Arts Desk » Title Tracks

Erica Bruce’s Top 10 Concerts of 2011, in Photos

Erica Bruce — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:39:52 +0000

We covered a lot of music in pictures this year, but some truly stood out.

The show whose ticket needed to come with industrial-strength ear plugs...
Archers of Loaf at Black Cat (more photos here)

Dinosaur Jr. plays Bug at 930 Club (more photos here)

The coolest band reunion...
Dismemberment Plan at 930 Club (more photos here)

The show whose audience had the most members from other D.C. bands...
Office of Future Plans and Title Tracks at Fort Reno (more photos here)

John Davis at Luce Unplugged (more photos here)

Living legends who came to the area...
Bryan Ferry at Strathmore Music Center (more photos here)

Alejandro Escovedo at 930 Club (more photos here)

Show that resulted in the most bruises...
Marginal Man at Black Cat (more photos here)

2011 WCP Shows in Photos
Grant Hart In-Store @ Crooked Beat Records (Jan. 13)
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit @ 930 Club (Jan. 14)
Dismemberment Plan, Poor But Sexy, Batala @ 930 Club (Jan. 22)
Girl Talk @ 930 Club (Feb. 1)
Avett Brothers @ DAR Constitution Hall (Feb. 18)
Tommy Stinson, Mike Gent, Emily Roberts @ Iota (Feb. 17)
Jonathan Richman @ 930 Club (Feb. 26)
Middle Brother, Deer Tick, Dawes @ 930 Club (March 2)
SXSW 2011 @ Austin, TX (March 16-March 19)
Sebadoh @ Black Cat (March 2)
Mike Watt @ Black Cat Backstage (March 31)
The Black Angels @ 930 Club (April 3)
Wire, Weekend @ Black Cat (April 7)
Title Tracks CD Release Party @ Black Cat Backstage (April 20)
Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Malin & St Marks Social @ 930 Club (May 1)
Tame Impala, Yuck @ Black Cat (May 6)
Surfer Blood @ Rock and Roll Hotel (May 10)
Ted Leo, Drew O'Doherty @ Black Cat Backstage (May 14)
Neko Case, Y La Bamba @ Black Cat (May 13)
Sondre Lerche @ 930 Club (June 7)
Chris Mills @ DC9 (June 16)
Allo Darlin @ Black Cat Backstage (June 16)
The Feelies @ 930 Club (June 18)
Dinosaur Jr Plays Bug@ 930 Club (June 24)
Deleted Scenes @ Black Cat Backstage (July 16)
Title Tracks, Office of Future Plans @ Fort Reno (July 25)
Bon Iver @ 930 Club (Aug. 2)
Archers of Loaf @ Black Cat (Aug. 5)
Marginal Man Reunion @ Black Cat (Aug. 20)
Virgin FreeFest 2011 @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (Sept. 11)
Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Black Cat (Sept. 24)
Wilco @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (Sept. 25)
Bryan Ferry @ Strathmore Music Center (Oct. 3)
Jens Lekman @ Sixth & I Synagogue (Oct. 5)
Wild Flag @ Black Cat (Oct. 20)
St Vincent @ 930 Club (Nov. 1)
Blind Pilot @ 930 Club (Nov. 6)
John Davis @ Luce Center, Smithsonian Museum (Dec. 18)

Photos: John Davis @ Luce Unplugged

Erica Bruce — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:43:59 +0000

Since November 2010, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, located in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has been one of the city's more intimate outlets for local musicians. Its monthly acoustic concert series, Luce Unplugged, features an hour-long performance, accompanied by a discussion on an artwork chosen by the musician.

Yesterday the series featured Title Tracks frontman John Davis, who played an hour-long set of his own songs as well as covers from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Buck Owens, and John Denver. Toward the end of the set, Davis brought up Washington Post pop critic—and Davis' ex-Q and Not U bandmate—Chris Richards for a handful of songs. Between stories and songs that showcased the duo's pitch-perfect vocal harmonies, Davis and Richards announced they've been working on a bunch of new songs together (the count is currently at 16!), and hope to release something by mid-2012.

More photos from the set can be seen here.

Photos: Office of Future Plans @ Fort Reno

Erica Bruce — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:25:50 +0000

Kids, dogs, and many mainstays of the D.C. music scene were on hand last night to see power-pop and post-hardcore at Fort Reno. Leading Title Tracks, John Davis provided power-pop accompaniment for the dreams of those Tenleytown kids with a 9:30 p.m. bedtime. And J. Robbins' current band, Office of Future Plans, tore up the twilight in spite of some power issues. The band's having a good week: Look for OFP's just-announced first full-length this fall on Dischord.

(See more photos from the OFP set, as well as from Title Tracks, here.)

Don’t Be Bored: Pictureplane, Big Boi

Ally Schweitzer — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:58:24 +0000

Pictureplane, the 26-year-old producer Travis Egedy, makes big-room music for small spaces. Tonight, touring on his clubbiest album yet, Thee Physical, he’s playing the least clubby of venues—Subterranean A, a private residence located around the corner and down a staircase from a cluster of actual nightclubs. But there’s no irony here. Though Pictureplane runs his finger across a highly accessible library of ’90s club tunes, he embraces the dungeon. The black leather-gloved hands in Thee Physical’s artwork resurrect the dark dance music heroes of the 1980s: Liasons Dangereuses, D.A.F., Fad Gadget. On “Trancegender,” “Real is a Feeling,” and “Techno Fetish,” Egedy’s captivation with sexual ambiguity and subversion is crystal clear—albeit a little stuck in an undergrad gender studies workshop. But the real subversion is in his hodgepodge of influences: The album snacks on darkwave, drum & bass, electro, and diva-licious handbag house—convincingly and often pleasurably. Pictureplane’s touring mates Teengirl Fantasy, a couple other guys known for unearthing ’90s pop just to smack it around, make this show a giddy exercise in cruel and unusual punishment. 8:30 p.m. $10.

MUSIC

The Hellmouth reopens when teen actress Miranda Cosgrove (from iCarly) plays Wolf Trap tonight with YouTube sensation Greyson Chance. As charming as the 18-year-old can be, Cosgrove's 2010 single "Dancing Crazy"—penned by Avril Lavigne—sounds like it was originally written in Japanese, translated into three other languages, and finally distilled into this pitch-adjusted English language version, a bizarre and disorienting onslaught of meaningless slogans. "I like you and you like me! We get together and we're happy!" "Hot! Hot! Keep it comin'!" "Everybody's ragin', ragin' crazy!" 7:30 p.m. at Wolf Trap Filene Center. $20-$100.

Local pop rock stars Title Tracks return to Fort Reno in a make-up date for their rained-out show a couple weeks back. Office of Future Plans and The Akoma Drummers are also on the bill. 7:15 p.m. at Fort Reno Park. Free.

Oh yeah, this is gonna back up traffic on 14th Street: Big Boi comes to the Park at 14th tonight in a concert sponsored by Crown Royal. 7 p.m. 21+. Admission price will be "based on capacity."

Indie folk group Mountain Man is at IOTA Club & Cafe, the best cafe/bar/music venue in Clarendon. (That's not really saying much, but it's still a cool venue!) Take a listen to the band. 8:30 p.m. $12. Correction: This show is on Tuesday night.

FILM

Screen on the Green, duh. The well-loved summer series kicks off tonight with In the Heat of the Night. 8:30 p.m. or so on the National Mall between 8th and 14th Streets NW. Free.

BOOKS

Sally Jacobs reads from her book The Other Barack: The Bold and Reckless Life of Obama's Father, at Politics & Prose. In a Washington Post review, David J. Garrow says Jacobs' astonishingly well-researched book unveils some critical facts about the president's father's life, but "the cumulative effect of her thoroughly researched biography is deeply depressing...her richly sourced account of how a promising young adulthood quickly descended into daily alcoholic binges and serial domestic violence paints an even more dramatically downbeat portrait than did Obama’s namesake son 16 years ago in Dreams From My Father." 7 p.m. Free.

The Evens to Play Fort Reno

Ryan Little — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:14:40 +0000

There's no shortage of news from the land of Ian MacKaye today. As if to remind us all that the band members indirectly responsible for Wugazi's recent success still in fact make original music, The Evens were just officially added to the Fort Reno schedule. The acoustic art punks haven't brought their musical partnership into the public eye since last summer, so be sure to get your picnic basket ready for Thursday, August 4 if you want to catch The Evens any time soon. Laughing Man is set to open.

Also, for those of you who were bummed about Title Tracks getting rained out this week, fear not—they have been added to the Monday, July 25 show with J.Robbins' excellent Office of Future Plans and The Akoma Drummers.

Beautiful Swimmers + John Davis = Yacht Rock?

Jonathan L. Fischer — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:22:51 +0000

Beautiful Swimmers want you to start your summer off slow: Margarita slow. Captain's-hat-tilted-seaward slow. Yacht-rock slow.

The local spaced out electronica duo just released "Open Shadow," its latest 7-inch, featuring a lead vocal from Title Tracks frontman John Davis. It's beachy and syrupy in the Loggins & Messina vein. Or maybe it sounds like Seals & Crofts. Let's just call this Swimmers & Davis.

It's a pretty honest, if somewhat downcast, homage. "Step after step I've got the currents below me/trying to dance but all the rhythms have thrown me," Davis sings over a slick, sun-baked instrumental. The bass is slinky. The keys are woozy. Late in the song, a guitar solo is menacing and seductive. Do not listen to this song after Labor Day. Do wear white pants.

The 7-inch, which also features a dub mix of "Open Shadow" by Soft Rocks, is out now via Future Times. There are 500 copies, and no digital release. Buy it here; listen to samples of both sides here.

Photos: Title Tracks @ Black Cat Backstage

Erica Bruce — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:08:38 +0000

It's no stretch to say D.C. is much more of a punk-rock town than a power-pop one. John Davis first became well known for drumming in post-punkers Q and not U, but its clear from his band Title Tracks he loves the head-bobbing hooks of The Raspberries and their ilk. At the Black Cat Backstage last night, it was more than a little exciting to hear that peppy and melodic brightness from a local band. Things still ended on a punk note: Title Tracks topped off the evening with what Davis called a "D.C. folk song," an absolutely scorching version of "Swann Street" by 3. Davis may never travel without a little Big Star, he still loves the fact that D.C. is home.

(Additional photos from the set can be seen here.)

This Week in WCP Arts: Pub Quiz, Title Tracks, and What the Federal Budget Means for D.C. Arts

Jonathan L. Fischer — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:30:16 +0000

On the cover this week, I take a dark, torturous journey into the heart of the pub-quiz industry and emerged somewhat scathed. Benjamin R. Freed leads the arts section with a smart dissection of what recent cuts to a federal grant program mean for D.C. arts organizations—especially smaller ones. Ben Westhoff reviews the new, more downcast record from D.C.'s Title Tracks, while David Dunlap listens to the latest from seminal jangle-poppers The Feelies. Tricia Olszewski sits through a documentary about ventriloquism. In theater, Chris Klimek isn't thrilled by Studio's show-with-in-a-show drama The New Electric Ballroom, but has kinder words for the opening installment of Capital Fringe's Wattage mini-festival. Bob Mondello thinks that African Continuum Theatre's Blues for an Alabama Sky tries to power itself on its characters dreams and doesn't quite succeed, while Trey Graham says that Factory 449's Magnificent Waste could be a bit more economical in its asking of Big Questions.

Tonight: Title Tracks Record Release at Black Cat

Jonathan L. Fischer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:20:42 +0000

When you think of John Davis' post-Q and Not U aesthetic, you think sweet and sunshiny. The newest Title Tracks album, In Blank, still draws on Davis' love of power-pop, but it colors it in a darker shade. For the most part, songs are quick, downcast, and grimy (thanks to a lovely mono mix)—and, finally, a fit for Davis' angsty themes. In his review in tomorrow's City Paper, Ben Westhoff writes:

it’s inhabited by paranoid, discontented souls, stuck in their own heads and in malignant relationships. “Time is the sound of a torn page/Everything goes away/You may have a handle on your quiet rage/ But everything goes away,” begins opener “Shaking Hands,” and things get bleaker from there. Davis’ characters fight personal demons and admit to dangerous co-dependencies; “Mine is the kind of knife/That won’t cut you free,” he sings on “Light Sleepers.” Hardly a track passes without dark moments, with the possible exception of “I Can’t Hide,” a cover of a romantic Flamin’ Groovies’ song originally called “Second Cousin.” (Make what you will of that.)

Of course, it's not all tortured. Here's one of the peppier tracks, "All Tricks."

Title Tracks plays tonight with Foul Swoops at 9 p.m. at the Black Cat. $10.

Title Tracks: Now 100 Percent More Punk Rock

Jonathan L. Fischer — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:15:40 +0000

Ragers are relative. Describing the new Title Tracks record, a press release from Windian Records in the label's signature caps lock reads: "THE LP'S FIRST SINGLE 'TURN YOUR FACE' DEFINES THE SIMPLISTIC, MODERATE SOUND OF THIS BAND, POUNDING IT OUT IN A DESPERATE CALM."

Desperate calm? Maybe compared to the rest of Windian's punk-as-fuck roster. But "Turn Your Face" is actually Title Tracks at their loosest, loudest, and fastest. It's nice and jangly, too—not nearly as clean as the band's sad-sack but sunny-sounding 2010 album It Was Easy, if just as sharply hooked. For Title Tracks, the biggest innovation might be the lumbering, declarative bass line; mastermind John Davis also seems to be over It Was Easy's near-pervasive heartbreak. "No one's chasing you," he sings in the chorus, "when they walk behind you." The main touch point is still power-pop, but "Turn Your Face" is a more aggressive take on the genre. Think The Nerves.

The album is out April 19 on Ernest Jenning Record Co. The vinyl version is a co-release with Windian.