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Categories
Living

We love this town: A moment like this

Illustration: Thomas James

A Charlottesville moment. It’s not an imaginative thing to name it, I know, but what else can you call those times when you’re talking to a server at Skybar for 10 minutes before you realize you grew up down the street from her and the two of you built an igloo with your siblings during the blizzard of 1996 before she moved away, only to move back to town three months before you did? Oh, and she’s married to the photographer you interviewed for a story last week, her mom is your realtor, and her little sister made the cappuccino you drank this morning at Mudhouse. And then your friend arrives and says, “Wait, how do you two know each other?”

O.K., I embellished that one. But it’s not that far from reality. It’s also not really an exaggeration to say I moved back here because of Charlottesville moments. I was born in the city, raised on a county mountainside, and moved to New Jersey with my family when I was still in high school. And while I’ll defend my adopted state to the hilt—I swear, it’s way better than what you see from the Turnpike—this place has always been home for me, and a place I wanted to end up. And the feeling that I’m always about to run into a friend here is a big reason why.

I’m well aware that what draws me to this town is the same thing that drove a lot of people I grew up with to flee to far-off cities where they don’t know every third person on the street, where there’s almost no chance they’ll run into their eighth grade history teacher, and where the owner of the local video store isn’t the father of their classmate since kindergarten.

But I love it. And the fact that there always seems to be no more than two degrees of separation between you and the person next to you on the trolley is more than just a charming side effect of settling in a city this size. Especially for somebody just beginning to take a stab at some serious adult milestones—like buying a house, which my husband and I just crossed off the list—the web of human connections is something of a safety net.

Banker, realtor, insurance broker. Home inspector, attorney. The kind woman in the public works department who reassures me when I call in a panic that no, I’m not in danger of blowing up my house if the pilot light goes out in my hot water heater. If I’m not on a first-name basis with them already, I can be pretty sure someone I know is. It makes all of us that much more likely to go a little further to help out the person on the other side of the counter or the other end of the phone line, and that much more likely to get a smile back. We follow up, we ask about kids and spouses, we look out for each other.

It’s the essence of community, really. It makes a place feel like home. And it makes life so much sweeter.

Categories
Arts

We love this town: All roads lead to Charlottesville

Charlottesville got its hooks in me at a relatively early age. During my high school years I visited frequently, after my grade school best friend relocated here from the wild hills of West Virginia, where we shared our hippie youth.
As the child of a folk singer, I was happily bounced around the East Coast as my father played the game of a touring artist signed to RCA in the early 1970s. Eventually the road “became an impossible way of life” (to quote Robbie Robertson), and we settled like settlers on a remote mountain farm in Monroe County, West Virginia.

There my family took on the “newcomers” label and joined the back-to-the-land movement. After years without running water or electricity, my parents, and most of the hippies, gave up on the dream and migrated back to their cities of birth. This landed me in Lowell, Massachusetts for the formative high school years.

While huddling in the freezing temps under the Lowell High clock tower (also the centerpiece of Kerouac’s Maggie Cassidy), I longed for my Southern days and missed the familiar comfort of a hard but slow pronunciation of the letter “r.” School and summer breaks were spent taking trips south of the Mason-Dixon line, many of them to Charlottesville to visit my old pals.

When college loomed, I developed a longing for the West Coast and gathered up some brave friends to hostel surf across the country in a 1977 Mercury Monarch. We landed in San Francisco, and I stayed through college and into an early career in the live entertainment world. As the one family member without musical talent, I gravitated to the business side and wound up at the world-famous founding father of concert promotion, Bill Graham Presents. I also did a few years’ work in ticketing and at the music publication BAM Magazine. Through the West Coast years, I frequently returned to Charlottesville—even if it was only to stock up on decent wine and gourmet groceries before heading into the backwoods that was once my childhood home.

The gourmet groceries were an omen that was not revealed until I met my husband. A culinary grad who wanted to explore and experience all that the gastronomy of San Francisco had to offer, Michael and I became the perfect team for a night on the town. I had the hottest tickets and he knew the hottest restaurants, and our world was full of oysters.

This decadent lifestyle moved us from San Francisco to Napa Valley, Virginia Beach, and New York, and our careers took on a new theme. While Michael worked through the kitchen ranks, my passion for food and wine evolved with time spent living in Napa Valley and working in the wine industry. I handled 14 restaurant clients as a publicist in New York and also contributed to a weekly food column.

When the time came to raise a family, we pondered the map. I wanted a scenic, temperate place with great schools, and he wanted a food scene on the rise and no earthquakes. Charlottesville was the perfect choice (we didn’t yet know about the earthquakes) and we relocated here in 2004. A C’ville resident at last, I put down roots immediately by using my second child as an anchor baby, so the “newcomer” label need not be applied.

As a young parent with lots of live event experience, I was fortunate that a beautiful small town like Charlottesville had such a thriving art and music scene, not to mention the culinary trends that were starting to emerge. I landed a gig with another world-famous music mogul, Coran Capshaw, and spent four years with Starr Hill Presents, followed by 18 wonderful months at The Paramount Theater. When the budget axe fell, fate took another turn and I made a graceful transition (courtesy of my esteemed editor-in-chief) to Arts Editor at C-VILLE Weekly, where I now have the job I’ve always (but never knew) I wanted.

In the meantime, my husband navigated the culinary landscape, working with some of the top restaurants in town, until he gained enough traction to open our own place, tavola, in 2009.

In the years since we’ve made Charlottesville our home, the community has proven to be all that we’d hoped for and more: a small city with big city attributes, smart, conscientious and contentious citizens, with enough traffic, crime, and earthquakes to keep us on our toes.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Mingo Fishtrap

Summer temps rise when Mingo Fishtrap rolls its soul-filled funk through the Pavilion on Friday. (Publicity photo)

Friday 8/24

Stir the beans

With a recipe to rock your soul, Mingo Fishtrap cooks up down ‘n’ dirty, gutbucket, nawlins-style grooves topped with a flourish of Motown. The Austin, Texas, act is heavy with horns and a ready rhythm section, and ass-shakin’ is the name of the game at the next installment of the Fridays After Five music series. Free, 5pm. nTelos Wireless Pavilion,
700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4910.

Categories
Living

Fur keeps: Getting pets and kids off on the right paw

Photo by Cramer Photo.

“Oh, he lets them do anything,” boasts my client while her two kids play tug-of-war with a hound dog’s ears in the exam room. Judging by the nonplussed expression on the poor creature’s face (and the complete lack of expression in his tail), I suspect she’s right. He will let them do anything. But it really seems to be more out of resignation than appreciation.

Pets and kids can make for extraordinary friends. Apart from the simple joy of having a fuzzy playmate, pets also bring unique lessons in compassion and responsibility which can shape children for a lifetime. If these relationships are going to develop in a safe, loving, and rewarding way, it is important that they begin with mutual respect and understanding. Because while many animals will politely tolerate a good yank of the tail now and then, it’s safe to say they’d rather not.

Of course, children don’t do these things out of malice. Older children may just forget that while they enjoy a friendly wrestling match with a sibling, the dog may not be in the mood for a half nelson. Younger children may simply not have the control to express their enthusiasm properly, resulting in four knocks to the cat’s head instead of a gentle scratch between the ears. It is important to spend time teaching children how to approach pets calmly and quietly, and always from the front to avoid unintentional surprises. And children should learn to understand that when dogs and cats run off to be alone, it’s because they want to be alone. Not only will this keep your pet happier, but it will keep your child safer, especially if she meets a less gracious animal elsewhere.

It’s not just the kids that need some guidance when bringing pets into the family. Animals need to learn a few ground rules, too, and the children should be as involved as possible in the training process. It is important for animals to recognize that commands from children are just as important as commands from adults. Feeding time is a perfect opportunity to drive this home. Put kids in charge of this simple duty, and have them issue simple commands like “sit” and “down” before setting down the bowl. Not only is it good training practice, but it will establish the proper lines of trust and respect between your child and your pet. And if you plan on signing up for training classes (which is a great idea for most dogs), ask if children are welcome to join.

Veterinary visits are another chance to bring kids into the fold, increasing their sense of responsibility and ownership of the family pet, and making the experience more rewarding than just another stop on the family’s to-do list. Encourage children to come up with their own questions and concerns when the next appointment rolls around. Some of the most interesting questions I’ve been asked come from children (and I fondly recall one polite child raising his hand through the entire appointment until it finally dawned on me to “call on” him).

As with any other friendship, the bond between animals and children is strongest when it runs both ways. Laying the proper groundwork at the start can help make sure the years to come are healthy and positive for everybody involved.

Dr. Mike Fietz is a small animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 2003, and has lived in Charlottesville since. Got a question for Dr. Fietz? E-mail mike@c-ville.com.

Categories
News

Sullivan speaks with press on Carr’s Hill

UVA President Teresa Sullivan
UVA President Teresa Sullivan speaks with reporters on August 21. Photo: Graelyn Brashear.

It was hard not to draw comparisons yesterday when UVA President Teresa Sullivan met with reporters on Carr’s Hill—her first press conference since she was forced out and then reinstated this summer.

Back in June, managing a press corps swollen with TV and print journalists from Washington and beyond became several staffers’ full-time jobs. There were days when a new statement seemed to come every hour, and the tension, technology, and overflow crowd that enabled live coverage of that final June 26 meeting possible made the Rotunda basement feel like the White House briefing room.

Yesterday’s gathering—a relaxed affair in the president’s own home, attended by about a dozen reporters—was a palate-cleanser, of sorts. Come. Have a seat in my foyer. Let’s talk, and get the summer out of our systems, shall we?

Which isn’t to say there weren’t serious topics on the table. Sullivan’s relationship with the Rector and Board members who tried to force her out (they’re “working hard to have a productive relationship,” said the president), Board governance (there’s some courageous examining of process going on, she said), and Chief Operating Officer Michael Strine’s sudden departure (no more specifics there, but the committee that hired him has been reconvened) all came up.

When asked about the questions raised over Strine’s loyalty and the administrative chain of command during his brief tenure, Sullivan made it clear that his replacement will report directly to her. “And I’ll make it clearer if need be,” she said.

In the meantime, there’s been a reshuffling to fill the gap he’s left. The three University Vice Presidents who previously reported to Strine report to Sullivan, and the staff who were under him report to Vice President for Management and Budget Colette Sheehy.

More shakeups are afoot.

“I’d say the biggest long-term issue as we roll out the strategic plan for the University Medical Center, the way in which the governance of the Medical Center may be affected,” Sullivan said. “I can’t tell you what that may be, because I don’t know myself.”

The University knows all eyes are on it, and on its president. Not just the students, who Sullivan said have figured out which exercise machines she favors at the gym, and would probably notice if she jaywalked on the Corner. Not just alumni, who helped push recent fundraising efforts past targets with gifts, including many offered in the president’s name. And not just the local press, dutifully assembled in folding chairs, recorders and cameras at the ready.

UVA’s troubles—and its efforts to rise above them—are reflective of challenges all of higher education is facing today, Sullivan said. More than ever, the University is a bellwether, “and it’s a mistake not to think that everyone’s watching.”

Categories
Living

Virginia Craft Brewers Fest caps a month-long celebration of local beer

Photo: John Robinson

Crafty brewers
Every month’s a good month to celebrate Virginia’s ever-growing craft beer movement, but this month it’s official. And what better way to commemorate Virginia Craft Beer month than with the First Annual Virginia Craft Brewers Fest on Saturday, August 25 (Sunday if it rains) from 2 to 8pm at Devils Backbone Brewing Company. A cup (the trophy kind) will be awarded to the best overall brewery as well as the top picks in five categories: Pale Ale, Belgian-style, Lager, Dark Beer, and Specialty Beer. Expect beer tastings from 20 area breweries, live music, and tasty, local eats from The Rock Barn. Purchase tickets in advance at virginiacraftbrewersfest.com and pay only $10—the price is doubled at the door. Kids under 12 are free, and VIP packages, which include camping and RV passes, are available, so you can whoop it up the whole weekend long.

Little Sichuan
Charlottesville’s got another authentic Sichuan restaurant to call its own. Early this month, Gingko opened on the Corner’s 14th Street in the old Ni Hao Café space, and diners are already clamoring for owner Sophie Yang’s specialities, perfected by growing up in Chengdu (Sichuan’s capital) and her previous job in the bustling kitchen at Peter Chang’s China Grill. The 50-seat space serves lunch and dinner (including an $8 takeout special) cooked by an all-Sichuan staff. Try the steamed chicken with chili sauce or the Sichuan pork platter—thin pieces of pork wrapped around cool cucumber all heated up with a spicy garlic sauce. A beer and wine license is in the works, so pumpkin cake will suffice for now. And what about the restaurant’s name? Yang’s son, Paul Chen, who is a UVA alum, explained that not only is the gingko tree one of Chengdu’s most common trees, but it also has Charlottesville ties: Jefferson brought the tree to America and the largest one on Grounds has stood there since 1860. History, botany, and food unite.

Categories
News

Young UVA researchers share their labs’ hidden treasures

Newts in UVA lab
UVA graduate Anna Greenlee wears a rubber glove when handling her rough-skinned newts, each of which contains enough toxin in its skin to kill 12 grown men. Photo by Laura Ingles.

Tucked away in a chilly corner room in Gilmer Hall are rows of plastic aquariums, each home to a rough-skinned newt with enough toxin in its skin to kill up to 12 grown men. The poisonous amphibians are just one example of research quietly moving forward on Grounds thanks to the work of young, passionate scientists.

Gilmer is also a home away from home for UVA graduate Anna Greenlee and Ph.D. candidate Karen Kubow, who spend their days examining live specimens in the University’s biology department. While their projects may not get much press, the young researchers get a kick out of their work, and think it’s important to share it with the public.

Greenlee, a recent UVA biology grad, has spent most of her summer treating the newts’ water with antibiotics to determine whether the deadly nature of their skin is due to bacteria. Researchers change the water every three days and test fecal samples once a month, looking for a telltale drop in bacteria levels among treated newts, which could bear evolutionary implications for other species.

The work is labor-intensive, Greenlee said, but she loves it. “Both my parents are biologists,” she explained with a shrug. When she was a kid, she played with a microscope instead of video games.

Down the hall, Kubow, who already has an undergraduate and master’s degree in environmental science under her belt, is working toward a Ph.D. in ecology. She recently received a grant to study the American Bellflower, which appears to be in the process of splitting into two separate species. Cross-breeding the two genetically different wildflowers can result in albino offspring, which cannot photosynthesize and immediately die.

Kubow wants to determine which genetic combinations result in healthy hybrids, and regularly checks on her green and white seedlings in the fridge.

Kubow said she loves solving the puzzle of scientific research and answering the ever-present question “Why?”

“The moment when you discover something new, that no one else knows, is every exciting,” she said.

But Kubow said being a young scientist is not always easy. Grants, which are essential in funding academic research, are not always easy to get a hold of, and Kubow said she was relieved when her recent project was approved for funding.

She said she appreciates the recognition her department gets in the academic community, but wouldn’t mind seeing more interest from those who might never have ventured into the bowels of the biology building.

“I have always felt that as scientists we could do a better job of communicating our work to the general public,” she said. “There is always room for improvement.”

Categories
Arts

Natalie Cole anchors The Paramount Theater’s new season

The Paramount Theater took advantage of its glamorous décor and big screen to announce the upcoming 2012-13 season during a festive preview party on Monday night.  The red carpet was rolled out and movie star look-a-likes greeted guests under the marquee. A retrospective of the theater was shown before Executive Director Chris Eure took the stage to introduce the event line-up by greeting the crowd, touting the arts and then stated, “Now we’re going to get fancy!”   Theater supporters and community members watched as the new season was revealed in video clips followed by a surprise ending when Paramount Idol winner Jennifer Stuart (backed by The Design) performed a rendition of “Unforgettable” to reveal an appearance by quiet storm chart-topper Natalie Cole.

The Paramount line-up also features country classic Don Williams, political satire from The Capitol Steps, Ted Neely of Jesus Christ Superstar movie fame, a series of MET Opera broadcasts, comedians on the stand-up circuit including Paula Poundstone and holiday film classics such as Carrie and The Exorcist for Halloween, along with It’s A Wonderful Life in December.  Seasonal traditions continue with the Oratorio Society’s Christmas at The Paramount, Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker and the addition of Ash Lawn Opera’s Amahl and The Night Visitors. The venue’s education series will offer public performances for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Velveteen Rabbit, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Step Africa. More details and ticket information can be found at www.theparamount.net.

Categories
Arts

Best of C-VILLE 2012: Entertainment

Publicity photo

From the best place for karaoke to your favorite local blog, here are the top picks in the local entertainment scene. 

 JUMP TO:
Music venue
Place to dance
Place to look at art
Place for karaoke
Place to watch the game
Annual festival
Movie theater
Musical group
Singer/songwriter
Local play or musical
Visual artist
Local photographer
Live DJ
Local comedian
Local radio station
Local radio personality
Local blog
Place to throw a kid’s party

MUSIC VENUE
The Jefferson
110 E. Main St., 245-4980
Runner-up: nTelos Wireless Pavilion
700 E. Main St., 245-4900
It’s true what they say: Good things come in small packages. With the Jeff’s capacity for 750 music lovers (compared to the Pavilion’s 3,500), it’s not exactly an intimate gathering, but being close to the stage makes seeing your favorite band monumental. This past year, The Head and the Heart, Mac Miller, and Passion Pit (to name a few) brought the house down. At the Pavilion, The Avett Brothers, Pretty Lights, and Bonnie Raitt stole the show.
 
PLACE TO DANCE
The Jefferson
110 E. Main St., 245-4980
Runner-up: The X Lounge
313 Second St. SE, 244-8439
Seems to us the slanted floor at The Jefferson might hinder your ability to bust a move (would you moonwalk uphill or down?), but we’ll chalk your votes up to the groove-inducing musical acts that pass through the Downtown venue. Across the tracks, X Lounge marks the spot. DJ Pride keeps you on the dance floor until 2am every Friday and Saturday.
 
PLACE TO LOOK AT ART
McGuffey Art Center
201 Second St. NW, 295-7973
Runner-up: The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA
155 Rugby Rd., 924-3592
Located inside a nearly 100-year-old building, McGuffey Art Center, as readers keenly observe, has it all. The gallery features art in all mediums from glass and sculpture to photography and mixed media. But it’s also a good place to get help on your own masterpiece. This past spring, the center offered a free open critique for budding Basquiats. On Grounds, the Fralin hosted such exhibits as “The Dancer and the Dance” (prints, drawings, and photographs in honor of renowned choreographer Bill T. Jones’ residency), “The Adoration of the Magi” by Bartolo di Fredi, and, more recently, Emilio Sanchez’s “Cityscapes.”
 
PLACE FOR KARAOKE
Fellini’s #9
200 W. Market St., 979-4279
Runner-up: Baja Bean Co.
1327 W. Main St., 293-4507
Karaoke is a Japanese word meaning “empty orchestra.” So, technically, your winner in this category doesn’t exactly fit the bill. With live tunes courtesy of Retrospective Collective (as opposed to recorded music), Fellini’s Thursday karaoke night (from 10pm-1am) isn’t empty at all. In fact, it’s usually packed. Even at Baja Bean, your runner-up, you don’t have to go it alone. Karaoke jockey Steve Miller has been propping up brave rockstar wannabes for more than 10 years.
 
PLACE TO WATCH THE GAME
Boylan Heights
102 14th St. NW, 984-5707
Runner-up: Wild Wing Café
820 W. Main St., 979-9464
And now, a joke. How many TVs does it take to watch a game at your favorite local bar? According to you folks, at least 20. Corner burger joint Boylan boasts that many, perfectly situated for maximum viewing capacity, and you can ask your server to change the channel to your preferred game. Over at Wild Wing, the train station chicken spot has 32 screens and “full restaurant game sound,” which means you’d have to try pretty hard to miss the big play, even if you’re sucking on a chicken bone.
 
ANNUAL FESTIVAL
Virginia Film Festival
Runner-up: Dogwood Festival
We love our flicks, as evidenced by the annual Virginia Film Festival’s growth over the last 24 years. Each VFF lights up the town with big names and daring films. Hold on to your hats, because it returns in November for its 25th anniversary. On a different note, the yearly Dogwood Festival is a family affair; a laid-back cruise through what makes Charlottesville like Mayberry. The fest includes a carnival, benefit breakfasts, a parade, memorials, and the crowning of a Dogwood Queen. If it got any more wholesome, we’d make it into a sandwich.
 
MOVIE THEATER
Vinegar Hill Theatre
220 W. Market St., 977-4911
Runner-up: Regal Downtown Mall 6
200 W. Main St., 979-7857
Like a fine wine, Vinegar Hill gets better with age. The 36-year-old theater continues to offer long runs of fan favorites. This past year, that meant My Week With Marilyn and Midnight in Paris. On the Downtown Mall, Regal takes the runner-up slot. When the Stonefield development on Hydraulic opens, though, there could there be a newcomer to this category.
 
MUSICAL GROUP
Sons of Bill
Runner-up: Love Canon
A good band’s hard to find. And, when you do, it’s hard to let go. Alt-country crooners Sons of Bill hasn’t been around much lately, instead spending time touring everywhere from Philly to Athens (Georgia, y’all!) to promote its newest album, Sirens, which debuted in the Billboard Top 200. Best of C-VILLE newcomer Love Canon combines conservatory-trained musicians with popular ’80s covers, and they throw in a sense of humor for good measure—the band’s first album, which debuted this past April, is titled Greatest Hits: Vol. 1.
 
SINGER/SONGWRITER
Terri Allard
Runner-up: Sarah White
Sisters are doin’ it for themselves! Raspy troubadour and current host of WHTJ show “Charlottesville Inside-Out,” Terri Allard takes home the gold. Though it’s been six years since her last album release, Live from Charlottesville, she’s still high on the list of great local performers. Sarah White, who has mostly fronted her band, The Pearls, lately, got the second most votes. Having started in country, becoming more eclectic as her talents grew, White continues to kick out strong songs on her frequent stops on area stages.
 
LOCAL PLAY OR MUSICAL
Fiddler on the Roof at Albemarle High School
Runner-up: The Producers at Live Arts
Seems this is becoming somewhat of a, ahem, tradition, as the Albemarle Players —AHS’ award-winning drama troupe, led by Fay Cunningham—wins the category again this year. The show’s four-day run this past May proved a good, ahem, match for audiences. Downtown, Live Arts’ extra large production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers featured 23 local actors during a month-long run.
 
VISUAL ARTIST
Sharon Shapiro
Runner-up: Matt Kleberg
Sharon Shapiro scores with art fans again. Shapiro’s recent work involves mashing up her subjects on canvas and combining portraits with images of animals. Matt Kleberg lends his subjects, lately cowboys and horses, just enough abstraction to make them compelling and complex.
 
LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Sarah Cramer Shields
Runner-up: Jen Fariello
You know what they say: Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life. When it comes to these two women, truer words were never spoken. Both launched their own passion projects this past year —foodie blog Beyond the Flavor for Shields (co-created with her friend and fellow photog Andrea Hubbell) and an Art of Photography learning series for Fariello. Both have been met with considerable enthusiasm. We should all be so lucky.
 
LIVE DJ
Derek Tobler
Runner-up: Rob Bedford (DJ XSV)
In the immortal words of Madonna, music makes the people come together. Of course, a good beat doesn’t happen on its own. This year, Derek Tobler moved the party crowd. With more than 15 years of experience at his fingertips, Tobler knows it takes more than a few Top 40 hits to get the party started, which is why he also furnishes flatscreen TVs with dance floor music videos, high-end sound equipment, and an LED lighting system. Runner-up Rob Bedford (a.k.a. DJ XSV) has been busy with the ladies (specifically, his twin baby girls), but managed to squeeze in a gig at Bonnaroo in June.
 
LOCAL COMEDIAN
Stevie Jay
Runner-up: Leah Woody
What does Stevie Jay, who performed his multi-chakra experience Life, love, sex, death, and other works in progress at The Bridge/Progressive Arts Initiative this past April, say is his secret to success? “To make sure I am baring my soul at all times. And then if that doesn’t work, I know I can always just whip off my shirt and bare my chest. That’s a sure-fire winner every time!” “Classy broad of comedy” Leah Woody is considerably more modest, and you can catch her performing stand-up with the Charlottesville Comedy Roundtable.
 
LOCAL RADIO STATION
106.1 The Corner
Runner-up: 91.9 WNRN
If you’re hearing “We Are Young” by Fun or Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” chances are you’re tuned in to 106.1. Of course, we can’t blame them for that—those songs are playing everywhere. What’s good about your fave local station is that it also mixes in the up-and-comers, like Of Monsters and Men or The Lumineers. Runner-up WNRN boasts a lineup of “modern rock with no commercials,” and some easy-listening tunes every morning, hosted by Anne Williams.
 
LOCAL RADIO PERSONALITY
Brad Savage
Runner-up: Jay James
His name might be “Savage,” but Brad’s actually just your average charismatic music super-fan, sent from the Twin Cities to bring sweet tunes to C’ville listeners. We suspect that’s why you’ve put him at the top of your list again this year, followed closely by runner-up Jay James. Jay’s “Best Seat in the House” (his nightly WINA sports talk show) has been catching you up on the local jock beat for almost three years.
 
LOCAL BLOG
cvillenews.com
Runner-up: mastomillers.com
One-man news team Waldo Jaquith of cville news.com has been a local blogger since before blogging was blogging. Jaquith is a tech geek and an activist at heart, so it’s no wonder that his current project, Statedecoded.com, is an online resource for making sense of Virginia laws. At the other end of the blog spectrum is Mas To Miller’s, an inquisitive—and sometimes blunt —ticker of the local restaurant scene. Make a note of its Food Finds, which highlight signature dishes around town, and Vegan Reviews, to see how local eateries fare in the vegan challenge. Their vegans loved BBQ Exchange. Who knew?
 
PLACE TO THROW A KID’S PARTY
Bounce-n-Play
Seminole Square Shopping Center, 973-1111
Runner-up: ACAC Adventure Central
200 Four Seasons Dr., 978-7529
What does a kid like more than bouncing around? Bouncing around with friends. Your winner offers themed parties that culminate in a giant bouncefest at the Seminole Square location. Choose from popular themes like “Mad Science,” “Cuddly Critter,” or “Nerf” and Bounce-n-Play will do the rest, right down to the cupcakes. You also have your choice of themes at runner-up Adventure Central, at ACAC’s Four Seasons Drive location: Sports Mania (basketball, soccer, dodgeball), Princess (nail painting and jewelry making), or dance (musical games and new moves).

Categories
Arts

A look back at some of Charlottsville’s musical highs

A young man with an old musical soul, Frank Fairfield played a charming show at The Garage last September.

Live music is one of the best aspects of life in Charlottesville, as each day of the week offers concerts in all genres from both local and touring musicians. Any personalized “best of” list is sure to be biased and idiosyncratic, but here are some of the most memorable musical experiences I have enjoyed since last year’s Best of C-VILLE issue:

Last August, James McNew (a member of college radio stalwarts Yo La Tengo) returned to his hometown for a rare appearance with his solo project Dump, a band which has played fewer than 20 shows in 20 years. McNew did not disappoint the Tea Bazaar audience, which included luminaries of Charlottesville’s musical past, including Girl Choir, a new band of C’ville rock veterans making its debut that night.

Ben Chasny, a.k.a. Six Organs of Admittance, played a superb set of solo acoustic guitar instrumentals at The Southern in August, but even better was the stellar performance by opening act Mss., debuting its six-piece live band. Mss. somewhat improbably covered songs from Lungfish and Gordon Lightfoot, and made them its own.

Speaking of Lungfish, two members of the defunct Baltimore group commuted down to Al-Hamraa for a concert last August. Asa Osborne now plays as Zomes, channeling hypnotically simple keyboard melodies that manage to sound low-fi in person. Daniel Higgs played electrified banjo ragas that were equal parts India and Appalachia. His set was instrumental and stone-cold serious until he elicited giggles by leaning into the mic mid-song and inquiring of the audience, “Has anyone seen that new Planet of the Apes movie?”

Frank Fairfield not only plays music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he seems like a gentleman time-traveler from that era. His early September performance at The Garage was charming and enlightening, and he made an encore appearance at the Tea Bazaar the following night, this time with local mountain man Eric the Red.

The Pigeon Hole hosted a wild musical brunch on the afternoon of September 30: Errantry cleansed the palate with ambient guitar tones, Harrisonburg’s Rubgy played charmingly dorky piano-rock, Nurse Beach made a furiously aggressive racket, and Great Dads played one of its finest sets of raw, catchy prog-punk. The afternoon culminated in an extended performance of the Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray,” in which all of the musicians and audience members were invited to join in.

Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum made headlines around the world with his return to performing last year, but his former bandmate Julian Koster has been staging a much quieter comeback for years with The Music Tapes, a group that tours every Christmas performing only at house parties—sometimes in three or four neighboring towns in a single evening. Koster was both charmingly eccentric and refreshingly down-to-earth during his early-December appearance in a small Ridge Street apartment, as he told tall tales and played a mix of wintry originals and eclectic covers with his trio of Athens bandmates.

The Charlottesville Jazz Society brought a number of notables to town this year, including percussionist Han Bennink and his partner Mary Oliver, who were joined by a variety of locals including Darrell Rose, for a concert on the eve of Bennink’s 70th birthday. The sold-out concert was held at Brooks Hall, which amusingly also held a large papier-maché Mastadon that evening. (“That Mamoose has such grand toosks,” the Dutch-born Bennink remarked.)

Another fine contemporary improvisational drummer, Tatsuya Nakatani, made his annual return to Charlottesville on May 8 for a concert at The Bridge PAI with his well-worn drum kit, a variety of found percussion instruments (including a few kitchen utensils), and five gigantic gongs. Nakatani generously demonstrated a few of his techniques to the audience afterward, but his performance still seems akin to magic: watching a man conjure immense and fascinating sounds with a few pieces of metal and wood.

Finnish folk singer Saara Markannen visited The Garage in June, a perfect venue for her gentle, whimsical songs. For a finale, she gamely attempted to lead the hillside audience through a sing-a-long in Finnish, despite being the only native speaker present. The crowd’s hilarious failure was a lighthearted conclusion to a lovely evening of outdoor music.

These are but a few moments in a year full of concerts large and small. There are many more I could include: the elegant guitar loops of Dustin Wong; the precise grooves of the Chicago band Cave; Elisa Ambrosio’s nearly unrecognizable back-to-back appearances in 200 Years and Magik Markers; or the carefully composed soundscapes of Mountains. Everyone’s “best of” list is different. What does yours sound like?