Tag Archives: 9:30 Club

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We Love Music: The Naked and the Famous @ 9:30 Club — 10/7/13

The Naked and Famous | October 2013 nan palmero

When I first heard “Punching in a Dream” by The Naked and the Famous, I thought, “Well, what a catchy dreampop song!” The ethereal voice of Alisa Xayalith over the layered electronics struck me as a sonically aggressive take on the genre but I was comfortable with that categorization nonetheless.

Coming to know the band quite a bit better recently, I’ve come to appreciate the bite in their music that lends their sound to the more rock-and-roll bent of post-punk. Yet I’m not entirely comfortable fully placing them there myself—and this is what makes the band an exciting listen. The Naked and the Famous are different. They play outside of boundaries, and they are surprisingly versatile while doing so. This was evident in two sold out shows at the 9:30 Club this past Sunday and Monday, where the crowd fully embraced the duality of the band, dancing and singing along with great enthusiasm.

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Lee Fields & The Expressions @ 9:30 Club, 10/17/13

LeeFieldsFAs a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to find out what tickets we’re giving away, and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Lee Fields and the Expressions at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Mr. Fields, a southern soul singer, has been on a resurgence lately, putting out several well-regarded albums with The Expressions in the past decade. It seems he’s drawn quite a few comparisons to James Brown over the years, so this has got to be quite a fun and funky show!

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 10am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Lee Fields! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 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.

Lee Fields & The Expressions
9:30 Club
Thursday, Oct. 17
doors @7pm
$25
All ages

Concert Roundup, Entertainment, Essential DC, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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October Concert Round Up

Concert Rebecca Schley

October has shaped up to be a killer month in the DC music scene – largely delivering tried and true favorites to a wide variety of Washington-era venues for a live music fan. So Mickey (our resident music buff) and myself (avid concert goer/reviewer in training) are offering up our thoughts on the acts you should put on your schedules and get your little tucki (plural of tuckus???) out there to see.

Details on Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Naked and the Famous, Islands, Sparks and more after the jump. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The District
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Hot Ticket: Walk The Moon @9:30 Club 09/26-27

Walk The Moon

From a ticket perspective, the upcoming Thursday and Friday night Walk The Moon shows at the 9:30 Club are the definition of a “hot ticket” as both are sold out. But don’t be dejected about the ticket situation because this “hot ticket” goes WAY beyond mere paper tickets.

If you’re unfamiliar with Walk The Moon, it’s likely you’ve heard their most popular track “Anna Sun” which spent a good while on top of the charts in 2012 and was featured in an HBO Go Campaign. You may have also seen the viral YouTube music video. YouTube Preview Image Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: The White Mandingos @ U Street Music Hall, 9/27/13

WhiteMandingosF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. (In this case, it’s actually a concert at U Street Music Hall presented by the 9:30 Club!) Keep your eyes open for opportunities at 9am once a week or so to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to see The White Mandingos at U Street Music Hall on Friday, Sept. 27.

The White Mandingos is a bicoastal supergroup, featuring MURS, Darryl Jenifer from Bad Brains and Sascha Jenkins. The hip hop/rock fusion trio released their debut album, The Ghetto is Trying to Kill Me, on Fat Beats/Fontana on May 28.

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 10am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps reveal your favorite composition by MURS, Bad Brains or Jenkins, or this new supergroup! One entry per email address please! Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 U Street Music Hall Guest List window after 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.

The White Mandingos
w/ 301
U Street Music Hall
Friday, Sept. 27
doors @ 7pm
$20
All ages

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Blondie w/ X @ 9:30 Club — 9/9/13

Chris Stein, Exene Cervenka and Debbie Harry (Photo by Mark Weiss)

Chris Stein, Exene Cervenka and Debbie Harry (Photo by Mark Weiss)

Maybe it’s true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but sometimes there is remarkably more to be found in those old tricks than you might think.

Such might be said to be the case with Blondie, the iconic new wave group that now refuses to go away despite a 15-year break in the 80s and 90s. Recharged and on a roll, the band is back with a 10th studio album dropping this fall–Ghosts of Download–which comes only two years after their last album, Panic of Girls. The group took to influences from the current world of electronic dance music (EDM) when coming up with songs for the new album. And the EDM-flavored material blends very well with a group that was equally comfortable putting out disco smashes and space-punk rockers. In that way, Blondie were well ahead of the game when it came to adapting to the times.

To prove the point, Debbie Harry and her cohorts opened their super sold-out show at the 9:30 Club on Monday night with the crowd-pleasing “One Way or Another” from their very excellent third album Parallel Lines, released in 1979. They then rolled into a song from the new album called “Rave,” a dance number that with a crisp upbeat tempo that pairs well with Harry’s voice. The discoesque number melded very well with Blondie classics and also sounded like it would be a welcome new song to mix in with new EDM beats.

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Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Volcano Choir @9:30 Club – 9/12/13

Volcano Choir

It’s been almost four years since Volcano Choir released its first album, but – praise baby jesus (yes, that’s a Talladega Nights reference) – just last week, they released their second album Repave and will be performing this Thursday at the 9:30 Club.

Time span between albums isn’t surprising asmany of the group’s members have been actively involved in other music exploits, most notably John Vernon, the leader singer of Bon Iver, and their freshman album Unmap evolved from years of mail-based – yes, USPS – communications consisting of letters, notes, audio clips and other explorations of musical ideas.

It’s this avant-garde, collaborative exploration of the limits and bounds of music that make Volcano Choir’s music truly beautiful and pure, and those aren’t some kitschy, word vomit adjectives, I mean them. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Blondie and X @ 9:30 Club, 9/9/13

Chris Stein, Debbie Harry and Clem Burke (Photo courtesy of Press Here)

Chris Stein, Debbie Harry and Clem Burke (Photo courtesy of Press Here)

As a young music collecting kid, I undoubtedly came across the sixth studio album by Blondie, The Hunter, in the cassette selection of a retailer like K-Mart or Ames. “Neat!” I probably said while snapping it up in 1982, little realizing that the band already had broken up and this likely was their last album.

Flash forward to 1997, and I’m living here in DC, so I get to go the HFStival at RFK Stadium, where Blondie stage an unlikely reunion to play their first public show in 15 years. Wow! And then the band awakens to put out a few more albums before continuing to tour for many more years.

Recently, the band has surprised me yet again with another burst of creative activity, releasing the calypso-flavored Panic of Girls in 2011 and now returning with a new album, Ghosts of Download, to be released this fall. The first single, “A Rose By Any Name,” featuring The Gossip’s Beth Ditto on guest vocals, is a welcome dance number with nu disco flourishes. The album reportedly holds quite a few tracks influenced by today’s electronic dance music (EDM) movement.

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Essential DC, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The District
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STRFKR @9:30 Club – 9/4/13

STRFKR rebeccaejohnson

Last night, STRFKR, the absurdly named and spelled Portland-based electronica group, put on an energy-filled show at the 9:30 Club.

You knew the night was gonna get weird – in a funny/ridiculous way – when the lead singer Joshua Hodges (aka Sexton Blake) walked out wearing what can only be described as the dress Norman Bates wore in Psycho; in fairness, Sexton’s frock was prettier. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Black Prairie @ U Street Music Hall, 9/15/13

BlackPrairieF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to find out what tickets we’re giving away, and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Black Prairie at U Street Music Hall on Sunday, Sept. 15 (presented by the 9:30 Club).

What are two members of an already prolific band The Decemberists supposed to do in their downtime? Why, start another band and start pumping out more records in a few short years! And so indie rockers Chris Funk and Nate Query rounded up a few other musicians and formed bluegrass band Black Prairie. Well, jazz-klezmer-bluegrass band Black Prairie, perhaps? No need to keep it simple when you have this much energy!

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Black Prairie! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 U Street Music Hall box office window 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.

Black Prairie
U Street Music Hall
Sunday, Sept. 15
doors @ 6:30pm
$15
All ages

Music, News, Night Life
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Update on the Passing of Josh Burdette, That Guy at the 9:30 Club

An impromptu memorial to Josh Burdette in the lobby of the 9:30 Club Monday night

An impromptu memorial to Josh Burdette in the lobby of the 9:30 Club Monday night

Longtime 9:30 Club manager Josh Burdette, 36, was found dead in his home in Kensington, Md. early Sunday evening, according to reports from the police department in Montgomery County.

According to news reports, Burdette’s death is being investigated as a suicide.

9:30 Club co-owner Seth Hurwitz Monday released a statement praising Burdette, popularly known as “That Guy at the 9:30 Club”:

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Entertainment, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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We Love Music: Empire Of The Sun @ 9:30 Club – 9/1/13

Empire of the Sun 9-1-13 rebeccaejohnson

To begin, if you’re reading this article before 9pm on Monday, go immediately over to the 9:30 Club and somehow get yourself a ticket to tonight’s sold out Empire of the Sun show. Don’t worry if you have to pay above face value, it will be worth it, trust me.

I’d been listening to the Empire of the Sun 2008 freshman album Walking On A Dream for about a year, having been introduced to them via my Ladyhawke – another Aussie music up-and-comer, Pandora channel recommendation. The strongly drum and synthesizer driven tracks combine effortlessly with lead singer Luke Steele’s brilliant, bordering on nasally, vocals. As a child of the 80s, I’m a junkie for electronic music and their 10 track album has become a staple in my music arsenal. Fortunately, I only had to wait until June for their next album Ice On The Dune and then until yesterday to catch them live.

Going into the show, while I was familiar with the group, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a live show. Their album covers feature the duo in elaborate costumery and David Bowie-esque make up, surrounded by landscapes and creatures straight out of Dune or the Ursula K. Le Guin novel The Left Hand of Darkness; the covers could easily be Labirynth or Legend or The Dark Crystal movie poster rejects, and their music videos continue this motif, especially their latest track “Alive.” All of this plus pictures of their U.S. tour, which just kicked off, had me definitely expecting a fair amount of pagentry, but as soon as the lights went down, it was clear that Empire of the Sun was going to go far beyond. Continue reading →

Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: R.I.P., That Guy at the 9:30 Club

Matt Nathanson @ 9:30 Club Matthew Straubmuller

Regulars of the music scene in Washington, DC, awoke to shock Monday morning — an important face among them was among them no longer.

Josh Burdette, popularly known as “That Guy at the 9:30 Club,” passed away of unknown causes, apparently sometime late Sunday night. A spokesman for the 9:30 Club confirmed his death in a posting on the club’s website forum at 7:13am Monday morning.

For many attending concerts at the 9:30 Club, Burdette was an integral part of the experience. The man’s imposing figure and his many tattoos and piercings made him impossible to miss. But instead of being scary or weird, Burdette was simply nice.

In 2006, Burdette explained his attitude toward his work to Chris Richards of The Washington Post:

“It’s really a customer service job. We’re the face of the club, and we have to do our best to be as friendly, polite and accessible as we can. It’s not an us-versus-them mentality here — we want to avoid that antagonism. If you need our help, ask us. Some of us look big and scary, but we’re just people, too. We’re just working our jobs. Then on the rare occasion when we have to do something more on the security end of things, we’ve already established that we’re there to help.”

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Tommy Keene @ 9:30 Club, 9/13/13

TommyKeeneF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to find out what tickets we’re giving away, and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Tommy Keene at the 9:30 Club on Friday, Sept. 13.

The prolific Keene, a DC-area native, has returned with a new album, Excitement at Your Feet, on Second Motion Records. His return to the 9:30 Club marks a continuation of his long-time relationship with co-owner Seth Hurwitz, who managed Keene at the start of his solo career in the early 1980s! In the past few years, Keene has shown no signs of slowing down, releasing several albums and putting out a two-disc career retrospective in 2010. (Indeed, he kinda strikes me as our hometown version of Elvis Costello!)

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Tommy Keene (or one of his many collaborations)! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 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.

Tommy Keene
w/ The Deadmen (with Justin Jones), Hero Jr.
9:30 Club
Friday, Sept. 13
doors @5pm
$15
All ages

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Toad the Wet Sprocket @ 9:30 Club, 11/7/13

ToadWetSprocketF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to find out what tickets we’re giving away, and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Toad the Wet Sprocket at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, Nov. 7.

The California jangle-pop quartet have reformed as a full-time band, put out a single, and vowed to release a new album in September! Their last album was released in 1997, but they are likely still best remembered for the single “All I Want” from 1992.

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 10am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Toad the Wet Sprocket! (Do they have any overlooked gems I should check out?) One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 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.

Toad the Wet Sprocket
w/ Lee DeWyze
9:30 Club
Thursday, Nov. 7
doors @6pm
$35
All ages

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Paul Weller @ 9:30 Club, 7/30/13

PaulWellerF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities at 9am once a week or so to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Paul Weller at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday, July 30.

Holy cow, did I say Paul Weller? Yes, indeed, the Modfather is coming to Washington, DC. Weller has been putting out solo albums for more than 20 years, but many still hold his work as lead singer of The Jam in the highest regard. In 2012, Weller released a new album, Sonik Kicks, that went all the way to the top of the UK album charts. With songs like “That Dangerous Age,” Weller sings of an older man’s life concerns but still from a point of punk rock idealism. He’s also been known to revisit some of the best selections from The Jam like “That’s Entertainment,” a young man’s ode to finding fun on the streets.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but you should tell me your favorite song by Weller, The Jam or the Style Council! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 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.

Paul Weller
w/ Matthew Ryan
9:30 Club
Tuesday, July 30
doors @7pm
$45
All ages

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: US Air Guitar Semifinals @ 9:30 Club, 7/19/13

USAirGuitarF

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader periodically. Keep your eyes open for opportunities at 9am once a week or so to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see the US Air Guitar Semifinals at the 9:30 Club on Friday, July 19.

This event has become a big thing! In the US Air Guitar competition, contestants take to the stage to mime their way through a performance instead of actually playing a guitar. Let’s call it grinding the invisible ax! (I guess I always was more of an air synth guy as a kid.) Now you can go and enjoy the spectacle as the contest reaches the semifinal stage this Friday.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but I would like to hear your vote for world’s best guitarist! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly.

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 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.

US Air Guitar Semifinals
9:30 Club
Friday, July 19
doors @8pm
$20
All ages

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark @ 9:30 Club — 7/13/13

OMD -Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark- @ CORONA CAPITAL 2011 monophonic.grrrl

If you are head over heals in love with a woman, and you don’t know what to say to her, you might take your cue from Andy McCluskey, a bouncy dynamo of a man at age 54, when he sings “Sailing on the Seven Seas”:

Because I’m so in awe of you/That I don’t know what to do/And I’m sailing on the seven seas so blue

If you wish she were closer, and you still don’t know what to say, Paul Humphreys, a vibrant virtuoso of the keyboards, might have some words he could lend you from “(Forever) Live and Die”:

I never know, I never know why/You make me wanna cry

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: OMD w/ Diamond Rings @ 9:30 Club, 7/13/13

Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey (Photo courtesy Big Hassle)

Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey (Photo courtesy Big Hassle)

For my money, one of the top five acts at the Coachella Valley Music Festival this past April was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD. The synthpop band was in top form, performing fresh with the release of its latest album, English Electric. This new album is a little more mellow than the jaunty History of Modern, released in 2010 after the reformation of the classic OMD lineup of vocalist and guitarist Andy McCluskey, keyboardist Paul Humphreys, drummer Malcolm Holmes and keyboardist Martin Cooper.

OMD return to the 9:30 Club to promote their new album on Saturday, July 13. With English Electric, OMD have gone straight back to their love of Kraftwerk, paying homage to the German electronic pioneers in particular on their song “Metroland,” which clearly has influences of Kraftwerk’s “Endless Europe.” The new single “Dresden” recalls some of the very best of OMD’s work like “Enola Gay” and “Joan of Arc.”

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We Love Music: CSS @ 9:30 Club — 7/1/13

luísa lovefoxxx, 2010 Gabriel Marchi

Lovefoxxx and her rowdy gal band CSS stormed through the 9:30 Club Monday night, playing a ridiculous amount of catchy new wave and reggaeton.

It’s a show more people should have come out to see! Sponsored by Nylon magazine, CSS actually shared the bill with newcomers Io Echo. When the Brazilian girls took the stage at 9:30pm, they opened with a curious selection, “Art Bitch” from their first album, but it really set the mood for funky fun, which they delivered through to the end with their last song, the goofy rap “I’ve Seen You Drunk Girl and You’re Not Drunk Yet,” which way more entertaining than I would have anticipated.

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