Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

gah, i hope we get a ft. reno date after being rained out last year but i've got a premonition that we won't.

friends tell me that j. ocean was pretty good at their black cat date a few weeks back, but that the room didn't do much to help them (lots of vocal harmonies, which don't really come across well on the backstage). more rocking than the saturday people were, apparently.

Gallery in Silver Spring is still around but the promoters aren't doing events there and haven't been in some time - the typical owner/management/promoter rift.

There are some interesting things shaping up around town, though. The 88 crew is throwing a monthly techno night at Be Bar. Some new venues on the way, too.

Pretzel man, I saw some complaints in the comment section of a posting about Fort Reno at dcist.com (I think) that Amanda Mackaye has put an out-of-town (Louisville, KY)band on the bill for the 1st Fort Reno show, rather than just sticking with locals.

Here's what David Malitz posted at GOG for Fort Reno at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2007/05/fort_reno_dates_trickling_in.html

June 18 -- Deleted Scenes
June 21 -- Let's French
June 25 -- The Engine Room
June 28 -- Julie Ocean
July 9 -- Statehood, Greenland
July 16 -- Beauty Pill, Len Bias
July 19 -- Carol Bui
July 26 -- Antelope
Aug. 2 -- Yell County

Buzzlife promotions is back in force now:

6/1 - White Party @ Five
6/9 - Buzz tent @ Starscape Festival
6/14 - Paul van Dyk @ 9:30 Club
6/30 - Steve Lawler @ 9:30 Club
7/3 - Firecracker @ FUR (DJ Dan, DJ Icey, Starkillers, Scott Henry, DJ Marky, Aphrodite, Markus Intalex, Bobby Jae, Tittsworth, Matt Nordstrom, Bob Jong III, Section 8, Mink Room, Ramiro, Catalyst and Charly C)
7/21 - Planet of the Drums tour (Dara, AK1200, Dieselboy) @ 9:30 Club
8/4 - Virgin Festival Dance Tent (Sasha & John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Felix Da Housecat, Sander Van Doorn, Miguel Migs, Booka Shade, Shout Out Out Out Out)
8/5 - Virgin Festival Dance Tent (Deep Dish, The Crystal Method, Infected Mushroom, Dieselboy and Andy C w/MC GQ and MC Messinian, James Zabiela, CSS, Girl Talk)

Huge lineup especially for the Firecracker, which used to be a traditional July 3rd party at Nation with amazing talent every year.

Aren't those mostly though just the same ol' same ol' names they always bring to town (except for a few of the ones at Virgin fest and the Firecracker).

Driving on South Capitol a few weeks back it was kinda weird seeing the partially standing, wide open at one end, sun streaming in Nation club. The wrecking ball had smashed some of it, but not knocked it all down at that point.

mostly, yes (except it's kind of a shock they outbid GLOW for Paul van Dyk). It's more interesting that they're putting on this number of events - I feel like they're ramping up to some sort of regular night again but I'm not sure what or where.

The nice thing about the Firecracker lineup is that it's got a depth of talent that they haven't really put on for years - there are going to be four rooms going with great stuff in each.

Also interesting to see the 9:30 club putting on more late night DJ events.

(I don't even want to tal about Nation getting demolished ;_;)

aslo, I *really* hope Booka Shade plays some virgin festival afterparty night.

Oh, I forgot to correct my earlier post about Amanda M. supposedly booking an out-of-town band for Fort Reno. Wrong band name it seems. She seems to have stuck with locals. There are plenty of tba's still on the schedule, so maybe Fake Accents still have a shot.

The Post Weekend section highlights summer events today (I'll be listing some more stuff on my yahoo group whirrled music e-mail thing next week)

Mingering Mike is at the Hemphill Gallery now! The Imaginary Soul Superstar in the flesh, along with his book and the record collector who found him and his lp and 7 inch sleeves.

I missed it, was getting ready to go review Aventura at the Patriot Center.

But Jeff Heavy Metal Parking Lot Krulik was there as was Ian Mackaye and Alec Mackaye. Other than my little mention of the event on last Monday's Dcist.com "weekly music agenda" (and my mentions of it on ilx and on my e-mail newsletter) it got little attention. The Hemphill gallery did not even list it for awhile (the details were on the mingering mike site though).

Finally bought the Critical Condition band go-go cd, the one with "Classy." I still need to order their p.a. tape cd with their Green Day cover.

Oh is that who does "Classy"? I hear that on the radio all the time, it's grown on me

Another correction from me--the City Paper did a late Friday afternoon plug for Mingering Mike online on their blog last week (so I wasn't the only one who plugged it). Whatever.

i'm thinkin i may hit up the black cat tonight to see kitty hawk, really good moody gauzy cass mccombs-type stuff and one of the few federal re$erve bands worth listening to

http://www.myspace.com/kittyhawkrock

Yea, the song on their myspace site has a nice folky-pop feel to it.

As for a completely different genre, I see that dj stereo faith is in Fader magazine. He may have remixed Matt Nordstrom and someone else whose name I forgot. I forget what it said in the Fader issue I was glancing at in Borders. They all have myspace sites I'm guessing. Stereo Faith seems to be both into spankrock hybrid dance stuff, as well as old dc hardcore punk and current rock.

kitty hawk were pretty great last night - they were all electric (i don't believe i've seen them do a totally electric set before) and the backstage's not-so-great acoustics actually helped them out by playing up the haziness and blurred edges of their newer jams. they're getting more psychey, which is a good thing as far as i'm concerned.

I wimped out. I saw that they were one of 3 bands playing and after running errands and stuff decided a late weeknight at Black Cat was not in my cards. Yea, I'm guessing a more psychey approach is better than a more twee one for them.

Maybe I will see Kitty Hawk at Fort Reno

yeah, i think i'm gonna go to that - also i'm planning on hitting dc9 (ugh) for the points and the hall monitors this evening.

so that was pretty fun - a ton of people there but i guess that's what national syndication'll do for you (the woggles, little steven's new signing, were headlining).

the hall monitors i hadn't seen before and i thought they were rather enjoyable. i sorta knew the gal in the band from her old group, federal city five, who my band played a rock 'n' romp with last summer.

they had an r&b/garage revivalist thing going on - i feel like maybe some of crypt's 90's stuff is a close parallel if you thrown in juuuuuuust a bit more slickness. definitely an 80's/90's garage revival slant, as opposed to an 00's one, if that makes any sense. their drummer kicked ass.

points were quality as always. they pretty much ARE times new viking as a punk band. confrontational, too - some bottle throwing, beer spitting etc. a pit broke out at one juncture, which was entertaining.

left two songs into the woggles. corny over-reverential "wild" revivalist stuff.

dc9 is quite possibly my least favorite club in this city. you're constantly getting hassled when you stand outside, they've got iffy sound, charge $3.50 for a fucking can of SCHLITZ and they always do that dumb "so who are you here to see?" thing at the door - tacky tacky tacky. oh well.

I guess that "so who are you here to see thing" is so they know which band is pulling in a crowd. I will have to check out the Points sometime.

I see that Jem Cohen's movie doc on Dutch band the Ex is showing Saturday night at 11 at the AFI as part of Silverdocs. There are a few other musc docs showing as well (in the newsprint supplement I found a listing for all the music ones, but the website is trickier to negotiate)

And DC9 has a TERRIBLE layout - the upstairs holds a couple hundred people but only half of them can be anywhere near the stage and you can't make it from the stairs to the bar to the restrooms when it's packed.

the "who are you here to see?" crap is actually the basis for how they divvy up money at the end of the evening. lame and a half, especially when they don't accept "i'm here to see everyone" as a response.

brian OTM re: dc9's layout

Anybody go to the Fort Reno opening show?

DC Caribbean Carnival parade on Saturday with bright feathery
costumes and booming sound systems down Georgia Avenue NW at noon
And ending at Banneker Park near Howard U.

who knew NBC tv 4 had a music blog-

http://www.nbc4.com/dcscene/10266002/detail.html

and a video thing-

Hear them plug Fort Reno, Bar Nun, Manu Chao and the Unsane

http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=121721

"The Music Snob" on the channel 4 video thing on their site....it's like public access. Multicultural me likes that he mentions a few non-rock shows, though he could have mentioned more. He said there was nothing going on Friday night when in fact there were numerous DC Caribbean Carnival related gigs, Seu Jorge at Wolf Trap, Bhanghra basement dj Rekkha at Black Cat.

Ran errands and did other stuff and missed the Carribean Carnival parade this year. Saw Thievery and Manu Chao at Merriweather Post. A much bigger turnout than I expected.

I've got mixed thoughts on Thievery--at times I liked them but at other times it seemed like bland worldbeat (and kinda exploitive at that--although Eric Hilton did mention the names of the various singers, dancers, and dancehall toasters at the end).

Oh boy, Washingtonian's Best and Worst issue is coming out in July.

Warehouse Theater r.i.p. shortly

I wonder how many people watch "The Music Snob" on the dc channel 4 tv site? Just a couple of guys sitting around chatting. He should open up a brew sometime I think

It's Folklife Fest time. Under the "Roots of Virginia" theme there's a good Latin show coming up Sunday, and a gospel Brass band before that on Friday I think. Don't know much about the Irish or Mekong River artists.
Food should be good (if overpriced with small portions).

I'd like to see Julie Ocean tonight at Fort Reno. Not sure I'll make it though.

Correction--Folklife Fest Virginia brass band gospel and a cappella gospel show is next Friday. This Friday is Louisiana Cajun folks

Missed Julie Ocean at Fort Reno. Evens and Joe Lally there next week. Free Latin stuff at Carter Barron tonight. I've got Orioles tickets though.

CCB "Classy" and Chuck Brown "Don't Give a" still getting lots of radio airplay. Go-go lives.

i haven't been to a single ft. reno show this year - gotta remedy that next week, maybe.

I finally made it to Fort Reno this summer. It was Dischord old home week at the Joe Lally/Evens show: Henry Rollins, Sassy Ian Sev (however you spell his last name), Eddie Janney, Guy P., Brendan Canty, Jerry Busher, & Alec Mackaye were all there. Plus a guy from old Dc garage rock group Beatnik Flies. Joe and the The Evens were ok. Just ok.

I wonder how Chicago's Dells were at Carter Barron Saturday night(speaking of outdoor places where it's nice to see a show)?

A Capitol Fourth
Independence Day Concert at the U. S. Capitol
Tony Danza - Host of A Capitol Fourth
Elliott Yamin(from American Idol)
National Symphony Orchestra
Dierks Bentley(country star)
Bebe Neuwirth
Hayden Panettiere
Yolanda Adams(gospel star)
Fireworks Over the Washington Monument

I watched the DC fireworks from Iwo Jima.

Y'all reading the new Washington City Paper music blog?

Everyone's got a racket:

http://www.goingouttonightdc.com/home.htm

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If you answered yes to any of these questions, never fear, Going Out Tonight? is here! We provide you with a detailed, personalized itinerary to suit your needs. Whether you're in DC for a day or a week, we've got you covered.

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I missed Kitty Hawk again. I bet last night's Fort Reno show was nice.

yeah, it was fun - kind of unbearably hot @ first, especially b/c 69 and i had the genius idea to try and walk from dupont. we made it to adams morgan before conceding and taking the metro.

tons of people there (i guess statehood [ex d-plan] and greenland draw pretty well?). made me wish i'd gone to more shows there this year. didn't stay for any of the other bands because i had business to attend to at home, but khawk were very good.

69 and i had the genius idea to try and walk from dupont

i always knew you were mentalists

anyone know of any noise/experimental/avant/weird stuff going on in dc? i figure this stuff wouldn't be advertised in the usual places, and it'd be great to see if dc has anything going on with these types of music.

scott verrastro is a local treasure as far as booking that sorta stuff (and is in a few acts making music along the lines yr interested in, kohoutek for one). he used to do a bunch @ the warehouse next door, but has since moved over to booking pretty much every worthwhile show at the velvet lounge. he also hosts stuff at his place, 611 florida.

http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/

he's a totally awesome, nice, friendly dude who is really, really into music.

baltimore has a lot of what you're after, as well.