5/23-5/30/2006

calendar-staff | May 22, 2006


music

James Brown’s been on the good foot, musically speaking, since his first No. 1 hit, “Please, Please, Please” in 1956. His innovative funk trailblazing, trademark moves and exclamations (“Hit me!”), and 17 number-one hits have earned him the title “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” You know it’s gonna feel good to dance and shout along with the Godfather of Soul, so “Get Up Offa That Thing” and boogie on down to the Pavilion, Thursday, May 25. $27-85, 7pm. 1-877-CPAV-TIX or www.charlottesvillepavilion.com.

 

music

Join Richelle Claiborne and Soul Sledge for the final concert in the Rock for Kids series at Outback. Local artists Under the Flood and All of 15 join in. Besides all the great soul, pop and rock they’ll be dishing out, these bands—like every act who has played the past three Fridays at the ‘back—will donate their proceeds to the UVA Children’s Medical Center . Come on out and give them, and the kids, a hand. $8, 9:30pm. Outback Lodge. Preston Plaza . 979-7211.

music

For such a laid-back, ‘60s-pop-lovin’ moppet, World Party’s Karl Wallinger sure has seen a mess of trouble lately. After ditching his record label, watching as one of his best songs (“She’s the One”) became a carbon-copy hit for the insufferable Robbie Williams, and suffering a near-fatal aneurism, Wallinger has rebounded with incredible brio. Come celebrate his miraculous musical return at Starr Hill. $15-17, 8pm. Wednesday, May 24.

 

outdoors

Break out the bikini and the Speedos, because it’s finally here: summer swim season opens May 27. Albemarle Parks and Recreation offers lessons and recreational swimming until Labor Day at Greene, Walnut Creek and Mint Springs Parks , so you can tighten up on that backstroke, freestyle, or dogpaddle. What better way to catch some rays and stay in shape? 296-5844 or www.albemarle.org/parks.

 

stage

Broadway comes to Barboursville with the Four County Player’s rendition of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Attending the 20th reunion of the James Dean fan club are Juanita, Mona, Sissy and Stella. But who is the mysterious Joanne, and what is the real story behind Mona’s son, James Dean Junior? (Cue organ music). Come on—you know you want to find out. $12-14, 8pm. May 26-27. 2:30 Matinee May 28. 5256 Governor Barbour Rd. (540)-832-5355. www.fourcp.org.

outdoors 

Some might take the 1,000-foot vertical hike to the top of Montalto as a challenge. For others, it’s a walk in the park, so to speak. Follow a guide through hardwood forests to Montalto, a peak that rises 410 feet above Monticello . Believe us—once you see the spectacular views of Charlottesville and surrounding countryside from the top, you’ll know the hike was worth it (even if you’re slightly annoyed at having to pay to climb what we used to call Brown’s Mountain). Tours are $6-12, at 1 and 3pm daily, until October 31. 984-9822. Monticello.org.

 

etc. 

On Wednesday May 24 The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, a new community art center near the Belmont bridge, screens The Power of Nightmares, Part 1. It’s a three-hour BBC documentary by Adam Curtis, and surely one of the most insightful looks at the “war on terrorism” since the events of September 11. Intellectually engaging, historically probing and unrelentingly provocative, it’s been called “The thinking person’s Fahrenheit 9/11.” (Part 2 and Part 3 both air on May 25.) 8pm, $4. 209 Monticello Rd. , just over the Ninth Street bridge.