Photos by author
If you grew up in the 80’s and early 90’s like I did, you might have been a fan of Guns N’ Roses. While they’re still around today, they hardly resemble the lineup that featured Slash, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin. The name might be the same but the band now seems to consist of Axl Rose and a group of randoms.
By Mickey
Adam Olenius
courtesy of tnarik
About 60 people or so turned up at the Black Cat backstage Monday night to see what two well regarded Swedish rockers had to offer in combining their talents as We Are Serenades as they kicked off a US tour in DC. It turned out that indie rockers Adam Olenius of the Shout Out Louds and Markus Krunegard of Laakso were interested in making fewer fuzzed out sounds with their guitars and instead seek to build sweet harmonies armed with a largely twee-pop repertoire of… well, serenades.
The five-piece band certainly did not abandon guitars, however, as Olenius and Krunegard demonstrated the strength of their concept by trading off vocals and sharing guitar duties. But they were augmented by a keyboard, a synthesizer and drums as they offered up about 10 songs largely about being in love and appreciating nature. The two vocalists looked comfortable with their material and the five-member band seems poised for larger spaces. Olenius and Krunegard were easygoing and earnest and their vocals were perhaps the most crystal clear I’ve ever heard in the back of the Cat, making for a wholly pleasant listening experience. While all quite twee, their songs ranged a bit from familiar guitar rock numbers to more dance pop selections.
For me in their better moments, We Are Serenades get a little new wavey, almost sounding a bit like their countrymen in The Mary Onettes, although without the urgency and full-throated crooning that characterize the older band. We Are Serenade’s full-on dance number “Weapons,” for example, has a bouncy new wave synthline that makes for a pleasant distraction but it still politely invites you to come dancing rather than forcefully compelling you to do so. Their latest single, “Criminal Heaven” (which is the title track from their debut record), provides more opportunities for the duo vocalists to harmonize, which they do surprisingly well, and to generate more guitar pop.
By Alexia
all photos by Aminta S. Nieves-Candamo
Goth-rock superstars Marilyn Manson played a sold-out show at The Fillmore in Silver Spring on Tuesday night, in the middle of their “Hey, Cruel World” tour. When I got a ticket to this show I did so without many expectations, except maybe to have a trip back in time to my high school/early college days when I was a big fan and saw them several times. I got what I wanted, basically.
Their set was musically strong- Manson himself still has energy, stage presence and rockstar mojo to spare, and thankfully Twiggy (sometimes bassist, now guitarist, and major songwriter for the band) has rejoined the group after a hiatus in the early 2000s (which involved stints with A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, and The Dessert Sessions). However, having seen them in the height of their fame, while they were riding high on the shock-rock infamy which used to surround them, Tuesday night’s show seemed like mainly old tricks. It was also shorter than one would expect (15 songs, just over an hour-long set) from a band who has been around and active for as long as they have, with as large a catalog as they have. Continue reading
By Alexia
photo courtesy of Electric Guest
I have been a fan of Matthew Compton for probably fourteen years now. (When I first knew him, and until recently, I knew him as “Cornbread”, but he now goes by Matthew.) I saw his band Engine Down play house shows when I was first at James Madison University, and from the first time seeing them, his hypnotic and powerful drumming captivated me and really stood out. In subsequent years I got to know and became friends (and housemates for a couple years) with Matthew, and my admiration has only ever grown. He’s a creative force to be reckoned with, and has always had this amazing drive and ambition, with whatever he’s doing , but especially music. On top of that, he has a super, ever-present sense of humor. It’s hard to interact with him and not laugh.
So…I reconnected with Matthew about a year ago, after losing touch for some time. He was living in LA, and told me he was working on a new project, a band called Electric Guest, with a musician friend named Asa Taccone. Singer Asa Taccone is a driven creative force as well- his musical accomplishments include writing for TV (see: Family Guy episode “Hot Tub of Love”) and contributing/collaborating with comedy group The Lonely Island (of which his brother Jorma is a member.) Asa wrote the hilarious holiday classic “Dick In a Box“, performed by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg on SNL. Last summer the band only had a couple songs up on a bandcamp website for public ears, but upon first listen I loved it. It is a far cry from the brooding, post-hardcore Engine Down music. Electric Guest’s songs are soul-tinged, sunny, groovy, lighter, but inspired.
Since then the duo has been on fire- they played some super shows at last fall’s CMJ, have been touring the US and Europe, have a full-length album that came out last week, produced by Danger Mouse (a long-time friend of Taccone’s), stormed SXSW, and are charging full-steam ahead into the summer touring and gearing up for festival season. They’ll be making a stop in DC on Saturday, May 5th at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Amidst their super-busy tour schedule they were kind enough to answer a few questions for the We Love DC readers. Continue reading
By Alexia
Coachella at dusk, photo by Martin Silbiger
Last weekend I spent a sunny, super-hot, music-filled 3 days at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, in Indio, California, just outside of Palm Springs. The festival, which has taken place since 1999, features five main stages/tents set up with music of many genres playing from as early as noon each day until after 1am, and art installations spread throughout the festival grounds. This was my fifth year attending the festival. I’ve never written about the experience before, so I thought I’d compile a few things I have learned from the Coachella experience. (While these are based on my experience at Coachella, they can be applied to most big music festivals with success too…)
1. Hydration is key. Temperatures for weekend two of Coachella 2012 got to a high of 106. I think the hottest I felt was during Yuck‘s 3:15pm set on the Outdoor Stage on Friday. I felt approximately like a baked potato, wrapped in foil, on the surface of the sun. I credit spf 110 spray (yes, they make spf that strong), drinking copious amounts of water, iced lemonade and some powerade to my ability to have fun and stay standing, dancing, and running around for 13 hours a day, for the 3-day festival.
2. Ask people who they’re excited to see. Taking recommendations from people on what bands to see can be a great thing. There is nothing quite as magical as discovering a band you didn’t know, or haven’t listened to yet and finding out how amazing they are. And if they’re not your thing, you just run off to the next stage or tent and listen to something else. This is how I came to see some of my favorite acts of the festival! Other Lives and Wild Beasts are a couple of these.
3. Don’t be too shy to dance! Here’s a tip- no one gives a @#$! how you dance, or how silly you look. Everyone is there to have a good time, and they’re paying attention to the band/dj. Let loose- you’ll have more fun!
Kasabian @ Coachella 2012, photo by author
4. It’s ok to hang in the back for a set, but get close to the front for at least one band you like! It isn’t easy to get up front for big acts, and sometimes it isn’t even enjoyable. But it’s certainly a different experience being up close vs. being in the back for a set. There are upsides and downsides to both. Sometimes you just need air and space that being in the back or middle allows. But being close up can be a much more interactive and exciting experience. I was right up front for Atari Teenage Riot, and the energy was awesome. Also I got in the front row for Kasabian, which was super exciting! I didn’t expect Kasabian fans to be so insane- I got crowd-surfers passed over my head, and got bruises in the pattern of the guardrail on my knees. But it was exhilarating and super-fun! Definitely a unique experience. (Truth be told, you may decide being right up front isn’t for you- it’s not for everyone. And to get in the front row you usually have to camp out in that spot for quite a while, and may miss other bands on other stages- that is the compromise.)
5. Make a plan, but be flexible. When going to a big festival, there are a ton of bands playing, and it’s just a fact- you won’t see them all. Make a plan of attack- who do you have to see, who do you kind of want to see, etc. If you don’t plan it out a little, you’ll risk missing someone you wanted to see. At Coachella this is key, because there are 5 stages, schedule conflicts galore. With a little planning you can make the most out of your time. Compromise is key, and with flexibility you can also check out bands you haven’t seen or heard before, which is one of the most amazing parts of a festival for me- finding new awesome music.
By Mickey
Ever get the feeling that a band has toured too much recently? That they have developed a bit of a tired tour routine that could be freshened up a bit by some time off or some new material?
Unfortunately, such was the case with The Wombats, visiting the 9:30 Club Monday night from Liverpool, UK, promoting material from a pretty good second album, This Modern Glitch. Despite a lot of really clever post-punk songs, The Wombats couldn’t maintain enough momentum to keep the attention of the room, which was not quite 70 percent full, leaving audience members to drift way or to start texting people they would rather be spending their time with. It’s difficult to escape the conclusion that this situation was created at least in part by the fact that The Wombats had stopped in town exactly six months previously.
I consider The Wombats to be a talented trio. I went to their last show and interviewed their drummer beforehand. The Wombats had demonstrated that they are not a flash in the pan, which they easily could have been after the indie success of their breakout single “Let’s Dance to Joy Division.” Instead, they focused on solid song writing and catchy licks to produce a sophomore album that is better than their first, despite the lack of an equally catchy single like the ode to their Manchester post-punk forebears.
By Mickey
Rick Taylor and The Zarjaz (Photo by author)
Rick Taylor champions all things forgotten or under-appreciated at his monthly DJ listening party, “We Fought the Big One,” where he spins eclectic post-punk selections in the same way his hero, the late DJ John Peel, might if he had played records in a friendly restaurant in Mount Pleasant instead of on BBC Radio 1.
Surely, the epitome of such records lovingly played by Mr. Taylor would be the cult record Love Backed By Force from the band Tronics, released in 1981 by Alien Records and re-released this year by What’s Your Rupture? The singer and songwriter of that band, who is now known as Zarjaz, appeared at the CD Cellar in Arlington, Va., Sunday night to play some 11 songs — some of which were from the Love Backed By Force album and some of which were from his new effort Freakapuss.
By Mickey
Ting Tings 08
courtesy of GabboT
Although you couldn’t tell from the enthusiasm of the 9:30 Club’s sold out show last Thursday, I cannot escape the feeling that the Ting Tings have made a terrible misstep.
The show started off well enough. The vibrant MNDR (aka Amanda Warner) warmed up the gathering crowd with some nu disco selections from her upcoming full-length album Feed Me Diamonds. The lead single “#1 in Heaven” offered a good dance tune to get the audience started up. Although the video for said track features a full band, MNDR on tour is a solo act with only a light-up synth box accompanying her vocals as she does a kind of dancing strut across the stage. Her debut title track “Feed Me Diamonds” was pleasantly more of the same with a bit of a space rock atheistic to it. The audience was a bit restless at first but MNDR’s charm and earnestness won them over as they accepted her music as consistently pretty danceable.
By Alexia
photo credit: Laura Totten
Plants and Animals are a post-rock trio from Canada, currently based in Montreal. Their energetic, guitar-driven indie sound has garnered them acclaim and recognition from the likes of Paste, Filter, and Nylon, among others. They are currently on tour of the US and Canada, and are making a stop at DC’s Red Palace this Friday, April 6th. WeLoveDC’s Alexia Kauffman got a chance to chat with guitarist Nic Basque, and here’s what he had to say.
Alexia Kauffman: How’s your tour going?
Nic Basque: Oh, it’s going well! We’ve done a few shows where we’re from, in Montreal, Quebec, and we went to South by Southwest, and now we’re on the West Coast, driving to Portland.
Alexia: How did South by Southwest go for you?
Nic: It was great! A bit insane, but we got lucky. Our label and management company organized a showcase in a church, so it was pretty calm, and we had good sound. That was great. And we did a couple of bar shows, and those were fun too. I think it was the first time we traveled there with a sound engineer, and that made a huge difference. We were a bit more in control, so that was great. But it was insane!
Alexia: I’ve heard it’s like totally nuts! Did you have any favorite moments while you were there?
Nic: Well the show was fun, and we went to a Mexican place we go every time where they have avocado margaritas- that was fun. We saw some friends too…In terms of shows we didn’t see much except for the showcase. It’s so weird the conditions that bands are playing, that it’s tough to really enjoy bands there. Continue reading
By Don
For three days only – with two now remaining – Constellation Theater Company brings you Tom Teasley, performing live accompaniment to the almost 90-year-old animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. It’s a blast, and the best $20 you’ll pay for a musical performance this year.
Admittedly, on a beautiful day like today you might wish this was going on out at the lawn at Wolf Trap. But any longing you have to be anywhere else should pretty well disappear within about five minutes of the lights going out. The initial hook for me was “oldest surviving animated film,” but after a few minutes of admiring the techniques I found myself engrossed in the story.
Teasley’s music takes a good deal of credit for that. His middle-eastern inspired sound melds some afro-rhythms, in particular when the African wizard is on screen. Through it all it’s a guided improv piece; when I asked during the subsequent Q&A why he’d choose to do a live piece rather than a single recording the answer was short and to the point. “I’m a jazz musician,” Teasley said, and that informs all his choices.
The subsequent Q&A was almost as entertaining as the performance itself. Teasley quipped about why he’s do this in conjunction with Constellation, in comparison to past collaborations when he provided scores for performances. “The actors keep talking over my music.” We were treated to a bit of talk about his collaborations and nowhere near enough show-and-tell about the array of instruments he pilots through the piece.
If you go it’s possible you’ll hear an entirely new array of information; the post-show session is open for questions from the audience, so if something else is more in your wheelhouse you’re free to ask. All indications are that Teasley will answer. His passion and enthusiasm for the work comes through and it’s obviously dear to him. After an hour of never getting a moment’s rest while accompanying the film it would have to be.
Tickets are still available on the Constellation website, and if you enjoy the sound from the clip above I would highly encourage you to go.
By Mickey
Sleigh Bells
courtesy of Sup3r_Fudg3
There are an amazing number of things that Sleigh Bells does right.
When it works properly, the team effort of one male and one female often garners mass appeal through the use of their exclusive strengths. With Sleigh Bells, the Brooklyn-based duo has a formula to do just that. Alexis Krauss’ breathy sweet vocals float over Derek Edward Miller’s heavy guitar. It’s a winning combination in part because both play well to sexual archetypes. Krauss is punk-rock sexy and Miller is loud and cocky.
To add to the appeal, the simplicity of their chemistry is most often distilled into 3-minute rock songs. Their set Tuesday night at the 9:30 Club was pretty short. They played for about 30 minutes and then tacked on an encore that came so quickly that some in the audience didn’t realize that it was in fact an encore. But Sleigh Bells is a band with two albums — and touring in support of their second album Reign of Terror — and each album has 11 songs where a 3-minute song could be a longer one.
By Mickey
Hands flying
courtesy of randomduck
Thomas Dolby’s fifth studio album, A Map of the Floating City, came out last year and it was somewhat appropriately named as you practically require a map to assess all of the influences that go into Mr. Dolby’s musical compositions these days — from blues to jazz to calypso to zydeco. He passed through the DC metro area Sunday night in support of the album in a tour that gives one an opportunity to reflect on his strengths and weaknesses over the years.
A Map of the Floating City is Dolby’s first album in 20 years, so some growth and divergence in his sound is expected. Not surprisingly, as an older artist, he is much more sedate in his composition and performance. With his first two magnificent albums — The Golden Age of Wireless and The Flat Earth — Dolby was associated with the subgenre of music then identified as New Pop. It was bombastic and heavy on synthesizers, having grown out of the pure synth arias of the New Romantics. Producer Trevor Horn championed New Pop and his label ZTT Records supported the likes of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Grace Jones.
By Mickey
Kasabian @ McCallum Park (5/2/2012)
courtesy of stusev
Kasabian are a great show band. They show well. They perform well. They look like great rock superstars. And they pretty much rocked down the 9:30 Club Tuesday night in a stellar display of musical muscle, also sounding, not just looking, like space rock deities.
Perhaps the most impressive characteristic of Kasabian is that they seamlessly utilize all six of their members. In other cases, I have found more band members to distract from concert performances, but with Kasabian, everything flowed and everyone had a function. The band made impressively versatile use of its two vocalists — Tom Meighan and Sergio Pizzorno. Meighan appeared as an earnest, sincere singer putting his heart and soul on display in songs of lost love and dogged determination. Pizzorno growls and howls a bit more like a long-haired rock icon as he pounds on his guitar. The effect is not dissimilar than watching a young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards team up and trade off.
By Alexia
all photos by Matthew Carroll unless otherwise noted
Hank 3 is a musical maniac. Last Thursday night at the 930 club he played over three and a half hours of music spanning four genres, with only one five-minute break. Hank 3 and his band tore the roof off of the club with their breakneck paced country and Hellbilly sets, and then he and his drummer charged on with the progressively darker and weirder sludge/doom/metal and Cattlecore sets, ending the show after midnight.
http://matthewthomascarroll.com/
With no opening act, Hank 3 and his crew of outlaws started off the night right on time, playing their rowdy, rough-and-tumble style of country music to a pretty full club. The audience was ready to get down, and band led the way on stage, beginning with the super-charged “Straight To Hell.” The song, a boot-stompin’, barroom sing-along stirred the crowd up and showcased the virtuosic playing of fiddle player Adam McOwen. The pace never really slowed down for the next hour and a half (or more), as they charged through twenty-six songs in the country set.
By Alexia
By Mickey
Kaiser Chiefs @ Magazzini Generali, Milano – 13 novembre 2011
courtesy of sergione infuso
Could it be? Could it be that you’re joking with me and you don’t really see you with me?
The Kaiser Chiefs weren’t joking at all as they pummeled the sold-out 9:30 Club Friday night with a one-two punch in a testosterone-fueled new wave rampage. The lads from Leeds (UK) never missed a beat as they rocked out through songs about hanging out with their fellows, scoffing at the lack of intelligence among the masses, and questioning the veracity of women, the best testosterone booster without a doubth.
I always absolutely loved the music of the Kaiser Chiefs after being introduced to the upbeat songs from their first album Employment, which skillfully married punk sensibilities to new wave dance tunes. The Kaiser Chiefs delivered great advice for men by men on that album: watch your back, love your friends, mind your diet, and keep a wary eye on women. Indeed, the band writes music primarily for men while many of their new wave contemporaries create music for girls.
By Mickey
Tennis
courtesy of musicisentropy
A very sold-out show at the Black Cat Wednesday night offered two remarkably different flavors. I went into it with expectations that one band would be mediocre and the other band would be pretty good, but my expectations were reversed!
First, Denver-based pop band Tennis charmed the audience with its sweet sunny pop songs, evoking images of a journey through Americana. The sound of Tennis, made up at its core by husband and wife Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, completely recalls earlier times of simple lovesongs albeit set to Moore’s pleasing synths and Riley’s surf guitar.
I knew them as a band that tours a lot but I had low expectations. Boy, did they surprise me. The very look of the duo, even augmented by their band, evoked happy, retro feelings. Moore has a look about her straight out of an 80s high school yearbook and she sings with a lovely sophisti-pop air. To me, her voice contained elements of Kristy MacColl and Tracey Thorn, although she remained so chirpy that she would be completely at home on a twee pop mixtape with Heavenly.
Continue reading
By Alexia
all photos by Nathan Jurgenson
Stockholm-based electronic duo Korallreven played their first DC show Monday night, headlining the Black Cat backstage. They were joined by openers Young Magic and Stout Cortez. Korallreven are currently on their first US tour, in support of An Album by Korallreven, out on Acephale Records.
Young Magic played an enthusiastic and energizing set. The trio, currently based in New York City is comprised of Australian ex-pats Isaac Emmanuel, Michael Italia, and Indonesian-born Melati Malay. They mixed dreamy vocals and ambient guitar with tribal-sounding rhythyms and hypnotic, thumping beats. Their performance and sound was fresh, intense, and engaging.
By Mickey
Young Prisms
courtesy of Ethan.K
I have a friend who swears a 90s revival is around the corner. It’s going to be big and it’s going to make industrial music popular again.
But while my friend wasn’t looking, the 90s revival already has come, but not in the form he envisioned. In the past several years, there have been an explosion of dreampop and shoegaze bands leaping out of their dens and onto our stages, putting any so-called 90s revival much more in the debt of bands that followed My Bloody Valentine than those that followed Nine Inch Nails.
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By Alexia
photo courtesy of Korallreven
Swedish dreamy-electronic-pop duo Korallreven, aka Marcus Joons and Daniel Tjäder (of The Radio Dept) have announced their first US shows ever, with select East and West coast dates supporting their debut album, An Album By Korallreven, available now on Acéphale.
We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman got the chance to ask singer Marcus Joons a few questions.
Alexia Kauffman: What music inspired you when you were growing up?
Marcus Joons: I remember getting touched real early by Velvet Underground, I must have been like eleven or twelve when I first came across their heroin romantic pop songs. Maybe too early. Apart from that I think that I, free from my mind, got the biggest kicks from Screamadelica, Spiritualized, everything by The Beach Boys and Daft Punk’s Homework. All of this has inspired me more to live and breathe than to make music though. Continue reading
By 
