Category Archives: The Features

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Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Sixth Engine

Menu at 6th Engine Paul Allen

For someone who writes a column called “Friday Happy Hour,” I’ve attended dreadfully few happy hours since I’ve moved to this city. Unless you count late night Industry happy hour at Eat The Rich, in which case, I’ve done more than my fair share. But this past Tuesday, with the city practically shut down due to snowmageddon, happy hour sounded like a perfect reason to check out the city, all decked in white, and have a few drinks along the way.

This started out with the best intentions, but after the freezing five block walk from the bus stop to Sixth Engine, I was starting to regret my decision. Once I got my butt in a seat at Sixth Engine, I was there to stay.

First order of business was certainly going to be one of their winter warmers. Everything sounded great, but when the weather’s so gosh darned Scandinavian out there, nothing quite warms me up like a Swedish Punsch. Bonus if it’s served with spiced butter batter and grated nutmeg in the cheekily named Hot Butter Röm. Swedish Punsch is a spiced liqueur made from a base of Batavia Arrack, a Southeast Asian spirit very similar to rum and distilled from coconut sugar. It makes for a smart variation on the classic Hot Buttered Rum (or tiki drink if you’re at Hogo). Simple, warming, delicious – this might replace my morning coffee for the rest of the season. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – Jan 24-26

caroline.angelo

Fedward:  For the third weekend in a row I’m without the Social Chair.  April may be the cruelest month for poets, but for actresses and meeting planners, January has it beat.  I’d say I’m at loose ends, but with the weather forecast I’m happy just to keep working on home improvement.  I had the realization after a recent shopping trip at Annie’s that “Ace” is only one character off from “Acme.” Luckily so far nothing has literally exploded in my face. If I do leave the house, I might head back to 2 birds 1 stone or Southern Efficiency or Petworth Citizen (bar manager Kristi and I discussed our Ace habits the last time I stopped by, over her delicious spiked hot cider and smoked old fashioned) or finally expand my horizons at Right Proper or All Souls. And once Sunday rolls around I’ll definitely be heading back to the Passenger for that loco moco.

How cold is it Bob? Plantains & Kimchi

Rachel: There’s music on my horizon this weekend, as if that was a surprise. Friday night I’ll be at Iota Club to cheer on my good friend Louisa Hall as she kicks off a night of spectacular music featuring birthday boy Justin Trawick and The Common Good as well as Black Masala. Next up will be Saturday night at one of my favorite new venues Gypsy Sally’s in Georgetown where I’ll be catching Paul Pfau and The Morrison Brothers Band. Then, at some point, I’ll be working on a feature article about Natalie York’s upcoming CD release show at Jammin’ Java with Dave Farah (that’ll be on Friday January 31) before finally shooting next week’s video for the weekly video series I’ve been doing for my YouTube channel. Good times.

Potomac in winter ekelly80

Rebecca: Friday I’m in for cuban food goodness at Banana Cafe & Piano Bar on Capitol Hill. Vaca frita here I come! After dinner, my friend and I will check out some up and coming writers’ short plays at The Fridge. The plays center on unconventional subjects so that should be some good fun. Saturday I’ve planned a tasting visit to Green Hat Distillery in NE. Definitely looking forward to seeing their facilities and tasting their gins. Saturday night I’m off to Pulpo for engagement party for two good friends of mine. I’m sure the night will not stop after dinner, but I’m leaving the locale up to the happy couple to be. Since I moved to DC, I’ve known that Two Amy’s makes bagels, biails and the toppings (smoked salmon, cc, capers, etc.) for Sunday brunch, but I’ve never been. Crossing that off the list Sunday morning. Will be sure to bring the NY Times with me.

Cold Feet evegophotos

Tom: As a parent now, I have a totally different weekend structure. Most of the time it involves getting up no later than 7am, which means I’m becoming a bit of a connoisseur of places that open early. For example, I’ll never have to wait for a table at Ted’s Bulletin because I’m going before all those new residents even think about rolling out of bed. After that, I’m giving serious thought to running up to the Chinese New Year Festival at the Smithsonian American Art Museum which looks freaking amazing. Sunday will be about recovery and zen, so I’ll be walking with Charlie again to get some outdoors time. See you on the streets of Brookland!

Boulder Bridge ekelly80

Don: I think this weekend is going to involve alternating between “avoid the cold” and “play in the snow.” What can I say, I’m a study in contrasts. Playing in the snow is pretty self-evident, though we might try to go a little farther afield than our front yard this time. The boy is at an age where he’s more confused by this cold white stuff than he is amused but if past time in a wagon is any indication he might enjoy being pulled in a disc. There’s a rope and a trash can lid in his future, probably at a local park. I’m also considering an outing to Roosevelt Island because it always amuses this Miami boy to see partially frozen bodies of water. In the avoid category it’s likely that means “bar,” most specifically a little Sunday brunch with Fedward at the Passenger.

snowman crossing! please yield!! number7cloud

Paul: Ideally this weekend will either be spent in bed, under many, many covers or at work, making many, many tasty drinks.I might nip down to Eastern Market for some bone marrow and ox tail, because this is chili-making weather. Then I might head to Dr K’s Vintage for a snazzy new [old] coat, because even in the cold, you’ve gotta look cool. Maybe they’ll have that scorpion-emblazoned members only jacket I’ve been dying to find. If I still need to warm up, I’ll head to Eat the Rich on Sunday for some chowder and heavy metal. Because nothing warms the body and soul like heavy metal. And then I’ll cap my weekend with getting paid to watch the new episode of Sherlock (sometimes I love a TV in the bar).

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Lauryn Hill @ Lincoln Theatre, 2/9/14

lauryn
Killing you softly with her song, Lauryn Hill visited the 9:30 Club in December and sold out the place! Now she’s returning for a seated show at the Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Many still remember Hill best for the lead vocals on the 1996 cover of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” by the Fugees. She loomed large in the public eye in 1998 with the release of her only solo album to date, the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. That album alone earned her 10 Grammy nominations, of which she won five (including Album of the Year).

Her recent burst of activity comes at a time of revitalization for the singer, as she has new material with songs like “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)” and “Consumerism.”

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113740341″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The Washington Post highly praised Hill’s 9:30 Club appearance, calling her connected and engaged. “Once L Boogie took the stage, she kicked off her shoes, showered the audience with compliments (‘You’re great, if no one told you today!’) and worked some of her best-known material into beautifully complex arrangements without erasing their most beloved elements. Best of all, her voice sounded rich and strong,” wrote Sarah Godfrey.

She seems like she’s on a roll. Check her out when she returns to play the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 9

Lauryn Hill
Lincoln Theatre
Sunday, Feb. 9
Doors @8pm
$75-$125
All ages

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, People, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: A Q&A with Benjamin Wallace of The 18th Street Singers

Photo Courtesy of The 18th Street Singers

Photo Courtesy of The 18th Street Singers

There’s this (nearly) perfect moment in vocal music when a chorus of individuals come together to not only sing four-part harmonies broken up into individuals parts but rather a moment when the group creates a pure tone of unadulterated sound on pitch. This is not only a goal for the 18th Street Singers, this is what they do.

Earlier this fall, I spent some time watching the 18th Street Singers in their natural habitat — their rehearsal space at First Trinity Lutheran Church — and I was quick to learn that this group is comprised of passionate voices from many different walks of life all coming together for a common purpose.

The 18th Street Singers’ Executive Director Benjamin Wallace took some time to speak with us one-on-one via e-mail to answer our questions regarding the group and their upcoming performances on Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25.

Tell us a bit about how you originally got involved with the 18th Street Singers? How do you fit into the overall puzzle?

I have been involved with the 18th Street Singers since its founding in 2004, and let me tell you, my participation was a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. I was living in a group house with a talented conductor (our musical director Benjamin Olinsky) when a tenacious young woman and college classmate of ours approached us saying she missed singing. While there were other choirs in D.C. none of them were exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a younger, hipper, more personable group, so we started brainstorming names and advertising on alumni list, in the paper, and on Craigslist.

It was a pretty humble beginning: I think our first season we had 14 people singing simple four-part harmony. We knew we would need a place to rehearse and perform, and having no money, we were shocked and delighted when the First Trinity Lutheran Church offered to host us. We have had an incredible partnership with the First Trinity ever since and are so thankful for their support for us and the arts. The group grew quickly up to our current size around 45 people, and as we had greater and greater success, we attracted ever more talented members. For me, much of the early days was spent working on fundraising and helping build the kind of social environment we were hoping for. After leaving D.C. for a few years, I was delighted to rejoin the group in 2012, and to start working with our board of directors to keep fulfilling the same aspirations we had in the early days: making music and friends with a fun, talented collection of young people from all walks of life.

Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Dates (a.k.a. DeenaOH & Co. @ DC9 – 1/16/14)

cabmicrophoneLet me quickly point out that DeenaOH’s experimental cabaret seems to be settling into a band to be called Dates, so be sure to be on the lookout for the new name.

DeenaOH herself is Deena Odelle Hyatt, a bluesy chanteuse who makes a living curating and supporting art around DC. She was opening as DeenaOH & Co. for folk singer Marian McLaughlin’s debut album release last week to a crowded room at DC9. The experimental nature of DeenaOH’s collective became clear when I counted nine musicians, including Ms. McLaughlin, contributing various vocals or instruments to the short set of songs, leaping on and off stage as required.

The songs hung together well in the amber of Ms. Hyatt’s bluesy, forlorn voice. The romantic “Moon Song” called for unconditional love over a calypso beat. Hyatt has a pleasing range, and she rolls through “Moon Song” with the cute trick of echoing herself in words extended like with “together, …together, …together.” Like all unrequited love affairs, the song ends abruptly! But the room fell into a hushed silence simply at the sound of her voice.

Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Snow in the Capital vpickering

DC (Maryland and Virginia) may not be able to handle snow events, well, at all but that doesn’t mean the city’s not a gorgeous backdrop when the white stuff falls. Victoria Pickering braved the obviously terrible weather conditions yesterday and captured this wonderful shot at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. You can almost hear the quiet; the sound of the snow falling and the crunch of it under your feet. Many of our fellow Americans make fun of our ability, or lack thereof, to handle inclement weather, perhaps rightly so, but I can think of no other major city in the country that looks as lovely as Washington, DC in the snow.

Take a look through our Flickr group for more snow photos and be sure to post some of your own.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Youth Code w/ Technophobia, Coming @ Black Cat, 1/26/14

youthcode-banner
Much of modern industrial music sounds like so much noise, but a subgenre of it known as “electronic body music” can be identified by danceably coherent melodies that almost recall happier, upbeat music. Enter Youth Code, a duo from Los Angeles, who have decided to pervert that paradigm by borrowing the brighter synths of EBM and marrying them to hardcore punk lyrics. The result is cold wave instrumentation that compels you to be light on your feet while simultaneously heavy vox beats you about the head.

Youth Code released their debut self-titled LP on Dais Records last year, drawing inspiration from early Wax Trax records and hardcore punk, something DC knows a lot about. Bandmates Ryan William George and Sara Taylor tackle synth and vocals with several different approaches, but the band is most arresting when she sings and he dirges, as demonstrated in their video for “Carried Mask.”

They strike me as being kind of like the Sleigh Bells of the industrial genre, in the way the indie pop group sought to blend genres and be loud. (I wouldn’t repeat that observation to any goth friends, however, if you care about saving face in front of them. :) )

One of the bands opening for Youth Code at the Black Cat this Sunday is DC’s own Technophobia, which recently released recordings of their songs “Bleeding Hands” and “A Coping Mechanism” to add to their first single, “Waltz Demise.”

With its driving beats from Katie and Stephen Petix and soaring vocals from Denman Anderson, “A Coping Mechanism” is truly one of the best songs from Technophobia, offering accessible dance music with soul-searching lyrics that avoid falling into routine despair or self-loathing. The darkwave outfit also does quite a bit to expand upon the appeal of what we consider the goth domain by intelligently applying more traditional pop formulations to their music, opening it sonically to a wider audience than you might anticipate.

You have a unique opportunity to check them both out this Sunday, Jan. 26, when they take over the backstage of the Black Cat. In addition to openers Technophobia, Youth Code are bringing L.A. trio Coming along with them to open as well.

Youth Code
w/ Coming, Technophobia
Black Cat
Sunday, Jan. 26
Doors @8pm
$12
All ages

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Tacos and Tequila at El Rey

Drinks at El Rey Paul Allen

I’m done with this cold, rainy nonsense. It’s time for spring, people! I want to see more balmy temps, cool drinks, sundresses, and cherry blossoms. But most of all, I want tequila and tacos because nothing quite puts me in the spirit of warm weather quite like drinking tequila and eating tacos under the sun. So I’m sure you can imagine my feelings towards the opening of El Rey last week, Shaw’s new U Street tacqueria/beer garden. It went sort of like this (only replace “bacon and eggs” with “tequila and tacos”).

I walked into El Rey’s soft opening, having done shameful little to no homework, with a very short check list. First order of business: lots of tequila. Yeah they got that. Second: tacos. I think so. Lastly, not cold. It might have been rainy and nasty all week, but under those heat lamps you could have fooled me. Close my eyes and I’m back to undergrad, eating tacos off a truck and lounging on the sunny quad. Only this time there’s tequila. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Cowboy Mouth @ 9:30 Club, 1/24/14

cowboymouthAs 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 Cowboy Mouth at the 9:30 Club on Friday, Jan. 24.

Cowboy Mouth! Well, I saw them once, opening for Barenaked Ladies at American University’s Bender Arena when I was a grad student in the late ’90s and some old friends were in town to see the bands. Good times!

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 10am and 5pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Cowboy Mouth! 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 5pm 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.

Cowboy Mouth
w/ Fifth on the Floor
9:30 Club
Friday, Jan. 24
doors @6pm
$25
All ages

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Jan 17-19

Thrill of the Grill LaTur

Or maybe the weekend goes through the 20th if you get the day off. I don’t, so I’m in denial. Don’t ruin this for me. Make sure to tweet a bunch as if you’re screwing off at work on Monday so I don’t catch on, k?

Paul: As I’m sure you’ve all heard, it’s Restaurant Week. That means long, hard hours, all week long. So I’ll just have to play all the harder this weekend. First stop after work? Cafe Saint-Ex for their brilliant Three Course Recovery, a pint can of Narragansett Lager (Rhode Island pride!), a shot of Old Overholt, and a pedialite. After a few of those, I’m sure I’ll be ready for anything (14th Street fight club, anyone??). If I wasn’t shaking the tin like mad all weekend, I’d be sure to check out Charles Ross’ One Man Lord Of The Rings at The Birchmere. I might skip out early Saturday night for Talib Kweli’s free DJ set at The Lodge at Redrocks (sorry folks, early last call tonight because your bartender wants to listen to some hip hop). Sunday I plan to unwind with a last look at The Phillips Collection’s Van Gogh exhibit before it’s packed up in February. Without fail, I’m sure I will be forcing everyone to drink absinthe Sunday night (you don’t have work tomorrow, after all).

Welcome...to Night Vale autographedcat

Don: The most exciting thing coming up for my weekend is doing something for a future event – getting tickets for a live Welcome to Night Vale show on 3/4 at the Lincoln. It’s still not on their website but they mentioned it on twitter a few days back. Tickets go on sale this Friday – probably when you’re reading this – at 10am and you can peep former local Cecil Baldwin with your own eyes. Past that point I have little plan but doing nothing, maybe going to see an open house to settle my curiosity about a renovation in my old neighborhood, and enjoying the lack of rain. I see this glowing orb thing outside as I type this and am unsure what it portends. But I LIKE IT.

Ferris Wheel vpickering

Tom: What a week. Thankfully, the end is near, and playtime is coming. With a chill coming, we’re going to be looking for indoor pursuits, but something to get us out of the house. We’ve been pondering a trip down to National Harbor to take in the Children’s Museum, and what with the new ferris wheel plans for the space, it might be good to see what’s up. After that, I have to find a good place to watch my 49ers play the Seahawks, but that’s a different kettle of fish. Perhaps my friends at Boundary Stone can hook me up.

Jester

Fedward: Friday night I’m going to a sold-out living room concert by Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. It’s not my first living room concert, but it’s my first in a decade, so that’ll be interesting. Saturday will be exciting because I can finally take the cat to get his feeding tube removed. The fine folks at Friendship Hospital for Animals and Dupont Veterinary Clinic have all been very friendly, supportive, and helpful as he’s gone through a month of recovery from some liver trouble. I just can’t wait for him to grow back all the fur they’ve had to shave off in the process of getting him well. Sunday I don’t have much of anything planned except the usual brunch at the Passenger. I can’t believe they introduced a new menu last Sunday and I wasn’t there to try it.

Old Cinema Michael T. Ruhl

Rebecca: It’s Ladies Night for me on Friday with a girls happy hour at Dupont’s Boardroom. I’ll be playing games (maybe a little Charlie’s Angels action?), grabbing pizza next door and sipping brews to mark the end of a long, but solid work week. Saturday I’ll hunker down at Landmark E Street Cinema for an Oscar nominee movie binge fest. Let’s see Her, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Philomena and foreign film’s The Great Beauty and The Past. Where do I begin?!!!!  Sunday brunch is on at Ireland’s Four Courts for their ridiculous brunch buffet and English Premiere League action. Then, my mainstay the past few Sundays has been the Palisades Farmer’s Market and I’m LUV’IN it. The meat quality is absurd, so I’ll stock up on short ribs, whole chicken and some pork shoulder for slow cooker loving, and then it’s dark leafy veg time (kale, swiss chard, collards, cabbage, etc.) NOM NOM NOM.

I Shall Not Walk Alone rpmaxwell

Tiffany: I recently discovered PostMates, which is sort of like Uber-meets-Kozmo.com, so I’m going to reward myself for a week of excellent working-mom organizational skills and meal planning by having DCity Smokehouse delivered. Saturday night you may see us on U Street for a goodbye party for my two favorite District Curmudgeons. (ed note: you’ll actually see them wandering around looking for the rest of us, as that’s actually two weeks later. SHHH don’t tell!) Sunday I want to get out with the stroller, maybe a walk to Noyes Park so the Bridgelet and I can get some fresh air.

Entertainment, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Twelfth Night

Irina Tsikurishvili as Viola with Ensemble in Synetic Theater's Twelfth Night. Photo: Koko Lanham.

Irina Tsikurishvili as Viola with Ensemble in Synetic Theater’s Twelfth Night. Photo: Koko Lanham.

Synetic Theater has been praised for many years by the artistic community for their innovative visual theatre performance style. Combining movement and music and eschewing verbal dialogue to tell a story, their productions are unique and more eclectic than most other theatre happening in the DC area. The first time I saw one of their shows, I was blown away by the beauty, the fluidity, and the outside-the-box artistry. The second production I saw was also dazzling, but reminiscent of the first production I saw. By the time I saw my third Synetic production, I was feeling that as much as I enjoyed and appreciated what they did, they might be a proverbial one-trick pony. This didn’t stop me from seeing their shows, because I have always been impressed by the stunning design and the graceful movement of the company members, but I began to feel like I knew what I would be getting. For me, Synetic Theater was a place where the “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all” adage seemed to apply.

But after seeing Synetic Theater’s production of Twelfth Night, I have to amend my former opinions. I now state with absolution that they are not a one-trick pony and have, once again, blown me away by the beauty and outside-the-box artistry unlike anything I have ever seen. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Camper Van Beethoven & Cracker @ 9:30 Club — 1/11/14

175 CamperVanBeethoven SXSW2013 Jester Jay Music

David Lowery brought both of his bands, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, to the 9:30 Club Saturday night for a mellow night of clever wordplay and occasional social jabs that form the crux of the music in the two outfits.

Billed as the “Come Down the Coast” tour, Lowery’s double bill came very close to selling out the 9:30 Club, which was comfortably full of high-spirited concert-goers, nodding their heads along to very full sets of alt-country ruminations and reflections. Camper Van Beethoven played 18 songs, beginning with the oddly titled instrumental “ZZ Top Goes to Egypt.” It was a good way to set the tone actually, introducing the audience to quirky titles and various musical textures that go into Camper Van Beethoven compositions

As Lowery sang and strummed along softly, drummer Frank Funaro added some punk-flavored kick, and violinist Jonathan Segel filled out many of the songs with classical flourishes. Funaro, who also is in Cracker, was the only person in the five-member Camper Van Beethoven who was not in the original lineup. Nevertheless, Camper Van Beethoven classics like “Take the Skinheads Bowling” now have less of a jangly sound to them when performed live these days and more layers and sophistication instrumentally.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: A Q&A with St. Lucia

st-lucia
It was 2010 and music virtuoso, producer, remixer and collaborator, Jean-Philip Grobler was stuck. The rock project he currently belabored on felt forced, unnatural; he turned to the past, looking for inspiration from Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna – potentially DC’s very own Thievery Corporation, for a jolt of inspiration. At this moment of stuckness, the young South African found both the inspiration he was looking for and birthed the idea for a new project that would become St. Lucia.

St. Lucia’s sound is distinct with a solid grounding in the best music from the 80s and 90s, with a constant freshness and an eye towards the future. Think a harmonious, fun mix of Cindy Lauper, Lionel Richie, Rick Astley, John Secada, and All Saints. Throughout my first listen to their first record, When The Night, I was consistently noting rifts, sounds and harmonies that were clearly inspired from previous artists, although I was hard pressed to get specific to the artist or their track. Their sound draws on the past, but evolves it, making it their own.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/19407183″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

St. Lucia will be at the BlackCat this Tuesday, and although the show is sold out, I highly recommend going the extra mile to snag a ticket because from my Q&A with Grobler it sounds like the band is going to BRING. IT.  Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback 1/10-1/12

Prairie Dog Mumu Matryoshka

Let’s be honest, the weather this weekend was pretty crappy but that didn’t stop anyone from getting out there and snapping some photos. And luckily the temps rose enough to make the annual No Pants Metro ride slightly more bearable. At least to the people who roamed around sans trousers. Sunday was also the debut of our newest little snugglebear Bao Bao at the National Zoo. Word on the street is she’s pretty chill so expect to see a lot more photos of her cute pudge in the future. Finally, don’t forget to check ExposedDC on Wednesday to find out who won their annual photo contest. The work is sure to knock your socks off and some of our contributors could very well be in the mix!  Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Late: A Cowboy Song

Olmsted Thomas and Wilmoth Keegan in LATE A COWBOY SONG(L-R: Sarah Olmsted-Thomas and Alyssa Wilmoth-Keegan in No Rules Theatre’s production of Late: A Cowboy Song. Photo: Second Glance Photography)

Despite the title of Sarah Ruhl’s Late: A Cowboy Song, this early work from a quickly rising playwright is about being trapped rather than being late. The show now playing at No Rules Theatre features a heroine Mary (Sarah Olmsted-Thomas) who is trapped in an abusive relationship and day-to-day bustle that is quickly getting away from her to the point where it feels like she’s living from holiday to holiday. Her exasperated observation about the litany of holidays in a year will ring true to you once you sit down and think about it. Her boyfriend/husband Crick (Chris Dinolfo) is trapped in a perpetual man-child state which involves a love for modern art that borders on unhealthy and extremely needy tendencies. Mary’s childhood friend Red (Alyssa Wilmoth-Keegan) found her escape through her life as a cowboy living outside the city setting of Pittsburgh. The show’s eclectic tastes include musical interludes, interpretive dance, and clever use of props. However, despite a captivating exploration of identity, romance, and the idea of the perfect life, Late is a production trapped in its own complexity. Its lack of polish can be attributed to a playwright’s early work.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Proper Pints at Right Proper Brewing Co.

Right Proper, Made in Shaw Paul Allen

This is one of my favorite places to open since I’ve settled in DC. And that’s saying a lot, since DC saw a ton of new spots open in the later half of 2013, most of which are in a one block radius of Right Proper. I first came here on a cold, snowy night for a quick pint before I moved on to my next stop, but ended up spending the rest of the night nerding out over the food and beer menu. Maybe it was the snow or the wind that, somehow, always blew right into my face no matter which direction I headed that made me stay the night, or maybe it was the great wintery beer menu–porters, pale ales, a wee heavy (whatever that is, aside from delicious)–but I’ve clocked a lot of hours on those bar stools since then. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Priests and Potty Mouth @ DC9 — 1/08/14

Nervosas, Pygmy Lush, Priests, Dudes | The Pinch | 12/7/13 andradeXcobain

Okay, Priests, I’m in love with you guys.

I went to DC9 Wednesday night initially to check out Potty Mouth, the four-woman band from central Massachusetts, in a sold-out show as they passed through promoting their first album, Hellbent. Local post-hardcore punks Priests opened for the Potty Mouth ladies, and I was completely blown away.

Let’s start with singer Katie Alice Greer, a young blonde bombshell wrapped in blue velvet. The frontwoman jumped, rolled and screamed her way through 20 minutes of furious condemnations of television, consumerism and relationships. She balanced some tough lyrics with being playful and chatty with the audience. Offstage, she’s composed and curious, making her onstage transformation to a screaming punk banshee all that more startling.

Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Cracker w/ Camper Van Beethoven @ 9:30 Club, 1/11/14

crackerWhen I was an undergrad, “Low” by Cracker was absolutely inescapable on college radio. As a concert newbie, I ended up seeing one of my first shows off-campus during a visit to Salisbury, Md., where some friends and I caught a bill that included Cracker, Gin Blossoms and Spin Doctors (hey, I was young).

But my musical tastes always have run to being a bit more subversive in general. And so I was surprised to learn lately that Cracker’s lead singer founded another, perhaps more subversive, band–Camper Van Beethoven. Vocalist and guitarist David Lowery (who also is a mathematician!) fronts Camper Van Beethoven, as he did before, after and now while also singing in Cracker. And this Saturday at the 9:30 Club, he has the luxury of opening for himself as Camper Van Beethoven takes the stage before Cracker!

In 2013, Camper van Beethoven released a new album, La Costa Perdida, and they are sure to perform new songs like the title track or “Northern California Girls”–an allusion to Cracker’s home as well as the Beach Boys–and some of their classics, like “Take the Skinheads Bowling.” Cracker released their last album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, in 2009, but the band also has been working on new songs. Join me and hear it all in one spot!

Cracker
w/ Camper Van Beethoven
9:30 Club
Saturday, Jan. 11
Doors @6pm
$25
All ages

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Random Street FieldsFoto

Film lovers unite! In the age of digital you don’t often see people out shooting with film cameras. There are only so many shots per roll, the ISO is set, you get either color or black and white, and it has to be developed — no chimping here. It also can be expensive. But there’s something to be said for using film. It can push your creativity and it can challenge you to take more care when crafting an image. Instead of snapping 20 shots of the same thing in the hopes that you get one usable image, you might take only one or two. The color and tonal range of film is something that digital has yet to master. Sure when you scan film for display on a website or online portfolio it loses some of that detail but it can’t be beat when printed in a darkroom and hung on a wall. Jonathan Fields clearly knows how to use film and captured the light coming into the metro entrance so wonderfully. The black is so saturated and the shades of gray run so smoothly together. Add the lovely grain like the cherry on top, sit back and enjoy. Well done, Jonathan.