You’ll hear that familiar refrain and many more as former Credence Clearwater Revival frontman and rock n roll legend John Fogerty takes the stage at the Charlottesville Pavilion on Sunday.  And while Fogerty’s best known work comes from his years spent with CCR, his later solo albums are not to be overlooked.  Two of my favorites are the 1997 release Blue Moon Swamp which won a Grammy for Best Rock Album as well as his latest effort Revival, released in October of 2007, which also received a Grammy nomination.  Gates open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm.  Tickets are still available.  For info click here.

For the rest of your weekend events….

»Read More

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Hey, we’re not the only ones in the Spicy Bear family covering the arts around Charlottesville.  Our big brother (and media partner in crime) cVillain has been known to drop some local arts and entertainment news on you from time to time as well.  As a matter of fact, the cvillewomenstheatreproject just posted details on an upcoming stage performance that may interest those of you looking for an outlet for your inner actor or actress:

Charlottesville Women’s Theatre Project is proud to announce that we will be holding auditions for our second project, a staged reading of “Bras and Beaters” by local playwright Sally Story, in just a few weeks.

What we need: 3 women and 3 men, college age or able to pass as such; anyone interested in helping to house manage, usher, concessions, etc.

For more details, read the rest of the article at cVillain

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We begin our weekend preview with a plug for a group of our cvilleMUSE buddies who will be making their live debut in Charlottesville on Saturday night. We think you should check ‘em out. The band is called The Moses and it features one of our own amongst its membership (that would be NewmaN for those who haven’t been following along). The Moses part the rock n roll waters on Saturday, June 14 at Saxx Jazz and Blues Lounge in Belmont. Joined on stage by The Vamanos (more friends in this one too) and The Raquellos (you guys can be our friends if you’re not already), doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm. Cover is $5 at the door.

[The Moses photo by Tom Daly]

For the rest of the weekend goodies… »Read More

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From our friend Lu Sid at Cvillain.com

Someone at the Space party referred to Cvillain as a really organized, really fun community bulletin board. To add to that warm fuzzy feeling:

Charlottesville Women’s Theatre is having auditions for their next production on Monday, June 2, 2008 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Bridge PAI in Belmont (www.thebridgepai.com). Check it out. It sounds like they would like everyone and anyone to audition (we are working on getting parlie to audition in a dress-they would have a GREAT turnout).

Charlottesville Women’s Theatre Project is holding auditions for it’s next production on Monday June 2nd from 7-10 at The Bridge PAI in Belmont www.thebridgepai.com. We will be doing a staged reading of “Bras and Beaters” - a play by a local woman playwright. We need women AND men for this project! Performances mid to late July. No preparation needed! Questions contact 434-984-2684 or cvillewomenstheatreproject@gmail.com

If any of you check this out let us know how it goes. And please, please, please let us know if any of you end up in it. We would love to come cheer you on (selfish note: it would give me something to do on Friday night).

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S is for Shaun.  That’s my name, so don’t wear it out.  S is also for Surrender, as this week I surrender to Lu Sid over at cVillain for beating me to the Weekend Reminder punch.  I am waving my white flag in your honor as I type.  Nice work.  You can find a rundown of the weekend goodies here:  cVillain’s Weekend Preview.

And S is of course is for that that wonderful little television avenue where we all learned our ABC’s and the joys of counting to 12, Sesame Street.  So far all you kids at heart we thought we’d let you know that Sesame Street is coming to Charlottesville this weekend. For all the details on Sesame Street as well as a few highlights on this weekend’s happenings:  »Read More

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A blugrass concert?  Art gallery reception?  Opening night for your latest stage production?  A little late night jazz jam?  Poetry reading?  Book signing?  Theater workshop?  Punk rock show in your basement? 

If you’re a local Charlottesville artist and you want our readers to know what it is you’ve got goin’ on, then pop on in to the comments section and let us know where we can find you this week.  

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Here’s one for all you actors and actresses, as well as for fans of the stage in Charlottesville.  On Monday, May 5 Live Arts and Performers Exchange Program will present a working acting demonstration followed by a performance of the one-act play Dido vs the Squid Monster.  This is a one night and one night only opportunity at Live Arts-Upstage.

The working demonstration:  Building Performance: A Look at Actor-Created Physical Actions will take place from 6 - 7pm.  The stage performance of Dido vs the Squid Monster is at 8pm.  Tickets are $6 for the demo and $6 for the performance or you can check them both out for $10.  Tickets will be sold at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 5pm.

For more info go to Live Arts or Perfomers Exchange Program or call 434.806.9506.

[Photo:  Sian Richards as Dido by Will May]

[Correction:  The organization is actually the Performers Exchange Program.  I had originally listed it as the Performers Program Exchange.  Thanks to a reader who pointed this out to me.  Apologies for the mix-up]

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They’ve played Bonnaroo, so why not the Gravity Lounge?  C’ville’s jam-band faves Indecision are at Gravity on Saturday.  Doors open at 8pm.  $10 adv/$15 door.  This should be a whole helluva lot of fun.  For the rest of your weekend shin-dings… »Read More

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One of Disney’s many theatrical productions is coming to Charlottesville this summer! No, it’s not The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Aida, Beauty and the Beast, or The Little Mermaid. It’s the stage version of Disney’s smash television musical about high school … that’s right, High School Musical.

Live Arts is taking on this behemoth of teenage talent for their summer musical, so mark your calendars. Performance dates are July 11 through August 2. Disney’s productions tend to be over-the-top excellent and earmarked for Broadway success when they’re adapted, well as long as you’re not counting their version of Tarzan or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

And, no doubt Virginians are waiting with baited breath for Disney’s adaptation of their much-aligned Pocahontas, a movie whose historical and visual inconsistencies caused bile to rise in the mouth of everyone who visited Jamestown with their fourth grade class and knew the real age of Pocahontas when she met John Smith.

For those of you who don’t have a tween or a teen in the household, or for those who can resist the magical draw of Disney on their younger household residents, Play On! has Guys and Dolls on their May calendar. Performances run from May 8 until May 24, with a Sunday matinee on May 11. Frank Loesser’s music and lyrics, combined with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, always provide a night of good entertainment and a nostalgic look back to classic Broadway of the mid-20th century.

So, just because it’s summer doesn’t mean Charlottesville’s theatre is taking a vacation. Enjoy the local talent on the stages of both theatres, while taking in a night on Charlottesville’s downtown mall.

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Local Artists:  This Space is For You! 

Once again here’s our weekly Find Me Here spot.  This is the place we provide as a bulletin board of sorts to all local Charlottesville artists from the fields of music, stage, and visual art.  This is the place where you can tell our readers where they can find your work or upcoming performances this week.  Simply click on the comments, fill in the blank space with the who, what, when, where, and how much, and post it up for all to see.  Let us know where we can find you!

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