Archive for the ‘Show Alert’ Category
Head-Roc’s Mouth
An occasional feature in which esteemed D.C. rapper Head-Roc shares what’s on his mind.
Some months ago at my man Peace Justice Universal’s crib, I had bit of an Alpha male moment with a brother named Mental Stamina of the D.C. hip-hop group Rosetta Stoned. Rather than tell you the details of how it got started, or even how it ended, I’m gonna tell you about how much I fucks with this rising star and brilliant D.C. music and arts community organizer.
Having had the extreme pleasure of hanging out with Brother Tyrone Norris (A.K.A. Mental Stamina) last week, I was excited to learn more about the philosophies surrounding the music and party events he promotes— all of which are well attended by a fresh, young, attractive, receptive, and energetic crowd.
The first one I heard about on the scene was Cakes and Kisses, a monthly jam session at Asylum which takes place the first Thursday of every month.
Live Tomorrow: Free Energy @ Black Cat
Pastiche can be a funny thing: When Paul Sprangers and Scott Wells played fuzzy, proggy slacker pop in the St. Paul, Minn., band Hockey Night, I figured that as long as Stephen Malkmus keeps pumping out decent-or-better albums every few years, my brain just doesn’t have the RAM for a Pavement Lite.
If this is beginning to sound like a half-hearted endorsement, I’ll stop and say this: Sprangers and Wells’ new outfit, Free Energy, makes anthemic, insanely catchy music with a hefty, forgivable debt to your favorite ’70s pre- (but not proto-) punk bands — think Thin Lizzy’s chutzpah, Cheap Trick’s contagiousness, and the wide, romantic eyes of The Raspberries. The much-buzzed-about group (now based in Philly) recently signed with New York’s dance-punk mavens DFA, which some people find strange or something, since Free Energy isn’t a dance band. Bullshit. I’m shimmying in my desk chair just writing about these guys. What they lack in originality (plus ça change… and all that), they more than make up for with insistent songwriting, strutting rhythms, and insane hooks.
Free Energy brings its old-is-new-again rock to the Black Cat backstage tomorrow, and the show, also with Bear In Heaven and D.C.’s BLDGS, is well worth your $10. Unless, of course, you’re set on getting your Gossip Girl on with Cobra Starship instead.
This blog has already covered Free Energy’s self-titled single, so check out the hometown-loving video (and show deets) after the jump. (I lived in Philly for two years, so sometimes I gotta rep, too.)
Q & A with Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson
Austin’s Asleep at the Wheel has a lengthy résumé that includes nine Grammys, tours with Bob Dylan, and a recent well-lauded collaboration with Willie Nelson—Willie and the Wheel. The members of Asleep at the Wheel are practitioners of Western Swing, and, according to their Web site, they have “kept a buzz on a genre that might be described as ‘fringe,’” while maintaining musical integrity.
Asleep at the Wheel also has long standing ties with the Washington D.C., area: The group formed in 1970 in West Virginia and started gigging in D.C. They’ve been frequent inaugural ball performers since George H.W. Bush took office, and were scheduled to play the White House on September 11th, 2001.
Washington City Paper spoke with Asleep at the Wheel founder and sole remaining original member Ray Benson ahead of Wednesday’s show at the Birchmere.
Avant Fairfax Returns Tomorrow
April’s inaugural Avant Fairfax festival was such a success that the organizers immediately turned around and starting working on the next installment. The second iteration of the festival is now upon us, and will feature a diverse lineup of eight performers (from the folk stylings of Max Ochs to the psych-rock of Dark Sea Dream and Gondola) as well as a short film.
It’s scheduled for 5pm-1am tomorrow, August 22, 2009; here’s hoping for tighter timing, as the original fest went overtime and forced headliners Cheer-Accident to cut their set short. The venue this time around is the ” . ” (Point in Space) Gallery in Fairfax City [3940 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030]. Suggested donation $5.
Check out the lineup after the jump or visit Avant Fairfax at Myspace.
Photo: John Stanton of Kuschty Rye-Ergot, from the first fest.
“We’re Alcoholics”: A Quick Q&A With The Points
“We’re trying to have fun right now and not make it too serious,” Travis “Cobruhhh” Jackson, the drummer of D.C.’s noisiest party punkers The Points said yesterday, discussing the pitfalls of long-distance rock ‘n’ roll — Jackson moved to Blacksburg, Va., not long ago, and his bandmate, guitarist and singer George “Geo” White, now lives in Chicago. The geographic disruption may mean more planning, fewer shows, and less spontaneity, but to hear Jackson tell it, the band’s hard-partying (and, more centrally, hard-drinking) ethos remains the same.
The Points dropped a new seven-inch single this week on Jackson’s own Windian Records (City Paper’s own Aaron Leitko recently reviewed the six-minute song “Shout” for Pitchfork), and Geo and Cobruhhh are celebrating tomorrow night at DC9. After the jump, my condensed interview with Jackson.
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Tonight: The Royal Bangs @ Black Cat
Royal Bangs “Poison Control” from Sundown in the City on Vimeo.
In advance of the September 15 release of their sophomore effort, Let It Beep, Knoxville, Tennessee’s the Royal Bangs are playing the Black Cat’s backstage tonight. The well-crafted Let It Beep rises above typical indie fare: Production is high, a must for a band that brings a multitude of sounds and styles, and the disc’s up tempo songs should translate well to a live setting.
Fleet Foxes Fans: Don’t Miss Espers Tomorrow
Fleet Foxes have sold out two shows at the 9:30 Club tomorrow night. If you’re one of the folks with tickets, a word of advice: show up early to see Espers, who will be opening both shows. Espers are a Philadelphia-based band playing folk music with a heavy dose of psychedelic rock influence. Acid-drenched electric guitar and gorgeous vocal harmonies are their tools of the trade. Fronted by Meg Baird (who had a recent solo album out on Drag City, Dear Companion) and Greg Weeks (who – obscure trivia time! – once ran a prog-rock mail-order operation called New Sonic Architecture), this sextet takes beautiful but brooding folk songs and turns them into dark, intense journeys into the night.
Listing bands like Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Incredible String Band as influences, Espers are a solid pairing with Fleet Foxes. Their music is weightier and darker, but equally inspiring in its ethereal beauty. They’ve been largely inactive since their 2006 sophomore album II, so this is the first chance in a long time that anyone has gotten to see them. If you don’t have a ticket to either of these shows, Espers will also be appearing at Sonar in Baltimore, supporting Kurt Vile, on August 11.
Photo courtesy of Espers’ Myspace page
A Batshit Crazy Promo For Old Bridge Festival
This is a few days old, but check out this mind-destroying promo for the Old Bridge Festival on Aug. 1 and 2:
Per the video, location is 1256 Old Bridge Rd., Amissville, Va. (about an hour west of D.C.), and the cost is $10, which also gets you burgers, ‘dogs, beer, and space to camp (the property is over 150 acres).
Oh, and the bands! So far, the list includes Future Islands (!), BLDGS, La Otracina, Laughing Man, Hume, Age Sixteen, The Black Powder, Cave Caverns, The Fordists, Ga’an, Gay Knowledge, Google Earth, The Independent, Invisible Hand, Landlords, Mystic Flavor, Paper Mice, Pretzlcoat, Rifle Recoil, Surf Nazis On Ecstasy, and We’re Glad You’re Dead, with apparently more to be announced.
Show Alert: Sunny Day Real Estate Reunion Stops in D.C.
Last month, mid-90s emo rockers Sunny Day Real Estate announced a reunion tour in support of their first two albums LP2 and Diary, both of which are being reissued by Sub Pop in September. (More on those special reissues at the band’s new official site.) The good news for Midatlantic emo junkies is that the tour will include a September 30 show at the 9:30 Club (buy tickets here).
New to Sunny Day Real Estate? Try “In Circles” (video below) off Diary. And for the latest from SDRE lead eccentric singer Jeremy Enigk, listen to “Mind Idea,” which Stereogum released in March.
The Circus @ Expo
There will be no shortage of entertainment options for rap fans this weekend, with both the D.C. Hip-Hop Theater Festival and Rock the Bells happening. But, if you want to avoid big-venue crows and still get your fix, check out the Circus at Expo on Saturday night. Rosetta Stoned’s Tyrone Norris organizes the bi-monthly showcase of MCs, poets, bands, and DJs. This week, Bomani Armah of Read A Book fame performs, and with a 9 p.m. start, you can still be home in plenty of time to get a full night’s rest before heading out to Merriweather the next day.
