ARTS Pick: Charlottesville Area Quilters Guild show

A Stitch in Time Springtime typically begets a seasonal bedspread switch, and this eighth-installment of the Charlottesville Area Quilters Guild (CAQG) biennial quilt show offers the best of warm, vibrant, and lively linen inspiration. Transforming the East Rivanna Fire Station into a  hub of artistic activity and enterprise, the event includes a silent auction, displays […]

Film review: The Host

Forget that this story recalls not only Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but also Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters and John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There?—better known to most people as Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World or John Carpenter’s The Thing. Because, really, this story is about liking boys. And Jesus, sort of.

Music review: Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Jefferson

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are in many ways teachers, instructing fans on the history of black music. During the Charlottesville tour stop, they pedantically described the traditional instruments they broke out at various points during the show and explained—somewhat laboriously—the meaning of several songs.

ARTS Pick: Aziz Ansari

Victory laugh In 2007, when MTV’s sketch comedy and surprise hit “Human Giant” was just underway, Aziz Ansari seemed the likely breakout star among the trio at the show’s helm. His trajectory in the following two years would prove this—paying comedic dues in the Judd Apatow flick Funny People, cropping up on fan favorite “Scrubs,” […]

Film review: Admission

At Admission’s center is Tina Fey, who stretches beyond playing the straight man and being the butt of every other character’s jokes.

ARTS Pick: DJ Shadow

Press play Endtroducing… dropped all the way back in 1996, but DJ Shadow’s experiment in instrumental hip-hop brought the man unexpected acclaim, and a sound that is still influencing artists across genres. He’s retreated back to the underground in the years since his debut, but Shadow remains just as invested in perfecting and pushing the contemporary musical […]

ARTS Pick: Joshua James

Higher plains Nebraska musician Joshua James strums his guitar and lets out the crushing ache in his voice, calling to mind long roads through the expansive Midwest beneath a boundless sky. His folksiness embraces the tradition of the genre, the familiar longing coupled with a unique taste of melancholy, and it is in these blends that James’ […]