Ian MacKaye Is Totally Fucking With My D.C. Rock Cred

Well, I guess I can scratch “Played the Last Show at the Wilson Center” off of the short list of musical accomplishments I oh-so-casually mention when wooing the womenfolk at the Black Cat’s Red Room or telling well-worn tales of indie-rock glory to a wide-eyed showgoer who has absolutely no idea who I am or what venue I’m blathering about.

According to Positive Force co-founder Mark Andersen, the Evens will perform this Sunday night at the former Wilson Center—now the Capital City Public Charter School. (Doors are at 7:30; the Evens perform at 8 p.m. If it’s been so long that you’ve forgotten where the building is located, it’s at 15th & Irving Sts. NW. $5 gets you into the show—which, of course, is all-ages.) The last-minute announcement came after the original venue, All Souls Church, had to cancel due to an accidental scheduling conflict. After a brainstorming session, Andersen says in an e-mail, MacKaye suggested that they look into booking the CCPCS. (The last show at the Wilson Center was more than six years ago in October of 2001; the lineup, if I remember correctly, featured Strike Anywhere, Q and Not U, Crispus Attucks, Kill the Man Who Questions, Pg. 99, Virginia Black Lung, Del Cielo, Trial By Fire, Teddy DuChamp’s Army, and Tim.)

“It was a total long-shot, but I went by and peered in the window (a bit like a burglar casing the joint, I am afraid!), and Ian was right, the space had a stage, was decent sized, all in all looked like it could work. Nothing to lost by trying, I figured. I found the number to the school and did a ‘cold call’ to receptionist, was passed along to Anne Herr, their executive director, who turned out to be a member of All Souls and eager to help,” Andersen says. “I explained who I was, what the mission was… and to my surprise, Anne was somewhat aware of the special significance of the multi-purpose room of her school in D.C. counter-cultural history. Even more astonishing she was willing to consider the request, as they had not had their space used by an outside community group yet, but wanted to make it available in this way to worthy events.”

Andersen then provided Herr with copies of both the Evens CD and Dance of Days (which Andersen co-authored); the CCPCS board was supportive and—after what Andersen describes as “much back’n'forth between Ian/Evens and Anne/CCPCS…with me as the intermediary”—“[a]gainst all odds, the Evens show at CCPCS/Wilson Center (with six days notice) was go!”

The show—sponsored by Positive Force D.C.—is a benefit for Neighbors Consejo and Anne Frank House, which Anderson describes as “two great groups that provide essential services to the homeless and the formerly homeless in the Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant/Adams-Morgan communities.” Attendees are encouraged to “[p]lease bring peanut butter, whole grain cereal, or canned veggies for the We Are Family food bank to be delivered to low-income community seniors.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Dischord, Mount Pleasant, Punk, Show Alert. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.