars as they do where we come from. After eating, we walked to the nearby strip center and visited Cedars, a middle eastern store. Here, I bought some lentils and some Moroccan sardines in olive oil. There were about seven five gallon buckets filled with olives at the front of the store and we brought some of those home also. We are fortunate to have such a place to go and experience other cultures. This type of change is not without controversy as it has certainly changed the way of life for long time residents of the area. Ultimately, however, a certain amount of acceptance allows one to witness and absorb from the various cultures and to perhaps be more open to other concepts about how life can be lived.

Tori Amos at Durham PAC

Dramatic Flair.
Reverence from the crowd.
Song stylist at work.

In the pivot position.

Tori Amos returned to her home turf in North Carolina to perform at the spanking new Durham Performing Arts Center on July 31, 2009. She emphasized material from her latest album, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin." The show featured Amos on piano, organ and a variety of other keyboards along with a drummer and a fellow who alternated between bass and guitar. A near capacity crowd listened reverently as she reeled through alot of her new album and threw in a classic like "Cornflake Girl" which she played as the third song. Amos exhibited her typical defiant and confident attitude for the interesting demographic that is often seen at her shows. Though most rock shows will attract a predominately straight male audience, Amos seems to draw alot of women in groups, more gay male couples than one would expect and alot of guys with their dates or wives. I won't try to analyze that any further. At many "middle aged" shows, the debate is often whether or not to stand up and dance or sit down and listen. This show was no different though the crowd seemed to easily settle into their seats until the encore when everybody got up and boogied a little. A good, solid show. Check out my youtube for some vids www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone

Aquapalooza

View of the stage.
Down the row. Doesn't do the number justice.

Fire and rescue always available.

The Lancaster brothers have taken over the operations at Midway Marina and have added their special touch with their great food and their management style that makes for an environment where people want to be when they are relaxing. Mark is the owner of Lancaster Dock & Dredge and he brings his equipment and knowledge to the business to improve the docks and appearance of the operation. Jeff, owner of Lancaster's and Jeffrey's, adds the great food from his restaurants and the atmosphere that they are know for. And Freddy, owner of Big Daddy's brings the legendary influence of that great seafood restaurant to the site. Fittingly, the grand opening of the marina was Aquapalooza, sponsored by Sea Ray boats and Homesley, Goodman & Wingo, PLLC among others. This massive boat dock raft up featured a performance by the Spongetones, a longtime Charlotte band known for their flawless Beatles covers and for being "big in Japan". Mark had 3,000 pound concrete anchors spaced out towards the main channel that allowed a stable raft up for perhaps 2,000 boats. The massive crowd enjoyed the music and festivities at this well organized event. Kudos to all law enforcement and rescue that helped this event to be flawless. These organizations included the Catawba County Sheriff's Department, the State Highway Patrol and numerous volunteer fire departments and rescue squads. It was a great event that allowed folks to let down their hair a little.

Jeremy Current

Openers, the Twins.

Jeremy Current
Current and guitar man.

Current and band.

A young fellow and his young band on a free night at Neighborhood Theatre.

We went to Charlotte to see Gov't Mule and the show was sold out--for real. No extra tickets whatsoever. I have never been to any event in my life where I couldn't get tickets. But this was the one. Perhaps Charlotte's music fans are coming around when they can sell out an excellent yet somewhat underground act like the Mule. Saw Bill Diehl outside and he was looking good, legend that he is. I asked him to pull some strings and get us some tix and he said he would try but, alas, we never heard from Bill. So we headed on over to NoDa for free music night at the Neighborhood Theatre. Saw this boy called Jeremy Current. A nice looking young band with a velvet voice and good songwriting ability and a tight band. I say be on the lookout for this fellow. He could actually make it in the music "industry." Capped the night off with some sweets from Amelie's, a wonderful 24/7 bakery.

David Childers & Bill Noonan

Bill Noonan with Mark Lynch in the background.
David Kim on drums. Beth Chorneau giving an assist on vocals.

Randy Saxon.

David Childers and the Overmountain Boys.

Saw a great show July 11 at Snug Harbor. Two of the alt.country pioneers of the Charlotte scene, David Childers and Bill Noonan, showed why they have built loyal followings. Childers opened with his new band, the Overmountain Boys. The difference from his previous band, the Modern Don Juans is that Mark Lynch is no longer on bass, replaced instead by a keyboard player. Drummer is still son Robert Childers and phenomenal Randy Saxon on lead guitar. David anchors at rhythm guitar and a fiddle player brings kind of Neil Young circa Harvest but with a harder Crazy Horse sound to the music itself. Of course David's howling vocals are much different from those of Neil Young, but the emotion of the performer is similar as you sense the sincerity as he delivers each line. It is good to see David back on the scene after a hiatus. Bill Noonan released his new CD at this show and he showcased his precise songwriting chops. Amazingly, David Kim was on drums joined by Mark Lynch on bass. I came to the realization tonight that probably at least half of my almost 200 videos on youtube feature David Kim ("DK") on drums. This guy is a mainstay on the Charlotte scene and is at the heart of some of its most creative endeavors. Check out my vids at the bottom of the page or www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone

Terra Firma

Shrimp and Scallop risotto.
Veal Ravioli.

Octopus (foreground) and frog legs.

Terra Restaurant in Charlotte is tucked away in the 500 block of Providence Road next to the Starbucks. Seating maybe 40 people, this little gem has a neighborhood atmosphere that belies its sophisticated food menu and wine list. The vibe is one of family and friends as proprietor Thierry Garconnet greets all diners with a warm smile and handshake and usually a look of personal recognition if you have dined there even only once. His face is familiar, I recognized him from his years at Toscana in the South Park area. Our waiter on this occasion was another fellow who had been at Toscana. One cool thing about Terra is seeing all of the folks come in who seemingly live in the surrounding neighborhood and treat it as their neighborhood place for culinary delight. Truth be known, there are few restaurants in this country who will provide the diner with such a strong dining experience. The service is excellent and the food interesting and tasty. I would say it is French with an Italian influence. There is a "carpaccio of the day". On this occasion it was octopus. The extremely thinly sliced octopus bathed in a slightly flavored olive oil film accompanied by escarole and croutons. A sublime but delicious dish. There were frog legs, cut so the entire hindquarter was still joined. Cooked enough to be cooked but cooked slightly enough to be tender in a garlic butter sauce. Then sweetbreads and kidneys lightly breaded and fried with a rich cream sauce. Some vichysoisse was good but lacked the presence of leeks and flavor. As entrees we had a veal ravioli that was beautifully displayed and featured fresh pasta. A risotto with fresh mushrooms and perfectly cooked shrimp and scallops was flawless. Desserts such as mousse and tiramisu rounded out the gluttony. It was simply a beautiful evening for F's birthday and was an indulgent meal. In that we have been eating healthily (low cholesterol and sugar), we found that the meal was a little hard on the stomach but this was no reflection on the quality of the food but moreso on our evolved stomachs. Highly recommended: www.terracharlotte.com

Poontanglers-the greatest band name in CLT

Massive Bass.
Killer solos.

Mean ass vocals.

So, with a name like the Poontanglers, they simply had to be good. I mean to live up to such a name. And live up they did at Snug Harbor on July 3. These guys simply bring it with a very tight heavy metal sound. If I had to categorize it I would say Metallica with an alt.country twist but with very much a full on assault of massively thumping bass and drums, killer guitar riffs and a vocalist who has kind of the devil music scream down pat. The guy was especially cool in his kind of "Village People" cop hat with the band symbol (not unlike the anarchy symbol) as a badge. I particularly enjoyed watching the heavily tatooed bass player literally rip through one song after another with his foot propped up on the light table at the front of the stage. His energy seemed to propel the rest of the band to another level. See the link at the bottom of my page for a vid or check my youtube www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone.

Benji Hughes Snug Harbor 7/4/2009

The "hirsute" one as I have seem him described.

Benji Hughes has a phenomenal record called "A Love Extreme". It has been out about a year now but still seems relevant after hundreds of spins. It showcases his great songwriting talent, his use of sampling and his unique vocal talent. Benji is a product of the Charlotte music scene with some time in LA (he wrote one of the songs used on the parody of the Johnny Cash movie, can't remember the name). Anyway, Benji and his crack band appeared at Snug Harbor on July 4 early a.m. From the outset, Benji was not satisfied with the volume and bass of his voice in the stage monitor and somewhat demonstratively (understatement) complained to his band to turn it down and the sound man to turn him up. Interestingly, he had made the same complaint when I saw him a few weeks ago at Petra's with his piano man, Jon Phillips. Despite Benji's complaints, the fact is that it sounded excellent from the audience. The band ripped through many of the great songs on "A Love Extreme" adding their raw energy to a record that is kind of a studio masterpiece. Peter Gray is a fine guitarist and adds some incredible solos. Jon Phillips is a really talented keyboardist who adds a number of cool variances to the music. David Kim is steady and strong on drums and shows why he is often seen in a number of the finest bands on the Charlotte music scene. I don't know the bass player, but he is good and completes the package. I have some vids posted on my youtube and at the bottom of this page and you need to check them out (www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone) and get Benji's record on itunes.

Big houseboat groovin'

75 foot houseboat.
Marshall Steam Station sunset.

Larry.

We had the pleasure of going to a high school graduation party tonight on Lake Norman. Our friends, Larry and Claudia, had a houseboat party for their son's graduation. They are friends with one of the top NASCAR drivers and he was kind enough to lend them his awesome houseboat for the night. The great thing about living around all these racing fellers is that they all have cool stuff and most of them are nice enough to share with others. Often they are traveling around the country for their racing shows and they don't have enough time to use their cool stuff anyway. So on this night, we were able to go to a great graduation party. Plenty of super food from a new Italian restaurant, Portofinos, including linguine with clam sauce and mussels and, of course, some calimari. A great antipasto and some super desserts and kids having a great time celebrating their graduation and sliding off the sliding board on the back of the 75 foot houseboat. We rode through a storm and emerged to see an awesome sunset next to the power plant.

Tin Tin Buffet

Tin Tin Buffet.
Custom made soup on the left. Chicken feet and dumplings on the right.
Sushi, center top.

Located in South Charlotte on Johnston Road near I-485 this Asian Buffet is perhaps the best in town. Unique to Tin Tin is its soup bar where you can choose your noodles, broth and other contents from a number of choices. Also, there is a wide variety of dim sum including dumplings and ham hocks and more obscure items such as chicken feet in black bean sauce as well as sea cucumber on occasion. There are crawfish and sushi and there is neat kind of Indian breads. If you are in the Charlotte area and you like excellent fresh Asian food, give this place a try.

Small town pleasures

D.E. Turner Hardware over 110 years old.
Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird.

On the way downtown.

The Moor.

Our town was once a mill town where most of the people worked in a textile mill that manufactured towels and later manufactured denim. It's interesting that the town has as its logo a "Moor" although the town's name is derived from a fellow named Moore. The Moor logo was originally adopted in the 1930's as a symbol of the mill and the Turkish towels it manufactured. I would imagine that Mooresville is among very few towns in America that has a dark complexioned, likely Muslim fellow on a horse as the centerpiece of its logo. In recent years, the town has gotten away from the use of this logo, which is a little sad. The mill is long-gone and the town economy evolved into one based on motorsports, the Lowe's corporate headquarters and quick commutes to Charlotte for those employed there. The town grew and lost some of its history but a visit to the still intact downtown brings back memories of that history. We can ride our bikes there and did so today and got to enjoy a car show. In order to participate, the cars must be more than thirty years old. Anyway, it was a treat to go downtown and check out the cars and the people and kind of throw back to the old days.