Summer has really sunk its fiery teeth into dear old Durham, but with some help you will have no problem staying cool and hip under the southern sun. With free live hip-hop, West African grooves and phantasmagorical beer, The Chronicle’s Julian Spector knows what you should be doing this weekend.
Thursday:
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Art of Cool at the Stack presents LiLa, 5-7 p.m. at the American Tobacco Campus. This is a free live-music happy hour event, so head to ATC’s Lucky Strike smoke stack for some outdoor food, drink, tunes and good cheer. The band plays hip hop with elements of folk rock, perfect for chilling on a nice summer evening.
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Language of Angels at Common Ground Theatre, 7:30 p.m. This is a ghost story play set in rural North Carolina that utilizes Japanese Noh theater techniques to do its thing. The story involves a bunch of youths who go into a dark cave to party, except one of them never resurfaces. And the rest find their fates tied up in that loss. Sounds haunting, spooky and darn intriguing. Common Ground Theater is an intimate venue just about ten minutes up Hillsborough Road from East Campus—easily accessible by car. The play is only showing through this weekend, so head over before the ghosts vanish.
Friday:
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Africa Unplugged with Kata Band at Casbah, 9 p.m. Seven-member band Africa Unplugged will be playing a high energy show just down Main Street from East Campus. If you think you know dancing from the musical repertoire of Shooters, then try moving your body to the rolling polyrhythms of a West African djembe orchestra.
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Fast and Furious 6 at local movie theaters. Before we get too lost in the cosmos of arts and culture, I figured I’d throw in a bit of popcorn culture. I’ve only seen a bit of the first Fast and Furious, the part where Vin Diesel says, “You can have whatever beer you like, as long as it’s Corona.” If that’s not summer movie pedigree, I don’t know what is. This fifth sequel promises more of the winning formula—explosive car chases, gun battles and a bunch of finely toned action heroes having fun together. There should be air conditioning involved too, if you’re at the right theater.
Saturday:
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Durham Pub Crawl and Haunted Adventure Tour, 7:30 p.m. at Tyler’s Tap Room. Have you ever wished you could explore Durham’s most haunted locations, but worried you wouldn’t be allowed to drink beer while doing so? If so, consider this offering from Tobacco Road Tours, which will take you to four Durham pubs and four haunted locations in just 2.5 hours, all for a hauntingly reasonable $20. See http://www.tobaccoroadtours.com/durham-pub-crawl-haunted-adventure-tour/ for more info.
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