Are you sad and a little bitter that Asheville isn’t as weird as it used to be? Did you used to use a fake ID to get into Vincent’s Ear? Do you remember when most of the Grove Arcade’s tenants were freeloading flocks of anarchist pigeons? The show Ghost of Asheville on Friday, Jan. 24, at the LaZoom Room promises to be an evening dedicated, says co-producer Rigel Pawlak, to things that once made Asheville special. “Does that magic still exist?” he asks. “Asheville isn’t dead, but has changed a lot over the years, and especially recently.” Expect stand-up comedy, puppets, clowning, live music, belly dance, burlesque and trips down memory lane. GOA is co-produced by Corr de Joch (who, like Pawlak, is a LaZoom tour guide). Both are also among the dozen performers featured in the revue along with comedian Leah Garth, Rod Murphy of ROND, local childhood-humiliation-anthem legend TPA7 and belly dance master Claire Dima. The LaZoom Room is appropriately evocative of a funeral home parlor owned by Edgar Allen Poe, but fully stocked with cans of cold beer and other beverages. The show takes place from 8-11 p.m. The cover charge is $15 at the door. Proceeds will be shared among performers. avl.mx/eft
