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Notes from Last Night (and the weekend)

Last night, I went to the Arlington Temple in Rosslyn to see the San Francisco vocal band the House Jacks, who have been around since 1991 but are more recently known for their work on the NBC a cappella competition show The Sing-Off. The quintet did not disappoint, performing a ton of original songs and a few selected covers; they always do a selection of audience requests, and it’s pretty amazing to me how little it takes to make for a convincing cover of a pop song (the guys did just fine with Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and Maroon 5′s “This Love” with just the lead and percussion– sure, some of the other guys were tossing in some harmonies or other auxiliary parts, but they really weren’t necessary). Better was the guys’ take on audience requests they didn’t know; Deke Sharon provided a particularly hilarious guess of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”. (Notably, my request for their version of the Monday Night Football theme was not indulged– the House Jacks actually performed the song with Hank Williams Jr. last season, but the theme stopped being aired after a few weeks when Williams made a Hitler comment.) The show overall was great, though; I captured a few tunes on video: early in the show, Nick Girard soloed on a cover of Gnarls Barkley‘s “Crazy”, and for the encore, Deke Sharon invited openers Euphonism on stage to sing Bob Marley‘s “Three Little Birds”.

On Friday night, I went to see Trampled By Turtles at the 9:30 Club. My friend Tom Herbers runs their sound (and recorded their most recent album Stars & Satellites). There were a couple of all-star jams with openers These United States, including a booming cover of The Band‘s “The Weight”. Overall, I thought they sounded great (definitely better than the last time I saw them), but the one thing that continues to be frustrating is the number of people who talk and talk and talk during the band’s slower, quieter songs. I guess the crowd made up for it during the louder ones (there was a moment where everyone was jumping in unison so fiercely that I thought the entire 9:30 club building was going to levitate).

Articles

• Profile/interview: Chris Richards talks to Sam McPheeters, from punk’s Wrangler Brutes, about his new novel Loom of Ruin [Washington Post].

• Interview/profile: Jonathan L Fischer celebrates the blog All Our Noise and shares some of the blog’s favorite live videos over its 4 year history [Washington CityPaper].

• The Washington Post has a column called “She The People: Women Writing on Politics and Culture”. This week, Suzi Parker muses on What American women could learn from Pussy Riot, a Russian punk rock girl band. Three of its members have been in police custody since March for overtaking the pulpit of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in February and chanting “Mother Mary, drive Putin away.” Their crime: hooliganism.

• Interview: Mike Paarlberg talks to Norman Scribner, who’s stepping down as director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington [Washington CityPaper]. Scribner founded the Society in 1965.

• Preview/Interview: Nancy Dunham on the Wombats [Washington Examiner]. At the 9:30 Club tonight.

• Preview: Brianne Nemiroff on Fountains of Wayne [TBD] – at the 9:30 Club on Thursday.

• Also on Thursday: watch The Last Waltz at Artisphere [Washington Post].

• Metallomusikum continues her countdown to Maryland DeathFest with profiles of Deviated Instinct and Hellbastard.

• Listen: The Caribbean remixes Deleted Scenes‘s “Bedbedbedbedbed” [Washington CityPaper].

• Listen: Chris Burns‘s debut EP [Washington CityPaper].

• Spotted: Biz Markie is allegedly moving to R St NW [Washington CityPaper], according to a recent episode of Celebrity House Hunting.

• A Woodbridge pizzeria was robbed by a gunman in a Kiss mask on Wednesday night [Washington Post].

Live Reviews

• Megan Buerger on Chairlift at U Street Music Hall [Washington Post].

• Joan Reinthaler on Verge Ensemble at U of Maryland [Washington Post].

• Aaron Leitko on Radiohead Jazz Project at Twins Jazz [Washington Post]. Note that we can’t find that article online anywhere, so that’s a link to the page in Saturday’s paper.

Contests

• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Nickelback at the Verizon Center on 4/30 (contest ends today).
• 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 today).
• 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).
• 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).
• NEW Heavy Uber Alles is giving away a pair of lawn seats to Megadeth and Rob Zombie at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 5/13 (contest ends Friday 4/27 at noon).
• 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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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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