Last weekend, I caught another solid concert at the Charlottesville Pavilion. The Black Crowes were in town to help celebrate the July 4th weekend.



This was the 6th time that I’ve seen the Crowes, which is hard for me to believe. I am not a hardcore Black Crowes fan, but am probably more of a fan now than I was 18 years ago when I first caught them on the Shake Your Money Maker tour. My enthusiasm for the Crowes waned after their first couple albums, but was refueled when I caught them 2 years ago at the Pavilion. The reason? First off, their live catalog has obviously grown (both originals and covers), and second, all those years sharing the stage with jam bands and Jimmy Page has transformed the bar band sound I heard in 1990-1991 into a unique form of southern hippie rock.

Unfortunately, we missed almost all of Grace Potter & the Nocturnals due to another torrential rain storm. We got in as they were finishing up a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Sweet Virginia. The Crowes came on to only about a half-filled venue, but we were treated to a great set list. Highlights for me were Seeing Things, Wiser Time, Thorn in My Pride, and The Band’s The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.

If you missed the Black Crowes last weekend, you can buy a copy of the show here or catch them in October when they will play a 2 night stand at The National in Richmond.

Setlist: Movin’ On Down The Line, Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution, Hotel Illness, Thick ‘n’ Thin, Walk Believer Walk, Young Man Old Man, There’s Gold In Them Hills, Boomer’s Story, Seeing Things, Welcome to the Goodtimes, The Mighty Quinn, Wiser Time, Thorn In My Pride, Wounded Bird

E: She, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down


Seeing Things For The First Time - The Black Crowes from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

I am starting a new column this morning about three things that I am always in search of when I am out and about - cheap, good, and local. In today’s economy, these three words couldn’t be more important. Our family, like so many others, is cutting back on the amount we eat out. Therefore, when we do eat out, I want to make especially sure that my belly and my wallet are satisfied. I’m sure you do too, so why not share some of the best cheap, good, and local spots from around the Old Dominion?

First up is the Horse & Hound Gastropub in Charlottesville. The Horse & Hound is modeled after London gastropubs with an emphasis on simple food done well in a casual atmosphere. The owners have transformed the old Blue Bird Cafe into just that. Inside, the restaurant has a Virginia Hunt Country feel as historical photographs and paintings from local fox hunt clubs take up wall space. The patio outside offers comfortable seating with large umbrellas that provide for nice shade in the summertime.

Enough about the fluff. Who really gives a crap about the atmosphere if the food is no good? I go for three reasons.

1. My almost 2 year old son loves it. The wait staff are extremely friendly (and love my son), and he loves their french fries. We go here as a family about twice a month.

2. A smoked pork sandwich with cole slaw & spicy mustard sauce, named The Belmont. I’ve tried many other sandwiches and entrees on the menu, but I keep coming back to the Belmont. It’s smoked goodness on ciabatta bread with a heaping of french fries (or onion rings as pictured below) for only $9.



3. The most delicious beer on tap in Charlottesville, Fullers London Pride Pale Ale. It’s $6 for a 20oz, which is a hefty price for a college town, but it’s so worth it. If I worked there, this beer would make me an alcoholic.

I must disclose that I am not a fan of all their dishes. My wife and I find their sandwiches to be more enjyoable than their entrees, thus a better value.

Regardless, try it out next time you are in town. If you only order the Fullers Pride, I guarantee you’ll come back for more.

The Butter Room is thrilled to interview Ann McDaniel, the Director of the Warehouse, the official Dave Matthews Band fan association that is celebrating it’s tenth year at the end of 08! With Dave Matthews Band’s summer tour kicking off today at Post Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA, we felt it apropos to interview the person who runs the best fan club around. Ann moved to Charlottesville for her position as Director of the Warehouse in the fall of 2001. Originally from Birmingham, AL and a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) with a BS in Natural Resources, she loves calling Charlottesville home and admits to feeling blessed to have a job she loves!


You’ve been the Director of the DMB Warehouse since 2001. How did the opportunity come about?

Ann McDaniel: It was very serendipitous; I had been working in Athens, GA as Executive Director of an environmental nonprofit and was looking to move and for a change. I sent my resume to Coran Capshaw through mutual friends and the fan club director position had just become available. It was perfect timing, I flew up for the interview and moved to Charlottesville a month later.


The Warehouse has a pretty sizeable membership. What has been the secret to its success?

Ann: We have a steady loyal base of fans in the Warehouse fan association. We offer Warehouse members a nice allotment of tickets prior to public on sales; we send them a live fan club only release of songs each year and provide great customer service plus opportunities for meet and greets and ticket upgrades. All for the reasonable annual fee of $35.


What is a “day in the life” of running the Warehouse?

Ann: My day varies based on projects and the time of year. I run the Bama charity auctions, post updates to all sites: DMB, Warehouse, Facebook, MySpace, write and coordinate email blasts, assist with ticketing projects, respond to Warehouse emails and phone calls. The list goes on but those are the top activities that keep me plenty busy.


What are the favorite parts of your job, and how does it feel to have a job that tens of thousands would love to have?

Ann: My favorite part of the job is working with such a great, dedicated team and for such an amazing band of philanthropic artists. We work hard for DMB and we accomplish a lot. When I go to a Dave Matthews Band show and look around at the tens of thousands of fans enjoying themselves, it is a very proud moment as thousands of those fans are Warehouse members! I do not really ever think about having a job that others covet; my job may seem glamorous to those on the outside but trust me, it’s a lot of work!


DMB performing at The Concert for Virginia Tech on 9/6/07; photo by Todd Wickersty

The summer tour kicks off this week. Is there anything new and/or different that fans can expect this year?

Ann: Well, sadly, Butch Taylor is leaving DMB and he will be missed. On the bright side, DMB has been working in the studio with longtime friend Tim Reynolds, who will be joining the band on tour this summer. We are all hoping for a taste of some new material from the studio.


Approximately how many DMB shows had you seen before becoming Director of the Warehouse, and how many have you seen since? What have been your favorites and why?

Ann: My first DMB shows were right out of college in the mid 90s, the Georgia Theatre in Athens, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. I truly do not know how many I’ve been to - I probably need to sit down and figure the total for posterity’s sake (ha ha). My favorite moments have occurred at the shows at Red Rocks, the Roseland Ballroom, Central Park and with friends at VA Beach and Shoreline. This summer I am greatly looking forward to the Greek Theatre shows, the last one is my birthday (and LeRoi’s :)


What other music have you been listening to lately and would recommend to our readers?

Ann: I LOVE In Rainbows by Radiohead, it’s been in heavy rotation for some time now (saw Radiohead in northern VA recently and it was 2 hours of perfection in spite of the chilly temps and incessant rain). I have also been listening to Frank by Amy Winehouse, KT Tunstall, My Morning Jacket (looking forward to the June 10th ATO release: Evil Urges). I listen to Radio Paradise at work almost daily and love their playlists which have introduced me to lots of artists.


DMB performing at The Concert for Virginia Tech on 9/6/07; photo by Todd Wickersty

I understand you are heavily involved with Bama Works, DMB’s charitable program in the Charlottesville area. What are some of the activities and charities that Bama Works supports?

Ann: There are way too many to list so I invite readers to check http://www.davematthewsband.com/bama/charities/. The most recent is the Bama Green project which encompasses all of the environmental efforts undertaken by the band while on the road, in the studio or at home. In addition to working with the band, the Bama Green Project is also dedicated to educating DMB fans around the world about how to take simple & positive environmental actions. More info may be found at www.reverbrock.org/dmb.

Dave Matthews Band should be highly commended for their work through Bama Works. They started a Village Recovery Fund after the terrible tsunami in Sri Lanka, they began the Bama Works Youth Initiative to educate high school children about philanthropy through hands-on education and execution of charitable projects, they supported and issued a challenge grant for the Habitat for Humanity Musician’s Village in New Orleans as well as distributed monies raised at the Red Rocks show for Katrina Relief to various relief charities. I could go on and on…


When you are not working, you are …

Ann: Working in my flower and vegetable gardens, taking photographs, seeing live music, enjoying delicious food and wine with my beau and friends! I also do a lot of volunteer work. I am court appointed special advocate with Piedmont CASA and work with children that are involved in abuse, neglect or custody cases. I have been involved with the Junior League of Charlottesville since ‘01 and recently completed my Charlottesville Albemarle Tree Steward training. Next on my list is becoming a certified Master Naturalist.

I was very excited leading up to this past Memorial Day weekend in anticipation of all the grilling and smoking I’d be able to do, and in particular, the smoking. I’d done a good amount of grilling already this year, but I hadn’t smoked much meat, doing only a mackerel so far. It was good, but it wasn’t pork. You know how it is. To quote the great Thomas Keller in his Introduction to the book “Charcuterie,” he says:

From a culinary standpoint, the pig is unmatched in the diversity of flavors and textures it offers the cook and the uses it can be put to-from head to tail, from ham to tenderloin, it’s a marvel. A piece of pork belly can be brined, roasted, grilled, sauteed, dry-cured, braised, or confited, with widely varying results. This is a very hopeful time for the pig in America.

Knowing though that I’d not be able to do wall-to-wall pork the whole weekend, I chose each of the major food groups for the bases of the evening meals over the three days: pork, beef and chicken. Steaks would be grilled Saturday, Ribs smoked Sunday, and 2 Chickens smoked on Monday. As I mentioned, I was stoked (pun completely intended). And, as a huge added bonus, my wife decided that she was going to make home made marshmallows. Let’s start with the steaks on Saturday.

We had 1.5” thick ribeyes, and that was a very good thing. Here’s the steaks before they went on the grill:



With meat as good as that, the only seasoning I used was salt and pepper, kosher salt at that, and more than you’d think you’d need (makes for a nicer crust), and let it sit for an hour to get up to room temperature before going on the grill. Then, we realized we were running late, and had to get the steaks on the grill before the coals had had time to mellow, and as a result, there was a bit more char on the beefy goodness than I would have liked. Here’s what the steaks looked like coming off the grill:



Now, it’s really hard to screw up a steak that good, and so even the char didn’t really hinder the overall experience, especially in the context of the rest of the meal, which included:

• Grilled garlicky portabello mushrooms
• Grilled asparagus
• Garlic confit mashed potatoes
• Many Beers
• The aforementioned homemade marshmallows

which looked like this:



The marshmallows, I learned, are basically a combination of cooked sugar, water and corn syrup whipped together with gelatin until you get a pearly white goop that you spread out on to a pan and wait for it to cool before cutting and dredging in powdered sugar to combat the tackiness. We roasted the marshmallows over the grill, and hot damn.



I can never eat store bought marshmallows again; they’re that good. So, overall Saturday was a success, but I was still looking forward to smoke some pork.

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Which I did the next day. I had 3 racks of baby back pork ribs, and initially seasoned them with salt, let them sit for a while, and then put a rub on them. Here’s what the ribs were up to pre-rub.



Now, I hope you understand that I’m not at liberty to tell you the full ingredients for my rib rub, but I will tell you there was paprika in it. Probably some pepper too. The rest is up to you. This time, I decided to leave the membrane on the back of the ribs, to see how it would work out. I had the smoker going at 225, using hickory chips and charcoal, and smoked them for 5 hours, spraying them with apple juice every 30 minutes or so. Here they are after coming out of the smoker:


For me at least, and I may be a bit strange in regards to how affected I am by really good food, what a visceral response food elicits for me, moments such as eating these ribs caused the thankfully familiar reflex of closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, and grabbing on to the side of the table for dear life. I’m not saying they were the best ribs that have ever been prepared or anything, but damn. If I recall correctly, there was also some other food that evening, which included:

• Grilled Corn
• Collard Greens
• Apple Sauce
• Still More Beers
• and a few more marshmallows

Sunday was holy.

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Now, onto Monday, when we smoke the chickens. As anyone who has ever cooked chicken before knows, chicken tends to dry out when cooked, regardless of the cooking method, and so to combat that, we brine the chickens. We brine the chickens by dissolving a cup of salt and a quarter cup of molasses into water, let it cool down (you don’t want to start cooking the chicken in hot brine), transfer it to a container the can hold the meat and enough liquid to cover it, put in the chicken(s), add more water as necessary, and then let it hang out for between 6 and 10 hours. Next was adding a rub to the chickens, after which point they looked like this:



For the chickens, I used the same configuration on the smoker as I did with the ribs: 225 degrees, hickory chips and charcoal, and had them on for 4 hours (ensuring they reached an internal temperature of 165 using a meat thermometer), and then took them out. They looked good, and like this:



Now, I’ve smoked a good number of chickens in my day, so I had a good idea of what to expect, and they delivered. Smoky, juicy, spicy, the whole thing. They were no ribs, but then again, nothing is. The rest of the meal on Monday consisted of:

• Potato salad with lots of bacon
• Broccoli
• Beers til there were no more beers

Overall, this was by far the best Memorial Day weekend I’ve ever had, food-wise or otherwise. If yours was half as good as mine, you’re doing pretty damn good.

Trees on Fire are set to play their second show in as many years at Charlottesville’s Fridays After Five tomorrow, 5/9/08. The Butter Room was lucky enough to catch up with Trees’ drummer, Paul Rosner, before the show for some question and answer time.


What’s the songwriting process like? Do lyrics come first and then music or the other way around? Is there a primary lyricist in the group?

Paul Rosner: Generally, Rob or Blake will bring the skeleton of a song to the group first. The skeleton includes melody, lyrics, and a basic chord progression, though things can and do change once the band has gotten ahold of the song. At that point, we spend a lot of time working on the basic grooves/feel of the different parts, as well as figuring out what instruments to use. That often means Justin has to decide which of his many toys to pull out, but Rob has been playing less guitar in the group lately, so he also has decisions to make. Sometimes, those decisions come about after we’ve tried a few different arrangements, and other times, songs evolve after we’ve played them live a few times.


What’s been the most successful show you’ve had both in terms of turnout and performance? Were they the same show?

Paul: In terms of turnout, the most successful shows we’ve had were 3/13/08 at Satellite Ballroom here in Cville and last April’s CD release party for The Green Room, which took place at Starr Hill. We had the room completely packed and sold out at the latter, and had a big, raucous crowd at the former that was singing along loudly, dancing like mad, and generally giving out amazingly strong energy. I would say this last show at Satellite was also one of our best, though we’re never completely happy with a performance. I guess that’s pretty normal.


You are all very skilled musicians and performers - do you take requests at shows?

Paul: We don’t really take requests, mostly because we spend a lot of time working on highly specified arrangements of our original songs, and obviously we’re anxious to play them for people. The songs keep evolving, growing, and getting stronger each time we perform, so I think they stay pretty fresh. In the past, however, we have taken a few requests of our own songs (and the occasional cover).


What’s your favorite cover that you play live?

Paul: I really enjoy playing “Walking on the Moon” by the Police and “If You Want Me to Stay” by Sly and the Family Stone. The Police have always been one of my all-time favorite bands (I got to see them at Bonnaroo last summer), and they are a big influence on Trees on Fire, particularly when we first formed. The Sly song has been a favorite of mine for a while, and it’s one of the few songs I sing lead on, so that’s fun for me.


How do you try to manage the balance between socially responsible/political lyrics without sounding preachy and potentially turning people off from the music?

Paul: That’s a great question and one that we wrestle with when considering what causes to support. There’s no denying that each of us are very concerned with social responsibility, but we want to show people the folly of our ways in an uplifting and non-judgemental way. We are very very lucky to have lyricists who seem to be able to find this balance naturally and don’t have to force it. “Take a Seat” is a good example of that balance. The lyrics observe: “we take a seat, take a seat in our cars. We drive around making everything ours, but as we get to the end of our road, we realize there’s something else than gold. Don’t wait around.” Clearly, there’s a problem presented in this verse, but the author includes himself as part of the problem and basically concludes that we should all begin looking for solutions right away. It also helps that this song is musically uplifting and hopeful, which fits well with the lyrics.


When is the new record coming out and what can Trees on Fire fans expect compared to last year’s “The Green Room”?

Paul: We are hard at work recording the new album as we speak (tentatively titled “Organica”) and expect it to be done around the end of summer. The new songs tend toward a little darker sound with more dance beats and influence than The Green Room. We’re getting better at figuring out our sound as we go, and I think we have a collection of 12-15 songs that not only continue to show all aspects of our musicianship but also have a true Trees on Fire “sound.” Defining that sound is always difficult, but we’re creating what we like to think of our own sub-genre, Organica.


What/Who are Trees on Fire greatest influences?

Paul: We have many, but some of the biggest are Bob Marley, Radiohead, Bach, The Roots, and Stevie Wonder, among others. These vocal artists all combine inspiration in music and words like prophets, and Bach is just genius personified. Other styles influence our sound as well, including jazz, ska, soul (new and old), klezmer, baroque, and hard rock.


I caught you guys at the Satellite Ballroom in March. What’s the story behind the belly dancers? Do they make regular appearances at your shows?

Paul: The belly dancers are a semi-regular part of our performances, partly because we love the energy they bring to our music. Their dancing adds an exotic element to what we do, which we consider somewhat exotic by itself. It’s a pretty potent combination. At the Satellite show, Shaheen and Lindsay worked out involved routines for a couple songs, so we couldn’t resist getting them up on stage to add to the madness. We look at ourselves as kind of a living circus on stage, so it seems natural for belly dancers to be a part of it.


What is the best live performance you have ever seen in person?

Paul: That is a tough question. I am going to see Radiohead for the first time this Sunday - my birthday - so I may have to wait on a definite answer, but I will give you a couple of my highlights.

R.E.M. in 1984 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta along with the Minutemen; Fishbone in 1991 at Trax in Charlottesville (such ridiculously high energy); U2 in 1985 at the Omni in Atlanta (touring to support The Unforgettable Fire, which is my favorite U2 album); Herbie Hancock in 2002 at 9:30 Club in DC.


What do you think of the current music scene in Charlottesville? Who do you recommend catching live?

Paul: The music scene is Cville is hopping right now. Ten years ago, it seemed like there wasn’t much orignial music going on in town, but I am constantly amazed by the talent on display these days: Birdlips, Beetnix, Kings of Belmont, and Acoustic Groove Trio, just to name a few. You can even catch Beetnix playing with Trees on Fire at Satellite Ballroom on May 23. It’s sure to be one of the last ever shows at Satellite, so it will be a special night that’s full of surprises.



Into the Fire - Trees on Fire from The Butter Room on Vimeo.



Birds & the Bees - Trees on Fire from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

Diver Down was one of the first rock albums I ever owned. “Mean Street” was the first guitar solo to blow me away. “Hot for Teacher” was the best video ever made (at least from the perspective of a 13 year old male, but it’s not too shabby at 37 either). I loved Van Halen and then David Lee Roth left. Enter Sammy Hagar and you know the rest of the story. Even though I bought 5150 and OU812, Van Halen was dead to me.

Other than Led Zeppelin, there is not a band on earth that I have wanted to see reunite more than Van Halen with their original front man, Diamond David Lee Roth. After two postponements earlier this year, the show finally went on last Friday, May 2nd at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. My expectations were low, very low. The postponements left me with a sour taste, but not sour enough to miss this event.

Show time was 8:00. We rolled in about 8:45 without tickets. There were plenty available at the box office and after dropping serious coin to see The Boss on Wednesday, I was not going to pay top dollar for Van Halen. Instead the plan was to buy from a scalper and sneak down to a better section if necessary. We did just that. A pair of $35 tickets in the upper tier were used to get us in the door, but we ended up watching the show about 25 rows from the stage. The arena was about 3/4 full, which was more than I expected given the size of Charlottesville, the high ticket price, and the postponements.

We missed “You Really Got Me” as the beer garden called once we made it in the door, but were settled into our seats one song later for “Runnin With the Devil”. The volume was cranked up to 11 all night long. Since we sat on the side of the stage, it wasn’t as crystal clear as the Springsteen show the other night and you’ll hear that on the video we captured.

The night was filled with nostalgia, cheese, comedy, and kick ass rock and roll. Diamond Dave is all cheese, but he still can sing. His leg kicks aren’t as high, but he has some 6 pack abs. Not bad for a 54 year old rocker. He told a couple stories, the first was about an ex-girlfriend who lives in Staunton. Unfortunately, the story sucked and to add injury to insult, Dave butchered the pronunciation of Staunton. If you are going to go local, then make sure you know how to speak like the locals. He redeemed himself with the second story of the night as he recalled memories of Saturday nights in Pasadena during 1972 (see “Ice Cream Man” video below).


Ice Cream Man - Van Halen from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

Dave’s antics at the end of “Mean Street” and beginning of “Jump” were just plain stupid, but you expect to take the good with the bad from the original Van Halen front man. He walked around the stage pretending to aim a gun while wearing white sunglasses at the end of “Mean Street” and then wore some revolutionary style hat while waving a large red flag at the beginning of “Jump”. Fortunately, he finished the song on a much better note by wearing his classic sea captain hat while riding an inflatable microphone (video below).


“Jump” - Van Halen from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

The crowd, at least where I sat, was eating it up. We sat right below a luxury box and it was not your typical suite stuffed with corporate types. There was one twenty something male wearing a black headband and an old school VH tee-shirt that had a nice rip at the arm pit. He was doing his best Eddie Van Halen impersonation on a bottle of Budweiser, leaning over the railing and head banging like nobody’s business. As you would expect, males outnumbered females 10 to 1, but the crowd was much younger than I would have guessed. It was good to see a younger generation taking in one of the classics of rock and roll.

While the cheese and people watching were worth the price of admission alone, it was expected. What I didn’t expect was Van Halen to put on an over the top performance. Highlights from the night included “Beautiful Girls”, “Dance the Night Away”, “Everybody Wants Some”, “Jamie’s Cryin’”, “Hot for Teacher” and “Panama”. But the best segment of the night was Eddie’s guitar solo, which featured “Eruption” (of course), followed by “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”. Eddie was on all night long. There was no signs of fatigue, frustration, or carelessness. He was having a great time and so were the rest of the band members. While it was weird seeing another bass player other than Micheal Anthony, I got used to Wolfgang rather quickly. He filled in rather nicely on the bass and was a great addition to the background vocals. The band got better and better as the night went on and they rarely strayed from the original versions, which was one of my biggest complaints of The Police tour. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” was a perfect set closer as the band sounded best on those songs with strong background vocals. The crowd helped out with the vocals at the end of the song, which was the most energized point of the show.

I had forgotten how great of a rock and roll band Van Halen was in the late 70s and early 80s. They took the torch from Zeppelin as the best hard rock band of their era, and their performance on Friday night showed they still have enough to light the flame (sorry for the cheezy ending, but I figured I would do it in the spirit of Diamond Dave).

More videos from Friday:


So This Is Love? - Van Halen from The Butter Room on Vimeo.


Beautiful Girls - Van Halen from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

I consider myself part-Jersey. You see, my whole family is from Jersey. My Mom and Dad were the first to fly the coup a few years before I was born, and moved to the South from the Garden State. I grew up a Florida boy from Jacksonville. However, we spent at least 80% of our vacation time in Jersey visiting family and the Jersey Shore.

One specific memory from our vacations was my first impression of Bruce Springsteen. My cousins who lived in Waldwick were all older than me, and I looked up to each one of them. But, I idolized the cousin closest in age. Everything she did, I had to do. Everything she liked, I liked, except for one thing - this guy, Bruce Springsteen. When I first saw my cousin’s posters of The Boss in 1978, I was seven years old and knew nothing about Rock n Roll. I was busy playing with my Star Wars action figures, so the looks of Springsteen were quite the contrast to Luke Skywalker. I was not impressed.

Time passed and passed. I never became a huge Bruce fan, but I always appreciated his music. Granted, I only knew the hits, but he has always been on my list: the list of classic rockers who I just have to see. The list is getting shorter. I knocked out The Police last fall and Van Halen last night. That leaves U2, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, and CSN, but I digress. Back to The Boss.

A couple years ago, I bought “The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle”. Wow. It’s good. It’s not good, it’s phenomenal. I had no idea.

This leads me to Wednesday. The Boss came to little ‘ol Charlottesville to play the 16,000 seat John Paul Jones Arena. When tickets went on sale, I did not blink at the price. It was the most expensive concert ticket that I have ever purchased by at least $50, and I bought another for my wife.

We were not disappointed. I probably knew about 5 songs from the entire set list and no songs from “Born in the U.S.A.” were played, but it did not matter. I left the show wanting to purchase the latest Springsteen album, “Magic”, and any one of his classics from the 70s. Even at their age, Springsteen and the E Street Band rock. A very simple description, but it’s true. I was told to expect quite a performance, and these expectations were met. Not knowing the majority of the songs, I am not qualified to give a detailed review of the performance, but my favorites from the night were “Prove It All Night”, “Badlands”, and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”. However, the show did not seem to meet the standards of hard core Springsteen fans. Backstreets.com, which is the website for a quarterly Springsteen magazine since 1980, writes about the Charlottesville show, “…just as “Roulette” and “Don’t Look Back” started the night on a high at the previous barnburner in Greensboro. “Mary’s Place” turned up again, too — but that’s where the affinity between the two shows end, Charlottesville being one where things didn’t quite click. Hard to say, but it could be that after more than a week of channeling so much into the performance, an emotional drain has understandably taken its toll. Whatever the reason, this was a shorter show, with a less inspired setlist and a performance coming up short of others on this astounding recent run. The penultimate show of a leg has been one to watch on Springsteen tours, often turning out to be the stand-out… not so this time.”.

The show truly transported me back to the 80s. Everyone was dancing like Courtney Cox in the “Dancin’ in the Dark” video. It was hilarious, but even I was at the end!

The sound in JPJ (John Paul Jones Arena) was pretty amazing. We were sitting in the nose bleeds directly across from the stage and the sound was absolutely fantastic for an arena show. I also found out that JPJ has a beer garden! Here I thought that a university facility could not serve beer. Bonus.

All in all, it was a show well worth attending. My only regret is that I didn’t follow my cousins’ musical tastes thirty years ago. Better late, than never I guess.

This Friday in Charlottesville, Kings of Belmont will make their Fridays After Five debut.

Who are the Kings of Belmont?

Well, their bio states:

The well-established bonds of their friendship allowed The Kings of Belmont to meld together quickly as a band, and their diverse range allowed them the flexibility to explore and express just the right sound without being constrained within a specific genre or style. The Kings of Belmont will have you punching the sky with rockers like “Play For Free” and “Entertainment & Arts” and then have you two-steppin’ to “Talking To Myself”. “Keanu Reeves” and “Git r Done” will have you bobbing your head and laughing at the cynical lyrics mocking pop culture while “South Bound” will keep your feet moving through an extended improvisational jam. Whether its rock or country or hip-hop or jams, you will find it woven into the sound of The Kings of Belmont.

I caught the KOB for the first time last week at the Satellite Ballroom. They opened up for Tea Leaf Green, and it was the best show that I have seen this year (video below). We caught up with John Spagnolo, the drummer of Kings of Belmont, to prep you for their performance this Friday in Charlottesville.

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How did Kings of Belmont get it’s start and how are you dealing with the groups’ meteoric rise as one of Charlottesville’s best bands?

John Spagnolo: The group started with just Ross van Brocklin (guitar, vocals, keys) and Aaron Ahlbrandt (keys) and their friend Drum Machine hanging out in Ross’ basement serenading each other and trading off songwriting duties. They played a few gigs around town most notably at the late Atomic Burrito and started attracting some loyal fans. Yearning for the power of a full band, Ross and Aaron approached Max Collins (guitar, vocals) and me (drums) about joining/starting the ‘band’. The four of us had played together in our Ween tribute band, Peen, so it was a good fit right off the bat. We still break out some Ween songs, but it’s refreshing to be able to work on our own material. Our friend Dan Sheets filled in on bass in the beginning and when he moved on we recruited Chris Coleman, formerly of the The Grove.



As for the “meteoric rise”…you are too kind and I will be sure to quote you in our press kit.

Things have been stepping up lately for us, and it’s been great. We’ve been doing a monthly gig at r2…we’ve played there enough that we are really comfortable there, so those shows always end up being off the hook. Plus our fan base is great…they rock…hard. Makes for great live shows.

We’ve got Friday’s After Five this week and that will put us in front of a ton of new faces…they may start throwing those weird plastic long neck beer bottles at us….you know the ones that try to make you think you’re drinking out of a bottle instead of a plastic cup…can I just have an ice cold can of beer? Check back next week and I’ll let you know how it went.

We also have a gig in NYC coming up soon and later in the summer we’ll playing at Floydfest.

Breaking into new towns is humbling…it’s like starting all over again each night.

What are some of KOB’s main influences (musical and not so musical)?

John: Easy answer, Ween…they’ll rock your face off and then make you sob like a little bitch to a sappy love song. We dig ‘em. I think one of the things that work for us as a band and as friends is that we don’t take ourselves too serious. We never want to be one of those bands that cop a big attitude or try too hard to put on some bullshit act. Who we are on stage is who we are off stage. We laugh a lot…that’s reflected in some of our completely stupid songs…but they make us laugh so we keep playing them. Like “Keanu Reeves” or “Jerk Store” or “Git r Done”…all influenced by pop culture and our sense of humor.

I see you guys are starting to take the show on the road this summer with appearances in NYC, Roanoke, and Floydfest. Are there other out of town performances in the works this summer?

John: Hopefully, we’ve been talking to some places in Harrisonburg, Richmond and Lynchburg about getting in. Oh yeah, and Nags Head too…I look great with a sunburn. We’d like to beef out the schedule but not over saturate Cville.

Are you going to perform “Jerk Store” at Fridays given it’s “family friendly” environment?

John: We thought about trying to do a “clean” version, but then said “fuck it”. No Jerk Store this time. (Butter Room side note: You can check out “Jerk Store” here.)

With the emergence of the super group that is KOB, what does this mean for Peen?

John: Peen is definitely on the back burner for now…but don’t worry, not lost forever. Peen is great to pull out for those special occasions when you want to get down and dirty. There will be more Peen shows. As a matter of fact, the original founder of Peen, Mike Ketola just moved back to Cville after being in Seattle for a couple years. If that’s not a special occasion to get down and dirty then I don’t know what is!

What’s the groups’ favorite Keanu Reeves performance?

John:How could we narrow his awesomeness to just one performance? Skills like his can only be considered a blessing. But if you insist…I’d have to say the pairing of Keanu Reeves with Patrick Swayze in Point Break is one heck of a treat.

How much do you miss the Starr Hill cocktail lounge?

John: Aaahhh, the glory days. We loved playing downstairs at Starr Hill! We would talk with the folks at Starr Hill about going upstairs because we could fit more people….but we always decided that the vibe was right downstairs…so we stayed there. Plus we were close to the bar and could get our Jager shots quick.

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Here is the KOB performing “Beg For More” from the Satellite Ballroom on April 17, 2008:

Beg For More - Kings of Belmont from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

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