Anyone can open a business, apply for a liquor license and offer live music in lieu of providing any semblance of atmosphere. It's not encouraged, but it happens. Which is why it's a pleasure to find a bar like the Heavy Anchor: The place is lousy with character. Owners/totally adorable couple Jodie Whitworth and Joshua Timbrook are young enough to run a hip bar for hip young people, but old enough to know that just showing up is not enough to make their bar a destination for the rest of us — at least not in this economy. The pair not only thoughtfully curates every show they put on, but they've also taken pains to create a sense of community by commissioning local artists to beautify the space, offering local brews and munchies at wallet-friendly prices, and wisely combating local ennui with a sprinkling of national touring bands mixed with the familiar names on their calendar. The Heavy Anchor typifies the local ethos without forgetting that there's life outside our little metropolis, too.