Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Henry V

King Henry (Zach Appelman) leads his men in the Battle of Agincourt. Folger Shakespeare Theatre. Photo credit: Scott Suchman.

King Henry (Zach Appelman) leads his men in the Battle of Agincourt. Folger Shakespeare Theatre. Photo credit: Scott Suchman.

As lean as the rough-hewn timbers that populate its set, Folger Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Henry V is more intimate than you might expect from a play set mostly in the hell of combat. It’s quietly dominated by the thoughtful performance of Zach Appelman as the young king. We watch the cruel necessity of his transformation to absolute monarch, losing friends to betrayal and waging the dirty business of war as he seeks to join England and France. This is a Henry V painfully rooted in psychological truth, and it works brilliantly.

Director Robert Richmond wisely sets this production as straight-up Elizabethean, free from flashy thematic restaging into some other era. That’s a relief to see, placing the text properly front and center. As our captive guide the Chorus (a wonderfully melancholy Richard Sheridan Willis) begins to tell the king’s tale, we become his complicit contemporaries as he attempts to impart some wisdom to his misguided country. The message of Shakespeare’s play? The road to being king isn’t easy, being a subject is worse, and the results of war are always inconclusive.

Appelman delivers familiar speeches anew with an extraordinary intimacy (most notably the famous “Once more unto the breach, dear friends,” pitch-perfect as an exhortation from a leader who will always go over the top first), and the small cast transforms themselves with lightning efficiency through multiple characters and locations. It’s all very trim and tight, showcasing the text with refreshing clarity. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Bebel Gilberto @930 Club, 2/28/2013

bebel gilberto

Today We Love DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Brazilian chanteuse Bebel Gilberto at the 930 Club on Thursday, February 28th! Escape from the bleak winter with an evening of tropical tunes and sultry sambas. To purchase tickets online, click here! Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the 930 club box office. (#BebelG930)

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to see Bebel Gilberto, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address until 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.

For the rules of this giveaway…

Comments will be closed at 4pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the will-call window of the 930 Club on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.

Comment away!

 

Entertainment, The Features
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29th Helen Hayes Awards Nominees Announced

Helen Hayes Rebecca Sheir Bob Magadan

Last night Theatre Washington announced the nominees for the 29th annual Helen Hayes Awards. The DC Theatre community watched from both the Helen Hayes Gallery at the National Theatre as well as online, a first for the organization. The webcast was beautifully hosted by two darling voices of DC radio: WAMU’s Rebecca Sheir and WTOP’s Bob Madigan.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company led the board with 19 total nominations. Among the nominees for Outstanding Resident Play included Shakespeare Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity; Studio Theatre’s Invisible Man; Theater J’s Our Class; and Folger Theatre’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Ford’s Theatre’s 1776; Toby’s Dinner Theatre’s The Color Purple; Signature Theatre’s Dreamgirls; MetroStage’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris; and Keegan Theatre’s Spring Awakening rounded out the slate in the Outstanding Resident Musical category.

Dizzy Miss Lizzies Roadside Revue will also be recognized with the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.

Looking at the list, the most notable snub this year is Synetic who earned 15 nominations last year and did not get a single one this year. On Twitter the group remarked that it was a, “Disappointing night.” Woolly’s Chad Deity and Folger’s Taming of the Shrew are both the most nominated show with nine, but did anybody see the show with the second most nominations: The Color Purple at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, MD? MetroStage in Alexandria should also be thrilled this morning after earning seven nods.

There’s usually some star power in the non-resident production nominations but there isn’t much this year. The most well-known name among the nominees is Kathleen Turner for her performance in Arena’s Red Hot Patriot. Will she show up to accept a possible award in April?

The full list can be found below, the winners will be announced on Monday April 8th, 2013 at The Warner Theatre.

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Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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DC represents at Coachella 2013! Lineup announced.

the evens

My jaw dropped when I looked at the Coachella lineup this morning and saw The Evens on there! The Evens are a DC-based duo consisting of hometown hero Ian MacKaye (founder of Dischord Records, Fugazi, Minor Threat…) and his wife Amy Farina (formerly of The Warmers). The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is a big, three-day music & arts extravaganza that happens outside of Palm Springs, California every April. It is a strange event to imagine the super-DIY/indie duo appearing at, but kudos to them! That’ll be something to see!

Also representing our nation’s capital at the Coachella Festival will be the recently reunited Make-Up. Frontman Ian Svenonius (formerly of Nation of Ulysses, Weird War, currently in Chain & the Gang) is well-known for his style and crazy southern-revival-type stage antics. The group reunited in 2012 for the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival (along with a couple DC shows). (Svenonius also has a book out right now titled Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock ‘n’ Roll Group, which is awesome- laugh-out-loud funny, smart, artfully written and educational at the same time. I highly recommend it.)

Hooray for DC bands representing the District at Coachella!

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

Zorro Constellation Theatre

Photo: Andrew Propp

In Constellation Theatre’s new retelling of Zorro co-playwright and director Eleanor Holdridge cuts straight to the action. Unlike other hero tales which place emphasis on backstory and the journey towards a fully realized superhero, Holdridge spends minimal time before we see the iconic black mask of Zorro. Instead the 100 minute, single act production is packed with lots of swashbuckling that played out very well in the confined spaces of The Source Theatre. Fight director Casey Kaleba’s choreography is worthy of praise for it is one of the highlights of show. When swords aren’t drawn, barbs are exchanged through Holdridge & Janey Allard’s script. Audiences will see a familiar hero in Zorro (Danny Gavigan). When the mask is on Gavigan is charming, witty, and leaves his mark with three fell swoops of his sword.

However it is when our protagonist does not have his mask on that we see Holdridge and Allard’s new vision in this classic tale.

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Entertainment, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Special Events, The Features
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Inaugural Ball Flashback: The We Love DC Crew Hits The Town On Inauguration Night

The Dance Fedward Potz

We all know Washington, DC is a city that likes to drink and party. Add The President and you have a good reason to grab a tux or gown and brave the cold. That’s what many of our We Love DC crew did as they hit up the Official and Unofficial parties celebrating the  Inauguration of Barack Obama. Here’s what they saw and heard.

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Entertainment, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Special Events, The Features
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The Inaugural Parade: Photos, Drinks, and Empty Metro Cars

2013 Presidential Inauguration dmbosstone

Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.

Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.

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Entertainment
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Oscar Watch: Where To Watch Every Academy Award Nominee In D.C.

363/365 ekelly80

If you are like me, you are already caught up in the frenzy of Oscar. You’ve been studying the field of nominees since Academy Awards nominees were read off by Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone last week. You watched the Golden Globes and rooted for Oscar-snubbed Ben Affleck and tried to make sense of Jodie Foster’s speech.

You also viewed the long Holiday/Inaugural weekend as a time to make some progress on Oscar watching. So if you are like me, you are probably planning out where you can watch all the nominees. Last year I wrote some tips to make the most of your Oscar Watching experience. Here is a breakdown of where you can locally find this year’s nominees.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, The District, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Ugly Purple Sweater

Ugly Purple Sweater

Ugly Purple Sweater is a indie-pop-folk group based in DC. Founded by Sam McCormally (vocals, guitar, & more)  and Rachel Lord (vocals, banjo, melodica, & more) in 2008, the band now includes Will McKindley-Ward on electric guitar, Rishi Chakrabarty on bass, and Mike Tasevoli on drums. Ugly Purple Sweater mixes mesmerizing guitar and banjo (and a bunch of other instruments) with beautiful soaring vocal melodies and dulcet harmonies. Their songs often blend darkness with light, minor keys and longing juxtaposed with a bright beat and jubilant vocals. Singer Sam Cormally’s clarion voice has a purity and depth at times reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright. Check out the video for their song “DC USA“, the title track from their brand new EP. Ugly Purple Sweater celebrates the release of said EP, DC USA at Black Cat this Saturday, January 12th, along with Kingsley Flood and Kindlewood!

This week We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman had a chance to ask Sam McCormally some questions, and here’s what he had to say.

Alexia: How did you first start playing music?

Sam: I personally started playing and writing music when I was really little. I remember when I was about 8 starting to write songs, but having literally no idea how the music I heard on the radio was made. I had a little cassette tape boombox (remember that?) with a microphone, and I would set it up on top of my bureau and record myself singing and strumming guitar. I had a fantasy that I would slip the tape into my friend’s older sister’s tape player so she’d think it was the radio, and that way I could tell what she really thought of it.

Ugly Purple Sweater started 2008, when I surreptitiously intercepted an invitation for one of my other bands to play at a Barack Obama fundraiser. I had been writing some songs and posting them on MySpace (remember that?), and I thought it’d be fun to try them out. Rachel sat in on a couple of songs with me, and those were by far the most popular, so we started playing together all the time.

Alexia: What song or artist or album first made you fall in love with rock music?

Sam: Will (who plays electric guitar in the band) says his first rock and roll love was Jimi Hendrix. I wish I were as cool as that. My first exposure to pop music (and I’m using the “big tent” meaning of the phrase) were my dad’s Simon and Garfunkel tapes. But the first record I ever got excited about all by myself was TLC’s Crazy Sexy Cool. I loved that album so much that I actually recited, in front of my entire 4th glad class, the rap in the middle of “Waterfalls.” I still kinda like that song, but needless to say it was not a canonical performance. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Datsik @930 Club, 1/13/2013

 

Today We Love DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Datsik at the 930 Club on Sunday, January 13th! Datsik brings his dark, dirty dubstep to the club with his “Firepower Reloaded” tour. Tickets can be purchased for the show online through Ticketfly, the 930 club website, or in person at the 930 club box office.

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address until 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.

For the rules of this giveaway…

Comments will be closed at 4pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the will-call window of the 930 Club on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.

Comment away!

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Our Favorite Shows of 2012

photo courtesy of The Faint

It’s the end of a great year, and the music writers of We Love DC- Mickey,  Jonathan & Alexia have pulled together their respective top 10 favorite shows of 2012.

Mickey: This has been a great year for shows! For me, it’s been a return to old favorites. I caught a few acts that I’ve been into for most of my life and a few that became new favorites in the last 10 years. Interestingly, it wasn’t a big year for acts new to me although I did some promising new stuff.

Of my top 10 shows of 2012, I reviewed eight of them for We Love DC. I didn’t review two of them because they were out of town and I was quite busy! Without further ado, here in reverse chronological order then are my top 10 concerts of 2012.

 

1. The Faint

930 Club, Dec. 5

It’s become all the rage for a band to tour on the strength of a single album and to perform it in its entirety these days. Most of the time, we see that happen with bands celebrating the 20th or 25th anniversary of an album. But although the album is only about 10 years old, The Faint toured earlier this month on a reissue of Danse Macabre, a record that strikes a powerful chord and compels you to dance like crazy. And dance like crazy the audience did at a very full show at the 9:30 Club on Dec. 5. The album sounded as amazing as ever and The Faint even snuck in a new song, suggesting there is more to come from Nebraska’s favorite electronic sons.

 

2. Shiny Toy Guns

Rock and Roll Hotel, Nov.4

It’s a great feeling when a band justifies your faith in them. And so it goes with Shiny Toy Guns at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Nov. 4. This stellar new wave band recently put out its third and best album, III, bouncing back strong after a temporary split with their female vocalist Carah Faye and a disappointing second album. The sold-out crowd welcomed the band back like old friends. (And Jeremy Dawson gave me the inside scoop on reuniting with Carah Faye.)

 

3. Saint Etienne

U Street Music Hall, Oct. 25

Few things are more amazing than an intimate show with one of your absolute favorite niche bands. Saint Etienne has captured a Europop sounds so fresh and invigorating that they surprisingly sound timeless and modern all at once. They captivated a large group composed of mostly men who came out to dance and fawn over Sarah Cracknell, the most modest of divas, when they played at U Street Music Hall on Oct. 25. Although I loved the actual show to bits, my experience was bittersweet as the lovely lady who introduced me to the band went to the show with someone else. As Saint Etienne knows, “Only love can break your heart!”

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with TAB the Band

photo courtesy of TAB the Band

Massachusetts-based rockers TAB the Band have a sound that’s part classic rock, part bluesy, bouncy rock & roll. Formed in 2006, they have released three full-length albums to date, on North Street Records, played Lollapalooza 2011, and have toured with Stone Temple Pilots, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Modest Mouse, among others.  Check out their video for “She Said No (I Love You)” here.  TAB the Band plays DC’s 930 Club this Friday, December 28th, opening for Jane’s Addiction. We Love DC asked TAB the Band a few questions this week, and here’s what they had to say.

Alexia: How did the band come together?

Adrian Perry (lead vocals/bass): Tony and I had a duo called “T&A” that was responsible for such hot traxx as “Kickin’ it Colonial”, a rap tune extolling the virtues of our founding fathers. Tony and I had our own bands/projects on opposite coasts but we’d record together over holiday breaks to have some fun in the studio. One of the times he invited a drummer he knew over to put down real drums instead of the drum loops we usually used. We intended to do another goofy rap track but the riff we had was pretty cool and we decided to turn it into a ‘real’ song. That drummer was none other than Ben Tileston. So, you have T&A and B. TAB. Add the Band so people don’t confuse us with the soda. Or the computer key. Or the thing you use to separate documents in a binder. Lou Jannetty, another friend of Tony’s, joined about a year later. He’s Lou the Glue we like to say. Keeps it all together.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Les Miserables

(Photo: Deen van Meer)

There’s nothing that gives me chills like the opening melodies of One Day More. It’s one of my favorite ensemble numbers and it will always stop me in my tracks whether it’s in a feature film trailer or if it’s being done by an Asian YouTuber who sings all nine parts. It is only one of many memorable numbers in the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables. After over 25 years in production (the longest running musical in the world) the show continues to be a hit. Now on its fourth U.S. tour the show has grossed as much as a $1 million a week. Arriving at the National Theatre for its 10th time in The District since 1986, the all new production features new staging and sets inspired by the paintings of Hugo. However all the songs you’ve come to know and love are the same. I Dreamed A Dream, On My Own, Do You Hear the People Sing?, and the previously mentioned One Day More can be found in a powerful and vibrant show that continues to wow audiences after a quarter century on the stage.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Pajama Men: In The Middle Of No One

When the duo of Mark Chavez and Shenoah Allen first take the stage you might notice they have dressed a little too casual for a night out at the theatre. Forget t-shirts and jeans that yours truly usually wears to review shows or the growing fashion controversy of leggings as pants. Chavez and Allen perform in nothing but two piece pajamas and bare feet. Of course that’s probably why they are called the Pajama Men; and in their latest show, The Pajama Men: In The Middle of No One, they march upon the stage at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in outfits that make them looks like eight-year olds goofing around at a sleepover. Without any props or sets (outside of two chairs), they create and paint scenes out of thin air with that same child-like intensity and passion. Two sets of hands come together and all of a sudden you see a horse’s mouth. One stands behind the other and their arms join to create an alien being. What makes these two performers such a delight are the ways that they use their bodies to visualize scenes to the audience.

Combine that with non-stop jokes, wordplay, and vocal bits and the PJ men are the must-see comedy show of this holiday season.

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Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Bond Evil Doers On Display At Spy Museum

For most the holiday means gifts, family, and travel. What often goes overlooked are the movies. As an avid Oscar watcher, The Holidays is also a key time for films vying for some critical acclaim and year-end buzz with Awards season quickly following the New Year. For one film franchise, it’s already been a great year. James Bond celebrated 50 years in film in 2012 and the latest Bond movie, Skyfall, racked up another $7M at the Box Office this past weekend bringing the total gross to $272M. Also celebrating an anniversary this year is the International Spy Museum in Chinatown which first opened 10 years ago. A new exhibit entitled, “Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains” celebrates Bond through a unique lens: the bad guys that have tried to kill him.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Trip to the Moon

Karen O’Connell as Laika and Katrina Clark as the Moon in Synetic Theater’s production of A Trip to the Moon. Photo credit: Johnny Shryock.

Over the course of this theatrical season’s start, I’ve seen three productions that represent (for me, anyway) the future direction of theater: Folger Theatre’s The Conference of the Birds, Synetic Theater’s A Trip to the Moon, and Studio Theatre’s The Aliens. Though each style follows a different track, all three are dedicated to resuscitating the living magic of the stage. As a consequence, I’m more excited about theater at this moment than I have been in a long time.

“Following” may not really be the right verb for visionary director Natsu Onoda Power, who takes the digital and makes it flesh in A Trip to the Moon. Earlier this year, Onoda Power showed us a daring combination of technical innovation and wistful emotion with Astro Boy and the God of Comics at The Studio 2ndStage. I loved it. So did Paata Tsikurishvili, artistic director of Synetic Theater, who consequently was inspired to ask the Georgetown professor to create a piece for his award-winning company. The fact that opportunities for such collaboration exist now in DC is cause for an ovation itself.

A Trip to the Moon is a paen to our very human need to understand that cold, lonely orb in the sky – we dream of it, we long to possess it, we both love and fear it. The safe choice would be to concentrate on the ethereal, romantic quality of its beauty – but we’re in the realm of risk-takers here, so there’s an attraction/repulsion aspect to this production instead. It’s not as balletic as previous Synetic offerings, and gives us goofy space explorers, glowstick hair, and moon dogs sniffing each other’s butts.

Risk-taking means there will be flaws. But there will also be brilliance.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Killing Game

Theatres near and far have tried many ways to integrate social media into their business from tweet seats to rehearsal tweet-ups. Dog and Pony DC has taken the social experience to a new level with their latest endeavor, A Killing Game. Not only does the show encourage you to follow the conversation on Twitter, but it allows audiences to tweet during the show, which is about a viral outbreak that wreaks havoc onto a small town. There is plenty of time to check Twitter during frenetic scenes of actors pacing around the small blackbox theatre at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Even though silence fills the room, the airwaves are a buzz as the actors type on their smartphones to tweet about the spread of the disease. Following the twitter handles of the in–show characters offers a modern-day glimpse of how panic, information, and fear of an outbreak can spread faster than the disease that is to blame.

Performance live tweeting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to audience participation for this show, which is more of an improv show than a traditional play. Audience members are handed cards upon arrival which contain instructions and actions to perform during the course of the show. The tasks range from “dying” on the delivery of a certain line to stepping into a role alongside the actors as a town official dealing with the outbreak. The results are a  highly interactive and enjoyable romp that is mash-up of Clue and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Drive By Truckers @ 930 Club, 12/30/2012

 

photo courtesy of Drive By Truckers

Today We Love DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Drive By Truckers at the 930 Club on Sunday, December 30th! Drive By Truckers are playing three nights in a row at the legendary 930 club– December 29th, 30th and 31st, for three times the fun! Tickets can be purchased for all three nights through Ticketfly, the 930 club website, or at the 930 club box office.

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the December 30th show, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address until 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.

For the rules of this giveaway…

Comments will be closed at 4pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email in 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the will-call window of the 930 Club on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.

Comment away!

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with The Young Rapids

photo courtesy of The Young Rapids

 

The Young Rapids are an indie-rock quartet based in Washington, DC. Their sound blends moody and melodic guitar, melancholic vocals, keys and percussion into an often dreamy, sometimes dancey blend. Check out their album Day Light Savings here.  The Young Rapids plays DC9 this Wednesday, November 5th. We Love DC’s Alexia recently asked the band a few questions, and here’s what they had to say.

Alexia: How did Young Rapids come together as a band?

Colin: We’ve all been musicians in one way or another in a lot of different projects, but Dan and Joe started playing music together in 2009. A year later they called Nick up to play guitar. As a trio, they wrote songs and played a few shows. About a year later, I crossed paths with them. The former sound of the band eventually gave way to a new and more ambitious one that’s still being explored and tempered with.

Alexia: How would you describe your sound to people who haven’t seen/heard you?

Nick: We’d probably call ourselves an “art rock” band. We definitely give 110% at our live shows, and try to have as much energy as humanly possible. I’d say check us out if you appreciate music that is somewhat challenging, yet rewarding in scope. We try to offer as much honesty as we can in every way. Instrumentally, lyrically, and even through our recording techniques.

Alexia: Was there one artist/song/album that made you fall in love with rock music?

Joe: Definitely not just one. I can remember the white album being played a lot when I was a kid. I was always so intrigued by the “number 9” song. I thought it was crazy weird, so it caught my attention. My dad was a huge Zappa fan. He used to tell me about these parties he’d have with all Zappa playing all night. That always sounded like my kind of party.

Alexia: Are you all originally from the DC area? If not, where are you from? What do you feel about DC’s creative community/scene?

Nick: I’d day Colin is closest to being an actual DC native. He grew up off Macarthur Blvd., which is only a few minutes from the city. The rest of us are from the suburbs. Rockville, Potomac, Germantown. WE LOVE DC :) Really though, we’ve met the nicest people, and played such awesome shows. We receive great support from the artistic community, and we think that people who say nothings going on in DC are crazy. Our favorite artists are from this city.

Alexia: If you could collaborate with one artist/band who would it be?

Dan: I think we’d all agree that it would be someone we actually know. Our friends are in awesome bands that blow us away every time we see them. If we could get some of the folks in PREE, some from The Sea Life, and some from Teen Mom, we’d have a pretty bangin’ lineup. Throw some Shark Week in there for good measure, and that would be pretty unstoppable.

Alexia: What inspires you?

Colin: Everything inspires us to be honest. We just recently moved out away from the city, in a kind of farm house, and it’s really invigorated our creativity. We’re also very inspired by each other. Often times, another persons input can be the most awakening perspective, and that usually gets everybody really excited. All of our newer material is extremely collaborative.

Alexia: Any bands you’re listening to right now that really excite you?

Dan: New PREE songs are stuck in our head right now. Deleted Scenes has been on repeat since we saw them at Red Palace a few months back. We’ve all been delving pretty deep into our record collections which have become communal. Recent mainstays include Donovan, Oscar Peterson, and Paul Simon. Those are literally just pulled right off the top of the record stack. I also just saw this awesome band called Caddywhompus from New Orleans at Paperhaus and they were unreal. Unbelievable.

Alexia: What’s on the horizon for Young Rapids?

Joe: Touring! We’re working on solidifying road partners and a route, and we’ll be on the road in February. We’ve also been writing a lot of new songs, so I’m sure we’ll give a go at recording some of them soon. We have to develop a new recording scenario in the new house, and we’re excited for that. We might try to do some Zeppelin-esque drum recording in our foyer. We’ll see. But yeah, TOUR!

Check out their song “Goods” here. See The Young Rapids play this Wednesday, November 5th at DC9!

The Young Rapids

w/Villains Like You

The Kickback

& Bobby E. Lee & the Sympathizers

Wednesday, Nov. 5/8:30pm/$8

DC9

 

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


Photo: Christopher Mueller

2012 has been a good year for Nova Y. Payton. Payton made a splash this time last year in Signature Theatre’s Hairspray, which netted her a Helen Hayes award in April. After Hairspray, Payton became a Signature fixture with roles in Xanadu and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Now she’s ending the year on a note as high as the one she rode last winter. Payton is quickly becoming a hot name on the DC Theatre scene and her performance as Effie in Signature Theatre’s production of Dreamgirls will be one we will not forget come awards season. With a talented ensemble led by Payton, Dreamgirls will dazzle you with striking moments of a musical era of big hair, sparkling outfits, and skinny ties.

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