Krall talks to the Paramount audience. PHOTO BY ROB GARLAND
Psychedelic electronic rock in the vein of Animal Collective. Also featuring Home Video.
Americana-rock from an alum of the Hackensaw Boys and Old Crow Medicine Show. With Mister Baby and Marionette.
Pantherburn - The Octopus
Pantherburn - Mister Baby [demo]
One man band
Old Man Kelly - Jolie Anne
Old Man Kelly - Bully In The Alley
Acoustic set from the Astronomers frontman. With David Ramirez and Ryan Douglas Phillips.
This Christmas show from the local early music ensemble will involve Johannes Ockeghem’s Intemerata dei Mater as well as several Palestrina hymns and motets, and also doubles as the release show for their new album, Fifteenth Century Choirs.
Folk music for the holidays — both in the broadest sense, ie including klezmer for Hannukah and Malian music for Kwanzaa in addition to Christmas carols played on banjo and mandolin.
Local alt-folk singer-songwriter.
David Tewksbury - Mystery
David Tewksbury - Deal
Local jazz singer and bebop pianist. Also featuring UVA jazz singers Jen Burstein and Emily Voreas.
photo by Lucy Hamblin Cold War Kids are self-professed “soul punks,” but they might just be settling down a bit with age. After six years together, they prefer to talk books over booze, and they have no problem admitting to the occasional influence by mainstream radio. Their forthcoming album, Mine Is Yours, is a blues-infused romp coated with a higher level of production polish than their previous outings, and while Nathan Willett has toned down his signature warble, it might be the broader life changes that have had the biggest impact. The Hook: Robbers & Cowards was called “original” and Loyalty to Loyalty has been called “darker” in comparison. If you had to sum this one up in a word, what would it be? Nathan Willett: A word is hard. Intimate, I guess. The Hook: It’s not out yet — are you playing new stuff live? Willett: About half and half. The Hook: The lyrics on this album are more personal, mostly about relationships and commitments. How did you approach writing them? Willett: After the second record, I was trying to do something more poetic and abstract. I realized that I wasn’t as connected as I wanted to be. I liked it, but I didn’t feel closeness to it. This time I think I spent enough time at home to get a sense of real life, to see my friends and what they were really up to. At this stage in our lives, everyone is crossing into thirty, things are getting serious, and people are resisting it. The Hook: Your vocals have a lot of depth on this record. How’d you get there? Willett: In the past, I had this intrinsic belief that the emotion just had to come through and it didn’t have to be in key. Going back on the other records and hearing that made me really want to get it right and have the emotion there as well, nailing all of the parts this time. The Hook: What’s the greatest challenge facing four guys who have spent the past six years working and touring with each other? Willett: In a lot of ways, I’m more married to the guys in the band than my wife. Staying personable and vulnerable while being an artist, creating, and being professional is hard. It’s like a tightrope. The fact that any band cannot hate each other and survive is monumental. We do incredibly well. The Hook: You’re a married man now. Has that changed your music and touring? Willett: This time around, I was more aware of commitment. That was something to write about. In a way, bands that I’ve always admired have had principles. We grew up in Southern California with a lot of punk and hardcore bands. Whether it was about being vegan or straightedge, there was some kind of foundation. Whether it’s Fugazi or now Arcade Fire, you feel like they’re invested in something. They’re committed. I understand marriage the same way. Cold War Kids perform at the Jefferson Theater on December 2 at 8pm. Tickets cost $18 in advance and $20 at the door.
Gritty blues-, punk- and soul-inspired blog-rock sensations carried largely by singer Nathan Willett’s distinctive delivery. The Cave Singers open.
Globe-trotting originals alongside key Brazilian and Afro-Cuban covers performed on guitar, violin, and percussion.
So, are you tired of all the holiday spirit yet? Out with the New Year’s optimism nonsense, then — ring it in with the blues.
Eli Cook - Static In The Blood
Blues duo focusing on relics from the 20’s and 30’s.
Lorie Strother - Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues
Dr. Levine and the Dreaded Blues Lady - Shake It Daddy
Psychedelic classic rock and Americana.
Junior Moment - Mirror
Junior Moment - Point Of View
Junior Moment - Number 11
Local pop-rock outfit. Nick Coward and the Last Battle deliver some folk ditties to start you off.
We Are Star Children - City Saints
Straight Punch To The Crotch - Robot Baby
Straight Punch To The Crotch - When Animals Attack
Straight Punch To The Crotch - Summer Sun and Firecrackers
Young rock band with melodic bass edit: and no cello (nor trombone or harp, for that matter), plus Red Satellites testing out some of their new material live.
Red Satellites - Kill Your Teenage Love
Red Satellites - Alexandria
Red Satellites - Good Press
Thank heavens for this show, else we’d probably have to recommend you spend the holiday weekend with your families or something. But no, The Extraordinaires deliver with an acoustic set; though note that this probably means they’ll have a new tour-only EP that comes packaged inside a frozen Butterball — good luck fishing that out. Still, the main attraction here is probably the exceedingly rare reunion of Truman Sparks, once dubbed Virginia’s best unsigned band by an especially far-reaching survey conducted by the Boston Phoenix. There’s been lots of rumbling about Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand project these days, and if you’re a fan then you’d do well to also check out the delightfully screwball bizarro-rock that directly preceded it. Also featuring Northern Diver.
The Extraordinaires - 2012 Overture [unmastered]
The Extraordinaires - Eloise [unmastered]
The Extraordinaires - Terzetto [unmastered]
The Extraordinaires - Hi-Five The Cactus
The Extraordinaires - Neighborhood Watch
The Extraordinaires - The Captain
The Extraordinaires - A Proud Salute
The Extraordinaires - The Chicken, the Egg, or the Song?
The Extraordinaires - The Confession Of Kyle Griever
Folk-rock and alt-country. Local support from Hunter Smith and Ted Pitney.
Alternately ambient and electric loop-and-pedal driven solo project from the former guitarist for Ecstatic Sunshine; Infinite Love, his Thrill Jockey debut, was a vinyl-only double album based on a mushroom trip in which both LPs started and ended the same way but traversed different ground in between. Vibraphone-and-Rhodes pop duo Avocado Happy Hour sound delicious, too. Also featuring Holy Ghost.
Theatrically-minded new indie-pop trio formed by Nate Ruess of now-defunct one-time Nettwerk sorta-stars The Format with members of Anathallo and Steel Train; the latter also opens here.
buy tickets onlineThe thinking man’s local rock fusion quintet. With The Bridge and The Hill and Wood.
Trees On Fire - Live Life
Trees On Fire - Rosa
Trees On Fire - In The Middle [via WXJM Live!]
The Hill And Wood - I Can Say What You Want
Heads up — the UVA Chapel is a really cool space which goes woefully underused for concerts, plus we’d have to get behind this one for economic reasons alone at one dollar per band. Those would be sequencer-heavy electronic songwriter Painted Face, pop with psychedelic guitar textures from Richmond duo Everybody Yay and the debut of Evenings, a dorm-room home recording indie electro-pop project from UVA student Nathan Broaddus.
Painted Face - Undreamt
Painted Face - Sum Of Me
Painted Face - Girls In Love
Painted Face - Favorite One
Wildly acclaimed brass-based funky jazz led by the titular young prodigy from Treme, New Orleans, focused as much on his trumpet and trombone melodies as his vocals and influenced by everyone from jamband funk rockers Galactic (saxophonist Ben Ellman produced their recent album Backatown) to Big Easy elder statesman pianist Allen Toussaint (he joins them for a cover of his tune “On The Way Down”).
buy tickets onlineUsually the far-too-hyphenated genres musicians cook up in order to describe themselves are infuriatingly silly, but on principle we alone we’ll probably have to co-sign Hands and Knees‘ self-description as “Fraggle rock,” whatever the hell that means — presumably indie-pop, mostly charming jangle with a touch of alt-country but occasionally turning into garage-rock bite? With White Laces and the Gary Canino Experience.
Well, here’s a curious one — a solo set from Wilco’s frontman, whose biggest news lately has been producing an album for soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples, but with the Autumn Defense folk-pop side project from Wilco bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sissone opening. Expect a bunch of tunes from both his previous bands (Stirratt was in Uncle Tupelo as well) and perhaps some hand-wringing about how this is just a few freaky Nels Cline solos away from actually being Wilco at the Paramount. Which would be incredible, but is never going to happen — better take what you can get.
The Autumn Defense - Back Of My Mind
buy tickets onlineWhen she goes off on her own, the onetime DMB opening act and lead guitarist in Ingrid Michaelson’s backing band plays a folk-rock singer-songwriter with rock and punk inclinations that might get her kicked outta the coffeehouse (and also ukuleles, xylophones, and a bluegrass cover of “Pour Some Sugar On Me”). Lelia Broussard and local youngster Genna Matthew open.
Bess Rogers - Favorite Day
Bess Rogers - What We Want
Things have slowed down considerably for these guys lately, but they’re still Virginia’s finest answer to the Indigo Girls/10,000 Maniacs corner of the folk world which aggressively courts rock listeners, a formidable acoustic quartet in which Charlottesville’s own Michael Clem contributes to the massive stacks of vocal harmonies towering over the jangly guitars. Ellis Paul opens.
Ellis Paul - Annalee
Ellis Paul - Eighteen
Acoustic guitar based folk-rock and 1930’s gypsy swing quartet with fiddle melodies and bouncing bass but no percussion.
Caravan Of Thieves - Rattlesnake
buy tickets onlineSkeedaddle is your headliner here in theory, 20’s and 30’s swing tunes using instruments that are acoustic, unusual, or both (ukulele, kazoo, washboard, etc), but be sure to show up early to catch a set of country and folk from openers The Don’t Tell Darlings, performing here as a duo.
The Don’t Tell Darlings - Single Girls
The Sound Studios hosts Gunchux head Rob Cheatham, local alt-country fave Sarah White, Adam Long of the Sometime Favorites, and acoustic singer-songwriter Pat Marrah for an “in the round” style shared performance which will be recorded and later broadcast on 106.1 The Corner.
Sarah White - Apple In B Major
Sarah White - Half A Smile
Sarah White - Ply Me
Sarah White - Sweetheart
Sarah White - Where You’re Going
Performances by jazz trumpet wizard John D’earth, Brazilian fusion duo Beleza Brasil, guitarist Steve Michael Smith, and jazz flautist Gina Sobel. Ticket price includes free food and dessert, and all proceeds benefit Charlottesville Health Access.
Hank Williams tribute from the star of Live Arts‘ recent production of Lost Highway.
Americana and folk
Misty Strings - Grey and Lonesome
Misty Strings - Beautiful Day
Americana and folk
Misty Strings - Grey and Lonesome
Misty Strings - Beautiful Day
Christmas concert
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Annual performance of Handel’s Messiah involving several UVA vocal groups and the audience members, who are given scores and encouraged to sing along.
Wild-man guitar virtuoso and longtime unofficial DMB member Tim Reynolds gets his quirkier and more idiosyncratic side out early via the latest version of his long-running TR3 power trio so he can then play it relatively straight when DMB plays JPJ this weekend. (Yikes, that’s a lot of acronyms!) Probably no tutus or gas masks here, though, since those over-the-top theatrics are usually reserved for the solo shows. But anything’s possible.
buy tickets onlineCharlottesville’s golden boys return for another two-night stand at JPJ, this time with the benefit of a lot more mileage with Flecktones saxophonist Jeff Coffin, who signed on as a touring member after the 2008 death of founding member LeRoi Moore, to whom they subsequently dedicated their surprisingly strong newest album.
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Release show for the popular local glam-rockers’ new EP, The Triangle The Tree, which sees them expanding via Wurlitzer, 12-string, and glockenspiel. With The Hilarious Posters and The Fire Tapes.
Red Satellites - Kill Your Teenage Love
Red Satellites - Alexandria
The Hilarious Posters - The Fists The Fighting
The Hilarious Posters - Crossed Over The Ocean
The Hilarious Posters - That Thing You Don’t
The Hilarious Posters - Sugarbread Falls
Finely-tuned Brooklyn alt-country group started by a former jamband guitarist. Big Daddy Love opens.
Yarn - Bad Bad Man
Yarn - Don’t Break My Heart
Yarn - I’m Down
Yarn - Ain’t That A Sin
Yarn - Empty Pockets
Yarn - Alone On The Weekend
Reunion show from local songwriter Andy Waldeck’s 90’s funk-rock band. With Sinclarity and Naughty Dynamic and the Design.
buy tickets onlineBuzzed-about psychedelic indie-pop trio growing more synth-focused and danceable with each passing week. Bear remixer Twin Shadow and electronic pop duo Sun Airway open. Especially recommended for fans of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear.
Bear In Heaven - Wholehearted Mess
Bear In Heaven - Ultimate Satisfaction [The Field remix]
Bear In Heaven - Dust Cloud [Justin K. Broadrick remix]
Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers
Jazzy sax-n-synth jamband electronica brought to you by Sound Tribe Sector 9’s record label. New local guitar/DJ duo Guerilla Tactics opens with turntables and pedals galore.
buy tickets onlineElectronic improv jams from a Richmond group apparently out to remind everyone that trance doesn’t have to come straight from a keyboard sequencer preset.
J3 Project - Return Of The Gas Star
J3 Project - Honeywell
J3 Project - Kalima
J3 Project - Four Dimensions Of Invention, Part 1
J3 Project - Four Dimensions Of Invension, Part 2
J3 Project - Four Dimensions Of Invension, Part 3
J3 Project - Heady Salute
J3 Project - Everybody Get Down
J3 Project - Diminished
J3 Project - Breakin’ Out
It’s big-city indie-folk night at the Garage — NYC quartet Uncles, solo singer-songwriter Dave Deporis and folk-pop quartet Little Anchor.
Uncles - Made Of Blood
Little Anchor - Until Our Eyes Adjust
Dave Deporis - Slayer
Jazz-funk fusion saxophonist who started as a Lenny Kravitz sideman before forging his own path on the jamband circuit using the Tiny Universe outfit he’s reviving here from a 2004 hiatus and the potent but short-lived B3 organ trio he formed in the interim.
buy tickets onlineExperimental composers and improvisers, one running her bassoon through pedals and amplification and the other performing a piece which aims to deconstruct his trumpet into its constituent parts — air, metal, and saliva.
Aggressive and vulgar all-female experimental post-punk quartet
Guitar-laden experimental electro-rock from Montreal. With gritty indie-pop trio The Globes.
Intricately fingerpicked one-man loop pedal bluegrass band
Former C-ville bassist returns with her wildly improvisational and occasionally Caribbean-influenced new “garage jazz” quartet.
Lisa Mezzacappa’s Bait & Switch - Ponzi
Lisa Mezzacappa’s Bait & Switch - Richard’s House Of Blues
Renowned local folk and gypsy fiddler Alex Caton teams up here with newcomer acoustic guitarist Pete Winne to host a traditional square dance, complete with live dance calling.
buy tickets onlineIntricately fingerpicked one-man loop pedal bluegrass band
Banjo-wielding indie-folk singer-songwriter. Books And The End Of Books open.
Anna Vogelzang - America Hugs
Anna Vogelzang - Toy Boat
Anna Vogelzang - Imaginary Babies
Tim Be Told’s frontman performs at this Haven fundraiser along with other CCM performers including ChoosE, Element Uplift, and the Portico Band.
Local singer-songwriters and Kid Pan Alley co-conspirators team up for a fundraiser for the Rockfish Valley Community Center. Show up at 5pm if you’re also interested in dinner, drinks, and the silent auction.
Student flautists play Ravel, Scarlatti, and more.
Annual candlelight concert, heavy on the Christmas material
The Virginia Women’s Chorus - Adam Lay Ibounden
The Virginia Women’s Chorus - Las Amarillas
The Virginia Women’s Chorus - Simple Gifts
Annual Christmas concert from the student singers
Acclaimed classical pianist performs Beethoven, Schubert, and more.
Handel, Paganini, and more performed on period-appropriate instruments
75th anniversary concert featuring movie themes from The Sound Of Music and Star Wars and trumpet player Al Chesnovitz from Letterman’s band.
The university’s flagship jazz group performs a virtuoso bass piece written for Jimmy Blanton by Duke Ellington, and premieres a funky new 7/4 tune called “The Evil Weasel” written by exchange student Terry McLeod.
