Ides of March

Yes, I know there was a game going on.

Even the VMFA knew about the game, hence the welcome to the Black and Gold Maria Film/Video Fest.

All those other years I attended, it was just the Black Maria Film/Video Fest.

Clearly film types have a sense of humor.

But even with the addition of gold and the smaller-than-usual audience, it was still a stellar night of screen watching.

The animated film "Feral," five years in the making, was unbelievably gorgeous with a simple gray-scale and tonal palette that told the story of trying to tame a wild thing.

My takeaway was don't attempt it.

"Bug People" was all kinds of funny, with a woman sharing stir-fry and taco recipes using bugs and an exterminator extolling the pleasures of his job.

The only part I had a problem with was when a scientist put some kind of 8" worm-like-looking  millipede on the filmmaker's arm and explained that removing it would sound like Velcro.

Not what I want to hear when a bug is removed from a human.

Most evocative of what we saw tonight was "Time Exposure" about the filmmaker's father's photography hobby.

It used vintage photographs and voice-over to trace his passion for picture-taking.

Most hysterical was "Queen of the Night Aria" which had a mother doll singing in Italian, instructing her doll daughter to kill her husband for her.

The brilliance was that they lyrics were subtitled with lines like, "I am really pissed" and "I was a good stay-at-home mom."

Spending two hours watching film shorts is satisfying in that way that reading a good book of short stories is; you get your satisfaction quickly and if something doesn't thrill you, it's over soon.

Once the festival ended, I headed over to Strange Matter and barely got out of the car before I started running into people I knew.

One had just seen my car at the museum a half hour ago. One said, "Hey, Fig!" And one I was introduced to tonight said, "Come on, you're coming with us."

Do I know you?

Conveniently, one of them also asked  if I was going to the Camel for the show.

Doh. Only then did I realize I'd confused my venues tonight.

I still made it to the Camel in time to find friends and catch Way, Shape or Form, whom I'd discovered at Live at Ipanema where I'd become a fan of their pastiche of electronic, jazz and pop.

As a friend later noted, that's the kind of band that could play the Modlin Center and they'd love the sound.

When they finished, Snowy Owls began setting up but it took a while before they began playing.

As I learned later, they'd delayed because there had been a noise complaint to WRIR upstairs and it seemed prudent not to arouse the caller's ire again so quickly.

That and they were waiting for the cop to leave.

But then they began with the full-on fuzz that makes me their devoted fan and all was right with the world.

"We're playing songs off an EP we put out a while ago," leader Matt said,"Back to front if you're keeping score."

I wasn't, I was just glad to be hearing them play, watching Brandon bopping his head as he wailed on the drums while Allen faced him, working off what he saw more than what he could hear.

"The next song is about love and color theory," Matt said. "They go together so well."

Naturally, the artistic nerds in the crowd nodded in agreement.

They treated us to a brand new song, "Kerfluffle," to end their set and it was terrific to hear something I hadn't before.

Apparently the noise complainer had given up because Snowy Owls was followed in short order by Nick Coward and the Last Battle.

It was their CD release show and it seemed like there were a bazillion people on stage.

A friend told me there were eight so I stood on tiptoe to try to see what they all were playing, when I counted nine.

"Whatever it is, it's a full orchestra up there," he cracked.

Indeed. It was cello player Constance Sisk's last show with the band and they'd added two new members, including Troy from Way, Shape or Form.

Just another stellar example of the incestuous world of Richmond musicians and I mean that in the best possible way.

"Hi, we're Nick Coward and the Last Battle and this is "Thieves," Nick said, kicking off a set of new music.

Well, not all that new.

"This song is called "Rock" and it was on our first EP and our second EP and it's on the album," he said. "But we promise not to record it again."

You know, when a song is that good, it's easy to see how it kept getting put on whatever they were working on.

Judging by the crowd's reaction, I think we were all in agreement that the band's full sound, with sax, cello and keyboards adding heft to the guitars, bass and drums, is awfully compelling.

But just so I don't look like a complete music fanatic, let the record show that I did inquire about the score of the game before leaving.

Fortunately, the team was able to pull out another victory without me having to watch.

Now can I go back to my music? I mean, go team.