Category Archives: Music

Music, News, The Daily Feed
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9:30 Club wins Billboard “Club of the Year” award

Photo courtesy of
‘Foster The People @ 9:30 Club DC’
courtesy of ‘specimenlife’

Congratulations to our friends at the 9:30 Club! Last night, the club was selected the most attended club in the nation by Billboard, besting the House of Blues at Disneyworld, and the House of Blues in Chicago. This is the fourth time in five years that the 9:30 Club has won the award, with other wins in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Club owner Seth Hurwitz said in a release early Friday, “There is nothing like the magic of seeing a band at the club. The audience knows it, the bands know it, and they feed off each other. I just love seeing everybody having those moments.”

Congratulations to all our friends at the 9:30 Club!

We Love DC regularly runs promotions with 9:30 Club, and I work with them on a regular basis for my day job. That doesn’t meant they don’t kick ass.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: The Sea and Cake @ Black Cat

photo courtesy of The Sea and Cake

Catch Chicago’s The Sea and Cake tonight on the mainstage of the Black Cat. The quartet brings soft, jazz-influenced indie rock, blending ambient instrumentals and electronics with understated, dreamy/breathy vocals. The band is currently on tour of the US in support of their ninth studio album, The Moonlight Butterfly, released in May on Thrill Jockey Records. Check out their upbeat track “Up on the North Shore” from their latest album here.

The Sea and Cake

w/Brokeback

8pm/$15

Black Cat Mainstage

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Girl In A Coma @ DC9

photo courtesy of Girl In A Coma

Get your mid-week dose of rock tonight with Girl In A Coma at DC9. This female trio of hotties from San Antonio, TX play dramatic, punk/rockabilly-tinged rock & roll. Vocalist Nina Diaz has a strong, captivating voice that has been compared to country icon Patsy Cline. The band formed when drummer Phanie Diaz and bassist Jenn Alva bonded in Junior High art class over a mutual love of The Smiths and Nirvana. In 2006, after seeing them perform at New York’s Knitting Factory Joan Jett signed the band to her label, Blackheart Records. The band’s name is a nod to The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend In A Coma,” and they even lived out their teen dream and toured opening for Morrissey in 2007. Girl In A Coma are currently on tour in support of their fourth album, Exits & All the Rest, released on November 1st on Blackheart Records. Check out their video for “Clumsy Sky” here.

Girl In A Coma
The Coathangers
Brothers of Brazil
8pm/$12
DC9

Music
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The Winning Ticket: Peter Murphy & She Wants Revenge

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Peter Murphy & She Wants Revenge at the 9:30 Club on November 16th. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

Music
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The Winning Ticket: Scratch Acid


This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Scratch Acid at the 9:30 Club on November 4th. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

Entertainment, Music
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The Winning Ticket: DCWeek Opening Night Party

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to attend the opening night party for DCWeek at the 9:30 Club on Friday night. Digital Capital Week is a week-long conference focused on bringing together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators of all kinds. DCWeek offers an impressive schedule of lectures, discussions, and social mixers between November 4th and November 11th. To kick things off they are throwing a party at the 9:30 Club on Friday night with entertainment provided by some of DC’s finest up-and-coming bands. The party runs from 1030pm to 3am; featuring music from Teen Mom, Gregg Hammond Band, Modern Man, Ra Ra Rasputin, Drop Electric, The Silver Liners, Big/Bright, and Bonjour Ganesh!.

Note: This is a ticketed, private event after the scheduled Scratch Acid concert.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 11am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for the DCWeek kick-off party are almost sold out but some are available here.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: M83 @ Black Cat, 10/28/11

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

I remember when M83 released their breakthrough album Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts back when I was in college. M83 easily fit in my collection with groups like The Postal Service and The Notwist, yet the album had no vocalist to connect it with mankind. The occasional words were only samples; it was like a glimpse at a dystopian future, where maybe people weren’t even around anymore. I could imagine their core member Anthony Gonzalez in his French chateau, sitting at his laptops and keyboards, writing minimalist, electronic soundtracks for lonely bedrooms.

M83 has evolved tremendously since then; while their current music retains its electro roots, it’s all in all more varied, more approachable, more poppy, more epic. Their new material makes for a hell of a live show, too. They sold out two shows at Black Cat on Friday night; I stopped by the late show to see what they had to offer. The show had exactly what I want from live electronic music – infectious beats, atmospheric lighting, and an enthusiastic crowd.
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Music
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The Winning Ticket: MIYAVI

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Japanese pop/rock star MIYAVI at the 9:30 Club on November 2nd. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Drop The Lime @ U Street Music Hall, 10/20/11


courtesy of Drop The Lime.

On Thursday night, I descended into U Street Music Hall to catch the choice underground double bill of The Japanese Popstars and Drop The Lime. Both were billed as performing live so with The J-Popstars being hailed as the best new live electronica act from Ireland and Drop The Lime finally unveiling his rockabilly-meets-electro project I was expecting a pretty great time. The Japanese Popstars however failed to perform live at all; instead they delivered the weakest DJ set I have personally experienced at U Street Music Hall. Rumor has it they refused to perform live because the crowd was too small. This was a major disappointment but the night was ultimately salvaged thanks to the combination of Drop The Lime ripping the roof off of the place and local spinner DJ Stereofaith closing out the night with a strong electro set.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Hanson @ State Theater, 10/19/2011

All photos by Aminta S. Nieves-Candamo

Hanson were born to perform. Their talent, energy and charisma shone brilliantly onstage at the State Theater Wednesday night, as they played two hours worth of their catalogue, old and new, to a packed house. Over halfway through their US “Musical Ride” tour, Hanson did what they have been doing best for over 14 years now- delivered a slice of sunshine to their fans through their positively upbeat, catchy pop tunes and energetic stage show. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, We Love Music
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Q&A: Dan Haggis of The Wombats


courtesy of The Wombats.

The Wombats are performing at the 9:30 Club tonight, so we enlisted our music correspondent Mickey McCarter to have a chat with their drummer Dan Haggis about the group’s strong sophomore album and their biggest US tour to date.

Post-punk dancesmiths The Wombats, consisting of Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis, and Tord Øverland-Knudsen, have mounted their first major tour of the United States and they are coming to the 9:30 Club for an early show on Friday. After inviting us to dance to Joy Division on their first album, “A Guide to Love Loss & Desperation”, The Wombats want us to dance some more on their second album, “This Modern Glitch”. The strong second album demonstrates that The Wombats are here to stay; they have grown their sound while staying true to the goal of making a great dance album.

We Love DC had a chat with drummer Dan Haggis to discuss the making of the new album, what it’s like to be a band from Liverpool, and a guilty pleasures on the dancefloor.

Continue reading →

Music, The Daily Feed
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(Bonus) Winning Ticket: Star Slinger at U Street Music Hall

We Love DC is delighted to give one of our readers a pair of tickets to see Star Slinger at U Street Music Hall on October 25, courtesy of our friends at his label, Green Label Sound.

For anyone who missed seeing Star Slinger open for Baths back in February, the noted UK producer and remixer makes delightful music that is nostalgic for 1970’s American pop, but inflected with electronic, futuristic touches, and a bit of a Manchester sensibility. Oh, and this is going to sound amazing at U Hall, I pretty much guarantee you.
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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Taylor Hanson of Hanson, part 2

photo courtesy of Hanson

In the midst of their US “Musical Ride” tour, Hanson‘s lead singer/keyboardist Taylor Hanson took some time to talk with WLDC’s Alexia Kauffman. You can read the first half of the interview here. In the second half of the interview Taylor talks about being in Katy Perry’s video for “Last Friday Night,” playing music with Adam Schlesinger (songwriter and bassist for Fountains of Wayne and Ivy) and how that led to forming the supergroup Tinted Windows, as well as Hanson’s charitable work and more. Continue reading →

Music
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The Winning Ticket: Minus the Bear

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Minus the Bear and The Velvet Teen perform at the 9:30 Club tomorrow, October 19th. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each week (usually Wednesday) for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Taylor Hanson of Hanson, part 1

photos courtesy of Hanson

Most of you out there remember the band Hanson  (brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac) as the cheerful trio of kid pop stars responsible for the infectiously catchy song “MmmBop” in the late nineties. What you may not know is that they were more than one-hit wonders. Their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere earned them three Grammy nominations, and produced six top 40 singles in the US. After that album the group split from their major label, formed their own label and has since released five studio albums. They have maintained a loyal fanbase, and are dedicated to giving their fans unique and personal experiences through their live shows. While Isaac, Taylor and Zac are still young (30, 28 and 25 respectively) they have the kind of  musical career that so many work for their whole lives to attain. They are successfully maintaining their own label, touring, and continue to produce albums that chart high on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Their latest album, Shout It Out returns to their roots, bringing back a more pop sound, with some nods to Motown and old-school Rock & Roll.

Hanson is currently on tour, and will be playing Wednesday, October 19th at the State Theater in Falls Church. Lead singer/keyboardist Taylor Hanson took a break out of his busy tour schedule to talk with We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman (and make one of her teenage dreams come true) about tour, becoming famous as a kid, the music industry, and even Katy Perry. (Full disclosure: Alexia was a big fan back in the 90s, and knows all the lyrics to every song on Middle of Nowhere.)  Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Yuck @ Black Cat 10/12/2011

photos by Sarah Jackson

London-based quartet Yuck rocked out at the Black Cat Wednesday night to a sizable crowd. The band is just finishing up their US tour in support of their self-titled debut, released in February on Fat Possum Records. This was their second visit to the Black Cat; the first was in May, opening for Australian psychedelic-rockers Tame Impala. I was at that show to see Tame Impala, and had the magical elusive fortune of experiencing an opening band that I hadn’t heard before blow my socks off. I became an instant fan. Wednesday night’s almost packed house proved that they have collected quite a few fans in the past year, and they were clearly pleased with the turnout.

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Music
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The Winning Ticket: Lisa Hannigan

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Lisa Hannigan with Gavin Glass perform at the 9:30 Club on October 13th  – yes, THURSDAY this week – at 7pm.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address before 3pm Thursday the 13th. One entry per email address, please.

If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each week for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

The rules of this giveaway: Comments will be closed at 3pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email in 2 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner. Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Yuck @ Black Cat 10/12/2011

image courtesy of Yuck

Head to the Black Cat tonight for young British noise-pop-rockers Yuck. Fans of Dinosaur Jr. or Sonic Youth will likely enjoy Yuck’s melodic, catchy, distortion-filled-fuzz-rock. Clearly reminiscent of the early 90s alternative noise bands, but with their own fresh take, Yuck’s live show is energetic, goofy and fun.  Check out their catchy noise anthem “Holing Out.”

Yuck

Porcelain Raft

$15/8pm

Black Cat

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Lemonheads @ Black Cat, 10/7/2011

 

photo by Justin Feller

A word to the wise: don’t try to relive the past- you will inevitably be disappointed. In the weeks leading up to The Lemonheads show at Black Cat last Friday I was excited. Excited at the thought of hearing the album It’s A Shame About Ray performed top to bottom by the dreamy pop-rock idol Evan Dando and whoever else he was calling The Lemonheads this time around. Excited to be momentarily transported back to 1992, and the happy state that album put me in. I first heard that album when I was in middle school, and got to meet Dando several times from then on at various in-store appearances, including Kemp Mill Records in Georgetown (R.I.P.) and Tower Records in Foggy Bottom (R.I.P.). (To the kids of today- there used to be things called record stores, and artists used to make appearances/perform/autograph in them for publicity while trying to promote their albums.)

 So I was a fan from a young age, and saw Dando in his prime. He is no longer in his prime. (This has nothing to do with age, by the way) I think it is partly because I was a fan since I was 12 or 13, and had seen him up close (I have a picture of 13 y/o me with Dando), that I was so blown away and shocked by the sad state he appears to be in now. But I’m trying to write a music review, so before I address the crisis that is Evan Dando, I will talk about the music. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Geoffrey O’Connor, Jens Lekman @ Sixth & I, 10/5/2011

photo courtesy of Geoffrey O'Connor

Australian synth-pop artist Geoffrey O’Connor provided a unique set opening up a night of quirky, fun music at DC’s Sixth & I Synagogue on Wednesday night. O’Connor is currently on tour in the US supporting Swedish indie-pop darling Jens Lekman. When he took the stage he was a bit dwarfed by his surroundings- one man with a guitar and synthesizer in the spacious hallowed cavern of the synagogue. He introduced himself with small voice as well, not particularly exuding confidence or much stage presence. But as he began his first song, the contrast of his singing voice was immediately apparent- he sang with a deep, velvety croon, and when performing he clearly did not lack confidence. Continue reading →