Posts Tagged ‘Entertainment’
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Miroslav Halama/Shutterstock.com
Yesterday Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so that means six more weeks of winter for us! Are you positive, Phil, no early spring? It’s sure felt like it the past few days…
In honor of the film “Groundhog Day,” we made a list of paradisiacal events that could stand repeating, and some dreadful ones that ended not a moment too soon.
Bad days that fortunately ended—and one that still hasn’t:
• Jan. 26, 2011 snowstorm: The meager snowfall somehow turned into a hellish 12-hour commute for many. Luckily, the Office of Personnel Management for federal workers has a novel solution—either leave at the exact moment they tell you to, or “shelter in place” at your office. Perhaps more effective: Pray you’re not stuck in a time loop when a disaster like this strikes again.
• 2011 Virginia earthquake: It’s unclear which was more annoying—the earthquake itself or the endless torrent of whining about it on Facebook and Twitter that followed immediately thereafter. Probably the latter.
Good days we wouldn’t mind getting stuck in:
• Jan. 26, 1992: The date of the Redskins’ last Super Bowl win. Enough said.
• New Year’s Eve: Your inebriated, ill-advised resolutions would live in perpetual success, unless you were to break them by midnight.
• Fairfax Chocolate Lovers Festival: No one needs an excuse to engorge himself or herself on chocolate, but being surrounded by the stuff at this annual event is too fun.
Wishful Days–These events aren’t real, but we wish we could experience them:
• Wear Whatever You Want Day: OK, it would be an eyesore. But at least you’d be comfortable.
• Erase The Speed Limit Day: Deadly for sure, but it would ease traffic a bit.
• 1950s Day: Everyone’s digging retro fashions. Why not?
Triviahog
Began in Pennsylvania sometime in the late 1800s. Punxsutawney Phil’s year-round caretakers are known as the “Inner Circle.” Each member wears a top hat and tuxedo.
Marmot Day
Then-Governor Sarah Palin signed a bill in 2009 declaring every Feb. 2 in Alaska as Marmot Day, since groundhogs are uncommon in the state. The idea behind the holiday remains the same.
—Matt Basheda
Click Here If You Want Out of Valentine’s Day
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Valentine’s Day is unnecessary. Even happily involved couples can sometimes get sick of Valentine’s Day.
So if you want to avoid any and all couples, or if you can’t stand the sight of any more frilly red paper hearts, or if you feel like Niles here, you’ve come to the right blog.
First of all, if you’re single and lonely, surround yourself with friends. Go out somewhere free of romance. Avoid restaurants of all kinds. I recommend a concert. You can bop around to the music to get your mind off pretty much anything. In fact, Jammin Java‘s hosting a Valentine’s show tailor-made for those unhappy in love.
The Morrissey/Smiths Valentine show is the perfect event to avoid all the Valentine’s trappings. There will be no lovey-dovey absurdity at this show; that much is guaranteed.
Other anti-love songs to jam to: “There’s No Home for You Here,” by The White Stripes; “It Ain’t Me Babe,” by Bob Dylan; “Unsatisfied,” by the Replacements. And there’s plenty more where those came from.
Or watch one of your favorite movies. Comedies are preferable — laughter is the best medicine. You really can’t ever go wrong with “Dumb and Dumber.”
If you’re a couple looking to stay out of the V-Day game, it’s still cool to go out, but don’t make your destination date-ish. Having dinner together is usually fine, but not on this day — hordes of sickeningly cute sweethearts licking each others’ faces in public is not good for anyone.
Better to grab some Five Guys and go bowling. Even a movie is acceptable, as long as you steer clear of romance. The new “Sherlock Holmes” is an exceptional mystery, and it’s still playing in Tysons.
And if you’re single but not lonely, then I don’t even need to give you any advice. Keep on truckin’.
However, we’ll continue the Valentine’s Day coverage until the 14th. Keep a particular eye out for our movie-dedicated post, coming up on Friday, Feb. 10. We’ll have more suggestions for both sides of the V-Day fence.
And don’t forget — we’ve posted a ton of stuff already. Cool craft ideas, friendly dates, a guide and an entire calendar.
Elizaveta: Boundary-Busting Music
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Music’s next miracle stopped at Vienna last Friday.
She began with a pause. Elizaveta sat at the piano and stayed frozen, a toybox ballerina waiting for her cue, until the sold-out crowd’s initial applause died down. And from there, she unleashed a broken dam of emotion.
A magical moment at Jammin Java.
The show celebrated her debut album, “Beatrix Runs,” which came out on Jan. 24. And her new single, “Meant,” was clearly the show’s emotional peak. Her silk voice came out in a crawl, like a love-hungry countess. She simmered, and then built to a rage while the double bass, her only accompaniment, thumped like a heartbeat. But at song’s end, she let it all go with a sigh.
Elizaveta calls herself an alchemist, of both music and flowers, and like a proper alchemist, she keeps her powers secret. Her offstage demeanor is subdued.
But her alchemy takes shape onstage. The quiet artist is no more. When Elizaveta unleashes her classically trained operatic range, clear as a Caucasus mountain lake, it creates new notions of vocal power.
Opera singers typically fill concert halls with their vocals. But in a small nightclub, the effect is unearthly. The air itself shakes with ferocity on songs like “Odi et Amo,” also from her album.
“Beatrix Runs” is an ambitious work of art, a level of work missing in contemporary music.
“The album itself actually has a story written into it,” she says. “It’s a story I wrote, and the main character’s name is Beatrix. And there’s an element of time-traveling.”
Elizaveta has an uncanny familiarity with time travel. To hear her live is to travel to her own unique time period, a combination of Puskin’s Russian ballrooms and Depression-area blues clubs.
Even her fashion is an amalgamation, comprised of neo-classical concoctions that are half club dress, half formal wear.
“I like mixing up elements of the old world with the contemporary culture,” she says. “Maybe … everything that’s new is really a recycled form of the old.”
Elizaveta’s opera training gives her tools that almost no one else in modern pop music has. And she knows that we go to concerts, not solely to be entertained, but to feel. It is a rare artist who delivers completely on that expectation.
“I’d just like [the album] to connect with as many people as possible,” she says. If the music itself is any indication, her goal should have fewer obstacles by the day.
Here’s “Meant” from the Nokia Theater in New York:
To buy Elizaveta’s album “Beatrix Runs,” go HERE. And for more concert opportunities and other pleasantries, her website’s here.
Tonight: Songstress Elizaveta Set to Serenade Jammin Java
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, January 27th, 2012
Winter always encourages mellow, ambient music. Something about quiet snow and days spent indoors asks for something smoother.
You’ll get plenty of piano-based, female singer-songwriter stylings tonight at Jammin Java.
First up is Tiffany Thompson, an Alexandria native with a big voice and matching aspirations. She belts out heartfelt melodies over layered, slightly melancholy tunes.
The main act is Elizaveta. Born in New York, raised in Russia, Elizaveta is an opera singer-turned-pop songstress. She’s classically trained; her fingers deftly manipulate her piano keys and she puts her incredible voice to good use. Her stage outfit is certainly eye-catching — simultaneously refined and outrageous. This is her new single “Meant:”
Both artists have new albums to feature in their set lists, which will make for a unique show. Local music is always worth support, and the next big thing could be right around the corner. If you’re looking for a beautiful, buzzworthy concert, give this a go. Plus it’s early, so there’s really no excuse.
Show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are here. Directions are here.
–Matt Basheda
Adventures Over the Hump: In Search of a Getaway
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
I tried to time travel last Friday.
Not in a time machine, but in my goal — I was on a mission to gather photos and ideas for our magazine’s May Getaway column. My destination? The State Arboretum of Virginia, a haven for May flowers that I knew would make for an excellent springtime roadtrip. The problem? It’s January.
The temperature hovered around 28 degrees when I packed my camera and headed down Route 50. I had a few potential stops in mind, but the column was largely still in the idea phase; I remained unsure if I could turn my concept into a predetermined roadtrip for our print readers.
Find this if you can.
I live in Loudoun, so that Fairfax traffic was fortunately nowhere to be found, even at the beginning of my journey.
My first stop was The British Pantry in Aldie. It’s Loudoun’s most authentic slice of England. If you don’t have enough quid for a trip across the Atlantic, stop at the British Pantry’s tea room for genuine afternoon tea, or take a couple of close-up shots in their real-life red telephone booth, and make your friends guess where the heck you are.
The problem with wintertime roadtrips, especially when photographs are the goal, is that daylight evaporates quickly. To compound the issue, thick cloud cover and the threat of snow hung over my head like a soggy scarf. Since my ultimate destination was still 50 minutes away, I sped off toward my goal.
Route 50′s obnoxious, jam-ridden journey heading east past Route 28 clashes delicately with a westbound ride through Loudoun, Fauquier and Clarke counties. It might be Northern Virginia’s most beautiful roadway.
The Virginia State Arboretum in winter.
I traveled through apparently English countryside. Distinguished estates meshed with verdant hills, frigid brooks and crisp outcroppings. One need not pore through illustrations and books to picture colonial Virginia. The drive between Middleburg and Upperville is the real thing.
Then past Upperville, the scenery opened up. Still, cold ponds sat at the foot of mountains like a tiled floor. Cabins churned out smoke in solitude. This was not the suburban conglomeration I knew, or thought I knew, Northern Virginia to be.
I finally reached the arboretum. What can I say? It was beautiful, but cold. All attempts to capture something that remotely resembled springtime scenery proved fruitless. I took the hint when, with my camera on autopilot, the flash came on in the middle of a trail. Even at 2 in the afternoon, adequate light was fading. After a freezing 45 minutes, I headed back east to try to get a couple last-minute stops.
Guess where?
The drive back was faster, but the ideas were flowing. By trip’s end, I had a page of potential Getaway stops, from which I must choose six. I even found a couple of hidden gems I didn’t know existed.
So what made the cut? You’ll just have to read our May issue to find out. But in the meantime, why not create your own list of Route 50 must-sees this weekend and make a custom getaway to call your very own?
Even in the winter, you won’t regret it.
–Matt Basheda
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Discarded glass takes on new life in sculpture form.
By Matt Basheda
Courtesy of Christene Sockoloski (sculptures)
Arlington artist Cindy Ann Coldiron takes an environmentally friendly approach to her work, using recycled glass for her sculptures, like the sparkling dragonflies in Barcroft Park. Three years ago, when she noticed the lack of any literature unifying recycled glass art as its own genre, she took it upon herself to reveal an emerging artistic world. Her book, “Sculpture and Design with Recycled Glass,” took two years to research and ended up taking her all over the world, from Swaziland to Australia.
“My main goal in writing this book is for someone to never look at a discarded bottle, or even discarded window glass, in the same manner again,” she says. “Basically, if you were a painter and you saw canvases on every street corner, you’d grab them because you knew you could use them. … There really are wonderful uses you can make from [glass].” And to that end, she includes detailed instructions for four simple projects that readers can try. However, magnificent professional sculptures feature prominently as well, including a sun-struck bus stop made almost entirely out of discarded bottles.
Not forgetting the “design” portion of her title, Coldiron dedicates a chapter to the swiftly growing role of recycled glass in current construction and interior design. Also included are step-by-step narratives of three public art sculptures from inception to installation. And most non-artists never imagine the technical issues of various art forms, but Coldiron covers that facet as well.
Info: ‘Sculpture and Design with Recycled Glass’ by Cindy Ann Coldiron; $37.49 @ Amazon
(January 2012)
Broadway Hits in Classical Style
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, January 20th, 2012
We’ve been covering a lot of rock concerts lately, but what about the classical side of things?
Photo Blank Michael / Shutterstock.
Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten that NoVA has a world-class symphony in the Symphony Orchestra of Arlington. And the SOA returns to the stage this evening with a full complement of famous Broadway songs, all done-up in classical style.
The pieces will not be instrumentals, though. Four fantastic soloists will join the symphony to fully flesh out these timeless songs.
The set-list includes standards from “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables” and “Wicked.” And it wouldn’t be Broadway without a bit of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The show is at the Spectrum Theatre in Arlington. Tickets are $10-20. Can’t beat that for a sophisticated Friday night out.
The theatre itself can be found at 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington.
–Matt Basheda
New NoVA Art at University of Mary Washington
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Several Northern Virginia artists exhibit their work at the University of Mary Washington starting tomorrow.
The artwork will be shown in two separate exhibits. “Crowded Spaces” features Allison Long Hardy, who recently completed a residence at Alexandria’s Torpedo Art Factory.
Hardy shapes her work around communication in all its forms. She seeks to capture moments of communication, and does so with ink and graphite. She is also an adjunct professor in UMW’s art department. “Crowded Spaces” debuts Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. in the duPont Gallery.
The second display is the “Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2012” exhibition, which is actually a contest. The awards include $2,000 in prizes given out to various artists.
The artists come from as far as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but also from right here in NoVA, including these exceptional artists:
Radio Sebastian is a duo from Alexandria–Yumiko Blackwell and Corwin Levi. They collaborate on all kinds of incredible designs, and even write children’s books to boot.
Jacqueline Levine is a painter from Arlington who shapes her fantastical artwork from out of her own fictional world.
Also take a look at David Barr from Falls Church, who uses media collages and other pop culture mash-ups.
We have some unbelievably talented artists in our own backyard. Do yourself and them a favor by checking out their latest work at these exhibits. The “Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2012″ exhibit runs until Feb. 24. However, “Crowded Spaces” lasts only until Feb. 5. Both debut tomorrow, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m.
–Matt Basheda
All Four Finalists Set for Mid-Atlantic Band Battle 6
Posted by Matt Basheda / Friday, January 13th, 2012
The results are in. The first round of Jammin Java’s Mid-Atlantic Band Battle 6 is over, and the four finalists have been chosen.
We brought you the first two earlier this week; here are Wednesday’s and Thursday’s winners.
Wednesday saw The Dirty Jacks rule the stage with their progressive rock. The quintet from Rockville, Md. knits spacey guitar lines with upbeat vocals. Check ‘em out:
And last night’s finalist is Buster Brown and the Get Down. These super-talented dudes own their sound with utmost confidence–a blend of funk jams and even some hip-hop. This stuff is infectious. I listened to the following song once, and immediately had the bass line stuck in my head, in a good way.
So there you have it. Those two bands, along with Brightwork and Kill the Alarm, will compete on Feb. 17 in the finals. The winner gets their own headlining show at Jammin Java, among other rad swag. And don’t worry, we’ll be there front-and-center for the always-epic final showdown.
–Matt Basheda
The First Two Finalists of Mid-Atlantic Band Battle 6: Brightwork and Kill the Alarm
Posted by Matt Basheda / Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
We brought you the inside scoop on opening night of Jammin J’s sixth Mid-Atlantic Band Battle. Now we’ve got some more for you: Q & As with the winners of the first two nights. The two finalists so far are Brightwork, from Charlottesville, and Kill the Alarm, of New York City.
I talked to Brightwork minutes after their first-round victory on Monday night. The members are: Seth Hayes, bass; Andrew Boyd, drums; Brian Hrubik, keyboards and backing vocals; and Caleb Carpenter, guitar and lead vocals. Here’s what they had to say:
On the state of the band so far:
Caleb: We’ve been a band for about two and a half years. We got our start in college, so we kinda did the part-time thing … playing gigs on weekends. And once we graduated we … decided that we felt like we wanted to try a shot at being professional and doing this for a living.
Brightwork after their win on Monday. From left to right: Brian, Andrew, Caleb and Seth.
How their college experience helps them as a band:
Seth: The biggest defining thing about us is that we have such varied skillsets as a group of guys. Of the four of us, we have college majors in international business, finance, web design and communications. We just have such varied backgrounds, and because of that we’re able to do so many different things as a band, which has been really important for us. … We’re able to … all contribute in our own way and really … be a cohesive group. Sometimes we sit down and it’s like a board meeting [laughter].
On songwriting:
Caleb: The songwriting process for us [pauses] … it’s not easy, for one thing, because we’re very, very hypercritical of ourselves. … We like to come up with the best material possible—something that we feel conveys what we’re trying to say but also is up to par with what we feel like it should be. But a lot of times what we’ll do is … either Brian or myself will come to the table with an idea or something that really inspires us, or … with this melody or this riff. And we’ll … take it to each other and kinda pick it apart, and then once we find something that we like that’s concrete, we’ll begin building it from there. So … songwriting is such a process. … It really is an art and we take it very seriously and it’s something that, you know, we’re just trying to get better with, every time we do it.
Check out Brightwork live from a previous performance:
Tuesday’s winner was Kill the Alarm, which is primarily a vehicle for singer/songwriter Garen Gueyikian. Hailing from New York City, Gueyikian has been making distortion-tinged pop music for over a decade.
How’d you hear about the Band Battle?
Well actually, I’ve played Jammin Java before. I’ve played a couple shows there, and I love playing there. And I was just passing through and I stopped in to get a coffee ‘cause I had played in Arlington, at IOTA. And I just stopped [at Jammin Java] to see how the place looked, and I hadn’t been there in a while, and talked to the Brindleys [JJ's owners] over there. And I saw the little flyer for the battle of the bands and I thought, this looks interesting … and sure enough, here we are.
Kill the Alarm rocking Jammin Java on Tuesday night. Photo courtesy Jammin Java.
What does the win mean to you?
It’s nice. It’s really great. There was a lot of great music, great bands, so I wasn’t expecting anything. It was a lot of fun. It was a high-pressure situation being tossed in. But … it’s a great feeling.
How would you describe your music?
Inspiring, energetic alternative pop-rock.
Check out Kill the Alarm’s song “Shout it Out Loud:”
More on the Band Battle by week’s end.
–Matt Basheda
