Category Archives: We Love Music

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We Love Music: The Hundred in the Hands @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 6/19/12

Photo courtesy of CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

courtesy of CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

Sometimes, it’s easy to look at the lineup of a band, listen to a few tunes, and figure out pretty much everything about them — what sort of music they play, who their influences are, and what sort of people listen to them.

Then there are bands that are tough to pigeonhole. Take The Hundred in the Hands for example. They played a pretty rocking show at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, June 19. Listening to their albums, you get a strong dose of icy dreampop, lovely, textured, but generally a little on the slow side. The cool voice of Eleanore Everdell over her own synthesizer chills yet thrills on the albums as the distinguishing feature of the band.

But in concert, guitarist Jason Friedman is a force to be reckoned with. He’s not on stage to play dreamy low-key guitar riffs. (Okay, he is there to do that occasionally, and he does so exceptionally well.) But he really seems like he wants to rock out non-stop at every opportunity and when he does so, The Hundred in the Hands become a full-blown dance project.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds

all photos courtesy of The Mynabirds

Laura Burhenn was a luminous fixture of the DC music scene for years. She performed as a solo songstress with her piano for years, and was half of the dynamic duo Georgie James, along with John Davis (Q and Not U). A few years back she left DC for Omaha, Nebraska, and since then has collaborated and toured with Bright Eyes, and formed a new band The Mynabirds. She’s on tour now with The Mynabirds in support of their second album, Generals, out now on Saddle Creek records. We Love DC’s Alexia got a chance to chat with her about her new band, her move to Omaha, touring with Bright Eyes, and more!

Alexia: You’ve been playing music a long time- when did you first start writing your own music?

Laura: The first song I ever wrote dates back to about age 7 or 8. There’s a Fisher Price cassette tape recording of it somewhere still around. There were a string of other little songs here and there after that (including a real killer pop jam called “In Your Life” I wrote for my all girl band in fifth grade, Black Leather Red Roses), but nothing really serious until I wrote “Fallen,” a song that I won my tenth grade high school talent show with. Ha. I also recorded it and put it on my first solo record when I was 17. Needless to say, I’ve been at it for awhile. 

Alexia: Were there any specific artists or albums that first ignited your passion for rock music?

Laura: My first cassette loves were the Beach Boys, the Monkees and Wilson Phillips. But I’d say the three most influential albums of my teen years were PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, Tori Amos’s Under the Pink (I caught onto both artists when their second albums came out and later went back to fall in love with their first albums), and a collection of greatest hits from Nina Simone. God, that voice! That swagger!

Alexia: You built a name for yourself in the DC area, with your solo work and Georgie James- what was the catalyst for your move to Omaha?

Laura: After Georgie James broke up, I decided I wanted to try out a whole different scene. I love DC and it’ll always be my home. But sometimes you need distance to get perspective in your life. The move to Omaha surprised some people, I know. (New York, LA or even Portland would’ve been more expected for a musician.) But I chose Omaha for the good friends I’d made through working with Saddle Creek — and the great arts scene that’s going on there.
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Q&A with Eli Maiman of Walk the Moon

Photo courtesy of TIFFANY DAWN NICHOLSON (TDNphoto)
Walk The Moon
courtesy of TIFFANY DAWN NICHOLSON (TDNphoto)

Walk the Moon, a new wave quartet from Cincinnati, Ohio, comes to headline a sold-out show at the Black Cat this Friday, June 22, after passing through DC a couple of times already in the past year. They arrive on the heels of their debut album, Walk the Moon, available today. We Love DC caught up with Eli Maiman, the band’s guitarist, to talk about mostly other awesome bands like the Talking Heads and The Police, as it turns out, but also about appreciating dedicated fans and getting big fast.

Mickey McCarter: The first time I ever heard of you guys, I was here in Washington, DC, and I was hanging out at the Black Cat. And the band played a sold-out show at the backstage room at the Black Cat. All of your fans were going in there and I saw all of these young girls in the warpaint and the feathers. I was like, wow! That visual really left an impression on me and I didn’t even know who you guys were yet.

How did that come about? How did the warpaint get started?

Eli Maiman: The very idea of the facepaint occurred when we were working on the idea for the “Anna Sun” video. Our director, Patrick Meier, wanted to include some reference to The Lost Boys. The facepaint was his idea. And it became the central theme in the “Anna Sun” video. At our video release party, we had a facepaint station and people really took to it. They really enjoyed it, so much so that people started showing up at other shows in facepaint.

It’s evolved from there where people will come in facepaint and we will provide facepaint at shows. We’ll wear the paint ourselves on stage. It has really become this unifying element of the live show. It’s a visual expression of the community that we have and this group experience we all have together.

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Essential DC, Music, The Daily Feed, The District, We Love Music
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Fort Reno 2012 free concert series starts tonight!

The Fort Reno concert series is a DC institution. I have fond memories of the series from when I was in high school- getting to see Fugazi (and other cool acts) for free, outdoors in the summer. The threat of rain is always looming, but the reward is a unique concert experience.

The concert series is an all volunteer enterprise, which has presented free shows in the park for more than 40 years. The season goes from mid-June through August, with shows on Monday and Thursday evenings starting around 7pm and going until dark. It features only bands based in the DC/metro area. All ages are welcome.

The series is notorious for announcing their lineup last-minute, and this year is no different. So far only the first two shows have been announced, and only on the Fort Reno facebook page. Tonight, (6/18) the first night of the season, features Teen Mom, Alarms & Controls, and Upforth.

Thursday’s (6/21) lineup features Edie Sedgwick, Art Sorority for Girls, and BRENDA.

Fort Reno Park is at Chesapeake Street and Nebraska Avenue NW. All ages, dogs, and food are welcome. No glass bottles or alcohol!

Fort Reno has a weather hotline! 202-355-6356 You can also check their twitter feed, or facebook page!

*update- as of this afternoon, the weather line is not up and running, but you can still go to Fort Reno’s twitter feed or facebook for updates on the weather situation*

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Eternal Summers

 

all photos courtesy of Eternal Summers

Eternal Summers is a dreamy, indie-pop trio hailing from Roanoke, VA. They’re currently on North American tour in support of their second album, Correct Behavior, coming out on Kanine Records July 24th. They’re making a stop in DC at Comet Ping Pong this Saturday, June 16th. We Love DC got the chance to chat with Nicole Yun Hirschmann of Eternal Summers this week about being on tour, having Sune from The Raveonettes  as a fan, the effects of cool older sisters, and some of her musical inspirations.

Alexia: So I first met you in the music school at JMU, and knew you as a very talented pianist and cellist. How did you first get into writing your own music and playing in rock bands?

Nicole: Well I have played in bands ever since I was in the eighth grade, when my sister Eileen bought me a bass guitar for my birthday.  I started playing bass for Rubber Policeman, which was basically a Rage Against the Machine cover band at my school.  I started writing songs when I was a Junior in high school and started focusing more on guitar.  I know I really annoyed my parents with the scrappy songs I was plunking away at in my room!

Alexia: What were some formative bands or albums for you growing up?

Nicole: Smashing Pumpkins early work until Mellon Collie, the Verve and Pulp, Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville album, as well as the Velvet Underground, the Clash and Bjork were all huge for me.  I was the lucky benefactor of cool older sisters!

Alexia: How did Eternal Summers come together?

Nicole: It came together as an outlet to write more pop based songs.  I had just been in a band called Mommies that was more angular and mathy and was really looking for a way to write some nice melodies.  Daniel joined super casually because we just wanted to play a show and record a few songs.  Three years later… Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Eternal Summers @ Comet Ping Pong, 6/16/2012

photo courtesy of Eternal Summers

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Eternal Summers, Go Cozy, and Beach Week at Comet Ping Pong, Saturday, June 16th. Roanoke’s Eternal Summers bring sunny, reverb-drenched indie-pop, and are on tour now in support of their new album Correct Behavior, out July 24th on Kanine Records. Check out their new video for the album’s first single, “Wonder.”

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 10:30am and 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.

The winner will be on the guest list at Comet Ping Pong. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. This is an all-ages show!

Comment away!

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Switchfoot at 918 F Street

Photo by Nicholas Donner Photography

If I had the ability to create an award for the “Best Hidden Treasure Venue in D.C. to See Live Music” then it’d have to go to Living Social‘s 918 F Street. It combines the intimacy of a speakeasy with crystal clear acoustics to make way for one of the most creative spaces for live music in town. An intimate crowd of 200 fans opted-in to a Living Social deal featuring an exclusive Switchfoot acoustic performance from the Grammy Award winning band on Friday June 1 complete with a post-concert meet and greet option for a higher ticket price to a limited amount of fans.

Frontman Jon Foreman and his fellow bandmates made it a point throughout the night to emphasize the fact that the evening’s performance special. It was apparently a throwback to their earlier days back when Foreman, his brother/bassist Tim, and drummer Chad Butler were a three-piece band playing fraternity parties. While the show wasn’t quite a frat party, it did have a laid back feel. It might’ve been the fact that Switchfoot calls San Diego, Ca. home. It also could’ve been a direct result of the room’s floor plan. I’ll venture to guess it’s somewhere in between the two. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Coup Sauvage & the Snips

photo by Erin Smith

Coup Sauvage & the Snips is a soulful, sassy new DC band. The band may be new, but the members have been on the scene for a while. Members’ past and current endeavors include She.Rex, First Ladies DJ Collective , Troll Tax, Hott Beat, Mess up the Mess, Capital City Symphony, and Downbeat:Beatdown. We Love DC Music Editor Alexia got a chance to chat with the group this week, and here’s what they had to say.   

Alexia: How did the idea for the group come about?

Coup Sauvage & the Snips: The idea for the band came from a Capricorn who wanted to keep the spirit of Boney M, Pepper LaBeija and Mahogany-era Diana Ross alive. Two Pisces and three Aries later, the Haus of Sauvage is here and ready to let DC have it. Most of us have known each other for years and been part of the same DIY and creative circles in DC. But it wasn’t until we discovered our mutual love of 70’s variety shows, ball culture and Rosie Perez-inspired dance routines that we decided to join forces last spring. We’ve been together ever since, and we’ll stay together. For the children.

Alexia: How did you all come up with the band name?

CS&tS: Elizabeth had a friend who visited Glastonbury, England. While she was there she met a man known as “The Wizard of Glastonbury.”  He was a blissed-out guru who was a hairdresser in London during the height of glam rock. One night, when everyone was well gone on whisky and dolls, the Wizard offered Elizabeth’s friend a haircut. The result was a massive mushroomy mullet that resulted in uncontrollable sobbing. The story goes that the Wizard was super insulted and said “You don’t like this cut?! I gave this cut to everyone in the 70’s! I gave it to Bowie! It’s the Coupe Sauvage!”  We dropped the “e,” but kept the rest. Without the “e” it means “savage blow” in French. But in honor of our wizard friend we like to use his meaning, “savage cut.” And since Gladys had her Pips, we’ve got our Snips.
Alexia: What are some of your musical influences?

CS&tS: We’re inspired by everything from the soundtrack to “The Wiz” and “Wattstax” to 60s girl groups like The Exciters. We take a lot of our cues from disco, electroboogie and 70’s/80’s dance artists like ESG, Giorgio Moroder, Sylvester, Grace Jones, Labelle, Klymaxx and Kid Creole & The Coconuts. We’re also influenced by 90’s dance music like CeCe Peniston and Inner City. We like to think of them all as our “spirit guides.” The past few months have actually been pretty hard since we’ve lost a lot of our spirit guides – Whitney, Don Cornelius, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Chuck Brown. We like to pay tribute to them during our show with the song “Maegan’s Jam.” It’s a dance tribute that involves lots of audience participation. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Dandy Warhols @ 9:30 Club — 5/29/12

Photo by John Masters

Going into The Dandy Warhols show at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday night, I was skeptical as to whether the band and its frontman were going to put on a good show. My fears quickly abated, however, as the Dandys opened up slowly with “Be-In,” a slow psychedelic steamer from their second album. They then launched into the bouncier and synthier “We Used to Be Friends” from Welcome to the Monkey House, their fourth and best album.

So even though the Dandys were on tour to promote a new album, This Machine, they weren’t about to disappoint their dedicated fans, who very nearly sold out the 9:30 Club that night, by neglecting their large catalog. The band tirelessly rolled through quite a long show actually, clocking about an hour and 45 minutes, losing some of their audience in the last 30 minutes only because they felt pressured to catch the Metro train home before it got too late.

Although the band worked together remarkably well as a band, Courtney Taylor-Taylor carried the show with a jovial swagger. At times, he would evoke the grunge scene that he quickly grew beyond and mumble through some muddled lyrics and at others he would belt out his words clearly like he was channeling Iggy Pop.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: A Q&A with Filligar

Photo Courtesy of Filligar

The industry landscape for independent musicians in America has been in a continual state of evolution ever since the internet went and changed the game. Still, though, it come down to the fact that hard work, perseverance, raw talent, and being at the right place at the right time seem to be working out for those who hold out long enough. Filligar is an example of that.

Full disclosure: I first heard Filligar back in Chicago when I was a freshman in high school. I was 14-years-old and performing in my first “Battle of the Bands.” They were playing too. It was the day that George Harrison passed away. The date was: November 29, 2001. As it turned out, three out of the four members of Filligar just so happened to be in my high school class (Pictured Above: Casey Gibson – keyboard, Pete Mathias – drums, Teddy Mathias – bass), while lead singer and guitarist Johnny Mathias was a couple years behind us.

Back then, they went by the moniker Flipside, sported shorter haircuts, and played a very different style of rock than they do now. But that’s the beauty of age — as you grow, you learn, and Filligar’s made it a point to utilize their personal growth as the means to create one of the most engaging live rock shows in the country.

Hailed as “one of the best young bands in America,” this quintet’s been given an opportunity that they and any other independent musician can appreciate — they’re opening up for Counting Crows on the first leg of their Outlaw Roadshow this Summer. But before they leave on tour with Counting Crows, they’re playing a live show at DC9 Saturday May 26.

Filligar took a few minutes to exchange thoughts with We Love DC via e-mail. Here’s what they had to say.

Rachel: Filligar’s been a band for over a decade. How would you describe your evolution from the time you first sat down to jam and now that you’ve been touring for a few years with several albums under your belts?

Filligar: Well, the first time we sat down to jam we played a song that wasn’t our own: Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. We butchered it, and ever since we’ve been playing original music. As times go on, our music has changed just as we’ve changed. Touring the country and experiencing America the beautiful has definitely impacted that sound. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Black Hills @ Black Cat, 5/23/2012

Black Hills: Air apparent? photo by author

Earlier this week I chatted with DC-based Aaron Estes about his latest musical project Black Hills. Last night I got the chance to see the group play at Black Cat, along with openers Reindeer and The Fire Tapes.

I go to a lot of shows. I consider myself a music-lover. In my experience it doesn’t happen often that I am blown away by a band, especially one that is new to me. Last night Black Hills blew me away with their eight-song-set on the backstage of the Black Cat. Now, I wasn’t completely surprised that this happened- I was kind of hoping for it.

I first saw Estes and some of his musical cohorts perform at Run for Cover, a benefit show that has happened for many years at the Black Cat. The show featured all one-off cover bands, made up of DC musicians, to varying degrees of musical success, silliness, and spectacle. The acts Estes was a part of were far-and-away the most spectacular and musically spot-on, two years in a row: a C+C Music Factory cover band in 2010 and a Daft Punk group in 2011. After seeing him at Run for Cover I knew he was one to watch. Fast forward to last week, when I stumbled across the ad for Black Hills on the Black Cat website. After listening to the four songs he has up on Bandcamp, I was giddy.

For a frame of reference, there are a lot of musical comparisons that can be drawn to Black Hills. The influence of Air is apparent, with the lush synths/synth strings and the groovy bass, but at times I was also reminded a little of Genesis, and to make a more current comparison- Gotye.

Though Black Hills’ recorded music is produced by Estes as a solo effort, the live show includes four other very talented musicians. Estes plays synths and sings, and is backed by guitar, more synth, bass and drums.

The lush sounds heard on the recordings were brought to life onstage well, with added sparks from electric guitar, and extra bounce from groovy bass and drums. Highlights of the set included the beautiful “The Good News”, the infectious “In my Dreams”, and the celestial “Glass.” I must also admit that my heart skipped a beat (or three) when they played spot-on, gorgeous covers of Air’s “Run” and Goldfrapp’s “Clowns.”

The only disappointment was that they didn’t have any more songs to play at the end of their set. At least it gives me something to look forward to…

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Black Hills

photo courtesy of Black Hills

We Love DC Music Editor Alexia Kauffman had the chance to chat with DC-based musical mastermind Aaron Estes recently. Estes previously fronted the indie band Bellman Barker, but is now focusing on going solo with his dreamy-synth-pop project Black Hills. 

Alexia Kauffman: So I never got to see Bellman Barker, but I became aware of you as a performer when I saw you at Run for Cover*, as part of my favorite acts, two years in a row.

Aaron Estes: Oh cool, which acts?

AK: In 2010 it was the C&C Music Factory cover group, and then in 2011 it was the Daft Punk group.

AE: Yeah, those were pretty fun shows. (laughing)

AK: They were so above and beyond awesome, not just the theatrics and visuals that went into them (which were both hilarious and spectacular) but really the music- it was so well done. Plus I’m a fan of anything that glows in the dark. So once I found out who you were I filed it in my mind that I needed to see what music you were doing. And time passed, and I just saw your picture up on the Black Cat website recently, that you’re performing as Black Hills, and I knew I had to check it out. I really dig the tracks you have up on Bandcamp.

AE: Oh awesome, thank you! Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Penguin Prison @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 5/19/2012

photo by Jason Coile

Last week We Love DC guest writer Jonathan Druy interviewed Chris Glover of Penguin Prison, and Saturday night he attended the Penguin Prison show at Rock & Roll Hotel. Check out his review of the show below!

By the time the unabashedly glamorous electro-pop opener Class Actress had finished, the packed, rowdy house at Rock & Roll Hotel late Saturday night was ready for Penguin Prison to come out and give them more. When Chris Glover and his three bandmates took the stage, they looked more like an indie-rock band – besides the two rows of keys, Glover sports a guitar and a leather jacket. Their brand of infectious, melodic electro-dance-pop can’t be as easy to swing as they made it look, but having been on tour as long as they have, it’s no wonder they delivered a slick, flawless, crowd-pleasing show. Once they opened with “Golden Train”, one of his best songs, Glover’s skilled voice didn’t falter throughout the set, and most of the show was a faithful live version of songs from their self-titled album. In addition, he sang the breezy new “Hollywood”, a collaboration with the remix artist RAC, and peaked with a cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans”, in which Glover, who’d been using his guitar mostly as a rhythm backup the entire night, busted out with a confident guitar solo. Since the dancing had been pretty much non-stop for the last hour, the crowd had probably earned the encore, as Penguin Prison closed the night with “Multi-Millionaire”.

Entertainment, Interviews, Media, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Chris Glover of Penguin Prison

photo courtesy of Penguin Prison

We Love DC’s guest writer Jonathan Druy had a chance to talk to Chris Glover, who records under the name Penguin Prison. Check out his interview below!

While multi-instrumentalist Chris Glover has been remixing under the name Penguin Prison for a few years now, playing with the music of Lana Del Rey, Kylie Minogue, Kimbra, Marina and the Diamonds, and Goldfrapp, it is also the name of his electronic-pop outfit, hailing from the Brooklyn that gave us LCD Soundsystem, DFA records, bands like Holy Ghost!, Light Asylum and a host of others. Glover sings catchy, infectious, and lyrical pop songs over his own production, which draws inspiration from classic and Nu Disco as well as the French House of the last ten years. It falls squarely into the kind of indie-dance territory fans of Friendly Fires, Miike Snow, LCD, Hot Chip, Cut Copy, and Junior Boys are going to immediately recognize.

Penguin Prison is sort of a next phase in this realm, flirting with mainstream, and not in a bad way. The music is not compromised by its catchiness, because the hooks are good and the grooves are deep. Glover’s a straightforward and stylish vocalist and a sometimes expressionistic lyricist, but has the looks and charisma to pull off a kind of indie-dance Timberlake vibe. The video for one of his album’s several great singles, “Don’t Fuck With My Money”, shot in gritty black and white last year, shows Glover singing against the backdrop of New York City’s Occupy protest. It’s an odd juxtaposition – pretty-boy crooner, electro-pop, citizen activism – he pulls it off with a coolness and unique spirit. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Party Like It’s 1989

Photo courtesy of Daniel Bevis
80s Kid
courtesy of Daniel Bevis

The upcoming Poseurs club reunion set for Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Rock and Roll Hotel got me thinking that it’s a pretty good time around DC for dance parties featuring 80s music.

As a diehard new waver, I actually dislike the term “80s music,” because my genre is a growing one that started up around 1976 and continues to see new bands and innovations until this day. (New wave is indeed enjoying a major renaissance now.) Thaaaaaaaat said, everyone knows what I mean when I use the term and these parties build their set lists based on the idea that you know what they mean when *they* use it as well.

So without further ado, here is a brief tour of the major 80s parties going on in the District right now with an emphasis on what you can catch next.

Continue reading →

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We Love Music: R. Ring @ DC9, 5/15/2012

R. Ring, photo by Jason Coile

We Love DC guest writer Jonathan Druy attended the R. Ring show at DC9 Tuesday night. Read his thoughts on it below! 

Tuesday night started with a fairly sparse DC9 room, but the evening opened with a sharp acoustic/punk set by Marc Ganancias, and then a soulfully beautiful set by Mean Season, who know how to intertwine chick vocals and guitar into a lean indie-rock gift. When Kelley Deal’s new project R.Ring took the stage, the room began to swell with fans of the Breeders guitarist, who got to see a warm set, highlighted by Deal’s sweet vocals and Mike Montgomery’s amplified acoustic interactions, as well as some really funny between-song convos.

 Kelley Deal uses that voice, imprinted on those of us who came of age when the Breeders reigned the alternawaves, as one of the band’s electric instruments, cranking up the reverb, or singing through an effects pedal. It provides a nice touch, so songs like “Fall Out and Fire” and “Hundred Dollar Heat”, which Deal sings from the floor, draw in the audience, resulting in an echo-embellished electric/acoustic lullaby. Deal accompanied Montgomery on guitar for a few numbers, and the electrics came out for their closer, a cover of Shellac’s “Ghost”, on which Montgomery also shared vocals.

 The DC9 crowd grew over the course of the set, so by the end there was no shortage of fans chatting with Deal after the show. Here’s hoping the rest of her tour generates as much goodwill as Tuesday night.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Spiritualized, Nikki Lane @ 930 Club, 5/10/2012

Spiritualized, all photos by Matthew Carroll

 British space-rockers Spiritualized delivered a soulful 2-hour long set to a packed house at DC’s 930 Club Thursday night. Nashville-based country songstress Nikki Lane opened. Spiritualized is on tour of the US now in support of their seventh studio album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, released in April on Double Six Records.

Nikki Lane

Southern country singer Nikki Lane made toes tap and heads bounce with her smart, sassy tunes, bringing to mind at times a young Loretta Lynn. Originally from South Carolina, Lane ended up in Nashville by way of Los Angeles and New York. Though her album Walk of Shame features a full band, including twangy steel guitar, Lane’s songs still stood up when played solo on acoustic guitar. Highlights of her set included the runaway tale “Gone, Gone, Gone“, super-twangy “Western Bound”, and the bouncy “Walk of Shame.”
Continue reading →
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Q&A with Kelley Deal

photo courtesy of the artist

We Love DC guest writer Jonathan Druy had the chance to interview Kelley Deal. Read his account of it all here!

Breeders guitarist Kelley Deal is touring with her beautiful new acoustic project R.Ring, and they’re stopping by DC9 on Tuesday night, in what may prove to be a truly talent-rich night of acoustic-based indie-folk-rock-thingies, with Mike Ganancias and Mean Season. A new release from Misra Records is on its way.

From Dayton, Ohio, R.Ring is Deal and Mike Montgomery of the band Ampline, performing acoustic, spare, melodic explorations led by Deal’s unique and sometimes distorted vocals, her voice familiar to those who remember the once-ubiquitous Breeders. If you were sentient 20 years ago, you probably owned “Last Splash”, with it’s beautiful singles “Cannonball” and “Divine Hammer”, and its surfy instrumentals, and the sweet chick-rock vocals led by twin sister and Pixie Kim, and harmonized sweetly by Kelley. You probably also loved the “Cannonball” video on early-90s MTV, an unimaginable pre-WWW/Youtube/Smartphone era when the cable network stumbled into post-Cobain indie-land, and played these things called music videos, because it was the only place you could see them, kiddies.

The lead-up to our interview lead me to revisit “Last Splash” and “Pod” and “Safari EP”, and well-up all nostalgic-like with my memories of seeing the Breeders ’92 show at the old 9:30 Club, which almost made me forget that Deal has had plenty to do since then; first with Kelley Deal 6000, then with the reformed and rejuvenated Breeders, first in ’02 then in ’08. And while I did just see a friend of mine sing “Cannonball” at karaoke, fear not, middle-aged geezers, the Breeders haven’t gone away, but the other day Kelley talked to me about her new project and about being among the current crop of veterans that are still doing it and doing it well.

She also got curious about the Ethiopian food I told her about on 9th St. You haven’t lived until you’ve explained Injera to a Breeder…

Jonathan Druy: Are there any memories or feelings about DC you have from past tours?

Kelley Deal: I do remember our ’92 show at the old 9:30 club – DC at the time was considered really hip and really happening, and I just remember being a rube from Dayton, and I didn’t know about any of this stuff and I remember thinking “wow, this is really cool!”. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: James Morrison @ 930 Club, 5/16/2012

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to the sold-out James Morrison show at 930 Club on Wednesday, May 16th! The UK artist is on tour of the US in support of his third album, The Awakening, released in 2011 on Island Records. You can check out the video for his single “One Life” here, and follow James Morrison on twitter here.

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. This show is SOLD OUT!

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 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open 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.

Downtown, Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Patrick Watson @ 930 Club, 5/8/2012

Patrick Watson, all photos by Matthew Carroll

Patrick Watson set an intimate mood in the 930 club Tuesday night, starting their set in the dark. Five players all together were onstage- Patrick Watson singing and on piano, Robbie Kuster on drums, Mishka Stein on bass, Simon Angell on guitar and Melanie Belair on violin.The Montreal-based band is on tour now opening for Andrew Bird, in support of their latest release Adventures in Your Own Backyard, which came out in Canada April 17th, on Secret City Records/Domino.

Patrick Watson
 Eventually the stage was lit, but softly, making it feel like you could be in the band’s living room, or back yard. Watson’s vocal delivery is delicate for the most part, lilting and floating amidst tinkling piano or softly strummed guitar, violin tremelos. In livelier moments the band had an almost circusy feel, like a gypsy carnival, though still subdued.  To take things to an even more intimate place, the band gathered around one mic in the middle of the stage and played a couple of songs in an old-timey radio way, including the sweet, tender “Words In A Fire.”
Highlights of the set included the spooky, ethereal “Quiet Crowd,” the bouncy “Into Giants,” with its lovely layered vocals, and the Spaghetti-Western feel of “Adventures in Your Own Backyard.”   The band closed their set with a dedication to the recently deceased Maurice Sendak, playing their song “Where The Wild Things Are,” ending with a jammed-out, dark-circus frenzy.
 
Patrick Watson