Feeling just a little too happy these days? Want to temper that blitheness of spirit with the bitter taste of your own mortality? You’d do well to pick up a copy of the CD High Atmosphere (Rounder Records), a musical survey of the Virginia and North Carolina high country made in 1965 by musician-filmmaker John … Read more
All beings, great and smothered: Meticulous copies of 15th-century Chinese scrolls show the various misfortunes (floods, infernos, etc.) befalling those who remain “worldly bound.” A papier-mache sentinel posted at the entry to Warren Wilson College’s Holden Gallery ushers viewers into a magnificent facsimile of another world. Forty years ago, art historians discovered a set of … Read more
“I’m on a downhill slide to a tight perm and a ‘I heart my cat’ sweatshirt,” announces Honey Raye, a bottle-blond 50-going-on-20-year-old poured into a gold lame cocktail dress. One of a large bouquet of steel-magnolia-like personalities in Asheville Community Theatre’s latest offering, Dearly Beloved, Honey is reunited with her two middle-aged sisters when the … Read more
Jamming with a double-edged sword In an attempt at well-roundedness, this week is dedicated to jam bands. By braving the improv waters, my problem is twofold: 1) If I report favorably, I’m considered sub-cool. Jam music was once a fringe assortment of roots-based artists who shunned pop-song formats in favor of free-form musical virtuosity. Currently, … Read more
Any North Carolina beer connoisseur worth their weight in hops knows by now that “Big Beer” is finally here. In August, the state legislature amended its Prohibition-era definition of legal malt beverages to allow the sale of beer with an alcohol content of up to 15 percent (now that’s a big beer). Previously, only brews … Read more
Loaves and fishes: Love the feel of an open-air market? The Grove Corner Market has your fix. Check out the Friday Festival of Loaves and Fishes, a weekly sidewalk sale and celebration of community, food and drink at the Grove Arcade. Every Friday until Dec. 30, the market will host various wine and food tastings … Read more
So Boho • Who he is: Paul Bearer of the Circus Street Orchestra • What he’s wearing: A red bandana from his friend “Miss” Jonathan, a vest from his friend Sparrow over a lapis button-down, black pants and made-for-walking boots borrowed from “Big Al.” • Why we love it: Paul proves that every man would … Read more
Rob Brezsny was primping in the restroom of a Roy Rogers restaurant in Chapel Hill when it happened. Even in 1977, you didn’t try to talk your girlfriend into moving to the hippie heaven known as Santa Cruz, Calif., without at least finger-combing your hair first. But at that fateful moment the young Brezsny, readying … Read more
[Webmaster’s note: Free Will Astrology is a syndicated column that appears in the print edition of Mountain Xpress only. For Rob Brezsny’s horoscopes online visit freewillastrology.com] Rob Brezsny‘s Free Will Astrology may be one of the most popular features to grace the pages of the Mountain Xpress — but it’s not for everyone. “Like many … Read more
