Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

$11 service fee per ticket will be required if one gets selected for $44 lottery ticket at Atlantis next to 930.

Also saw that Seth H is putting his son in charge of Atlantis

Man does DC need another venue? I trust Hurwitz’ business sense but there seem to be a lot of pop music venues and then some shrinkage lately (Demise of City Winery and Iota, while the State and Howard Theaters seem to have a lot fewer touring groups, etc.)

Oh and the Black Cat’s recent downsizing, too.

What’s the area competition for the Atlantis (same size venue, etc)?

DC9?

Many of the Atlantis acts are also playing 930 while they’re in town so these are de facto second nights.

Union Stage is busy booking lots of acts at the Howard now — TikTok pop and SoundCloud rap and r’n’b . Songbyrd also is booking those acts plus some rock, Latin, African

The Runaway and , Quarry House and Comet getting obscure punk indie . Rhizome with experimental and improv jazz and some punk

930 will have to compete with all of those

The Howard did have (the non-Tik Tok and Soundcloud) Dry Cleaning, too. Saw them in January. I think that was booked by Unuon Stage based on the pre-show slides. I feel like Dry Cleaning though would have been the perfect 930 Club act in the past. I dunno man. Most of my taste is th Rhizome end of things.

Just djs so far , but for those in Caribbean soca and dancehall, the Black Diamond in Silver Spring has opened and the Crossroads 2 in Wheaton

May Tamarindo fest of Afro-Latin pop , reggaeton and more scheduled for RFK grounds suddenly canceled with no explanation

https://dcist.com/story/23/02/23/tamarindo-festival-afro-latin-music-rfk-dc-spring-2023/

My preview of tonight's Jumpin' Jupiter and Oil City Confidential show @ Hank Dietle's. rockabilly and pub rock respectively . https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/598984/jumpin-jupiter-ferry-tales-and-more-best-bets-for-april-13-19/

Tonight's also Arooj Aftab at Strathmore. Big live music night in Rockville

Abaad Behram rocked with Oil City Confidential and looked charismatic there and on screen from the 70s last night in Razz film doc at AFI Silver. He and Razz singer Michael Reidy have that something extra onstage.

Alas, Oul City or Abaad’s other band need a creative booker to put them on a bill with younger acts whose audience I think would like them too

I missed Black Eyes gigs and that Fake Names , Hammered Hills, Owners show.

Lots and lots of dc rock bands at Pie Shop, Pocket, Quarry house , Runaway, dc 9, rhizome, comet , Petworth porch fest

So much happening in area but editor at the Post decided folks would want to read both a Lizzy McAlpine profile in advance by one writer there and a review of the gig several days later by another writer there.

Saturday went to so very crowded embassy day for first ever time. Went to South African embassy, wandered grounds of Bolivian one that had a good folk dance squad. Then we headed down to the less crowded Dee Dwyer "Soufeast" photo exhibit party that was at the Phillips @ the Arc on Mississippi Ave Se. Great photos , free veggie and meat pies, and bouncebeat band TOB played in the parking lot while kids drew with chalk or hula hooped. Then we headed up to Hill Center and saw amazing Indonesian gamelan and more singer Peni Candra Rini with a big band in a small room there before a small crowd of 30 or so.

I always miss the embassy days!

So crowded.

June 9 free Dawn Richard show at African American Museum , registration required

https://nmaahc.si.edu/events/nmaahc-live-afrofuturism-concert-dawn-richard

Rhizome is booked through August. Continues to be wait and see when DC will decide to take the property and put some types of housing there

Thanks for the heads up on the dawn richard

*Birthday Girl on Friday May 12 @ 6 pm @ Carpe Librum popup bookstore , 5221 Wisconsin Ave (Mabel Canty & Bella Mackaye band) Brendan C and Alex M daughters

Oh no , seeing on Facebook that Shawn Vitale ( Gus Sound) has died. He was soundman at dc space, 930 Club, Fort Reno & some work at Hank Dietles. Everyone always seemed to have kind words for him. There’s a Fugazi show in archives where Ian thanks him. I read he grew up in District Heights, Md

Aw, I did not know him personally but I remember him. Peace.

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/605092/remembering-beloved-sound-engineer-shawn-gus-vitale/

a tearjerker tribute re a great guy-- Gus Vitale. Some beautiful quotes in there .

Sixty-two years ago, Sandra Bears was a teenager at Roosevelt High School singing in glee club with Margie Clarke, Grace Ruffin, and Carrie Mingo. Bears, Ruffin, and Mingo also sang together at Trinity AME Zion Church on 16th Street NW, while Clarke attended another church. The four high school harmonizers would eventually become known as the Jewels, have their song “Opportunity” reach No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/listings/items/sandra-bears/

My full preview of her today Thursday May 18 lunchtime gig at Montpelier Arts Center Mansion in Laurel on the link

That just announced Black Cat 30th anniversary weekend is going to sell out quick tomorrow morning I bet. I wish they could add 2 more nights

Yowza. I will miss that but I think I was at maybe a 25th anniversary show. The only act I remember was Tuscadero.

Update! It was actually a 20th anniversary and it was like 10 years ago and Ted Leo was there too.

Was out of town so I missed Africa on the Avenue with drummer Trae Crudup (who also plays with Luke Stewart, Mark Cisneros, r'n'b bands ) playing in Cheick Hamale Diabate's band

Above gig was poorly promoted too alas

last night Sunday May 28 was the soft opening for the Atlantis Club with Trouble Funk playing. Wasn't there but from photos I see on Facebook it has a big balcony level inside so it has a 450 capacity versus smaller 199 capacity original. Also has a rooftop area (with a fake 9/F street sign and wall with pasted flyers)

They're putting up a lifesize statue of Dave Grohl to be dedicated Tuesday May 30 in the morning with the DC Mayor there.

No indication yet that their engineer for 30 years Shawn Gus Vitale will get any plaque or permanent tribute, but IMP tells me there will be a June 14 memorial service for him for friends and family @ the 930

They placed a Vitale motorcycle outside the Atlantis during Trouble Funk show, and apparently used a piece of another one in their construction of the full size Dave Grohl sculpture (that I think looks and is dumb)

https://dcist.com/story/23/05/30/dc-mlk-rooftop-concerts-this-summer/

June 4 Sirius Company , June 7 DC punk rooftop show plus DC Doo wop and Mingering Mike exhibit openings

plus more

2nd annual Afro Latino Fest is today Saturday at Malcolm X Park. Last year was fun. This year Puerto Rican band La Laberinto del Coco at 4:30 should be fun along with rest of lineup that includes Afro Peruvian troupe earlier plus Cimafunk at 6

Saturday June 10 -

Southern soul at 2 @ Lamont’s with Ms Jody, Jeff Floyd, Hardway Connection, JRed the Nephew

Seventh Stanine Fest w/ Matt Cohen, Bushmeat Sound, Theftable, DJ PJ Brownlee, Poem-emcees, Brian Harnetty, Timothy Bailey & the Humans, Marcus J. Moore, Devin Ocampo, The Caribbean, Bill Nace, DJ Michael Berstein, Boat Burning, Savak, Zwei Null Zwei 12 to 8:30 @ Rhizome

Sunday June 11-

Memorial Tribute to late DC soul singer Eddie Jones w/ the Young Bucks Band feat. Earl Jones, Patti Hatchett and more guests . Plus dinner at 7. 6pm to 10 pm @ VFW Post 8950, 9800 Good Luck Road., Lanham (202)-702-8049

Saturday June 17- the free day of Home Rule Fest at Walter Reed w/ EU, Brian Jackson, and more for free

Sunday June 18 - 3 pm at Lamont Park - Scream, Bed Maker, La Machetres @ 3 @ Lamont Park (DC punk) (Antonico Tricarico Inner Ear book release part 2 )

I moved out of the DMV but I trekked down to my first (and so far only planned) show at the Atlantis to see Yo La Tengo. As expected it feels like a carefully curated, comfortable museum space. YLT were great as usual -- as a live act I think they're better now than at any point in the nearly 20 years I've been seeing them.

The space is also intimate (though not overcrowded) enough that Ira could pass his guitar through the audience and back during the feedback ending of "Ohm."

Also, curiously, a bunch of people seemed to leave after the 1st YLT set, which led me to believe they were just there to check out the venue.

Maybe, or didn’t want to pay a babysitter extra. I haven’t been yet . For old guys like me the new Atlantis having a balcony space , and the pole being moved makes it less museum like.

Yo La Tengo were good at current 930 some months back.

Oh no, RIP Charles Steck after complications from extensive back surgery. He was a good guy, husband , father & great DC photographer and bassist/vocalist in old DC bands Highback Chairs ; Abbreviated Ceiling

Here was his photography website

https://steckphotography.com/about

this was a busy weekend I saw in IG stories with lots of folks at free go-go, free old punk with Scream and others (Inner Ear studio book release) , and other stuff . Not a huge crowd at Home Rule Fest that I caught a little of when I got back in town (for EU and critic fave jazz and Brian Jackson)

Mitch Parker, bassist for Government Issue and Crippled Pilgrims and others, Club and radio DJ, news camera man , videographer etc has died of a heart attack.

So sad . Too young. He kept to himself in recent years.

https://www.fortreno.com/

Fort Reno schedule. Just in July. Amanda says doing too many shows would make it less special. In some past years there were June and August gigs

The NPS Fort Dupont Park series is supposed to start or at least be announced by late July

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/615021/low-key-steady-and-deeply-talented-remembering-charles-steck/

I co-wrote this obit of DC bassist and photographer Charles Steck

Aw, I only knew him in passing but loved his work.

No Funk Parade this year-

Per an email from the
@TheMusicianShip
“Despite spirited efforts and securing some initial sponsorships, the challenging economic climate coupled with recent shifts in the DC non-profit funding landscape, made producing this year's DC Funk Parade no longer feasible”

They dropped the parade portion last year and had less well-known go-go bands and mostly only obscure r'n'b acts as well last year, so this doesn't surprise me too much. Have heard rumors that DC budgeted less money for outdoors arts events this year too

A former Hoboken, New Jersey Frank Sinatra fan club president who subsequently lived in Maryland for many years passed away this week. I will miss you Mom but you are at peace now without pain and Alzheimer’s

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/glenda-kiviat-obituary?id=52568464

Oh, condolences curmudgeon