Category Archives: The Features

These are our features. They come back either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

Hot Ticket: Lovelife, Vacationer @ Living Social, 5/4/13

Lovelife at Bowery Electric, 2012 (courtesy of Lovelife)

Lovelife at Bowery Electric, 2012 (courtesy of Lovelife)

Living Social is kicking off an irregular showcase of emerging artists at its F Street headquarters starting Saturday May 4. Normally, I wouldn’t give it a second look but they managed to get something special for their inaugural date with Lovelife, Ghost Beach and Vacationer — a lineup better suited to the Black Cat or at least the Rock and Roll Hotel.

It’s worth mentioning what Living Social say about Lovelife because it’s not quite right. “After a name change and a transatlantic hop from London to Brooklyn, this synthpop act recently dropped new tracks El Regreso and The Fourth Floor.”

Well, our Atlantic-hopping musicians are well worth checking out. And lead singer Lee Newell was fronting a band called Viva Brother in London. But that band didn’t simply change its name and move. Newell met Ally Young, who at the time was in another band called Mirrors. The two really clicked musically, and Young, a bona fide synth genius, left Mirrors to form Lovelife with Newell.

That was really quite too bad, in my personal opinion, as Mirrors were a great synthpop band in the tradition of The Human League or Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. But Young wanted to do something different, and it perhaps more organic and diverse. Lovelife still have a strong synth strain augmented by the capable guitar and drums of Sam Jackson and drummer Frank Colucci, respectively. But the new band has a taste for soul and R&B that permeate its music. While I wouldn’t call it neosoul by any stretch, it’s at the very least soulful synthpop. And well worth a listen — trust me!

Check out “Your New Beloved” from the latest Lovelife EP:

Vacationer, originally from Philadelphia, also are well worth checking out. They last came through DC and played at the Rock and Roll Hotel in January. Before that, I caught them opening for Walk the Moon in June last year. They play sunny, soulful indie pop that wistfully transports you to distant shores, much as their name Vacationer suggests.

The bands are accompanied by Ghost Beach, who will be performing a DJ set.

Lovelife are predicting this show will sell out, so grab a ticket now and don’t miss out on a good show!

Vacationer
w/ Lovelife and Ghost Beach
Saturday, May 4
Doors 7pm; show 8pm
$12
Living Social
918 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
21+

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends: May 3-5

togetherness philliefan99

Joanna: I’ll be out of town this weekend, but were my friend Christine not getting married to an awesome guy in a cow-themed wedding (sure to be a mooving ceremony), I guess I’d be here. And I’d be attending one of local artist Dana Ellyn’s two opening receptions happening this weekend. I’d also do some massive Embassy touring – part of Passport DC’s signature events. I really hate to be missing that. Last year’s EU tours (coming up May 11) were mostly great, so this time around I was really hoping to tour the rest of the world. Alas, it’s not to be. North Carolina doesn’t count as another country, does it?

Tom: It’s opening weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion, so that means I’ll be up in Columbia getting my metal on this weekend. Because, really, who doesn’t want to see Twisted Sister rock out and relive their best Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure memories? I’m also plotting a trip to see Iron Man 3 this weekend, but struggling with the where. AMC Courthouse doesn’t have it, so I can’t experience the cushy seats, so it’s looking like Hoffman Center if I want to trek to the burbs for IMAX 3D, or Georgetown Loews if I want to deal with being in Georgetown for a couple hours on a Sunday. Either way, it’s a metal nerd weekend.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: The Personals

IMG_9390

Much of No Rule Theatre’s The Personals plays out like a twisted Match.com ad. An early 40-something woman seeks a sweet and honest man. A serious reporter searches for, “an aggressive woman.” Blind man hopes to find a sighted mate. These are not the serendipitous perfect matches portrayed in those online dating commercials. That’s because the dates are part of an on-going role-playing game between a husband and wife who are hoping to repair their broken marriage.

Unable to pick up the pieces after a tragic accident, Don and Janna (Michael Kramer and Anne Kanengeiser) attempt to rekindle their lost love through their fake blind dates. The two go on dates set-up through personal ads in the newspaper. Taking on characters dictated in the personal ads, the two meet in the after hours of the bar where Don serves as both owner and headline entertainer.

The premise equates into a multitude of roles for Kramer and Kanengeiser, who both provide subtle hints of chemistry through their false personas that illustrates the love that once existed in the now vacant marriage. There are quite a few humorous moments, especially through Don’s cheesy magic act, but don’t mistake this for a stage version of Fifty First Dates. The mood is gloomy, a thick fog that separates a husband and wife who hope to find their way by pretending to be somebody else.

Continue reading →

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo

Thor, The Illusive Sand Cat Dan Dan The Binary Man

It’s like Stewie from Family Guy, only if he were a cat! Oh, are you going to try to kill us with a death ray? That’s so cute! Dan got a great shot of Thor, the new Sand Cat at the National Zoo. And Dan is far from a stranger with the creatures there; check out his other outings and get even more photos of fuzzy animals.

No photo lesson today, just cuteness. But I did want to ask: did you know the National Zoo itself has an awesome Flickr page? It makes sense, given what they work with is so photogenic. A quick scan of their photostream comes away with such things as photos of Clouded Leopard, Andean Bear, AND Cheetah cubs, along with two different types of pandas in the snow. And that’s only looking for five minutes! Did I mention they have videos too? There goes your productivity today; you can thank me tomorrow.

Interviews, People, She/He Loves DC, The Features
By

She Loves DC: Marlene Hall

Photo Courtesy of Marlene Hall

Photo Courtesy of Marlene Hall

She/He Loves DC is a series highlighting the people who love this city just as much as we do.

Marlene Hall is a go-getter. She’s someone who faces the adversity life throws and embraces it. Hall grew up an Army brat and has lived all over the world but it’s DC she calls home.

She takes great pride in contributing her time to veteran organizations and causes like Team Red, White, and Blue. She was also a supernumerary in the Washington National Opera’s Carmen with opera singer Denyce Graves. She recently started her own Public Relations company and also works with Viridian Green Energy where she gets people to switch their utilities to green energy.

What is it about DC that makes it home to you?

Well, I’m from here.  I grew up here, my parents grew up here, my relatives are here, so this is home. I love being surrounded by family. I have a strong support network because of my family and friends. I don’t need to get plane tickets for Christmas or Thanksgiving as everyone is here. Everywhere I go, I usually see someone I know.

I also love the military tradition here. My dad and my grandfathers all served here in the area.  One of my grandfathers served in the Old Guard and is buried at Arlington.  I too served in the military and being surrounded by military is always home to me. Continue reading →

We Love Music
By

Noa and the Washington Jewish Music Festival

Noa / courtesy Washington DCJCC Literary, Music & Dance Program 41313114@N08

Sunday kicked off the 14th annual Washington Jewish Music Festival, presented by the Washington DCJCC’s Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts. Israeli icon Noa opened the festival at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center with a performance as versatile as it was contagious, including operatic pop, adapted children’s songs, and tin cans.

Achinoam Nini (Noa)’s Israeli-Yemenite-Bronx sound has become an international sensation. On Sunday night she was backed up by long-time collaborator Gil Dor, The Yoed Nir String Quartet, and Gadi Seri on percussion. The performers used a modest stage of two platforms and some chairs – plus a rug for Noa’s bare feet – to produce a huge sound spanning continents.

Their eclectic collection – including the theme song to Life is Beautiful along with songs from her Yemenite heritage and the Israeli songbook – was a perfect start to what will likely be a wild mix of world music this year. Here are some other events to look out for (see the full schedule here):

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
By

Nats Beat Cincinnati 6-3 For Their Third Consecutive Win

Phillies vs Nationals 8/1/12courtesy of Matthew Straubmuller

Right-handed starting pitcher Dan Haren threw his longest outing of the season Saturday afternoon leading the Washington Nationals to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The game was a much stronger outing than the last time he faced the Reds during the first week of the season. The Nats lost that match-up 15-0, but Haren’s start and Washington’s offense gave the Nats their third consecutive win.

Washington made right-handed pitcher Mike Leake work hard early. After a three up, three down first inning, seven of the Nats’ starting nine faced him in the second while scoring two runs to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends – Apr 26-28

Star and Shamrock Kevin H.

Joanna: With family in town this weekend, a traditional visit to Shelly’s Back Room is in order. And since these Castles are Irish Jews – rare as leprechauns – it’s guaranteed we’ll also stop by Star and Shamrock. If we weren’t doing that Friday, I’d probably check out Dramathon at Theater J, which raises money for The Theatre Lab’s scholarship fund through readings of 10-minute plays by local playwrights. I’m also seeing Mary T. and Lizzie K. at Arena Stage somewhere in there, which the Great Jenn says is a Great Show. On Sunday I’m watching the fab Lauren Boston in Listen to Your Mother at Synetic Theater before heading out to Silver Spring to hear Noa open the Jewish Music Festival. Oy! That’s a lot.

Go Emory! cruffo

Rachel: This weekend is a standard spring weekend for me — music and baseball. Friday night there’s a concert at Ebenezers Coffeehouse that I’d never miss in a million years. My buddies Zia Hassan, Don Kim, and Dave Farah are playing an acoustic show along with Kiirstin Marilyn. They’re all fantastic songwriters in their own right and they all have spectacular voices that’ll leave you wanting more. I strongly recommend this show. If you come, I promise there’ll be free hugs and plenty of laughter! Then, I’ll be heading to Nats Park on Saturday for some day game baseball as the Nats face the Cincinnati Reds before a night in Rosslyn spent celebrating my favorite dog’s (yes, a real dog, I have no shame) birthday party. Afterward, I’m sure the human attendees at that party will end up out and about in the Court House area — most likely at Ragtime or Four Courts. Next up is softball Sunday at Stoddert Field with the GPCSL. Good times indeed.

Grady, right, and Chris Thompson of The Good Guys performing at the 1971 Florida Folk Festival: White Springs, Florida State Library and Archives of Florida

Tom: Weeeeekeeeeeeend! After last week’s successful trip to Chicago, I’m thinking there’s a lot to accomplish here. But first, priorities, and that means the Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival which runs all afternoon & evening on Saturday. There will be pickin’ & chunkin’ and that’s going to be marvelous. Also on the docket is a longer ride through perfect cool morning weather that morning, possibly out the W&OD Trail toward Vienna.  This is also a perfect barbecue weekend, so I’ll be firing up the grill with some deliciousness from various local purveyors.

Continue reading →

Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
By

National Geographic Live – May/June 2013

NGS Picture ID:1034497

The first American team ascends Mount Everest in 1963. (Photo courtesy National Geographic)

National Geographic Live’s spring programming winds down in May with several great events. As usual, our friends at the National Geographic Museum are offering two pairs of tickets to our readers. To be considered for the random drawing, enter your name and which two events you’d most like to see in the comments area. On Tuesday, April 30 at noon we’ll draw two names and get you set up with one of your chosen events. (Note that there are two events listed below that are ineligible for the drawing; the evening with Buzz Aldrin and the Beer Tasting.)

For those unable to attend these great programs, you can now view them online a few days after the live event. All programs are at the Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic Museum on 17 and M Street, NW; parking is free for program attendees after 6 pm.

Isabel Allende: A Portrait in Sepia ($22)
May 1, 7:30 pm
Spend an evening with one of the world’s greatest writers when Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits and most recently Portrait in Sepia, comes to National Geographic. A Chilean author whose books established her as a feminist force in Latin America’s male-dominated literary world, Allende spins stories of family, politics, and human rights that transfix audiences. She’ll converse with National Geographic Traveler’s Don George, editor of the new travel anthology, Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers, which features her work.

Continue reading →

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo

Purgatory OnofreShoots

How a photographer orients their camera can have surprising effects on the finished product of a photograph. That sounds like an obvious statement yet most people never move their photos beyond portrait or landscape compositions. But once one realizes that photographs can be oriented however one wants, a whole new world of art can be opened up.

Let’s take Patrick’s photo above. Rather than simply composing the shot as a regular landscape shot, he set the escalator’s handlebar as the plane of the photo. This small change suddenly makes all the people look as if they are carrying or pulling heavy loads. Combined with the grim black and white treatment, it really does look like they are enduring some sort of punishment. If we imagine what this shot would look like with a typical orientation it would lose much of its interest.

Music, People, She/He Loves DC, The Features
By

He Loves DC: Chris Naoum

Photo Courtesy of Chris Naoum

Photo Courtesy of Chris Naoum

She/He Loves DC is a series highlighting the people who love this city just as much as we do.

If you frequent any of DC’s vast array of performing arts venues then you’ve likely seen Chris Naoum’s face around town before. Since co-founding Listen Local First DC in 2011, Naoum’s spent his time fully immersed in DC’s music scene. With a law background, Naoum specializes in copyright, media and telecom law, and policy. He’s also a staunch advocate for independent musicians, artists, and businesses.

As part of his Listen Local First duties, Naoum helps coordinate, execute, and host events in conjunction with DC businesses and artists. The events range from educational sessions to live shows including the Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival which is happening this weekend.

What is it about DC that makes it home to you?

The people and the feeling of community. DC is a relatively small city. Everybody knows everyone and most people are very friendly. People are also doing really neat things. Whether it’s the start-up tech scene or the people working for non-profits that are trying to better the world, I’m always amazed to find out what people do for a living. Those that do not work in those sectors and work for the government or big firms are still really engaged with their local community and cultural development.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
By

Nats Bats Are Quiet Again, St. Louis Wins 2-0

pitcher of lightcourtesy of philliefan99

For the second time in that many days, the Nationals fell to St. Louis, losing 2-0 Tuesday night, on six strong innings of work from left-handed starting pitcher Ross Detwiler. Detwiler gave up two runs on eight hits, walked two, and struck out two on 93 pitches (60 strikes).

Washington’s defense was the strongest positive worth noting in a game where their bats fell short. In the first five innings, the Nats turned four successful double plays to rob St. Louis of additional runs. But not even spectacular defense from shortstop Ian Desmond, second baseman Danny Espinosa, first baseman Adam LaRoche, catcher Kurt Suzuki, and Detwiler could win them the game. Continue reading →

Get Out & About, The Great Outdoors, Travel
By

The Insider’s Guide: Bear. Church. Rock?

IMG_1321 Max Meltzer

When I’m hit with an urge to get outdoors, you might find me cruising down Route 29 towards Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah is the most extensive wilderness space easily accessible to DC, and encircles almost 200,000 untouched acres of Northern Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

The places that I visit most often in the park are Old Rag Mountain, a challenging day hike with rock scrambling sections and breathtaking summit views, and Skyline Drive, a 105-mile undulating, ridge-hugging highway that’s best to drive in the spring or fall when tree colors are changing. I’m sure I’ll be returning to both spots soon, but on an early spring day I convinced a couple of friends to try a destination we’d never been to before.

We got a late start on the day (as we usually do), and overshot our intended noon departure time by almost an hour, sailing down Constitution Ave heading west out of the city. As anyone familiar with I-66 might expect though, we quickly found ourselves in traffic. How that road has backups on it seven days a week I’ll never understand, but it did eventually ease up and we decided that with the sun staying out well past 7:00, we’d still have time to complete the four hour hike as planned.
Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The Features
By

Dan Haren Looks Stronger, But Nats Fall 3-2 to St. Louis

long drive home
courtesy of philliefan99

Nats starter Dan Haren pitched one of his finer games of the 2013 season on Monday night but Washington fell just shy of a win over their National League foes from St. Louis. The Cardinals one upped the Nats wining 3-2 in the first game of a three game series.

In the clubs’ first match-up since the 2012 postseason, Haren held the Cardinals to six hits and three runs on 98 pitches, 56 for strikes, through five innings plus four batters. He walked three, struck out three, and hit a batter — a play which sparked the rally that won St. Louis the game. Continue reading →

Special Events, We Love Drinks, We Love Music
By

DC Toasts the Black Mixology Club

Dale DeGroff 10 Fedward Potz

At this point you know how we feel about Dale DeGroff, Derek Brown, Garrett Peck, and the Museum of the American Cocktail.  You also know how we like fancy parties with good drinks. So I’ll be brief: all those people (and more) are organizing DC Toasts the Black Mixology Club, a benefit for the Museum, May 10 at the Howard Theatre. The Chuck Brown Band will perform.

The discount for early ticket sales has been extended through tonight. Regular tickets at the early access price are $65; VIP tickets with early admission are $90. For more information, check out the Washingtonian’s Best Bites Blog, this Kojo Nnamdi interview with some of the organizers, or the event’s about us page.

That is all.

Weekend Flashback
By

Weekend Flashback: 4/19-4/21

pastries ekelly80

Nothing happened this weekend. And I think we are all happy about that. I won’t dwell on the nothing happening, so let’s just go straight into the photos. As always, our contributors were out in force the previous three days and have some excellent work to show off. So, put your feet up, continue to ignore that intern who’s trying to quietly get your attention, and enjoy some great photography. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: WLDC 2012-2013 Theater Review

WLDC-Theatre-2-Vid-2_1

Spring is in the air, Cherry Blossoms are coming and going, pesky tourists return to stand on the left side of the escalator.

As the temperature goes up, the DC Theatre season is winding down. With a couple of months to go til we enter the “Summer Reruns”, the We Love DC Theater team got back together at The Passenger to look back at what we said in our earlier preview and how it all shook out.

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends – April 19-21

_TOM3906-HDR tfinzel

Joanna: (Peeking out from behind her door) Are the tourists gone yet? Because I’m thinking of having a picnic this weekend, somewhere near the Tidal Basin. On Saturday Ghion is hosting 12 bands from 2pm to 2am. I’m too old for that, but I might drag my increasingly ancient butt out for an NYC reunion with Emily Danger, which is slated at 11pm and has a really dynamic thing going with the help of my friend Cam on violin. On Sunday I’m seeing Wallenstein at Shakespeare Theater Company and hopefully catching a few zzz’s too.

Rachel: Friday night I’ll be back at Ebenezers Coffeehouse to watch singer-songwriter Grace Pettis and her band rock out. Then Saturday night I’ve got a gig of my own at the DC Arts Center as part of the Capital City Showcase. If you’ve never been, it’s a variety show hosted by DC native Christian Hunt that brings together comedians and musicians for a night of stand-up comedy and original music. Plus — the theater at the DC Arts Center is one of those smaller black box theaters and the acoustics in there are fantastic. I don’t even mic up, I just sing without having to plug in my guitar or anything. It makes for an organic and fun performance. Then Sunday it’s back to Stoddert Field for week three of the GPCSL before the Nats head back into town for a homestand on Monday.

Continue reading →

Fitness District, Fun & Games, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, The Great Outdoors
By

On Running and Falling In Love Again

Chilly Morning Run Karon

I am a runner. It feels a bit weird to say that, because only 8 months ago, I couldn’t even run a mile.

It started last August. I had been a bridesmaid in a wedding for an entire weekend, you know the drill – bridesmaids luncheon, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception. All weekend long I had been wearing the tallest of high heels, and the Sunday after the wedding I set out for a short jog, stepped off a curb and pulled my IT Band. Something about extending it and contracting it, and whatever. It ended in pain. I played tough guy for about a month, but after limping around the office for too long, my boss yelled at me and made me go into the doctor. The doctor prescribed physical therapy and I wound up in the good care of Alyssa White at PhysioTherapy Associates. (She is amazing. So is her colleague Sarah, if you’re looking for a good physical therapist.)

Somewhere in my first few weeks of PT, I got the bright idea that I should enter the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile lottery. Just on a whim. One afternoon at work, I decided that it was a brilliant idea and so I just did it. Everyone asks why, especially when the longest I’d ever run was a 5k, and I had no real explanation.  I wanted a goal. I wanted to show up each week and exercise my discipline. I wanted to do it because I knew I could.

So I set about creating a team of people and DC small businesses who would help, and the first step was Alyssa and getting my ITB back in shape. The second was finding a decent training program.

Continue reading →