Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

The Marquees, Marvin Gaye's old backing band, are playing free right now on the roof deck at Marvin. Like woah to hear them doing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".

I am spinning tomorrow night at the black cat, btw

Saw Teedra Moses last night. The sound was kind of fucked for the first half but straightened out by the end. Her set was a bit too similar to the one she played at Black Cat 2 years ago (only 2 new songs). I guess you can't blame her for leaning heavily on the crowd-pleasers from Complex Simplicity though.

Actually the real treat was the opening set by Muhsinah.

Never heard of her/them before, but Muhsinah sounds good in that electro/r'n'b vein on her myspace.

So 12, apparently a lounge/restaurant that took the place of Cluck U, at 1123 H St NE is gonna start having music. Chitlin Circuit soul singer Lee Fields is gonna be there Sunday the 12th. The Yelp reviews for the place say the drinks are overpriced and the place poorly managed. We'll see.

I've got a quickie blog post q and a with 88's fogel on the CP BPB blog

i recall a rumor of one of the spots on either side of the old state of the union supposedly in plans of becoming a spot for dancehall nights, wonder how that's fleshing out

Ethiopian restaurant Almaz at 1212 U was supposed to start having soca on one midweek night and dancehall on another (I think Eman mentioned it on the dancehall thread), plus I think they have "Saturday Soul Sessions" with Louis P. playing house. But if you just go to Almaz's website it says they only have Ethiopian music and jazz.

But I guess that's farther East on U than near the old SOTU

For any Dischord fans: Title Tracks 7" release show at the Black Cat tonight...

More pop than most Dischord releases I'm guessing, this being John Davis in his post-Georgie James mode.

Garland of Hours cello player Amy Domingues (who's played on Fugazi cds and other related Dischord stuff) will be playing with Bob Mould at the Birchmere tonight with Richard Morel on keyboards and a bassist whose name I don't recognize.

Missed both of those.

Saw Extra Golden at Comet Ping Pong last night. Wish they had a stage (or that I was much taller)

catching up on posts--have been traveling. sorry i missed I DIED djing. also apparently missed lovefingers (!) at comet. nice piece on 88, curmudgeon. lots of comments, too. good to see people are paying attention.

saw stereo total at the cat backstage last night. fun show. never really listened to them but would see again.

Thanks. Yea, the 88 posting got a ton of comments. I thought Stereo Total would be fun. I bought a S. Total cd awhile back and liked it, although I haven't listened to it in quite awhile. Busy w/ parental stuff, missed that show and the African one at Lisner last night, and likely everything this weekend.

Posted a salsa dj thing, Raulin Rosendo at the Salsa Room, and Celia Cruz Filmfest and more combined item CP Bl. P. Bag posting early this morning. The various posts go up there fast and furious Friday mornings.

looking forward to Wolf + Lamb spinning at Comet on May 2nd

by the way, was reading an article in the Dupont Current or something and apparently there's a guy named RICARDO VILLALOBOS who runs a shoe repair shop on Calvert St.

cool about wolf + lamb. does comet have a mailing list?

went to hometown heroes last night at the trindad & tobago assocation on georgia. i like the idea of a party at a storefront cultural assocation in north country, and the execution was mostly all right, but man that place is not designed for good sound.

tim sweeney friday: http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/events/deep-cuts-feat-tim-sweeney-411-warehouse/

I'd like to get on a Comet mailing list too. I get e-mailed about some Comet events that the guy from Gypsy Eyes Records promotes (he has a list, and I've spaced on his name right now), and I was told that Amanda K. from the Apes also promotes some things there, but otherwise I think you have to just check their website periodically. They seem to have outside promoters do everything and they don't advertise the events or get them listed anywhere.

Chain & the Gang and the Hive Dwellers are there Wednesday. Those are Ian S. 's and Calvin Johnson's new bands respectively.

Justin Martin (dirtybird) is at Muse this Friday on the 3rd floor - tough choice between that and Tim Sweeney

I'd go with Tim Sweeney myself. I'll be in NYC though (Michael Mayer at Studio B on Saturday).

Just read the other day that Martyn is based in DC. Has he played out here yet? Someone needs to book him.

Also heard that Brendon Moeller is playing 18th St. Lounge, but I'm not sure when exactly.

I think I'm going to go with Justin Martin - dirtybird is probably my favorite US label.

DCist weekend movie roundup blurbs "Jazz in the Diamond District", "a film by a local director centered on D.C.'s go-go scene." premiered at last year's dc filmfest but is back at e street. anyone seen it?

co-starring avon barksdale. makes me think of this short i once saw about an inner-city teenage girl sneaking out to lesbian clubs. bunk played the dad who viciously beat her when he found out.

Have not seen it. I think the director went to the Duke Ellington School for the Arts so there's scenes there and in a go-go funk club. It's gotten mixed reviews.

Joining us on May 1st is NC's best kept secret: Midnite Cowboy

Celebrate May Day in true soul style! Brian "Midnite Cowboy" Harris has really made a name for himself since busting on the DJ circuit in 1994. This cowboy has turned many a party out from his homestate of North Carolina, to the cold climates of the north. Expect plenty of soul stompers mixed in the with the funk this time around.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/blueimage/MoneytownFLYERMaySmall.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/blueimage/DCRecordFairMay09.jpg

FULL Bar w/ lots of drink options for ya, FOOD, Daptone........and of course:

CHUCK BROWN!!

Plus 10 DJs/DJ Teams in 2 seperate rooms:

Stylus
Eurok
Lunch Money & Almighty Dollah
Neville C.
Deep Sang
Gavin Holland & the Nouveau Riche Crew
Provoke
D-Mac
Dan Amitai
Nitekrawler

oh, and TONS of records of all styles. 30 dealers in the hizouse.

wish i could be thurr

i want to see the BOOZE BABY!

Wonder how Chain & the Gang were at Comet P? That's Ian S.'s new group. The same folks also back Calvin Johnson for his new band.

King Khan at the 930 sounded fun too.

nice writeup of Nitekrawler's night in the Post today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043001465.html

I ended up going to see Afrika Bambaataa at Current last night - nice! Pretty much played what he did when I saw him 10 years ago, but given who he is it would have been a disappointment otherwise.

When I went to see him spin at Nation (10 years ago maybe?) he had not started at some wee hour in the morning, and I gave in to the pressure of the person I was with and left. So I still haven't seen him. Maybe it's best I just stick with images in my head from the writeups in history of hiphop books of his supposedly innovative record mixing at Zulu Nation parties in the Bronx, plus the 12" singles I have somewhere.

so will anyone be at junior boys tonight? I DIED?

I'll be there.

I'll be there, too.

shit, i never checked back in...good show, though. their live blend of instruments and electronics felt perfectly organic and unified, which you'd feel like should always be the case but ime isn't. the sound was kinda iffy though--certain elements of songs just disappeared. and i was standing about 10 back, center-right, not in an out-of-the-way place at all. disappointed they didn't play "hazel". jeremy greenspan kinda looks like he could be in an apatow movie, didn't pick up on that from photos.

How long has it been since you've partied at Local 16 (16th and U St., NW DC)? If you're like me, it's been a looong time (save the recent Civilian Fundraiser).....but hopefully that's about to change. Local completely gutted their upstairs system and installed a sick PA and Sub combination.....guaranteed to rock the floor with some serious sound. And they've also re-upped weekly DJ spots.....leading me to the introduction of the newest funk/soul/disco party in town: SOUL CANDY, kicking off this Thursday (5-7). There's no cover, we've got good tunes to move your feet, free candy available upstairs, and candy-related drink specials for ya each and every Thursday! (think Vodka skittles, etc.) So swing by and help me break in the new system correct!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/blueimage/soulcandydone3small.jpg

{x-post) they opened with Hazel, didn't they?

Good show - much better than their last. You're right about the sound problems, though - it's been ages since I saw a show there with good sound.

oh, did they? my mind must have been elsewhere.

x-post Different folks running the board then in the past? Or some other reason for the sound issues?

The system's never been great there, but it seems like every show I've seen there in the last couple years has been too quiet, unbalanced, overdriven, or something else wrong. Same staff, for the most part. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the 9:30 club.

Yeah, definitely noticed the iffy sound. Enjoyed the show though (lots of cool gear to gawk at). "The Animator" was great.

"Parallel Lines" is one of my favorites from the album, but did anyone else think the live arrangement plodded along a bit too much? The drummer does a good enough job but I always feel like drum machines suit their sound much better.

generally when i hear electo indie pop bands with live drummers i wish they'd just go with machines, but i thought junior boys did as good a job at making it work as anyone i've heard (part of what i meant by organic/unified sound above). at some points i think they were double tracking live+electronic snares, for instance. maybe other drum elements too.

just realized upon listening to the album again it wasn't "hazel" i was hoping to hear, it was "dull to pause".

that said, if it were up to me i'd still probably drop the live drummer.

Heh I was at the Junior Boys show too, but wouldn't have recognized any of you all except Will, who I didn't see. I had gone more for Max Tundra (who was pretty damn fun) but I liked the Boys despite not having heard the new album. Their show is definitely enhanced by their live drummer, but I haven't seen too many acts where I didn't want to see a drummer. Yeah, organicness might be key to making it really work.

They do double-track electronic percussion, it was pretty obvious at the last show of theirs I saw.

hi Vinnie!

The first time I saw Junior Boys with a live drummer was their show at Iota just before So This Is Goodbye came out and there was definitely some oddness in the way he was incorporated into the Johnny Dark-era drum programming of the first singles. I thought the version of Birthday they did at the cat sounded like they'd figured out the integration much better this time around.

Cassy + Nadastrom next Thursday at Muse!

and todd edwards at loda.

HI DERE AWESOME ROCK/ROCKISH/MIASMATIC POST-HIPSTER INTELLIGENTSIA SHOWS NEXT WEEK:

thursday SO COW @ velvet lounge majorly stoked, one of my fave records of the year strummmmmy non-annoying jangle

friday BLUES CONTROL @ kansas house

saturday IMPOSSIBLE HAIR @ velvet