Category Archives: The Features

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

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo

All in a Day's Work dcemmy

“Cookie cutter” can be a critique with modern architecture; truth be told, I think it can be rather boring to look at. But repetition can also make a fascinating photo when done correctly. Take Emily’s photo here. Catching this apartment building at just the right spot created a series of eye catching repeating of windows and balconies. In fact, there is next to no variation. Removing the color from the shot adds to effect, forcing the viewer to look for variation, and finding none. Truly fascinating.

Sports Fix
By

Capitals drop home opener to Jets 4-1

Skates
Skates by yostinator

Every year since 2000, the Capitals have carried their home opener with a victory. Every year until 2013. The Capitals looked ragged and rusty on Tuesday night against the Jets of Winnipeg, and showed that a team that’s only been together a week is going to have some weaknesses that have yet to be purged by the fire of training and hard work.

In a lockout-shortened season, with a new head coach, and a whole new system, the Capitals looked more like a practice squad on Tuesday against the Jets. With two days to recover after a 6-3 loss to the Lightning on Sunday, the Caps had hoped to rebound better. The team looked listless and lost at times, and at least one forward found his playing time limited in the face of criticism from his coach: “I didn’t think he was skating.”

It’s a difficult position to be in, with a drastically shorter run-up to the season than in past years, but the Capitals will have to rally to put themselves together ahead of the rest of the short season. It’s one thing to drop a couple to start an 82-game season, but with just 46 games left, it’s dropping a couple mid-season and looking rusty.

The veteran presence on the DC lines will have to show some spark in the coming games if the Caps will want to succeed this season. There’s something missing, and while conditioning seems part of it, these are professional athletes and conditioning ought to be their bread and butter. At some point, it has to come down to chemistry, and Adam Oates has to show us: is he the master alchemist? Can he make sense of his talent and build it into a cohesive whole? Those are hard questions in a short season, and the Caps appear to be stunted by the short run-up to the season.

Also, before you point to the net as the problem here, as much as Holtby has appeared the human sieve, if you’re not even going to try to stop the cross into the slot, you really can’t blame the goalie. Look for Neuvy to get some playing time soon, but there is much to be desired from the blue line boys in the early offing.

Entertainment, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Special Events, The Features
By

The Inaugural Parade: Photos, Drinks, and Empty Metro Cars

2013 Presidential Inauguration dmbosstone

Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.

Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.

Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Moby (DJ Set) @ U Street Music Hall — 1/19/13

Moby performs in Biarritz, France, in 2011 pelukxs

Four years ago, Moby teamed up with DC staple Will Eastman to perform put on a DJ show at the 9:30 Club in honor of President Obama’s first inauguration. It ran late into the night, but the power went out on the block sometime around 1:30am, shutting everything down for about an hour.

For a bit, Moby tried to gamely improvise by turning a trash can into a drum. The effort sort of fizzled out after a manic 15 minutes or so. As We Love DC reported at the time, “many left dejected and impatient before…the power restoration.” (I too was there and about half the room departed.) But once more space opened up, the remaining people really cut loose with some dancing.

So it was something of a logistical success for Eastman to bring Moby back in a much more intimate venue at U Street Music Hall this past Saturday. Everything ran like clockwork and the sold-out show offered plenty of comfortable elbowroom for people to mill about and check out the scene.

Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
By

Weekend Flashback: 1/18-1/21

U.S. President Barack Obama - Michelle Obama - 2013 Presidential Inauguration Day Glyn Lowe Photoworks

As America’s greatest fake president liked to say: “What’s next?” The Inauguration has happened; the Parade has been walked (a little less by some public servants. I’m looking at you, Mr. President! Just couldn’t make those three blocks between 12th & 15th Streets, hmm?); and the Balls have been danced away. Now, we work; luckily only for four days. So if your morning drink isn’t getting you over your Inauguration withdrawal, take a look at some pics from this past weekend. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends: Jan 18-21

Standing at attention afagen

The long weekend is almost here, though if you were planning on spending your Monday off out and about in the city, well…. The best inauguration advice we could come up with in discussions about it was this: Walk. And plan to walk. And be sure you’re ready to walk.

Tom: I am so ready for a weekend. Unfortunately, this one looks like it’s fully booked already! Saturday morning, I’ll be hitting up the Hyattsville Busboys & Poets for their awesome breakfast (poached eggs over Iraqi hash? Yeah, I’m down.), plus I’ll be preparing for one last Inauguration supply run before all the streets close. Fortunately, there’s a lot of places staying open til 4am this weekend, so I shouldn’t hurt for socialization or company.  Sunday is the christening of our friend’s oldest, so we’ll be off to the wilds of Falls Church where I will hopefully not burst into flames when I set foot inside a church.

Yule Log Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Mosley: My Saturday plans have been sidetracked by family/friend obligations, but if I had the day to myself, I’d be getting out and doing stuff.  On Saturday, I’d go to the Leica DC store for the lecture by photographer Craig Semetko; as I said in my post, it looks fascinating.  Sunday is looking like a generally quiet day, which is good because I’m still considering going downtown for the Inauguration on Monday.  I got some good photos of Obama’s first swearing in, and I’d like to do it again.  Considering there have only been 57 Inaugurations, this is quite the event.

Army brass philliefan99

Patrick: My Inaugural weekend starts Friday with some more Oscar watching. It’s going to be between Lincoln or The Hobbit. Both will be good yet terribly long. There won’t be a whole lot gym time this long weekend so I’m going to fit my fitness in on Saturday morning with a trip around Glover Park. Saturday night I will be reviewing the latest show at The Source: Constellation Theatre’s Zorro. After the show I’ll be out on U-Street where at some point I’ll make a stop at the Codmother for some pickleback shots. Sunday will all be about football and I’ll be rooting for my team at a place away from all the Inaugural craziness (that’s for Monday.) As for Inauguration Day, I’ll be covering a couple of events for We Love DC including the Inaugural Parade and the Native Nations Inaugural Ball. Photos and recap to come after!

YouTube Preview Image

Don: My weekend is full of things you probably aren’t invited to, sorry. Baby shower “Sip and see” to show off the kid, dinner with my visiting parents who will largely ignore us and pay attention to their new grandchild, that sort of thing. Monday we’ll cower in our home to avoid the kerfuffle going on downtown and the ensuing transit nightmares, looking hopefully but likely unsuccessfully out the window for some snowflakes to satisfy my Miami-based mother. Along the way it’ll be pretty pedestrian locals stuff. Maybe try out the lobster roll at Liberty Tree – I love a deal – and make another trip to Union Market when they’re not annoyingly 90% closed, despite claims to the contrary. Sadly my parents aren’t big cocktail drinkers so we’ll have to skip being the people with the baby in a bar yet again for Sunday’s Passenger brunch.

2013 Presidential Inauguration Day- Preparation - Freedom Plaza Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Fedward:  Four years ago it was so cold, and the flood of people shown on TV exiting L’Enfant Plaza was so intense, that I made some cocoa and stayed in my pajamas, watching the inauguration on TV.  In the afternoon the Social Chair and I rallied and took a bus downtown to see how close we could get to the parade route.  One thing led to another and we found ourselves at the gates at 15th & New York Ave, with a view of the stands in front of the White House.  I approached a guard and said, “I’ve heard that in previous years you’ve just started letting people in. Is that going to happen this year?”  He looked at his watch, looked at the people hanging out on New York Avenue, turned around to look at the stands, and said, “sure, come on on in.”  A few minutes later they started rounding up everyone and telling them to go in.  It worked out well for us.  This year it probably won’t be quite as cold, but we don’t have to worry about the parade.  We’ve got tickets to the ball.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Morrissey @ Strathmore Music Center — 1/16/13 (or “Moz Not Moz”)

Morrissey, courtesy Morrissey

Morrissey, courtesy Morrissey

Some fans of Morrissey have a problem letting the man grow old. Certain blogs will heap upon their readers pictures of him from 25 years ago with his shirt open and flowers sticking out of his pockets. And even the most conscientious Morrissey fan will at some point in the conversation wistfully say, “I really looooooove The Smiths,” as if the powerful but fitful start of Morrissey’s music career was all there really ever was of it.

In a way, these fans can be forgiven. In his appearance at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Md., Wednesday night, Morrissey opened his show with “Shoplifters of the World Unite” and closed it on “How Soon Is Now?” He played several other songs by The Smiths along the way in the 20-song set. But make no mistake — this is not the Morrissey that folks have under glass, frozen in their minds. He’s older, wiser, and dare I say, happier?

I’ve seen Moz in concert a whopping eight times in the past five years thanks to the charming Yasmin, who hooks me into following him around on short arcs when he’s in the area. Although it was more obvious in his performances of four years ago, it still seems plain as day to me that Morrissey is much more content and confident, as a person and an artist, than he was earlier in his career — at the time when people would freeze him for posterity. And it’s quite becoming, I would say. The older Morrissey is eloquent and erudite. His passion for causes really flares up only in his ongoing partnership with PETA, where he protests the eating of animals as cruel, particularly in an elaborately staged rendition of “Meat is Murder.” (Sorry, Steve, but I’m going to eat chickens no matter how many times you show me a video of their admittedly terrible treatment at the hands of some farmers.) But outside of his vegetarian activism, Morrissey seems to know when enough is enough.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

A Thank You to Michael Morse

RAD_1549 Tony DeFilippo

This evening, it has been widely reported that Michael Morse has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for prospects A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen and a player to be named later in a three team that also featured the Oakland Athletics.

This deal had likely been in the works since the Nationals completed the contract for Adam LaRoche. With LaRoche re-signing, the opportunity for Morse to play every day was largely gone, as the set outfield of Harper/Span/Werth didn’t have a place for Morse that would give him the playing time that he deserves.

Before he goes, though, I need to tell you what he meant to me as a Nationals fan.

Michael Morse was involved in my two favorite moments of the 2012 season, both of which I observed as a fan from the stands (or in front of the TV), and not as a credentialed blogger.  The first was the phantom grand slam from September, which saw Morse hit a long ball off the second wall at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, which caromed back onto the field. With the bases loaded, they threw the ball back in and tagged out Morse on his way back to first as the runners were forced back into position.

On review, the umpires declared the ball a home run, but, as they wanted to make sure everyone touched ’em all, Morse took a phantom swing – no bat in his hands – to start the whole play anew and set the runners in motion so they didn’t pass one another on the base paths. Instant classic there as Morse stood with Yadier Molina as the umpires waited to set things in motion.

The second was probably the best moment of the regular season: As the Nationals were playing the Phillies on October 1st at Nationals Park, the team clinched the Playoffs with a Braves loss in the middle of the 9th inning. After a pause to celebrate, Michael Morse stepped into the batters’ box as the PA played A-Ha’s Take on Me, his signature late-innings walk-up music. As had been the case for most of 2012, and much of 2011, the crowd joined in the chorus. It was one of the most joyous moments I’ve seen at Nationals Park, or since baseball returned to the Nation’s Capital.

There was, in that song, whenever it was played, something that belonged just to Washington sports – just to the Nationals – that wasn’t something that was transplanted or orchestrated or outright stolen.

It was ours.

Morse, in so many ways, represented the built-up strength of the Nationals. He was a misfit from the Seattle organization. A talented player who needed a place that could work with his skills, and that was definitely the Nationals. While he wasn’t a defensive wunderkind the way someone like Ryan Zimmerman or Bryce Harper was, he did have that offensive spark that just came to life in the humid summer on the shores of the Potomac.

Morse embodied the moxie  that the Nationals built. His confident approach at the plate paid off through 2011 (.303/.360/.550) and 2012 (.291/.321/.470), in which he combined for 49 HRs and 157 RBI, and won the hearts of Nationals fans across the city. There was much lamentation, first when the Nationals re-signed LaRoche (and started this process), and then again when the trade was reported tonight, that losing Morse was losing a piece of the Nationals’ soul.

In many ways, those feelings are ones that I share. I understand why it was necessary, and why the roster is stronger now than it ever has been.

But it doesn’t mean I have to like seeing Morse go.

Thank you, Beast, for living as this city’s baseball swagger, for being the heart of the 2012 Nationals, and most of all for teaching this city how to hit the high notes, all together.

Here’s hoping we get to sing A-Ha again for you soon.

The Features
By

President sides with the District

the number of "The Beast"

An announcement came late in the afternoon that the White House would, at least as far as the license plates on the President’s limousine, take up the cause of Statehood for the District of Columbia, and put the tags that read “Taxation Without Representation” on the Presidential limousine. Nicknamed “The Beast,” President Obama’s Cadillac limousine will sport tags carrying the District’s unofficial official motto instead of the old “A Capital City” plates that were used by the Bush Administration and the first Obama Administration.

President Obama will be the second president to use the license plate to advocate for DC statehood: briefly in 2000 before he left office, President Clinton added the Taxation Without Representation plates to his road transport instead of the “Celebrate & Discover” tagline. The plates were removed when President Bush took office in 2001.

Last week, the DC Council sent representatives to the White House (Mary Cheh, Ward 3, and Phil Mendelson, Chair) to lobby the Intergovernmental Affairs office. At the end of the meeting, both remarked that the meeting had been productive, but produced no specific results. Today those results were more specific. In addition, local advocacy group DC Vote managed to garner more than 3,500 signatures on the White House petition website to push the President.  While that total fell radically short of the 25,000 necessary to be issued a response by the White House.

As it turns out, DC got a small victory despite the small turnout. Look for this to raise discussion points across the US that the city remains the only part of the country that pays Federal taxes but has no congressional representation. Didn’t know that? Tell your friends and family.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Midge Ure @ World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, Pa. — 1/10/13

Here and Now Tour 2011 135 v2 Andrew_D_Hurley

Midge Ure perhaps is more famous in the United States for being behind the scenes — helping to organize Live Aid and to write “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, the perennial holiday song aimed at famine relief in Africa.

But the Scot has a robust singing career in the United Kingdom and recently reunited with the band Ultravox, which put out a brilliant new album, titled Brilliant, last year.

As a likely precursor to an Ultravox tour of the United States, Ure is conducting a solo tour right now, performing both solo songs and some classic Ultravox tunes, in a 16-date tour of the United States and Canada. Tonight, he performs a second show in Toronto before hitting Cleveland Wednesday. (The closest he got to DC was Philadelphia, where this reporter traveled to see him last Thursday.)

Continue reading →

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo

Playing with light streams on walk home tonight wolfkann

Time lapse videos have always fascinated me, particularly the ones showing traffic (like this one). These types of videos give the impression of incredible speed, even if the cars aren’t going that fast. To capture the essence of a time lapse video in one still photo is easier than you think; generally all you need is a decent camera, a tripod, and some traffic. But it’s also almost impossible to know exactly what you’re going to get. With long exposures you generally have to open the shutter and then figure out what photo you took. To get an interesting photo that’s more than just lines, you have to get lucky.

Take Kevin’s photo above. First there is the standard white/yellow colored headlights from oncoming traffic, giving the sense of movement. But what is that blur of multi-color in the middle? It’s a bus, with it’s front displays causing that play of light. Notice how the greenish-yellow coloring slowly fades as the position of the bus changes, relative to the camera. It’s the same with the red highlight lights, where they suddenly come into existence and just as suddenly stop. I can bet Kevin didn’t know exactly what he was going to get when that bus showed up along Pennsylvania Ave, but I’m also sure he wanted it in this shot.

Sports Fix
By

Capitals Release Tickets, Start Fan Appreciation Week

Rock the Red theqspeaks

Late Saturday night, while the whole city was having a good long party, hockey returned to the District of Columbia. The Caps released their short 48-game schedule – games played in just 98 days – and announced that the team would be holding events leading up to the home opener on the 22nd.

Included in the events the team announced – events the team needs to hold to win back even just the homeliest sliver of good will from a fanbase abused by the lockout – are an open practice on the 17th with free concessions (excluding alcohol), and giveaways at WashingtonCaps.com. These are but the least of the Caps worries at the moment as they face a whirlwind of travel this season, as well as a division stacked with talent.

They begin home play at Verizon Center on January 22nd, and single game tickets went on sale today ahead of the short 24-game home season. Some highlights if you want a great matchup: Superbowl Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, March 5th against the Boston Bruins, or back-to-back games against the conference champs in late February. For those wanting blowouts, the Leafs are through in February and April, and I would grab both games.

Early news from the Caps has been good, but with some question marks. Specifically, there are concerns around the health of Alternate Captain Brooks Laich, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury of an undisclosed nature. Also in question is Nick Backstrom, who sustained what appears to be a neck injury during KHL play. Both could miss playing time, but much is still unknown about both situations.

Weekend Flashback
By

Weekend Flashback: 1/11-1/13

stay to the right philliefan99

This weekend can be summed up in one word: fog. I have a couple of adjectives I’d like to use it as well, which can also describe some of the weathermen who mis-predicted this weather; but I consider you to be polite company and will not offend you with what I want to say. All I know is, we were promised a spring-like day and now I want my spring-like day!

Anyways, it’s the week before a long weekend, so we need to just muscle through it. Remember, we have a big party next Monday, where we have a new second-termer coming back into office. So, to help with the warm-up, and to help you get into the mood for the week, take a look back at our disappointing weekend in beautiful photos! Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: The Last Liberation Dance Party — 1/18/13

Matt Dunn occasionally gets old school at Liberation Dance Party furcafe

I was sad to learn recently that DC9 will end its weekly Liberation Dance Party, the premiere indie pop dancehall experience in DC, on Friday, Jan. 18.

Not only has Liberation kept up with the best mix of britpop, glam, new wave, post-punk, dreampop, shoegaze, house, nu disco, hip hop, grime, sheer guilty pleasures, and more since its inception in 2004, it has done so as a video party. For me, the resulting effect has been very similar to a modern equivalent of taking mid-1980s MTV, cutting any of the soft rock crap, and making a party out of it in your favorite third space.

I’m not instantly comfortably anywhere, but I was always at home at Liberation Dance Party, cloaked in the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, Hot Chip, The Sounds, The Killers, and some occasional New Order. I was introduced to new favorites like Dragonette and Goldfrapp. I learned to love Kylie almost as much as Bill Spieler, the host with the most. (Thank you, Bill, for bringing the party for so many years.) VJ Matt Dunn dependably brought David Bowie with him every time and VJ Shannon Stewart played Lady Gaga until Bill got sick of her and banned her from the club (Gaga, that is, not Shannon!).

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, The District, The Features, We Love Music
By

Q&A with Ugly Purple Sweater

Ugly Purple Sweater

Ugly Purple Sweater is a indie-pop-folk group based in DC. Founded by Sam McCormally (vocals, guitar, & more)  and Rachel Lord (vocals, banjo, melodica, & more) in 2008, the band now includes Will McKindley-Ward on electric guitar, Rishi Chakrabarty on bass, and Mike Tasevoli on drums. Ugly Purple Sweater mixes mesmerizing guitar and banjo (and a bunch of other instruments) with beautiful soaring vocal melodies and dulcet harmonies. Their songs often blend darkness with light, minor keys and longing juxtaposed with a bright beat and jubilant vocals. Singer Sam Cormally’s clarion voice has a purity and depth at times reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright. Check out the video for their song “DC USA“, the title track from their brand new EP. Ugly Purple Sweater celebrates the release of said EP, DC USA at Black Cat this Saturday, January 12th, along with Kingsley Flood and Kindlewood!

This week We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman had a chance to ask Sam McCormally some questions, and here’s what he had to say.

Alexia: How did you first start playing music?

Sam: I personally started playing and writing music when I was really little. I remember when I was about 8 starting to write songs, but having literally no idea how the music I heard on the radio was made. I had a little cassette tape boombox (remember that?) with a microphone, and I would set it up on top of my bureau and record myself singing and strumming guitar. I had a fantasy that I would slip the tape into my friend’s older sister’s tape player so she’d think it was the radio, and that way I could tell what she really thought of it.

Ugly Purple Sweater started 2008, when I surreptitiously intercepted an invitation for one of my other bands to play at a Barack Obama fundraiser. I had been writing some songs and posting them on MySpace (remember that?), and I thought it’d be fun to try them out. Rachel sat in on a couple of songs with me, and those were by far the most popular, so we started playing together all the time.

Alexia: What song or artist or album first made you fall in love with rock music?

Sam: Will (who plays electric guitar in the band) says his first rock and roll love was Jimi Hendrix. I wish I were as cool as that. My first exposure to pop music (and I’m using the “big tent” meaning of the phrase) were my dad’s Simon and Garfunkel tapes. But the first record I ever got excited about all by myself was TLC’s Crazy Sexy Cool. I loved that album so much that I actually recited, in front of my entire 4th glad class, the rap in the middle of “Waterfalls.” I still kinda like that song, but needless to say it was not a canonical performance. Continue reading →

capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
By

Oh Look, an Apology (Sort of)

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Ted Leonsis
courtesy of Keith Allison

Oh look, Ted apologized.

Two things. First, where was this on Sunday? Why wasn’t this the email sent out? Not that this is all that much better, mind. (I’m bemused by the fact it’s actually entitled “A Note of Apology and Empathy.”)

Second, I find it interesting it comes out in the wake of other team notifications regarding some of the promos offered and first steps being taken to rebuild burned (nuked?) bridges. I’ve got to say, the timing on this is just…really, really poor.

I think what really irritates me most is this particular statement in Leonsis’ post:

It is now incumbent upon us to be a first-class partner not only with our players but also with our fans. It is time to move forward in the best way we can, together.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but why is it only now ‘they’ (I’m assuming the ownership group) recognize the necessity to partner with the fans? It’s a little late for that light bulb illumination. This tidbit of revelation would’ve been better served coming any day prior to September 15, 2012…

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends: Jan 11 — 14

Turkey Run Trail Markers christaki

Katie: Nothing makes me giddy like nice weather, which means you’ll find me OUTSIDE! Friday night I’ve got wine club, so I need to find a cozy red to take with me. I’ve heard good things about Arrowine, so I might try and head there to pick up something to share. Saturday I’m thinking about hiking at Turkey Run or heading out to Mount Vernon. Sunday, my mentee from the College Bound program asked if we could bake cupcakes together, and who am I to say no to that? We’ll probably go to Hills Kitchen first to scout out cute cupcake liners and get appropriate sprinkles.

Mosley: I’m not exactly prizing my weekends right now. That’s probably because they’re seven days a week for me. But I think I can come up with something. First, I just got a book that’s been 28 years in the making, over 15 of which I’ve been reading them: A Memory of Light, last book of the Wheel of Time series. I’ve never finished reading a fantasy series that’s so long, and I expect to be addicted to this for the next week (think reading Harry Potter, only infinitely better). Lastly, Sunday I have a friends birthday brunch at the Blue Duck Tavern.

Three Different Views on Art Kevin H.

Jenn: In anticipation of what will be a brutal next week, I’m in need of some serious serenity this weekend. As the weather will be a bit mild, I think I’ll indulge in some long strolls through my city to start — my favorites include the lovely stretch of Q Street from Logan to Dupont, or the majestic 16th Street from U to downtown, or hell, just wing it and see what new corners I can find. There might be a visit to the venerable Second Story Books, to spend several hours browsing dusty bookcases. Perhaps the mesmerizing Rothko Room at the Phillips will do the trick, or the Roads of Arabia at the Freer.  Of course there’s also sybaritic serenity: a massage at Celadon, dinner at the bar at Mintwood Place, rum cocktails at Hogo… and whatever form the search for peace takes this weekend, it’ll also include catching up with dear friends. 

Tom: After last weekend’s jaunt to Boston, I’m ready to be back in the DC Groove this weekend, and boy is that weather forecast helping matters. Warm weather?! In January?! Sign me up! Time to get my bike off the trainer and back on the streets! Also look for me on Friday night at Doctor Who Happy Hour at the Black Cat for their showing of Fear Her, which takes place during the London games. I’m also in a mood to head down to the SW Waterfront to check out the site for a notional Half Street Market, something along the lines of Union Market but for the SW Waterfront. My beloved 49ers play this weekend also, so I was giving some serious thought to extra wings at Boundary Stone and some brews during the game.

Black Peep afagen

Addison: It’s getting to that point in the year where my sports addiction just can’t be sustained. With the Redskins out of the playoffs, no hockey yet, college basketball just starting conference play, and baseball and MLS still a ways off (no, I’m not even going to mention the Wizards), I’m forced to seek other forms of entertainment, and actually get some culture or something. There’s some great art going on, between the final weekend for Carol Goldberg’s sculptures and paintings at Addison/Ripley, the opening of the Nam June Paik retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the arrival of Michelangelo’s David-Apollo at the National Gallery of Art. As a new Alexandria resident, I’m slowly working my way through the myraid restaurant offerings, and one I especially want to try is the new Virtue Feed and Grain, for some Irish-inspired American “pub grub.” The weather is supposed to be spring-like both days, so hopefully lots of time outside with the pup, and maybe a walk over to Del Ray to grab some breakfast at one of my favorite spots, Mancini’s.

Natalia: After a nice, and oh so very necessary, couple of days away from the District for some Holiday R&R, I am looking forward to a weekend back in my city of friends. A lot of food happenings went down while I was gone too, so catching up with the new while revisiting some of my classic hang outs. Friday night, I am headed to Hogo, after reading a nice little preview on it, and always interested in what the guys behind the Passenger are up to. Saturday, a day trip with friends will take us to Woodberry Kitchen, which was on the must list for the end of 2012, but we never made it. Saturday nights with two bdays, too much food and many glasses of wine later, I will take it easy Sunday, stroll the farmers market, maybe head to Big Bear Cafe or Boundary Stone, and at night head to The Howard Theater, for a show to take me back to the island life, by The Wailers.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
By

The Winning Ticket: Datsik @930 Club, 1/13/2013

 

Today We Love DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see Datsik at the 930 Club on Sunday, January 13th! Datsik brings his dark, dirty dubstep to the club with his “Firepower Reloaded” tour. Tickets can be purchased for the show online through Ticketfly, the 930 club website, or in person at the 930 club box office.

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address until 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.

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 will-call window of the 930 Club 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.

Comment away!

Sports Fix
By

Nationals finalize LaRoche deal for 2 years

Adam LaRoche Keith Allison

Adam LaRoche will be a National again. After a long period of negotiations between LaRoche and Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, the two came to an agreement midday on Tuesday for LaRoche to remain at first base for the next two years. This news was first reported by the Post’s Adam Kilgore on Twitter. The Nationals had been holding the line for a two-year deal, while LaRoche had been pushing for a three-year deal. 

The move will likely force the Nationals to trade popular 1B/OF Michael Morse, whose iconic late-inning walkup music was the single most unique stadium tradition of the young franchise. Morse lost his outfield spot to the newly acquired Denard Span, who will likely takeover CF duties, moving Bryce Harper to LF. With LaRoche playing at 1B, there is no place for Morse in the starting lineup.

According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, LaRoche is in Kansas City today for the physical.

No word yet on the terms of the deal beyond its length.

Business and Money, capitals hockey, Downtown, Penn Quarter, Sports Fix, The Features
By

Hockey’s Back – Should We Care?

Photo courtesy of deejayqueue
Empty Verizon Center
courtesy of deejayqueue

In case you missed it among the news of yet another Washington sports team’s playoff collapse, the NHL lockout is over. Which means the Capitals will soon be plying their trade at the Verizon Center.

We’ve had a few people ask over the last few months why we’ve not posted any lockout news here on WeLoveDC. It’s a reasonable question, considering we’ve been covering the Caps pretty solidly since our site debut. But we’ll be honest: we just didn’t feel like it.

On Sunday, messages from various teams around the NHL hit fan inboxes. Around here, the missive from Caps (and Wizards) owner Ted Leonsis sparked a flurry of conversation between Tom, Addison, and myself. Rather than keep it to ourselves, we felt it only right to vent our collective frustration here. After the jump, we break our silence and share our thoughts on the lockout, the league, the Caps’ coming season…and what it means to be a hockey fan in a crumbling hockey town.

Continue reading →