Music Reviews
Don't be scared: Outback acts worth the risk
Published on Feb 5th, 2004
0 comments SAKE, Adelyn, T.O.W.at the Outback LodgeThursday, January 29 A few days ago, just around the corner from my house in front of the Outback Lodge, a 15-year old girl stabbed two women. In another...
Strange and beautiful: Visiting bands leave mark
Published on Feb 5th, 2004
0 comments El Guapo, The Unicorns at UVA's Fest Full of RockJanuary 31 Through my countless hours of reviewing bands, the late nights, the bored smoking, the constant skating on the edge of the sober/drunk...
PERFORMANCE REVIEW- Fun, fun, fun: Mamet brings on the laughs
Published on Feb 5th, 2004
0 comments If a foul-mouthed Chicago tough can remake himself as a rapier wit, there's no reason why a wisecracking crayon can't hit the stage as a love-struck hysteric. Let me explain. Playwright David Mamet,...
Stiff competition: Tough town for new band
Published on Jan 29th, 2004
0 comments Stoned Stew Jazz Bandat Miller'sSaturday, January 24 They say that being cold is all in your mind. Well, my brain has been cold for going on two weeks now. The fluid between my brain and skull is...
Three for three: Local women in the round
Published on Jan 29th, 2004
0 comments Jan Smith, Joia Wood, and Terri Allardat Gravity Lounge January 24 If you were looking for the ladies last Saturday night, probably the easiest way to see them (apart from that secret topless bar at...
Jam (ugh): Bending the Rule a little
Published on Jan 22nd, 2004
0 comments Rule of Thumpat OrbitJanuary 17 I'm a big believer in the philosophy of trying to learn something new every day, and sitting at a table last Saturday night at Orbit, I learned two things: 1) "Watch...
Travelin': From ecstasy to outer space
Published on Jan 22nd, 2004
0 comments EMDUBat Michael's BistroJanuary 14 Wrinkle Neck Muleat Starr HillJanuary 18  Artwork unevenly placed on the walls. Partially remodeled bathroom. A rear view of the band through glass doors...
Courtly country : Local boys pack 'em in
Published on Jan 15th, 2004
0 comments King Wilkie at Miller'sJanuary 11 I arrived at Miller's Saturday night about an hour before the bluegrass band King Wilkie was scheduled to perform, and quite literally just barely snagged myself a...
Don't skip it: Remix adds to original
Published on Jan 15th, 2004
0 comments Soulive: Turn It Out Remixed  (Blue Note) Only a very few live shows have had a meaningful impact on my life. I can count on one hand the ones I've seen in Charlottesville. One group who...
Getting lucky: Two locals scheme for fame
Published on Jan 8th, 2004
0 comments SC on the Boombox 91.9 WNRN January 3, 2004 If talent were the deciding factor in who became the next radio mega star, I probably would listen to the radio more often. It takes more than talent. It...
2003's best: I'll take it on the Shins
Published on Jan 8th, 2004
0 comments I'm a dork, a dweeb, a nerd, sorely in need of a dose of cool, but fairly happy with my profound love of the unhip, the lame, the unvarnished side of life. Yeah, I like pop music. A lot. The indie-...
Poetry virgin: But musical pros save the night
Published on Dec 25th, 2003
0 comments   Poetry Lounge and Folkskonde At the Live Arts UpstageDecember 16 Like clasping an ex-whatever to your chest, poetry and I have always been locked in a nervous embrace. I'm a poetry virgin:...
Reinvention: New "rugged" Badu abandons poetics
Published on Dec 25th, 2003
0 comments Erykah BaduWorld Wide Underground Motown (2003) In 1997 when Erykah Badu released her first album, Baduizm, there was quite a bit of debate about the state of soul and R&B music. Many...
Faulknerian: The Trouble isn't with Harry
Published on Dec 18th, 2003
0 comments The Trouble With Harryat Dürty Nelly'sDecember 12 Though the crowd was rather sparse at Dürty Nelly's last Friday night, it definitely was not the fault of local pop/rock group The Trouble With...
Gushathon: No words good enough
Published on Dec 11th, 2003
0 comments Medeski Martin and WoodStarr Hill Music HallDecember 1  Medeski Martin and Wood are phenomenal. Period. No discussion needed. You can argue lame points to the contrary, but I will just look at...
Too cool: BC strums, plucks, wows!
Published on Dec 11th, 2003
0 comments BCat Miller'sDecember 9  Published December 11, 2003 in issue 30249 of the HOok It's always amusing when people I talk to, hip people, the kind who are in on every inside joke, know all the...
In perspective: Telling the apartheid story
Published on Dec 4th, 2003
0 comments Vusi Mahlasela at Starr HillNovember 25 The day after Thanksgiving has transformed into consumer day. People who wouldn't consider getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to attend a peace rally or...
Locked out: Luck of the pop music draw
Published on Dec 4th, 2003
0 comments Josh MayoAt Miller'sNovember 29 Camera? Check. Notebook? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. Scarf? Check. Pen? Check. I didn't have a particular plan in mind when I stepped out of my motor vehicle...
Gillian's return: Welch and Rawlings rock Center
Published on Nov 27th, 2003
0 comments Gillian Welchat the Performing Arts Centeron Wednesday, November 19 Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have played together since the mid-'90s. This show at the Performing Arts Center was their...
Happy haze: Three bands and surprises all around
Published on Nov 27th, 2003
0 comments All of 15, Retisonic, and Bishop Allenat Tokyo Rose November 20 The basement of Tokyo Rose, that blood-colored musical refuge from the cares of modern life, was fairly well stocked Thursday night...
Bring earplugs: Hardcore bands crank it up
Published on Nov 20th, 2003
0 comments Preston, Forensics, and Ultra Dolphins at Tokyo RoseNovember 14  It was an eardrum ripping, scream-intensive, and all in all pretty fabulous evening last Friday at the Tokyo Rose. Billed as "...
Clubby club club: New dance space gets 'em moving
Published on Nov 20th, 2003
0 comments Rapture 2 OpeningDJs Bob Mould and Richard MorelNovember 14 Just in case you've had your head up somewhere dark for the last two weeks, Charlottesville just welcomed its second official full-fledged...
Poised to fly: Nothing "Small town" about new CD
Published on Nov 13th, 2003
0 comments Small Town Workers:The Right of Way, Rampaging out of your speakers like some kind of mutant '70s riff-rock goliath, Small Town Workers' new album, The Right of Way, takes you to a place where the...
Secret dioramas: Casiotones specific, if not new
Published on Nov 13th, 2003
0 comments Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Twinkle Echo Twinkle Echo, the new CD by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (on the Tomlab label), is a self-contained world. Its heart is its own sleeve, and its...
Bring it on: Dancin' through the revolution
Published on Nov 6th, 2003
0 comments Soldiers of Jah Armyat Garden of ShebaNovember 1 Soldiers of Jah Army are, by far, some of the best contemporary reggae songwriters I have encountered in a long time. Their debut album, Peace in a...
Phishy business: Acoustic-jam a crowd-pleaser
Published on Nov 6th, 2003
0 comments Left Foot Brakingat Miller'sNovember 1 It was beautiful out last Saturday night, just cool enough for a light jacket, but still warm enough to make outside seating on the Downtown Mall comfortable,...
Analog wonders: Cool kids still mixing tapes
Published on Oct 30th, 2003
0 comments Mix Tape #1Compiled by Kornhauser, Purdy, and Fritz The mix tape, that savior of long car rides, defender of the single, and final cementer of nascent hip love, has not had a smooth ride of late....
Mindlessness: Pleasures and pretense of a mechanical man
Published on Oct 30th, 2003
0 comments The New Deal at Starr Hill Music Hall Sunday, October 26, 2003 When The New Deal's drummer Darren Shearer beatboxed Sunday night, October 26, he nearly replicated the actual sounds of drums being...
Surprising: Dub reggae makes trip worth it
Published on Oct 23rd, 2003
0 comments Akshun and Dubfire at the Garden of ShebaOctober 18, 2003 To tell the truth, I really haven't felt the urge to see a great deal of live music recently. I couldn't tell you whether it's the lack of...
Interested: Two keep audience enthralled
Published on Oct 23rd, 2003
0 comments Tom Proutt with Billy Gessner at Mountain View Grill, CrozetOctober 18, 2003 I had never been to Crozet's Mountain View Grill until last Saturday night, but time will most likely see me coming back...