“I just didn’t expect an acoustic version of ‘Rock ’n’ Roll All Nite.’”
— Ace Frehley
In this unusually ugly and hot summer, we have had occasional gemlike days in the 70s. One of these happened to be Thursday, July 1. I had dinner plans with some relatives, but things happened to work out that I was done in time to head to Fort Reno. It was such a nice night [...]
I waited a long time to see Lightning Bolt a second time. The first time I saw them was around 9 years ago and it was pretty close to a life-altering event. It was by far one of the very best concerts I’ve ever been to. In fact, when people really press me on the [...]
My friend Yulia had a photo show at the DC Photo Co-op in Shaw, and she invited the local band the Cornel West Theory to perform. They were nice enough to accept. I had seen these guys once before at the Sockets Showcase, and I liked them well enough. For the photo show, they put [...]
A couple totally unconnected friends recommended seeing Tinariwen when they came through town a couple weeks ago. I didn’t really know anything about them, and it was quite expensive for a 9:30 Club show ($40!), but eventually persuaded myself to go check them out. Apparently they have a great back story, and I do have [...]
A few weeks back a friend and I decided at the last moment to go to the “M3″ Festival (what does it stand for? We didn’t know, or really care). I was sucked into it by the line-up of ’80s metal/hard rock bands that I loved in middle school years. Some of those bands I [...]
Last week I was pretty excited to go see Medications at the Black Cat. I have their new album and have been grappling with it for a few weeks. I am not sure yet how I feel about it — it is a strange album — and I was hoping the live show would provide [...]
How old are the dudes in Converge? It seems like this band has been around for freakin’ ever. I have known their music a little bit for a long time, but I’m not super familiar with them and had never seen them before, so I was up for going with an old-Converge-fan friend. Neither of [...]
A whole month has somehow slipped by since I went to the Black Cat to see Quasi. A friend from my old band is a big fan of them and had an extra ticket, and I was up for it. I actually saw Quasi many years ago, probably as an opening act? Maybe a decade [...]
There is this band called The Points that has been kicking around DC for a while and I have been vaguely aware of them. They were the house band at Fight Club and they play at other places, and they have a whiff of controversy about them… getting banned from clubs, maybe? I am not [...]
There was a pretty great line-up a couple weeks back on a Thursday the 9th at the 930 — Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Obits, and Screaming Females. I knew the Screaming Females only by reputation. I’d already seen Obits twice in the past year. And I have seen Ted Leo like a million times. [...]