Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC Does Top Chef DC: Episode 9

Photo from Bravo TV

Prior to the tonight’s episode I went a little to do restaurating and enjoyed happy hour with some great friends over at Brasserie Beck. Now it’s time to curl up and catch the late airing of the latest episode of Top Chef DC:

11:00: Thanks Bravo for reminding me about the pea puree. Can’t we just let it go? Of course as I learned last week, they don’t show you something unless it’s supposed to be a set-up for later on. Does this mean Ed and Alex are going to war over stolen ingredients? We can only hope.

11:01: Kenny doesn’t know why he’s in the middle, he says he’ll need to unleash the beast. Sorry Kenny you aren’t the first reality star to say that in DC. I still think you are a pimp however so it’s all good.

11:03: Ed hopes to “work closer” with Tiffany for the Quickfire Challenge: a blind-folded tag team challenge. Ed needs a girlfriend really bad.

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Entertainment, Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Arts
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Theater Spotlight: Eleanor Holdridge

Eleanor Holdridge, director of Theater J's "Something You Did" by Willy Holtzman. Photo courtesy of Eleanor Holdridge.

First in a series of interviews with the many theater professionals who call DC their artistic home.

Eleanor Holdridge had been freelancing as a director for twenty years. It can be a grueling profession, on the road sometimes for eight months at a time to make a living. She was ready for a home.

“Welcome to DC! Now, direct a play that’s political,” she jokes.

Having recently moved here to head the directing program at The Catholic University of America, Holdridge is out of the gate directing Theater J’s season opener, Something You Did. Playwright Willy Holtzman has updated the piece from its 2008 incarnation to reflect the current polarized political climate. Replacing the controversial Imagining Madoff with a play about 1960’s idealist turned imprisoned radical facing off against a neo-conservative media pundit prone to conspiracy theories may seem a bit out of the frying pan, but that kind of daring choice is what makes me admire Theater J.

With warm enthusiasm and infectious humor, Holdridge graciously shared a rehearsal coffee break with me to talk about her move to DC, her impressions of theater here, and what’s in store for audiences when Something You Did opens with previews beginning August 28.

As a Baltimore area native, Holdridge grew up coming to DC to see plays at Arena Stage. So perhaps it was inevitable that one day DC theater would call her back. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: The Saw Doctors

Saw Doctors @ 9:30 Club

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’s giveaway is a great treat from the Emerald Isle: two tickets to see The Saw Doctors at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, August 12th (Tomorrow!)

The Saw Doctors are a great Irish rock band. In Ireland these guys are superstars with 18 Top-30 singles and 3 #1-singles over the last 25 years. I’d bet a pint or two that there are some fans over there who would kill to see The Saw Doctors in the intimate, indoor setting of the 9:30 Club. If you’re unfamiliar with The Saw Doctors, they specialize in a great story-telling pub-rock sound. In some ways they play like an Irish-version of The Stranglers. Their lyrical style is full of great Irish humor and whimsy, but can also deliver some real bar-keep wisdom too. Also of entertainment value on Thursday night will be The Saw Doctors’ legendary fan-base, made up of enthusiastic Irish diaspora of which DC has plenty.

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…
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Unsane & Keehaul @ Ottobar 8/7/10

Unsane @ Ottobar 8/7/10
courtesy of Unsane.

I drove up to the wonderful Ottobar in Baltimore to catch a noise-rock double-bill so too-good-to-be-true that it was as if the lords of aggression themselves had forged it. I imagine these mighty creatures in their red-glowing cave, dipping their battle-scarred fists into molten iron, before plunging them into icy mountain rapids to cool and harden. The first fist of fury they named Keelhaul. The second they fastened to the end of a tree-trunk to fashion a warhammer; this they called Unsane. For decades these two mystic weapons of pummel made their way through the mortal world wrecking havoc on any and all who encountered them. Separated for many years by the fog of war, on Saturday night these two legendary forces reunited in a furious concert that stirred the blood and let slip the dogs of war.

Noise-rock is mostly about the musical expression of one thing: aggression. It isn’t pretty music, it isn’t nice. Noise-rock doesn’t ask politely and noise-rock never ever says “I’m sorry”. Noise-rock karate-chops you in the throat and knees you in the groin. Noise-rock throws you to the ground by your shirt-collar and pummels you with telephone books. It’s angry man music and it has been too damn long since this area’s tapped into the real old-school source of the stuff. The other night Boris and Russian Circles put on an amazing display of thinking man’s metal; at Saturday night’s Keelhaul/Unsane show you were too busy dodging blunt sonic jabs and throwing fists of your own to do much thinking. While you experience a post-metal show; with a good noise-rock show you are lucky to survive. Saturday night’s concert was so damn good I barely made it out alive.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Boris & Russian Circles @ 9:30 Club 8/3/10

Boris @ 9:30 Club 8/3/10
photo by author.

Last Tuesday night DC was treated to a brilliant exhibition of guitar excellence when Boris and Russian Circles performed at the 9:30 Club. I think just about every metal fan that I know was surprised that this show was at the 9:30 Club. Post-metal and radical guitar-genre chameleons like these two bands sometimes have a hard time filling smaller clubs like Rock & Roll Hotel and Black Cat. I was impressed that 9:30 Club was willing to gamble on this power-house, underground, double-bill.* Tuesday’s show was my third time seeing Russian Circles and my much-anticipated first time catching Boris in concert (finally!). Going in, I was convinced that either one of these bands could have been the headliner. Their recorded music is equally brilliant and I knew first hand how awesome Russian Circles are live. Tuesday’s show featured a killer opening set by Russian Circles, followed by a next level performance by Boris that showed off exactly why this band of Japanese experimental rockers had top-billing.

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Entertainment, Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Wrapping Up the Rickey

Alex Bookless wins the Rickey Contest. Photo: Scott Wolfson.

The Third Annual Rickey Month Celebration was Monday night, and I’m only now getting around to recap it after being honored to participate in the final judging. That should give you a better idea of what kind of wild fun party it was than anything I could possibly write, but…

The five final contestants presented a quintet of Rickey riffs highlighting the enormous talent we have on hand here in DC mixology. None were derivative, all were inventive, and it was a very tough call. That’s the sign of an excellent field of contestants – congratulations to the DC Craft Bartenders Guild!

But there has to be a winner, and it was Alex Bookless (The Passenger) with her The Root of All Rickey, a complex mix of both event sponsors Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Hendrick’s Gin. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Robyn & Kelis @ 9:30 Club 8/2/10

Robyn @ 9:30 Club 8/2/10
photo by author.

Robyn and Kelis announced their unlikely tour pairing via (a staged?) Twitter conversation back in May.

Kelis: Love to. Thinking it’d be fun 2 hit the road together?

Robyn: That’s what I’M thinking. I got my strobes ready & some new dancing shoes as well. We could do this!

Dubbing their team-up the “All Hearts” tour, the soulful, hip-hop, songstress and the Swedish, former teen pop star set out across the country to introduce America to their re-invented selves. On Monday night “All Hearts” converted the 9:30 Club into a glitter-drenched, sweaty, pop-disco as the two very different divas delivered two very different sets. Kelis, up first, provided the evening with a heavy dose of glitz, glimmer, and confetti with a set that was musically uneven but enough fun to forgive its shortfalls. Robyn ditched the glam and opted instead to kick some serious tail by hitting the stage with more energy than I’ve seen on-stage in maybe forever. Musically Robyn’s set reigned supreme over the adoring crowd by mixing electro force, positive attitude, and an awesome voice.

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Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC Does Top Chef DC: Episode 8

Photo from Bravo TV

Welcome back faithful Washingtonians to another episode of Top Chef DC. I thought I’d try and mix things up with a running diary of tonight’s episode, ala Bill Simmons.

9:00 PM: Recaps are on, almost forgot about all that pea puree drama. As petty as the act sounds, it’s about time things got a little bit dramatic.

9:01 PM: Token shot of an empty bed and cut to a chef lamenting about the latest departure. Did it really take eight eliminations to make the competition “real” all of a sudden?

9:03 PM: Marcus Samuelsson, winner of Top Chef Masters season 2, is on hand to talk about the global food scene in DC, highlighting Ethiopian Cuisine. It is about time they dived deeper into the local scene besides politics and interns. The quickfire challenge is to create an Ethiopian dish.

9:05 PM: Amanda goes wild over goat leg while the other Chefs rag on Alex him like’s he’s the A-Rod of Top Chef. Can’t blame them, he shouldn’t be well liked with those kinds of rumors about. Meanwhile Angelo says he’s an expert on Ethiopian flavors- good thing he’s clearly been using them in his dishes up until this point. The best I’m going to expect from him is an Ethiopian egg roll.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Galactic

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’s giveaway is a funky jazzy good time with two tickets to see Galactic featuring Cyril Neville and Corey Henry at 9:30 Club on Friday, August 6th.

Galactic is touring in support of their latest album “Ya-Ka-May”, a mash-up of New Orleans music styles and influences featuring a slew of vocal collaborators, who each bring their own genre’s influence to the mix. In other words Galactic are still the great, genre blending, jam band that they have become known around the world as. The most intriguing thing to me about Galactic’s new project is their inclusion of “bounce” inspired hip-hop, New Orleans’ emerging hip hop brand. Friday night’s concert will feature plenty of Galactic’s trademark funk/jazz mega-jams, hopefully some of their new album material, and the guest vocals of a living legend, Mr. Cyril Neville.

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…
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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, The Daily Feed
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Like the Barenaked Ladies? Have a free extra ticket to their show. Love, CalTort

Photo courtesy of
‘Barenaked Ladies, The Big Bang Theory’
courtesy of ‘watchwithkristin’

Let me ask you two questions: 1 – Who doesn’t love California Tortilla? 2 – Who doesn’t love a burrito joint that gets you a free concert ticket for the price of one? If you answered yes to both, which I’m going to assume that you did, then you’re in for a treat.

The fine folks at California Tortilla are running a special offer for this Sunday’s Barenaked Ladies concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion. All you’ve got to do is visit CalTort’s ticket site and enter the code “caltort” when prompted. Then, you’ll receive a second ticket to the show for the price of one.

That’s not all. If you purchase a ticket to the show through CalTort, you’ll be placed in a drawing to win passes to an excluseive pre-concert sound check party. You don’t need a million dollars to get in on this action. Enter today!

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: August Music Preview

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

It’s August. It sure doesn’t feel like August, but the calendar says it is. That means summer is slowly slipping away and the days of sweater weather, sweltering lattes, and crispy leaves is inching closer.

This is quite possibly my favorite time of year. Baseball’s still being played, we’re on the cusp of a drop in daily temperatures, and as always — there’s plenty live music being played.

Here the shows for the month of August that I definitely wouldn’t miss.

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Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Media, News, The Daily Feed
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And The Day Is Mine! WAMU’s “Big Broadcast” To Reair On Sunday Mornings

Photo courtesy of
‘open mic’
courtesy of ‘timsnell’

Joy of joys! WAMU will be reairing The Big Broadcast on Sunday mornings. If you haven’t caught this fabulous show, hosted by Radio Hall of Famer and local DCite Ed Walker, then you’ve truly been missing out. The four hour long show features recordings of popular radio programs from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, and is seriously the best way to ease back into the coming work week.

While some of the programs can be on the cheesy side, i.e. “har. dee. har. har.” most of the shows offer fantastic whodunit story lines, wonderful radio renditions of classic books/plays and feature some of the brightest stars of that day like Orson Welles, James Stewart, Olivia De Havilland, Henry Fonda, Frank Sinatra, and many more.

Adventures, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, News, People, The Daily Feed, The District
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Sign Her Up! Redskins Latest Recruit

Photo courtesy of
‘New Washington NFL Uniform’
courtesy of ‘Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com’

Today Albert Haynesworth for the third day in a row chose not to take the Redskins conditioning test, which consists of two timed 25 yard shuttle runs with a 3 1/2 minute rest in between each set. So local Fox 5 reporter, Lindsay Murphy, took it for him and came pretty darn close to passing.

Given how useless, lazy and overpaid Haynesworth has been during his time at the Redskins, I say “Sign Her Up!”

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Deadmau5 @ 9:30 Club 7/28 & 7/29

Photo courtesy of
‘Deadmau5’
courtesy of ‘Max Cook’

Joel Zimmerman aka Deadmau5 played 2.5 concerts at the 9:30 Club last week. After delivering stunning shows on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Deadmau5′ set on Friday night was cut short when he vomited and passed out on-stage. Immediately after his performance the night before, Deadmau5 posted “God damn… What’s wrong with me now? Ugh… Me no feely so good” on Twitter. Sources indicate that on Friday Zimmerman had been vomiting back-stage before the show and that he tried to tough it out before collapsing. After passing out, Zimmerman was immediately hospitalized, diagnosed with exhaustion, and the next day it was announced that the remainder of his world tour has been canceled.*

I was not at the Friday night show. I was, however, at the concerts on Wednesday and Thursday night to witness the Deadmau5 techno-spectacle road-show first hand. Since debuting his new stage show at the Coachella Music Festival back in April, Deadmau5 has been touring hard around the world with an incredible show that blends electronic music and digital visuals better than almost anything else I have seen.** His aggressive campaign to take the crown for best electro-concert experience has been relentless and I’m afraid has now taken its physical toll on him. With each show, Deadmau5 makes his case for best dance concert experience with an astonishing display of visual fireworks that envelopes and overwhelms you while his bass-heavy House/Electro beats toy with you like a sadistic cat would a dead mouse. For fans of performance spectacle, the tour is a visual feast. For dance music fans, Deadmau5′ current tour is about as close to nirvana as it gets.

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Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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August at Smithsonian American Art Museum

American Craft Masterpieces – Kim Schmahmann, Bureau of Bureaucracy, 1993-1999, courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum

August promises to be chock full of events at many museums around town as the summer heat continues to build. Check out what’s going on down at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) during the dog days of August; all programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The SAAM is located over in Penn Quarter at 8th and F Streets, NW.

Conservation Clinic (Aug 4; by appointment only)
Questions about the condition of a painting, frame, drawing, print, or sculpture? American Art conservators are available by appointment for consultation about the preservation of privately-owned art. To request an appointment or to learn more, email DWRCLunder@si.edu and specify CLINIC in the subject line.

Book Talk & Signing: “Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera” (Aug 5, 6:30pm)
Many of Rockwell’s most memorable characters were friends and neighbors who served as amateur models. Author Ron Schick discusses how Rockwell acted as director — carefully orchestrating models, selecting props, and choosing locations for the photographs that served as the basis of his iconic images. Book signing follows. (This is a part of the SAAM’s comprehensive Rockwell & the Movies exhibition.)

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Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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National Cheesecake Day: Get Your Forks Out

Photo courtesy of
‘The Cheesecake Factory’
courtesy of ‘Bitman’

In honor of National Cheesecake Day, all Cheesecake Factories have slashed prices on all their cheesecakes by 50%.  They’re also debuting their latest addition, Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, which looks ultra yummy good. So stop in your local Cheesecake Factory, and treat yourself you a slice.

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC Does Top Chef DC: Episode 6 & 7


Photo from Bravo TV

Welcome back to DC Top Chef, we missed having you around the town. After a couple of weeks of relative boring DC tie-ins the past two episodes finally included some DC sightings to talk about.

Last week on Top Chef:

  • Last week’s episode, titled “Cold War,” was timed perfectly with spy trades and Angelina Jolie films in the news.
  • Quickfire Challenge: make dishes out of exotic proteins. Duck testicles? Gross.
  • Andrea bitches that guest judge Michelle Bernstein has a bias against her because they are both rivals back in Miami.
  • Ed continues to name drop, citing how he’s so familiar with these ingredients after cooking with Todd English
  • Angelo gets an amazing idea for his Duck testicles: Testicle Marshmallows. What? Unfortunately we won’t get to see it- a twist in the challenge has everybody passing their dishes to the left.’

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Deadmau5

Deadmau5 @ 930 Club

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’s ticket giveaway is so hot it’s making the sun jealous! This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to the SOLD OUT Deadmau5 show at the 9:30 Club on Friday July 30th!

Deadmau5′ current tour is THE dance music event of the Summer. The man in the mau5-head has been throwing down spectacular live sessions all over the world and for the next three nights he will be taking up residence at the best club in the country! Deadmau5 has elevated his game from simply spinning beats to creating a mind-blowing audio/visual experience complete with jaw-dropping digital light-shows, a custom built DJ-booth that has to be seen to believe, and most importantly his excellent custom-blend electronic music. Missing Deadmau5 is perhaps my biggest Coachella Festival regret this year. Every report that I’ve read out of Coachella indicates that Deadmau5′ 2010 show is an unforgettable, electronic music experience. This week DC is lucky enough to get a triple-dose of Deadmau5 shows. Thanks to the techno-savvy however, all three shows are already sold out! But fear not dear readers, one of you still has a shot at catching Deadmau5′ stunning show this Friday night!

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. 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…
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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Noises Off

The Keegan Theatre's production of "Noises Off." Photo credit: Jim Coates Photography

British playwright Michael Frayn’s farce-within-a-farce Noises Off has become one of the most beloved and popular comedies since its original staging in 1982 – so popular that when Frayn updated it ten years ago for a National Theatre revival it caught a Tony for its famous Broadway transfer. Listening to the audience’s uproarious laughter at Keegan Theatre’s production last night, it’s not hard to see why this play is produced again and again – it’s simply guaranteed to make you laugh.

There’s an endearing quality to Keegan’s performance, with the appropriately creaky Church Street Theater making a believable setting for a play about all the awful failures a tired touring company goes through.  This may not be the most perfect production of this jewel of a farce, but the cast is giving it their all and there are crazy moments of hilarity. Playing now through August 22, it’s a very entertaining night out.

Three acts take the audience through three nights of watching as a touring company attempts a farce called Nothing On, a silly piece of froth with a Benny Hill sensibility. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: HEALTH @ Rock & Roll Hotel 7/24/10


courtesy of HEALTH.

As I predicted last week, Los Angeles noise outfit HEALTH smashed Rock & Roll Hotel into a million tiny pieces on Saturday night with a spectacular show of guitar and drum demolition. Constantly shifting gears between raw noise, power electronics, and their unique brand of danceable noise-pop HEALTH kept the audience gleefully off-balance for the duration. Their set was an audio killdozer, rolling over the crowd with its well-timed dual percussion, mad scientist guitar sounds, and deranged vocal manipulation. It was the most joyous and inventive celebration of controlled noise that I have seen come through DC so far this year.

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