Category Archives: The Features

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Rascal Flatts w/Little Big Town @ Merriweather 9/2/2012

photo courtesy of Rascal Flatts

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to see country music stars Rascal Flatts, along with Little Big Town and Kristen Kelly at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday, September 2nd! Rascal Flatts are on tour in support of their new album, Changed, which was released in April.

For your chance to win these tickets 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 in 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 at Merriweather Post Pavilion one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.

Rascal Flatts

w/Little Big Town, Kristen Kelly

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Sunday, September 2/5:30pm doors/$45-$75

 

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback – 8/24-8/26

Photo courtesy of ep_jhu
The Bar Is Closed :-(
courtesy of ep_jhu

Well, Friday was the sendoff for our former Weekend Flashback writer, Brian Mosely. He’s headed off on a grand adventure and we’re looking forward to watching. We, and by that I mean I am not looking forward to filling his shoes here. He made this look easy! In his honor I’ve picked a few shots that relate directly to him. Above is the Iron Horse Saloon bar, where his see-ya-later shindig was on Friday. The symbolism is obvious…

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Anthony Lombardo of 1789 (Part II)

 

Reading (more like drooling) through the seasonal menu at 1789, there were at least a dozen dishes I would have loved to make with Chef Lombardo,  like the Duck Confit Strudel with mascarpone cheese, cherry compote and foie gras creme (umm yes, that’s duck, cheese, and foie… all packaged up in a pastry). But we agreed to make something lighter, a dish that us home cooks could take a stab at and hopefully succeed in impressing future dinner guests, because I don’t know about you but I ain’t messing with no home-foie gras. We chose to make the Yellowfin Tuna and Florida citrus salad, a dish that can easily be a starter or a main course, with vibrant colors and clean, fresh flavors.

Being that it was at 1789, I expected  a million techniques and sauces and tricks and expensive ingredients to come together, but the opposite occurred. Simplicity is the name of the game here. The yellowfin tuna is cooked just rare, served warm on a bed of sliced oranges and grapefruit, drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette and topped with a fennel and mache salad. The combination of citrus, crisp, salt, pepper and mixed temperatures makes for a satisfying and beautiful dish.

This year, 1789 is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and as part of that celebration is offering diners an opportunity to have a 5 course meal for $50.00. If there is one thing you have to do right this month, its this. Let Lombardo take care of you, you can thank me later.

Find the recipe after the jump, and bring a little 1789 home.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Anthony Lombardo of 1789 (Part I)

It was a rainy, grey Sunday, which in my book usually means a day spent in bed, catching up on emails while watching some god-awful reality show that makes me question humanity as we know it. But the saving grace this Sunday was Anthony Lombardo, Executive Chef at 1789 Restaurant. He greeted me with a smile and a cup of coffee presented in a large plastic cup, “You gotta drink it like the chefs do” and I happily obliged. And thus, my day as a poser began.

1789 needs little introduction-  it is a Washington DC staple, a Georgetown establishment that has fed Presidents, international Diplomats, celebrities and the like. It is also smack in the middle of one of the youngest areas in town, forming part of the Georgetown University campus. As a Georgetown student I never dined at 1789, rather, our friends would gather down at The Tombs, where beer ran cheap and burgers were substance enough. There’s a beautiful juxtaposition between the two; 1789 and The Tombs. The Tombs is packed with students; the culture hungry, the intellectuals, the dreamers, the young and somewhat restless. 1789, above, is where that Tombs student wants to be one day. Established, powerful, settled, taken care of by world class staff and in a world class setting. The harmonizing link between the two is Chef Lombardo, whose responsibility it is to run 1789 and the Tombs flawlessly.

A year ago, Chef Lombardo was given the position as Executive Chef at 1789 after a grueling interview process. In just two hours the man cooked six dishes- all of which he recounted in exact detail, for a panel of judges. The panel undoubtedly made the right choice, bringing in a chef who is focused on quality ingredients, flawless execution, and flavorful perfection, not to mention with the right leadership and right attitude to lead one of the most important kitchens in the city. In the year Lombardo has been at 1789, the restaurant has had its most successful summer yet, and that’s saying a lot seeing as it has been around for 50 years now. He was given full control, changed the entire menu, introduced new techniques and spruced it all up with a fresh, new attitude.

A young Italian-American kid from Detroit, Lombardo grew up around two things- food and diversity. These two fueled a great culinary journey- for one lends itself well to the other. Lombardo was influenced heavily by his Italian family roots, and by his Middle Eastern migrant surroundings, which taught him understanding and acceptance, and a whole lot of humor. His cooking is undoubtedly American with an Italian undertone, a combination which is equally reflected in his persona. Within minutes of meeting Lombardo you are instantly at ease. He is a far cry from what I expected a chef of his caliber to be like- young and unafraid, welcoming and warm, all at the same time. And the dude knows how to crack a joke probably as well as he knows how to cook.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – Aug 24 to 26

Photo courtesy of Gary Lerude
IMG_1136.JPG
courtesy of Gary Lerude

Rachel: Really looking forward to this weekend. Friday will be a much needed night IN before the rest of the weekend goes down. Saturday will be tail gating at Jiffy Lube Live for the Brad Paisley concert. Needless to say, I’m pretty pumped for that. Then Sunday I’m hitting up the Bud Light Lime Pool Party at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. (PS – Who says Klout isn’t good for anything … ‘cuz my access to this event is strictly due to a Klout perk … LOVE IT!) That’ll be followed by shared bill with fellow DC songwriter Nita Chawla at Bossa Bistro and Lounge in Adams Morgan. Music starts at 8 p.m. We’d love to see you there!

Photo courtesy of pablo.raw
Elephant Walk
courtesy of pablo.raw

Mosley: I’m going to be Mr. Lame this weekend and get the last of my packing down for moving out of my apartment early next week.  But if I had the time, I’d love to take advantage of this awesome late September weather we’re having.  Maybe take a walk to the Arboretum and see the Capitol Columns; or walk up the Rock Creek Park trail; or finally checking out the Boundary Stones.  All things I’ll have to wait for until next week, before I head off on my trip.

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
sweet tooth
courtesy of philliefan99

Nicole: I’m hoping to make my honest weekends a signature thing, so I’ll be straight with you again: I am taking a long weekend, and I am going to spend it studying for the GMAT. Saturday morning will be the highlight – it’s DCPS Beautification Day, and I’ll be volunteering with the Caps at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. But you can’t keep a party girl down! Saturday night I will be hitting it hard, demolishing all challengers at Apples to Apples, Taboo, and a very complicated version of charades I am happy to introduce you to (and subsequently beat you at.)

Photo courtesy of LaTur
refreshing, lemony and…….curiously delicious
courtesy of LaTur

Fedward: We’re taking advantage of the National Building Museum’s late Thursday hours to get ahead of our weekend with some mini golf. Friday night the Social Chair has plans, so I might go console myself at Fiola with one of Jeff Faile’s famous Negroni variants (remember: we knew him when). Saturday we’re babysitting so the Eldest Niece of the Social Chair can have a birthday party. Sunday we’ll finish the weekend with our traditional brunch at the Passenger.

Photo courtesy of meg linehan * part deux
[JUNIPER LANE] IOTA 08 OCT 11
courtesy of meg linehan * part deux

Don: Music, drinks, puppies and code, oh my. I’m starting off the weekend early Friday evening at The Yards to see our own John Athayde in his superhero evening identity as part of Juniper Lane. How many concerts can you take your dog to, after all? Then I’ll bolt down the street to try to join a friend and valued colleague for his going-away shindig. The plans beyond that are sketchy, though they’re going to be heavily biased towards the out-of-doors, given the lovely early fall weather we’re having. Except to the extent that computer obligations will tie me to my laptop. Maybe I’ll find a nice patio…

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with JosaFeen Wells of E.D. Sedgwick and N’Digo Rose & the Nekkid UndastandN

photo courtesy of E.D. Sedgwick

This Saturday sees the convergence of two types of DC music in one place – longtime DC dance-punk favorite E.D. Sedgwick is playing with longtime DC soul favorites N’Digo Rose & the Nekkid UndastandN, at Ras Restaurant & Lounge on Georgia Avenue.

What seems like two groups from divergent genres actually have something in common.  JosaFeen Wells sings for both, and will be performing with both bands Saturday night.  She is also the one who put together the show, through her company Elliott Entertainment and Consulting Group, LLC, in what she hopes will be the first of many affordable showcases for local music.  She calls this go-around “Enter the Artmosphere Vol. I”.

E.D. Sedgwick is a four-piece band led by Dischord and Touch & Go records veteran Justin Moyer, whose previous band Supersystem helped put DC on the dance-punk map back in the Oughts when that music was a big thing in indie-rock-land, alongside acts like the Rapture, !!! and  LCD Soundsystem.   While Moyer has been performing under the E.D. Sedgwick name for many years now, with several CDs under his belt, his sound only in the last few years has taken its current shape, evolving from Moyer alone in the studio and on-stage (in drag with an iPod), to a four-piece, with jagged guitar bursts, rhythmic percussion rounded out by his unique speak/singing vocals and lyrics, interacting tightly with Wells’ up-front gospel/r&b inflected singing.  The E.D. Sedgwick live show is one of the funnest shows you might see in this city.  And it works on their recordings too, as Moyer is a master engineer – the last one, Love Gets Lovelier Every Day is a fine example of the current sound, and the next one, which is coming out in November on Dischord, should be even better.

N’Digo Rose & the Nekkid UndastandN is led by keyboardist/crooner Tony Hicks, whose 70s-influenced soul/R&B was a mainstay in U Street clubs, back when there were more clubs featuring local soul music, like Kaffa House, State of the Union and Metro Cafe.  Hicks’ vocals invoke a classic 70s style – think Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions – but his production is one of headphone-worthy atmospherics and texture.  Throw in a live show that has three backup singers, including Wells, and the house may come down Saturday with something as heart-felt and authentic as you would want from your local soul.

Hicks is reuniting with JoseFeen Wells and his two other singers from that period, Ginger Bleu and Deborah Bond, who is a well-known soloist in her own right.  Bond will be DJ-ing as well on Saturday.

As the organizer and nexus for a show that should be as diverse at it is funky, JosaFeen Wells is proud of her roster for this Saturday’s show, and proud to be singing in both.  Her roots are in the gospel church-singing of her childhood.  She is also a veteran of DC’s Go-Go scene, having performed with Lil Benny and the Go-Go All-Stars, Potential Groovers and Untouch.  She was also in a three-girl singing group that made it to Showtime at the Apollo, and, as Carla Elliott, she recorded vocals for some dance tracks for Rich Morel‘s “Pink Noise” project, that were unreleased.  While she was working as a singer for N’Digo Rose & Nekkid UndastandN, she met Justin Moyer, who was doing work with them as an engineer, and later joined E.D. Sedgwick. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Montgomery County Agricultural Fair - Wave Rider
Montgomery County Agricultural Fair – Wave Rider
courtesy of Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Something a little different today. Glyn Lowe’s photo is more of a painting, with blown out highlights and over saturated colors. While it’s easy to go overboard with both those techniques, she’s able to balance them nicely to create a fascinating stylized image. It looks more like a impressionist painting rather than a modern photograph.

Quick note: this will be my last post for a while. I’m heading off on a mini-sabbatical to Europe for the next few months and won’t be around DC. If you’ve liked my writing, please follow me while I traipse across the Continent; I promise it will be fun, with many, many great photos. And don’t worry DC: I’ll be back (but not in the T-1000 way).

Food and Drink, The Features
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Willow Creek Farm Hosts 10th Annual Slow Food Event

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Clydes willow creek farm dinner august 2012 (2)
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Sure, Clyde’s might be your choice for a fast bite to eat in Georgetown or before a Caps game at the Verizon Center. But out at their Willow Creek Farm, they’ve been slowing things down every year with the Slow Food movement.

Slow Food DC strives to instill a certain way of living and eating in the U.S. that honors cultures, community and “promotes ecologically sound food production,” according to the organization. And to support Slow Food’s mission, Clyde’s has hosted a slow food dinner ever year for the past 10 years. Fresh produce from Clyde’s farm such as fairy tale eggplant, pea shoots, zebra tomatoes and more are featured along with produce from other nearby farms. For a little bit after listening to Slow Food members talk about starting farmers markets or bringing fresh fruits and vegetables into Fairfax County schools, you might forget that you spend most of your days living in a hustling and bustling city.

After the jump, you’ll find photos from the Slow Food DC 10th Annual Farm Dinner. Take a minute this Monday morning to slow down and look through the photo slideshow.
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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 8/17-8/19

Photo courtesy of ameschen
rain delay
courtesy of ameschen

A half and half weekend: half amazingly nice, but still August hot; and the other half rainy, but refreshingly cool.  I told a friend that rainy days in August, like Sunday, are like 50 degree days in January; you enjoy the relief. And besides, from the look of the Flickr pool, the rainy Sunday didn’t put a damper on anyone’s weekend plans. So, without further ado, let’s start off the second to last week of summer with the Weekend Flashback! Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – Aug 17 to 19

Photo courtesy of kimberlyfaye
Run Teddy!
courtesy of kimberlyfaye

It’s the weekend and we couldn’t be happier. Well, if someone cancels Monday, maybe, but for the moment we’ll take em as we get them. That means baseball, booze, and indulging my silly sense of humor about tv character names.

You’ll get it or you won’t. I ain’t claiming it’s genius; I’m just tried of running the came Comet Ping Pong picture over and over again. Take some others and put em in the WLDC Flickr pool, wouldja?

Mosley: Movies and baseball are my plans this weekend. Saturday night is the 500th President’s Race at Nationals Park…oh yeah, and the Nationals are playing the Mets (guess it’s a side show or something). I’m either going to see Teddy’s 500th defeat or his first win, so it should be a banner evening. On the movie front, there are two possibilities at E Street to see a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yeah. And then on Sunday, at the AFI in Silver Spring, is the great Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; I’m always a sucker for the underrated movie in a long running franchise.

Photo courtesy of Don Whiteside
DSC_4407
courtesy of Don Whiteside

Alexia: What else, but a weekend of rock? Friday night heading to Black Cat for a sweet night of indie-rock with Lorelei (their album release party), Deathfix and Sun Wolf! So stoked! Saturday night heading to Comet Ping Pong to see the shoegazer-tinged stylings of Silo Halo, Motion Lines, and Deep Time, and shake it to the soul DJ delights of DJ Names Names (Ian Svenonius). Yeah!

Photo courtesy of Fitsum Belay/iLLIMETER
Brandon Skall
courtesy of Fitsum Belay/iLLIMETER

Tom: Let me entertain you! Actually let me entertain our out of town guest by doing a sweet beer tour of DC. We’re first up at DC Brau on Saturday at midday, sampling some good food and beer, and then touring over to Chocolate City Brewing before we head over to Meridian Pint for more beers. Safe to say I need to get my work in on the trails ahead of that! Sunday I’ll be heading out into the country in search of the best sweet corn and the last beautiful fresh peaches of the long hot summer.

Photo courtesy of MudflapDC
DSC_5496
courtesy of MudflapDC

Nicole: I can’t comprehend how any child of the ’90s could miss the Third Eye Blind concert following Saturday’s Nationals-Mets game, so needless to say, I will be there. I also plan to spend a sizable amount of time this weekend doing the following really cool things that probably will not get my update published on WLDC: helping my friend move into a new apartment in the hopes of earning free pizza, doing an embarrassing amount of planning for my upcoming fantasy football drafts, reading Simon Rich’s Elliot Allagash and Steven Johnson’s The Ghost Map, and listening to the amazing new Pandora station I created based on the Faith Hill-Tim McGraw duet “I Need You” until my roommates beg me to stop.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

Don: Like Tom, we have an out-of-town guest to show around this weekend. We may go a little farther afield, though, and head to the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard. They’re having a dog-focused event, and we either integrate our boy into our weekend plans or we’re only out of the house in four-hour increments. So booze and leash it is… presuming the weather cooperates. Beyond that it’s likely the usual monuments and museums, though it’s always possible we’ll take a few moments to finally catch the Batman movie in IMAX while we’re there…

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: MS MR, Marina and the Diamonds @ 9:30 Club — 8/14/12 (or “You’re Going to Need a Bigger Stage”)

Photo courtesy of laviddichterman
Marina & the Diamonds at Showbox at the Market – Seattle on 2012-07-14 – _DSC5289.NEF
courtesy of laviddichterman

The bigger and better Marina and the Diamonds swept through the 9:30 Club Tuesday night, demanding and pretty much receiving all of the attention she could handle.

But first, Brooklyn-based MS MR opened for Marina at the ridiculously sold-out show. I can remember few times the 9:30 Club seemed more packed.  After doing some research on the opener on the Internet before the show and finding precious little, I confess I was pleasantly surprised with their show. MS MR got a very busy room rocking in preparation for Marina’s performance.

MS MR, whose member names still remain unknown to me, appeared as a quartet with female vocalist, two gents on keyboards and another on drums. For quite a few songs in their eight-song set, one of the keyboardists switches out to a guitar. Some of the band’s favorites, according to a YouTube playlist, include New Order, The Long Blondes, Sufjan Stevens, and Glass Candy — none of which comes as a surprise. However, MS MR themselves are a much more rockin’ affair with their blonde lead singer wiggling and swaying at the microphone, dressed and dancing like a jazz club chanteuse ready to heat things up. Immediately after their set, the fill music included The Supremes and Shania Twain, and I gotta say MS MR definitely takes a big piece of the sound of both and melds them into their own unique synth-driven experience.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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Ticket Giveaway: Funky Fresh Foodie Fest

Like beer? Like food trucks? Then you’ll probably want to get yourself over to the DC Fairgrounds for the DC Funky Fresh Foodie Fest (DCF4) next Saturday, August 25.

From 1 to 9 PM, food trucks including Pepe, Takorean, DC Slices, BBQ Bus, Tapas Truck, Curbside Cupcakes, Rolling Ficelle, DC Empanadas, Fojol Bros., and Pleasant Pops, will be at the DC Fairgrounds along with 10 craft brews. You’ll get to sip the likes of Starr Hill, Goose Island, Old Dominion, Fordham, Shock Top, Widmer, Kona and Devil’s Backbone breweries. The winners of the 1st annual DC Trucky Awards will also be announced that day.

And if you need a break from all that eating and drinking, you can check out some of the bands, outdoor games, Google and Art Whino lounges or the karaoke competition (might need some extra beers to muster up the courage to participate in that).

Tickets to DCF4 are offered in tiers: regular admission for $65, premium for $75 and general admission for $10 with the option to purchase beer and food a la carte. A portion of the proceeds from DCF4 will go to DC Central Kitchen. We’re giving away 5 pairs of general admission tickets, thanks to Wonky Promotions, which will get you:

  • access to the site, entertainment and activities,
  • samples from sponsors, including Honest Tea, IZZE, KIND Healthy Snacks and a special tasting from City Eats and chef Teddy Folkman of Granville Moore’s, and
  • the opportunity to purchase food and drinks a-la-carte from food trucks and breweries.

Here’s how the giveaway works:

For a chance to win tickets, leave a comment on this post using a valid e-mail address between 9 AM and 3 PM today. One entry per e-mail address. We’ll close the comments section at 3 PM and five winners will be randomly selected and notified by e-mail. If you’re chosen as a winner, you must respond to the e-mail within 24 hours or you will forfeit the tickets and we’ll select another winner. The winners will be able to pick up the tickets under their name at will call at the Funky Fresh Foodie Fest.

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Linkin Park @ Jiffy Lube Live, 8/11/12

Admittedly, it had been awhile since I’ve listened to Linkin Park. I definitely liked their older stuff from the albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora but the last time I’d heard their music was on A Thousand Suns and it was…different. And not what I expected.

But I’m always up for photographing a show and when the opportunity came to shoot Linkin Park on the first night of their tour for their new album Living Things this past Saturday at Jiffy Lube Live I thought I’d give them a chance.

MUTEMATH was the opening band, a band that I had known nothing about. Frontman Paul Meany was excellent and I found myself tapping my foot to the beat of their music while snapping photos. A mix of jazz, rock, blues and electronic music they displayed excellent musicianship during their hour-long set. Meany was definitely the highlight of the set as he bounced back and forth between a piano and electronic keyboard between songs. However, their songs started to sound the same after awhile, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they were a great band to open up the night.

MUTEMATH

During the break before Linkin Park took the stage, I took a look around Jiffy Lube Live and the place was pretty packed. Apparently it wasn’t sold out but I don’t see how that was true, seeing as the general admission area behind me was packed with people pressing up against the barricade and I couldn’t see any vacant spots in the seating area. There was definitely a buzz amongst the crowd and several times there were “Link-in Park, Link-in Park” chants.

Finally after a bit of a delay, they came out on stage to the theme song from “Game of Thrones” to a huge ovation and launched into the hip-hop inspired “With You,” off their first album Hybrid Theory. To me, it’s always a good sign when the crowd sings along with the chorus to one of the first songs of the night and that’s exactly what went down here. As a matter of fact, it seems like the crowd sang along for a lot of the night.

Shinoda

“Faint” was the next song and the crowd roared again during the familiar opening. I could hear several people just beyond the barricade trying to keep up with Mike Shinoda’s high speed rap. But for the night, nothing was as thrilling as seeing Chester Bennington lean over the stage and scream into the mic, a long howl which seemingly lasted forever. Getting to snap photos at a rapid pace of that moment was awesome. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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We Love Food: BLT Steak


Courtesy of ThreeLockharts PR

Talk to people who’ve been around this town for a while and you’ll discover that DC used to be a bit of a one-trick pony in the food scene. We had steakhouses. Meat and potatoes was what we did. And though the city’s culinary scene has advanced by leaps and bounds, every now and then it’s nice to go back to those beginnings. And frankly, sometimes you just want a perfectly cooked, big, honkin’ steak. Enter BLT Steak.

The steakhouse down by the White House, which opened its doors in 2006, ushered in a new chef this past spring with the departure of Victor Albisu and the arrival of Jon Mathieson. Though French cuisine might not be the first thing that pops into your head when you think “steakhouse” (unless we’re talking about steak frites), Mathieson has been putting his classic French-training to work on the new menu at BLT. And it suits the restaurant well.
Continue reading →

The Features
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Kickstart DC: Homicide Watch and Bloop

Kickstarter’s a wonderful platform. I love the feeling of finding a good project that helps my community, through art or through service or through just building something amazing. There are two projects that caught my eye this that have DC roots and need your help. First up is Homicide Watch, which is raising $40,000 to build a one-year student reporting lab. 

The work that Chris and Laura Amico have done with Homicide Watch have been nothing short of astounding – and when you think about the void that they’re filling, it’s hard not to get emotional about. The crime reporting that they’re doing at Homicide Watch isn’t something that the local outlets are capable of doing. The service that they are doing is worth your support, and their program to train a whole new generation of crime reporters is a worthy effort. For more, read up on Alex Howard’s profile of Chris Laura.

Backer rewards include digital ebooks of their Year in Review, sponsorship opportunities on the site, lunch with founder Laura Amico, or a guest lecture/teaching spot for their team in your environment.

Homicide Watch has raised $1,920 of $40,000 in the campaign so far.

The second project is a comic book project by local cartoonist Steve Conley. Conley’s resume is fairly impressive, with an Eagle Award, and nominations for the Eisner and Harvey awards. His work in the late 1990s on Astounding Space Thrills is some of the most iconic comic art I’ve seen.

When I talked with Steve today about going the Kickstarter route, his goal is simple: find a receptive audience: “Independent comics creators used to be able to get pre-orders through distributors but as the comics market shrunk and distribution got worse, it became tougher and tougher to determine if a project was worth bringing to market.”

Conley’s modest fundraising goal will cover production of the first run of Bloop in hardcover format instead of its online environment and move to quality paper editions,

Backer rewards include original art from Conley, hardcover copies of Bloop volume one with 100# satin paper, case-bound with foil stamp and a color dust jacket, as well as hilarious retro-futuristic posters from the milieu of the series.

Conley has raised $1,440 of $3,000 in the campaign so far.

Want to tell us about your kickstarter? Submit a tip and reference Kickstart DC!

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Zombies @ The Howard Theatre — 8/9/12 (or “The Zombies, Yes; Apocalypse, No”)

Photo courtesy of Marga M.
Rod Argent
courtesy of Marga M.

When your admirers include Paul Weller, Dave Grohl and The Vaccines, you probably are doing something right.

And so The Zombies unquestionably got something right, capturing lightning in a bottle in their timeless classic “Time of the Season,” off their most famous album, Odessey and Oracle, in 1968 right as they disbanded. The album endured, however, and the band eventually returned to stay with the new century in a lineup that is touring on a new album with a stop at The Howard Theater in DC last Thursday.

The new lineup consists of the core hitmakers Rod Argent on keyboards and Colin Blunstone on lead vocals. The duo were augmented by capable veteran musicians Jim Rodford on bass (well known for his work with The Kinks), his son Steve Rodford on drums, and Tom Toomey on guitar.

In concert, The Zombies of course jammed through a powered up version of their best-known hit “Time of the Season,” which spotlighted Argent’s talent on the keyboards as he took them on a symphonic roller coaster ride in the middle of the song. The band later closed with their other best-known song, “She’s Not There,” a quickly paced rocker’s lament of misplaced love.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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Summer Restaurant Week

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Back Patio at Pound The Hill courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

It’s summa summa time… And the living’s easy. Commute’s are shorter, streets are emptier, and restaurants have open tables, waiting for all you walk-ins. It is also the start of Summer Restaurant Week, in case you needed more motivation to get out, enjoy the weather, and feast with friends.

For the rest of the week, you can enjoy some of the District’s best restaurants at bargain prices. During lunch hours (check the list of participating restaurants to make sure they offer day time deals) $20.12 gets you a 3 course meal, excluding drinks, gratuity and tax. For dinner, it will cost you only $35.12. While the long list of restaurants participating in this year’s Summer Restaurant Week can be overwhelming, some basic rules guide my reserving principles such as when you use the restaurant sanitiser dispenser stand before you eat.

1. Go for the pricey ones. Seriously. An entree at many of these places (think: The Bombay Club, Cafe Milano, Charlie Palmer Steak, Fiola, The Oval Room, Rasika, Tosca) usually goes for no less than $25 bills, so a three course dinner for $35 is a bargain deal.

2. Its summer. Go where the patios are. Some great spots offering summer deals and outdoor seating include Mintwood Place, Bibiana, Birch and Barley, Zaytinya, Floriana,Poste, Neyla.

3. Go explore. Get out of your usually dining zones. Vermillion or The Grille at Morisson House in Alexandria, Trummer’s on Main in Clifton, Tallula in Alexandria, or BlackSalt on MacArthur Blvd.

4. Prolong your deals, expand your tastebuds. Restaurant week isn’t just until Friday. Many restaurants are extending their offer until late August. Here is a handy guide by Dining in DC that tells you who is extending their resto week into a resto month. Your pockets will like it, the waist line maybe not so much.

Photo courtesy of LaTur
Barriga llena, corazón contento courtesy of LaTur

Happy summer, happy stomachs.

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

Hot Ticket: Linkin Park, the Honda Civic Tour @ Jiffy Lube Live, 8/11/2012

photo courtesy of Linkin Park

This post is contributed by our guest writer/photographer Andrew Markowitz.

Formed in 1996, Linkin Park has been producing hit hard rock songs for over a decade.  Easily distinguishable due to their vocal tandem of Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, they have released critically acclaimed albums such as Hybrid Theory and Meteora and sold over 50 million albums worldwide.

Now they bring their eclectic blend of metal and rap to Jiffy Lube Live on Saturday night, touring on the strength of their recently released fifth album “Living Things,” which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts earlier this summer.    This is sure to be one of the hottest shows of the summer and tickets are still on sale.  If you grew up in the late 90’s banging your head to Linkin Park, this is surely a concert you won’t want to miss! Get there early to catch openers Mutemath, who put on a great show.

Linkin Park

w/ Mutemath

Jiffy Lube Live

Saturday, August 11/8pm/$40 & up. Find tickets here!