For years, WPFW DJ Rick “Da Gator” Bolling has brought to his Saturday afternoon listeners the latest in Southern soul and blues. Not Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings—that’s R&B for rock fans—and not guitar solo-filled blues rock either. We’re talking artists with church-rooted voices and lyrics about lust like Miss Jody and Carl Sims, [...]
Senegalese singer Baaba Maal’s “Tales from the Sahel” show tonight at the Birchmere should prove to be very different from his last local appearance a year and half ago. That gig offered his 13-piece band Daande Lenol adapting songs from his 2009 album Television, which featured programmed beats and guest vocals from members of New York band [...]
The sun shone bright Saturday at this year's Virgin FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion, and while the grounds were a bit muddier than last year, at least the Dance Forest wasn't as dusty. It was the first nice afternoon in weeks—as well as the day before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and the start of [...]
The people highlighted in Showcase 12 have problems. Some are as trivial as a scheduling conflict; others are pathological or criminal. The shorts themselves are a fragmented bunch, with a few standing strong but many in need of a little doctoring.
My Friend Peter: A Beaver-esque tale about a disturbed (but amusingly so!) guy who connects [...]
On Saturday, the Virgin Mobile FreeFest dodged rainy forecasts and generally moved forward on the Merriweather Post Pavilion grounds with the efficiency and grace of a Tony Romo drive, at least for the first three quarters. The Ferris wheel was steady; burritos in the press tent were easy to smuggle; no one in the dance [...]
On a scale between "click on a link" and "volunteer for at-risk youth," this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest lineup is worth, say, assembling toiletry kits at a drop-in center for the homeless. What the cornerstone back-to-school party lacks in area talent and a discernible, reliable musical identity, it compensates for with exhausting marketing.
While the gimmicky stylings [...]
Sad sacks and victims dominate DC Shorts' Showcase 1. I’d advise you to bring your tissues, but none of these films are strong enough to warrant tears.
Long Story Short: A little person falls for his tall improv partner; the awkwardness is palpable, their connection is not.
The Man in 813: This three-minute film about 24 hours [...]
Over the last couple of years, Boston roots-folk act The David Wax Museum has been a mainstay at group houses across Northwest. These house concerts afforded lodging and modest merch sales for Wax and Suz Slezak, his fiddle- and jawbone-playing compatriot. The parties, here and elsewhere, also consolidated a growing fan base that would elect the [...]
It took over 300 hours of video filmed over the course of a year to produce The Interrupters, Steve James' latest documentary study of urban America. While James' celebrated Hoop Dreams captures the rise of inner-city kids to college basketball fame, his latest flick studies the pervasive violence that plagues Chicago. Together with journalist and [...]
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know who Bob Forrest is, or recognize his alt-rock band Thelonious Monster. His is the story of '80s and '90s rock in America. Silverdocs selection Bob & The Monster is a throwback to that time, including both the sublime and the ugly, and it’s all due to a [...]
