ShowlistDC Music Notes: Thursday 05-03-12

Yes, we have a whole section for contests at the bottom, but here’s a reminder that today is your last chance to enter ShowlistDC’s giveaway for RUSH tickets for their 9/9/12 show at Jiffy Lube Live. Good luck!



Articles


• Planning guides: Washingtonian’s May Classical Music Preview. DCist’s This Week In Jazz. The Vinyl District’s May 9:30 Club Concert Preview.

• Interview/preview: Chris Richards talks to fun. [Washington Post]. Stephen Deusner also interviews the band [Express]. The band is at the 9:30 Club tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday). Both shows are sold out.

• Interview/Preview: Kristen Page-Kirby talks to David Krakauer, who’s at Strathmore tonight [Express].

• Preview: Marie Gullard on the Morgenstern Trio at the Kennedy Center, tonight [Washington Examiner].

• Interview: Steve Kiviat talks to R & B singer Dawn Richard (ex-Danity Kane).

• Interview: Steve Kiviat talks to Khaira Arby [Washington CityPaper].

• From the archives: the Washington Post dug up an August 14, 1994, article on Chuck Brown by Marc Fisher and an October 5, 1984 article on go-go by Michel Marriott.

• Local band news: brutal death metal band Loculus posted on Facebook that it has parted ways with its singer Bill Calomiris, citing “insurmountable differences”. On the band’s upcoming tour, Brad Deerhake of Locusta will be filling in on vocals. No word about when/if the band will hold auditions for a new singer.

• Local music news: Kokayi plans new album as CZRS [Washington CityPaper].

• Watch: Fat Trel‘s new video, “Devil We Like” [DCist].

• Watch: We Are Serenades cover the Magnetic Fields‘ “Washington DC” [Washington CityPaper].



Live Reviews


• Charles T Downey on Louis Schwizgebel at the Kennedy Center [Washington Post].

• Stephen Bradley on Lucero at the 9:30 Club [Washington Times].



Contests


• ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Rush at Jiffy Lube Live on 9/9 (contest ends today at 5 PM!).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Megan Reilly‘s The Wall on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends today).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of 4onthefloor‘s Lion & Lamb on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Friday 5/4).
NEW The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Lioness‘s The Golden Killer on vinyl . Winner must have a continental US or Canada mailing address (contest ends Monday 5/7).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a signed copy of Red Wanting Blue‘s From the Vanishing Point on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Tuesday 5/8).
NEW The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Dot Hacker‘s Inhibition on colored vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Wednesday 5/9).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to the sold-out Radiohead show at the Verizon Center on 6/3 (contest ends Sunday 5/27).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Dave Matthews Band at Jiffy Lube Live on 6/16 (contest ends Sunday 6/3).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see 311 and Slightly Stoopid at Jiffy Lube Live on 7/28 (contest ends Sunday 7/22).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 8/10 (contest ends Sunday 7/29).

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ShowlistDC Music Notes: Monday 04-30-12



Articles


• Concert planners: DCMusicDownload’s Weekday Hits.

• Does the DC music scene suck? The Washington Post published a letter this weekend from Sean Roussy of Arlington with the headline The Rant: D.C. must face the music. We had some serious problems with the link to the article last night (it kept coming up as “Page Not Found”– seems to be working better now via this link), so we’re reprinting the whole thing here:

The Washington music scene is just awful. Do not get me wrong. There are many fine local bands across various genres in the District, and a plethora of legendary acts for audiophiles in 31 flavors. It is not the music; it is the scene. I specifically mean all of you. Including myself. The reason I know this is that it is something I see myself and that people and bands from other towns tell me, because I have seen many bands in many towns since I was sneaking out to punk matinees at the age of 13. I also watch tour schedules, and there are plenty of awesome acts that skip this town. This is the Imperial Capital. One would think that this would be an important place to showcase talent. However, time and again I end up driving to Baltimore, Richmond or Philadelphia for music. The reason is, simply, that people do not come out on school nights.

The District works too hard and rocks too little. The transient population of this town is comprised of 50 states worth of former safety patrol captains and class presidents who all came here to conquer, and the suburbs are littered with the descendants of a couple generations of their offspring. These are not the kids who made high school fun by hosting all-day jam sessions in their garages. These are the kids who were busy with their eagle Scout badges and their Key club, whatever that is. This particular population of Washington of which I write works too hard to close the club on a school night and show back up for work at 7 a.m. with three hours of sleep. They have their careers to think about and their brains to use. However, I would posit to all of the readers for whom I may have touched a nerve that the world might be a better place if the music scene of Washington visited the music of D.C. once in a while on a school night. Whether you work the hall or scream at the wall, music is the language of the soul. If the pinnacle of power cannot converse at that level, I am afraid the whole American experiment is in trouble.

• On May 1, 1972, Marvin Gaye had a homecoming performance of What’s Going On at the then-new Kennedy Center. To remember the event’s 40th anniversary, the Ken Cen is recreating the show– with John Legend, the National Symphony Orchestra Pops, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (the shows are sold out, by the way). Roger Catlin writes about the original show, that almost didn’t happen [Washington Post]. There’s also a cool map of DC sites with links to Marvin Gaye.

• What happens to old punk clubs when they vacate the building? Apparently they become J.Crew stores– or, at least, that’s what’s happening to the former 9:30 Club at 930 F St NW [Washington CityPaper].

• Interview: Valerie Paschall chats with Trophy Wife [DCist].

• Listen: DCMusicDownload presents a nice selection of local tunes.

• Preview: Nancy Dunham on Nick Lowe [Washington Examiner]. Tonight at the Birchmere.

• Maryland Deathfest is releasing 30 additional tickets for the sold-out Thursday 5/24 night show. Tickets will be available on marylanddeathfest.com at noon today.

• Speaking of DeathFest, Metallomusikum continues her countdown to MDF with profiles of Tsjuder, Confessor, Winter, Backslider, Morbid Angel, Horna, and Morbid Saint.



Live Reviews


• Chris Richards on Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion [Washington Post]. DC Music Download’s Max Steinmetz and Dustin Whitlow also have a review and photos.

• Sarah Godfrey on The Weekend at the 9:30 Club [Washington Post].

• Erica Bruce’s photos of Lucero at the 9:30 Club [Washington CityPaper].

• Stephanie Williams’s photos of Ted Leo at the Black Cat – Friday night show [DC Music Download].

• Stephen Bradley on Bad Brains at the Howard Theatre [Washington Times].

• Joe Banno on Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra at Strathmore [Washington Post].

• Cecelia Porter on Joyce Yang at the Barns of Wolf Trap [Washington Post].

• The Rogers Revue on Mac Miller at Pier Six.



Contests


• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of I Break HorsesHearts on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Tuesday 5/1).
NEW ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Rush at Jiffy Lube Live on 9/9 (contest ends Thursday 5/3 at 5 PM).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Megan Reilly‘s The Wall on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Thursday 5/3).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to the sold-out Radiohead show at the Verizon Center on 6/3 (contest ends Sunday 5/27).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Dave Matthews Band at Jiffy Lube Live on 6/16 (contest ends Sunday 6/3).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see 311 and Slightly Stoopid at Jiffy Lube Live on 7/28 (contest ends Sunday 7/22).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 8/10 (contest ends Sunday 7/29).

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ShowlistDC Music Notes: Friday 04-20-12



Notes from Last Night


Last night was a concert double-header for me. I started out at the Hamilton in Penn Quarter– it was my first time there, and that place is seriously cool. The obvious comparison is that it’s most similar to the Birchmere, because both venues are seated with tables and you can order food. The Hamilton is wider, though, and the stage is curved so the tables all come out like rays instead of being perpendicular or parallel to it. There’s an entire restaurant attached to the venue, but the venue is downstairs, so there’s no interference between the two. I was also surprised that the menu was different in the venue than it was in the restaurant– you can see the venue menu here and the restaurant menu here. There’s some overlap between the two, but I was disappointed that the venue menu didn’t have the falafel sandwich that the restaurant menu had, as I generally tend to keep vegan when I can, and there didn’t seem to be any vegan options at the venue. I had the wild mushroom pizza instead, which was also quite good. (Note that the venue charges for refills of things like lemonade!). The sound was good and the stage was really pro– there was quite the lighting display during the bands. Opening the show was Baltimore’s Cris Jacobs Band, who mentioned that they’d just finished recording a new CD, so that should be out “in a few weeks”(!), they said. The headliners were Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, a 9-piece funk/soul band from Brooklyn that features siblings Arleigh Kincheloe (voice) and Jackson Kincheloe (harmonica) alongside a 4-piece horn section. They were a lot of fun– you could tell that the crowd really wanted to dance, but there wasn’t a lot of space for that.

Then, since that show got out early (10:30), I hopped in my car and headed out to Fat Tuesday’s in Fairfax where there was a metal show going on. There was a ton of traffic because the Caps game got out at the same time– plus the inevitable construction on 66– but I got there in time to see stoner metal band Caltrop who were great live. Bizarre to see them playing in that New Orleans themed dive bar, but with the Corpse Fortress gone now, there are fewer DIY spaces for metal bands like that to play. You can download a free song on their Facebook page if you’d like to hear what they sound like.



Weekend/Week-Ahead Planner


Planning Guides
• Washington CityPaper’s Jazz Setlist.
• Washingtonian’s Music Picks.

Tonght – Friday 20 April
• Interview: Chris Porter talks to GZA [Express]. Tonight at the Howard Theatre.
• Preview: Ally Schweitzer on Tim Sweeney [Washington CityPaper]. Performing at the U St Music Hall.
• CD Review: Trampled By Turtles: Stars and Satellites – Reviewed by Christopher Kompanek [Washington Post]. At the 9:30 Club.

Saturday 21 April
• It’s Record Store Day! The Washington CityPaper has an overview of what DC-area stores are doing to celebrate the day.
• Preview: All Our Noise on Sun Wolf, who’s performign at Montserrat House.
• CD Review: Screen Vinyl Image: Strange Behavior – Reviewed by Catherine P Lewis [Washington Post]. At St. Stephen’s.

Sunday 22 April
• Preview: Sriram Gopal on True Blues [DCist]. At the Howard Theatre.
• Preview: Jonathan L Fischer on Zarjaz [Washington CityPaper]. At CD Cellar [2607 Wilson Blvd, Arlington].
• CD Review: the Lumineers: the Lumineers – Reviewed by Geoffrey Himes [Washington Post]. At Jammin’ Java.

Wednesday 25 April
• Preview: Christopher Porter talks about the Forward Festival [Washington CityPaper]. Check out the festival’s entire lineup here.
• CD Review: Lucero: Women & Work – Reviewed by Mark Jenkins [Washington Post]. At the 9:30 Club.

Thursday 26 April
• Preview/interview: Jess Righthand on Nellie McKay [Washington Post]. Performing at the Birchmere.
• CD Review: Allo Darlin’: Europe – Reviewed by Catherine P Lewis [Washington Post]. At the Black Cat.



Articles

• Happy Birthday: Jazz Samba turns 50 [Washington Post]. The album was recorded at All Souls Church on the corner of 16th and Harvard Streets NW.

• Listen: Teen Mom‘s Mean Tom EP [Washington CityPaper].

• Metallomusikum continues her countdown to Maryland DeathFest with profiles of Looking For an Answer and Haemorrhage.



Live Reviews


• Dave McKenna on Glen Campbell at the Birchmere [Washington Post].

• Charles T. Downey on the NSO‘s British-flavored program at the Kennedy Center [Washington Post].

• Stephen Bradley on Loma Prieta at DC9 [Washington Times]. The band was opening for Converge.



Contests


• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to see Fiona Apple at the Warner Theatre on 6/26 (contest ends today at 9 AM)
• DCHeavyMetal.com is giving away a pair of tickets to Mayhem Festival at Jiffy Lube Live on 7/29. The winner plus four runners-up will get copies of Heavy Metal Picnic on DVD (contest ends today at 5 PM)
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Hume‘s Inverse Fireworks 7″ to three winners. Winners must have a North American mailing address (contest ends today)
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Nickelback at the Verizon Center on 4/30 (contest ends Monday 4/23).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of the Naked and Famous‘s Passive Me, Aggressive You on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Monday 4/23).
NEW The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Ben Kweller‘s Go Fly a Kite on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Wednesday 4/25).
NEW The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of the Domino Records Zine and Flexidisc set, Smuggler’s Way. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Thursday 4/26).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to the sold-out Radiohead show at the Verizon Center on 6/3 (contest ends Sunday 5/27).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Dave Matthews Band at Jiffy Lube Live on 6/16 (contest ends Sunday 6/3).
NEW DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see 311 and Slightly Stoopid at Jiffy Lube Live on 7/28 (contest ends Sunday 7/22).
NEW DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to see OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 8/10 (contest ends Sunday 7/29).

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