When that is the most common thing one hears said about a concert, it would seem to indicate that something was left to be desired. It was a stroke of PR genius to make this year’s version of the Virgin Festival completely free, after it became clear that the lineup was not going to live up to the standard set by previous years. So while there was a lot to complain about on Sunday, from the bizarre decision to turn pavilion seating into a free-for-all to the fact that, well, Blink-182 were the headliners, hey – it was free. And in this case, concertgoers got much more than what they paid for.

Public Enemy (pictured above, Flavor Flav) drew by far the biggest crowd to the festival’s secondary stage, and delivered a set worthy of the distinction. I enjoyed a few other sets here and there, particularly over on that second stage (St. Vincent, Girl Talk, The National were all fun), but really, Public Enemy alone would have made the whole thing, um, worth the price of admission.

The full set of photos is forthcoming, but check out a few teasers after the jump.

Read More “Virgin Mobile FreeFest: “You Can’t Complain When It’s Free”” »

Bobby’s got the recap, here it is in photographic form. My only verbal addition is that this show, while very good, reinforced my impression that the Black Cat is a terrible place for quiet music. If I enjoyed Annie Clark and company’s show last year at the Rock & Roll Hotel more, it was probably in large part thanks to the much rowdier, less intimate atmosphere this time around. If I wanted rowdy I would have gone to Maryland Deathfest (I did, but that’s a different post).

More photos (full gallery here) and a setlist after the jump.

Read More “Photos: St. Vincent @ Black Cat” »

Annie Clark of St. Vincent has two stage presences:  she is either wide-eyed, with an expressionless, impenetrable stare or releases her limbs into a musical collapse, swaying in unity with her guitar but being someplace else entirely. Her set Friday night at the Black Cat oscillated between these two energies, delicate stoicism and cathartic commotion.

Read More “St. Vincent at Black Cat” »

Saturday

• Dead Rock West. 8 X 10. $14–$17.
• The Bakerton Group, The Wino Band, King Giant, Earthride. 9:30 Club. $15. All ages.
• Sängerfest. The National Building Museum. $25.
• The Ruins, Farmdoubt. Bangkok Blues. $7.
• Bonnie Prince Billy, Ned Oldham. Birchmere. SOLD OUT!
• Juan Maclean, The Field. Black Cat. $13. All ages.
• Tommy Cecil (Bass). Blues Alley. $25.
• Hank Williams, Jr. Calvert Marine Museum. $45-$55.
• Buster Brown and The Get Down. Cowboy Café. Call for price.
• Ra Ra Rasputin, The Spiritual Machine, Loxsly. DC9. $8. +18.
• Pre Summer 70’s Bash: Music by Mr. Marcus Young Featuring Blaze’, Won Beast, Lady Alize on the 1 & 2. Gee’s Night Club & Bar. $20.
• Bliss FM, DJ Maf, RA the MC, Lyriciss, Nando McFlyy. Jammin’ Java. $10.
• Jukebox the Ghost, Jenny Owen Youngs, The Winter Sounds. Rock and Roll Hotel. $14. All ages.
• The Bangles. The State Theatre. $30.
• 2009 West Virginia Wine & Arts Festival: Rolling Coyotes, Arnold Smith, the Grape Stompers, Sam Felker, the Giants of Tiny Town, Treehouse. The Martinsburg Arts Center. $15.
• Nihlitia, Domino Team, Qualms, DJs Stereofaith & Neil. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Food Will Win the War, Frau Eva, Freelance Whales. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.

Sunday

• The National (Sun.-Mon.). 9:30 club. SOLD OUT!
• Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues.
• Elliott Yamin. Birchmere. $29.50. All ages.
• John Eaton (Piano). Blues Alley. $25.
• King Soul, Colonel Josh’s Honkey Tonk. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.
• 2009 West Virginia Wine & Arts Festival: Todd Coyle Band, Cam Miller Trio, Lisa Lafferty. The Martinsburg Arts Center. $15.
• Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The State Theatre. $13.
• Meeting of Important People, Lohio, March To The Arctic, Stripmall Ballads. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• Danny Greenwald, Caleb Stine. Velvet Lounge. $7. +18.
• NSO: Memorial Day Concert. U.S. Capitol Building. Free.

St. Vincent photo by Annabel Mehran, via MySpace.

Ghostface: “Message From Ghost”
Ghostface gets tender here, turning in one for all the struggling ladies out there. His sentiments are right on, but his metaphors are another matter. “Your last man had you mad open like a pap smear, but that’s the past dear,” raps Ghost. In a word, yuck.

St. Vincent: “The Strangers”
Sure, there are fluttering synthesizers and big Disney-style arrangements, but look beneath the surface and St. Vincent isn’t playing it particularly cute these days. “Playboys under the mattress/ did you think I wouldn’t notice?” she sings, clearly unamused. Sounds like there’s trouble in paradise and a tear-streaked reconciliation doesn’t sound particularly close at hand. “Paint the black hole blacker,” the chimes a choir of over-dubbed St. Vincents during the chorus.
Read More “Leak Proof: St. Vincent, Akron/Family, Ghostface” »

You haven’t had enough of the lists yet, have you? Good. Here’s one more quick one: my list of favorite shows of the year, mostly in D.C. but also ranging north to Baltimore and south to Charlottesville (links all lead to photos):

1. St. Vincent at Rock & Roll Hotel, February 26
2. Nels Cline Singers at the Paramount Theater, June 6
3. Tim Berne’s Bloodcount at An Die Musik, February 9
4. Amanda Palmer at the 9:30 Club, November 18
5. Wilco at Lyric Opera House, December 14
6. Salome at DC9, August 10
7. Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin at Blues Alley, March 3
8. Earth at Rock & Roll Hotel, May 4
9. Nobu Stowe at George Washington University, September 7
10. Evangelista at Velvet Lounge, April 16
11. Boris at the Black Cat, July 8
12. Škampa Quartet & Iva Bittová at the Library of Congress, April 11
13. Dälek at Rock & Roll Hotel, February 27
14. Kamelot at Jaxx, October 16
15. Woven Hand at Iota, October 17