ARTS Pick: Off the Map

Professional rock climber Mark Synnott has spent a large portion of his life hanging by callused fingertips from some of the most remote cliffs and rock faces in the world. Off the Map features Synnott in the North Face Speaker Series telling personal stories about reaching incredible peaks, from glassy ice walls in the arctic […]

Album reviews: The Head and the Heart, Moby, The Avett Brothers

The Head and the Heart Let’s Be Still/Sub Pop The latest record from this folk/pop/rock band is a beauty. Thought-provoking, well- crafted with great melodies and variety, Let’s Be Still is easy to enjoy. “Another Story” is pleasing piano rock given greater power in lines like “tell you one thing/ain’t gonna change much/the sun still […]

Film review: Ridley Scott directs the grim, stylized thriller, The Counselor

Following a screening of The Counselor, one critic said: “It’s nasty film. Very well made…if that’s what you’re into.” Judging just from The Counselor’s plot (going into business with Mexican cartels), who wrote it (Cormac McCarthy), and its location (the Texas/Mexico border), there should be no mystery as to what you’re in for. But there […]

November First Fridays Guide

Angelo 220 E. Main St. “Recent Paintings by Michael Fitts” on scrap metal panels. 5-7:30pm. The Bridge PAI 209 Monticello Rd. “Virginia is for …” by Johanna Leech. 5-8pm. Boutique Boutique 411 E. Main St. Day of the Dead celebration and Mexican art. 5-8pm. Chroma Projects 418 E. Main St. “Known/Not Known,” with sculpture by […]

ARTS Pick: Crazy for You

Adapted for the stage by notable playwright Ken Ludwig, Crazy for You is set to the music of George and Ira Gershwin, and takes place in the bustling 1930s. Robert Chapel directs the heartwarming tale as it follows the dreams of main character Bobby Child, a playboy and future banker with a musical soul, in a production […]

Ensemble Plus Ultra refurbishes 16th century classical treasure

Ever wonder what Spanish explorers listened to as they mapped the world? Probably not. But worth exploring are the discoveries of Britain’s Ensemble Plus Ultra. The ensemble is an eight-piece consort of chamber musicians that sings early liturgical music, mostly, from the Spanish Renaissance. Founded by Michael Noone in 2001, EPU formed when Noone discovered […]

ARTS Pick: Steel Magnolia

Country-rock duo Steel Magnolia cut its teeth on the national stage with an audition for CMT’s reality show “Can You Duet?” Initially skeptical that the judges would understand its unique twist on country, Joshua Scott Jones and Meghan Linsey walked away with the show’s grand prize, and received further confirmation in 2012 when awarded an […]

ARTS Pick: The Mock Stars Ball

Six local bands go big on Halloween with slick impersonations of popular rock bands at The Mock Stars Ball. The heavy metal-esque Corsair will play all the “hits” by Iron Maiden, and fast-paced Dwight Howard Johnson takes on the Pixies catalog, while Moby and the Dicks (Joe Cocker and Friends), Megaphor (Rage Against the Machine), Sharkopath (The […]

Universal Studios set the tone for the icons of horror

In the 1930s and 40s, Universal Studios produced a series of horror films which remain some of the best and most popular examples of the genre. Tod Browning’s Dracula and James Whale’s Frankenstein became the iconic depictions of those characters in the popular imagination, from Dracula’s Hungarian accent, widow’s peak haircut, and cape to the neck-bolts, […]

C’ville Art Blog: The Whimsical World of Jessie Meehan

The Firefish Gallery is currently showcasing a collection of works by local artist Jessie Meehan that approaches painting in a refreshing and imaginative way. The body of work, titled “Tiny Lights,” is united by many elements, including the use of white pin points, stars or “tiny lights” that show up in each piece. The artist […]