Happy Monday all. Here’s a few brief updates for ya.
- First and foremost, The Dave Matthews Band is going on hiatus, according a message posted on its website Friday. "After twenty years of consecutive touring," the post reads, "Dave Matthews Band will be taking 2011 off." It also notes that the band plans to return in 2012. Pollstar named the band the decade’s highest-grossing concert act: "The Dave Matthews Band not only ended up with the highest cumulative concert gross from 2000 through 2009—at $529.1 million—but the group also sold significantly more tickets, 11.7 million, during that period than any other act," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Well, boys, with numbers like those, I can’t say I blame you. Money like that doesn’t spend itself!
- The John Paul Jones Arena announce the schedule for its third annual "best of National Touring Broadway" season. This year’s schedule begins on October 26 with the heart-rending legal drama Legally Blonde: The Musical and ends with Monty Python’s Spamalot on May 20, 2011. Season packages start at $174—those go on sale May 24 at 10am. Check out JPJ’s website for more details.
- It’s important while walking the Downtown Mall to allow oneself to be arrested by incidental delights. I was one among many passersby that encountered a group of distinguished men and women, dressed in all white except for crisscrossed purple and yellow sashes. They also had sleighbells attached to their shins. Standard weekend mall characters, right? No. Turns out they were the Albemarle Morris Men and Women. Accompanied by violin and accordian, they performed a loosely choreographed dance that included galloping, almost equestrian footwork. They also banged sticks together, threw ’em around with reckless abandon. It appeared to be the kind of ritual that emerges from a culture that’s had thousands of years to ferment in relative isolation—and, indeed, Morris dancing is British in origin. I hit the mall again after watching a matinee of Kick-Ass and these people were still at it around 4pm. Thanks for the unexpected treat, guys!
There are seven Morris dancing groups in Virginia alone. Go figure!
