Ben Folds Returning to Meymandi Hall
On March 22 and 23, Ben Folds returns to his old stomping grounds to once again play with the North Carolina Symphony. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 6, at 10am.
Feist Coming to Memorial Auditorium
On Thursday, May 3, Leslie Feist will play Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium. She is on tour supporting her October release, Metals. No word on tix yet.
Railhawks ’12 Calendar Ready for Download
The Carolina Railhawks are returning Cary this summer! I’ve posted their schedule in many different formats for easy downloading to iPhones, Android Phones, Outlook, Google Calendar, and many, many more!
The calendars are available in the “Calendars” tab found at the top of the page at Gogoraleigh. Scroll down to “Carolina Railhawks Soccer 2012” and select your desired format.
A Revivalry?
The legendary basketball rivalry in the Triangle has always been State/Carolina. However since the Fire and Ice era, State has struggled with its basketball program, and the flower on that rivalry has faded. In the last 17 meetings, UNC has won 16 times. In NCSU era since Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning “travelled”, State has only beaten the Heels in 11 of the 45 meetings.
This year’s NCSU team, while not a factor nationally, has many quality tools and is showing that it can do many right things under new coach Mark Gottfried. With UNC’s uncertainty since the season-ending Strickland injury last Thursday, tonight’s matchup may be one of the most interesting games between the two in decades. It is one of the first times in a while that State fans can enter this game reasonably hoping for a win, and that makes this game a lot more fun.
I’ve said all season that State and Carolina will split their regular season series, but I think that State win will come in the second meeting. Though tonight’s game should be a good one worthy of ESPN’s hype last night. The game starts at 7pm and is on ESPN.
Elton John Returning to RBC Center
On Friday, March 16th, Elton John returns to Raleigh’s RBC Center. Tickets go on sale to the public next Friday (Jan 27) at 10am. However the best policy for getting tickets is certainly thru presales which will likely begin on Tuesday.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Put On Hold
Due to a crushed sesamoid bone and a detached flexor tendon in Anthony Kiedis’ foot, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are postponing a portion of their upcoming tour. This means that the January 27 date for the RBC Center has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 4, 2012. Tickets from the original date will be honored on the new date.
Lake Boone Trail Continues Backlog
Three years ago I posted about traffic problems on Lake Boone Trail causing significant backups for morning commuters on I-440. Afterward it appeared that adjustments had been made to the Lake Boone Trail light, but the relief was short-lived. Later I submitted this information to SeeClickFix, but it seems to be to no avail.
Yesterday this followup comment was posted to SeeClickFix:
It’s no secret to anyone that Lake Boone Trail needs serious reworking. However, during my visit to it this morning it seems that synchronizing the traffic lights at the Beltline exit with the one at Wycliff Rd would go a long way to smooth traffic flow.
It does not appear that these lights are in sync now so traffic goes in fits and starts, backing up traffic to the east on LBT and also up the off-ramp from the Beltline.
What do the folks in the City’s Traffic Engineering department say about this?
Good to see that someone else is noticing the problem, which really lies with the combination of the Lake Boone Trail lights at I-440 and the Wycliff intersections. Funny that more I-440 backups are caused by the Lake Boone Trail queue spilling over than the Wade Avenue backlog, but it’s true. This is a City of Raleigh problem causing problems on The State’s road. Perhaps provincial engineers are to blame, but the bottom line is that the situation has not improved.
Van Halen Coming to Greensboro
On Saturday, April 21, a guitarist who can actually play his instrument comes to the area. In support of their upcoming CD due February 7, Van Halen makes its return to Greensboro Coliseum with the same lineup from the 2007 reunion tour: Eddie, Alex, David Lee Roth, and Wolfgang Van Halen.
This will be one of two NC dates, as the band moves on to Charlotte for a show four nights later. While I’m ecstatic that the band has two dates in the state, why would they select Greensboro instead of Raleigh to balance the Charlotte date? Is it because of ticket sales in 2007? As I recall, Raleigh was added to the tour, so by the time we knew about a Raleigh date, we had all traveled to see the band. Additionally, our date was postponed not once, but twice because of Eddie’s treatment, so it’s hard to blame a public for losing confidence that the event will happen. Of course there are other factors (like promoter relationships with venues, the band’s album sales in each MSA, venue size, etc), and there is always the chance a date in between the two gets added, but I’m not betting on it.
No word on ticket sales yet.
Corrosion of Conformity Playing Lincoln
On Saturday, March 3, CoC returns! Playing the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh, Corrosion of Conformity will be supporting their self-titled CD (coming 2/28). Torche, Valient Thorr and A Storm Of Light open.
2012: The Endangered List
Now that we are done looking in the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on the year ahead. Each year new ideas and businesses bloom while other find themselves caught in inescapable traps. Some fall prey to bad locations, others to market redundancy, poor product, or poor service. Others are just obsolete.
In 2012 there will be some surprising big box store closings. There has been a concerted effort in previous years to buy local and shun the big boxes. However in 2012, larger market forces instead of grassroots organizations will probably be what shuts the doors for some of these outlets.
Here is a look ahead at the list of retail and restaurant businesses that have an aura of danger according to this one man’s senses (in no particular order, and no wishes associated):
- Best Buy
- Kmart
- Salsarita’s
- Taco Bell
- Dillard’s
- A.C. Moore
- Jibarra or Cantina South
- OfficeMax and Office Depot
- Cinelli’s (North Hills)
- QShack (North Hills)
- Fresh Market (Cameron Village)
- Charlotte’s (North Hills)
- Fiesta Mexicana
- Applebee’s (A few locations)
- Nowell’s
- Sam Ash or Guitar Center
- McCormick and Schmick’s
- Barnes & Noble (not all locations)
- The news staff at NBC17
Any thoughts or additions?
1/5/12 – Here are some more for the list:
- Radio Shack
- Pronto Pasta
- Bear Rock (Lake Boone)
1/16/12 – I completely forgot to add this one, but the last time I was in there the store was about 70% empty:
- Blockbuster Video – Townridge Square
I don’t mean to pick on these merchants, but if I had a gift certificate or significant savings coupon for any of these, I would probably go ahead and use them sooner than later.
Broughton Band Featured in Tournament of Roses Parade
Tomorrow morning (Monday) the Broughton Band will take another long-awaited step into the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA. The Golden Regiment first marched this parade in 2008 and ever since rumors have floated about the actual retirement date of the band’s director, Jeff Richardson (“JR”). It was this second shot for which JR held out, and it was completely worth the wait, according to JR. After becoming active in the hosting process of the parade in recent years, the band was invited to not only return to the parade, but to march in the parade’s coveted final band slot. JR’s retirement is for real, this time, however, as his replacement will take the reins on February 1..
The parade will be aired from 11am to 1pm. While NBC is the more prominent network covering the event, HGTV (TWC Channels 1350 and 350) blows NBC’s coverage away year after year. Not only is their commentary about the craft of each float superb, they also show the marching bands for more then 5 seconds each.
Take a look at the Broughton Band during their first pass of the Raleigh Christmas Parade six weeks ago:
Recent Stories
- Download the Wake County Schools’ 2017 Calendars July 20, 2016
- Hurricanes Tracking To Another City? June 7, 2016
- RDU Unveils Master Plan Paths June 1, 2016
- Take an Amtrak Getaway to…Durham April 22, 2016
- Summer ‘16 Promises Huge Concert Season April 19, 2016
- Publix Coming to Downtown Raleigh April 18, 2016
- Daniels Middle School to Build Skyboxes April 1, 2016
- North Carolina Scores Big in Beard Semifinalist List February 17, 2016
- 2015: A Year of Openings and Closings December 31, 2015
- Raleigh’s Top 30 Stories for 2015 December 31, 2015
- 16 Podcasts To Save You from Sports Radio October 23, 2015
- Public Meeting on Fairview Fire Station Coming Monday October 5, 2015
- Parade of Homes Begins Tomorrow October 2, 2015
- Oktoberfest Coming to Booth Amphitheatre This Weekend October 1, 2015
- Traffic Circles Removed from Currituck Design April 28, 2015
