ARTS Pick: ArcAttack

The creators of the original singing Tesla coils are ready to blind you with science at ArcAttack. Backed by a robotic drummer, the group of high-tech rock wizards creates a musical spectacle by generating electrical arcs—each reaching up to 12 feet long—that act as instruments, creating synthesizer-like sounds. It’s part rock concert, part science experiment as the […]

Five-cent ambitions: Nickel Creek’s Sean Watkins focuses on solo career

Nickel Creek, a band synonymous with progressive string music for more than 25 years, is no more—for real this time—and founding member Sean Watkins doesn’t seem to give a hoot. Co-founded by Chris Thile, Watkins and his sister Sara, the trio disbanded after a highly successful year. The band released a new album last spring, […]

ARTS Pick: NMO

Featuring acoustic and electric sets, the NMO tour spotlights two giant Southern rock acts in collaboration for an unforgettable evening of guitar-driven madness. North Mississippi Allstars’ Dickinson brothers join Anders Osborne for a showcase of songs from both acts’ catalogs, offering fans an intimate evening with rock ‘n’ roll powerhouses that, until now, has only been […]

Character building: The interdependence of comic book artistry

Confession: I’ve never read a comic book. Sure, I housed volumes of Calvin & Hobbes as a child, but I always took the snooty literary view of comics. They were fine for teenage boys and any woman inexplicably drawn to gratuitous violence and triple-D boobs, but I reserved my highbrow tastes for Roald Dahl and […]

Over easy: Fifty Shades of Grey is beautiful to look at

I don’t know who or what director Sam Taylor-Johnson sacrificed to the god of false bondage, but it worked: Fifty Shades of Grey is the best film it could have possibly been given the circumstances. This is quite a different thing from saying it’s good. It’s not. At its core, this adaptation of E.L. James’ notoriously […]

ARTS Pick: Vodka Variations

UVA Drama presents an evening of “bite-size” dramas entitled Vodka Variations, adapted from short stories by Anton Chekhov. The production examines the colorful world of 1890s Russia with hilarious and heartwarming glimpses into the lives of everyday people in search of love, happiness and a strong vodka buzz as they navigate their way through their […]

The people’s diva: Renée Fleming is branching out and looking for ways to keep opera relevant

In January, Charlottesville audiences experienced Renée Fleming’s artistry on the big screen at The Paramount Theater’s HD broadcast of The Metropolitan Opera’s live performance of Lehar’s The Merry Widow. On Friday, February 20, Fleming will grace the stage in person, and while opera houses around the country are facing increasingly tough times prompting cutbacks, strikes […]