Click the pic above to see my photos from June 24, 2007, the night a storm blew down the front wall of Fat City. By then, that wall was all that was left of the Fat City Deli. The rest had been demolished and the site was waiting for new construction to begin. That new construction was to be built around the big yellow Fat City Deli wall but nature had other plans.

There is a car under that rubble. The bricks were kept and used to rebuild that front wall for part of what is now the Fat City Condos building which includes condos and a bank. A bank at Fat City… who ever would have guessed that in 1999?

Michael Jordan is ready for a new title: NBA owner.

With minutes to go until his exclusive negotiating window was to expire, Jordan struck a deal late Friday night to buy controlling interest of the Charlotte Bobcats, putting the six-time NBA champion in charge of the money-losing team in his home state.

Owner Bob Johnson announced in a statement that he’s agreed to sell the Bobcats to Jordan, who been a part-owner of since 2006. Jordan has been running the team’s basketball operations.

from New York Times

Click the image above to see the rest of my photos from the (always great) La Petite Mort Burlesque show at Halo from August.

The next show at Halo with be September 18. See you there.

La Petite Mort Burlesque put on their first show at Halo on Friday July 17, 2009. It was better than I expected and I expected a lot. Music ranged from smoky lounge jazz to Nine Inch Nails and even included some live singing. La Petite Mort will be doing burlesque at Halo on the 3rd Friday of every month as well as special appearances elsewhere.

I’ve taken 2 sets of photos of some of these girls since these were taken in June but I haven’t put these up on a public gallery yet, so here you go: La Petite Mort Burlesque : June 2009 Gallery.

They did their first show at Halo last night and it was great. It was a bit more “edgy” than a lot of the burlesque I’ve seen around here. It still had the traditional burlesque feel to it but with extra doses of sexy and dark, while never veering from the path of fun. They will be at Halo the 3rd Friday of every month, I highly suggest you check it out.

Jane’s Addiction was my favorite rock band from the first time I heard them in 1988. They played Charlotte that year but I was 15 and thought that fake IDs were something that only happened in the movies or I would have would have gone to see them. I was pissed that I missed them but my new red dreadlocks made me feel a little better about it, partially because one of the guys putting them in had seen the show and told me about it as they worked. The Butthole Surfers were my favorite band at the time and I missed them not once but twice before I turned 18. Then, in 1991, Lollapalooza happened and I managed to see both of them (which was my only real goal for my 18th year) on the same day and stage. The Butthole Surfers were good but went on too early. It would be 10 years before I would finally see the Butthole Surfers show I really wanted to see. Jane’s Addiction put on the best show I had ever seen, a crown they would wear for many years.

I saw Porno For Pyros a few years later and then saw Jane’s Addiction again in 2001. I hesitate to call them Jane’s Addiction, though, because Eric Avery was not part of the band but the bass player for Porno For Pyros was filling in that spot. Yes, they played Jane’s Addiction songs, but there were as many members of Porno For Pyros (3) on stage as there were members of Jane’s Addiction (3). This year, probably almost totally due to Trent Reznor, Jane’s Addiction toured again. The REAL Jane’s Addiction. Nine Inch Nails opened for them and I wasn’t sure Jane’s Addiction would be able to put on a show that would outshine NIN’s performance. They did. It was such a great show that it made my memory of the NIN act pale in comparison.

I had great “seats” in the “pit” up front. Not the photographers’ pit but the area in front of the stage where Verizon Wireless Amphitheater removes the first 5 rows of seats and have a general admission standing area. They really are the best seats in the house, you can get as close or as comfortable as you want (as long as you want to stand and you should want to stand, it is a fucking rock show, if you don’t want to stand, you’re doing it wrong).

The NIN|JA tour had an open camera policy so I took mine. I was debating it right up until the morning of the show, when I decided that I would rather have a broken camera than have to walk around for the rest of my life saying my one of my least favorite phrases in the world: “I wish I had taken my camera”. Looking at my photos of Jane’s Addiction, I’m glad I did. They’re not all perfect, I left some “snapshot” quality pics in the mix because these are as much a documentation effort as anything else. “Pics or it didn’t happen,” I always say. Well, it happened. I was there. I have proof.

ExtraMediumLarge Gallery: NIN|JA 2009: Jane’s Addiction at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC 2009-06-12

and, if you missed them,
ExtraMediumLarge Gallery: NIN|JA 2009: Nine Inch Nails at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC 2009-06-12

I had “pit” tickets again (like the last time NIN played Charlotte but a real camera this time. Click the link above to see the rest of the photos. Jane’s Addiction photos coming soon.