9:00 AM
9:30 Club, Black Cat, Comet Ping Pong, DC9, Galaxy Hut, Gypsy Sally's, Iota, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, The Fillmore, The Week In Shows, Tropicalia, Velvet Lounge
A Sunday morning during a Winter Storm Warning is as good a time as any to plot ones weekly live music schedule, I think. Let's take a look at what's happening in the greater DC metro this week, with the added bonus of filling you in on what I'll be taking in over the course of the week. Hot diggity!
Cue one of the reasons I dislike winter: winter storms. I prefer my snow on postcards, and my ice in cocktail glasses. My advice to all is to keep inside and keep warm today! Looking ahead to this coming week, here's my recommended show adventures. It looks like a pretty tame week, which is just fine by me (quality v quantity). I'll be attending the starred events. Make sure you get out there and support the scene, both local and touring, even though (baby) it's cold outside.
MONDAY, 12/9/13
-Frontier Ruckus + Dolfish (DC9)
-Nice Breeze + Aru + Teething Veils (Velvet Lounge)
-Perfect Pussy + Fell Types + Jail Solidarity (Black Cat)
-Olivia Mancini + Antoinette Goroch (Galaxy Hut)
TUESDAY, 12/10/13
-The Hives + Ex Hex (9:30 Club)
-Pompeya + Loveskills (Black Cat)
WEDNESDAY, 12/11/13
-Billy Woodward + The Beat Stylists (DC9)
-Muscle Worship + Mittenfields + Static Scene (Velvet Lounge)**
-The Ar-Kaics + Passing Phases + The Tender Thrill (Black Cat)
THURSDAY, 12/12/13
-Highway Cross + Ancient Sky + Crimes (DC9)
-Shat Shorts + Copstabber + Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Velvet Lounge)
-Wild Child + Holiday Mountain (Black Cat)
-Hometown Sounds + Showlist DC present Heavy Breathing + The Jet Age + Tereu Tereu + Screen Vinyl Image (DJ set) (Tropicalia)**
-American Babies (Gypsy Sally's)
FRIDAY, 12/13/13
-Goblin + Zombi (9:30 Club)
-Cavern + Corpse Light + Cleanteeth + The Osedax (Velvet Lounge)
-Chain & The Gang + Guerilla Toss + Blanche Blanche Blanche (Comet Ping Pong)**
-Betty Who + Ploy + Pleasure Curses (Rock & Roll Hotel)
SATURDAY, 12/14/13
-Middle Distance Runner (Iota)
-The Woodshedders (Gypsy Sally's)
SUNDAY, 12/15/13
-Lauryn Hill (9:30 Club)
-Diarrhea Planet + No Regrets Coyote + Bella Russia (Rock & Roll Hotel)
-The Torches + Two Ton Twig (Galaxy Hut)
-Brazos + Ski Lodge + The Droids We're Looking For (DC9)
-Andrew Dice Clay (Fillmore)
Different name, same damn fine band. The band formerly known as We Are Augustines recently claimed the more concise name Augustines, and took to the road with super likeable Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. The DC stop, a doubleheader, was their last night together, and a celebratory atmosphere overtook the 9:30 Club. I took in the second of the two shows, and was pleased as punch, as always, to get to see Augustines live.
The trio, prepping for the release of their second lp together in early 2014, made sure to pepper their set with some tantalizing new songs. Fraught with the same warmly impassioned, heartfelt glee as the band's first collection of songs, the new material fit right in, and proved rather delightful to the ears. They handled the new songs with the same infectious enthusiasm given to each and every song I've ever seen them play.
Soon-to-be favorites mixed right in with current favorites like the romp of "Chapel Song," which, under the purpley blue lights, sounded perhaps more magnificent than ever. The plaintive "Juarez" was filled with bittersweetness, Billy McCarthy's voice roughly impeccable as always. They closed with my most favorite of all Augustines songs, the glorious "Book of James," which proved grittier and more rollicking than on record. It was a perfect way to end things, full of jubilation and promise and sheer joy.
Their set, as blindingly brilliant as it was, had one flaw. It was much too short. Augustines is a band that I could happily take in night after night. For now, I'm (relatively) content with about once a year, especially when the set is as good as this.
[photo copyright Megan Petty]
1:17 PM
9:30 Club, Black Cat, DC, DC9, Galaxy Hut, Hill Country, Iota, Paperhaus, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, the Birchmere, The Dunes, The Hamilton, The Pinch, The Week In Shows, U Street Music Hall, Velvet Lounge
A Monday afternoon is as good a time as any to plot ones weekly live music schedule, I think. Let's take a look at what's happening in the greater DC metro this week, with the added bonus of filling you in on what I'll be taking in over the course of the week. Hot diggity!
I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty happy it's December. Black Friday nonsense is over, and the countdown to 2014 is on. As much as I hate the temps of winter, I'm all about a lot of what the season has to offer. Traditionally, this means some pretty killer shows. Let's see what's on tap, shall we? I just might be out and about this week, friends, let's say hi (show decisions still unmade as of press time).
MONDAY, 12/2/13
-Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Birchmere)
-Short Lives + Mind Set (Galaxy Hut)
TUESDAY, 12/3/13
-Alarms & Controls + Soccer Team + Talk It (Black Cat)
-The Walking Sticks + Pleasure Curses + White Gold + Br'er (The Dunes)
WEDNESDAY, 12/4/13
-Jagwar Ma + Fascinator (U Street Music Hall)
-Savoir Adore + French Horn Rebellion (Living Social)
-Holograms + TV Ghost (DC9)
-Emmylou Harris (The Hamilton)
THURSDAY, 12/5/13
-Marco Benevento (U Street Music Hall)
-Hugh Cornwell + Dot Dash (Black Cat)
-The Walking Sticks + Peyote Pilgrim + Jack Tierney (DC9)
FRIDAY, 12/6/13
-Dark Star Orchestra (9:30 Club)
-Legs Like Tree Trunks + Cope Ascetic + Raised By Wolves (Comet Ping Pong)
-The Riverbreaks + Mission South + The Sea Life (Black Cat)
-Thee Lolitas + Musicband + The Brooklyn What + The Sniffs (The Pinch)
-Skelliton + Equiknox + Color School (Velvet Lounge)
-Here We Go Magic + Paperhaus (Paperhaus)
-King Krule + Tops (Rock & Roll Hotel - SOLD OUT)
SATURDAY, 12/7/13
-Dark Star Orchestra (9:30 Club)
-The Bottom Dollars + The Nuclears + The Mellish (DC9)
-Vinny Vegas + Beauchene Skulls + Bravenoise (Velvet Lounge)
-American Aquarium (Hill Country Live)
-The NRIs + Fire And The Wheel (Iota)
-Joseph Arthur & Mike Mills (Jammin Java)
-Matthew E. White + Dosh + Ivan Howard (Rock & Roll Hotel)
SUNDAY, 12/8/13
-Rock'n'Shop (Black Cat)
-Koshari + Eric+Erica (Galaxy Hut)
-Moon Taxi + The Shack Band (Rock & Roll Hotel)
-JD Samson & MEN + Ex Hex + Coup Sauvage & The Snips + DJ Dean (Comet Ping Pong)
11:33 AM
9:30 Club, Black Cat, DC9, Iota, State Theatre, The Fillmore, The Week In Shows, Tropicalia, U Street Music Hall, Union Market, Warner Theatre
A Monday morn is as good a time as any to plot ones weekly live music schedule, I think. Let's take a look at what's happening in the greater DC metro this week, with the added bonus of filling you in on what I'll be taking in over the course of the week. Hot diggity!
Y'all, I'm still recovering from last night. Not only the frigid temps but the ridiculously amazing set by Beasts of No Nation at the Black Cat. Hot. Dang. This week looks to be a bit slow, most likely because of that wonderful holiday of gluttony (and thanks) we all know and love. It's also the Iron Bowl, which is an even bigger deal than Thanksgiving (Roll Tide). I'll be taking it easy this week, though you still might catch me out and about.
MONDAY, 11/25/13
-Concert to Benefit Red Cross Phillipine Disaster Relief f/ Steve Bowes + Matt Tarka + Mantua Finials (Iota)
TUESDAY, 11/26/13
-Concert to Benefit Red Cross Phillipine Disaster Relief f/ Alexis and The Samurai + Andy Hawk and The Train Wreck Endings + Nick Bayard (Iota)
-MGMT (Constitution Hall)
-Amos Lee (Warner Theatre)
-Lamb of God (Fillmore)
WEDNESDAY, 11/27/13
-Watermelon + Paperhaus + The North Country + Gallons to Ounces (Black Cat)
-Temples + Myrrh Myrrh (DC9)
THURSDAY, 11/28/13
Take the day off, eat some turkey, and be thankful.
FRIDAY, 11/29/13
-Little War Twins + Satro + Miss Fridrich's Messy Ann Band + The Petticoat Tearoom (Black Cat)
-The Nighthawks (State Theatre)
-Elikeh (Tropicalia)
SATURDAY, 11/30/13
-Foxes (U Street Music Hall)
-Junior League + Walker's Run (Black Cat)
-Ra Ra Rasputin + PLOY + Bearshark (DC9)
-The Walkmen + Sunwolf + DJ Will Eastman (Union Market)
-Herman's Hermits (Ram's Head Annapolis)
-Drop Electric + Me and Karen + Black Hills (Rock'n'Roll Hotel)
SUNDAY, 12/1/13
-Animal Collective + bEEdEEgEE (9:30 Club - SOLD OUT)
-Spoonboy + Jason Anderson + Elizzadeath (Black Cat)
I've been banging the drum about Pontiacs for a little while now, and if I were you, friends, I wouldn't expect that to stop for a good long while. After all, my favorite Chilean psych rock brothers from another galaxy have just released a new LP (their third), and it's mighty fine indeed. You'll hear more about it from yours truly soon.
In the meantime, I sent some burning questions to Chile, and have the following to share with you. Thanks to Raimundo de Mussy, we can all glean some insight into what makes the Pontiacs gentlemen tick, who among the Beatles and Stones they have time for, and the possibly not unexpected band they'd form a tribute band for. While you're reading, why not give a listen to new record Atacama Dreaming?
Fuzzy Logic: How the hell are you?
Raimundo de Mussy: Doing fine, thanks.
FL: What was the last song you listened to?
RDM: "Soon" by My Bloody Valentine.
FL: Playing music is:
RDM: MIND BLOWING! An extraordinary intense experience in which all the players involved connect through rhythms and noises, an instance to express every corner of your real inner self and to let spontaneousness and creativity expand and do the all the job by itself.
FL: What album most made you realize you wanted to make music?
RDM: The Stooges - s/t.
FL: Beatles or Stones?
RDM: I'd make Lennon and Ringo play along with Keith and Brian Jones, the rest can go f*** themselves.
FL: Top 5 albums (of now, of this month, of of ever):
RDM:
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - s/t
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse
Goat - World Music
A Place to Bury Strangers - s/t
John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
FL: Half-full or half-empty?
RDM: Half-full.
FL: Which of your peers do you think is making the best music these days?
RDM: Tame Impala, they made space rock and psychedelia popular again.
FL: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up in the morning?
RDM: God, I hate that fucking alarm clock.
FL: Little-known Pontiacs fact?
RDM: Our keyboardist can't play any other song besides ours!
FL: The greatest record store in the world is:
RDM: Needle.cl
FL: Shaken or stirred?
RDM: Nevermind.
FL: Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
RDM: Buy yourself a record player, iPods suck.
FL: If you weren’t in a band you’d be:
RDM: Probably a vagabond.
FL: If you were so inclined, whom would you form a tribute band in honor of?
RDM: The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
FL: Best song ever written?
RDM: I'm quite proud of "Bulgaria," from our last LP.
Those wacky Atlanta boys in Gringo Star are probably some of my favorite dudes to see do their thing live. I try to see them whenever they roll into town, because I know I'll never be disappointed.
If you also dig on that retro, sassy jangle the Gringos make, today might just be your lucky day. You see, friends, yours truly has a pair of tickets that might just have your name on 'em. If you have Gringo love, pay attention. To win these wonderful tickets to see the wonderful Gringo Star at the wonderful Black Cat this Thursday night, merely pop an email into my inbox telling me why you want to go to the show. Simple as pie. Just make sure you get me that email no later than 5pm tomorrow (11/20).
Good luck, y'all! I'll be seeing someone's lucky face at the Black Cat in a couple days.
11:05 AM
9:30 Club, Acre 121, Black Cat, DC9, Galaxy Hut, Iota, Lisner Auditorium, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, The Fillmore, The Week In Shows, Velvet Lounge
A Monday morn is as good a time as any to plot ones weekly live music schedule, I think. Let's take a look at what's happening in the greater DC metro this week, with the added bonus of filling you in on what I'll be taking in over the course of the week. Hot diggity!
The more astute among you will notice that there was no show calendar last week. It was not, as they say, the Best Week Ever, so I took the week off as it were. Live music always makes it better, however, and this week is one of the best of recent times. Let's all get out there and show our love for those music-makers. Catch me at the shows with stars by 'em.
MONDAY, 11/18/13
-Sky Ferreira + Smith Westerns + Brett (9:30 Club)
-Basia Bulat + Molly Hagen (Iota)
-Teen Mom + Breakfast in Fur (Galaxy Hut)
TUESDAY, 11/19/13
-Sleigh Bells + Doldrums (9:30 Club - SOLD OUT)
-Minor Alps + Sylvan Esso (Black Cat)
-James Wallace & The Naked Light + Teen Men (DC9)
WEDNESDAY, 11/20/13
-Exit Vehicles + Betsy and The Bicycles + Dagos (DC9)
-Mono + Majeure (Rock & Roll Hotel)
THURSDAY, 11/21/13
-Stephen Kellogg + The Saint Johns + Caroline Brooks (9:30 Club)
-Gringo Star + Ski Lodge (Black Cat)**
-Cymbals Eat Guitars + Grooms + The Silver Liners (DC9)**
-The Love Load + Iceberg Theory + Don Zientara (Velvet Lounge)
FRIDAY, 11/22/13
-M. Doughty + Moon Hooch (9:30 Club)
-Escort + JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound + Simon Phoenix (Black Cat)
-The Walking Sticks + National Rifle + Raised By Wolves (Velvet Lounge)
-Elvis Costello (Lisner Auditorium)
-Hoots & Hellmouth (Iota)
-Black Checker + The Joads + The Dead Women (Acre 121)
-Vandaveer + The Petticoat Tearoom + Dead Professional (Rock & Roll Hotel)**
SATURDAY, 11/23/13
-Lotus + Up Until Now (9:30 Club)
-Os Mutantes + Capsula (Black Cat)
-Harmonic Blue + Bosley + South Rail (DC9)
-Rohit Colin Rao + Panda Sanchez + Laura Peterson (Velvet Lounge)
-Tom McBride + The Weathervanes (Iota)
-Mazzy Star + Psychic Ills + Mariee Sioux (Fillmore)
SUNDAY, 11/24/13
-Lissie + Kopecky Family Band (9:30 Club)
-Joy Buttons + Beasts of No Nation + Title Tracks + The Max Levine Ensemble (Black Cat)**
-River City Extension + Hatfield McCoy + Duke Walker (DC9)
-Dangerous Cans + Pleasure Curses + Shirley House (Velvet Lounge)
As a lover of festivals who just so happens to be a lover of psych, it should come as absolutely no surprise in the slightest that the psychedelically-inclined Echo Fest is totally in my wheelhouse. Created and curated by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, the Echo Fest (now in year 4) showcases some of the mighty fine psych and experimental bands found out there in the Middle Western territories. Should you find yourself in the greater Detroit area on November 16th, there's not a better event to attend.
O yes, my sweet ne'er-do-wells, I do believe I have fallen in love with Haunted Leather. Their black magical sonic manipulations call to mind spectral shades rendered reborn thanks to whispered incantations uttered on morose desert midnights. One of these days, I would love to see them share a stage with The Black Angels, as their sound is in that mighty fine vein.
As a lover of festivals who just so happens to be a lover of psych, it should come as absolutely no surprise in the slightest that the psychedelically-inclined Echo Fest is totally in my wheelhouse. Created and curated by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, the Echo Fest (now in year 4) showcases some of the mighty fine psych and experimental bands found out there in the Middle Western territories. Should you find yourself in the greater Detroit area on November 16th, there's not a better event to attend.
Oblisk, of Detroit, seems to like to make a whole lot of noise. As y'all know, I'm partial to bands that like to make a whole lot of noise. Hence, my disposition to all sorts of like the rambunctiousness that Oblisk gets themselves into. Breakneck, psych-tinted tomfoolery somewhat reminiscent of Disappears at times sounds more than fine to me, and I suspect they do some serious damage live.
As a lover of festivals who just so happens to be a lover of psych, it should come as absolutely no surprise in the slightest that the psychedelically-inclined Echo Fest is totally in my wheelhouse. Created and curated by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, the Echo Fest (now in year 4) showcases some of the mighty fine psych and experimental bands found out there in the Middle Western territories. Should you find yourself in the greater Detroit area on November 16th, there's not a better event to attend.
Goodness sakes alive, y'all. It is possible that I have found salvation in the form of Fort Wayne, Indiana's Heaven's Gateway Drugs. Too much? Perhaps, but hot, hot damn. This band is ferociously good. Just a touch sinister, their revamped 60s jangle is jarring yet hypnotic. This is psych rock at its delirious best.
As a lover of festivals who just so happens to be a lover of psych, it should come as absolutely no surprise in the slightest that the psychedelically-inclined Echo Fest is totally in my wheelhouse. Created and curated by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, the Echo Fest (now in year 4) showcases some of the mighty fine psych and experimental bands found out there in the Middle Western territories. Should you find yourself in the greater Detroit area on November 16th, there's not a better event to attend.
Already on my radar thanks to a recommendation from the Ttotals dudes, Cincinnati's Electric Citizen is a fine inclusion to Echo Fest. Reminiscent somewhat of Black Mountain, Electric Citizen calls to mind the delirium of 70s metal while maintaining a modern psych slant. Siren-led and filled with riffs too big to ignore, the band is sure to bewitch.
Y'all know that my eyes are always open for new psych. I've just found a little something from good old Australia (evidently a hotbed of psych rock activity) that I'd like to share with you. Ladies and gents, please warmly embrace The Dead Heads.
"Power Tripping," from their hopefully soon-to-be released debut, is a splendid shambles of a song. Loud and crunchy, the four minutes and nine seconds are filled with dark, simmering sneers and snarls. The haunted refrain of the organ is a nice touch. It's a fine choice for a lead single, and has definitely more than piqued my interest. Don't sleep on Oz, my friends. It's a land not to be ignored, especially for those with a sweet tooth for psych.
11:54 AM
6th and I Synagogue, 9:30 Club, Black Cat, Comet Ping Pong, Constitution Hall, DC9, Galaxy Hut, Gypsy Sally's, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, The Dunes, The Week In Shows, Tree House Lounge, U Street Music Hall, Velvet Lounge
Holy crap, y'all, it's November! An impossibly beautiful Saturday morn is as good a time as any to plot ones weekly live music schedule, I think. Let's take a look at what's happening in the greater DC metro this week, with the added bonus of filling you in on what I'll be taking in over the course of the week. Hot diggity!
We're zooming along to the end of the year. Batten down the hatches, Christmas shopping season will soon be upon us! In the meantime, there's plenty of shows to venture out and about for. My recommendations are below. As ever, you might just spot me at the shows with stars by 'em (at press time I was still making up my dang mind). Happy gigging.
As an aside, don't forget to vote this week! The choices might be lackluster (especially when it comes to the options for governor in Virginia), but those ladies and gents need to know that the masses are still concerned with their hijinks.
MONDAY, 11/4/13
-The Head & The Heart + Thao & The Get Down Stay Down + Quiet Life (9:30 Club - SOLD OUT)
-Melt Banana + Brain Tentacles + Mutwawa (Black Cat)
-Braids + Hundred Waters + Kodak to Graphs (DC9)
-National Wake (Iota)
TUESDAY, 11/5/13
-Luke Temple (Black Cat)
-Tarfu + Stereoriots + Thaylobleu (Velvet Lounge)
-Tim Kasher + Laura Stevenson + Des Ark (Rock & Roll Hotel)
WEDNESDAY, 11/6/13
-Communion DC f/ Night Sweats, Tennis, + more (Black Cat)
-The Magician + Caleb L'Etoile (U Street Music Hall)
-Broncho + Spirit Animal + Vikesh Kapoor (DC9)
-And So I Watch You From Afar + TTNG + Mylets (Rock & Roll Hotel)
THURSDAY, 11/7/13
-J. Roddy Walston & The Business + No BS! Brass Band (9:30 Club)
-Coco Rosie (6th & I)
-Young Galaxy + Mister Lies (Black Cat)
-England in 1819 + Graph Rabbit (Tree House Lounge)
-John Vanderslice + Bent Shapes (DC9)
-Electric Grandmother + Catscan! + Goddammit + Matty Rockville (Velvet Lounge)
FRIDAY, 11/8/13
-Built to Spill + Slam Dunk + Genders + The Warm Hair (9:30 Club - Early Show)
-Fire & The Wheel + Jon Parker 9 (The Dunes)
-Scott Miller + Hollis Brown (Gypsy Sally's)
-Pacman + Peso + DJ 2Coat$ (Comet Ping Pong)
-The Blow + Love Inks (Black Cat)
-John Fogerty (Constitution Hall)
-Justin Jones + Long Arms (Rock & Roll Hotel)
SATURDAY, 11/9/13
-Lotus + Up Until Now (9:30 Club)
-Sunwolf + Very Americans + Nice Breeze (Comet Ping Pong)
-Clones Of Clones + Molehill + Preston Hull (Velvet Lounge)
-Midlake + Nicole Atkins (solo) (Rock & Roll Hotel)
SUNDAY, 11/10/13
-Lotus + Up Until Now (9:30 Club)
-Pop Zeus (Galaxy Hut)
-Grant-Lee Phillips + Adrian Krygowski (6th & I)
-Penny Pistolero + Jeremy Porter & The Tucos + Davey Brown (Velvet Lounge)
Trick or treat, my little Halloween revelers! Have I got a treat for y'all. Those naughty little dancefloor debauchers of Sensual Harassment have put together a devlish little ditty (a slice of "eerie dark disco" sayeth the Harassment camp) to get your Halloween weekend (Halloweekend) started off in a frighteningly good way.
"Creature Feature" has all the chilled, spooky, sneak-up-behind-you beats you could crave from a song, and the accompanying video brings together clips from all manner of old horror movies (including some footage from the grandaddy of all vampire flicks, "Nosferatu"). All told, it'll get even the most undead to shake what their Mamas gave them.
Spoiler alert: Psychic Ills will end up in my Best Of 2013 list. They've made one of the best records of the year by far and then some. One Track Mind is a fitting name for their latest endeavor, because you just might find yourself unable to think of anything other than this record whenever you listen to it. Experience tells me those odds are pretty good. A murky, rambling wreck of gravelly, gritty psych-heavy rock, One Track Mind is a force to be reckoned with.
"One More Time," the record's opening song, is a little bit misleading. Compared with some of what's to come, it's almost chirpy. But the whispy vocals and teases of haze serve as hints about what's to come. "See You There" is where things start to really get cooking, throbbing with the beat of the bass and rife with crunchy guitar swells. It's not the first time on One Track Mind that the Ills come off a bit spooky, either.
The pretty little mess of "Tried To Find It" sees Psychic Ills dipping toes into stoner psych, throwing smoky washes of ghostly noise together with laconic, lazy vocals to great effect. "FBI" keeps the spectral sounds going with more of the molasses coating and a prominent, Pied Piper drumbeat. The last two songs on the record, "Western Metaphor" and "Drop Out," are probably my most favorite. The slow, steady droned out burn of "Drop Out" preceded by the smoldering instrumental swirl of "Western Metaphor" is rather magnificent to hear.
I first listened to One Track Mind in the middle of those magical mountains of Western Virginia, and being among those mystical peaks proved the perfect time and place for some Psychic Ills. Many listens hence and it still feels so very right, even without the mountains. Lovers of psych should find this record damned irresistible.
