Ed. — From the Sunday, July 9, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — Paul Unger never saw a concert at the Virginia Beach Civic Center, the historic facility better known as “The Dome.”
He was only 19 when it was demolished in 1994 – and didn’t even live in Hampton Roads until 2007 — but he developed a bit of an obsession with the iconic venue when he learned that Jimi Hendrix played two shows there in 1968.
“Immediately, I wanted to know everything about it,” Unger said. “Almost to the point where that parking lot where the Dome was is sacred land.”
Unger is a self-taught videographer and music lover who helped shoot and edit the 2011 Hardcore Norfolk documentary about the local punk and hardcore music scene.
He tracked down some people who attended the Hendrix shows at the Dome and planned to produce a short video.
That was in 2019.
Over the next three years, Unger’s vision of producing a 10-minute video grew into an 82-minute “archival film.” The final product, That Was Our Room: The Life & Times of the Dome, ended up covering more than 75 years of local history and culture from 1945 to 2023.
It was an interview with Barry Friedman, the owner of Birdland Music, that inspired the film’s title.
“The Dome was not known for its acoustics,” Friedman said. “It was a tough room to play because of the geometric shape of it, but if you did a soundcheck and you set up properly, you could make it right. But sound-wise, it could be definitely tough room to play in. But that was our room.”
Although he’s originally from Detroit, Unger’s film capitalizes on that pride of ownership.
“I think Virginia Beach is an awesome place and has a great music community,” he said. “It’s real strong people —real, real passionate people. I think I just wanted to give back to them. …
“I am absolutely privileged to put it together visually and audibly in a way that they could look back – ‘Oh, hell yeah. That was us. We should be proud.’”
Unger posted the film on Vimeo after hosting four local screenings—three in Virginia Beach and one in Hampton. “I came home after the Vanguard showing,” he recalled. “I said, ‘You know what? This isn’t your movie. This is their movie. This is their history. Why don’t you give it back to them right now?’”
The film finished uploading at 3 a.m. on Friday, June 30, and was viewed more than 600 times in its first four days.
“The response has been really, really great,” Unger said. “People have been sharing it left and right. It was really fulfilling because I promised everybody it was gonna go online, but even I didn’t even know I was gonna do it right after the Vanguard showing. It was like: ’Just put it out now.’”
The film is getting positive reviews.
Jeff Maisey, the publisher and editor of Veer Magazine, called it a “must see” and credited Unger’s “skills as a storyteller.” Debra Persons, writing for HardcoreNorfolk.com, said she “couldn’t have loved it more.”
“Paul transported me back thru time,” Persons wrote. “I have pages of notes on things that stood out to me, but I think, obviously, you need to watch this film yourself. It will be a delightful 80 minutes of your time. I promise you that.”
What’s next for Unger?
“That’s a good question,” he said. “I don’t know. There’s a million ways to go. I think that it will just hit me when it’s ready.”
Watch That Was Our Room for free at this link.
CAN I BUY THIS ON DVD ANYWHERE ??? THANK YOU !!