Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC Does Top Chef DC: Episode 2

Photo courtesy of
‘Classic school lunch. Yum.’
courtesy of ‘Ben+Sam’

Top Chef is off and running after a lackluster premiere, in fact the lowly 1.8 million that tuned in last week was the show’s lowest premiere since the beginning of the season. When you take into account the lower than usual turnout for the Real World DC premiere, one would have to think if DC is the place where reality TV goes to die. I certainly hope not! Producers are right to think that the Washington, DC backdrop is sexy- I mean where else can you have a National monument in every B-roll shot? Also where are you going to find cool guest judges like White House chef Sam Kass?

The cook for the Obama family prepared meals for the family in Chicago and moved to DC after the election. He’s a self-starter with no formal training or experiencing running a restaurant or hotel. Instead he’s more of a working chef that continues to cook for the First Family while also advising and supporting Michelle Obama’s healthy living agenda.

I bet you didn’t know that about about Mr. Kass. The again you might have been too busy staring at him wondering if it would be possible to get trapped in an elevator with both him and Tom. In 2009 Kass was listed in People’s “100 Most Beautiful People,” yet another reason to get this White House official on camera.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Media, People, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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DMVIFF: A Festival for Filmmakers

Tanecia Britt; photo courtesy DMVIFF

This weekend marks the start of the DMV International Film Festival, showcasing the talents of various artists in our area. (‘DMV’ stands for the District, Maryland, and Virginia, for those wondering.) By showcasing up and coming artists from around the world, the DMVIFF is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the area’s indie film market through the development and presentation of original stories for the screen. The DMVIFF hopes to educate about the business of film through workshops and panel discussions during the course of the festival. The festival – and organization – has been put together by Tanecia Britt, a DC native and a freelance director.

The festival, which runs Friday through Wednesday the 30th, was the brainchild of Britt after her return from London where she obtained her Masters in Film Video and New Screen Media. “After I got back and created my first feature, School Without Walls, I had trouble entering the film in various area film festivals,” she said. “School was selected in 3 international festivals, so I was confused as to why it wasn’t accepted here in the DC area. It was then I noticed a real lack of knowledge of film festivals, so I decided to do something about it.”

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Goldfrapp @ 9:30 Club 6/21/10

Goldfrapp @ 9:30 Club 6/21/10
courtesy of Goldfrapp.

Allison Goldfrapp, the fairy godmother of electro-pop, descended from her pink-chiffon cloud to treat us mere mortals to one hell of a concert at the 9:30 Club on Monday night. The performance was one of the first dates on her U.S. tour in support of her fifth album, “Head First“, but the concert also served as a reminder to the pop-forgetful that she is the best in the biz when it comes to dreamy-vocals set to retro-chic, electro-beats. This summer is ridiculous with its schedule of electro-pop divas visiting DC. From The Golden Filter, to La Roux, to Robyn, and Dragonette each group owes a huge debt to Goldfrapp for putting the pop polish on the synth and keyboard sound that began its revival as the much harsher electro-clash in the late 90’s. Will Gregory and Allison Goldfrapp, the duo that compose Goldfrapp in the studio, have been cranking out great albums since 2000, while Allison and her live band have been putting on terrific live shows full of style and originality that will be hard to forget when seeing their electro-pop descendants perform over the next couple of months. Monday night’s Goldfrapp show took a few songs to really get going but once the band got into their groove it was pure escapist, retroactive, pseudo-futuristic bliss.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Delta Spirit

The Delta Spirit @ 9:30 Club 7/3/10

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 see Delta Spirit perform at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, July 3rd.

Delta Spirit are a tight group of multi-instrumentalists crafting up-tempo, Americana-inspired, indie-rock fronted by a spectacular vocalist. Delta Spirit somehow manage to sound very traditional while also bringing a unique instrumental approach to each and every song. Their music sounds timeless, as if it could have just as easily been produced in the 60’s or 00’s. In a way they make me think of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. Delta Spirit make pretty straight-forward soulful rockers but put just enough of a left-of-center spin on them to make for a sound that could be huge for fans of the WHFS-spirited, alternative music radio. Delta Spirit’s secret weapon is their lead singer, Matthew Vasquez. He has a great, unique voice that lends just the right amount of emotion and fun to their songs to keep the listener completely engaged. His crystal clear, articulate, vocal delivery makes for terrific sing-along potential; of which I am sure there will be plenty at the concert this weekend.

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, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Courage

The cast of "Courage," a dog and pony dc production. Photo credit: C. Stanley Photography

The cast of "Courage," a dog & pony dc production. Photo credit: C. Stanley Photography

Entering the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop black box theater for a performance of Courage: A Political Theatre Revival is a bit like crashing your neighbor’s weekend-long house party. The place is a mess, you don’t know anyone, but everyone seems to be having crazy fun so you jump right in, why not? If you aren’t the sort who likes the fourth wall being broken repeatedly as actors address you directly and encourage you to participate, this isn’t the production for you. But if you love party-crashing, you’ll get along.

Maybe you shouldn’t trust my opinion, after all, I was handed a beer shortly upon arrival. It’s a new strategy, getting your reviewer tipsy, but everyone else was doing it too (so yes, I caved to peer pressure). In addition to free beer, you’ll be recruited into the army with a hilarious questionnaire. This raucous atmosphere before the show even begins puts you both at ease and on edge at the same time – the perfect mood for a work that’s actually based on Bertolt Brecht’s classic anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children.

This production by dog & pony dc uses the very colloquial David Hare version as a starting point, accented by a live band with original music by John Milosich and directed (or rather, “radically re-imagined”) by Rachel Grossman, who describes the action as “NASCAR punk political theatre mosh-pit.” Apt. It closes June 26, so race on over – performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm.

Now that you’re prepared for the preamble, what about the production itself? Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Golden Filter @ DC9 6/19/10

Photo courtesy of
‘The Golden Filter’
courtesy of ‘yousayyeah’

On Friday night, DC9 mainstay, Liberation Dance Party brought in New York’s The Golden Filter for a special appearance to amp up the already crazy dance party LDP hosts week after week. Unsurprisingly, the result was an even crazier dance party. The Golden Filter delivered a killer set of sexy electro-pop to a packed house eager to dance, dance, dance! And dance they did, taking to the riser boxes, standing on the booths, shaking and grinding while the band delivered on the promise of their amazing debut album, Voluspa, with a live performance that was a delight to watch through the filter of moving bodies.

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Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Get Ready to Fringe

Photo courtesy of
‘Frankie Goes to Washington…………’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

The 2010 Capital Fringe Festival schedule is live, and as always it’s jam-packed with a rich mix of the serious and the seriously messed-up. Now in its fifth year, the festival is an incredible opportunity for artists to present work not normally seen on DC mainstream stages, and a chance for you to indulge in watching (and sometimes participating in!) some crazy theatrical risk-taking.

Tickets are on sale starting today, and the festival itself runs July 8-25 with about 130 different performances to choose from. Payment options range from tickets to individual shows ($15 each) or packages to multiple shows ($50 for four tickets, $75 for six, $110 for ten and $300 for all) – note you will also need the $5 Fringe Button to enter any Fringe venue. Show venues are mainly in the Mount Vernon Square area, with Fort Fringe & The Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar set up at 607 New York Avenue NW.

I’ve only ever made it to a show or two in Fringes past, but this year I’m intending to be more ambitious and see as many shows as I can for you! Watch for timely (within 24 hours of first night, yikes) reviews here as part of our collaboration with DC Theatre Scene.

So get ready for some fast furious theatrical fun!

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Isis & The Melvins @ 9:30 Club 6/16/10

isis @ 9:30 Club 6/16/10
courtesy of ISIS.

It all began as a simple tour announcement. ISIS playing with The Melvins at 9:30 Club on June 16th. For a few weeks, ISIS fans assumed that this would be an ISIS show with The Melvins as the opening act. Then it turned out that The Melvins were listed as the headliner and ISIS would be opening. And Isis fans let out a collective groan of disappointment. Then ISIS made the bombshell announcement that they are breaking up and that this tour will be their last. And ISIS fans took to the street: crying, breaking stuff, and banging their foreheads against walls like the Ayatollah Khomeini had just died. In reaction, ISIS and The Melvins wisely switched schedule spots for the remainder of the tour. So it was that noise-rock mainstays, The Melvins, opened for post-metal originators, ISIS, when they played together at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday night.

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Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Photos: Amanda Palmer’s ninja gig

Photo courtesy of
‘AFP ninja gig’
‘erin m’

With just a few hours’ notice to her fans, performer Amanda Palmer managed to draw more than 100 fans to the historic Bethesda theater Wednesday night for what she calls a “ninja gig.” A low-key, free affair meant to reward a loyal fanbase, it offered her a chance to perform beyond  tonight’s highly structured Evelyn Evelyn gig at the 9:30 Club. Last night, as she will be tonight, Palmer was joined on stage by Jason Webley–the Evelyn to her Evelyn, their Siamese twin singers–and Sxip Shirley, a New York-based storyteller and wickedly talented harmonicist, who joins the Evelyn Evelyn family as the twins’ manager. It’s no coincidence that these three all have backgrounds drenched in cabaret performances, busking and all things theatrical.

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Entertainment, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Dive Bars

Photo courtesy of
‘9946-27Crop’
courtesy of ‘furcafe’

With the amazing renaissance of our drinks culture in DC – the craft cocktail movement, the wine bar explosion, and the expanding beer consciousness all facing off against the slick corporate engines looking to make big bucks off bottle service and velvet ropes – it’s easy to overlook the plain ol’ dingy dive bar. But there’s a seedy side to the world of drinks in our fair capital city. And I love it.

What makes a dive bar? Can you really define it? Imagine you were a production designer for a crazy independent filmmaker, would you know what elements to include? Some might say DC is too Type A to have real dive bars, but the sleazy underbelly of politics proves that wrong. With so many bright-eyed babies coming here to “make it big” there’s bound to be a lot of disappointment. Not everybody’s a winner. And the dive bar thrives on losers.

Depressed yet? Good. Relish it. That’s part of the dive bar too. You’ve got to inhale that sick aroma, ripe from years of iqos dubai cigarette smoke and body odor, squint as you enter almost total darkness or excruciatingly bad fluorescent lighting, belly up to the bar and order a shot. Now look around. Let’s see what we have here.
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Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC Does Top Chef DC: Episode 1

Photo courtesy of
‘PeelingPotatoes’
courtesy of ‘YoAmes’

We are halfway through the Trifecta.

Reality TV’s love affair with Washington, DC started with The Real World DC (a show I happen to know a lot about) and now Top Chef DC is here to keep us entertained before The Real Housewives of DC crashes the party.

I am excited to bring my experience covering DC’s reality shows over to We Love DC- and by cover I mean sit down on the couch while exchanging remarks with Kirk and Rebecca during our Cover It Live. Continue reading →

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Entertainment, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill
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Recap: 2nd Annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game

2nd Annual Congressional Softball Game

Yesterday at Guy Mason Park in Glover Park, female members of the media took on female members of Congress in the 2nd annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game to benefit Young Survival Coalition.

Both teams were stacked with a who’s who list of Washington pols and reporters, including Captains Dana Bash of CNN and Shailagh Murray of the WaPo, and Captains Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a principal organizer of the event, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years at the age of 41. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced the game and kept the friendly banter going.Very entertaining.

Off the field, it was a politico convention. DC’s First Lady Michelle Fenty kicked off the game was the first pitch. Supreme Court Justice, and Yankee’s fan, Sonia Sotomayor hungout in the Congressional dugout and Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in the second inning. Also spotted at the event were Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Minority Leader John Boehner, Majority Whip Eric Cantor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, etc. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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psst, wanna see a free show?

Photo courtesy of
‘Amanda Palmer in State Theatre, Falls Church’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Performer Amanda Palmer, formerly of the Dresden Dolls, is scheduled to play the 9:30 Club on Thursday with Jason Webley as their Siamese twin performance art duo Evelyn Evelyn. But Palmer’s special brand of punk cabaret cannot be contained to just one night, so she’s put the word out via Twitter that she’ll be holding court tonight (for free!) at the old Bethesda Theater. Palmer’s got the space for two hours starting at 6 sharp, and she’s urging fans (and curious bystanders) to “expect MADNESS, tell EVERYBODY, bring LOVE.” And really, whose Wednesday night couldn’t use a little more madness and love?

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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N Street Village Night Sessions Comin’ Atcha

Photo courtesy of
‘Setting up at Rock and Roll Hotel’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

There’s a new night-life music event call N Street Village Night Sessions taking the stage at the Rock & Roll Hotel next week. Here’s the run down on the situation:

  • Who: N Street Village, a nonprofit organization in DC that offers a safe, empowering community for homeless women to gain stability.
  • What: Food, drink, live music, and mingling while supporting an important cause for the DC community.  Tickets are just $35 for open bar, food and live music from three local artists: Evan Bliss, Tom McBride and Ro Sham Bo.
  • When: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 7:30 p.m. – midnight.
  • Where: Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street, NE, Washington DC 20002.
  • Cost: $35, order online at EventBrite.

Here’s “why” you should even attend:

  1. Live music
  2. It helps people
  3. The Rock & Roll Hotel rules
  4. Did I mention live music, helping people, and the fact that the Rock & Roll Hotel is always awesome?
Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Bettye LaVette

Betty LaVette @ 9:30 Club 6/24/10

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!

For this week’s giveaway, we have a pair of tickets to see R&B, soul veteran Bettye LaVette perform at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, June 24th.

Bettye LaVette is a true soul warrior. She has been singing in the trenches for five decades; constantly reinventing herself and perfecting her approach to that after hours place where soul, R&B, and jazz blend together into a sexy, humid sound. It is almost hard to believe that this late into a career she can finally be hitting her peak, but that is exactly what Bettye LaVette is doing. For the last ten years, Ms. LaVette has been a recording dynamo; recording and releasing albums with more regularity and consistency than ever before. Here is a performer who seems to have put the insecurities of youth behind her and has emerged a more confident performer than ever before. This is best demonstrated on her latest album “Interpretations: The British Songbook“. On “Interpretations…” Ms. LaVette takes on the daunting task of rearranging classic British Rock songs like The Rolling Stones’ ‘Salt of the Earth’ and The Who’s ‘Love Reign O’er Me’. Ms. LaVette reworks these hugely recognizable songs in a way that transcends the “cover song” tag by completely owning them. Only a real master could accomplish such a thing so beautifully. The chance to see Bettye LaVette perform these interpretations and other songs from her impressive career at the 9:30 Club is a special opportunity for DC music fans.

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, Night Life, We Love Music
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Upcoming: Revolution @ FUR 6/17/10

Revolution @ FUR

This Thursday the DC alternative music scene makes its return to a proper dance club with the launch party of “Revolution” at FUR Nightclub. For years industrial, goth, 80’s, and punk music has been surviving (and in some cases thriving) in basements and bars around the DC area. The underground was not always relegated to the shadows in this town however. For the first fifteen years that I lived in the DC area, there was always a large format dance club giving Industrial/Goth/Punk/80’s dance music a home. Cavernous clubs with huge dance floors and sick sound systems lending themselves once-a-week to the alternative crowd for epic dance parties. For many, these clubs were the epicenter of not just music but also of a thriving nightlife community. Hell, I met my wife at one of those clubs and had my wedding reception after-party at another!

It has been too long since a kick-ass, proper dance club has opened its doors on a regular basis to this scene. This Thursday the Industrial/Goth/Punk scene will come roaring out of the underground and take over FUR Nightclub for the first of a bi-weekly, genre, dance-party called “Revolution”. I was invited to be one of the DJs for this awesome event and I happily accepted. After speaking with the event organizers it was obvious to me that we share the same idea about bringing these genres to one of DC’s nicest and most well-equipped dance clubs. The organizers, the other DJs, and I are all dedicated to creating a great dance party that won’t simply evoke the old, scene, dance clubs; we are determined to create a unique event that will hopefully grow to become legendary in its own right. With a great sense of history for the Industrial/Goth/Punk/80’s scene in DC, we all hope to begin a new era of massive dance parties with our party “Revolution” at FUR. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: This Will Destroy You @ DC9 6/10/10

This Will Destroy You
courtesy of Girlie Action.

The Texan, post-rock quartet This Will Destroy You played DC9 last Thursday. As I type this review several days later, I am still reeling from their titanic performance. I am tempted to free-style gush about it here, but instead I will break the evening down into pieces to help my brain sort out the chaos that is left in the wake of their visit to the nation’s Capital. In other words, rather than shout “Godzilla!” and start jabbering in incomprehensible language as I try to describe This Will Destroy You laying waste to everything in their path; I will try to provide you with a semi-coherent write-up of Thursday night’s show.

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Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: This Will Destroy You @ DC9 6/10/10

This Will Destroy You
courtesy of This Will Destroy You.

Look at the friggin’ graphic. When I came across the above image while researching the post-rock quartet, This Will Destroy You, I knew that I had found just about everything I would need to convince you to go to this concert. Not only are This Will Destroy You a post-rock band on the rise; they also have awesome taste in artwork. I am as stunned by the hilarious genius of that graphic as I am by TWDY’s soul-stirring, earth-shaking instrumental music.

This Will Destroy You are a band that beautifully harness subtlety in their music while obviously discarding it completely to market themselves. Just look at their name: THIS WILL DESTROY YOU. Now look at that awe-inspiring graphic again. It tells you everything you need to know about the band and what they will bring to their live performance at DC9 tonight. TWDY’s guitars will sound like the howl of a wolf, the roar of a mountain lion, and the scream of an American eagle combined! This show will be mighty and the audience will quake under the sonic assault of This Will Destroy You. Come to DC9 tonight and watch as they unleash material from their forth-coming album “Tunnel Blanket”.

This Will Destroy You are joined by Chicago psych-rockers, Light Pollution and Brooklyn atmospheric strings act, Slow Six. These three bands playing together should make for one crazed evening of majestic guitar and sonic bliss.

This Will Destroy You
w/ Light Pollution & Slow Six
$12 @ DC9
Doors at 8:30 / Show at 9:00

Entertainment, Music, People, Special Events, We Love Music
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We Love Music & Comedy: Conan O’Brien – The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour

Conan O'Brien Legally Prohibited Tour

Tuesday night had me back at DAR Constitution Hall to witness the madcap hilarity of the Conan O’Brien Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour. I don’t think I need to recap how Conan lost his Tonight Show gig to its former host, other than to mention how that extremely public NBC scheduling conflict resulted in one of the oddest forms of comedic revenge I have ever witnessed. The whole point of Conan O’Brien taking his variety show on the road is to keep America laughing while exacting sweet revenge on the ratings dead-weight that replaced him on air. For two months now, Conan O’Brien, his writers, and his band have been criss-crossing America delivering knock-out evenings of comedy and music. Tuesday night’s stop in DC was no different and provided the sold-out Team CoCo crowd with a non-stop night of comedic genius.

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