Category Archives: The Features

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

Downtown, Entertainment, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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National Geographic Live: Nov/Dec 2012

Photo courtesy of Enzofloyd
Emperador courtesy of Enzofloyd

As the year winds down, so does the Fall National Geographic Live programming. This fall has been packed with great programs and showcases, with still more to come. Thanks to National Geographic once again for offering two pairs of tickets to our readers, providing access to any one of the great programs listed below. To enter, simply put what two programs you’d most like to see in the comment section; make sure you use a valid email address and use your first name. Entries will be taken through Friday noon and winners will be chosen at random and contacted Friday afternoon.

Unless otherwise indicated, all programs are at the Grosvenor Auditorium, located in the National Geographic Museum building at 1600 M Street NW. Parking is free after 6 pm for those attending evening programs.

GUERRILLA GEOGRAPHY ($25)
11/13; 7 pm

Think geography is just reading maps and memorizing names of places? Don’t tell that to Daniel Raven-Ellison. A self-described “guerrilla geographer” and Nat Geo Emerging Explorer, Raven-Ellison believes in encouraging people to experience the world around them in a more meaningful, surprising way, such as taking a photo every eight steps as they travel across the urban landscape. His Mission: Explore books challenge kids to take action to improve their worlds. Come along for the adventure, as this innovative, entertaining educator redefines what you think geography is—and shows how “guerrilla” artists, explorers, gardeners, and others use geography to find solutions. Reception follows. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Shiny Toy Guns @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 11/4/12

Carah Faye and Jeremy Dawson. Copyright and Courtesy, CJ Lucero.

The Shiny Toy Guns rode into DC Sunday night on soaring symphonic sounds and pulsating waves of light that dazzled a sold-out crowd of very enthusiastic admirers at the Rock and Roll Hotel.

Actually, the Shinys literally rode into town in a tour bus dragging a trailer packed full of supplies for victims of Hurricane Sandy in Hoboken, NJ, where they were headed not only to donate those supplies but offer a cadre of fans a lift across the river to a Monday night show in Manhattan. And that’s part of the appeal of this four-member band, which was celebrating the return of original singer Carah Faye Charnow — they are such genuine folks despite their love of glam glitz and big gothy boots.

Carah Faye does more than sing damn well — she trades off on synths and bass with Jeremy Dawson, keyboardist, bassist and all-around mastermind. Carah was away for the band’s second album but now she’s back for their third, III, and the chemistry between her and the rest of the band was superb. Besides jumping onto the keyboards when Dawson rotated off, she meshed very well with her fellow vocalist Chad Petree, who also mesmerizes on the guitar. Drummer Mikey Martin, of course, ably supported all three of his band mates with delightfully glam percussion.

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Sports Fix
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Panthers defeat Redskins 21-13

Photo courtesy of Homer McFanboy
Panthers1
courtesy of Homer McFanboy

Believe it or not there are positives from yesterday’s Redskins 21-13 loss to the Panthers, and they are the same positives the Redskins have had all season. RGIII wasn’t dynamic and didn’t make much of a difference in this one, but that is hard to do when you are on a team that has so many receivers they trust to catch the ball they have resorted to lining up four in the backfield. It is hard to play quarterback when your number one receiver has spent most of the season injured and was recently joined by pass catching tight end Fred Davis. RGIII had a disappointing game, but look at what that is for RGIII.

No touchdowns and no interceptions with 215 yards on 23 of 39 attempts. That is still a 59% completion percentage, and 60% is considered the benchmark for a good quarterback. A down game for RGIII is a good game for all of the quarterbacks the Redskins have had since Brad Johnson left town. Alfred Morris ran for 76 yards on 13 attempts which is good for an average of 5.8 yards an attempt. That isn’t just good. That is otherworldly. The most pleasant surprise this season for Redskins fans has been Alfred Morris.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Drop Home Opener To Celtics

Two years ago the Dougie filled the Verizon Center as John Wall danced his way into DC basketball.

Tonight a more somber tone was in the air as the Washington Wizards made their 2012 debut in the Verizon Center. Instead of dancing, the starting five of Trevor Ariza, Trevor Booker, Emeka Okafor, A.J. Price, and Bradley Beal simply got off the bench and jogged towards the huddle. No nonsense, no pizzazz.

Looking for their first win after an opening season loss in Cleveland, the Wizards had their work cut out for them as they went up against another win-less team in the Boston Celtics.

After falling behind 26-12 in the first quarter, the Wizards managed to catch up and kept it close to the final minutes of the game but ultimately couldn’t catch the Celtics who defeated the Wiz 89-86.

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Sports Fix
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Week Nine Preview: Panthers vs. Redskins

Photo courtesy of PDA.PHOTO
IMG_0714
courtesy of PDA.PHOTO

The big showdown between Cam Newton and RGIII happens this weekend in Landover, Md. Newton and Griffin have often been compared to each other because they are both scrambling quarterbacks that won the Heisman, but after those facts they couldn’t be more different. Newton came into the NFL surrounded by questions about his personality and his mentality while RGIII came in in Subway commercials. Newton is the size of a tree and as easy to tackle while RGIII is a slippery, elusive runner. Cam Newton has a powerful arm, but has trouble with accuracy and has eight interceptions to five touchdowns this season while RGIII rarely turns the ball over and is deadly accurate.

Aside from the battle of the last two Heisman winners this is a game the Redskins have to win. The last time they played an opponent they should beat they got embarrassed by the Rams. They cannot afford the same type of letdown against the 1-6 Panthers. The Panthers have earned that record. They have lost close games to good teams, but they have lost them. Newton turns the ball over too much and their offense in general struggles to put points on the board.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Rebecca Albright of Ted’s Bulletin (Part 2)


Montgomery Pie
Courtesy of Rebecca Albright/Linda Roth Associates

As that chill in the air grows, there’s one thing I’m always up for baking: pie. It’s comforting, rarely complicated and the smell of spiced fillings permeates my apartment with a delightfully sweet scent.

And what better recipe to have as we near the holidays than a recipe for a gingerbread pie. Pastry chef Rebecca Albright of Ted’s Bulletin shares her recipe for Montgomery Pie. Check out the recipe after the jump.
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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Rebecca Albright of Ted’s Bulletin (Part 1)

Rebecca Albright of Ted's Bulletin bonappetitfoodie

Pastry chef Rebecca Albright is swiftly, and perfectly, crimping a pie crust while people pack into Ted’s Bulletin for a post-brunch wave of service on a busy Saturday. While waiting for a table, the pastry station serves as a source of entertainment for patrons who get to peer over the short glass wall at the assembly line of pop tarts, pie crusts being rolled out, and more desserts taking form. For Albright, the bakery window is one of her favorite parts of the job. “You get to interact with guests and get feedback, see their reactions,” she says.

Before she became a pastry whiz, Albright had studied broadcast journalism, though she found herself jumping at the chance to do different catering events and baking wedding cakes for friends during and after college. Towards the end of undergrad, she picked up a minor in food science, knowing that’s where her real passion was. Combine all of that with a natural affinity for baking and memories of growing up baking with her grandmother, it’s no surprise that a career in pastry was on the horizon. For a while, Albright entertained the idea of being a wedding cake designer before ultimately deciding to enroll at L’Academie de Cuisine.
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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Nov 2 – 4

32/365: Gonzo 2/1/2010 @heylovedc

Joanna: I plan to spend most of this weekend working like a madwoman on a website launch scheduled for Election Day. But I’ll definitely take a break to attend the Million Puppet March on the Mall. I was born for this event! Look for me there donning an animal hat and finger puppets. I’d also recommend taking some time this weekend to figure out your ballot. WAMU has a great voter guide that lets you compare candidates (even for school board!) and print out a sample ballot of your choices. And I made some organic gingerbread hot chocolate mix in preparation for Sandy (powdered milk/sugar/cocoa + gingerbread milk chocolate. Mix in coffee grinder.) so when I’m not working you’ll find me downing that and taking a stroll in Capitol Hill to see the few leaves that remain.

How I spent my afternoon... Kevin H.

Don: Like Joanna, I have various work-ish commitments to deal with. In my case it’s finishing up the photo booth configuration for Monday’s We Love DC Hates Cancer event. But I am going to find a little time to head over to the Arlington Central Library on Saturday and hear my old coworker Andy Wenzel talk about the history of the Tropic/Herald/Post Hunt. Sunday we’re going to meet an old friend over at Eastern Market. No blueberry pancakes on Sunday – we’ll be there too late anyway – but Market Lunch will have other treats for us.

Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

Tom: This weekend, I’ll likely be getting election worker training to work as a precinct captain for the city during Tuesday’s general election. In addition, I’ll be joining friends for a home-made meal on Saturday night, as well as jumpstarting my Movember campaign (yes, by the time you read this, I’ll be clean-shaven for the first time in over a decade) to raise money for prostate cancer research. There’s also preparatory work to do related to Monday’s We Love DC Hates Cancer. Should be a great weekend!

Verizon Center BrianMKA

Patrick: Friday marks the beginning of Digital Capital Week, DC’s week-long festival of everything social, digital, and interactive. There’ll be some great parties to kick off the event including the opening bash at Penn Social and a party at Capitale on Saturday night. Saturday I’ll be at the Verizon Center covering the Wizards home opener against the Celtics- tip off is at 7 PM and my prospects on the Wizards aren’t too high. Of course it wouldn’t be a DC weekend without brunch and I’ll be checking out The Pig in Logan circle.

Smucker Farms of Lancaster Co. bonappetitfoodie

Marissa: I had really been embracing my inner-hermit lately, but I’m ready to venture out into the city this weekend. Starting Friday, I’m heading out to Eden Center for the first time, equipped with a list of recommendations from blogger Sylvie Nguyen on the best places to eat at. My friend and I plan on eating our weight in bahn mi, pho and whatever else we can get our hands on. Saturday I plan on checking out the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit down at the National Gallery of Art. And come Sunday maybe I’ll stop by Smucker Farms to pick up some goodies. I early-voted last weekend, but if you haven’t, Saturday’s the last day for early voting in the District, so get your civic duty on.

Marshall Crenshaw at Jammin' Java rpmaxwell

Rachel: Pending my concert buddy gets back from London in time to get me my ticket, I’ll be reuniting with one of my favorite singer-songwriters — Mr. Tony Lucca — at Jammin’ Java on Saturday night. Some of you may know Tony from season two of NBC’s The Voice where he came in third. The man’s a talent and I’m so excited to swoon with the rest of the crowd while he sings. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that will be the highlight of my weekend. Otherwise, I’ll be preparing at the We Love DC Hates Cancer happy hour event that’ll be going down on Monday (11/5). I’ll be performing a few songs along side a pair of fellow D.C. musicians. Let’s make this event a success! Feel free to stop by Pound The Hill between 5 and 9 p.m. We would all love to see you there.

The Passenger 7 maxedaperture

Fedward: Back into the swing of things after our honeymoon in Puerto Rico, the Social Chair and I will be filling our weekend with … theatre and drinking. As usual. Saturday we’re seeing Our Class at Theater J, and Sunday we might squeeze in the matinee of Studio’s Dirt before our standard brunch at the Passenger. This time our weekend extends through Monday, with both the We Love DC Hates Cancer benefit at Pound the Hill and the Passenger’s MurrayAid event. Stenson is a bartender in Seattle, not DC, but his imprint on the global cocktail culture cannot be overstated.

Spiral Karon

Alexia: Tonight I have the honor of playing cello with one of my favorite DC bands, Black Hills at The Phillips Collection for their After 5 party. Tonight’s theme is French Fever, and features artist Xavier Veilhan, who has collaborated with artists such as Air and Sebastien Tellier. At 5:15 I’ll be playing a duo set with Black Hills frontman Aaron Estes, and at 7:15 will be the full Black Hills band along with a string quartet. It is going to be spectacular! Friday night I’m playing with my band The Torches for the Dia de los Muertos party at The Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. Saturday I will be recovering from the awesomeness, though I may crawl over to the Arlington Civitan Flea Market just to poke around. Sunday morning will find me going full-steam again, in the recording studio for another project! If I have an ounce of energy come Sunday night, I’ll head over to Galaxy Hut for their awesome Karaoke, which happens the first Sunday of every month.

The Soul of Ph�.......... LaTur

Jenn: I’m feeling a cold coming on, which is never a good sign for the weekend. So I’m switching to battle mode and visiting Pho Viet, Pho 14, Sakuramen, and Toki Underground. All of them. If they can’t save me, nothing can, and I better get well, because the post-Halloween lull ends very soon! Tonight I’m heading over to Studio Theatre to see “Dirt,” then hitting Bar Pilar for a cocktail to continue the cure (maybe some pumpkin-infused bourbon Vietnamese coffee). I was supposed to be in NYC this weekend, but thanks to Sandy that isn’t happening. The stories I’m hearing from friends and family up north are insane. We’re truly lucky to have been spared the worst.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Conference of the Birds

The cast of The Conference of the Birds at Folger Shakespeare Theatre. Photo credit: Scott Suchman.

How easy it is to drop out of the journey of self-discovery, with all the trials and temptations surrounding us. Yet how rewarding to stay the course. In the 1970s, a visionary director led his company through rural Africa, performing an adaptation of a 12th-century Persian poem about the birds of the world on a quest to find their king. The legacy of his artistic journey is best summed up by The Guardian‘s Michael Billington: “to reinforce the centrality of the shared experience, to clear the stage of clutter and to realise the need for ecstasy.”

His journey transformed theater.

However, I’m not sure how necessary it is to know anything about that director, Peter Brook, before seeing The Conference of the Birds, or even to know anything about the Sufi mystic who wrote the poem, Farid Uddi Attar, whom Rumi considered “the spirit.” Inside all of us is that same desire for total transcendence. Under the helm of director Aaron Posner, Folger Shakespeare Theatre’s production has a gentle, exquisite beauty that is as difficult and rewarding as that journey. It deserves more than one viewing, and will haunt the mind beyond. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: War Horse

Andrew Veenstra (Albert) with Christopher Mai, Derek Stratton, Rob Laqui (Joey) in War Horse / © Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

There are two sides to The Kennedy Center’s War Horse. On one side, we have animals; on the other side, we have people—and by the end of the play, it’s evident the two sides are not equal.

The story surrounds a young man’s journey into the depths of WWI to save his beloved horse Joey, who has fallen behind enemy lines. With puppetry, music, and film, the show portrays the tragedy of war and the horrific treatment of animals during WWI.

Military technology runs down magnificent horses as if they’re just another weapon to be decimated. Both sides of the war use creatures around them as pawns; and even the heroes who want to save the animals feel helpless to do so.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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Surviving Sandy: Foodie Style

We all know what happens when the imminent threat of a natural disaster is on its way. First we panic, turn on every weather channel known to cable, open multiple tabs on our browsers to follow copious storm trackers, have flashbacks of all those natural disaster movies (I’m looking at you Helen Hunt in Twister), and then… well, we hit the grocery store. If you are anything like me, my over-preparedness resulted in two glorious days of browsing recipes, cooking, and baking. I am a cynic by nature (no pun intended) but somehow found myself following the crowd and stalking up on so much food I could have had a neighborhood block party (or four). I felt a need to make- and eat – everything, as if the world actually was going to end tomorrow…

But alas, Sandy spared us some monumental destruction (thank you), except for the few pounds we may have added to the scale (white girl problems), but the forced hibernation was a welcome moment of peace amidst the madness. Something about the sound of heavy wind and rain inspired unplugging and putting hands, and minds, to use elsewhere.

I for one am a huge breakfast person. So staying indoors meant staying in pajamas a little longer, making more breakfast than usual, and planning that night’s lunch or dinner before I even finished my last sip of coffee. One of my favorite comfort foods, which brings me back home to Colombia, is the arepa. For those of you who have never had one, it is a corn-flour tortilla of sorts, similar to a Salvadorean pupusa, which is a vehicle for anything and everything you wish. From avocado and cheese (I go for mozarella or queso fresco), to bacon and other forms of cooked pork (shredded always best), an arepa is a versatile, delicious, comforting staple of Colombian cuisine. Using just cornmeal flour and water, the dough becomes dense and easy to mold, rounded out and grilled on a stovetop. My favorite toppings include butter, melted mozzarella, avocado, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Hitting The Reset Button (Again): The 2012-2013 Washington Wizards Season Preview

Nene Keith Allison

There was at least one expectation that the Washington Wizards met last year.

Thanks to a late season win streak the Washington Professional Basketball Team managed to end the lockout-shortened season with a 20-46 record and  hit the over on Vegas’ line of 19.5 wins for the season. Congrats to those who had a sunny outlook on what became another dismal season for the Wiz.

Tonight the NBA season tips-off and the Wizards will begin their 2012-2013 season against the Cleveland Cavilers in Cleveland. For those that were too busy cheering for the Nats and RGIII, here’s what you need to know as we preview the upcoming season.

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Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features
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America’s Test Kitchen & a Preview of the FOOD exhibit at the Museum of American History

Chris Kimball and Guy Crosby of America's Test Kitchen at the Smithsonian bonappetitfoodie

The bespectacled and beloved Chris Kimball of America’s Test Kitchen, along with the show’s science editor, Guy Crosby, gave a little chat last week in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s preview of an upcoming exhibit, “FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000.”

Among the highlights, Kimball explained that unlike other cooking shows, he embraces showing failure on America’s Test Kitchen in order to remove any fears about cooking. “You never see food shows go, ‘This sucks!'” he said. The mission is often to find out why bad things happen to good recipes, he added. Throughout the presentation, Kimball made the case for why recipes should be tested scientifically and why he chooses to use his head rather than his heart when cooking. Additionally, the duo answered the audience’s cooking questions and dispelled various cooking myths such as searing the meat locks in juices and marinating meat makes it more tender.

After the presentation, we caught a sneak preview of the FOOD exhibit (see a few photos after the jump) that is currently being installed at the National Museum of American History and set to open to the public on November 20th. The 3,800-square-foot exhibit will examine major changes in food production, distribution, preparation and consumption in America from 1950 to 2000.

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Sports Fix
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Steelers defeat Redskins 27-12

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Pierre Garcon
courtesy of Keith Allison

Kai Forbath hasn’t missed a field goal yet in his short NFL career, and that might be the only positive to take from Sunday’s 27-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nearly every aspect of the Redskins looked lackluster at best. The pass rush couldn’t get to Ben Roethlisberger, the secondary could stop the Steelers receivers  and at times it appeared RGIII wasn’t just trying to beat the Steelers but the ineptitude of his own offensive unit. Eight dropped passes is tough to overcome. Especially when the Steelers could seemingly score at will against the beleaguered Redskins defense.

The first drive of the game was a methodical dissection of the Redskins defense by Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The Redskins could do nothing to stop the Steelers from imposing their will on them. Short pass after short pass led to big yards as the Redskins defenders insisted on lazily trying to arm tackle the Steelers strong wide receivers. Third string running back Jonathan Dwyer was able to run the ball down the throat of the Redskins gaining over 100 yards on the day, and Ben Roethlisberger ran the dink and dunk offense of the Steelers to perfection passing for three touchdowns.

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All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Talkin' Transit
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Ax grinding 102: Sparks off the grindstone

Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

I swear I’m done with this metaphor after this.

Senator Durbin has fired back at Parkmobile over their Dodd-Frank posturing. It brings us to a point in the discussion where everyone gets to be right, maybe, depending on what your perspective is.

Durbin accurately states in his letter, below, that the Durbin amendment only addressed debit card fees. He also states, sort-of correctly, that it didn’t cause Parkmobile’s processing fees to rise.

However what Parkmobile originally said was “increased costs triggered by recent federal legislative reform enacted by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s Durbin Amendment.” That triggered by is so ambiguous as to be unassailable, though it’s similarly meaningless when it comes to assigning real blame.

For example: “Dennis the Menace’s mid-grocery meltdown, including wailing and juice-box-throwing, was triggered by his mother demanding that he stop urinating in the cereal aisle.” I don’t think it’s the trigger to blame there; Senator Durbin certainly doesn’t feel his amendment is to blame either.

As I pointed out yesterday, the management staff of Fontinalis probably feels differently about regulation. Founders have worked at Goldman Sachs, UBS, Highbridge Capital, Booth American, and other equity firms. On a whole these are people who aren’t going to be be regulatory fans, and where Durbin points the finger at processing firms for making up lost revenue by jacking up other charges the Fontinalis folks just see the person who originally pushed down on the lump in the waterbed.

Durbin’s letter below the jump.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Oct 26-28

Tom: This weekend, we’ll be hanging out with two newly-married couples, as long as Blizzardcane Sandy doesn’t obliterate the coast. Much love and well-wishes for Jaime & Geoff and Eve & Dave, who are both entering wedded-bliss territory.  Were we staying in, though, I’d likely be carving pumpkins with natitude for the Nationals’ Halloween Contest. I’m also sorely in need of a good zombie drink, so count me in for the Passenger’s Saturday Night Freaky Tiki event or BYT and the Temple of Doom. I haven’t been excited about costume parties since I was in college, but these are two that have me rethinking my weekend choices.  Give ’em a go.
Natalia: In case you didn’t know, I am in love with fall, everything about it is just wonderful. Pumpkins, changing leaves, hues of orange and red, crisp weather, apple cider, bourbon (well that last one goes with any season). So to enjoy my favorite time of year, I get up and get outdoors. Saturday we are headed out to Homestead Farm to pick our own pumpkins. I tend to go on a cooking craze with all things gourd. From carving to roasting to mashing it into a perfect dessert, its versatility mixed with a desire for creativity, makes for a perfect afternoon of cooking, windows open and apple cider sipping. Saturday night, I’ll be headed to a friends birthday dinner at Ethiopic on H – because nothing says Happy Halloween like a bunch of people in costume sharing wat. (right?!). Sunday, a little overdue cultural exploration. I’ve been dying to check out Ai WeiWei’s exhibit at The Hirshhorn, and weather permitting, a picnic on the mall to follow.
Jenn: There are so many parties going on over the next few days – private and public – that I plan to release my inner vampire and sleep during the day. Thursday saw me channeling my other inner vamp – flapper, that is – judging the costume contest at the Woodrow Wilson House’s 1920s Speakeasy bash. With gin cocktails provided by DC’s own New Columbia Distillers and jazz by Laissez Foure, this party to benefit the District’s only presidential museum had  to be fun. Friday’s top party is definitely BYT’s Temple of Doom at the kooky Sphinx Club, with so much mayhem packed in it’ll obliterate you. Saturday will be about private house party-hopping before heading to The Passenger’s always insane Halloween bash. This year the gang creates The Trail of Mahiki, the Hawaiian path to the land of the dead, and that means Tiki drinks, roast pig, human sacrifice, and zombies! After all that, I’ll need some art – seeing Folger Theatre perform an adaptation of the beautiful Sufi poem, The Conference of the Birds, on Sunday night. Maybe if my vampire strategy works, that will be followed by a visit to Tropicalia to dance to the Balkan beats of Raya Brass Band, with Gogol Bordello’s Thomas Gobena DJ-ing. What an endurance test!
Alexia: What I want to do this weekend: Friday: Omaha’s The Mynabirds (so good) open the night tonight at Black Cat, the headliner is AC Newman from The New Pornographers. (Check out my interview with Mynabirds front-woman Laura Burhenn, and with current guitarist J. Tom Hnatow!) Across town at Comet Ping Pong check out the indie-rock grooviness of Deathfix (featuring Brendan Canty of Fugazi and Richard Morel), as well as another Dischord band Soccer Team, and Berlin’s Fenster. Saturday: From noon til five there’s what sounds to be a kick-ass Punk Rock Flea Market at St. Stephen’s church on 16th & Newton, NW, hosted by Positive Force DC. In addition to cool vendors there are also bands playing from 3-5, including local favorites of mine weirdo-electro-rockers Heavy Breathing. Saturday night I’ve got invites to a couple awesome sounding Halloween house parties, one which features live bands. If you’re into the goth scene, or just feel like going there ’cause it’s Halloween, goth dance night Midnight will be hosting their 10th annual Halloween party at The Meeting Place, complete with costume contest, candy, cake…creepiness?  9pm, $5. What I’ll probably do this weekend: Practice every waking moment for my upcoming show with Black Hills at The Phillips Collection on November 1st, and my show with The Torches for the Dia de los Muertos party at The Torpedo Factory on November 2nd. 
YouTube Preview Image
Don: With the uncertain weather it may be a call to do some indoor close-to-home drinking. Where that is may be up for grabs and I might be tempted out by the call of the Tiki Gods. After all, the birds sing and the flowers bloom in the Tiki (Tiki Tiki) Room. I was all set to hit up the Ai Weiwei exhibit that Natalia mentioned until I heard they wouldn’t be restaging the above video.
Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Saint Etienne @ U Street Music Hall — 10/25/12 (or “Hey, NYC! I’ve Got Your Music!”)

saint etienne SPNR

Hey, NYC. This is your little brother DC talking. I’m not one to talk trash much (particularly when it comes to concerts), but I’m going to talk a little trash to you. You see, we just hosted a once-in-a-decade event at a cool little joint we have here called U Street Music Hall. The show was none other than Saint Etienne, the amazing disco/house band from London.

We sold that out and it was all kinds of amazing. (At least I think we sold it out, Mr. Eastman?) I see they are playing at Webster Hall tonight and somehow there are still tickets available. Now I know you get bands like Pulp and New Order up there and you know how to treat them right, right? Then, don’t miss out on Saint Etienne!

Let me tell you what you would be missing.

Sarah Cracknell (vocals), Bob Stanley (synths) and Pete Wiggs (more synths) are simply the smartest, lushest Eurodance band ever to hit the stage. Let me not fail to mention their capable fourth touring member — Debsey Wykes, formerly of UK post-punk band the Dolly Mixture, on backup vocals and cowbell! Now, Saint Etienne are indeed English, so they are a bit proper — and Cracknell, bless her, seemed earnestly embarrassed by the adulation she and her bandmates received at U Hall, as we fondly call it. But they earned every moment of frenzied screaming throughout their 17-song set.

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Sports Fix
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Week Eight Preview: Redskins at Steelers

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall
Ben Roethlisberger
courtesy of Jeffrey Beall

The Steelers vs. the Redskins is always an interesting match-up. Not because the talent on the field in recent seasons has been comparable or even all that close, but because no two franchises are more opposite. Since Chuck Noll took over the Steeler in 1969 they have had three coaches. The Redskins on the other hand have been a revolving door and while the Steelers stand as the model of consistency and patience. The Redskins are the model of inconsistency and overreaction.

It is a different era now. RGIII has been nothing short of dynamic. His mere presence on the Redskins have given them a chance to win every football game this season. The Steelers want to be the first to put a true beat down on RGIII and the Redskins. With Fred Davis now out for the season and Pierre Garcon possibly headed that way the number of targets RGIII has to throw to are dwindling. In recent weeks Santana Moss has stepped up and looked like the receiver he was when the Redskins first acquired him. A quarterback as accurate as RGIII rarely lacks targets.

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News, Talkin' Transit
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Ax grinding 101: Parkmobile goes full Dodd-Frank

Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

DCist and GGW have both weighed in on today’s Parkmobile email blaming an increase in their service costs on Dodd-Frank. If you’re scratching your head about what a law largely addressing Wall Street behavior has to do with your parking meters then you’re a pretty reasonable person.

Here’s the answer as it’s grounded in reality, though you need to follow a chain of events: one of the few Dodd-Frank aspects that came close to directly impacting consumers was an extension of authority to the Federal Reserve to make sure that credit card swipe fees were “reasonable.” The swipe fee is the base charge the merchant pays when you buy something by credit or debit card – you swipe and the merchant pays a base processing fee plus a percentage of the purchase.

If you’re buying a flat-screen tv then the percentage, called a discount rate and usually in the 2% range, is the big chunk. If you’re selling gum or slurpees, however, then the approximately $0.30 swipe fee is the big deal. But you as a merchant suck it up and accept it because consumers are paying more and more with plastic even while the credit card companies spend millions to run commercial that portray people paying with cash as slow line-clogging buffoons.

However one thing that has stuck in a lot of people’s craws for a long time was the banks continuing to charge swipe fees on debit card purchases that were just as high as the credit cards. They felt that since the bank had instant access to the consumer’s balance and were at a lower risk for fraudulent charges that they should see some decrease in their side of the equation too. Card processors said no thanks, we kinda like this billions-a-year with low-risk thing.

Schumer’s Durbin’s amendment was just one more salvo in this war which has included lawsuits and other sabre-rattling. The Fed was now in the business of setting a price and they settled on around $0.21 though there’s some additional complexity.

The common-sense reaction to this, then, would be “then why didn’t my Parkmobile costs go DOWN?” Well, because debit cards aren’t the only part of the equation. The banks liked their profit margins, so when that revenue stream dried up they took two actions – they cut back on debit card rewards programs and they raised prices in some other areas… including costs related to charge cards.

You can argue whether or not it’s a good thing that those other areas had been cheaper when money was being made off the debit card users. Certainly if your style of credit use meant you are now paying more then it seems like not such a great move. But the bottom line is this: Parkmobile is raising costs because, presumably, the bottom line went up.

So if you get to here and ask “then why didn’t Parkmobile just say that the fee was going up because credit card processing costs were going up rather than mentioning Dodd-Frank?” Well, that’s where the ax grinding part comes in. When you’re a company under a larger umbrella that works in areas of “product management, domestic and cross-border expansion, government relations and the capital market” and your founding partners have been in bed with Goldman Sachs and other private equity firms… then maybe you’ve got larger feelings about financial regulation than just what a credit card charge costs. So why not stir the pot and point some fingers at something you’re not all that fond of anyway?

UPDATE 26 October 4:23p – I mistakenly identified this as an amendment to Dodd-Frank originated by Schumer; that’s incorrect, it was Durbin.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Psychedelic Furs w/ Lemonheads and The Chevin @ The Howard Theatre — 10/22/12

The Psychedelic Furs Man Alive!

Brothers Richard and Tim Butler have such a strong love of performance that it’s not hard to see why they keep touring the Psychedelic Furs despite the band’s last album dropping in 1991.

To be fair, the Psychedelic Furs went through an intensively creative period in the first half of the ’80s, putting out timeless post-punk gems like “Love My Way,” “Heaven” and of course “Pretty in Pink.” When the Furs tour, they hit those highlights as well as “Heartbreak Beat” and “Highwire Days” naturally. Richard Butler, theatric and emotive, sings with his whole body, literally walking the audience through the songs on occasion. Bass player Tim Butler, silent in shades, stands behind his famously emotive brother, looking like the muscle in the room suggesting, “Yeah, you better listen to what he said.”

And what Richard says, or sings rather, is a well-loved catalog of songs about heartache and cynicism all delivered softly, lyrically and passionately. The Furs have a new song, “Little Miss World,” which fits in smartly with their better-known older songs. My personal favorite “All of This and Nothing” gave us a sharp saxophone solo from Mars Williams, who brilliantly solves the challenge of being in a six member group by taking a break from the stage when he’s not needed there. But the band and singer come together very well and Butler’s message to an ex-lover, “you didn’t leave me anything that I can understand,” always hits me in the gut. The Furs still sound great live and they perform well, easily justifying their longevity.

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