Anyone notice the little lacrosse brats all over town this weekend? There must have been some sort of tournament in town because it seemed there was an infestation of them. Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I ran into these kids multiple times and kept wondering when they’d get the heck out of town.

On Saturday night, a troop of these little hoodlums and their parents came into one establishment and immediately split up. The parents swarmed the bar to proceeded to get sloshed while their kids ate in another area of the restaurant and had what seemed to be a small scale food fight. On Sunday afternoon, I saw a little group of them in the courtyard outside Five Guys at Barracks Road. They were mashing up peanuts and throwing them across the courtyard (possibly at other diners?). I haven’t been into Five Guys in a while, but isn’t there a HUGE sign on the peanut bin asking that people keep them in the store? Small detail, I guess, but the courtyard was littered with those stupid kids’ shells.

I wondered if I was just in curmudgeon mode and needed to chill out, so I asked a friend if she noticed any rowdy kids around this weekend. She said friends of hers had stayed in a downtown hotel and the kids were acting up there as well.

Remember when going on a field trip meant being on your best behavior? Remember when wearing a school sweatshirt meant that you were representing your community?

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Led Zep.
Scott Stadium.
October.

There are probably about three people who post here that care, but I thought I’d share and let Cvillain scoop every other “news” source in the city.

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Charlottesville is one of the most dog-friendly towns in which I’ve lived. I’m completely charmed by all the dogs I see on the mall and love the fact that so many local businesses welcome mine when I’m shopping. Sometimes I wonder if the businesses on the Downtown Mall might benefit from using the dog-friendly stickers that businesses at Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond use to show that dogs are welcome to come in with their owners…it might make it easier to know where my pup is welcome and where he isn’t. Until such a thing is in place, I’ll only let my dog into that Dog & Horse Lovers Boutique and assume other stores are off limits.

What are your favorite places to go in town with your dog? Are you a Darden Towe regular or are you more likely to be found at Azalea Park? Are you a Sammy Snacks devotee, a PetSmart fan, or are you going the Animal Connections route and feeding raw while doing Reiki sessions with your dog?

Who are the dogs of the cvillains? Where do they shop, eat, and have fun? Who is giving them the best service in town?

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…to crash company holiday parties!

It always amazes me that company holiday parties in Charlottesville are, for the most part, open to anyone who knows when and where they’re taking place. I’ve been to plenty of holiday parties where I didn’t belong and have definitely seen others (most notably a local TV news reporter) who had no business being at them as well. Because we’re supposed to be the villains of Charlottesville, I thought we might pool our resources and compile a list of these events, attempt to get someone to each one, and have them report back any silly and/or scandalous behavior. Let’s turn the gossip level up a bit around here!
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The full, fall concert schedule for John Paul Jones Arena isn’t really out there yet, but I just heard that a few big acts are signed on already and one other is in negotiations.

The acts that are definitely on the schedule: The Police, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John.  I’m so glad I played it cool when The Police came back.Friends gobbled up pricey tickets for shows around the country and I banked on the fact that we’d get them here. Of course, reviews of the reunion tour haven’t been great and Stewart Copeland himself thinks the music has been pretty lame at times, but I’ll probably go.If Springsteen is touring with the Seeger Sessions band, I’ll be heading to that show as well. Who am I kidding…I’ll see The Boss if it’s on stage alone, playing Row, Row, Row Your Boat on a kazoo. I really couldn’t care less about seeing Elton John, but I imagine he’ll have no trouble selling tickets here.

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Every Wednesday, I get a short, simple email from the ever-smiling AC Logan to let me know about that night’s installment of the Charlottesville Music Showcase. The showcase started a year ago as a way for local artists to, well, showcase their talent in front of the home team. The list of conspirators behind these events includes local talents from various places. Some are from in front of the mic, others from behind the soundboard, and others from the back room, where shows are booked and connections are made.

One of the strengths of the Showcase is the diversity of music presented. Some weeks, the act is established (Man Mountain Jr., Dreaming Isabelle…) and other weeks, the use of “and Friends” in the headliner hints that the line up might be a surprise (Joe Lawlor & Friends, Travis Elliot & Friends, etc.), even to the organizers!

The crowd has grown steadily over the past year and while you can no longer say you were there when it started, you might be able to say that about a band that plays the showcase - some of these people are at a point that could be described as “on the verge”.

If you’re looking for a good night to check out the Charlottesville Music Showcase, consider heading to Orbit Billiards on Wednesday, August 22nd for their first anniversary party. The usual start time (10 PM) won’t be an issue for anyone who isn’t a night owl because they’re starting the music at 3 PM that day. They’ll have acts on two stages until the wee hours. Some of the groups on the line up for the anniversary show are: Peen, Man Mountain Jr., Sons of Bill, DJ XSV of the Beetnix, The Nice Jenkins…the list goes on. There’s more information on the Showcase’s website and on their MySpace page. You can see photos from past nights on Webshots.

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Long-time Cville residents know Brix Cafe as a catering outfit, but in recent years, they moved from an out-of-the-way location to a stripmall on Pantops. Aesthetically, the location is great. The cafe is open and tastefully decorated. The food cases are full of tasty-looking pastries and snacks. The menu is chock full of good lunch choices, many with a slight twist to make this more than the average soup and sandwich shop.
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The Horse & Hound “gastropub” opened in earnest on Thursday and had a patio full of diners last night. Having gushed about Maya for weeks on this site, I felt it was my duty to visit its neighbor and spread the accolades. General information about this new “mid-town” spot and its owners can be found in Cville Weekly and The Hook. You may also be interested in Iron’s discussion of the new restaurant activity in the area now called Midtown.

The decor

On the patio, the fence now has brass tips and the wall that separates the patio from Maya’s has water fountains on it. Huge umbrellas shade all but two of the tables. Inside, the walls are a simple beige and a few horse-related details can be found (a bridle and boots by the coat hooks, for example). This is not a kitschy, Applebee’s like set up. I don’t remember what the bar surface was when the building was the Blue Bird, but it’s a pretty brass material covered by a clear top. The bathrooms are white with antique brass fittings. They went for the English pub theme, but didn’t go over the top.

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I saw the above phrase on the side of a bus yesterday as part of an ad for a local independent radio station. The phrase has a subtle tinge of paranoia, doesn’t it? Well, that’s to be expected.

The station is run by the a short, bird-like man with poor enunciation and a nasal voice that would probably get him laughed out of a radio station in a major market. Some of his behavior is so strange that I often question his sanity. For example, when a rival station debuted with a nickname particular to a local neighborhood, it was seen as a direct assault on the station. All DJs were prohibited from referring to the neighborhood on the air at all, as the owner was convinced that it would be giving free advertising to the new competition. Frequent listeners might have noticed that some businesses are now said to be on a particular street and not in a certain district in town.

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