Category Archives: The Features

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

Entertainment, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: The Threepenny Opera

Polly Peachum (Erin Driscoll) and Lucy Brown (Rick Hammerly) vie for the love of Macheath in “The Threepenny Opera,” now playing at Signature Theatre through June 1, 2014. Photo by Margot Schulman.

Polly Peachum (Erin Driscoll) and Lucy Brown (Rick Hammerly) vie for the love of Macheath in “The Threepenny Opera,” now playing at Signature Theatre through June 1, 2014. Photo by Margot Schulman.

Meh. That’s the best way to describe Signature Theatre’s production of The Threepenny Opera. But I can’t blame them for it. After all, it was written to be that way. Sort of.

Playwright Bertolt Brecht, who lived in Germany through the mid 20th century, believed that theatre was meant to be a forum for political ideas, in the hopes that it would result in actual social and bureaucratic change. Most notably authoring plays such as The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Mother Courage and Her Children, he is also credited with establishing the genre of Epic Theatre, of which almost all his plays, including The Threepenny Opera, are a part of.

Epic Theatre is based on the idea that a play should not create any type of emotional cartharsis or cause the spectator to identify emotionally at all with the characters or action on stage. By denying the audience any type of impassioned feeling, he believed it would instead allow them to adopt a critical socio-political view designed to provoke self-reflection and be moved to effect real change in the world.

Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Moogfest Pt. 1 (Asheville, NC–4/23/14)

Thundercat DJs the roof of the Aloft Hotel (Photo courtesy Moogfest)

Thundercat DJs the roof of the Aloft Hotel (Photo courtesy Moogfest)

I’ve always said that, compared to New York, D.C. is a small, sleepy Southern city. It was interesting then last week to somewhat put my money where my mouth is, and go to Asheville, N.C., a truly small Southern city, to attend Moogfest, the annual festival dedicated to the sounds of the synthesizer, and Moog devices in particular.

For five days, the city of Asheville is anything but sleepy, however, as visitors and residents alike rise at 9 a.m. for lectures, insights, demonstrations, presentations and performances, only to stay out until 2 a.m. every night, dancing their hearts out to the likes of Flying Lotus and Dan Deacon.

For my part, I arrived on Wednesday, April 23, the first day, and journeyed to city center, the location of the Aloft Hotel, a Moogfest sponsor. The hotel hosted the Moogfest Urban Art Installation Activation, a gallery featuring 10 large-scale installations designed to enhance the experience of an audience by engaging multimedia and multi-sensory experiences of sound, structure, light and form.

I headed to the roof for an opening party DJ’ed by Thundercat, a recording artist on Brainfeeder who played at our own U Street Music Hall as recently as last Nov. 26.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Roark Throws A Complete Game Shutout, Nats Beat Padres 4-0

Photo courtesy of evegophotos
Argyle Field
courtesy of evegophotos

Washington Nationals right-handed starting pitcher Tanner Roark notched a career-first on Saturday afternoon when he threw a  three-hit complete game shutout to beat the San Diego Padres 4-0. Roark threw 105 pitches and 73 strikes while walking one batter and striking out eight as he led the Nats to their second win of the three game series.

An early offensive rally for Washington against the Padres’ right-handed pitcher Andrew Cashner initiated the eventual win by putting the Nats up 3-0 in the first inning. After a leadoff fly out to right field hit by outfielder Denard Span, the next four Nats batters reached base.

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends – April 25-27

Nats homey wfyurasko

Tom: The perfect weather is here!!! With a weekend of sunny-and-70, it’s time to take that perfect bike trailer out on the town with Charlie in tow. The Nats have a homestand coming to a close against the Padres, and there’s a bike valet down there, which is great. Yards Park has Crawfish for Cancer on Saturday afternoon too, which has me thinking that heading down there, and then to Bluejacket for some of their tasty beverages. I’ve also been dying to get back down to the Anacostia trail to go sit in the parks at Poplar Point. Bring me your sunshine, DC!

Mic stands are the bane of concert photographers everywhere Don Whiteside

Rachel: I’m kicking off this weekend by living out a long-time dream of mine. I’m shooting the official music video for the first single off my brand new EP due out later this year. My buddy Don Kim and I are gonna team up on this effort to shoot a video that I feel will be an accurate representation of where I am at this point in my life. We’ll shoot during the day on Friday and then catch some footage at my Friday night show at Ebenezers Coffeehouse too. The always wonderful Zia Hassan and Phillip Noss will be co-headlining the night along with yours truly so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fun and memorable night. Then, Saturday will be a day at the ballpark as the Nats take on the Padres in an early afternoon match-up. I’ll likely wrap the weekend with a location search for my next weekly video. Good times ahead! Bring on that warm weather!

Union Market Grand Opening (42 of 43) caroline.angelo

Don: Well the weather is great so of course there’s indoor activities I’ve been interested in for months now. The USA Science and Engineering Festival is this Saturday and Sunday, though some affiliated stuff (like SparkFun’s Robot programming session!) started Thursday. We’ll move our staring at the boob tube outside though and go sit in the picnic area at Union Market to watch Frozen. Since I couldn’t convince any of our heretic visitors to go with me to see the Nats face the Cards last weekend I’m hoping we can drag That Darned Toddler along for his first game since he was a hint smaller. Saturday’s supposed to be a hint warmer but with both games at 1pm and his cheapskate father liking to sit in the unshaded outfield I don’t think it’ll be a problem either day.

magnolia & Archives ekelly80

Rebecca: I’ve been up enjoying the spring weather in NYC all this week, so it’ll be great to be back home for the weekend weather. Friday I’ll head to the Verizon Center to cheer on the Wizards in their first playoff game against the Chicago Bulls. Saturday I’ll be gardening it up with some friends, after which we will all chill out at The Lot @ Union Kitchen for solid food, beer and music. Sunday it’s soccer, farmers markets, yoga and a sunset beer in the garden with friends.

Franciscan Monestary, snow on statue number7cloud

Fedward:  Friday night might see us at Union Market with Don.  Saturday, uh: anybody figured out how to be multiple places at once?  We’ve got friends coming in from out of town to go to the USA Science and Engineering Festival (which Don also mentioned) and see TMBG in the process (which he didn’t), but I also need to go to the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild’s annual plant sale (mentioned last week) and the Friends of the Soldiers Home fundraiser at Annie’s.  Saturday night I’ll take those out of town friends back to the Passenger, which they enjoyed on their last visit.  Sunday morning we’ll have brunch at Petworth Citizen before they head back out of town, and I’ll probably complete my weekend with … another visit to the Passenger for another brunch.  Or maybe I’ll just try to work on the garden.

Where is the circus ? LaTur

Esther:  Once a year, Georgetown transports itself to Paris for the Georgetown French Market, complete with street performers, French food, and shopping.  So that’s where you’ll find me on Saturday afternoon.  Saturday night, I’m continuing to immerse myself in the French culture and I will be at the Avalon Theatre, on Connecticut Avenue NW for the DC Filmfest showing of Mood Indigo, directed by the innovative Michel Gondry.   Sunday, I’m ditching the Francophile in me and turning my attention to the archaeologist in me, visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History’s Fossil Hall, before it closes Sunday for an extensive 5-year renovation. Always one of my favorite exhibit’s, once it closes, seems like the only skeletons in DC for the next 5 years will be the ones in the closets of Congress.

Sports Fix
By

Former Nat Xavier Nady Lifts Padres over Nats in Extras

The Padres 4-3 twelve inning victory over the Nationals Thursday night ended in fitting fashion. Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the twelfth with a double. The Nats needed him to score in order to tie the game, but the Nationals had been unable to muster a single hit with runners in scoring position all evening, and they had plenty of opportunity with 16 hits and all. There Bryce Harper stood with the few fans left in the stands hoping the Nationals fortunes would change, but it was not to be as Jose Lobaton hit a liner that seemed ticketed for left field and a tie game, but Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera drifted back, caught the ball, and doubled Harper off second.

It was another frustrating night for the Nationals, and another game in which they did more to beat themselves than the other team. As anyone how many runs a team should score when they have sixteen hits in a ball game and it is doubtful their answer would be three, but that is what the Nationals scored. The Nationals offense is off to a good start to the season in most major category except they lead the NL in runners left on base and have trouble getting hits with runners in scoring position.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Nats Rally in the Ninth to Beat Los Angeles 5-4

Photo courtesy of dmbosstone
Nationals Walk-Off Win Vs. Mets
courtesy of dmbosstone

The Washington Nationals were left with two outs and down 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels when Wednesday night’s game took a positive turn. The Nats ended up beating the Angels 5-4 thanks to a walk-off RBI-single hit by first baseman Adam LaRoche sending outfielder Jayson Werth home as the go-ahead run.

Given how the rest of the night (and the series) went for Washington, that ninth inning was the turnaround they desperately needed to avoid a three-game sweep.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Pujols Hits 500, Nats Fall to Angels

This was Albert Pujols night. In the first inning Taylor Jordan gave up a chalk line double to JB Schuck followed by an Anthony Rendon error on a Mike Trout ground ball. To the plate stepped Albert Pujols and after one swing he was one home run away from the magic number of 500 and the Nats were down 3-0. Taylor Jordan would allow one more run before the inning was over and would push the Nats total of first inning runs allowed to 25.

Of those 25 first inning runs 11 have been given up by Taylor Jordan who now looks like the pitcher who will be leaving town when Doug Fister returns to the rotation. Earlier today Fister threw his second simulated game and is scheduled for a rehab start in Potomac on Sunday. It isn’t an accident that he lines up with Taylor Jordan’s spot in the rotation and the Nats could use him back as soon as possible.

Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Boy George @ 9:30 Club — 4/21/14

Boy George Live Concert @ Ancienne Belgique Bruxelles-4938 Kmeron

As Boy George covered a song by Yoko Ono, “Death of Samantha,” in the first song of his encore Monday night at the 9:30 Club, two gents broke out in dramatic dance in front of the coffee bar upstairs. They, like much of the audience at the sold-out show, had giddily enjoyed the entertainment and could no longer hide it. So they seized what opportunity they could to throw themselves into it.

Similar sentiments broke out around the club as Boy George received a hero’s welcome from a diverse crowd of young and old, gay and straight, black and white. Concert-goers expressed their enthusiasm in generally raucous cheer, happy to receive the maverick performer who clearly had been missing from the United States for far too long.

George, for his part, was a professional and gracious performer. At a point about two-thirds through the main set, he attempted to engage audience enthusiasm for an acoustic cover of “It Ain’t Me Babe” by Bob Dylan. After realizing that the dance-hungry crowd wasn’t going to focus enough for the quiet hush of the song, George merely used it as an interlude to segue into other songs from his new album, This Is What I Do, and the new material was very well received by those looking for more of what they expected from the former Culture Club frontman.

That’s not to say Boy George has become a one-trick pony at this point in his career. He wasn’t afraid to go glam or even country from song to song. His voice these days has a husky sweetness that suits the older George, a little weathered, a little wiser. And he used it well in the reggae-flavored dance tunes that dominated most of his set.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Special Events, The Features
By

A 2014 Helen Hayes Awards (Drama Prom) Diary

Helen Hayes Awards 2014

Last night marked the 30th anniversary of the Helen Hayes Awards, and theatreWashington spared no expense in creating a blow-out bash. The annual celebration of Washington DC Theatre, aka Drama Prom, sported a new format and venue. Moving from the Warner Theatre to the National Building Museum gave the awards ceremony a much more casual feel as patrons mingled about throughout the three-act show. Victor Shargai received the Helen Hayes Tribute and Woolly Mammoth’s Stupid Fucking Bird, Ford & Signature’s Hello Dolly!, and Olney Theatre Center’s A Chorus Line went home with Best Resident Play and Musical honors.

However if you want a complete list of the winners you can find those here. Instead I offer you a tradition now four years running: my complete breakdown of my day (and night) with Helen (and others).

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Clippard Implodes, Nats Fall 4-2 to Angels

Photo courtesy of MudflapDC
36
courtesy of MudflapDC

A game that was well-within the Washington Nationals’ grasp got away from them on Monday night during an eighth inning implosion from right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard allowing the Los Angeles Angels to win 4-2 in D.C.

Clippard’s 2/3 innings of work resulted in three hits, a walk, a strike out, and four unearned runs. Manager Matt Williams emphasized that he thinks Clippard is making quality pitches but he hasn’t found much consistency with his fast ball and couldn’t find his change-up either. Williams is confident that Clippard is still the Nats’ eighth inning man but with more outings like Monday night’s he’ll really have to start to find some consistency if possible. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features
By

Five Awesome Things About Awesome Con

01-R2A major science-fiction and comic book convention came to the Washington Convention Center over the weekend in the form of Awesome Con, which boasted about 40,000 attendees, according to reports.

The second-ever Awesome Con grew quickly with the help of a Kickstarter campaign and thus offered enough, perhaps barely enough, spectacle and content to fill an exhibit hall and related rooms dedicated to panel discussions during its three-day run from Friday, April 18, through Sunday, April 20.

And so here are in our opinion five things that helped make Awesome Con pretty awesome.

Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
By

Weekend Flashback: 4/18-4/20

Untitled LaTur

It’s Monday again but that’s okay. There are worse things in life than “suffering” through another Monday; unrelenting tooth pain for one (ask me how I know…). We’re still looking for a few good writers to help out with our photo posts and if you think you’re up to the task don’t hesitate to drop us a line. We’re waiting to hear from YOU! And with that you are now free to enjoy the Weekend Flashback at your leisure. Happy Monday! Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Nats Beat The Cardinals 3-1 in a Friday Night Pitching Duel

Photo courtesy of ekelly80
perfect night for a game
courtesy of ekelly80

The Washington Nationals secured a much needed 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Friday night thanks to a strong pitching performance from left-handed starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez and a few timely hits. The night’s victory helped snap the 8-0 losing skid between Washington and St. Louis, which dates back to 2012.

Gonzalez threw 101 pitches and 65 strikes against St. Louis over seven innings. The Cardinals managed four hits, one run, and a walk against the lefty but Gonzalez fought back with seven strike outs on the night. That strong outing was exactly what the Nats needed in order to fend off a hot-hitting and defensively sound Cardinals squad.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Nats Get Shut Out 0-8 By The Cardinals and Wainwright

Photo courtesy of MudflapDC
DSC_8044
courtesy of MudflapDC

The Washington Nationals’ struggles against top-tier teams in 2014 continued on Thursday night with a 0-8 loss at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. Right-handed pitcher Adam Wainwright held the Nats to just two hits in the complete game shutout at Nationals Park.

Washington’s right-handed starter Taylor Jordan had a shaky first inning which did not increase the Nats’ odds of finally beating a team they’ve dropped seven consecutive games to (eight counting last night). Jordan lasted five and a third innings and gave up seven hits and seven runs (five earned), walked two, struck out four, and hit a batter on 96 pitches (61 strikes).

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends – April 18-20

102/365 ekelly80

Fedward: After last week’s movie-and-grill-a-palooza we’ve got another packed weekend coming up.  In theatre, there’s Arguendo at Woolly Mammoth, and Moth at Studio Theatre 2ndstage. Saturday is Customer Appreciation Day at Ace Photo, and I’ve been itching for a camera upgrade. We also need to start prepping our garden this weekend for the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild annual plant sale next weekend (if you go this weekend it’ll be pretty, I’m sure, because it always is, but there won’t be anything for sale). And then Sunday, it’s over the river we go to see Don, his Darling Wife, and That Darn Toddler for Easter dinner.

Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

Esther:  In honor of Thomas Jefferson, who would have celebrated his 271st birthday this week, I’m spending my weekend honoring the man who did a bunch of important stuff for the country, including inventing the swivel chair. Starting Friday night by unwinding from the week, I’m going to hit Quill, the upscale bar located in the Jefferson Hotel at 16th and M St NW in DC, where specialty cocktails are the order of the night.  Saturday, I will enjoy the last vestiges of the cherry blossoms on the Tidal Basin and visit Mr. Jefferson himself at his memorial, which celebrates its 70th birthday this year.  Saturday night, I’ll be at the rooftop bar and lounge at the Graham Georgetown, since it’s located on Thomas Jefferson St NW and has an amazing view of the Potomac.  And Sunday, brunch will be had at one of Thom’s former hangouts, Gadsby’s Tavern in Old Town Alexandria.  I’m sure Thomas Jefferson couldn’t envision a better birthday weekend.

Eggs jsprig

Tom: This weekend we’re cleaning up the neighborhood, starting with 12th St NE. BNCA is doing a cleanup starting at 12th and Newton from 10a-12p followed by margaritas at San Antonio Bar & Grill. After that, it’s flyering for the Great Brookland Yard Sale in May. After that it’s time to roll down to Nats Park for their weekend series against the Cardinals.

Easter Egg Hunt 2 UrsulaAntares

Don: I’m defying the expectations of all the “mundanes” in my life and NOT going to AwesomeCon  Apparently I’m cheaper than I am nerdy, and most of the appeal to me would be wandering the vendor floor. And paying an admission fee to be allowed to pay more money for things offends my sensibilities. If I didn’t have to work the day away in the code mines I might go watch the Guinness attempt by the Capitol Reflecting Pool at noon Friday, though, since the price – free – is right. I’m skeptical they’ll get more than 1,500 people in costume but I would think once you break a few hundred you’ve got something worth seeing. Beyond that we’ve got some family in town to meet That Darned Toddler for the first time, but I’m hoping they’d be interested in some cheap seats at Nats Stadium for Saturday or Sunday’s afternoon games.

Easter Sunday. April 6, 1947. St. Andrews Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Rebecca:  Friday evening I’ll be over at Union Market for their first Drive-In movie of the season, National Lampoon’s Vacation.  Saturday morning I’ll be back there to drop off some old electronics as part of Earth Day. The drop off event goes from 10am-4pm. Sunday, it’s Easter so to celebrate Lent ending I’ll be slow cooking the most delicious pot roast imaginable which I’ll pick up from Smith Family Farms at the Palisades Market.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
By

Hot Ticket: Awesome Con @ Washington Convention Center, 4/18-4/20/14

ACDC_Billie_PostWith the success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and other movies storming out of the Marvel Studios stables, there is little question that comic books and associated media have definitely been embraced by mainstream audiences.

Which may leave us to question why hasn’t D.C. had its own comic book convention, particularly with Wizard World popping up in almost every other major U.S. city these days?

Well, we don’t have to wait any longer, as D.C. now has the locally produced Awesome Con, scheduled for this weekend, Friday, April 18, through Sunday, April 20, at the Washington Convention Center!

Awesome Con will feature guests from movies and television, most notably Billie Piper, well regarded for several seasons of Doctor Who; Cary Elwes, always memorable for The Princess Bride; Sean Astin, who played a hobbit in the trilogy Lord of the Rings; and many others. I personally may be most excited by Dirk Benedict of the A-Team and the original Battlestar Galactica.

Representing the literary world, Awesome Con will host guests such as award-winning science fiction author Timothy Zahn, who is responsible for 10 Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound Flight and Choices of One. Awesome Con also will feature more than 200 artists, including the likes of George Perez and John K. Snyder III.

Of course, Awesome Con will feature a large floor of more than 100 dealers and exhibitors, serving up a large amount of comic books and science-fiction merchandise. It also has an impressive number of panel discussions, including Q&A sessions with your favorite celebrities and chats on everything from tabletop gaming to improv comedy to surviving the zombie apocalypse (honestly).

Check out the full schedule to see all of your options, and hit the exhibitor floor between sci-fi speed dating and quizzing Doctor Who creators about the show. (I’d rather queue up for Ms. Piper myself!) Some VIP tix are still available!

Awesome Con
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place NW
Washington, DC 20001
Friday, April 18-Sunday, April 20
Friday 3-8pm; Saturday 10am-7pm; Sunday 10am-5pm
$30-$200
All ages

Food and Drink, Interviews, Music, People, We Love Arts, We Love Drinks, We Love Food, We Love Music
By

Spotlight: Carlie Steiner and Tea Time DC

Carlie, founder, Tea Time DC

Hey DC, it’s time for tea with one of my new favorite bartenders, Carlie Steiner. I first met Carlie a few weeks ago, and after a few coffees and a rather short meeting, we were already scooting all over town in her new Vespa, Sophia, shooting back and forth about classic cocktails, and quickly becoming fast friends.

If there’s one piece of advice I can give about the food and bev scene in DC, is don’t follow places, follow people. No matter where you go and what you like, I guarantee that if you develop a relationship with a bartender, server, manager, barista, whatever, you will love wherever it is they are working or whatever it is they are doing. Try to get less caught up in what new bars are opening and instead try to make connections with industry people that you like and respect, because if I follow them wherever they go, you’ll have the same great experience every time. And Carlie is one of those people to follow.

Fairly young to the DC bar scene, Carlie started in New York at culinary school, where she honed her skills as a chef, learning valuable techniques to put to use behind the bar and in the kitchen. It’s no wonder then that she was hired right out of school to work the bar at José Andrés’ Minibar, where she made such an impression that she was moved over to his new, experimental cocktail lab, Barmini. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo

Sunrise (again) at the Tidal Basin Schmoopy2007

There have been a lot, A LOT of cherry blossom photos posted over the past week. One could argue that every angle and vantage point around the Tidal Basin has been used and abused, that it’s hard to create a unique and unseen photograph of those fluffy little flowers. While that may be true to a certain extent I’d argue that that just makes it more of a challenge. It used to be that you could get down to the water by 8 am and still have the place (mostly) to yourself with a good hour or two until the tour buses and sandal-clad tourists started making the rounds.  Now only the most dedicated, those who are willing to forgo those extra moments of shut eye just so they can have a moment with the trees without the distraction of fellow human beings, are the ones who get the photographs of the bloom in all it’s glory. Cathy Hammer got down to the Tidal Basin before sunrise on a Sunday to get this amazing shot. She set her f-stop at 13, set the shutter for 30 seconds and let it go. The result is stunning. The water seems to be frozen and the whole scene shows crisp detail. A scroll through her photostream offers some wonderful evening shots as well. It may be an angle we’ve seen before but certainly never quite like this. Great job, Cathy.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: London Grammar w/Haerts @ 9:30 Club — 4/14/14

London Grammar DrabikPany

A booming sad voice fills the air from the very first song.

“Hey now, letters burning by my bed for you.”

Melancholy yet so very strong, the voice of Hannah Reid of London Grammar is so powerful an instrument that you are forced to wonder if she could simply tour as an a cappella act and be tremendously successful solo.

But no. Given a bit of time at Monday night’s sold-out performance by London Grammar at the 9:30 Club, the gentle guitar of Dan Rothman and playful keyboards and drums from Dot Major swell under the vocals and provide each song with a full sound, as with the opener, “Hey Now.”

Continue reading →