By Rebecca
If Halloween is this weekend, then that means only one thing. The 2010 DC Drag Queen Race is this Tuesday. The race starts at 9pm, but crowds begin to form along 17th Street around 6pm and the show/parade/pageantry starts around 7pm. Definitely an event a must-go-to DC event.
By Rebecca
‘Spooky’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’
Running every night through October 31st, Washington Walks is hosting spooktacular tours of the haunted pasts surrounding Lafayette Park. Hear tales about the eerie navy hero Stephen Decatur, the foreboding pasts of Henry Adams and his troubled wife Clover, and relive the night of April 14, 1865 when the grim reaper stalked Abraham Lincoln. The tour ends at the most haunted home in the city, the Octagon Museum. That is…if you make it through the entire tour…MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cue Vincent Price.
Be at the 17th Street exit of the Farragut West Metro station at 7:30pm, and for $15 you’ll get a two hour long, insiders look into the ghosts and spirits that haunt downtown DC.
By Patrick Pho
I consider myself a very lucky person.
Theatre was never in the cards for me when I signed up to produce the high school production of “Noises Off!” as an after-school activity. Now eight years later I recently completed stage managing a production of “Noises Off!“ as my first gig with a professional theatre company.
After signing up for that high school production I went on to produce over 12 shows in high school and college- then I stopped. I moved to the DC area and I walked away from theatre. Continue reading
By Rebecca
‘Kermit :)’
courtesy of ‘Dan Dan The Binary Man’
Weekend plans still up in the air? Then add the Green Festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Washington Convention Center, to your calendar.
This is the nation’s premier sustainability event, where individuals, businesses and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad.
The event features renowned authors, leaders, educators, great how-to workshops, cutting-edge films, activities for kids; organic beer and wine, vegetarian cuisine, live music and the latest and greatest in green innovation.
It’s also a great place to pick up some holiday gifts with more than 350 eco-friendly businesses selling everything from all-natural body care products to beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.
By Patrick Pho
Ian Merrill Peakes as King Henry VIII and Louis Butelli as his fool, Will Sommers, in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (photo courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library)
When I first walked into Folger Shakespeare Library I was impressed with the authentic Elizabethan performance space. I also didn’t know what to expect from Folger’s season opening production of Henry VIII. Shakespeare falls outside my wheelhouse when it comes to plays, often we associate the works of William Shakespeare with one of two things: fantastic, masterful prose or boring, hard-to-decipher material.
I know I’m not the only one who would have the same two assumptions about Shakespeare. Unless you are a theatre/Shakespeare buff, the idea of sitting through such a show might be a tough idea to stomach. I commend director Robert Richmond in doing everything possible to make the historical play of England’s Tudor Monarch accessible to the audience. He added two characters not in the original text in Will Sommers and Princess Mary, who add additional context into the historical piece. The widespread blocking of the show often places actors in the middle of center aisle, acting out to the audience who are only a mere inches away. The show can also thank The Other Boleyn Girl and The Tudors for bringing the story of King Henry VIII into the spotlight.
New Wave icon and synthesizer guru Gary Numan performed at the Black Cat on Wednesday night to a packed house of devoted fans. It was a weird but enjoyable performance that felt like two very different concerts in one. For the first hour, a very ill Gary Numan lead his band through a performance of his 1979 classic album “The Pleasure Principle”. The performance was a strange one due to Numan’s illness; the band sounded fantastic however as Numan tried to make the best of not having a voice by asking the crowd to sing some of the songs for him. The situation lent some impromptu fun to the performance of Numan’s ice-cold classic. By the end of the album portion, I was beginning to visualize my forth-coming rave review. Then, as if magically revitalized, Numan and his band suddenly launched into a set of guitar-driven, psuedo-industrial tunes that saw Numan belting out vocals like a banshee.
The two hours of Wednesday night’s concert featured very different sounding music, had entirely different energy levels, and felt like they were performed by two completely different bands. I am a fan of the first band, not so much of the second.
By Rebecca
‘Group Shot’
courtesy of ‘DDFic’
Washington DC’s very own Celtic punk-rock band Scythian, pronounced (sith-ee-yin), which usually haunts Fado’s in Chinatown, will take their high-energy, adrenaline-peddling, interactive brand of music to the 9:30 Club on December 4th. The $15 general admission show will also feature Canadian world Celtic rock band, Enter The Haggis (I love the name and I love me some haggis).
The Washington Post says, “Scythian’s enthusiasm is contagious, and shows seem to end with everyone dancing, jumping around, or hoisting glasses.” And with the 9:30 Club’s draft list which includes Bass, Guiness, Newcastle and Smithwick’s, this sounds like a ripe ‘ol good time to me. Cheers!
By Jenn Larsen
‘Zombies!’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’
Trust my favorite bar The Passenger to come up with a terrifyingly terrific way to spend the night before All Hallow’s Eve. Saturday, October 30 from 7pm to close, the bar will toy with the occult by serving up the infamous El Zombie cocktail, a concoction so potent it’s rumoured to turn the living into the undead!
Regular Zombie cocktails are deadly enough – with their origins in the 1930’s Tiki craze, the deceptive fruit content of these rum-based drinks mask the alcohol, resulting in the inbiber’s doooooooooom. From a haunted laboratory within the bar, test your fortitude against the El Zombie’s “evil combination of Mezcal, overproof rum, and infierno” resurrected from a secret recipe. Shudder. Continue reading
As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!
Another cool one to give away this week! Enter to win a pair of tickets to catch the master of Sacred Steel soul himself, Robert Randolph and his Family Band at 9:30 Club on Friday October, 29th!
In case you didn’t know it, Sacred Steel is what the Pentecostal Church music circuit calls the pedal steel guitar. My recommendation to the winner is to snag a spot near the front of one of the balconies to watch Randolph’s fingers flying all over that thing. He is one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time after all. Oh yeah, did I mention Randolph and The Family Band have one of the toe-tapping-est sounds around? Just check out the tunes on their Myspace page and try to resist their funky soul sound.
For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly 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 the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading
Last Thursday night at DC9, hours before tragedy occurred outside of the club, New York Hardcore legends Agnostic Front performed that sub-genre’s definitive document, their debut album “Victim In Pain”, in full. The show was part of a tour celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary re-issue and by default NYHC’s unique stamp on American Hardcore punk music.
It is an unfortunate coincidence that the tragic event which occurred on 9th street on Thursday night happened after this fantastic concert. There have always been a lot of misconceptions and assumptions about the Hardcore punk scene and I am concerned that the violence on 9th will somehow be connected to this concert.* I can attest that the concert and the crowd attending it were focused on unity and the celebration of Agnostic Front’s music; there was much more singing arm-in-arm camaraderie than fists flying. It was in fact a riotous celebration of how much the Hardcore scene has evolved; far from its brutal roots in the 1980’s to become one of the most positive, all-inclusive, underground music scenes around.
By Patrick Pho
Today’s formula for a romantic comedy is pretty clear: take two attractive actors and throw them in a highly unlikely situation. Maybe your Canadian boss needs to marry somebody in order to stay in the country or you have become the next target of your ex-husband who’s also a bounty hunter. As long as you pair up Jennifer Aniston with some hot guy (Matthew McConaughey is always a safe bet), you’ll probably sell some tickets. Just make sure you include a series of obstacles and challenges on their journey that allow the pair to argue and bicker until the end where they fall in love.
The comedy in today’s RomComs usually come through slapstick and awkward situations. Whether it’s a grown man who still lives with his parents or a woman who’s been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings, the humor stems from a seemingly ordinary person thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Samuel A. Taylor’s “Sabrina Fair” is a product of the 1950’s and follows old conventions of subtlety in its humor and drama. The extremism of today’s comedy is replaced with dry wit. The journey and obstacles are replaced with a fairy-tale clash of social classes where a person of wealth falls in love with a someone from the working class. Continue reading
Last Friday night DC was treated to a very special, one-off, U.S. headlining gig by the new stars of the British dance music scene, Delphic. This singular opportunity to catch one of the UK’s hottest bands was hosted at the unlikely venue of DC9 thanks to the savvy programming of Liberation Dance Party. Those in the know about these kinds of things were totally freaking out at this random chance to see Delphic perform in one of DC’s most intimate spaces. At home and in the rest of Europe, Delphic have already risen to festival main-stage status; but for the Eyjafjallajokull Icelandic volcano preventing them from making their Coachella Music Festival U.S. debut last Spring, they probably would be well on their way to playing large venues stateside as well. Their mind-blowing performance at DC9 on Friday proved that they are more than ready too.
all photos by Andrew Markowitz.*
Pop-music mad scientist Damon Albarn is currently touring his ever-evolving collaborative group and multimedia extravaganza, Gorillaz, across the United States. After Gorillaz climbed around New York City like King Kong at the end of last week, they took their road-show down the Turnpike to play an incredible show in Camden, New Jersey on Sunday night, and then down I-95 to perform at George Mason University’s Patriot Center on Monday. Having previewed the 2010 Gorillaz live show at this year’s Coachella Music Festival, I was determined to catch at least one of their national tour dates. As it turns out I was fortunate enough to catch two of them.
Everyone that I talk to who hasn’t seen Gorillaz live seems to have the misconception that their concerts are fully-animated affairs, with the real band hidden behind screens. If you are reading this and are skipping your area’s Gorillaz tour date because of a similar thought, let me tell you that 2010 is the year Gorillaz have come out from behind their rather silly veil to stage an extravagant stage show that features upwards of 25 people on stage at once. The live show is a head-spinning cavalcade of guest-stars and top-notch musicians with so many moving musical parts that every inch of the stage is packed with something interesting for the eyes and the ears. With the latest Gorillaz release, a concept album entitled “Plastic Beach”, and this massive tour, Albarn has finally realized the full musical potential of the novelty Hip-Hop meets Brit-Pop group that he and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett conceived nearly a decade ago. “Escape to Plastic Beach” tour is one of the most unique entertainment events of this year or any other.
As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!
This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to one of my most anticipated concerts of the season: Underworld at 9:30 Club on Monday, October 25th.
Underworld are an incredible experience live. Every fan of electronic music owes it to themselves to see Underworld live every chance they get because Underworld are quite simply the best live electronic dance act ever. I have been to some massive live parties in my time, I have seen just about all of the big names in electronica perform live, and I have never had as much fun as I have had at the three Underworld concerts I have attended. If you can’t tell by now, I am totally losing my sh*t over the fact that not only are Underworld performing in DC for the first time in years, they are doing it INDOORS at the best club around!!! With their latest album “Barking” (their best in a decade) Underworld are set to dominate the dance floor in two weeks. I am so excited to hook up some lucky reader with tickets to what I am sure will be the electronica concert of the year.* See you on the dancefloor!
For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly 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 the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading
Last Thursday night, my prayers were answered when DC9 was visited for the second time in 2010 by Norway’s best entry in the shoegaze genre, Serena-Maneesh. For my money, S-M are hands-down the best band of the nu-gaze movement (shoegaze revival); yet they retain a relative unknown status here in DC. Their set on Thursday night was full of sonic beauty and brutal guitar noise, making the perfect case for why I hold them in such high regard amongst their peers.
Along for the ride was the “opening” act Woven Hand, who are quickly establishing themselves as legendary performers; particularly after a successful stint opening for Tool on the west coast. Woven Hand drew a larger crowd than our Norwegian visitors on Thursday night. I am not entirely surprised by that, but I am a little disappointed that so few people stuck around to sample S-M’s incredible live show.
By Patrick Pho
Howie Mandel, Cesar Millan, and Terry Mandel in the season premiere of The Dog Whisperer (photo courtesy National Geographic Channel)
“Humans don’t follow principals about life: honesty, integrity… we follow contracts.”
Those words were spoken to me by Cesar Millan, aka The Dog Whisperer. He was explaining to me the difference between animals and humans in how we view and live in the world, “in the animal world you can’t survive by being selfish.” Those that know Cesar’s pack understand his belief in the value of family and community in dog training.
By Rebecca
‘PEYTON- Infinity Cowl Olive Green Brass Buttons’
courtesy of ‘smittenkittenorig’
After close to a decade of business on P Street, the Proper Topper’s Georgetown shop will be closing its doors on October 31st. Fear not, the billowy blouses, floral dresses and chic hats will still be available at Proper’s Dupont shop. To lighten their consolidating shop load, the store is hosting a “Wrap-It-Up” sale starting this Saturday with discounts going up as the closing time approaches. Additionally, this Sunday the shop will host the (rescheduled) Proper Swapper, where attendees can swap clothes, eat treats and help raise funds for Martha’s Table.
I know every self-respecting heavy metal fan is looking at the title of this article and wondering “where the f*ck is Anthrax?”. It is true that Anthrax opened the show in Baltimore on Wednesday night but I did not get to see much of their set. Try the last part of their last song only. Thank you Baltimore for forcing a show to start the minute the doors opened to get the small army of metal fans in and out of the Inner Harbor as quickly as possible. Seriously, my buddies and I made good time on our drive from DC to Baltimore, only to be shocked that Anthrax were saying their “Thank you, good night” the minute we took to the arena floor. It was 7:36 and Anthrax had already played their full set. FAIL.
Anthrax rant aside, the rest of the Jagermeister Fall Music Tour aka American Carnage II otherwise known as Clash Of The Titans Tour Redux was a head-banging, air guitar dueling, kick ass, good time. Megadeth performed their classic album “Rust in Peace” and then some with arena-metal showmanship that, frankly, I forgot still existed. Slayer then took the stage to perform their second masterpiece “Seasons in the Abyss” along with a sampler of their greatest hits and delivered a mammoth set of skin-peeling intensity. The show was a fun mix of somewhat silly 80’s Metal nostalgia followed by a virtuoso performance by the best Metal band in the business.
By Jenn Larsen
(l to r): Patricia Penn, Sue Jin Song and Youngsun Cho in Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven by Young Jean Lee at The Studio 2ndStage. Directed by Natsu Onoda Power. Photo credit: Carol Pratt
“My work is about struggling to achieve something in the face of failure and incompetence and not-knowing. The discomfort and awkwardness involved in watching this struggle reflects the truth of my experience.”
— Young Jean Lee, playwright
It would be easy to write about Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven as a play about racist stereotypes, the culpability of bigotry that we all share regardless of personal race. Certainly there is a great deal of that theme on display at The Studio 2ndStage’s production, playing now through October 24. But essentially, to me this is a play about failure – the failure to understand one another, to communicate, to believe, to love oneself. It’s a powerful piece with a core of deep self-hatred and the awful humor that comes from knowing one’s weakness, and giving in to it.
Raw emotion like that is not easy to watch, so the pre-set tricks the audience into false sense of tranquility. Shepherded behind the seats through an incense-filled temple walkway, glowing with candles and red paper lanterns, you might think you’re in for a lovely spa evening.
Then three women in beautiful traditional Korean costumes reveal a video of playwright Young Jean Lee, her tear-streaked face puffy from repeated hard slaps, her eyes wounded and staring at you, her audience – her tormenters and conspirators.
You probably wouldn’t expect to laugh after that opening. But you do. Continue reading
I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news. Which do you want to hear first? I suppose I will begin with the good news because there is much less of it to share than there is bad news to break. But first some simple facts to set the scene.
The xx played the 9:30 Club on Tuesday night. It was their fourth(?) concert in DC of 2010. This time they were fresh off a prestigious Mercury Prize win (British album of the year) for their debut album and performing as headliners to a sold out 9:30 Club. Midwestern, indie-Goth revivalist Zola Jesus and L.A. art-rockers Warpaint were the opening acts. Zola Jesus played first.
By 
