As the last event of the Tom Tom Founders Festival and a hallmark of the Belmont community, Porchella took place Sunday night in the middle of a thunderstorm. That didn’t stop many members of the community from coming out to hear local musical acts play, and although they had to huddle together under tents and on covered porches, their enthusiasm was undamped.
The event was a series of jam sessions on Goodman and Graves Streets and Monticello Road, and featured a bevy of local acts. The Ragnarockers are a group of four comprised of Phil West, Trevor Pietsch, Dave Boudouris and Carter Thompson — although just West and Pietsch were on hand Sunday — who played blues-influenced pop rock and kept the crowd entertained with their off-the-cuff banter. The two had great chemistry, both musically and otherwise, and while their show was loose in feel, their songs retained some structure and avoided becoming self-indulgent. Lyrically, they tackled typical themes of love and melancholy, but their music isn’t meant to be complex. They seemed content to lay down simple yet potent grooves and riffs, and the small crowd that gathered around them was appreciative.
Pietsch and West also played with Funktional Electrik, a supergroup of sorts made from members of local bands. By the time they took the stage — or porch, more accurately — the rain was coming down in sheets. But the dozens of audience members who congregated under tents on the front lawn were unimpeded, dancing to improvisatory jams and covers of artists from the Grateful Dead to Bruno Mars. The front porch setting certainly contributed to the community-oriented feel of the concert — from time to time, audience members would walk past the band and into the house to dry off.
“I was really surprised there were this many people out,” said Pietsch as he ducked under a staircase to keep from getting pounded by the rain.
The University community was well-represented at Porchella. The BLNDRS, a student band with an indie folk/pop sound, performed a front porch concert, and Tom Sobolik, a beatmaker and guitarist, played at the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. Sobolik’s beats were smooth and jazz-infused, and he layered guitar over the beats to create a dreamy and atmospheric sound.
He said that jazz was indeed a big influence for him, and that he had primarily been studying that genre on the guitar.
“I’ve never played anything like Tom Tom before,” Sobolik said, adding that the crowd seemed more than welcoming for his rather unique show.
Everyone at Porchella seemed genuinely excited to be there, regardless of the damp climate. The community-centric nature and infectious DIY energy of the concerts gave the event an intimate feel. For this reason, it was a fitting close to Tom Tom, which bills itself as a celebration of the Charlottesville community more than anything else. Of course, the fact that the concerts are free and open to anyone in the community helps generate this atmosphere.
“They don’t pay anyone to play these porch shows, so it’s kind of just a big party,” said Pietsch. In this way, Porchella is different from much of Tom Tom, which has come under fire from groups like Solidarity Cville for charging high prices for its most exclusive events.
It’s hard not to enjoy the atmosphere created by free and open concerts — doubly so when said concerts provide a respite from the weather. As a bookend to Tom Tom, Porchella serves as a fine example of the kind of innovation and community-oriented fun that the festival prides itself on delivering.
More so than most other events, Porchella showcases the truly local aspects of Tom Tom by delivering acts from Charlottesville and is performed literally on the front porches of local homes. The result was a throng of happy and supportive Charlottesvillians wandering from house to house as the music played and the rain came down. Porchella succeeded greatly as both a celebration of local music and innovation and a fitting end to the Tom Tom Festival at large.
Read More
Around the world in three stories — recommendations from Language House residents
By Gretel Brown | YesterdayThese works of international fiction — all originally written in languages other than English and set in countries other than the United States — are the perfect getaway for students looking to put the semester behind them.
The Filmmakers Society is the heart of student filmmaking on Grounds
By Zachary Geller | 2 days agoThe Filmmakers Society, or FMS, is the University’s only filmmaking-based Contracted Independent Organization.
The Stews electrify in their return to The Jefferson Theater
By Zachary Geller | 5 days agoNow, with over 90,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and a tour that will take the band around the Southeast, The Stews are changing what it looks like to be a “college band.”
