As the sun painted the sky orange and pink, twinkle lights glistened over The Whiskey Jar’s outdoor patio on the Downtown Mall Wednesday. The tones of classic rock and roll and the rhythms of blues swept across a buzzing audience of packed tables and standing spectators as couples danced sweetly on the periphery.
This perfect ambience was set by The Wavelength — a local Charlottesville band — playing their weekly Wednesday night set of well-known vintage rock and blues covers. Made up of a rotating cast of local musicians, The Wavelength is stabilized by the steady trio who played on Wednesday — lead vocalist and harmonicist Waverly Milor, musical director and lead guitarist Larry Bisgaier and bassist Andre LaVelle.
A defining quality of The Wavelength, and perhaps what has brought back their weekly crowds to The Whiskey Jar for the last 19 months, is Milor’s eagerness to interact with the crowd. Never afraid to leave the stage, the frontman strolled from table to table, allowing him to serenade, dance and laugh with the audience.
“I think I was probably a carnival barker in my previous life,” Milor said jokingly. “I’m really comfortable engaging with the audience.”
This open interaction welcomed frequent song requests from fans, and the band didn’t hesitate to veer off their setlist — or abandon it altogether. When one woman yelled out for BB King, Milor responded “you say it we play it!” The band broke into “The Thrill is Gone” and the woman got to her feet and started dancing along with the tune, prompting other crowd members to follow.
“We really respond to the audience,” Milor said. “People will request songs and I’ll go ‘I think I kind of know it’ and [Bisgaier and LaVelle] will know it or they’ll look it up, and we’ll play it right there.”
While the requests were certainly audience favorites, including hits like Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” the band’s musical chops shined the most while playing their usual setlist.
Milor’s voice maintained a smooth tone with a strong range, but had a bite, sometimes morphing into a raspy growl. This multifaceted voice allowed him to add unique character to each song. He sang songs like King Harvest’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” sweetly and softly, while pulling off blues versions of harsher songs like “Rock n Roll” by Led Zeppelin. Not to be forgotten was his intermittent harmonica, which added a true blues tone to each song.
On guitar, Bisgaier nailed the solos on his classic Fender Telecaster. Letting the string sounds come through, Bisgaier gave an authentic performance, never trying to steal the spotlight but grabbing the attention of the audience nonetheless.
Holding the trio’s pace steady, LaVelle carried the rhythm section. This role was especially important considering the group’s lack of drums. On the bass guitar he has been playing since high school, LaVelle guided the trio with an easygoing groove, always looking unbothered.
While these three musicians are clearly talented on their own, their chemistry is what allowed their individual sounds to mesh together so seamlessly.
“We genuinely like playing together,” Milor said. “There are bands that don’t like each other and it shows in their performance.”
Not letting the limitations of only three instruments hold them back, they harnessed the power of their collaborative energy to play stripped down versions of complex songs.
“We did a Steely Dan song with a three piece band,” Milor said. “Nobody else does that.”
As the night slowly drifted to a close around 9 p.m., the crowd thinned as they snapped out of their whiskey and blues induced tranquility and remembered the obligations of tomorrow.
The Wavelength put on a respectable show for their Wednesday night crowd, but it admittedly might be a little slow-paced for some students at the University. If looking for something more upbeat, students can check out the band’s late night weekend shows at The Whiskey Jar.
“Late night is a blast,” Milor said. “They take all the tables out [and] people are dancing. We do a lot of stuff that’s more rocking, we hardly do any blues.”
Whether students want to relax mid-week with some whiskey and vintage hits or let loose on the weekends, The Wavelength’s weekly sets at The Whiskey Jar will not disappoint.
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