Tag Archives: 9:30 Club

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Royksopp @ 9:30 Club, 3/23/11

Photo courtesy of
‘Röyksopp 03’
courtesy of ‘Max Cook’

Guest reviewer Alexia Kauffman of The Torches was at the show for We Love DC:

Norwegian electronic duo Royksopp brought jubilant energy to their sold out show at the 930 club Wednesday night. When I arrived, fifteen minutes before doors opened, there was a line stretching down the block of dedicated admirers waiting in the cold rain for a good spot inside.

I must say that I have been eagerly anticipating this show for some time. This was my first time seeing Royksopp. I heard and loved their song “Remind Me” years ago (yes, before the Geico commercial), and then fell in love with their remix of Beck’s “Missing” on his 2005 remix EP(the best Beck remix ever, IMO). It wasn’t until their 2009 album Junior, though, that I fell hard for them. That album spent the entire summer/fall in my car stereo, and on repeat through my headphones at work.

Since then I have been dying to see them live. And finally, to DC they came. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Crystal Castles @ 9:30 Club, 3/15/11


All images courtesy of Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles is a band I haven’t quite wrapped my head around yet. They’re a duet that plays slightly off-kilter, dark, noisy electronic music. It’s a pretty strange mix of Vegas slot-machine ambience, Gameboy bleeps and bloops, and ghostly vocals. Why do people like this? Maybe because it’s so weird. Or because you can dance to it. But like Apple Jacks, I just like it, and I can’t explain why. Clearly I’m not the only one who feels this way – they sold out the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, just like the last time they came through DC in August.

Crystal Castles put on an impressive live show that perfectly complements their music. Not only did they pick a great setlist, but the entire visual aspect of the show perfectly complemented their songs. Bright LED displays surrounded by darkness added a new layer of mystery to their music. And, oh man, their singer Alice Glass knows how to get a crowd going. We danced, jumped, and clawed our way forward throughout the set.
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark @ 9:30 Club, 3/10/11

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all photos by Patrick Onofre

Last week, my buddy Mickey McCarter loaned us his New Wave expertise to interview Andy McCluskey. Seemed only natural to ask him to review OMD’s show for us too.

Some things are worth the wait.

Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) reminded attendees at the 9:30 Club on Thursday that he and the band had not toured the United States in 23 years. Their return did not disappoint. The classic line-up of McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes, and Martin Cooper showed the generation of bands that came and went in the intervening time exactly what was so exciting about marrying synthesizers to a guitar and calling it New Wave to begin with. A wildly enthusiastic audience at the nearly sold out show embraced not only the OMD classics but also the five new songs introduced live from the new album, “History of Modern”.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, We Love Music
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Q&A with Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

omd1
all photos courtesy of The Musebox.

When it turned out that I would be unavailable to conduct this interview myself, the first person who came to my mind as the perfect pinch hitter for the gig was Mickey McCarter. By day, Mickey is a professional journalist, covering homeland security and military affairs for Homeland Security Today and Fox News. On nights and weekends, he is one of DC’s foremost experts on the New Wave and synthpop genres.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, founded by UK songwriters Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, led a synthpop revolution from the ‘80s through today in the United Kingdom, consistently charting in the UK top 30 with each of their 11 studio albums, including their very latest History of Modern. McCluskey alone kept the band’s name alive throughout the ‘90s until he and Paul Humphreys reunited for a successful return-to-form last year.

Now the band returns to the United States for the first time in more than 20 years, playing the 9:30 Club on Thursday, March 10. We Love DC caught up with synthpop virtuoso McCluskey recently to talk about Pretty in Pink, the new generation of synthpop musicians, and the sound of the future.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Loretta Lynn

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 each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

“She was born a coal miner’s daughter, but she has become a Country Music legend, Ms. Loretta Lynn!” That introduction I borrowed from Johnny Cash just about says it all doesn’t it? Win these tickets and join Loretta Lynn as she celebrates her 50th year as an entertainer with a special show at 9:30 Club on Thursday, March 17th.

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. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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We Love Music: Middle Brother @ 9:30 Club, 3/2/11

Middle Brother-21

All photos by Erin McCann

Wednesday night’s show at the 9:30 Club was the start of a high-profile tour for Middle Brother. It’s a side-project for its members, all of whom have highly respected bands on the cusp of greatness of their own to tend to. For less-talented musicians, gambling time away from their primary projects might kill the hard-won momentum they’d built up. For the members of Middle Brother—Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, Deer Tick’s John McCaulay and Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez, all of them darlings of the indie music culture—the side project turned out to be a shot of adrenaline for a bunch of guys already riding pretty high on their own. Wednesday’s show took some seriously high-energy bands, tumbled their members together in a free-for-all of booze, musicianship and friendship, and spit out a rocket fuel concoction that propelled its members even higher. It ranked among the best I’ve seen on the 9:30 Club stage. So, first things first: Thank you, guys. That was a hell of a night.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

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 each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

The reunited, reinvigorated, UK New Wave sensation Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are performing in the United States for the first time since 1988! Tune in to We Love DC next week for our great interview with OMD’s founder Andy McCluskey. In the meantime, we have a pair of tickets to their show at 9:30 Club, on Thursday 3/10, up for grabs!

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. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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The Daily Feed
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The Winning Ticket (Extra): Middle Brother/Dawes/Deer Tick

Hey DC, ready for a bonus round of The Winning Ticket?

Today we have a pair of tickets to give away for tomorrow night’s Middle Brother, Dawes, Deer Tick super show. Middle Brother is a super-group composed of members of both Deer Tick and Dawes (as well as Matt Vazquez of Delta Spirit). These guys are keeping it all in the family with a night of music featuring rotating sets from Middle Brother and the bands that spawned him.

NOTE: This show is tomorrow night and the music begins promptly at 8pm.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between Noon and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. We will notify the winner by email between 4 and 5 pm. The winner must respond to claim this prize by 10:30AM tomorrow. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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We Love Music: Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club, 2/25/11

Atticus Tour @ 9:30 Club
All photos by Erin McCann

How was your weekend? Mine started off with a bang – as soon as I got off work, I headed straight for the 9:30 Club to check out a handful of metal bands on the Atticus Metal Tour. This was an early show, running only until 9pm, since rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson had a later that night. So who shows up for a metal show at 5pm? High school kids. Drunk people. And me. I got my dose of metal that left me pumped for the rest of the weekend.

DC’s own Darkest Hour headlined this tour, along with younger metalcore groups Born of Osiris, As Blood Runs Black, and The Human Abstract. Four bands in four hours meant the show moved at a brisk pace – it felt like every band could’ve played a few more tracks, especially the headliners. I enjoyed all of these bands, but with 15 years of experience under their belt, Darkest Hour stole the show.
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Thursday & Underoath @ 9:30 Club, 2/22/11

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All photos by Andrew Markowitz

I was not expecting such a great night of metal at 9:30 Club on Tuesday night. To my surprise, the show was sold out by the time I arrived. Animals as Leaders, a local progressive metal outfit, blazed through a set that left everyone at the show talking about them for the rest of the night. Plus, the headliners Underoath, a metalcore group I’ve been writing off for years, wowed me with their flashy stage show.

So that was a nice surprise, but really I was there for emo / post-hardcore group Thursday. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its release, Thursday played their debut album “Full Collapse” in its entirety. Let’s just say I’m pretty familiar with it. It comes up pretty frequently when I want to scream alone in my bedroom. The words to all the songs are permanently engraved in my head, or at least in my diary.* Confession time: Thursday is the band I’ve seen most live. I lose a ton of cred in the ‘metal scene’ for this, but you know what? Every time I see them, I walk away thinking about how Geoff Rickly is a grade-A frontman, who brings undeniable energy to every performance. I just can’t pass up a chance to see him.
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Los Lobos / Taj Mahal @ 9:30 Club, 2/21/2011

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all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

I always enjoy double headliner billings and this one was one of the finest I have seen since The Zombies were paired with Love some 6 years ago. Tonight we had the legendary, world-wide blues of Taj Mahal matched with the multi-genred, Grammy winning veterans, Los Lobos. It was a large crowd at the 9:30 Club looking for a rootsy, danceable, swinging good time on a cold Monday night. With musicians like this, it was sure to be a successful night for all.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Wanda Jackson

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 each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Today we are privileged to raffle off a pair of tickets to see the Queen of Rockabilly perform at 9:30 Club on Friday night. We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy! (NOTE: This is a late show)

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. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Drive-By Truckers @ 9:30 Club, 2/18/11

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all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

Drive-by Truckers, one of the most accurately named bands, have been working the road over a little over a decade. They have worked it hard and have built a huge fan base as a result. However, you have to also give them credit for several outstanding albums showcasing their quality songwriting, blasting guitar work, and Americana/alt-country twang. The result, as far as this weekend in DC shows, is two sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club. And on Friday night, the band showed they can still deliver the goods with a quite a bit of variety in their songs.

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The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Thursday & Underoath @ 9:30 Club, 2/22/11

Thursday - Full Collapse [2001]

It might be easy to lump the group Thursday, playing tomorrow at the 9:30 Club, in with other aging emo bands such as the Get Up Kids. But Thursday have come a long way since they first cracked the scene in 2001 – their full-length debut “Full Collapse” spawning the hit singles “Cross Out The Eyes” and “Understanding in a Car Crash”. Well, they were hits in my mind, at least. This was always one of my favorite emo bands – they were dramatic and serious, and just a bit heavy. Tomorrow night, they’ll be playing this album in its entirety.

Since then, they’ve consistently revived their style on each album. Lately, frontman Geoff Rickly has been working with a side-project, United Nations, which is sort of a tribute to extremely heavy 90s hardcore bands like Orchid and Pg. 99. Geoff’s instincts have consistently driven Thursday in a heavier direction – even 2003’s “War All the Time” was much darker and angrier than “Full Collapse”. Since splitting ways with Island Records in 2007, Thursday have toured with bands that don’t quite match their emo style – heavy bands like Converge and Envy.

Tuesday night’s pairing with Underoath is a perfect example. Underoath is a metalcore group from Florida, combining the vocal style and attitude of hardcore punk with metal riffs. I personally love this style of metal – it means I can scream along with the lyrics, or just bang my head to the riffs. A Skylit Drive do something similar, with alternating screaming and melodic vocals – but I’m most excited about Animals as Leaders, one of my favorite progressive metal bands. This DC-based group delivers quick bursts of heavy, jazzy, complex riffs without the pretention or epicness of bands like Dream Theater.

I caught Thursday last year at the Black Cat, and it had one of the most energetic crowds I’ve seen in DC. Dozens of kids shove their way to the front of the pit for the chance to shout lyrics in Geoff’s face. Look out for me – I’ll be the guy in the black hoodie in the front row.

Thursday & Underoath
w/ A Skylit Drive, Animals as Leaders
9:30 Club
Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, 2011
$20

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music
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The Winning Ticket: Drive-By Truckers

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 each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

Since the winner’s choice proved so popular last week, we’ve decided to do another one; this time we’re raising the stakes by giving away tickets to a sold out show!

Up for grabs this week, we have one pair of tickets to see Drive-By Truckers perform this weekend at one of their sold out show at 9:30 Club ! That’s right, one of the best Southern rock bands in the business are playing on Friday and Saturday night to a sold out club, and whoever wins today’s contest will get to choose which night they want to attend. Just tell us which night you’d like to go when you leave your comment below. If DBT’s show at the club last summer is any indication, the winner is in for a really good time!

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. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Gang of Four @ 9:30 Club, 2/9/11


courtesy of Gang of Four.

In 2005, the return of Gang of Four felt vital. Playing to a packed 9:30 Club, touring in support of ‘Return the Gift’ on which they re-recorded most of their greats, the original Gang of Four roster played a blistering set that left us breathless and neck-sore from the sudden aural thrashing they gave us. The surprising vigor and fury that this 25-year old band played with in 2005 seemed to deliver a message to the droves of post-millennial-shift, post-punk pop revivalists that said “This is how its done”. Danceable rhythm and angular guitars amount to little substance without the spit and anger, the passion and snarl, the political outrage and razor sharp criticism. It was one of the best shows of the year.

In 2011, the return of Gang of Four feels somewhat unnecessary and yet it is welcome. Playing to a 3/4 full 9:30 Club on Wednesday night, touring in support of a strong new album ‘Content’, the reconstituted Gang of Four (featuring Jon King and Andy Gill with a new rhythm section) played an uneven set that entertained us and occasionally thrilled us but did not come close to the impact of their last reunion run. Part of the reason for this was the uneven mix of new songs and classics, part of it was the slightly off chemistry of the new line-up, and part of it was the fast and loose nature of the performance which lacked the ruthless reclaiming-the-title motivation of their 2005 shows. Even with the lumps though, this show was a fun one that offered enough highlights to make for a fine night of music and ended with a fantastic finale that finally tapped into some of that 2005 tour magic.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music
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The Winning Ticket: Slightly Stoopid

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 each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

This week we are offering up a winner’s choice! We are raffling off a pair of tix to catch Slightly Stoopid and Fishbone perform at 9:30 Club next week. Since the two bands are dropping their ska, reggae, funk grooves on Wednesday (2/16) and Thursday (2/17) our winner not only gets to rock out but also gets to choose which night he or she wants to do so! Just let us know your preferred night when you leave your comment below.

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. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Chromeo @ 9:30 Club, 2/6/11

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All photos by Michael Darpino

Per Michael’s advice, I thought I’d cruise over to the 9:30 Club on Sunday night to dance with single ladies with good taste in music. I even came up with the perfect line – “excuse me, do you care about sports? Me neither.”

Okay, not entirely true. I try to care about football at least once a year, so I caught the first three-quarters of the Super Bowl. And I pretended to be heartbroken when I had to leave before the final quarter to catch Chromeo. They played two shows this weekend – Saturday night’s sold out forever ago, but The Game meant there were still tickets for Sunday. But even with competing activities, Chromeo nearly filled the club. It proved to be a great venue for these guys – with a full stage setup, complete with stadium-style lighting, backup dancers, and their trademark sexy-leg-synthesizers, Chromeo showed off their bona-fide rock star credentials.
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The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Chromeo @ 9:30 Club, 2/6/11

Hey Ladies,

While all your boyfriends and husbands are jumping out of their armchairs, hooting at the television in their salsa stained Rothilsberger jerseys on Sunday, you can be at the 9:30 Club listening to the sexy smooth sounds of Canada’s most recent threat to monogamy since k.d. lang and Gordon Lightfoot. Of course I’m talking about Chromeo.

It’s your choice. You can be at home, relegated to sitting on the ottoman to make room for your fella’s friends on the couch; watching your man give his bro a touch-down celebratory hug that contains more affection than he’s shown you in a year; or you could be at the 9:30 Club on Sunday night, being seduced by Chromeo’s sultry sythesizers and worked-over by their brassiere busting bass.

Head over to 9:30 Club on Sunday and let Chromeo’s P-Thugg and Dave 1 give you the attention you deserve.

Chromeo
w/ MNDR and The Suzan
@ 9:30 Club
2/6 – 7pm
$25

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Girl Talk @ 9:30 Club, 2/1/11

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All photos by Andrew Markowitz

If you’re looking for a good dance party, you can’t do much better than Girl Talk.

Gregg Gillis, the man behind the moniker Girl Talk, sits as the king of the mash-up, where different parts of different songs are combined into a track that’s both retro and fresh. The genius of Girl Talk is that he shifts from one part to the next so quickly that it doesn’t get stale – before you can name that tune, it’s on to the next one. It’s the perfect soundtrack for the ADD generation.

I thought that the best way to enjoy Girl Talk was to sit around with your friends, drinking beers and calling out which Radiohead beats were mixed with which Missy Elliot verses. Of course, Girl Talk’s music is solid enough to stand on its own, beyond being just a long game of ‘name that tune’, and the live show propels it to a new level. It seizes your attention and never lets go. If you stop paying attention, you’re bound to get hit in the face with toilet paper propelled by a leaf-blower.
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