Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Grey Area

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Photo Courtesy of The Grey Area

Happenstance is what brought The Grey Area together. It was March 2010 when Jason Steinhauer (vocals/guitar) stopped by Zoo Bar for an open blues jam. Drummer Timothy Jones (TJ) was playing with a few other guys on stage at the time, so Steinhauer sat at the bar and waited for his turn to join.

It didn’t take long for Steinhauer to get in on the action though. Instead of waiting for his name to be called, Steinhauer jumped on stage as soon as the song being played was finished. From there, he grabbed the mic, looked at TJ, and said, “‘You Shook Me,’ the Zeppelin version.”  TJ smiled, kicked the beat, and started the song. That’s all it took — an indie-rock band with the ability to write pop hooks and catchy choruses was born.

Steinhauer and TJ exchanged numbers that night, forged a friendship, and started writing music with each other. After toying around with the idea of adding a bass player, the duo made their official band debut eight months later at the Canal Room in New York City. Now they’re nominated for three 2012 Washington Area Music Association awards (including Best New Artist) and are playing an album release show at Strathmore this Friday.

Steinhauer took a few minutes to share The Grey Area’s story with We Love DC in anticipation of Friday night. Here’s what he had to say. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Listen Local First Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Bring DC Music to SXSW

You may have noticed the signs posted in the front windows of Tryst, Local 16, Solly’s, or maybe even Hello Cupcake. But in case you didn’t , here’s the low down. For the past four months, there’s been a monthly “DC Local Music Day” (FYI: It’s February 8 this month).

What is DC Local Music Day? It is the day in which the aforementioned shops (and others) stream music created by local artists from open to close. This is all thanks to Listen Local First.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, LLF is a new local music initiative in town. LLF is devoted to building awareness and creating opportunities for local musicians and venues in order to raise the profile of DC’s local music scene. All things considered, they’ve been doing a pretty good job so far. They’ve got a growing list of local business partnerships and show no sign of slowing down.

LLF is the brain child of co-founders Chris Naoum and Rene Moffatt and their next goal for the project is bringing the DC music scene to SXSW this March.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Gaming Table

Photo ©Carol Pratt/Folger Theatre

It’s a woman’s world out there. Now a days more women than men are attending college and these more educated females are putting off families and earning more money than men. As a late-20’s lost boy, I’m ok with saying that.  Folger Theatre’s production of The Gaming Table represents this new role of women well. In the show the women are empowered, smart, and clever while the males range from bumbling to sissy.

Amazing that the play the show was adapted from, The Basset Table, originally written in 18th century by playwright Susanna Centlivre. While additional material was added to modernize the piece, the play is still truly ahead of its time. Lady Reveller (Julie Jesneck) and her cousin Valeria (Emily Trask) are two different women who suffer from the same problem. Reveller would rather play cards at the Basset table she runs in her uncle’s (Michael Willis) house than put up with the affections of Lord Worthy (Marcus Kyd). Valeria isn’t much for cards, she is a woman of science. However her father would rather see her married to a Sea Captain (Michael Glenn) then dissecting frogs. Valeria doesn’t fancy Captain Hearty but does have an eye for his Ensign (Robbie Gay).

An 18th century play with a modern RomCom set-up. Doesn’t matter when the play was written though- you’ll be a laughing in the aisles all night.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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The One Game That Represents The Wizards 2011-2012 Season

It was a bad weekend for Washington sports. However while some are bummed over the Caps loss to the Bruins yesterday, at least they are hovering above .500 with a 27-21 record. It would take a miracle for the Washington Wizards to achieve such a feat.

This past weekend the Wizards lost to the Clippers in a 87-107 blowout. At 4-20, you would think that the funk of defeat couldn’t penetrate any deeper. This game however struck me as a moment where everything that happened just felt apropos. Much like how the entire season can be viewed while listening to the Benny Hill theme song.

The game started on a high note. Blake Griffin put up a dunk to which Nick Young rebutted with a dunk of his own. DeAndre Jordan then caught a rebound for a dunk and John Wall took the ball to the other end and throw up a lob for JaVale McGee to slam home.

Perhaps the game would at least be entertaining if not competitive? It turned out the game would be neither. The rest of the night just went down hill from there.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Elephant Room


Photo by Scott Suchman

This past weekend I saw magic. No I’m not talking about a win from the hapless Wizards or miracles of that sort- I’m talking about a real magic show with magicians, tricks, and illusions. However this show did not have the showmanship of Houdini, the polish of Copperfield, or the rock and roll of Criss Angel. No the trio of Dennis Diamond, Daryl Hannah, and Louis Magic that star in Arena Stage’s Elephant Room look like a cheesy act that’s more Reno than Vegas.

Not only is there magic, but mustaches and mullets as well.

The look and feel of Elephant Room ties into a line said during the show: “We have nothing new to show you.”

With magic’s biggest secrets since revealed, showmanship is now as important as the illusions themselves. The Diamond/Hannah/Magic wolfpack provides a refreshing new take on the magic show. It is essentially the anti-David Blaine. These men aren’t sporting hard bodies or designer jeans, they look more like extras off the set of Napoleon Dynamite than someone that would lock himself in a ball full of water.

And that’s what makes the show so much fun to watch.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Red

Edward Gero as Mark Rothko and Patrick Andrews as Ken in the 2011 Goodman Theatre production of Red. Directed by Robert Falls. Photo by Liz Lauren.

De Kooning. Pollock. Rothko. Giants of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Killers of Surrealism, only to be swept aside themselves by Pop Art. At least, that’s how the legend goes (even Rothko would disagree with the precise classifications). But is a revolutionary’s story compelling if it doesn’t end in a young, glorious death? In Red, playwright John Logan sets up his genius protagonist to play defense against the onslaught of age and change. His Mark Rothko is engaged in a constant struggle against accusations of hypocrisy and potential irrelevance, while his paintings stand silent, their internal monologues quietly stealing the scene.

A joint production between Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and Arena Stage, Red is an exploration of an important moment in the life of artist Mark Rothko (played by Ed Gero). He took on a commission in the late 1950’s to produce murals for the Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building, itself a gorgeous modernist tower designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. We’re supposed to feel somewhat shocked that Rothko would paint for this much money, would consent to house his paintings in a consumerist palace (as if Michelangelo never did anything similar for the Medici, but conveniently forgetting our art history, let’s say it is shocking). Rothko claimed to want his murals to disquiet the diners. The commission was certainly one of the most lucrative of its day. Red encapsulates that struggle between art and consumerism (on the verge of Pop Art’s embrace of it) in the relationship between Rothko and his young assistant, and if it did nothing else, the battle between the two would still make for a fascinating and unnerving evening. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Derrick Rose Takes Out His Anger On The Wizards

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Derrick Rose
courtesy of Keith Allison

Reigning MVP Derrick Rose was in a mood.

Sunday night he blamed himself for a loss against the Miami Heat that left him angry, emotional, and determined to make it up in the next game he’d play.

Unfortunately for the Washington Wizards they were that next game. Rose looked like a madman on the court in a 35 point performance as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Wizards 98-88.

The Wizards tried everything they could to stop Rose and the Bulls but it was to no avail. The loss left Wizards coach Randy Wittman a little testy, transferring his frustration to the press after the game. When asked about the team’s Pick and Roll strategy against Rose he answered to the reporter asking the question , “Did you of that question all day? If you have a new strategy, call my office tomorrow. We tried four different things. The way he played tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything we would have thrown out there that could have of. So did he dice it up? Yea, is that what you want me to say?”

I hope Wittman doesn’t read the column I wrote about him.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Euan Morton as Launce, Oliver the dog as Crab and Adam Green as Speed in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by PJ Paparelli. Photo by Scott Suchman.

Ah, love. The kind that makes you stalk your lover, lie to your best friend, steal someone else’s girl. We’re talking young, hormone-addled, angst-ridden love. Add in some fervent karaoke singing, late night fast food binges and way beyond last call drinking, and it’s love in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Rarely performed (STC’s artistic fellow Laura Henry notes in Asides that it’s only been staged twenty-four times in London and five times in New York City), Two Gentlemen is commonly thought of as difficult to produce. It’s an early play in the canon, containing many characters and plot devices that seem half-baked next to their later manifestations. There’s also the question of that pesky final scene – which moves from the threat of violence and rape to forgiveness all too quickly – often tinkered with to make it more palatable. It’s always been a prime candidate for conceptual settings and modernization.

Director PJ Paparelli goes for a pastiche of teen movie metaphor in the current production. It’s a risky choice to add in neon corporate logos and U2 cover songs. That kind of concept can, and often does, fall flat. But here, a kind of pure earnest beauty marries text and concept. Kick your cynicism to the curb, and remember that time when love meant losing everything, including even your self-respect, and yet you just didn’t care that it wasn’t cool.
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Downtown, Entertainment, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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National Geographic Live: February 2012

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner; Photo courtesy National Geographic

As spring looms on the horizon, so does National Geographic Live’s new season. For the third year in a row, the National Geographic Museum is offering WeLoveDC readers a monthly chance to enjoy one of their premier events. We’re giving away two pairs of tickets to readers and entering is simple. Look through the great programs coming up in February and pick two you’d like to attend. Then in the comment field, simply enter your choices. (Make sure you use your first name and a valid email address!) Winners for February will be chosen at random in the afternoon on Tuesday, January 31.

All programs (unless otherwise noted) will take place in Grosvenor Auditorium at 1600 M Street, NW.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.nglive.org, via telephone at (202) 857-7700, or in person at the National Geographic ticket office between 9 am and 5 pm. Free parking is available in the National Geographic underground garage for all programs that begin after 6 pm.

Uncovering Hidden World ($20)
Tuesday, Feb. 7; 7:30 pm

As a staff photographer with National Geographic, Jodi Cobb has worked in more than 60 countries—celebrating the best of the human spirit and spotlighting some of its worst abuses.

She is best known for lifting the curtain on worlds closed to outsiders, such as Japan’s geisha, Saudi Arabian women, the grim underworld of human trafficking. Experience a retrospective of her most important work as she also shares images and stories from her most recent assignment, a story on twins for the January 2012 issue of National Geographic. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Cass McCombs @ Ottobar, 1/21/2012

 

photo by Sandy Kim

Cass McCombs turned Baltimore’s Ottobar into a spacey dreamworld during his set Saturday night. In the midst of his US winter tour,  he played with a full backing band, including keys, bass, guitar, pedal-steel guitar and drums. Opening was Frank Fairfield, along for the duration of the tour, and Walker and Jay. 

First to the stage was the Baltimore based trio Walker and Jay. Gathered close around one microphone, with only acoustic instruments, they looked and sounded like they could have walked right out of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?. There was an upright bass, providing the backbone and rhythm for the set, a fiddle, and the lead singer switched between playing banjo and what looked like some kind of steel guitar. Their old-timey country/bluegrass/blues was both lovely and rousing, and set an intimate mood for the evening.  Continue reading →

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Paul Pierce Carries The Celtics To A Win Over Wizards

Photo courtesy of RMTip21
BOS-ORL103
courtesy of RMTip21

Celtics star Point Guard Rajon Rondo was ruled out of today’s game against the Wizards with a sprained right wrist. In the second quarter Ray Allen left the game with a jammed left ankle. Slumping and battered, the Celtics looked like a prime target for the Wizards, who have been improving their play game-by-game this week.

However Paul Pierce took the team on his shoulders with a season-high 34 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds as the Celtics continue to own the Wizards this season with a 94-100 loss.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nuggets Outrun Wizards, Boos Keep Raining On Blatche

The Wizards had a little swagger in their step as they took the court Friday night. Coming off a big win over the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder, the ‘zards went up against the Denver Nuggets and pummeled them in the first quarter. Washington scored a season-high 37 points and were in the game down to the end.

However the Wizards could not solve Denver’s Al Harrington, who led the Nuggets with 29 points. His dunk with 7.9 seconds left in the game sealed the Wizards’ fate in a 104-108 loss.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Cass McCombs @ Ottobar, 1/21/2012

photo courtesy of Cass McCombs

Cass McCombs brings soulful, mellow, dreamy rock to Baltimore’s Ottobar this Saturday night. He has received high praise from the likes of John Peel and Pitchfork Media, and has performed or toured with Cat Power, Andrew Bird, Blonde Redhead & Modest Mouse among many others.

His sixth album (and second in 2011), Humor Risk, was released in November of 2011 , to much acclaim, and landed him a cover story on Fader.

I am currently addicted to the single “Love Thine Enemy,” from Humor Risk, but I can’t find that anywhere online to share, so check out “The Same Thing” also on the new album.

Cass McCombs

Saturday, January 21, 2012, Ottobar

w/Frank Fairfield 

Walker and Jay

doors 9pm/show 9:30

$12

Entertainment, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Media, The District, The Features
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Breaking Down The Sh*t DC Says Video

What’s really great about a viral meme based on stereotypes is that it can be easily replicated. The problem about a viral meme based on stereotypes is that it can easily be replicated.

We roared at My New Haircut, laughed at My New Haircut: Asian Edition, groaned at My New Haircut: Irish Edition.

So when Shit Girls Say came out it was only a matter of time before a billion other versions were produced. The meme was even embraced by yoga apparel company Lululemon Athletica and Public Relations Agency Hunter PR.

If you weren’t sure if the meme has hit critical mass or jumped over the shark then hold on to your butts- the meme has gone local with Shit DC Says.

DC’s Living Social blog, SocialStudiesDC, produced the video and it made the rounds all-day yesterday.

Let’s break it down.

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Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Shock The Thunder As The NBA’s Worst Beats The Best

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

This quote was posted inside the Wizards locker room tonight, very apropos for the game. The Wizards came in tonight as the worst team in the NBA at 1-12, facing off against the best team in the NBA in the 12-2 Oklahoma City Thunder. The Verizon Center was packed with fans that wanted see Baltimore’s own Kevin Durant, and expected a big game from him against the Wizards. Boos came from all directions at Andray Blatche, who has lost all respect with the fans. It wasn’t shaping up to be a good night for the Wiz.

But tonight the Washington Professional Basketball Team demonstrated that they could compete with the best of the best in a thrilling victory over the Thunder 105-102.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Little Murders


Photo by Dennis Deloria

Cartoonist Jules Feiffer doesn’t ink funnies. Instead he speaks his mind through art, be it what a woman thinks or how the nation elects a President. So when you consider the dangerous world of New York City depicted in American Century Theatre’s “Little Murders“, you have to realize that a premise that is a tad over-the-top is simply part of his craft as a cartoonist. The environment is exaggerated because he wants to make a point about forces he thought was creating a turning point in America at the time.

The play takes place in 1966 New York where Fiffer takes liberty in highlighting the rise of urban violence of the late 60’s, a wave he observed in the wake of the assassination of JFK. Fiffer and director Ellen Dempsey satirically illustrate the city falling deeper and deeper into a state of lawlessness and chaos. One cannot venture outside his home without getting mugged, one cannot walk down the street without getting shot at. Gunshots become a regular cue throughout the show, with many shots nearly missing members of the cast.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wall Puts Up Career High 38 Points, McGee Showboats In Loss To Rockets

In between the 3rd and 4th quarter of today’s Washington Wizards match against the Houston Rockets, Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like An Eagle” filled the Verizon Center. I thought it was fitting since it is the first track on the Space Jam soundtrack and coach Flip Saunders recently commented that the team, “looked like ‘Space Jam’ where everyone lost all their talents and couldn’t do anything there for a while.”

Listening to those lyrics it was very clear that for the Wizards time was indeed slipping as the Wizards lost the game 106-114.

John Wall reached a career high 38 points including 18 in the final quarter but the Wizards couldn’t catch back up after keeping it competitive in the first half. Wall looked aggressive, attacked the hoop, and landed a spectacular dunk in the third quarter.

Wall wasn’t the only Wizards slamming the boards today, JaVale McGee had several highlight worthy finishes including a second half dunk that caught Flip’s eye- not for good reason however.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Time Stands Still

Holly Twyford in Time Stands Still. Photo: Scott Suchman

Watching Time Stands Still is to witness a relationship cracking apart, as two people whose entire shared experience has consisted of an adrenaline rush that can’t be sustained, irrevocably come off the high. Its success then rests on strong performances rooted in naturalism, and luckily that’s a strength Studio Theatre has perfected. Otherwise, you might be asking yourself why you are watching yet another slice-of-life about relationship woes.

Time Stands Still begins in the aftermath of war zone trauma for Sarah, a photojournalist physically battered by an explosion, and James, a reporter psychically wounded. Sarah can’t wait for her body to heal so she can jump back in, photographing atrocity after atrocity despite the nagging moral conflict of non-engagement. James has had enough, and wants a normal life (albeit a “normal” live lived in a nice loft in Brooklyn deconstructing horror movies instead of real-life horrors). This framework might be enough for an exploration of what happens when you repeatedly put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of bringing people news they don’t want to see, but playwright Donald Margulies raises the stakes in pretty pedestrian ways. Relationship woes like infidelity, mid-life crisis and delayed parenting are highlighted. How different the play might be had the core plot revolved around Sarah’s battle to keep her shattered limbs intact, a very relevant and brutal struggle many who’ve been in war zones have faced.

Here, you’ll get a rather safe depiction of facial scars that will slowly fade, like the relationship questions we all face and ultimately survive through. No one loses an eye or a leg here in their quest for that beautiful photograph of a baby’s burns after a market bombing. Margulies and director Susan Fenichell are lucky to have four talented actors making the psychic wounds interesting to the audience.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Come Up Short Against New York, Fall to 0-7

Photo courtesy of MattBritt00
Melo Takes Toney Under His Wing
courtesy of MattBritt00

With the acquisition of center Tyson Chandler, the New York Knicks hoped to enter the season with their own “Big Three”: Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. Like many other recent “dream teams” in sports, the Knicks have started off slow winning only two of their first six. Tonight the story was different as Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler combined for 72 points in a 99-96 win over the Washington Wizards.

Unlike the Wizards’ previous game- where the team was doomed after starting the game 0-12 in the field, the Wiz played competitive all four quarters. The Wizards outscored the Knicks 32-18 in the opening quarter but cooled off towards halftime. The Knicks regained the lead early the third quarter but Washington kept it close. Nick Young missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that could of sent the game into overtime.

“They played hard- one thing they didn’t do was hang their head,” Coach Flip Saunders said after the game. Before the game he described it as a “must play hard” situation- and it looks like the Wizards did that at least.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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The Ten Best Concerts In And Around DC For 2011


“The Foo Fighters” by Andrew Markowitz

Time once again to calculate and list the ten best musical performances I saw in the past year in and around Washington DC.* This ‘best of’ article is one of my favorite activities as a music writer because it embodies the very essence of why I take the time out of my increasingly busy schedule to attend so many concerts and write about them. Simply put, I am a fan of great live music and when someone or a group of someones delivers a really special performance I want to tell as many people as I can about it. There is real magic happening during a great musical performance that is unlike anything else I have ever experienced; if I manage to share just a fraction of that magic with my readers by exposing them to a band they might not otherwise have heard then my job as a music writer is done.

In the last six months, positive events in my personal life have greatly affected my ability to cover as many concerts as I’d like too with the quality of writing that I feel they deserve. Because of this I have been writing much less than usual and I predict that this trend will continue for most of 2012. I know from reader feedback and from conversations with some of the great people I’ve met at shows over the years that my writing about music has had an impact on their musical world. Knowing this enables me to walk away from music writing fulfilled.

2011 was kind of a weird year for live music. The entire year felt like an odd hang-over from 2010 (one of the greatest years of live music ever). In recent conversations I think I have been undervaluing 2011’s shows, because now as I revisit all of the sets I saw, I realize that there were plenty of great performances, they were just obscured by a lot more mediocre ones than I have seen in recent years. Once I dusted away the humdrum and the disappointing, I was left with about 35 really great sets to choose from for my top ten list this year.
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