Stuff to read:
• Chris Richards reports on BB King and Mick Jagger at the White House [Washington Post]. Those guys were there celebrating the blues in honor of Black History Month. Also, Obama sang a few lines of “Sweet Home Chicago”: this link has video of Obama singing, plus the setlist from the evening and a photo gallery.
“This music speaks to something universal,” the president said before introducing King. “No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that.”
ShowlistDC Notes from Last Night:
I went to see Peter Frampton at the Warner Theatre last night– great show! Frampton played for about 2 hours and 45 minutes, showing off his recently-recovered Les Paul guitar for about a third of the night, including his iconic “Do You Feel Like We Do”. The show was a celebration of the 35th anniversary of Frampton Comes Alive!, and Frampton and his four-piece band (which included original FCA! bass player Stanley Sheldon) played the album in its entirety. Then they played a bunch of other tunes, including a few from his Grammy-winning instrumental album Fingerprints (including an awesome cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, which was mostly instrumental until a final chorus sung through Frampton’s signature talk box). Frampton and his Les Paul ended the night with a fitting cover: the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, which started as a lengthy guitar solo before Frampton was joined by the rest of the band.
So you guys are going to play a show — just one show? I think we’re just going to do one show. It’s one of those special events. [F]or a lot of people in D.C. that’s a long trip [to London]. Well hopefully we can play a show in D.C. You know what I mean by hanging around. It’s uncharted territory but I’m pretty excited about it. It’s fun to play with these guys again and it’s really fun to play these songs. I always felt like this group had a very particular sound and I always really enjoyed playing the songs.
Clear as mud, right? Spiv also offers this little tidbit of what he’s been up to outside of making music: I’m writing a book right now, it’s out this winter. It’s a manual, and it’s called “Supernatural Strategies For Starting a Rock ‘N’ Roll Group.”
Are you sick of reading the name Sharon Van Etten here and everywhere else in DC’s news this week? Dude, her show was LAST SATURDAY; shouldn’t we have moved on to other things by now?! Thankfully, while there is one more SVE mention below (sorry!), we’ve also got a lengthy roundup of reading about bands coming through town in the next week– plenty of new shows to discover to get your mind off of Ms Van Etten. Thanks for another great week! Have a great weekend, and remember you can add this blog to your RSS feed with http://www.showlistdc.com/more/feed/
Things to Read:
• When you think about musicians that embody black history, do you think about the Rolling Stones? We don’t either, but apparently Mick Jagger– along with BB King, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Gary Clarke Jr., Trombone Shorty, and the Yardbirds’ Jeff Beck (seriously, what is up with this lineup?!)– will be performing at the White House to celebrate Black History Month, according to the NY Times. “Directed by Booker T. Jones of Booker T and the MGs, next week’s event will be taped and then broadcast by PBS on Feb. 27. The president will deliver remarks at the event. The ‘In Performance at the White House’ series goes back to 1978.”
• Fort Reno is now accepting demos for local bands interested in playing the venue this summer.
• We Love DC offers this Q & A with Justin Trawick about his solo work and the 9 Songwriter Series that he curates. The 9 is at the Hamilton tonight (2/15), and Trawick is at the Black Cat on February 24.
• Capital Bop has an interview with saxophonist Tim Berne, who’s playing with his new ensemble Snakeoil at Bohemian Caverns on Sunday night as part of Transparent Productions’ winter/spring season.
• DCist’s this week in hip-hop.
• Heavy Uber Alles brings you six heavy tunes every week. This week’s installment comes courtesy of Scott O’Dowd, guitarist of Massachusetts stoner rock bands Black Thai and Cortez.
• NPR’s Tom Moon on Dr. Dog. The band will be at the 9:30 Club on March 16.
• Photos: Erica Bruce captures Sharon van Etten at the Black Cat [Washington CityPaper]. Last Sunday’s DC Record Fair at the Riot Act Comedy Theater [the Vinyl District].
• Live Reviews: Allison Grossman on the Grey Area at Strathmore [the Vinyl District].
We’re not going to talk about the Grammys here, because either you watched them (and already know what happened), or you didn’t (and probably don’t care). Also, can someone explain to us why liveblogging is something that everyone is doing now– if you’re watching the show live, are you also reading your computers? And if you’re not watching, do you really care what [random blogger] thinks about what’s going on RIGHT.THIS.SECOND on the TV?
It’s been a week of these Music Notes. Are you liking the feature? Send me an email (showlistdc@gmail.com) and let me know what you think! Also remember that you can add this blog to your RSS feed with http://www.showlistdc.com/more/feed/ . Have a great weekend!
Things to read:
• The Vinyl District bids farewell to Gold Leaf Studios, the Chinatown space that closed at the beginning of February. TVD will be looking back at the bands that called this space home (and looking at other DIY spaces in the area).
• Bob Dylan’s “Judas!” moment will be preserved at the National Museum of American History– no, not with his controversial electric guitar, but with the black leather jacket he wore at that infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert, writes the Washington Post.
• We told you that Sharon van Etten (and her new album Tramp) were gonna be all over the news this week: Express‘s Rudi Greenberg talks to van Etten, and she gives some insight behind two of the tracks on Tramp. We do still recommend that you attend her show on Saturday at the Black Cat, but note that it is now sold out.
• Stephen Deusner on Die Antwoord [Express]. Note: show at the 9:30 Club is sold out.
• If you’re looking for a show that’s not sold out, go no farther than Strathmore‘s Friday Night Eclectic. We Love DC brings us a nice interview with The Grey Area, who are headlining this week.
• Get to know Metal Chris, the guy behind DCHeavyMetal.com [Washington CityPaper]
• Got some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket? The Washington CityPaper summarizes three local Kickstarter campaigns (Listen Local First, HighBrau, and Ad Hoc).
• DC record label Crank Automotive is now available on SoundCloud (thanks to Crank brother TriggerCut for the tip!).
• This week in jazz [DCist].
• Not directly DC-related, but DC writer (and ShowlistDC curator) Catherine Lewis has made available an archive of Low articles, interviews, and record reviews from 1995 through 2002.
