Music In The Vineyard ... Featuring James Vincent Carroll

We first met James Vincent Carroll when he was performing original music at Midnight Magdalena Vineyards a couple of months ago. We instantly fell in love with his music and had the pleasure of meeting him that day. We decided that we wanted to get to know him better. How he got his start, his musical inspirations, and this latest trend of showcasing his music at our local, N.C. wineries. We caught up with James one weekend at Piccione Vineyards in Ronda, N.C. and had the opportunity to learn a little more.

DPAC places among top U.S. theaters

By Dathan Kazsuk 
Thursday, January 11

Why does it come as no surprise.

Durham’s DPAC is once again ranked among the top theaters in America, according to Pollstar, Billboard Magazine and Venues Today.

The performing arts center entertained 462,055 guests and featured 211 events, which included 113 sellouts in 2017. In Pollstar’s listing, DPAC ranked fourth in theater venues only behind Radio City Music Hall (New York), The Axis at Planet Hollywood (Las Vegas) and The Fox Theatre (Atlanta).

“Our team in New York strives to bring the biggest Broadway hits to DPAC before they play any other theaters in the region,” said DPAC’s Senior Director of Marketing, Rachel Traversari.

And that shows with the great performance that passed through town in 2017. 

The King and I.                                                                Photograph by Matthew Murphy

Here’s a list of the top five Broadway shows at DPAC in 2017:
    
     1. The King and I
     2. Finding Neverland
     3. Disney's The Little Mermaid
     4. Love Never Dies
     5. School of Rock

But it’s not just Broadway that’s graced the stage at DPAC. Guests have enjoyed concerts such as Indie folk band Bon Iver and Grammy-winning vocalist Tony Bennett. Comedy legends such as Steve Martin, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler have also performed at DPAC this past year.

Bon Iver live at DPAC.                                                              Photograph by Andy Martin

The top 5 concerts at DPAC in 2017:

     1. Bon Iver
     2. Tony Bennett
     3. Earth, Wind & Fire
     4. The Beach Boys
     5. Steve Miller Band

Martin Short and Steve Martin perform at DPAC.                  Photograph by Andy Martin

The top 5 comedy events at DPAC in 2017:

     1. Steve Martin, Martin Short, Steep Canyon Rangers
     2. Chris Rock
     3. Adam Sandler
     4. Trevor Noah
     5. Jay Leno

Ira David Wood III's A Christmas Carol.                         Photograph by Stephen J. Larson

The top 5 special events at DPAC in 2017:

     1. Ira David Wood III's A Christmas Carol
     2. Paw Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue
     3. American Dance Festival 2017
     4. Neil DeGrasse Tyson
     5. Dancing with the Stars

2017 DTR Holiday Happenings

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and we officially kick off the holiday season, we thought we would put together a list of holiday happenings in downtown Raleigh.

On Saturday, Dec. 2, lace up those running shoes, get all decked out in your favorite holiday costume and come on out to the Jingle Bell Run 5K hosted by the Arthritis Foundation of North Carolina. The run starts at 9 a.m. at Saint Mary's School on Hillsborough St. For more information, click here.

Downtown Raleigh Tree Lighting Celebration

On Saturday, Dec. 2 from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m., the Downtown Raleigh Alliance in partnership with the City of Raleigh will host the Downtown Raleigh Tree Lighting Celebration to kickoff the winter season. You can expect a giant inflatable slide, Gingerbread House competition, Santa himself and of course the Mayor's Official Tree Lighting ceremony. For more information, click here.

On Sunday, Dec. 3, Purr Cup Cafe is hosting a Pop-Up Holiday Cat Market at Raleigh Provisions from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. This event will raise money towards the start up costs for the first ever cat cafe coming to downtown Raleigh, Purr Cup Cafe. For more information, click here.

Related Story: Raleigh couple plans to bring first cat café to town

On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Woody's at City Market will host the 7th Annual Toys for Tots. For the beer drinker out there, Woody's will be tapping 7 rare specialty beers for this event and everyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy or donates money to Toys for Tots will be entered into a raffle. For more information, check Woody's Facebook even here.

On Thursday, Dec. 7, Seaboard Wine & Tasting Bar will host its 21st Annual Champagne & Sparkling Wine Tasting from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. There will be Champagnes and sparkling wines from around the world to sample. Space is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are $39 per person and must be prepaid. For more information, check out the Facebook event here.

N.C. Executive Mansion Open House

From Wednesday, Dec. 6 through Saturday, Dec. 9, the N.C. Executive Mansion will host its annual Holiday Open House. Guests will be able to tour the home and enjoy seasonal music by local entertainers. Admission is free. Click here for more details.

Related Story: Executive Mansion Holiday Open House

Holiday Lantern Tour at the Mordecai House

On Saturday, Dec. 9 from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. the Mordecai House will be host to the annual Holiday Lantern Tours and take guests back in time to how the holidays would have been celebrated in years past. Tickets are $5.

Related Story: Raleigh's Mordecai House celebrates with open house for the holidays

Saturday, Dec. 9 and Sunday, Dec. 10 come on out to enjoy the 46th Annual Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour. The hours are from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. The homes in Historic Oakwood date back from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. This event affords you the opportunity to tour the interior of some of these homes. There will be about a dozen homeowners who will open their doors to visitors. For more information, click here.

Friday, Dec. 22 Oak & Dagger will host its Yule Ball Holiday Soiree starting at 6 p.m. Featuring new beer releases, special holiday buffet, full bar with holiday themed cocktails as well as live music. Tickets are $30. Click here for more information.

Now through Saturday, Dec. 30 is the Adults Only Downtown Holiday Lights Tour! For $37 per person, yourticket includes two-hour adults-only tour aboard the Great Raleigh Trolley, the sights and sounds of DTR light displays, complimentary Absolut seasonal shooter at Isaac Hunter's and priority entrance into the best dance club in Raleigh!

The tour begins at Paddy O'Beers Bottle Shop and ends at Coglin's Raleigh at 1 am. This is a 21 and over tour. For more information, click here.

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Upcoming holiday events at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical runs until Dec. 24 at Fletcher Opera Theater

Theatre In the Park: A Christmas Carol runs from Dec. 6 - 10. Celebrating its 43rd Anniversary, this is Ira David Wood III's musical comedy and take on this classic. This is a highly recommended must-see at least once. For ticket information, click here.

The Raleigh Ringers will perform on Dec. 9-10. Photo c/o Raleigh Ringers.

Raleigh Ringers 2017 Holiday Concert Dec. 9 - 10. If you've never had the pleasure of attending a Raleigh Ringers concert, this is another must-do that we recommend. The Raleigh Ringers are an internationally acclaimed handbell choir founded in 1990. To learn more about the Raleigh Ringers, click here.  

Joy of the Season - NC Master Chorale concert will be on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. This holiday concert features 170-voice Chorale and the NCMC Chamber Choir joined by brass choir featuring selections such as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "Gloria," "Here We Come A-Wassailing," "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and many more to warm your heart to the season. To learn more about the NC Master Chorale, click here.  For ticket information, click here.

Nutcracker - Carolina Ballet takes place Dec. 15-24. This holiday tradition is perfect for the whole family. For more information on this performance as well as the Carolina Ballet, click here.

Broadway's Ramin Karimloo and members of the Avett Brothers team up for charity

Ramin Karimloo, center, performs with members of the Avett Brothers and The Dives.

By Jennifer Primrose

Monday, November 27

On Sunday, November 19, King's nightclub in downtown Raleigh was host to a night of Bluegrass versus Broadway. It was a one night only special performance that brought together Broadway sensation Ramin Karimloo along with members of Hickory-based The Avett Brothers.

The collaboration was put into place this past February during the annual Triangle Wine Experience Gala, where proceeds go to help the children of the Frankie Lemmon School & Developmental Center. 

Related Story: Triangle Wine Experience celebrates 22 years of fundraising

The two "lots" in the gala's live auction program, "Dinner with the Band" and "A Little Night Music," raised around $36,000 for the foundation. But just what was included? 

In "Dinner with the Band" a total of 56 hungry guests paid a total of $600 each for a 4-course meal cooked by Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler of Garland restaurant. Joining in for the dinner were Karimloo along with Joe Kwon and Tania Elizabeth of the Avett Brothers and Sergio Ortega of The Dives. Although we were not there for the dinner, we heard TWE chairperson and matriarch, Eliza Kraft Olander, brought some wine to dinner. Bottles of Arista, Hirsch, Bodegas la Tercera and Dom Perignon (Bjork and Chris Cunningham label) few just a few of the libations.

After dinner at Garland, guests made their way upstairs to King's to take in the performance. The intimate concert featured a medley of Broadway hits blended with subtle hipness of Bluegrass. Karimloo has appeared in many leading roles such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.

Karimloo and friends performed a total of 15 songs that evening including "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," from Oklahoma and "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera. The encore to end the evening was a fun cover of Darius Rucker's "Wagon Wheel," which had the room of 120-plus singing along with the performers.

It always makes your heart feel good when you see all the people that step forward and help out special needs children – but there can always be more. If you are interested in learning more about the foundation and how you can help, please get in touch with Ken Place at info@frankielemmonschool.org.

Related Story: 2017 Triangle Wine Experience: Sip, Shop 'n Sign

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These Marvel Universe Characters Deserve Their Own Movies

By Dathan Kazsuk | May 14, 2017
Twitter: TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: trianglearoundtown

Out of my group of "comic book" friends, I'm probably the last one in the bunch to have seen Marvel's latest hit, Guardians of the Galaxy 2. To be honest, I have been slacking off on my Marvel Universe these days. I didn't see Doctor Strange until I picked it up on Blu-ray. And haven't watched a single episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season. So this past Saturday, we finally made it out to see Guardians 2.

I won't drop any spoilers if you haven't seen the movie, but must say I was impressed. What I'm more so impressed with is how Marvel can take an unknown comic book and its rag-tag characters and turn it into a movie where the characters are household names. I'm talking about baby Groot and Rocket. Or how brilliant actor, Michael Rooker, who I'll always remember as "Henry" from the 1986 movie Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Jared Svenning from the 1995 underground classic, Mallrats, will now be known as Yondu.

So I thought to myself. Why can't Marvel make movies featuring some of my favorite MCU characters of all time. Sure, some of them have been portrayed in celluloid in the past – and were pretty horrible. So here I will name off my top 10. You might agree. You might disagree. You might have never even heard of them ... but then again, you probably never heard of Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer or Gamora until a couple years ago.

So listed below are what I would consider to be my personal top considerations for Marvel Universe movies to be released before I die! 

Rom the Spaceknight. Honestly, I think they could have worked him into Guardians of the Galaxy this time around. Sure, he wasn't, but I still have faith that a Rom movie would kick some movie ass. Now I know Rom's rights technically belong to Parker Brothers/Hasbro, but back when I use to collect the comics it was Marvel. Imagine a cyborg from the planet of Galador who fights off the magic of the Dire Wraiths. Rom's armor is made of Plandanium, which is almost similar to Wolverine's Adamantium bones and claws. Yup, he's almost indestructible, and with self healing abilities to boot. And his Neutralizer gun, which was designed just to banish those darn Dire Wraiths, was used to send them back to limbo. In the comic book world, Rom has been introduced to such characters as Iron Fist and the Hulk.

Groo the Wanderer was a comic written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés. If you ever used to have your mom buy you an issue of Mad magazine, then you've seen the work by Aragonés. Widely regarded as "the world's fastest cartoonist" I used to love seeing his drawings in Mad. And then along came Groo! If you haven't figured it out, Groo is a satire take on Conan the Barbarian. He has been described as a large-nosed buffoon and usually found himself getting in sticky situations. And as like most barbarians who will do anything for money, power or sex ... all you need to do for Groo was offer him Cheese Dip, and then you might hear, "Now Groo does what Groo does best." It's far-fetched to see this on film, but I'd love to see Duane "the Rock" Johnson play this role!

The first time I recall seeing Scourge in the comic was when he killed one of my favorite b-list villains, Death Adder, of the Serpent Society. Since then he killed off a total of 36 other villains in the comics, typically appearing in the Captain America series. Scourge was a master of disguise and used those skills and a powerful rifle to kill his victims. Right after the Serpent Society were hired to kill M.O.D.O.K., Death Adder disguised himself in a trench coat and hat (which everyone did in the comic book world) and got into a cab. The cab driver, who was Scourge, shot off a round from his gun into Adder belly and said the three words Scourge was known for ... Justice Is Served! Who would play Scourge in a movie? Well, I would have said Karl Urban, who will appear in Thor 3 as The Executioner.

Think Wolverine and Deadpool and you would have Madcap. No, not a near-invinsible human with a witty sense of humor and tons of weapons and razor sharp claws. Just a witty sense of humor and someone you can't kill. The villain who is Madcap was always a pain in Captain America's side. After a serious car accidents with a tanker truck where Madcap was introduced to Compound X07 (an experimental nerve agent made by A.I.M.), he virtually became immortal. Madcap heals from ANY physical injury instantly – he's been decapitated and incinerated, and has come back each and every time. Plus he feels no pain – how cool would that be? He also has a specialized form of insanity-inducement which will drive anyone bonkers upon eye contact. Back in the day I thought Jim Carrey would have been the perfect Madcap – Think Carrey in the movie The Mask, but even more insane!

Probably the first one on the list that you might know. But then again, who doesn't know The Punisher? Dolph Lundgren played him in 1989. Thomas Jane played him in 2004. Ray Stevenson played him in 2008. And last but not least, Walking Dead actor Jon Bernthal took on the role in season 2 of Netflix's Daredevil in 2016. Dolph and Thomas pretty much sucked as Frank Castle – but I have to say that Stevenson's rendition of The Punisher was my favorite. The violence was there. The look was there. However, in that movie, I thought the actor who played Jigsaw was awful! Later this year, Bernthal will get an entire season devoted to the vigilante, and I'm curious to see how this plays out! But in my opinion so far, Stevenson was the best Punisher.

"I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" That should have been a line from one of the most menacing characters in Marvel Universe history. Instead it comes from a lame ass character who gets outwitted by the X-Men's Kitty Pryde in X-Men's The Last Stand movie. Cain Marko, aka Juggernaut, has held his own against characters such as Colossus, Hulk, The Thing and Thor – and is probably one of the most powerful "humanoids" that subside on the planet Earth. If Marvel ever gets the rights to the X-Men, I hope they would bring back Juggs and have a massive battle with Colossus. Who would play Juggernaut? I say a mix between CGI and Brock Lesnar.

Based on the line of toys, the Micronauts were one of my favorite childhood memories. I had several different colors of the Pharoids, adored my Baron Karza and his hell-horse, Andromeda. I had the vicious Terraphant, which squirted water out its trunk and the rare Acroyer figure. Forget about the Transformers, Michael Bay would have scored a hit if he would have based a couple movies on these action figures – no disrespect to Optimus Prime and Megatron. Even if this was 100 percent CGI it would probably be a killer movie.The Micronauts comic came out in 1979, and I remember picking up issue #1 at our local comic store. Marvel Universe released the comics, so in time, the Micronauts were introduced to characters such as The Fantastic Four, Psycho Man and even Galactus.

Yes, I know Netflix just release Iron Fist in the line of series leading up to The Defenders. But I also didn't see the Danny Rand I was used to seeing in the comics. I'm still not sure that Finn Jones was the right choice for this character. I'll give them until The Defenders to see if the character grows on me ... and becomes the bad to the bone martial artist who is best friends with Luke Cage. As far as a good Iron First, I would have stuck with one of the original concepts of using Ray Park (a.k.a. Darth Maul and Toad), even though he might be too old now.

It seems I usually favor the bad guys in the comic world. If you take a look at my top 10, they are equally divided between "good" and "evil." But as far as groups go, sure I collected The Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four, but I really enjoyed when The Serpent Society wound up in the comics. Of course all the villains were named after snakes, so we had characters such as Cobra, Viper, Cottonmouth, Constrictor, Diamondback, Sidewinder, Anaconda and Death Adder. Now here's a pitch to Marvel to finally do a movie based around the bad guys and do a movie with The Serpent Society. And I have the perfect story line (look into when they were hired to kill M.O.D.O.K ... and use that!). The movie would be filled with male and female characters, great CGI with Bushmaster, and here's your opportunity to get Peter Dinklage to play the Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing!

Here we go ... my favorite character in the Marvel Universe ... Victor Creed! I remember the best comic with him, at least in my childhood was when I bought The Uncanny X-Men issue #213. It was an epic fight between Sabretooth and Wolverine that essentially went from cover to cover. In the movie world, Sabretooth has appeared twice in X-Men movies. The first time was in the premiere X-Men motion picture in 2000, when Tyler Mane played Creed. Mane stands 6'8" so he was close to the same height as Sabre, but he was again another comic book character who fell flat. Then nine years later Sabretooth made his second appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played this time by Liev Schreiber. This time, he was a little more like the comics – and I thought Schreiber did a good job. Now, with Hugh Jackman stepping down as Wolverine, I think they can continue on by bringing back Schreiber and start a new realm of Sabretooth. Hell, the character has been existing in the comic world for 40 years now, I think they'll have some backstories they can use!

Sugar Magnolia Café: A 20-year dream becomes reality

Christine and Howard Sadel (center) opened Sugar Magnolia Café and Emporium 
in Wake Forest.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ... 

By Jennifer Primrose | April 26, 2017
Twitter: TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: trianglearoundtown

Howard and Christine Sadel always knew they wanted to open a café. Howard recalls 20 years ago, while still living in New Jersey, that opening a café would help create a better life for them and their family. "We always had this idea of opening up a dessert café that included selling art," says Sadel.

"I had been training in multimedia at the time and Carolco Films studios in Wilmington popped up in my job search," he says. While viewing Wilmington as a great place to make their dream a reality, the timing was not right. After moving to Raleigh in August of 1996, their family began to grow with their second child - their daughter, Hannah, who was later diagnosed with congenital heart failure. "This put us on a path of 4 years of multiple heart surgeries and procedures both here at UNC and in Chicago," says Sadel. Later, they welcomed a son, Tyler, but the dream of owning a café was never far from their hearts.

Now, many years later, with their eldest son Nick in his seventh year in the USAF, Hannah in her first year at Meredith College and Tyler a sophomore at North Raleigh Christian Academy, it is time to pick up their dream. "God has given us a location that truly fits what our vision was 20 years ago," says Sadel.

Related Story: Carronni's Hand Crafted Creations have N.C. wineries in mind

Excerpts of our 5 Questions With for April were answered by Sugar Magnolia's Howard Sadel.

Tell us a bit about the idea and concept behind Sugar Magnolia café. The concept is to offer fresh made soups, salads and sandwiches, along with great coffee and local craft beer and wine - in an environment that is inviting and as comfortable as your own home. As a marketing digital strategist, I know very well how we have become online "social" but offline to the people right around us. Christine and I hope to be a part of the movement that brings people back to local community awareness and support by making Sugar Magnolia Café a place of gathering and celebration.

You chose a location in Wake Forest on a street that seems to be known for much of the similar things you are doing now. What will make you stand head-and-shoulders above the rest in that area? We see Sugar Magnolia Café as catering to a little different niche and not so much as being a competitor. We are really just as much a restaurant as we are a café – we offer a great solution for private parties and events. (We're) also expanding the craft beer options ... giving craft beer lovers a wider opportunity to sample beers from around the state. We love White Street Brewery, and see them, as we do with all other businesses on the street, as partners to bring more people to White Street.

Sugar Magnolia will be serving sandwiches, desserts and coffee. How much of your ingredients are local? Have you selected local roasters, farmers, etc. to work with ... and how important is it to you to source locally? We are all about local. It's great that it's a global economy and all, but if we jump over people right in our backyards to source a product far away, are we really helping each other? We have so many great artists, artisans and suppliers right here in Wake Forest and the surrounding communities. Our strategy is to seek out local first. Even if that means we need to pay a little more, that's fine.

The Emporium, in the bottom level of the café will feature many local artists. This is very similar to Going Local, which used to be located in north Raleigh. Tell us a bit about this idea? Christine used to sell her jewelry at Going Local in north Raleigh until they closed. The Emporium has a very similar collection of local artists, and we even have one of their managers, Karen Lussi, now working with us. We currently have 35 different local artists and artisans. Each artist leases a space and pays a 10 percent commission on sales for marketing and sales support. After being in this position ourselves, we wanted to create a fair business arrangement that allows both sides to thrive. Charging high rates to artists just forces them to raise prices, slowing sales and discouraging them. We want people to get great exposure, sell their work, and be able to sustain their business. 

What is your game plan for year one? Any special events coming up that people should know about? After a two-and-a-half month build out, we are just thrilled to be open for business. Operating for about 6-weeks now, our grand opening will be the weekend of April 29 then it's full steam ahead. Our location does have a 20-year history as the Olde English Tea Room, and a very loyal following. That said, we intend to honor that history and will be continuing tea service, including afternoon or low-tea. Every Friday night we will be hosting our very own "Art on White" featuring one of our artists starting on May 5.

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Keep up to date with Sugar Magnolia Café by visiting their web page at www.sugarmagnoliacafe.com or follow along on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sugarmagnoliacafe


If you or someone you know would like to be featured in a monthly Five Questions With, please send an email to trianglearoundtown@gmail.com.