Notes from last night (and a request for feedback)
Last night I headed out to DC9 to see French atmospheric black metal/shoegaze band Alcest. (Apparently it was quite the week for atmospheric black metal bands in the U St corridor, since Liturgy opened for Sleigh Bells at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday). Their set focussed mostly on their newest album, Les Voyages de L’ame, which sounded great, despite the absurdly omnipresent smoke machine. (Seriously, it’s as if those guys were pumping enough smoke for a space the size of the 9:30 club). Oddly, the crowd seemed to be the biggest for opening band deaf heaven– either that, or people just pushed closer for the headliner’s set. Other openers were locals Black Clouds and Auroboros.
Hey, while I’m at it, it seems to be a SLDC Music Notes tradition to ask for feedback on the last weekday of the month. What do you like/dislike in this daily round-up? Are their things I could add or change? Feel free to let me know, either via a comment on this post or by email, showlistdc@gmail.com.
Weekend/Week-Ahead Planner
Planning Guides
• Washingtonian’s Music Picks.
• Smithsonian Mag’s Around the Mall.
• TBD’s April Fools round-up (no joke!).
• Washington CityPaper’s Jazz Setlist.
• We Love DC loves weekends.
Tonight – Friday 3/30
• CD Review: Dan Miller on First Aid Kit‘s The Lion’s Roar [Washington Post]. Performing tonight at the Black Cat.
Saturday 3/31
• CD Review: Catherine Lewis on A Sound of Thunder‘s Out of the Darkness [Washington Post]. Also reviewed by NoVA Metal Review. CD release show at Empire (formerly Jaxx).
• CD Review: Christopher Kompanek on Cloud Nothings‘ Attack on Memory [Washington Post]. Performing at the Red Palace.
• CD Review: Mark Jenkins on Perfume Genius‘s Put Your Back N 2 It [Washington Post]. Performing at IOTA.
• Interview: Sriram Gopal talks to Victor Provost [DCist], performing at the Dunes in Columbia Heights.
Sunday 4/1
• Interview: Capital Bop talks to Bill Cole, whose Untempered Ensemble performs Sunday at the Historic Bohemian Caverns on U St.
• Interview: Rudi Greenberg talks to Andrew W.K., who’s playing to a sold-out 9:30 Club.
• Article: Rudi Greenberg muses on songs that Bruce Springsteen has covered. The Boss is playing at the Verizon Center.
Thursday 4/5
• Interview: David Malitz on Charles Bradley [Washington Post], performing at the 9:30 Club.
• CD Review: Moira E McLaughlin on School of Seven Bells‘s Ghostory [Washington Post]. Performing at the Black Cat.
Other Articles
• Chris Richards muses on musicians who wear masks [Washington Post]. As the hyper-connectivity of social media pulls our planet into a tighter huddle, [Aaron] Jerome [of SBTRKT] is one in a growing number of vanguard pop artists flirting with the idea of anonymity. They often wear masks. Some conceal their names. A few refuse to perform in public altogether. Many make electronic music, including Deadmau5, the Bloody Beetroots, Redshape and Zomby. And although artists and authors have worked under pseudonyms for centuries, protecting one’s anonymity today feels like an implicit protest against our increasingly Facebookish society. These artists are asserting their power by refusing to be identified, asking us to like them without clicking “Like”.
• Local band news: local metal band Division welcomes a new singer, Scott Stewart. If that name sounds familiar, he was the band’s original singer.
• Local musician news: Justin Jones will be releasing a full-length record on 9:30 Records [Washington CityPaper].
• Speaking of the CityPaper, check out their Best of DC edition. Lots of great music picks in the issue’s Arts & Entertainment section.
• A rare Louis Armstrong recording is going to be re-released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings [Washington Post].
• CD Review: DC’s Joe Colly on Miike Snow‘s Happy to You [Pitchfork].
Live Reviews
• Dave McKenna on Noel Gallagher with his High Flying Birds (and some Oasis tunes) at the Warner Theatre [Washington Post].
• Chris Klimek on Fiona Apple at 6th & I [Washington CityPaper]. Chris Richards also weighs in [Washington Post].
• Robert Battey on pianist Yoonie Han at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater [Washington Post].
• Charles T Downey on Elias Quartet at the Library of Congress [Washington Post].
Contests
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of VCMB‘s Ssss on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address. (contest ends today).
• (S)Hell fest is giving away a T-shirt! Enter via twitter using these instructions (contest ends Saturday 3/31 at noon).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a signed copy of Rufus Wainwright‘s Out of the Game. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Tuesday 4/3).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Donovan Quinn‘s Honky Tonk Medusa on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Tuesday 4/3).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Creed at the Warner Theatre on 4/24 (contest ends Sunday 4/15).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Nickelback at the Verizon Center on 4/30 (contest ends Monday 4/23).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Marilyn Manson at the Fillmore Silver Spring on 5/1 (contest ends Sunday 4/1).
• 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).
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