ARTS Pick: Mingo Fishtrap

Friday 8/24 Stir the beans With a recipe to rock your soul, Mingo Fishtrap cooks up down ‘n’ dirty, gutbucket, nawlins-style grooves topped with a flourish of Motown. The Austin, Texas, act is heavy with horns and a ready rhythm section, and ass-shakin’ is the name of the game at the next installment of the […]

Natalie Cole anchors The Paramount Theater’s new season

The Paramount Theater took advantage of its glamorous décor and big screen to announce the upcoming 2012-13 season during a festive preview party on Monday night.  The red carpet was rolled out and movie star look-a-likes greeted guests under the marquee. A retrospective of the theater was shown before Executive Director Chris Eure took the […]

Best of C-VILLE 2012: Entertainment

From the best place for karaoke to your favorite local blog, here are the top picks in the local entertainment scene.   JUMP TO: Music venue Place to dance Place to look at art Place for karaoke Place to watch the game Annual festival Movie theater Musical group Singer/songwriter Local play or musical Visual artist Local […]

A look back at some of Charlottsville’s musical highs

Live music is one of the best aspects of life in Charlottesville, as each day of the week offers concerts in all genres from both local and touring musicians. Any personalized “best of” list is sure to be biased and idiosyncratic, but here are some of the most memorable musical experiences I have enjoyed since […]

Film review: The Campaign

The agenda of director Jay Roach’s new movie is obviously not to mine the finer nuances of American electoral procedures. This might come as a shock or a relief, depending on whether you go into The Campaign remembering Roach as the politically-minded maker of HBO’s Recount and Game Change or you only know him from […]

T.V.: “Oh Sit,” “Married to Japan,” “The Inbetweeners”

“Oh Sit”  Wednesday 8pm, CW When the fall of Western Civilization comes —and it is coming, I think we all know that —and someone asks you to pinpoint the moment you knew it had all gone wrong, I hope you say: extreme musical chairs. That’s the concept behind this new competition, in which a dozen […]

Film review: Total Recall

And so another Philip K. Dick story gets another shot at being another movie. Funny how hard it is not to go in feeling protective and skeptical, as if Paul Verhoeven’s admittedly singular Schwarzenegger staple from 1990 were some kind of inviolable masterpiece. This version, from director Len Wiseman and a complex web of writers, […]

Summertime thrill-seeking at the demolition derby

Charlottesville has a habit of slowing down during the summer months. Most UVA students and many faculty are on summer break, cutting the population by nearly a third. Some art galleries close, concerts and performances are comparatively sparse, and many local residents take a vacation. It’s true that Charlottesville has a wealth of worthy summertime […]

Jonny Corndawg returns to town with Dawes at the Jefferson

Jonny “Corndawg” Fritz began writing short country songs as a joke, but over the past 10 years — as the Esmont, VA native’s travels took him to Philadelphia, India, LA, Nashville, New York, and on an infamous 100-mile rollerblading trip — his songs grew longer, sadder and more touching, while losing none of their wit […]