The PopCulteer
November 6, 2009

Scenes Of Charleston

The Art Emporium plays host to the work of Clayton Spangler as they present “Scemes Of Charleston,” a collection of Spangler’s photographic paintings on canvas. A reception will be held at the eopening Friday night at from 5 PM to 8 PM. These are some amazing works. Check out the samples at right and below. You’ll see Spangler’s unique vision of recognizable Charleston locations such as The Blossom Deli, Taylor Books, The Capitol Market and more.


RIP Meuwl

Details are sketchy, but as we go to presss, word has reached us that Meuwl, half of The Rabble Rousers, who just performed Wednesday night at The Empty Glass, as passed away. We never got the chance to get to know Sam Harshbarger very well, and that’s our loss. We’d planned to record The Rabble Rousers this month for Radio Free Charleston. I’m sure they’ll be a memorial tribute show, and I’ll bring you news on that as soon as I get the details. Meanwhile, check out this video of the man in action, courtesy of James Vernon Brown, a frequent guest on RFC.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/dMiaATnBJsc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

A Double Dose Of Hardcore Wrestling

Get ready for short road trips to a couple of rare weekend shows from IWA East Coast as they invade Milton and Huntington on Friday and Saturday.

Tonight, round up the kids and head out to Milton for IWA EC’s big fith anniversary show. Legacy of Brutality: 5 Year Anniversary Show. IWA East Coast’s ”Legacy of Brutality” will be held Friday November 6th at Pumpkin Park in Milton,belltime is 7:30PM. This will be a special show celebrating 5 years of great entertainment from IWA:EC. Past and Present stars from IWA will be on hand!

The spectacular main event is the Big Japan Wrestling Deathmatch Title and it features the champ, Japanese icon Yuko Miyamoto facing IWA East Coast’s founding father, Madman Pondo. Adding to the excitement is the special referee, Hardcore Legend Terry Funkeen right). Funk was featured in the OSCAR-nominated documentary “Beyond The Mat” alongside Mick Foley and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Funk also has a Hollywood career, appearing with the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Patrick Swayze in the films, “F.I.S.T.” and “Roadhouse.” Funk will be signing autographs during a meet-and-greet before the show. Below you see Pondo with a buddy.

Of course, that’s not all. WWE Superstar Eugene will go up against Tracy Smothers, the legendary wrestler with roots in Nashville and Napoli. The Zero G Crown Championship will be a special four-way scaffolding match between Shiima Xion, Flip Kendrick, Facade and Zac Vincent. ‘Street Dog’ Jon Moxley will face off against ‘West Coast Icon “Supreme.”

There will also be the first-ever IWA:East Coast Over the Top Rope Elimination Rumble, which will feature several notable names from the history of IWA EC. In addition, fans will be treated to a rematch of the first IWA:East Coast match ever as one-legged wonder Zac Gowen goes against. El Drunko.

In tag-team action, Frightmare and Hallowicked meet Irish Airborne in one match, and we can expect unfathomable brutality as The Murder Junkies (The Juggulator, seen left, and Sam Hane) clash with the team of former IWA EC champ Trik Nasty and TJ Phillips.

Pumpkin Park is located at 1 Pumpkin Way in Milton WV. Directions- I-64 Milton Exit 28, South towards town to light, Right on Rt. 60, Apx 3/4 Mile to light beside Rite Aid, Left on Bill Blenko Rd, Pumpkin Park on left. Tickets are $25 for front row seats, $20 ringside and $15 for general admission.

The Masters of Pain Invitational 2009 takes place at the Douglass Center in Huntington, WV. Belltime is 7:30PM. This is the annual hardcore wrestling gore fest that has established IWA East Coast internationally as one of the most brutal wrestling federations in existence. The eight particiapants this year are Yuko Miyamot, Drake Younger, Danny Havoc, Madman Pondo, Supreme, Devon Moore, Masada and Sami Callihan.

This is not wrestling for the squeamish John Cena fan. This is the real stuff. Eight men participate in the most violent matches imaginable. Blood, and possibly body parts, will be flying. At the end of the night one man will still be standing. The other seven will have been dispatched with extreme violence. The crowd will be spent, traumatized and have their bloodlust sated for one more year.

You can find directions to The Douglas Center here. Tickets are $25 for front row seats, $20 ringside and $15 for general admission.

Weekend Music Highlights

We’re doing this hit-and-run style this week, so get ready…

Holy Cow is at Bruno’s, 222 Leon Sullivan Way, Friday night at 9 PM. There is no cover and the food is mighty tasty.

Voices Of Anatole, Elysium and Linework bring their heavy sounds to The Blue Parrot, 14 Capitol Street, at 10 PM. $5 cover gets you in to bang your heads all night.

The Fabulous Brothers Steel come to The Empty Glass, with Radio Free Charleston guests (look for them on the show next week) The ButtonFlies. The cover is the EG variable $5 to $8 and the show kicks off at 10:30 PM.

Saturday, Tofujitsu caps off a cool day of independent bookseller events at Taylor Books. These RFC favorites start at 7:30 PM. There is no cover.

Also at 7:30 PM at the Walker Theater in The Clay Center, the Woody Hawley Concert Series presents The Dreamsicles, with opening act RFC guest and friend Paul Calicoat . Details are at this link.

Later Saturday, dueling shows also feature Radio Free Charleston guests. Diablo Blues Band and The Drunken Gentlemen are at The Blue Parrot with Whisker Biscuit at 10 PM for five bucks, while The Empty Glass presents the Latin sounds of Comparsa with The Peruvian Trio at 10 PM for the EG sliding cover.

Eventually…

…The PopCulteer will return to normal, and we’ll also bring you the long-promised extended production notes for the RFC Halloween show, but thats not going to happen this week. I’ve been dealing with a family health emergency, and that’s eaten up my writing time. So keep checking back. Monday Morning Art, the Cool Comic Of The Week and expanded coverage of the local art scene will return to PopCult next week.