Area should boost Gravity

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: June 29, 2008

Another sign that Charlottesville may have overbuilt its entertainment and cultural landscape:

Even as it celebrates its fifth anniversary, Gravity Lounge is singing the blues over declining patronage.

“Being low-key and unpretentious is probably not a good idea in Charlottesville if you want to make money,” owner Bill Baldwin told The Daily Progress (Extra, June 27), adding that the venue could be for sale.

Recently, the Charlottesville area has gained (or regained) several large performance sites, including the Pavilion and the Paramount Theater on the Downtown Mall to the mega-space at the John Paul Jones Arena, which can attract some of the biggest names in entertainment.

Meanwhile, the city has lost Starr Hill and Satellite Ballroom and now hears hints that Gravity Lounge might be at risk. Even at the Paramount, a recent overturn in directors suggests trouble — and one cannot but wonder if part of the trouble is due to the difficulty of keeping seats filled.

Gravity, also on the Downtown Mall, is a groovy place that seats about 175 people and attracts eclectic acts from folkies to flamenco dancers, music legends to rising stars.

In addition to being a performance venue, it is also a bookstore, cafe, art gallery and Internet spot.

On some nights, local venues compete directly. At all times, they compete for local residents’ entertainment budget. Mr. Baldwin notes that when fans shell out hundreds of dollars for parking and a couple of seats at a mega-concert, they have used up a good chunk of their entertainment funds.

Is anything left for a smaller concert at Gravity or Saxx?

“You feel the repercussions … for weeks or months afterward,” Mr. Baldwin said.

Entertainment outlets of all types also are feeing the repercussions of the slowdown in the economy: There are fewer entertainment dollars to spread around among the area’s many entertainment venues.

And, some people are opting just to stay at home, as the declining price of big-screen TVs and lure of other technologies also provides competition to live events.

We’ve said it before: Charlottesville is blessed to have myriad options for live entertainment. It is truly remarkable what we have here.

Area residents should fully enjoy those blessings — and we mean that literally.

Every household must make the decisions that are right for it, decisions that are all the more significant during times of economic strain.

Still, if deciding not to go to a local concert or theater production or other event turns out to be merely a matter of minor inconvenience or lethargy, then we recommend making the effort.

Get out the door, get the blood flowing, energize your mind and heart with music and more.

Because if we don’t enjoy these venues by attending events there, there may soon be far fewer events to attend.