The CLog
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
Friday, Dec. 30
Rock of Ages
Belk Theater
Rock of Ages is pretty much what you can expect from the title: an arena-rock musical featuring some of the most popular bands and songs from the ’80s. This includes music from Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar and Poison and what would that be without a love story to tie everything — big hair, too — together?
• Music Long-established guitarist, drummer and vocalist Cedric Burnside, who learned the craft of blues playing alongside his grandfather R.L. Burnside, leads his latest combo that fires up the amps with a mix of slow-burning acoustic to rousing hill-country blues. A bit of blues-rap is also in the offing. The band is on the road plugging the new recording The Way I Am. More...
• Comedy John Wesley Austin, aka "cowboy comedian," has lassoed his funniest material and I taking to the stage of The Comedy Zone Charlotte. He’s known for picking up the guitar for parodies of familiar country songs and some originals too. Yeehaw to that! More...
Saturday, Dec. 31
Decades Disco Ball
Phoenix
Glam and glitz go hand in hand at Phoenix’s Decades Disco Ball. The dazzling New Year's Eve throwdown features performances by an entourage of glittery go-go dancers, an aerialist, stilt walkers and diva drag queen Bethann Phetamine. DJs Johnny Vicious, Andy Kastanas, Scott Weaver, Tober, Dick Tracey, Sasha Taylor and Steve Tuohy will spin through the night. Balloon drop, confetti, party favors and other surprises too.
• Nightlife 2012 is coming, even if it feels as though you're taking a blast into the past at Breakfast Club's Back to the Future Bash. The ninth annual NYE shindig features three levels of festivities, party favors, a champagne toast and confetti at midnight and, most importantly — for those who haven't quite moved forward musically — '80s and '90s dance mixes all night long. More...
• Nightlife The path to a cool, yet chill way to spend your New Year's Eve leads to Dharma. Jask headlines, and Identity Theft and Tag Techno host with performances from a handful of DJs — Jason Phillips, KT Caustic, Kev Kev, Nat Eichler and Proton Jones — who want to enlighten you with their spinning capabilities. Champagne toast at midnight. More...
• Music Looking for a whole bunch of weirdness under one roof? From the quirky (some may say sickening) style of The Emotron to the hip-hop of Mr. Invisible and the instrumental talent of Hectagons, the legendary Milestone offers a little bit of everything for NYE. Don't believe me? The Gore Gore Luchadores will be wrestling as well. Also on the bill: One Another and Hungry Girl. More...
• Theater You and your kids can get first helpings of The Fettuccini Brothers and Caroline Calouche & Co.'s aerial wizardry and not to mention the inimitable PlayPlay theater group exclusively for toddlers during the daytime kids segment of First Night, amid a sprawling schedule from noon to 5 p.m., spread across a swath stretching from the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Charlotte Convention Center to the Bechtler and Mint Museums. But abandoning the oxymoronic for the nighttime schedule (after a three-hour break to help tuck the anklebiters away), First Night coalesces on The Green and the Levine Avenue of the Arts for its second 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. stint. Amazing ninja dervish yogi hoop dancer Spiral will splash the color from 10 p.m.-12:30 a.m. on the mezzanine level of the Mint Museum. More...
• Dining Osso, a glitzy, brand-spankin' new quarter of the N.C. Music Factory is taking dinner and lounge reservations for New Year's Eve. The midnight celebration offers party favors, champagne toasts and a guest DJ. Three-course dinner and lounge table packages also available. More...
