Tag Archives: Wolf Trap

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Robyn & Röyksopp @ Wolf Trap — 8/21/14

Somewhere in synthpop heaven, a match was made. Norwegian duo Royksopp would party with Swedish indie diva Robyn, and beautiful music would be made.

It happened most spectacularly on Royksopp’s 2009 album, Junior, with the disco smash “The Girl and the Robot,” which between Royksopp’s hooky synths and Robyn’s pleading voice captured a perfect crystalized moment in dancefloor history. Nominally, the song is about a woman in love with someone who may not return her affections, or at least is not as warm as she would like. The video fetishes technology and strobe lights.

And introducing the song gave Robyn a perfect opportunity to declare her raison d’etre before its performance by a happily reunited Robyn and Royksopp Thursday night at Wolf Trap.

“Love is a lot of work. Love is hard,” she said.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: A Q&A with Filligar

Photo Courtesy of Filligar

The industry landscape for independent musicians in America has been in a continual state of evolution ever since the internet went and changed the game. Still, though, it come down to the fact that hard work, perseverance, raw talent, and being at the right place at the right time seem to be working out for those who hold out long enough. Filligar is an example of that.

Full disclosure: I first heard Filligar back in Chicago when I was a freshman in high school. I was 14-years-old and performing in my first “Battle of the Bands.” They were playing too. It was the day that George Harrison passed away. The date was: November 29, 2001. As it turned out, three out of the four members of Filligar just so happened to be in my high school class (Pictured Above: Casey Gibson – keyboard, Pete Mathias – drums, Teddy Mathias – bass), while lead singer and guitarist Johnny Mathias was a couple years behind us.

Back then, they went by the moniker Flipside, sported shorter haircuts, and played a very different style of rock than they do now. But that’s the beauty of age — as you grow, you learn, and Filligar’s made it a point to utilize their personal growth as the means to create one of the most engaging live rock shows in the country.

Hailed as “one of the best young bands in America,” this quintet’s been given an opportunity that they and any other independent musician can appreciate — they’re opening up for Counting Crows on the first leg of their Outlaw Roadshow this Summer. But before they leave on tour with Counting Crows, they’re playing a live show at DC9 Saturday May 26.

Filligar took a few minutes to exchange thoughts with We Love DC via e-mail. Here’s what they had to say.

Rachel: Filligar’s been a band for over a decade. How would you describe your evolution from the time you first sat down to jam and now that you’ve been touring for a few years with several albums under your belts?

Filligar: Well, the first time we sat down to jam we played a song that wasn’t our own: Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. We butchered it, and ever since we’ve been playing original music. As times go on, our music has changed just as we’ve changed. Touring the country and experiencing America the beautiful has definitely impacted that sound. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Dawes/M.Ward/Bright Eyes @ Wolf Trap, 6/11/11

bright_eyes
Bright Eyes photo courtesy of Wolf Trap.

We recruited Alexia Kauffman to hike out to Wolf Trap and cover this show for us.

Saturday night the audience at Wolf Trap heard three unique angles on American indie-folk music. Omaha, Nebraska’s Bright Eyes, currently on an international tour, brought along Portland’s M. Ward and Los Angeles’ Dawes for what was a spirited evening of Americana, indie-folk, rock, and just plain good music.

Up first were rockers Dawes.
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Weekend Edition

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photo by Guy Aroch.

The city is chock full of great live music options this weekend but there a few performances that we wanted to make sure show up on your radar. Rather than deluge you with Hot Ticket columns through-out the day, we decided we would round-up these concert recommendations for you here. Consider this your one-stop shop for weekend concert recommendations. (PS- Let us know if you like this idea in the comments section, if you dig it maybe we can turn this one-off feature into something a little more regular.)

For all your weekend concert needs…
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Interviews, The Features
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Why I Love DC: Corinne

Meridian Hill Drum Circle IMG_9449

Meridian Hill Drum Circle by Corinne Whiting

I admittedly love DC, first and foremost, because it feels partly mine. I picnicked in its triangular parks as a wee one (our downtown visits allowing my dad an excuse for an office reprieve); I’ve played tourist around its sites on countless field trips with classmates and relatives; I’ve frolicked along its brick sidewalks as a college student for the first time unleashed, unsupervised, in a big urban world. So, yes, it is familiar and yes, some of my favorite people of all time still call this place home. DC is indelibly etched into the story of what makes me me.

But sweep all that personal history to the side, and I can see this magnificent city as if through the eyes of a visitor (in fact, my job insists that I do). I recognize its allure for tourists and locals alike, and I’m grateful to have roots in a city that keeps me coming back for more.

Perhaps, more than anything, I love that a city stroll can take me on a global walkabout. A challenging game of name-that-flag along Embassy Row sends me past an exquisite tiled mosque, distinctive ambassadorial residences and multilingual, wide-eyed diplomats exploring their new ‘hood. In Mount Pleasant, with Mana playing on my iPod, I pass chatting men on overturned crates as impromptu vendors sell tamales nearby, and the sights, sounds and smells temporarily transport me to Latin America. Within a fifteen-minute bubble of my home, I can eat amazing Ethiopian food cooked by Ethiopian chefs, Thai cooked by the Thai, Peruvian cooked by Peruvians. Authenticity rules our culinary scene. And I love that, at certain dinner parties, I might meet new friends who’ve come from or lived in countries like Bulgaria and Brazil, Martinique and Morocco.

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Entertainment, Music, The Features
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March Concert Preview

Photo courtesy of
‘Estelle :: Paramount Theater :: 01.08.09’
courtesy of ‘Julio Enriquez’

Man, March really snuck up on me! There I was, just getting settled into a dreary February, and then all of the sudden here comes the promise of warmer, springtime weather and sweet, sweet music to accompany it.

Head out to Wolf Trap for The Bird and the Bee (w/ Obi Best) on Wednesday, March 4 ($20) for digital-sounding jams with airy vocals on top. They were recently on Ellen performing “Love Letter to Japan,” which is one of my faves. Continue reading →