ShowlistDC Music Notes: Wednesday 04-11-12



Notes from Last Night


Yes, that was me at the Ozric Tentacles show last night at the State Theatre. They’re a psychedelic prog-rock band from England (who apparently live in California now….?) who are named after an imaginary breakfast cereal (other possibilities were Malcolm Segments, Desmond Whisps, and Gordon Lumps). I hadn’t seen them since 1995 when I reviewed their show for the Washington Post (you can read that review here). This time, they didn’t have anyone playing flute, and that was disappointing– the show was still good, but there’s only so much psychedelic keyboard/guitar noodling one can listen to before it all starts to sound like a stoner rave, and those flute melodies certainly used to add something. They played for about 2 1/2 hours, and there was a decent crowd– although not enough for them to open the balcony. I did take a photograph of the new balcony extension with my phone’s camera, and you can see that here.

On my way out, one of the State’s staff came up to me and said, “You have good taste in music!” I was a little confused by why he approached me specifically, but I guess most people don’t go to shows at the State Theatre in a full business suit.



Articles


• Planning guides: DCist’s This Week in Hip-Hop.

• Interviews: Steve Kiviat talked to Bombino and Vieux Farka Touré about the upheaval in Mali [Washington CityPaper]. Bombino performed last night, but you still have a chance to see Touré on Thursday at the Hamilton.

• Preview: Luke Stewart on saxophonist Steve Lehman [Capital Bop]. Lehman performs tonight at the Atlas.

• Announced: Lineup for the Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center [Washington Post].

• Listen: Mashup master Bad Domes is back at DC9 on Saturday, and MashupCiti has the bootleg from his last DC9 show.

• Listen: JuiceheaD and Osaka Popstar cover Fugazi‘s “Waiting Room” [Washington CityPaper].

• Listen: Caveman stopped by NPR’s DC office for a Tiny Desk Concert.

• CD Preview: Joe Warminsky on Lungfish‘s A.C.R. 1999, due out on May 19th [Washington CityPaper].

• Metallomusikum continues her countdown to Maryland DeathFest with a profile of grindcore band Napalm Death.



Live Reviews


• Another review of last weekend’s chickfactor anniversary shows: Valerie Paschall [DCist].

• Joel Church on the Magnetic Fields at the 9:30 Club [DC Style is Real].

• Jonathan L Fischer on Wale at the new Howard Theatre [Washington CityPaper].

• Michael J West on Afro-Blue and the Howard University Jazztet at Blues Alley [Washington Post].

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



Contests


• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to Matthew Sweet at the 9:30 Club on 6/9 (contest ends today at noon).
• The Vinyl District is giving away three copies of Portugal the Man‘s In the Mountain In the Cloud on vinyl. Winners must have a North American mailing address (contest ends Thursday 4/12).
• ShowlistDC is giving away two pair of tickets to Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at the Hamilton on 4/19 (contest ends Friday 4/13 at midnight).
• DC101 is giving away a pair of tickets to Creed at the Warner Theatre on 4/24 (contest ends Sunday 4/15).
NEW The Vinyl District is giving away a copy of Neil Nathan‘s The Distance Calls on vinyl. Winner must have a North American mailing list (contest ends Tuesday 4/17).
• 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 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: Wednesday 02-22-12

Stuff to read:
• Chris Richards reports on BB King and Mick Jagger at the White House [Washington Post]. Those guys were there celebrating the blues in honor of Black History Month. Also, Obama sang a few lines of “Sweet Home Chicago”: this link has video of Obama singing, plus the setlist from the evening and a photo gallery.

“This music speaks to something universal,” the president said before introducing King. “No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that.”

• ALERT: DC GETS SNUBBED! Slowcore heros Codeine are doing a reunion tour this spring, but they won’t be playing anywhere close to the District. The reunion tour’s closest stops are Brooklyn (6/29 at the Bell House) or New York City (7/15 at Le Poisson Rouge). Seriously? New York gets two dates and DC/Balt doesn’t get any? Sigh. Check out the tour dates to plan your roadtrip.
• Ken Avis at CapitalBop has a lengthy retrospective on Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd.
• DCist tells you what to do: This week in hip-hop and the Weekly Music Agenda.
Preview: Women in Jazz Festival [Washington CityPaper].
Band Profile: Steve Cooper on Spirit Animal [the Vinyl District] – playing the Black Cat on Monday 2/27.
• Heavy Uber Alles brings you six heavy tunes every Tuesday. This week’s edition features New Orleans bands, in honor of Mardi Gras.
• Would you ever by teeny-tiny records at a teeny-tiny record store? [the Awl]
• DC writer Marc Masters reviews Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem‘s Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity for Pitchfork.
• Live Reviews: We Love DC on the Dead Milkmen at the U Street Music Hall.

Audiovisual stuff:
• Loosely DC related: Download the new single from Mynabirds, the new project of ex-Georgie James‘ Laura Burhenn (a former DC resident). [Washington CityPaper]
• Tittsworth points us to a free track from Canadian duo Dooze Jackers.

Stuff to win:
• The Vinyl District is giving away a pair of tickets to Galactic at the 9:30 Club on 2/23 (contest ends Thursday 2/23 at noon)
• The Vinyl District is giving away a signed vinyl copy of All the Details by Doris (featuring Paul Adelstein of Private Practice). Winner must have a North American mailing address. (contest ends Tuesday 2/28)
• DC 50/WDCW is giving away tickets to Jim Jones with Nyemiah Supreme at U Street Music Hall on 3/5 (contest ends 3/1 at noon).