Get Out! events, shows, things to do

"You know the kind of joke that's super-hilarious but also points in some genius way to the whole thing of the universe? Like that."
—Daniel Handler, on Paul Legault's The Emily Dickinson Reader

Dead poet party

If you've never really cared for poetry, or understood why

people do, you really owe it to yourself to head on down to The Bridge this Friday. Look, the Virginia Festival of the Book has been going on for years now, and you've always told yourself you were going to go to this reading, this talk, and then –boom!–the weekend is over. So, this year, why don't you get your literary on and get out there?

Not only will you be able to enjoy the poetry of Emily Dickinson, translated from the English of her time to ours by Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based, and former UVA MFA poet Paul Legault, who took it upon himself to translate all 1,789 poems by the Belle of Amherst into a zippy one-liner book called The Emily Dickinson Reader, but Emily herself will be there [in the form of actress Mendy St. Ours] to scowl, or perhaps laugh, at the way Legualt has distilled down her enigmatic verse into the in-your-face-language of our time.

How did he come to write such a book? Legault, 27, says he was in a class on Dickinson while he was at UVA and they read all her stuff.

"If nothing else," says Legault, "school is a good place to hear about dead people's gossip."

In addition to the poems, the class read all of Dickinson's letters, and learned about her everyday life and struggles,  allowing students to try to connect the literary and personal dots.

"People would say, this poem means Emily Dickinson is sad because blank happened to her the day she wrote it," says Legault. Or people would notice that all of her best poems were written when her correspondence with Susan Gilbert Dickinson was most heated, concluding that perhaps Emily Dickinson wanted to have sex with her sister-in-law.

"At first it ruffled my Dickinsonian feathers," says Legault of the in-class psychoanalysis, "how the poems became summaries of her basic human impulses, overlooking the insane beauty of Dickinson's syntax. But that's how you get to know her – and get to realize that Emily Dickinson thought of everything before you could."

Legault and Dickinson/St.Ours will trade verses, after which there will be a kind of Victorian era dance party what with some folks wearing the clothing of the time (Susan, Emily's love interest, is scheduled to make an appearance) and Legault himself might be spinning a few discs. When he lived in Charlottesville, Legault sometimes hosted a soul night at the Tea Bazaar, and used to have a slot at WTJU with Nailgun's James Ford.

"I'm excited to hand the DJ-ing reins to him," says Legault

March 22, The Bridge, 8pm, free

OPENING ACTS 

Let’s Dance!
The Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra continues its winter season with a full orchestra performance called “Let’s Dance!” The show will feature music inspired by dances from Italy, Austria, Spain and France. Both days of the performances are sponsored by Sage Physics & Engineering.
 
Conducted by Music Director, Kate Tamarkin, the concert includes Ottorino Respighi’s

Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1, which reflects his interest in the Renaissance dances of Italy’s Golden Age. Also, Manuel De Falla’s Suite No. 2 from The Three Cornered Hat pokes fun at life in a small Andalusian town, including seduction and mistaken identity. And Johann Strauss Jr.’s Emperor Waltzes coupled with Maurice Ravel’s La Valse, are both explorations of Vienna’s most famous dance, the Viennese Waltz.
 
“Know The Score” a pre-concert lecture will be presented 45 minutes before the concerts, free of charge. These informative lectures are led by Richard Will, Associate Professor of Music in  UVA’s College of Arts and Sciences, and the department chairman. Saturday’s Lecture will take place in Minor Hall. Sunday’s lecture will be held in the Forum at Monticello High School.
    
The Final Performances Of The “Let’s Dance!” Season Will Be Held April 20 And 21, with works by Adams, Copland, Bernstein and Ginastera, and featuring clarinet soloist Rob Patterson.
March 23 at 8pm and March 24 at 3:30pm, Monticello High School. $20-$38

Charlottesville Smack Down
We are only two weeks away from the biggest wrestling event of the year, WWE’s Wrestlemania 29, but you can see some of the best professional matches right here in Charlottesville. WWE presents the RAW Road to Wrestlemania Tour, featuring John Cena, Sheamus and Ryback versus The Shield. There’s also going to be a six-man tag team match, and
 Kofi Kingston will be up against CM Punk, who was dubbed "the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the modern era."

See all your favorite Raw Superstars, including The Miz, 
Antonio Cesaro,
 Zack Ryder, 
Brodus Clay, and
 Kaitlyn. 
On January 27, John Cena won the 2013 Royal Rumble Match, making him a two-time Rumble winner. In doing so, Cena earned a match in the World Heavyweight Championship where he will challenge the reigning WWE Champion. Be sure to watch Cena face his challengers at the Road to Wrestlemania show at JPJ Arena this Friday.
March 22, JPJ Arena, 7:30pm, $17-$97

All Basses Covered
Since early on in his career, Josh Davis, better known as DJ Shadow, has been setting the pace for DJs everywhere. He made the Guinness Book of World Records for “the first completely sampled album in 2001” and is known to have a remarkably expansive record.

His latest tour focuses on contemporary bass music, in all of its different forms. In the past, he has also blended dubstep, trap, glitch-hop, footwork, hip-hop, and more, all with the skillfulness of a true DJ master. His sets are inventive and futuristic, while also offering a throwback to forgotten melodies of the past. Never accused of conceding to mainstream ideas, Shadow’s mixes are known to be experimental and inspiring.

In 2013 Shadow is continuing to propel himself into the future with a whole new sound and aesthetic. This show at The Jefferson is based around contemporary, up-and-coming bass music—sounds that will probably be on the radio years from now.

Shadow wants to give this tour a more underground feel, which is why he’s choosing The Jefferson Theater, instead of the Pavilion. It should be a wild show for all his fans.

March 28, Jefferson Theater, 8pm, $22-$25

THE LIST

3/21
Theater: In the Next Room, The Vibrator Play. Live Arts Downstage Theater. 7:30pm. $25

Art: Art.i.facts by Anne Chestnut. Les Yeux du Monde. 1pm. $12
Theater: American Shakespeare Center presents Julius Caesar. Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. $24-$25
Art: We Bury Our Own works by Christian Thompson. Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum. Open hours. Free.
Reading: Big Blue Door Grand Slam storytelling. Black Market Moto Saloon. 8pm.

Reading: Poetry by Jericho Brown. Warren Hall at JMU. 4pm. Free.

3/22
Sports: WWE presents Raw Road to Wrestlemania. JPJ Arena. 7:30pm. $17-$97
Art: Tom Cogill Photographs and Phoning It In exhibit. Piedmont Virginia Community College. 9am. Free.
Comedy: Comedy Under the Bridge. The Bridge PAI. 8pm. Pay what you will.
Art: STrAY: Found Poems from a Lost Time. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.
Art: Year-round model sessions for figure drawing. Beverly Street Studio School. 7pm. $10
Lecture: Book Promotion 101 with Bella Stander. WriterHouse. 9am. Free.

3/23
Theater: Clifford’s 50th Birthday Parade with WVPT. Paramount Theater. 9:30am. Free.
Art: Calligraphic renderings by local artist Terry Coffey. JMRL Central Library. 9am. Free.
Art: Ex Ex Libris by Terry Long and Look Up in the Sky by Joanna Mullen. The Bridge PAI. 10am. Free.

3/24
Film: An American Tail. Paramount Theater. 2pm. $4-$6
Art: Corot to Cezanne. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.
Art: Becoming the Butterfly: Landscapes of James McNeill Whistler. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.
Film: French Film Festival screening of Le Herisson. JMRL Central Branch. 1pm. Free.

3/25
Film: The Sapphires film screening. Auditorium of the Harrison Institute. 7pm. Free.
Art: Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books II. Virginia Arts of the Book Center. 10am. Free.
Comedy: Improv Mondays. Hamner Theater in Afton. 6pm. Free.
Art: Matthew Slaats Reception. The Bridge PAI. 6:30pm. Free.

3/26
Film: Award-Winning documentary, Of Two Minds. Newcomb Theater. 7pm. Free.
Art: Spring Training: Baseball Art Exhibit at the Morin Gallery. The Arts Center in Orange. 10am. Free.
Art: Traces of the Hand: Master Drawings from the Collection of Frederick and Lucy H. Herman. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.
Food: Joy Luck Cooking Class. Charlottesville Cooking School. 6pm. Free.
Reading: Poetry Writing Contest. Milli Joe Coffee and Gelato. 6:30pm. Free

3/27
Art: Venus Fly Trap by Nancy Jane Dodge. Angelo Jewelers. 11am. Free.
Art: The Stand (Possessing Powers). Second Street Gallery. 11am. Free
Comedy: Improv Comedy for Beginners. Play On Theater. 7pm. Free.
Art: Out and About, Plein Air Paintings of Albemarle County by Meg West. King Family Vineyards. Open hours. Free.

SOUND HOUND

3/21
The So So Glos, Weird Mob at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
Bluestep at Whiskey Jar
The Revelers at Magnolia House
TJ Kong and the Atomic Band at Blue Moon Diner
Kristen Bowden at Fellini’s #9
Ronnie Johnson at Wild Wolf

3/22
Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin at The Southern. $12-$15
Ragged Mountain String Band at Whiskey Jar
The Sally Rose Band at Blue Moon Diner
Erin Lunsford and The Smokey Bandits at Fellini’s #9. $5
Bootsie Daniels at Wild Wolf
David Hill and the Cheesy Westerns at Devils Backbone
Carol Covell and Skip Gailes at Escafe
Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein at Rockfish Valley Community Center. $15-$20

3/23
Michael Clem Trio at Plank Road Exchange
Nicki Blum and the Gramblers, You Me and Apollo at The Southern. $10-$12
Luke Bryan at John Paul Jones Arena. $27-$52
Love Canon, Three Sheets to the Wind at The Jefferson. $22-$25
The Porch Cats at Whiskey Jar
Deanie Blues Band at Fellini’s #9. $5
Travis Elliot and Tucker Rogers at Wild Wolf
Timothy Seaman Virginia Sky Trio at Louisa Arts Center

3/24
Hogwaller Ramblers at Fellini’s #9

3/25
Sabra’s Honky Tonk at Blue Moon Diner
Dane Alderson and Friends at Rapture/R2
Jazz Collective #9 at Fellini’s #9

3/26
Red Light Rodeo at Whiskey Jar
Bill Adams at Blue Moon Diner
Travis Elliot at Fellini’s #9
The Sabor Trio at Escafe

3/27
Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola at The Southern. $15
Blake Hunter (of Trees on Fire) at South Street Brewery
Jim Waive at Blue Moon Diner
Danny Barrale at Fellini’s #9

Venues: Wild Wolf Brewing Company (434-361-0088), The

Southern (434-977-5590), Devils Backbone Brewing Company (434-361-1001), The Blue Moon Diner (434-980-6666), The Whiskey Jar (434-202-1549), The Edge at Wintergreen Resort (434-325-8080), Rapture/R2 (434-293-9526), Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar (434-293-9947), Fellini's #9 (434-979-4279), Miller's (434-971-8511), Old Cabell Hall (434-924-3376), Main Street Annex (434-817-2400), Plank Road Exchange (434-823-2001), Random Row Books (434-295-2493), The Jefferson (434-245-4980), Tavern on the James (434-286-3500)