Of all the things I heard at last Friday night’s Full Moon Ball at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club Ballroom, I think this quote from Sarah White, delivered to the audience during her 45 minute set, pretty much sums the evening up:

“You guys definitely picked the right place to be tonight!“

Easily one of the coolest concert events that I’ve attended this year, the Full Moon Ball had everything you’d want from a night of music and then some.  With performances from Justin Jones and the Driving Rain, Sarah White and Ted Pitney, and Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees, a cash bar that kept the Starr Hill brew flowing all night long, and a venue that had many in attendance buzzing about the possibilities of things to come, not only was the right place to be on a damp and foggy November night in Charlottesville, this was also a place I could see myself going back to time and time again.

[Jim Waive photo by Ted Pitney]

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There’s a ton to say about this night at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club Ballroom, so I’m going to have to break it down into parts:   I’ll begin with this:

The Event:

Presented by Starr Hill Presents and Wahooptie, The Full Moon Ball was also a labor of love for concert organizer Ted Pitney, who was involved in putting this event together at every step along the way.  In talking with Pitney earlier this summer about the show, his idea was to create something that was truly artist-driven.  It also seemed like he just wanted to host a local show at a really cool venue that was outside of the usual, Charlottesville music-circuit loop.

Well what started off as something different and new in Charlottesville also became, over time, a fund raising event for the Fry’s Spring Beach Club.   The proceeds from The Full Moon Ball are going to help the private club replace its aging ballroom roof that is in much need of repair.  The official door numbers place the attendance at 297 (which doesn’t include musicians and event staff).  I have to think that that’s quite a turnout for a first time event at a venue that hasn’t hosted a live concert for who knows how long.

The Ballroom:

I had never been to the Fry’s Spring Beach Club Ballroom.  Hell up until a few months ago I didn’t even know the place existed and I still have yet to see the place in the daylight.

To say that this is a classic old ballroom is an understatement (again the Glenn Miller Orchestra used to play here back at the height of the swing era) but it also felt like a cross between a big Texas honky-tonk, the Birchmere in Alexandria, and the site of a 1950’s-era high school prom .  I happened to run into Pitney after his set performing with Sarah White and he had already unofficially dubbed the venue The Summer Camp Opry House.  I thought it was more of a Bavarian Ale House Honky Tonk.  Either way you see, it’s one hell of a room.

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The Music:

For starters, this was only my second time ever seeing Justin Jones perform live and it was my first time seeing him perform with his full band The Driving Rain.

Backed by his band which included two horn players, banjo, keyboards, electric guitar, drums, and bass, Justin Jones and the Driving Rain delivered an impressive opening set that resulted in musical comparisons with the likes of Amos Lee, Jakob Dylan, and Ryan Adams among the folks I was hanging out with at the show.  If you were to throw in a little horn-infused country in the style of Lyle Lovett tinged with just a touch of blues soul then you’re getting even closer to the mark.  A great voice backed by an equally great band.  Be on the lookout for these guys.  Bigger things await them for sure!

The evening then moved from the full band sound of Justin Jones to an almost empty stage whose skyline consisted simply of two microphones, two acoustic guitars, and two voices rising as tall as buildings courtesy of Sarah White and Ted Pitney.

This was the third time this year that I’ve seen the two perform together and on this night they were at their very best and brightest.  Their set included songs from the duo’s latest EP effort Sweetheart as well as older material from Sarah’s White Light album and a few tunes I didn’t recognize (possibly some new songs).  From what I saw it seems as if these two have become much more in tune with each other and their set had a cohesiveness and a singular confidence that hasn’t been as apparent in shows past.  Sounding like some indie-folk rock version of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings,  Sarah writes songs that both whisper and roar and Ted’s harmony vocal and lead guitar work is the perfect compliment to both .  (Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go beat my head against a wall while trying to figure out why Sarah White isn’t heard on more radio stations across the country).

Capping off the evening was Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees and their performance brought together the perfect look, feel, and sound to a venue that seemed tailored-made for what they do best, playing the straight-forward, “eat your heart out Hank Williams” country.  Bolstered by the return of Anna Matijasic on the fiddle, and featuring the usual suspects of Charlie Bell on pedal steel and dobro and Jen Fleisher on the bull fiddle (who is one of the finest upright bass players this side of Bryn Bright in my humble opinion), Jim Waive delivered a sound to the Beach Club Ballroom that seemed to transport the whole evening back to a time when the giants of Music City ruled the country airwaves.  I guess there’s just something about hardcore country and hardwood floors that seems to go hand in hand.  (And just for the record, don’t even think about calling their sound “alt” anything, because in the words of Hank III,” if this ain’t country you can kiss my ass”).

Mixing in tasty covers of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”, Johnny’s Cash’s “Big River”, and Hank’s “Settin’ the Woods on Fire” with his own original classics from his first two albums,  the only thing missing from this smoking Jim Waive set was a shot of Jack (my honky-tonk drink of choice).

When it was all said and done this night far exceeded what I had expected to see and my expectations were set pretty high from the start.  If you’re looking for complaints you’ll have to look elsewhere.  Which leads me to this:

When Are We Going to Do It Again?

Well in the immediate future we can tell you that Sons of Bill get the next crack at the Beach Club Ballroom when they perform there on December 23.  Beyond that we’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds for the Fry’s Spring Beach Club Ballroom.  I’ve heard talk that there may be more shows in the works for 2009 and from the reactions that I overheard while walking through the crowd, that would be a really good thing.

A Parting Thought:

There’s been a question rolling around this town that has grown much louder in the past few months and lately it seems that this question has been asked with a greater frequency.  “Is the Charlottesville music scene dying?”  I’ve even asked that question myself a time or two.  Maybe it is if we’re only focusing on what once was or what’s missing.  And while one or two shows a month at Fry’s Spring isn’t going to ever fully answer that question, it creates the possibilites of what can happen if you use what’s around you, if you search for what’s been overlooked by others, and if you celebrate what you’ve got as opposed to lamenting over what’s been lost.  Maybe it’s finding a place that only has one show a month.  Maybe it’s turning an old garage into The Garage.  Maybe it’s a living room concert series in your house.

One guy had a vision for this night, for this Full Moon Ball at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club Ballroom.  And while he didn’t do it alone, his vision became one of the best live music nights I’ve experienced in quite some time.  Thanks Ted.  Let me know if you need a hand next time.

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