Ticket giveaway: The Joy Formidable at the 9:30 Club, Sunday 21 April 2013

The Joy Formidable is coming to the 9:30 Club on Sunday, 21 April, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to go to this concert, and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Tuesday, 12 February at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry and won’t be added to any sort of mailing list). If you’re a hotmail user, please add showlistdc@gmail.com to your address book or no-spam list, as other hotmail users have had problems with emails from us not getting through. Also note that we ask winners to respond within 24 hours, or else we have to pick another winner, so make sure to check your email regularly!

There’s a lot to like about The Joy Formidable: big hooks, catchy songs, a charismatic frontwoman, and a fun live show; the Welsh band formed in 2007 and just released its second album Wolf’s Law. The album’s been getting some great reviews– an A- from the AV club, a 7.2 from Pitchfork, and 3.5 stars from Rolling Stone. It’s full of hooky guitar anthems that could fill booming spaces (it’s probably not that surprising that they opened for the Foo Fighters at the Verizon Center in 2011), so the 9:30 Club should be a great venue to see them at! They most recently played locally at St. Stephen’s Church last November, and you can see a review of that show and some photos of the band here.

If all the press buzz isn’t enough to convince you, then have a listen for yourself: they’ve got a video out for their new song “This Ladder is Ours” which we’ve linked below, and they’ve also got the audio for all of Wolf’s Law streaming on their youtube page. And if that’s not reason enough to go to the show, then check out the two opening bands, Brighton alt-rock duo Blood Red Shoes and Massachusetts band You Won’t, and tell us why you’re most excited for this show: is it the new songs? an old favorite from TJF’s first album The Big Roar? Did you miss out on tickets to their last show before it sold out? Tell us why you want to go see the band on 4/21 at the 9:30 Club!

Hey, if you’re new to ShowlistDC and wondering what this site is all about, check out our extensive calendar of upcoming events in the greater DC area (including Northern VA and Baltimore) and our concert recommendations. You can also follow us on twitter @showlistdc or like us on Facebook!

If you come across this post after the contest has closed, or if you’re not the lucky winner, then you can pick up tickets for $25, plus service fees, via ticketfly.com.

The contest hsa closed and the winner has been notified!


ShowlistDC Music Notes: Thursday 03-29-12



Articles


• Uber-hipster blog Brightest Young Things is expanding to New York [Washington CityPaper]. 2011 was Brightest Young Things’ most successful year, and its first profitable one, [BYT leader Svetlana] Legetic says. But she isn’t inching back from the operation’s online presence to take advantage of the breathing room that comes with a bigger staff. (The site now has six full-time employees with benefits, plus two part-timers and an army of volunteer contributors, compared to three full-timers a year ago.) As far as bylines go, Legetic will still write the site’s weekend events newsletter, and guide its more ambitious editorial projects. But a lot of her energy in the next few months will involve Brightest Young Things’ more imperial ambitions. This summer, the site is expanding to New York.

• The Washington Post’s sixth annual Peeps contest (sorry, we just can’t bring ourselves to call it by its official name, “Peeps Show”) has concluded. We do love this music-related one, so kudos to Derek Hills and Brinda Krishnan (of the band Not My Sister) for their sugary creation! There are a few close-ups here and here and here.

• Venue news: Strathmore has announced its summer season [Washington Post]. We’ve got their shows listed here.

• Local band press: Southern metal rockers King Giant talk to ThisIsNotAScene.com.

• Local arts news: Scott Tucker (Cornell University’s choral director) will be taking over as the head of the Choral Arts Society [Washington Post]. The Society’s current head, Norman Scribner founded the organization 46 years ago and is retiring at the end of this season. Tucker’s experience includes fundraising (of particular interest in today’s climate), commissioning new work — he commissioned more than 30 new pieces while at Cornell, including works by Augusta Read Thomas, Chen Yi and Libby Larsen — and world music. He spent part of a sabbatical year in South Africa, learning traditional music by rote from an expert who requested that he not write anything down, saying, according to Tucker, that “those staff lines are like prison bars to the music.”

• Tittsworth is really excited about the return of Trouble & Bass to DC (and has a pair of tickets to give away to a promotion-friendly twitter user).

• Christopher Porter on Doug Aitken‘s “Song 1″ at the Hirshhorn [Express].

• Concert planners: DCist’s This Week in Jazz. TBD celebrates April Fools’ weekend with shows that are not a joke. The Going Out Guide has compiled all the shows that go on sale this week.

• CD Review: DC’s Joe Colly takes on Wiz Khalifa‘s Taylor Allderdice [Pitchfork].

• Listen: Swedes First Aid Kit stopped by NPR’s DC office for a Tiny Desk Concert.



Live Reviews


• Patrick Foster on Sleigh Bells and Liturgy at the 9:30 Club [Washington Post]. Apparently the headliner– which has 2 albums under its belt– played a short, 45-minute set.

• Jenn Bress on the Joy Formidable with A Place to Bury Strangers at the 9:30 Club [the Vinyl District].

• Capital Bop has a review and photos of the latest DC Jazz Loft at the Dunes – featuring trombonist Joseph Bowie with drummer Nasar Abadey, Defunkt, and Jessica Boykin-Settles with her quartet.



Contests


• The Vinyl District is giving away a 2-LP set of the Mastodon album The Hunter. Winner must have a North American mailing address. (contest ends today).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of VCMB‘s Ssss on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing address. (contest ends Friday 3/30).
• (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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ShowlistDC Music Notes: Friday 03-23-12



Weekend/Week-Ahead Planner


• Helpful planners: Washingtonian’s Music Picks. TBD’s guide to free shows this weekend. Washington CityPaper’s Jazz Setlist. DCist’s This Week in Hip-Hop. Around the Mall’s events. We Love DC loves weekends.
• CD Review: Catherine Lewis on Sons of Bill‘s Sirens [Washington Post]. Performing tonight at IOTA.
• CD Review: Mark Jenkins on Polica‘s Give You the Ghost [Washington Post]. Performing tonight at the Red Palace.
• Interview + Listening: Lindsay Zoladz talks to Heavy Breathing (a band that includes former members of The Apes) [Washington CityPaper]. Performing Saturday at the Capitol Skyline Hotel.
• Preview: Nancy Dunham on Tom Rush [Washington Examiner]. Performing Saturday at the Birchmere.
• CD Review: Mike Joyce on Joe Louis Walker‘s Hotfire [Washington Post]. Performing Saturday at the State Theatre.
• Preview: Emily Cary on Shuffle. Play. Listen. (a collaboration between pianist Christopher O’Riley and cellist Matt Haimovitz) [Washington Examiner]. Performing Saturday at George Mason University Center for the Arts.
• Interview: Brandon Weigel on Thomas Dolby [Washington Post]. Performing Sunday at the Birchmere.
• CD Review: Jess Righthand on Grace Woodroofe‘s Always Want [Washington Post]. Performing Sunday at the Black Cat.
• CD Review: Dan Miller on the Joy Formidable‘s The Big Roar [Washington Post]. Performing Monday 3/26 at the 9:30 Club.



Other Articles/Videos


• Local power metal band A Sound of Thunder has just released a music video for “Muderous Horde” (recommended if you like snakes!). The band’s new album Out of the Darkness comes out next week, and the band is celebrating with a CD release show at Empire in Springfield (formerly Jaxx) on Saturday 3/31.

• If yesterday’s Washington Post boy band article wasn’t enough boy band talk for you, there’s more boy band talk on the Washington Post.

The Onion has ended circulation in DC [Washington CityPaper]. No great surprise from us (most of the Onion bins we saw were always empty, with the exception of the ones right outside the Columbia Heights metro station– the paper had clearly been cutting back its distribution this year).

• Erica Bruce’s photos of DC in SXSW [Washington CityPaper].



Live Reviews


• Charles T. Downey on NSO and Washington Chorus‘s performance of Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater Dolorosa”, Op. 58, at the Kennedy Center [Washington Post].

• Catherine McCarthy on Justice at the 9:30 Club [DCist].

• We Love DC on Kasabian at the 9:30 Club.



Contests


• LiveNation Latino’s Facebook Page has tickets to Franco de Vita at the Fillmore on 3/28. You have to install a Facebook app in order to enter (I didn’t do that, so I don’t know when this contest ends).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a three-month Slacker Premium Subscription (contest ends today).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to Def Leppard, Poison, and Lita Ford at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 7/10 (contest ends today at noon).
• The Fillmore Silver Spring is using Facebook to give away tickets to Jordan Knight on 3/25 (contest ends Saturday 3/24 at noon).
Darkest Hour is giving away Grindesign art to peopele who “like” this facebook image and page (contest is open until it reaches 1,000 likes).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to see DJ Shadow at the FIllmore Silver Spring on 3/27 (contest ends Monday 3/26 at noon).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to see the Joy Formidable at the 9:30 Club on 3/26 (contest ends Monday 3/26 at noon).
• DCHeavyMetal.com is giving away a pair of tickets to see Alcest, deafheaven, Black Clouds, and Auroboros at DC9 on 3/29 (contest ends Tuesday 3/27 at 5 PM).
• The Vinyl District is giving away a 2-LP set of the Mastodon album The Hunter. Winner must have a North American mailing address. (contest ends Thursday 3/28).
• 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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