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.
Things to read:
• Interview: David Malitz talks to Ian Svenonius about the Make-Up reunion show [Washington Post]. No, we still don’t get a clear answer about whether there will be more than just the London show:
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.”
• Interview: Chris Richards chats with Nils Lofgren about writing the “Nobody Bothers Me” TV jingle [Washington Post].
• Local guitarist Phil Mathieu has passed away, writes Steve Kiviat in the Washington CityPaper. Mathieu played with Charlie Byrd’s Washington Guitar Quintet, Ruthie and the Wranglers, and the Natty Beaux, among many others.
• Erin Williams gives a profile of Ebony Dumas aka DJ Natty Boom, co-founder of Girls Rock DC [Washington Post].
• We promised you that we’d keep our Grammy coverage to a minimum here, but since Dave Grohl grew up around here, this counts as local(ish) news. The Foo Fighters guitarist/singer has clarified his Grammy acceptance speech (you know, the one where he dissed computer-generated music and then went on to perform with Deadmau5 later in the broadcast). He issued a press release that stops just short of having us all hold hands and sing kumbayah. Check it: Look, I am not Yngwie Malmsteen. I am not John Bonham. Hell…I’m not even Josh Groban, for that matter. But I try really fucking hard so that I don’t have to rely on anything but my hands and my heart to play a song. I do the best that I possibly can within my limitations, and accept that it sounds like me. Because that’s what I think is most important. It should be real, right? Everybody wants something real.
• Roger Catlin on NSO Pops and Cirque de la Symphonie [Washington Post].
• Live Reviews: Aaron Leitko on Zola Jesus at U Street Music Hall [Washington Post]. Anne Midgette on Julia Fischer at 6th & I [Washington Post]. Samantha Buker on Kronos Quartet and Alim Qasimov at University of Maryland [Washington Post]. Francis Chung on Flock of Dimes at the Black Cat Backstage [DCist].
Free stuff:
• the Vinyl District has tickets to Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) at the 9:30 Club on 2/20 (contest ends today at noon).
• DC 50/WDCW has tickets to Jim Jones with Nyemiah Supreme at U Street Music Hall on 3/5 (contest ends 3/1 at noon).