Weekend Topic: Music
I started weekend topics just about a year ago with this topic and a lot has changed about the Charlottesville music scene since them.
Our most well-known local band came back to town to work on a new album and word is it's being mixed and mastered in Seattle. No word on another homecoming gig.
Our most popular indoor concert venue closed and the second most popular venue became the "it" spot for shows. Our resident mogul is renovating a historic theater on the Downtown Mall to fill the gap.
UVa's new basketball arena continues to bring in major touring acts, though I think most students go there for games than for concerts.
I could go on and on about our music scene, but would rather answer your questions. What would you like to know? Reading the entry and comments from last year might be a good jumping off point.
Please keep comments to music. If you have admission questions, they can wait until Monday.
Posts
36 comments:
I was wondering if you have any big time artists come to perform? I know other colleges have had artists like Bone Thug N Harmony perform and Lil Wayne. So I was wondering if UVa ever has big time artists come to perform, from any genre.
UVA hosted Common last year, as well as RHCP, Rolling Stones, and a few others. This year, it's been The Police, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springstein, and a couple others. For rap in particular, there's been a few artists, but there's basically a few artists per genre, and then other miscellaneous shows (Blue Man Group, Cirque de Solie, Monster Truck Jam, WWF wrestling, etc)
We get artists that tour major cities, which is pretty amazing for a small city like Charlottesville. At UVa, I've seen The Stones, Eric Clapton (the photo above is from that show), The Police, and DMB (the "well-known local band" mentioned above). As you can see from the last year's entry (also linked to above), there have been plenty of other acts.
The Charlottesville Pavilion downtown hosts a nice variety of artists. The best part: you can hear the music from the patios of many Downtown Mall restaurants, so if you don't get a ticket for one reason or another, you can still hear the music.
For the techno/trance/clubbing scene, what's in store? I've read that there's a gay club, but that's all I've heard about.
If you HAD to list your top 5 bands (including rappers, solo artists, etc.) what would it be?? It's tough for me since I'm such a huge music fan, but it would go something like this..(really in no particular order, other than alphabetical)
1. Dave Matthews Band
2. Jack Johnson
3. Jason Mraz
4. Kanye West
5. Third Eye Blind
I'm also a big fan of Maroon 5, Regina Spektor, New Radicals, Billy Joel, Dispatch, Sublime, The Format, G. Love, Boston, Jamie Cullum, Jummy Buffet, Led Zepplin, Phantom Planet, Rooney, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Strokes, Sugar Ray, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Weezer, 4 Non Blondes, etc! (I told you it was hard to pick 5!)
And I just don't get the genres of techno and country
Anyone else wanna share???
Richmond is close enough, for whoever doesn't make to to Cville. JPJ is nice but it's really only for big headliners, not really the smaller guys.
Hi Dean J! I know this does not pertain to the topic of music, but I wanted to make a suggestion.
I've noticed that this year, many of the UVA applicants posting in the comments ask you questions that you've either already answered this year, or have in the past. You usually ask them to please use the search bar at the top of the screen to look through the archives of this blog to get their answers. Maybe instead of having to do this everytime, you could have a disclaimer or message at the top of the page that says something along the lines of "if you have a question, please use the search tool bar at the top of the screen that says 'search blog' to see if your question has already been answered. Thank You!".
I just thought maybe it would save you some time and annoyance.
-Suggestion
Hey Ryan, google "Dust" and "Charlottesville" and you'll find info about an underground club in a warehouse on the other side of town that's popular for your type of music. There are a number of DJs that play around town that you'd like too.
I like the "Top 5" idea. I'd be interested in seeing more! Of course, I'll share mine...though I imagine my tastes might be a little different from yours.
Suggestion, great idea!
I love every type of music. Dean J I was wondering if there were any cool jazz lounges aroud Cville?
And I would have to say my top artists are: John Mayer, Ne-Yo, Black Eyed Peas, One Republic, Nickelback, Angelique Kidjo, Alicia Keys,Hellogoodbye, Musiq, KT Tunstall, Feist, and the list could go on forever. I like pretty much anything that sounds good!!
this is not about about music, but i thought this would be the best place to ask. I was very happy to see that UVA is playing Southern Cal next year for the first home game in football. Since they are a really good team, will it be hard to get tickets as a first year student?
that is a good question .. how do football tickets work for UVA undergraduate students? Do they pay?
1) John Mayer
2) The Kooks
3) DMB
4) Jack Johnson
5) and a 5-way-tie between:
*Lupe Fiasco
*Weezer
*Maroon 5 &
*Coldplay
=]
I'd still like to hear (well, read) your top 5 Dean J!
when i visited they said games were free with a student id? or is this only for minor sports?
we should have a sport/athletic topic perhaps
Sports fans, search and you will find your answers. I wrote about sports and tickets last year.
Hi Dean J!
It would seem after reading all the blogs from this year and earlier blogs, blogs are saved and ongoing since you refer us to your answers from years yonder. Some reader has suggested that you put a searech bar on top, why not make it a bit cooler, since your blog are continuing and saved why not put a link there so those of us who do seek the answers can be directed there without using more of the systems resources searching for the answers...
So I read the sports post to find about the tickets, but it got me thinking about the outdoor stuff. Is there any type of gear rental or storage place on grounds for bigger equipment? I'm a whitewater kayaker, and I really would love to keep with it at UVa, but my kayak won't comfortably fit in a dorm room, unless I sleep in it.
Dean J, stop dodging the question of your top 5 artists!
My favorite artists range from Journey to REO Speedwagon to 2pac to Sinatra, Elvis, The Killers, Sublime, Pink Floyd, The Pet Shop Boys, and The Beatles, of course. I guarantee you I have at least one or two of your top 5 on my Ipod, and I'm willing to wager my admission decision on that one :)
I listen to a fair amount of different stuff, but it's mostly various kinds of rock. Not a big fan of rap, though. My top five:
1) Van Halen... I was going to see their show at JPJ but now that it's been moved to a Tuesday, I can't go. I'm a huge VH fan, so I am really bummed about not being able to see them at JPJ.
2) Guns N' Roses
3) The Doobie Brothers
4) Earth Wind and Fire
5) Andy McKee
Dean J,
First of all, thanks so much for making this blog, its been a real comfort just being able to see that admissions officers do have souls after all! haha
Anyway, I'm going to list my top 5 for this month, because I go through phases and they change so frequently.
Lupe Fiasco
Sigur Ros
Interpol
The Hoosiers
Manchester Orchestra
But really I like everything, so that's not exactly representative.
Oh and one question: I'm a transfer app, and I just checked online today and it said my transcripts have not been delivered yet. Is it an issue if they are delivered past the deadline?
Hey Dean J,
I know that music is the weekend topic, but i was going through last years blogs on sports and couldnt find what i was looking for, hence this question. Is there any MLS soccer team or any soccer institution in/around Cville? And is it true that most of the English Premier League matches arent telecasted in the US?
Hello,
Just to jump into things my top 3 steady favorite bands are
1. Dream Theater
2. Porcupine Tree
3. Opeth
Somewhat obscure and distant from the mainstream. With that said, how's Charlottesville metal/progressive rock/jazz/bluegrass/indie scene? Also, are Richmond and DC fairly accessible for concert going?
Dear Dean J,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for setting up this fantastic blog (and for keeping it so up-to-date)! Your posts have clarified the admissions process tremendously, alleviated much anxiety and shown us prospective students the wonderful extra-curricular spirit at the University of Virginia through adorable CavDog pictures and references to the thriving music scene. The time that you have committed to prospective "Wahoos" has not been unnoticed--I took notice and now UVA is my top choice!
Sincerely,
Lauren
The outdoor club rents gear to students. I've definitely written about this in the past. Look for the post with the picture of the black dog with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.
We don't have any professional sports teams based in Charlottesville. Like in most college towns, locals follow UVa sports, regardless of whether they've gone to UVa or not.
A French restaurant called Zinc shows all major soccer matches on a jumbo screen. It's on Main Street, on the free trolley line.
As for different genres of music, I can't think of one that isn't available in this town. You won't need to go to DC or Richmond for good shows. Red Light Management being in town draws many acts.
Okay, so on to my favorite bands. Remember that I'm a little older than you all are...
1. Grateful Dead (& side projects)
2. Widespread Panic
3. The Band
4. Phish (& side projects)
5. Galactic
6. Greyboy Allstars
7. Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
8. Derek Trucks Band
9. Grace Potter
10. Indecision (a local band that everyone thought would be bigger than those other guys)
There was no way I could narrow it down to five.
Hey, Dean J, I'm a Galactic fan as well, they've got a great sound. Thanks so much for this blog, it's awesome! I sincerely believe music connects us all... it's something we can ALL relate to, so kudos on making this the weekend topic.
Only 29 more days everyone!
Queens
Of
The
Stone
Age
about the soccer: DC United is the closest MLS team to UVA, and its about two hours away, probably not worth it. UVA has a really good soccer team itself. And we get maybe, maybe one Premier League game on every month, and usually its at least one day old. International soccer is not really a priority for US TV. sorry :(
it is MONDAY !! admission talk !! haha just kidding...
Top 10 music
Kenny Chesney
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Brad Paisley
Sugarland
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Kansas
Don Henley
Toby Keith
can't wait only 28 days!
Taking back sunday
The academy is
The format
Cobra starship
As tall as lions
The spill canvas
I doubt any of these bands ever make it to Charlottesville...
But I guess it'll give me something to look forward to on breaks
well is there a possibility to get fox soccer channel, gol tv or setanta sport on tv in dorms or anything?
10 bucks says Dean J is going to read at least 10 essays for the Arts&Sciences Q next year about one of the bands she listed... I remember in the Harvard info session the guy said that often it was better to write about an old chair than community service, and the next year, he got like 50 essays about chairs. Honestly.
hey Omni, i havent heard of porcupine tree but my boyfriend (a first year) is really into metal and loves dream theater. i know he hasnt gone to any real concerts this year but hes met other kids at school with similar tastes in music so you arent alone
also, did everyone write about a band for the arts & sciences essay? i wrote about a band and a book that were related
Anon- you can sign up for cable subscription in dorms, but its limited to Comcast's basic package. They have ESPN and ESPN2 and for some reason I think there is another sports channel that does a lot of overseas sports (so mainly soccer) but I never watch it so I don't remember.
With high speed internet and wireless in dorms, you can just watch everything online. Buy a TV with a digital input and and cord for it and you can watch stuff from your computer on your TV even.
Dean. J,
I admire your efforts to stay connected with prospective students on this blog. I was wondering whether you would be discussing transfer admissions as well? I am curious to know about updates on the process. Thanks,
-TE
Sorry for not commenting on music. But seeing TE's comment, I can't help but to say that that "Transfer Blog" has really been neglected :(
I hate to add your working load, but could you please update some information about the transfer admission process? Have you started reviewing them at least? Thank you!
--Louis
We get plenty of essays about music/bands. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. I'm tickled when students write about "my" music (I've seen some good ones about Clapton, Floyd, Hendrix), but more often than not, students write about their music, which is fine. I will say that I won't be upset if I never read another essay about John Mayer's Waiting for the World to Change.
I always wonder why more students don't write about music from the 60s and 70s in their essays. With all the people trying to "game" the process, you'd think more would have looked at the population that reads applications and written essays to appeal to what they like.
Of course, the catch is that when you write about something the reader knows well, you better be passionate and know the topic forwards and backwards. If you look at the entry about Camus' The Stranger, I hit on that. I know the book so well that I found myself frustrated by most of the essays written about it.
So, Juniors, give it a shot. Just be forward that if you don't revere Jerry, Mikey, Trey, Stanton, Tony, and the others as much as I do, you might be in trouble. ;)
Post a Comment