Extra: Jordan Rock (Chris’ younger bro) headlines Paramount show.

classes

Paint & Sip. Learn to paint a relaxing Autumn lake view. $35, 2pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. catelynkelsey designs.com

outside

Veritas Illuminated. See listing for Thursday, November 17. $10-15, 5:15pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritaswines.com

etc.

Bird Walk. Binoculars are recommended on this 90-minute walk through the rustic trails. Free, 8am. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org

Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.

See listing for Wednesday, November 16. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Howl’s Moving Castle. Presented in Japanese with English subtitles. $10, 1pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Man With a Movie Camera with live score

by Montopolis. A silent masterpiece is given new voice by a vibrant musical ensemble. $15, 7:30pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Monday 11/21

music

Baby Jo’s. Tunes from the seven-piece, New Orleans-inspired boogie and blues band. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com Berto & Vincent. Rumba rumba. Free, 7pm. South and Central Latin Grill, Dairy Market. southandcentralgrill.com Gin & Jazz. Brian Caputo Trio performs in the hotel lobby bar. Free, 5:30pm. Oakhurst Hall, 122 Oakhurst Cir. oakhurstinn.com

etc.

Enter the Dragon. Get your kicks with the legendary Bruce Lee. $10, 7:30pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com 2022 World Cup—USA vs. Wales. Watch the game on the big screen. Free, 2pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Tuesday 11/22

music

Vincent Zorn. Olé. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. the bebedero.com

outside

Playdates at the Playscape. See listing for Friday, November 18. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org

etc.

Daily Tour of Indigenous Australian Art.

See listing for Wednesday, November 16. Free, 10:30am and 1:30pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org Family Game Night. Enjoy dinner, refreshing cocktails, mocktails, and beers, and play a variety of games for all ages, including corn hole, jumbo Jenga, cards, and more. Free, 5pm. Dairy Market, 946 Grady Ave. dairymarketcville.com Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night. Useless knowledge means everything at this authentic homegrown trivia quiz. Free, 8pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

Living under a Rock

Comic actor Jordan Rock headlines United Nations of Comedy Tour

By Shea Gibbs

arts@c-ville.com

Jordan Rock’s big brother has been a household name for the comedian’s entire life. That’s certainly had a significant effect on his still-burgeoning career as an actor and stand-up artist—but the Rock clan’s youngest member tries hard not to let Chris’ outsized influence define him.

“It’s definitely a balance. I’m still trying to figure it out,” Rock says. “Sometimes I do wish my name was just Ronaldo or whatever. People will say, ‘He’s funny, but he’s not as funny as Chris.’ They already have this bar that I have to be at.”

Rock, who’ll join Sean Donnelly, Liz Miele, and Funnyman Skiba for the United Nations of Comedy Tour on November 18 at The Paramount Theater, has certainly plotted his own course. Where his older brother rocketed to fame as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member from 1990 to 1993, Jordan Rock’s been doing stand-up for more than a decade and has slowly developed a workman-like following.

Rock also had success as an actor, becoming an unlikely romantic comedy darling on television with recurring roles on HBO’s “Love Life’’ and Netflix’s “Love.” “I feel like I’ve discovered the multiverse of rom-coms,” he says. On the silver screen, the actor’s buzziest role was in Big Time Adolescence, an award-winning indie starring Pete Davidson.

TV and movies come and go, though, Rock says. What he says hasn’t gone away since he was 18 years old is stand-up. And he constantly works on being a better comic.

Over the years, Rock’s had plenty of ups while holding the mic, earning the public respect of the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle, as well as some downs—like any comedian, he’s bombed more than a couple times with sets that just didn’t go over.

Now, after 20 years of refining his style and content, he says his “sweet spot … is trying to walk the line and address some things where people are kind of asking, ‘Is he with it or against it?’” At the age of 31, most of Rock’s jokes draw on millennial tropes, taking a meta look at modern social media-driven culture or poking fun at his boomer forebears.

“I’m still learning about putting together sets,” he says. “I don’t want to do it the way everybody else has been doing it. I want people to hear a joke and say, ‘I wasn’t looking at it like that, but he has a point.’”

Other than a short bit on “The Slap” that Rock did for a few weeks after this year’s Academy Awards, the comedian doesn’t talk much about his famous sibling during shows. He does, however, maintain a close relationship with Chris offstage. In fact, he rarely makes a decision about his career without consulting his big brother.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Jordan Rock (yes, he is Chris’ brother) pokes fun at millennials and boomers alike at the Paramount on Friday, November 18.

“He’s the person I can call and talk to and get reassurance that the game works a certain way.”

JORDAN ROCK

“As I get older, I get closer and closer to him,” Rock says. “I’m trying to go places that he’s been before. He’s the person I can call and talk to and get reassurance that the game works a certain way.”

That’s a respect Rock’s had for his superstar comedian bro since kindergarten. One morning, his school’s announcements included a note about the HBO special “Bigger and Blacker” winning an Emmy. “That’s when I realized, ‘My brother is really doing something, and it’s cool,’”Rock says.

According to Rock, coming of age in the house that Chris built has actually made the scrutiny easier for him to handle than some other family members. Unlike his parents and his older brothers and sisters, he doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t the youngest sibling of a huge star. “Most of them had established their personas, and this thing was dumped on them,” he says.

Rock last did a Charlottesville show in early 2017. One of the things he remembers best about the date is that, just a few months later, “something horrible happened there.” He says to expect him to come with all new material: “I’ve turned it over in five years,” he jokes.

The Paramount show will be one of Rock’s shorter sets; with Donnelly, Miele, and Skiba also on the docket, he won’t be “name dropping” his famous pals or telling long personal anecdotes. “It’ll be a bunch of stuff no one has seen,” he says. “I have some good new jokes—some of them might be topical, some of them might be from the news. I try to stay current.”

The United Nations of Comedy Tour, “founded to promote diversity through laughter,” is now in its 11th year. The show, for which C-VILLE Weekly is a presenting sponsor, moved to the Paramount from the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in 2018. Over the years, it’s featured comedians like Irene Morales, Mike Recine, Antoine Scott, and Brendan Eyre. Rock can’t wait to be the latest headliner.

“For me, Virginia’s always been the best. … I used to hop on the bus to go from New York to Virginia—I didn’t care if it was six hours,” he says. “Expect to see a better version of the comic I was the last time I was there.”