It’s certainly a busy, busy time of year, but there’s definitely time to recollect the highs and lows our local music scene has seen in ‘09. Here’s what comes to mind. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
1) iS Venue calls it quits after barely a year in operation, and while some great acts came through to play the joint, the crowd size and sound generally left people wanting.
**Best or Worst?**
2) Holy Smokes Booking: Jacob Wolf came to town and hit the ground running last spring, booking and promoting awesome, refreshing music for Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, The Bridge PAI, The Garage & 12 Street Taphouse. I think this town owes a thank you to him for helping fight the good fight against jam bands and bluegrass. »Read More
Crozet Music Festival’s third year running kicks off tomorrow at noon. This year is the first year they have added a third full day of performances (the previous two years were Saturday and Sunday only). I encourage everyone to try to make it out, because each day is sure to have its gems. It will definitely be my first time. Here’s a brief list of acts I would suggest making a point to catch:
Cricket and the Whip – if I am not mistaken, this is c’ville locals Straight Punch to the Crotch in disguise. I can’t say why they’re playing under a different name, but their synth-party-folk will keep your asses moving.
Six Chasing Seven – piano-based pop-rock from Lynchburg with surprisingly infectious hooks and by no means lacking in soul.
6 Day Bender - banjo-picking alterna-folk; a fairly common genre choice in this region, but these guys don’t make it suck so much!
William Walter & Company - they blend southern rock with folk and blues, but not in the same old way. I think my favorite part of WW’s tunes is his unique and signature vocal style.
Chick Tragic and the Roosters – Carleigh Nesbit and Carl Anderson’s down-home bluegrass is easy on the ears and heavy on the fiddle!
Trees on Fire - there is never a dull moment with these genre-bending youngsters and I predict a large festival will be a perfect setting for their indie-synth-jams
Downbeat Project – easygoing and groovy with hints of Ben Harper and Jack Johnson.
Travis Elliott – you may think you’ve heard him a trillion times with his acoustic at any number of bars and restaurants in town, but if you haven’t caught the full-band show, you haven’t really heard Travis Elliott at all!
Horsehead – southern rock featuring former member of Buck Cherry, Cracker and Vinnie Vincent’s band. I’ve only recently become aware of these guys, but I think they could possibly be a highlight of the weekend.
Astronomers - one minute they’re dancey, the next, they’re dark and ominous. Served with a heavy helping of piano, spacey guitars and a hot female bassist!
There you have it folks, surely there are ten others that I’ve never even had the pleasure to hear and I certainly hope so. SEE YOU ALL THERE!
I had the pleasure to catch Philly’s own ‘rainbow-core, posi ‘pop’ act Dangerous Ponies two nights in a row this week. Monday, I had the luck of sharing a bill with the band in Arlington, VA at a groovy little joint called The Galaxy Hut, and was delighted to find out that they were to perform the following evening right here in Charlottesville at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. Delivering a sun-shiny, beatlesque brand of organic indie rock, Dangerous Ponies bring it all to the table. Although they are traveling with only 5 of their 8 members, the show was still quite effective, blending pop sensibility, solid musicianship and infectious melody with glitter, dancing, tambourines, face paint, heart-shaped guitars, sideways ponytails, you name it!
The band is on tour in support of their new EP ‘Doctor Ponie, Medicine Ponie’, and is working hard at bringing a dance party to a town near you. In any given song, I caught bits of The Beatles, The Zombies, Tilly & the Wall, and much more. Lead singer and songwriter Chrissy had good things to say about our neck of the woods:
This has been one of my favorite shows so far. I was amazed at the amount of bands and shows and culture Charlottesville has, still maintaining it’s beautiful valley-town vibe, without being like a city.
Headlining on Tuesday night were local UVa indie-rockers, Pompadour, who also blend female-fronted vocals with dance able, chord-heavy indie rock. While I do not often see their name around, be assured that Pompadour made their presence known from Tea Bazaar’s stage last night. Be sure to check out both Dangerous Ponies AND Pompadour’s tunes online. Thanks to Jacob from Holy Smokes Booking for helping to bring great music to town. So I ask you all, ‘When is the last time a band made YOU want to dance?’
The first addition to our slowly growing editorial staff is a recent Charlottesville addition as well, and an extremely talented musician with a background in the technical arts of the production studio.
Here is a short biography from his Author page:
Nate Bolling was born on February 9th, 1983 in Fort Worth, TX. Early in his youth, he discovered a rich interest in music and picked up the guitar and piano early in middle school. Soon, he was composing original songs and hunting for bandmates in his community. After graduation, he attended The Dallas Soundlab, becoming certified in Audio Engineering and Studio Techniques as well as Music Theory and Business of Music. He spent 3 years building and then running his own small recording studio in Texas, appropriately named The Bolling Alley until a tragic electrical fire leveled the place in late 2006. A few more years of aimless live performance and songwriting soon had him searching elsewhere.
In summer or 2008, Nate relocated to Charlottesville, VA and quickly began developing a new indie-rock outfit, Astronomers (www.myspace.com/weareastronomers). Eventually planning on rebuilding his studio to produce great local talent, he is currently excited to be performing locally and regionally, as well as writing for cVillain!
Thanks for joining the team Nate, and if any other readers out there are interested in the food, music, movie, and more scene, then please consider becoming authors, and get in contact with us here.
Dave Mathews Band will stream its concert live on Hulu, the sweetest video streaming website on the internet. The concert takes place on June 1 in New York City’s Beacon Theatre and is free for all internet viewers.
Formally known as Sparky’s Flaw, the tween heartthrob, Parachute released their first music video single, “She is Love.” You should care because Parachute is from Charlottesville.
How horrible awesome is this song?
[thanks to anonymous coffee drinker who sent this in]
If being $200,000 in debt wasn’t enough to shut down a venue, how about a fire code violation? According to the Hook, the landlord of gravity lounge has decided to change management and the locks on the Gravity Lounge space. This was known for several months, but it will be interesting to see who will manage the venue.
A venue with 400 events a years that can’t make money sounds a little problematic right?
Legendary rockers Metallica bring their World Magnetic Tour to John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. The band has been touring to sold-out crowds across the U.S. and the World since the release of last year’s Death Magnetic album.
It’s certainly a busy, busy time of year, but there’s definitely time to recollect the highs and lows our local music scene has seen in ‘09. Here’s what comes to mind. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
