By jasmine
‘Exit Clov’
courtesy of ‘flickr-rickr’
This month, people seem to have planned ahead and half the really exciting concerts are sold out! Well, I’ll try to nip that in the bud from now on and post some future shows to watch out for at the bottom. Also seems like there are a lot of dance parties this month, which might be just the thing to get everyone going and ready for summer. But now, onto the music! Continue reading
By AcaciaO
‘Sketches of Gill Evans’
courtesy of ‘vitelone’
The affection was clearly mutual: hundreds of arts advocates stood on their feet, applauding wildly for a full ten minutes. Jazz virtuoso Wynton Marsalis, flanked by a five-man band, stood staring back at them, tears streaming down his face. He has just spent an hour weaving the tale of music, art and American cultural identity, rendering all present effectively speechless.
Last night at the Kennedy Center, Marsalis gave the Nancy Hanks Lecture, the evening component of the 22nd annual Arts Advocacy Day, organized by Americans for the Arts. The lecture was established to honor Nancy Hanks, former President of Americans for the Arts and chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, and has featured many of the bright lights of the arts, including Maya Angelou, Dr. Billy Taylor and Robert Redford.
By jasmine
The Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off this past Saturday with a family day and the opening ceremony at the National Building Museum. The interior space of the National Building Museum is always pretty overwhelming, but you could see the stimulus overload on people’s faces the minute they stepped into the great hall. The fountain in the middle of the hall is drained and giant pink (and I mean pink, as you can see above) inflatable cherry blossoms are suspended above it, and all around are booths with activities and crafts for kids and people offering information and selling Cherry Blossom Festival-related wares. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
I’m playing host this weekend to several out of town guests who’ve come to DC for an academic conference over at AAAS. We had a happy hour over at Cap City, and walked to dinner at Jaleo. In that short eight blocks, though, we saw some of DC’s absolute finest moments.
By bstanfield
‘The Kennedy Center‘
Courtesy of public.resource.org
Denyce Graves, a native of Washington, DC returned here last month for a recital to support her alma mater, DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Arts. The Kennedy Center was crowded for the recital, which featured a nice mixture of classical, jazz, gospel, and contemporary selections as well as the talents of the Ellington School Show Choir.
Miss Graves, ably accompanied by pianist Joseph Thalken, started the evening with a selection from the opera Adrianna Lecouvreur that highlighted her dexterity as a singer. From loud to soft, intense to whimsical, and low to high, she gave a glimpse of what the rest of the night had in store.
Unamplified through the operatic first half of the program, Graves paused between numbers to enlighten the audience about the pieces she was performing, and relayed a few thoughts about her time at the Ellington School, where she was a student in the 1980s.
After she sang Habanera from Carmen, Graves joked that the crowd enjoyed it because they recognized the tune. But the applause wasn’t just because it was familiar. Her lyrical phrasing contrasted with the staccato beat of the piano, and Graves mastered it and made it her own.
She closed out the first half of the program with two African-American Spirituals and a piece by Gene Scheer, American Anthem, which seemed appropriate for a concert in her hometown of Washington, DC.
The Duke Ellington School Ellington Show Choir under the direction of Samuel L. Bonds gave Graves a brief respite as they performed two energetic selections. Dancing around the stage, the black-tie and black gown clad high schoolers put on an impressive energetic show.
Graves returned to the stage with the haunting Milonga sin Palabras, a piece whose lyrics consist entirely of “oohs” and “ahhs.” Sung by Graves, it inspires similar reactions from the audience, along with enthusiastic applause. She finished the concert with more recent material, borrowing from jazz, blues, and even the Beatles to round out the very varied recital.
By Jonathan
McPherson Square Station, by arvidbr (Creative Commons)
Update: Metro reports that the blue and orange lines are back to normal. Just in time for the best part of rush hour. Perhaps today isn’t so unlucky after all!
Dr. Gridlock, from the Washington Post, reported a few minutes ago that McPherson Square Metro Station is closed. It is reported that a Blue Line train hit someone on the tracks at that station.
This means that all Blue and Orange line trains are turning around at this station. There is “bus service” between Farragut West and Federal Triangle, but it might just be faster to walk. No word yet on when the station will be reopened.
By Ben H. Rome
‘Templeton Drive-in Theatre – Movie’, courtesy of ‘ciao-chow’
When someone mentions “drive-in” to you, do you think of fast food, or gargantuan screens in front of rows of parked cars, playing B-grade horror or sci-fi flicks?
The relics of a bygone era, the drive-in theater still exists, just not in abundance anymore. Any drive down backwater rural roads these days may reveal the abandoned hulks of these once-great date destinations, their towering screens ripped and dark, the listening posts a mute testimony to the heyday of ‘courting’ and hanging out. (And if you don’t get what I mean, just watch Happy Days on TVLand and you’ll get it.)
The drive-ins that survive today do so out of a mix of nostalgia and determination. And the fact that these days, ‘retro’ is the new style. But even so, drive-in theaters are disappearing. Continue reading
By Ben H. Rome
‘the very scary but not secret service’, courtesy of ‘spiggycat’
Stay tuned. (Updating with latest info first.)
3:05 Update: Segraves is reporting now that the White House knew about the raid before it went off this morning. Well, that’s good news I suppose.
11:56 Update: According to WTOP, both men are being held on bribery charges. At this time, there seems to be no link between them and former CTO Kundra. If anything further pops up, we’ll let you know.
11:40 Update: OCTO employee Private contractor Sushil Bansal has been arrested now. Bansal is the CEO of the Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, which was awarded two contracts last year worth a total of $350,000. Continue reading
By Wayan
Don't Lie to Me about Adams Morgan
Continuing the TV shows that feature Washington, DC, I’m watching Lie to Me and I’m finding the show actually lies about DC. In between indoor action scenes, they flash images of DC. Most are spot on, the DC Convention Center for example. While others, not so much.
Note this photo of Adams-Morgan. See anything a miss? I sure do.
By jasmine
‘Battle-ready helmet’
courtesy of ‘quinn.anya’
DC is going green, but not in the sustainable way — more like the “you look a little green…how many Guinnesses have you had?” way. Last weekend was the giant St. Patrick’s Day parade in Alexandria, which is often accompanied by an entire day in the multiple Irish pubs in Old Town, and this Saturday is Shamrock Fest at RFK Stadium.
I went to Shamrock Fest last year, and I’ve vowed to never return, but I do enjoy the general festiveness of this time of year, even if in reality it turns into two solid weekends of complete debauchery. Just be careful out there, and please, please don’t throw up on my shoes.
By Jenn Larsen
"Petite Jamilla" courtesy of Bellydance Superstars
A couple of years ago I took a bellydance class at Joy of Motion, totally on a whim. My instructor was an incredible American Cabaret style performer named Michelle Forner. I’ll never forget the first class when she did a quick routine for us and I thought, “Oh. My. God. There is NO way I will be able to do this.” The technique she displayed, with complete control in isolation of various core muscles, was intimidating and yet enthralling.
I recently decided to take the plunge again and take another bellydance class, this time in American Tribal at Saffron Dance. We’ll see how that goes! The differences between the many styles of bellydance, including the growing fusion between them and other branches of dance (such as urban, goth, bollywood, etc.) are highlighted in this year’s tour of Bellydance Superstars, which I had the luck of seeing Tuesday night at GWU’s Lisner Auditorium. The Superstars will be back in our area this June for Raqs America, and I highly recommend if you have any interest in this dance genre to definitely check it out.
Despite an overblown and cheesy opening voiceover, the 2009 tour titled “The Art of Bellydance” is a good introduction to the amazingly talented resurgence of this dance form in America. Featuring some incredible performers, exquisite costumes (more so for the tribal than the cabaret, which just isn’t to my personal taste), and the brilliant Issam Houshan on drum solo – it was two hours of beauty, pure and simple.
So here I am, sitting on my couch, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on TNT (there’s a great way to lose a weekend, by the way), when I see an ad for a production of Jesus Christ, Superstar coming to the Warner Theater March 17-22. Having been a fan of this particular show since I was a kid (and it’s a popular choice for musical companies during Lent), I stopped to take notice… and saw that Ted Neeley is playing Jesus.
Okay, what the hell. Ted Neeley is the best-known Superstar Jesus. He played Jesus in the movie in his 20s, played him on Broadway, played him in the touring production for the movie’s 20th anniversary in the 90s, but people: Ted Neeley is 65 years old. For the record, that’s nearly twice as old as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived to be. I caught a performance on that tour in the 90s- he was sounding a little rough then, and that was 15 years ago. And look, no disrespect to Neeley- the lead roles in Superstar are vocally challenging even to performers in their prime. There’s a lot of high-pitched shrieking to be done, and it’s a strain.
Is there really no one else who can believably play this role that we’ve got to trot out a guy who is nearly as old as my grandfather to play someone about my age? Are audiences really so unwilling to see other people playing Jesus?
By jasmine
‘Estelle :: Paramount Theater :: 01.08.09’
courtesy of ‘Julio Enriquez’
Man, March really snuck up on me! There I was, just getting settled into a dreary February, and then all of the sudden here comes the promise of warmer, springtime weather and sweet, sweet music to accompany it.
Head out to Wolf Trap for The Bird and the Bee (w/ Obi Best) on Wednesday, March 4 ($20) for digital-sounding jams with airy vocals on top. They were recently on Ellen performing “Love Letter to Japan,” which is one of my faves. Continue reading
By jasmine
‘ROB RIGGLE’
courtesy of ‘Robotclaw666’
The Daily Show really seems to have a knack for turning out the big stars: Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Ed Helms (now on The Office as Andy) all took their turns as correspondants before their current gigs.
So who’s excited that Rob Riggle, one of my favorites because he’s so obnoxious and over-the-top, will be at Sixth & I tomorrow night? I am! Amazingly, it’s not sold out yet, and tickets are $20 for the rest of today (they go up to $25 the day of the show).
By Rebecca
Spy, courtesy of Ghost_Bear
If you’re interested in changing up your happy hour plans, then heading over to the International Spy Museum’s “Spy At Night” is for you.
Every Friday and Saturday from 6pm-10pm, the museum stays open to offer guests (read: spies in training) a late night glimpse into the lives of spy operatives. According to the Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, Peter Earnest, Operation Spy combines real-life details and mission deliverables from past spy operations, and he should know: he’s former CIA. I can’t give too much away–it’s confidential, and would ruin the mystery behind the experience–but what I can tell you is that Operation Spy is completely different from the museum. Continue reading
‘2007.10.19-111c.am’ courtesy of ‘RShinozaki’
After the Library of Congress’ recent parade of the rather bland contemporary American music, the premiere of a new work by Kurtág performed by the composer and his wife and long-time duet partner Márta was like a breath of fresh air. Exquisite comes to mind, as does vital. It was an honor to share in this celebration of a national treasure of another nation.
The programs describes György Kurtág as one of the world’s foremost composers, which is certainly true in certain circles. He has served as Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, as composer-in-residence at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Konzerthausgesellschaft, and has a list of awards, honors and recordings too lengthy to even describe here. In America, Kurtág’s name is better known than his music still, I think, and the music is better known through recordings than through live performances. The experience of performances of works almost always exceeds the experience of hearing recordings of those works, but in Kurtág’s case, the contrast is particularly striking.
Much work has been done in the press and printed program to connect this concert to a Library of Congress concert of Kurtág’s countryman Béla Bartók. Bartók’s storied performance with violinist Joseph Szigeti, performed the at the Library of Congress in 1940 marked the premiere of Bartók Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano. (In a spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that the recording of that recital was a staple of my undergraduate listening regime.) Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
Thursday is the 200th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It will be marked with all manner of fanfare, throughout the country, with celebrations and re-dedications galore. The Library of Congress is celebrating the bicentennial with a special touring exhibit that opens Thursday evening.
With Malice Toward None is an incredible portrait of Abraham Lincoln in his own handwriting. Beginning with an arithmetic primer, and ending with letters after the end of the war, it’s a trip through famous artifacts of Lincoln’s import for the United States.
I couldn’t help but feel a little “Great Man Theory” soaking through the exhibit at times, making Lincoln out to be a man who was eight feet tall. Though, this was delicately counterbalanced by the group of curators giving the tour, speaking of Lincoln’s personal difficulties and family troubles during his tenure at the helm of our nation. One such note made it fairly clear that Lincoln wasn’t having a good time leading a nation amidst its worst conflict. Continue reading
By jasmine
‘Andrew Bird at Music Hall of Williamsburg (January 26th, 2009)’
courtesy of ‘Amanda M Hatfield’
I was expecting to get blown away when I went to see Andrew Bird at the 9:30 Club last Tuesday. I really was. You might think that those were some pretty high expectations, especially since I had never seen him live, but sometimes…you just feel it.
His music is complex and beautiful, with plucked violin and his expert whistling (yes, whistling) on top of often jaunty piano or guitar chords. I love his CDs, and often find that they are the perfect backdrop for everything from Metro rides to game nights. Continue reading
By Rebecca
photo by flickr user: spiggycat
If you like keeping an eye on local criminal activity, then look no further than SpotCrime’s Washington, DC Crime Map. This handy little tracker allows you to search by crime type (Arrest, Arson, Shooting, Burglary, etc.,) by date/time, by location, and enroll for crime alerts. It also allows you to report crimes, but usually takes about 24-48 hours for them to register, so if you search for today’s crime information, it will be limited.
Another SpotCrime feature is UCrime, which allows college students to track on-campus or near campus crime. If you sign up for UCrime, you can receive alerts as well, which is not a bad idea given the recent rash of college/school violence.
SpotCrime offers tracking throughout the U.S. and a little over 30 international cities.
By jasmine
February might not be my favorite month of all time, what with the gross weather and the Valentine’s Day pinkness of it all, but there are plenty of exciting concerts and musical events in DC to perk up those winter blues! Here is my (completely subjective, not comprehensive) compilation of what’s going on music-wise for February. Continue reading
By 
By