Kevin Barnes fronts of Montreal with dramatic flair
Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes is officially off the grid. After two weeks and about a half dozen phone calls, the only response I could get from the avant garde indie rocker was his odd outgoing voicemail message—an eerie instrumental tune—and apologies from his publicist that he had “no service at the place he is staying.” […]
New craft beverage maker breaks the mold on 151
Christine Riggleman wanted to start a business on her family’s land off Route 151. An avid home cook, she figured it would make sense to open a restaurant. She wanted to complement the craft breweries and cideries already flowing up and down the highway. But she had friends in restaurants who advised against going into […]
Seattle folk rock up-and-comers have roots in old Virginia
The Head and the Heart have the holy grail of indie rock band success: One good male singer, one good female singer. It’s a combination, along with a well-timed whistle or catchy chant, that has made Peter Bjorn and John, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Gotye, and a handful of others huge overnight sensations […]
Conquering the closet: Get the most out of your bedroom storage space
Anyone who’s been on a house hunt knows closets are a relatively modern development. And if you’re into vintage homes, you’ll probably have to compromise on built-in storage space. “Houses that are 100 years old, back then people didn’t really have closets,” said architect Kate Tabony, lead designer for Charlottesville-based Alloy Workshop. “Maybe it’s a […]
Greensky Bluegrass looks to break barriers with modern approach
The contentious divide between traditional bluegrass and progressive bluegrass is manufactured, according to Anders Beck, dobro virtuoso for the dogged newgrass outfit Greensky Bluegrass. “I feel like that argument is more perpetuated by people that just want to talk about it than people who really feel that way,” Beck told C-VILLE Weekly. “It’s almost like […]
As jam scene winds down, local radio play is strong
The idea of an entire radio station based on the music of a single band no longer seems so far out. But when satellite radio launched in the early 2000s, there was no Pandora, and the notion that people would want to listen 24 hours a day to the same band, with a few similar […]
Bella’s owner Doug Muir has eye on larger piece of the biscotti
Local entrepreneur Douglas Muir was up against a tough sell. He wanted to start a new restaurant, but he was concerned his wife, whom everyone calls Bella, wouldn’t buy the idea. Muir resorted to flattery. He promised to name the new spot in his wife’s honor. He promised to fly her mamma and papa in […]
Strong lineup builds confidence in Lockn’ organizers the second time around
Before the illicit weed smoking, before the bare boobs, before the overzealous ABC agents, before the revoked booze license, and before the appeal, there was a guy whose buddy showed him a pretty cool place to listen to tunes. The guy was Dave Frey, who’s spent more than three decades making his career in the […]
Yonder Mountain String Band looks ahead to new record
Yonder Mountain String Band hasn’t produced a full-length record since 2009. It’s the longest stretch that the band’s gone without an LP since it formed in 1998. If that news isn’t bad enough for fans, now this: Founding member, mandolin player and vocalist Jeff Austin split with YMSB in April. When Yonder plays the Jefferson […]
New nanobrewery C’ville-ian holding the line at ideal Main Street location
The clock is ticking for C’Ville-ian Brewing Company. Business has been slower than expected during the summer months, and if things don’t turn around by the end of the year, owner Steve Gibbs said he’ll have to think hard about changing his model, looking for a buyer, or shutting down altogether. According to Gibbs (no […]
Pie high: What’s the deal with all the new pizza joints piling up?
A pizza is on its way to your table. It’s bubbling with melted cheese, crackling with a blistered crust, mounded by rendered meats and fresh veggies. Underneath the toppings, a bright, tangy tomato sauce holds it all together. Now that I have your attention, let’s talk pizza in Charlottesville. With multiple pizzeria openings announced and […]
New Downtown venue aims to fill the music scene genre gap
Jeyon Falsini didn’t mean to stick up for C’ville’s music scene underdogs. It just kind of happened. The longtime concert promoter and booking agent started working with the Main Street Arena in July 2012. Management wanted to bring in someone to turn its small overflow space on Water Street from a clothing retailer into a […]
Totally floored: Reclaimed wood offers top-end flooring option with character
When Bill Hamilton and his team decided to remodel Hamiltons’ at First and Main in 2011, the flooring was a potential stumbling block. Hamilton wanted to preserve the character of the original restaurant space, built in 1996, and the wooden floors were an important part of the aesthetic. But they needed work. Options for new […]
Horse & Hound owners serve up literary fare for foodies
In The Foodie’s Beer Book, Horse & Hound co-owners Brooke and Luther Fedora say that when you’re cooking with beer, remember the rule, “one for you, one for the pot.” This is not meant to be taken literally, unless you want to be face down on the travertine when the oven timer goes ding. Turns […]
Bob Log III cranks up the wacky concert antics
You get the feeling that 44-year-old Bob Log III is still figuring things out as he goes, a sci-fi time traveler reborn every few minutes to turn things upside-down all over again. The neo-bluesman has been making music professionally for more than 20 years, but every word out of his mouth still comes off as […]
What do punk rockers and craft brewers have in common?
It all started with a punk kid’s tweet. Alterna-rockers Against Me! had heard about friends in NOFX working with C’ville-based Champion Brewing Company on a collaboration beer. Guitarist James Bowman, doing some recording with Mike Burkett (aka Fat Mike) of NOFX, tried the beer and tweeted at Champion brew master Hunter Smith that he liked […]
Restaurant Week: Charlottesville chefs dish on our small, tight-knit restaurant community
It’s 9:30pm on a Thursday. Mono Loco is finishing up dinner service. But the kitchen crew is just getting ready to start things up. They change into their street clothes and head over to Mas. It’s 10am the next day. The Hamilton’s staff is walking toward the Downtown Mall spot for lunch service. A few […]
Antics aside, Eugene Hütz’s Gogol Bordello is no joke
Eugene Hütz is a poet in any language. Speaking in his heavily accented English, his words pop. They have weight. They hit you like distorted riffs. Ask Hütz if his band Gogol Bordello’s exhaustive touring schedule takes its toll, for example, and he finds the perfect analogy. “Listen, this is like asking people that are […]
Seeing clearly: There’s more to residential windows than meets the eye
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Surely, this means the eyes are pretty darn crucial. But what about windows? “Why is a window important? There are lots of reasons,” said Mark Wingerd, architectural salesperson for Charlottesville-based, high-end windows purveyor Gaston & Wyatt. “For one, it’s the only piece of your house […]
Techne project takes electronic music beyond boundaries
Accomplished local jazz musician John D’earth says people get too hung up on what is music and what isn’t music. Kids, for example, don’t need to play an instrument properly to be making music. They just need to be making noise. If you’re too square for that jive, Suzanne Thorpe and Bonnie Jones are ready […]
Radio city: In a nearly saturated market, the diversity behind the mics of Charlottesville’s radio stations keeps the airwaves fresh
Just how much radio can Charlottesville support? Our little city already has a relatively large number of stations for its size: a total of 15 at last count.
Sandwich science: Bring Hamiltons’ Sandwich Lab thinking into your own kitchen
Making only 12 delicious sandwiches a month for an entire city is just plain cruel. And Hamiltons’ Sandwich Lab isn’t likely to stop the torture any time soon. The first elusive Sandwich Lab sandwich was announced on Facebook on April 3. The guys in the kitchen of Hamiltons’ at First & Main, the posh Downtown […]
JD McPherson pushes beyond the throwback tag
JD McPherson may be about to piss a lot of people off. The singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist’s first record, Signs and Signifiers, was a faithful reproduction of old school rhythm and blues. He and his team, working with vintage equipment in a Chicago studio, knew there was an existing (mostly European) fan base just waiting to […]
Local jam band Indecision still rocking under the radar
Could Indecision have been DMB? Could the names Evans and Ibbeken have been synonymous with the C’ville music scene, instead of Dave Matthews? Could “Take It All In” have been “Ants Marching”? Probably not, admits Indecision’s David Ibbeken. But the band, which made its debut in Charlottesville in 1984, was by most accounts a stroke […]
Interview: Sam Beam a.k.a. Iron and Wine expands his repertoire
A friend of mine once fell asleep at an Iron and Wine show. By the time the opener had finished and Sam Beam started in with his lullaby-like tunes, my buddy found himself a comfy spot on a pool table and succumbed to a serenaded sleep. I always think of that story as a bit of […]
From Carthaginians to Virginians: Tile is one of the world’s oldest, most flexible building materials
Your bathroom is cool, comfortable, and clean. Your kitchen is stain-resistant, sleek, and stylish. Why? Tile, of course. “Tile is a good choice because it’s timeless, can complement any look, and has unmatched durability,” SariSand Tile’s Dawn Catlett said. According to Wayne Murphy of Wainwright Tile and Stone on Preston Avenue, tile is typically used […]
Interview: Fitz and the Tantrums look to reclaim early success
Fitz and the Tantrums just seem to have a way of finding the spotlight. Remember that video where they were all on those treadmills? Oh, that wasn’t them? My bad. But who could forget when they played on that one rooftop that one time? Oh, right. That was every band other than them. What about […]