Shakedown Street:
A Great Local Hang Out
Laurel Norwod, Contributing Writer
Looking for a low-key place to
eat with friends? Or maybe you want
to find a new bar close to home with
exciting, new local artists. Shakedown
Street combines both of these aspects
at one great location. Their slogan,
“Food - Drink - Music - Good Vibes”,
is a true representation of their estab
lishment.
Shakedown Street is also close
to Meredith College. It is located at the
site of the old Marrakesh Cafe at 2500
Hillsborough Street, just past Five
O’clock Sports Bar. Parking is avail
able on the side of Hillsborough St. or
you can take the bus or maybe even
take one of Meredith’s new Zipcars.
Shakedown Street is open from 8pm to
12am Sunday through Wednesday; on
Saturdays they extend their hours and
are open until 2 am. These hours are
just right for the college student who
needs an early evening or late night
break.
Shakedown Street offers a grill
menu including pitas, burgers, and hot
dogs. It offers great vegetarian options
as well, such as veggie burgers and
hummus and sprouts. My personal
favorite is their 420 Special: they offer
a quarter-pound burger or hot dog
with chips and a drink for only $4.20.
Nothing on their menu is above $6,
which makes eating out with friends easy
and fun without breaking the bank.
One of Shakedown’s best features is
their ability to bring in great local art
ists. This combined with their compre
hensive drink menu makes Shakedown a
great place to go out with friends. Every
Wednesday is Open Mike Night, when
anyone can show off their talents. On
Sundays, they have Sucker Free Sun
days, when young rap artists come and
battle it out on the stage. Every other
day, they have artists such as Dirty Feat,
Allies Emerge, and Wide Eyed Mischief
perform, all new bands that are up-and-
coming in the Raleigh music scene. The
mood is always relaxing since an eclectic
group of people come to listen to brand
new music, move to the hip beats, and
enjoy drinks for a reasonable price.
Shakedown’s drink menu is affordable
and has something for everyone. Bottled
beer, draft beer, wine, mixed drinks, malt
beverages, water, and soda are all avail
able, and draft beers can be purchased by
the pitcher. Local beers are also offered,
including Bad Penny and other Big Boss
Brewing Company beers.
After a long day at school and
work, relaxing at Shakedown Street is an
enjoyable way to end the day. Come relax
and enjoy the great music while support-
ing local businesses, bands, and beer.
30 Americans:
Bridging the
Generationai Gap
Ashleigh Phillips, Staff Writer
The most recent traveling
exhibition to stop through North
Carolina Museum of Art is 30 Ameri
cans presented by the Rubell Family
Collection of Miami. It arrived on
March 19 and will no doubt draw
visitors until it leaves on Septem
ber 4. This popularity is because the
collection features 31 contemporary
African American artists that are
working to usher in a new movement.
The collection of seventy five works
includes painting, drawing, photog
raphy, video, sculpture, and mixed
media from established artists and
the up-and-coming artists inspired by
their predecessors work. 30 Ameri
cans is exciting because the influence
of an older generation of artists on the
current generation is clearly seen and
validates the new movement.
When the up-and-coming
artists were asked about artists they
admired, Carrie Mae Weems and Jean
Michel Basquiat were on many lists,
so, while not contemporary, Weems
and Basquiat were included in the
exhibit. Weems’s contribution of
monochromatic color prints focuses
on the effect of slavery on the African
American identity. “Descending the
Throne” presents the viewer with the
stereotypes African American men
and women faced before and after the
Emancipation Proclamation. While
race is clearly a theme in Weems’s
works, Basquiat’s abstract paintings
offer conflict in another way. “Bird
On Money” pops with happy blue and
yellow, but a bombardment of squiggled
peace signs and arrows suggest turmoil.
Modern artists such as Glenn
Ligon, David Hammons, and Xaviera
Simmons also offer up their interpreta
tions of what it is to be African Ameri
can. Ligon has ten pieces in the collec
tion including a neon sign that shines
“America” and two paintings that depict
narratives of African Americans at
tempting to reconnect with their Afri
can roots. “Gold Nobody Knew Me #1”
asserts the detachment African Ameri
cans have with Africa, and “Gold When
Black Wasn’t Beautiful #1” explores the
misunderstanding in the older Afri
can American community for younger
generations to strive for that attach
ment. Hammons takes a nontraditional
approach to African American identity
with his installation of “The Holy Bible,
Old Testament” which is a black leather
bound Bible. Xaviera Simmons uses
the traditional medium of photography
to capture evocative subjects in her six
contributions to 30 Americans. In “One
Day and Back Then (Seated)” and “One
Day and Back Then (Standing)” Sim
mons juxtaposes the darkness of Black
skin against light wheat fields, calling at
tention to the African American physical
appearance.
In 30 Americans, all-American
nationality is a matter of fact, but racial
identity is a question. The multi-gen
erational and diverse-media exhibition
offers fresh perspectives on past and
contemporary racial issues in the United
States.
Crossword Answer Key:
Across
Down
1. MASON
2. FLAN
4. TALES
3. SAM
5. CRAZY
5. CRICKET
6. LAKES
7. FRATERNAL
8. RINGO
10. MECCA
9. CURIE
13. PAX
11. FATALE
14. SUSAN
12. ALMA
16. TSETSE
15. TENNIS
17. PYRE
17- POP