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  WILD REPORT: KEVIN COSTNER & MODERN WEST ROCK CHARLESTON!!! April 1st, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  First, I"d like to start by saying to those looking for a story solely about Kevin Costner, this surely isn"t it.  To me, as it has always been—and always will be—it is ALL about the MUSIC. It"s a story about one man"s real-life “Field of Dreams”.  A life-long love of music.  Most importantly, this is a story about how old friendships inspired and shared passions ignited a musical brainstorm, thus, giving birth to the band of brothers called Modern West. Last weekend Kevin Costner and Modern West rocked The Music Farm playing their high-energy Americana-Rock originals to an absolutely thrilled sold-out crowd of howling fans.  People came from the Lowcountry and from hours away…and by the buzzing in the atmosphere, they came prepared to rock!!  Many came to see the movie star who was visiting their town.  Some came because they were curious and some came for the fun of it. The ladies behind me, Jennifer, Luann and KJ came to throw bras and shout out their love.  For this writer, (nestled comfortably in the front row “mosh pit”), well, I was there to experience and explore, once again, great music that I have never heard before.  To write about it and spread the word, to you, my readers, in hopes of turning you on to something totally different and unique.  I am here to tell you, what I heard and saw last night far exceeded my already high expectations.  They were all phenomenal players and it resulted in what I feel was an extremely magical night…not only for the audience but for the musicians as well. It began with a great local rock band Black Eyed Susan warming up the crowd.  I was very impressed with their bluesy funky rock show and a lovely lady, Elise joining them on stage to top off the combustible non-drowsy nightcap. There"d be NO sleeping tonight!!  Shortly thereafter, a movie screen was lowered onstage as we watched clips of different characters Kevin has played throughout the years.  I know those guys in the crowd were pleased when the love scenes emblazoned the screen, for yes indeedy there was a collective female purrrr.  The lights went to bright in the back of the venue, as the crowd started to part for him.  Mr. Costner was ready to take his place at center stage and do his thing he loves so much. Sure, he was indeed the “star” that hundreds of people came out to see, but truthfully, he was surrounded by MANY other equally shining stars last night.  Make no mistake, his vocals and guitar talent shone and sparkled brilliantly in the fantastic light.  It was nice to see him with a fun, laid-back personality, the genuine person that he is-(something you won"t ever see in any movie role).  Just a regular guy performing his art and loving every minute of it!  Way to REALLY touch and embrace the people, Kevin!!  I thought the coolest part of the night was the way his passion for his first love lit up that stage….AND how well the entire band complimented each other!! You see, the little known fact is he did sing in church, play piano and later fronted an 80"s Rock band called Roving Boy (with present bandmates, John Coinman and Blair Forward). Coinman, a very talented singer/songwriter who was in charge of the music in “Dances With Wolves”, joined his longtime friend at his side and rocked the crowd with everything he had.  Drummer Larry Cobb banged out a great beat and kept the crowd roaring to his every thunderous slam.  Nashville"s own Park Chisholm, (who if I am not mistaken, has recently played with Penny Dale) was there, tearing it up, chronic music-lust exuding from his flamin" 6-string.  Next to him, was Mr. Bobby Yang, Violinist Extraordinaire, a man who I have to say, is hands down——THEE BEST fiddle player I have ever seen! (Sorry Charlie Daniels).  Bobby is the master at transforming the fiddle into a straight-up serious rock n roll instrument!! The great Teddy Morgan (new daddy) and Blair Forward were missing from stage this time (I think)...By the time the band introductions got there, I was having such a fantastic time being carried away by these tunes that I"d replaced my glasses with my beer goggles…I missed them. Sorry. They had me hook, line and sinker with their heartfelt lyrics, their fun tunes, and the way they seemed to fit together so naturally as a band.  Costner"s vocal talent is amazing and to hear it “loud, live and long” and have it come out so smooth was wonderful.  You could see it so clearly on his face that this was what he meant when he said that this is his way of connecting in a more meaningful way with his fans.  I mean, it HAS been said that music is the finest language that there is, after all!  When wife Christine encouraged him to start the project, he thought if he did this, what could he possibly have to lose…if he didn"t, he may lose the best times of his life onstage.  I am so thankful that we here in Charleston could share in that with all of these fine, very gifted gentlemen. “Don"t Stop The Party, Boys”....and most important of all, God Bless Christine Costner, for it is she who generously brought to us this most incredible talent!!!! Rock on and Amen, Guys!!!!! This is Jaden Wylder and THAT"s your Wild Report…for what"s cool in the Lowcountry…ENJOY!!!!

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  Kiss me, I'm Irish ? who knew? March 31st, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  You have seen her out, you have read her articles in the Creative Loafing… Now you can get the best of Brittney Cason right here on Carolina Nightlife! Each week we will run Brittney’s QC After Dark column! Stay tuned for more from QC After Dark! To view all of Brittney’s articles check out her archive on Creative Loafing’s website! Growing up, I never knew which ethnicity box to check on applications ... I only knew I had Caucasian in me and that my grandmother was from Costa Rica. With that said, I was automatically disqualified from the Caucasian box because it typically said “Non-Hispanic.” So I just went with “Other” ... but after my niece had to do a genealogy project for school, we discovered that we’re a fraction Irish. Kiss me, I’m Irish! So, to celebrate my newfound heritage, I opted to get festive for St. Patrick’s Day and embark on the holiday dedicated to binge drinking. In honor of my sister, Kim, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, I started with the Step It Out Against MS fundraiser at Buckhead Saloon. I am not in college anymore, Toto. I cannot drink off a keg and hang with the cool kids. I somehow ended up on stage with Scott and Woody pretending to play a Jack Daniels guitar. I woke up the next morning with a puking hangover, which I haven’t experienced since my engagement party in 2003. (But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the alcohol that made me puke, considering I was single shortly thereafter.) So what if my green-slash-gray-blue eyes are the only thing Irish about me, I was still going to join the rest of the world on the Rockhouse Events’ St. Patrick’s Day record-breaking bar crawl. It was so big they had to spread out in groups, and green shirts pretty much monopolized Uptown. It was so big that I wandered away from the tour and into my bed at 5 p.m. (But that is taking into account the fact that I started the morning at 10 a.m. by a parade float amongst a fake Bono, Charlotte Roller Girls and Great Danes wearing “Rescue me I’m Irish” shirts.) Between the parade, ACC fans and pub crawlers, Uptown was like Mardi Gras. There were even beads and weird costumes. But I don’t have much insight to share with you on the ACC tournament, other than there were a lot of fans crawling along with the bar crawl. I know so little about college basketball that when I first met Sean May, I asked him what school he went to. When he told me UNC I started talking shit about how UNC is Virginia Tech football’s easy school since we’ve been in the ACC, but then felt bad because I thought he may be an offensive lineman or something. True story. One more thing ... The Charlotte MS Walk is March 29 at Symphony Park. Come partake. I’ll be there wearing a Team Kim shirt and on stage holding a microphone, but this time because I’m the emcee.

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  WET WILLIES GETS A FACE LIFT March 31st, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  Charleston Wet Willie’s recently completed its renovations which is just in time for the warm weather that brings in locals and tourists looking to clinch their thirst with Wet Willies World Famous Frozen Daiquiris. The face lift includes a stage area for nightly live music, new booths, all new HD TV’s, an all new menu, expanded selection of beers, premium brand cocktails, new shot liquors, and a new VIP room that can be rented out for private parties. Stop by Wet Willies on East Bay Street, Downtown Charleston and try their Call-A-Cab daiquiri, but be sure that you call a cab because these definitely are not your average daiquiris.

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  Downtown Alive 2008 March 24th, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  Downtown Alive will be kicking off this Thursday afternoon.  The weekly music series at the Hyatt Regency Greenville Plaza Deck for 24 weeks between late March and early September; features local, regional and national entertainers with sounds including rock, blues, funk, and cover bands, with a series total of approximately 30,000 annually; this is the single largest fundraiser for the Metropolitan Arts Council each year; contracted to handle operations, sales, entertainment, volunteers, PR, marketing, and oversight. WHAT TO BRING: Picture ID if you intend to purchase alcohol; we do not provide seating at the event so feel free to bring a chair; dancing shoes just in case; smile and a song in your heart! WHAT NOT TO BRING: Coolers, Pets, Bicycle, Skateboard, frowns or bad attitudes! ID WRISTBANDS: In order to purchase or consume alcohol within the permit area, you must be 21-years of age (or older), present a valid picture ID, and purchase a City of Greenville approved wristband for $1.00; times for sales and consumption of alcohol will be posted at the ticket purchase locations. CURRENCY: Event tickets are available on site, and serve as currency for all food or beverage purchases on site; Ticket sales tents are located in strategic areas within the event site; RESTROOMS: Portable restrooms, or access to public restroom facilities are available on site for all events.

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  The BAB?s tried the First Wednesday Food and Wine Night at Arpa March 19th, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  The BABs are a group of seven young, professional women who found each other through work, and cemented their friendships with a common love of all things fabulous " food, wine, careers, gossip, and men (but not necessarily in that order)!  They are motivated career women, who love to go out and enjoy the finer things in life"together of course!  The BABs naturally have a lot in common, but they value each other"s differences as well: They hail from all over the country, their ages range from mid-20s to early 30s, they have different jobs, relationship statuses, and even preferences in wine.  But they all love each other " and of course all the amazing things uptown Charlotte has to offer! They officially termed themselves the "BABs" which is an acronym with a double meaning. One of those meanings is Bright and Beautiful"and as you can tell, modest J.  If you want to learn the other, buy them a martini and maybe you"ll find out! The BAB"s tried the First Wednesday Food and Wine Night at Arpa last night. Overall the experience was enlightening and fun, with only a few minor criticisms. We were all pleasantly surprised when Candace e-mailed us with the great new deal at Arpa " 6 tapas paired with 6 wines all for 12 dollars on the first Wednesday of the month. It seemed too good to be true".we were a little skeptical of how this would work out. A crumb of food" A splash of wine" It turned out to exceed our expectations, in terms of quantity. The wine samples were generously poured (and re-poured upon Natalia"s request, what a lush) and the tapas were smaller than usual, but still substantial enough to enjoy with the wine. We left full, tipsy, and high on each other"s great company! Arpa"s wine distributor was acting as sommelier for the evening, dispensing tons of interesting information about each wine. She was very verbose, almost too much, but for a group of wine neophytes it was good education. She also informed us of wine tasting at Pewter Rose every Monday night, where for 10 bucks you can sample 8-10 wines".and really "geek out" as she put it. Though a little long-winded, she was incredibly articulate and knowledgeable about the wines, getting into weather patterns, grape diameter, effects of root age on structure, and other stuff we could only pretend to understand! Round 1: Mint and Cucumber Tabouleh served with Gewürztraminer blend We had no idea what tabouleh was, and were happy to see that it was our good old friend cous cous. The wine was super-sweet and nobody was in love with it"until we paired it with the cous cous. It was an incredible transformation! The sharpness of the mint and the sweetness of the wine balanced perfectly. Penelope was especially excited about this one, and made sure to compliment our sommelier for the pairing. Round 2: Chickpea Bruchetta paired with Rose The chickpea bruchetta was overall pretty nice. We received a fun story about Rose " apparently in Europe it"s seen as very "girly" for men to be seen drinking white wine, so as a lighter alternative to red, they drink Rose. We all agreed that if we saw a dude drinking a Rose around here, we would definitely have to question his masculinity . . . visualize the equivalent J.D. ordering an appletini, you get the picture"! The Long Pause There was a 25 minute delay between rounds. We were p!ssed. You can"t leave a group of BAB"s stranded with no food or wine like that! We eavesdropped on what sounded like a horrible first date"an attractive but extremely nasal-voiced woman was babbling on about"everything"to a dude we can only assume was cute by the back of his head. As she babbled, he sat perfectly still"not a nod or a body gesture to be seen. Poor guy. The girl totally caught us listening in too"see it"s in everyone"s interest to give us more food and wine! Round 3: Chicken Brochettes with aged lemon vinaigrette served with Chardonnay What"s a brochette" Is that the same as a croquette" We debated this until it came out " two tasty hunks of chicken on a skewer. Nice. It went perfectly with the Chardonnay " the lemon cut right through the wine. We learned that this chardonnay is "unoaked", unlike most California chards. We"re still not 100% sure what unoaked means (removed from oak barrels" never stored in oak" Huh") but it was good J. Round 4: Olive Toast served with Spanish table wine: We were told ahead of time that this had been most people"s favorite pairing of the night"so sad for Penelope, who apparently doesn"t eat olives! So good for Isabella, who eats them straight from the jar and has been known to drink the juice! This pairing WAS good " the super salty olives and the light tempranillo/cab blend was very nice. Round 5: Chorizo and Goat Cheese Balls with Grenache Things start to get a little fuzzy for Veronica here " her alter ego BaconLover08 came out and was overjoyed to hear that Natalia"s hubby has discovered microwavable bacon and eats it twice a day! A fellow bacon lover in the world. Anyways, these chorizo goat cheese balls got a lukewarm reaction from the BAB"s. "Not goat-cheesy enough". The Grenache, however, was excellent. We planned to stock our headquarters with Grenache for our next meeting. Round 6: Lamb Meatball served with Rioja Lamb meatballs are yummy, who knew" So was the wine " the boldest of the night. Natalia is a white-wine-only girl, and generously distributed hers to the rest of the table. Good idea at the time, bad idea next morning, at least for Veronica. Immediately upon finishing the meatball, we ordered 3 plates of fried goat cheese balls with honey. Immediately upon receiving them, we devoured them and sang the praises of goat cheese for at least 5-7 minutes! In summary, it was a great experience (and not just because the BAB"s are generally fabulous at all times). 18 bucks flat, for 6 tapas, 6 wines, some spicy feta dip and a bunch of goat cheese balls. The slow serviced chapped our @sses a little bit, but since this was a brand new event, we expect them to improve with time. High points: great wine education, unique and varied tapas selection, and a great crowd for a Wednesday night. We"ll definitely be back next month, and we"re anxious to try the wine tasting at Pewter Rose next Monday!

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  Tommy Bahama presents the Charleston International Film Festival March 10th, 2008 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  Tommy Bahama Ultra-Premium Rum presents the First Annual Charleston International Film Festival, showcasing Reel Independents from the U.S. and around the world at the premier art house, the Terrace Theater, May 1st-4th, 2008.  Mark your calendar and be sure to check back at CharlestonIFF.com where the Tommy Bahama Ultra-Premium Rum After Party locations will be announced

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