The Corner holds a special place in the traditions of the University. Its bar scene and restaurants are long-time favorites with no surprises or hidden agendas. However, the Corner is about to get a serious wake-up call years in the making.
In the Satellite Ballroom, you may find yourself salsa dancing, raving or rocking out. Charlottesville, are you ready?
The space behind Plan 9 used to be textbook storage, but books are the last thing you'll find now. Michael's Bistro owner Chuck Adcock had bigger plans for the space. He approached Plan 9 about creating a music venue. Satellite Ballroom General Manager Beth Lee shared insight into the space's origins.
"We saw a void in the market for more entertainment here," she noted.
Michael Allenby was instrumental in the arrival of the Ballroom, and as an outside promoter, works to set up the area and make it entertaining. But the road to the Ballroom's opening was not paved in gold. Allenby told tableau that the management team had to overcome "inadequate sound systems and actually getting an ABC license to open a bar."
Allenby also focuses on the venue's selling points.
"It's all about location," he said. "The proximity to U.Va. and Plan 9, where artists come to promote their CDs, is our biggest advantage over other venues. It's also the size of the room. There's a lot of space in here with little restrictions. It's really very versatile space and, in the future, we will be able to change it around and make it even better."
Allenby is certainly right about the amount of space. The Ballroom is one big room with a small bar in the rear. The full windows on the side keep the room from feeling too boxy, and people passing by can spectate out of curiosity.
The space, though versatile, is most conducive to live bands. At its opening concert, the Ballroom featured three strong bands with a dependable following: Sparky's Flaw, Monticello Road and Virginia Coalition. Sparky's Flaw, recent Battle of the Bands winner, opened the show. Full of a true energy and excitement often missing from more established bands, Sparky's Flaw gave a sincere performance that was well rehearsed and polished. A mere one song through the performance and the audience could already feel that the band was truly having fun. Lead singer, guitar player and first-year College student Will Anderson remarked that it was a fun show for everyone.
"It was a great crowd -- really a lot of fun," Anderson said.
Besides their recent win at the Battle of the Bands, Sparky's Flaw has performed all over Virginia, including Harrisonburg and Richmond. Anderson writes the majority of the songs and says they "come from everywhere: obviously, girls, experiences I've had. Some songs are very personal, and you bear your soul. Some are more just having fun."
If you didn't catch their highlight performance last weekend, you can see Sparky's Flaw at Tuttle Lounge April 1 and SpringFest April 9.
The second band that played, Monticello Road, had a different flavor. Older and more experienced, the small band gave a solid performance, conquering the Allman Brothers' "Jessica," as well as incorporating new material into their show.
Virginia Coalition, expertly recruited by Allenby for the Ballroom's inaugural concert, also impressed its fans with a flawless performance. The reliable band was the perfect choice to draw a crowd, and the energy they brought resonated throughout the room. When asked why they agreed to come perform, bass player Jeff Nicolay told tableau, "The promoter [Michael Allenby] called us up and pitched the idea to us. We like him and had a good feeling about this."
"Music is such an integral part of student life around here -- I can't believe this [venue] didn't come sooner," lead vocalist and guitar player Andy Poliakoff said.
"Growing up in Alexandria, everyone would always tell us, 'You need to play Charlottesville' and then when we got here we really expected something like Trax or Starr Hill to be right in the middle of campus or something." Virginia Coalition translated this optimism about the venue into their show and provided a solid yet safe start for the venue's musical career.
However, the Ballroom doesn't plan for just music in the future. Besides plans for local band nights on Tuesdays and possible room for indie-rock shows, the managers said they also plan to feature dance nights and private parties.
"We really want to bring something different to the Corner," Lee said. "We definitely want to appeal to a wide range of students, but also to locals. We basically want to have something for everyone."
On its first night of operation, the venue already attracted students who would not normally frequent the Corner.
"The place is a lot bigger and nicer than I expected," graduate student Katie Fisher said. "It's good to have this on the Corner, and I would definitely come back to see something else here."
Whether it's bars or food that bring you to the Corner, the Satellite Ballroom is a valuable departure from traditional Friday night action. It rocks as a concert venue but is versatile enough for student functions.
Allenby said he believes in the Ballroom's potential to draw a diverse crowd.
"This is a place to pull people together for a purpose, and it's open to lots of ideas and different groups. We can definitely bring in a large piece of students who don't want to just go to bars. This doesn't have to be a bar. It's non-smoking, it's a fun place to party in the purest sense."
In short, the Satellite Ballroom's versatility may give it staying power.
Check upcoming shows online at www.satelliteballroom.com.
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