Secret Black Cat Show

Yeah, that secret MySpace show that's going on at Black Cat tonight? Good Charlotte and Army of Me. DCist has the details here.

A Case of the Fridays

Well, for me, Friday couldn’t have gotten here quickly enough to put an end to this tiring week. So no hesitating - we kick things off with “Carolina,” by Matt Wertz. It’s a catchy folk-pop number, pulled along by Wertz’s soulful vocals and a nice little infusion of mandolin. If you’re liking what you’re hearing, check him out at the 9:30 Club this Friday, March 30th.

MP3: Carolina – Matt Wertz

And then we close things out with Kristoffer Ragnstam’s “Breakfast By The Mattress.” Easily one of my favorite song titles ever, by the way. It’s quirky and funky herky-jerky indie pop, but it comes together in the choruses, and you’ll end up singing along. He’ll be in town this Sunday, April 1st, at IOTA. Seriously.

MP3: Breakfast By The Mattress – Kristoffer Ragnstam

Ted Leo Returns

Ted Leo returns to DC on Thursday night for a sold out show at the 9:30 Club. NPR will have a live webcast of the event that begins at approximately 9:40PM. All you have to do is visit the site around show time and you will find a link and a live chat. For more details, go here.

Vienna Teng Tickets

On Tuesday April 3, Vienna Teng is coming to Wolf Trap. Want to win a pair of tickets? Go here to find out how.

Wolf Trap Summer Schedule

Today at the National Press Club, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts released their summer performance schedule, as well as a new environmental initiative. Beach Boy Mike Love was the special guest speaker at the event.

A Case of the Fridays

Friday is upon us, folks, and it’s time to enjoy those warm temperatures this weekend. Or stay in and watch the NCAA’s. Either way, the music still goes on, beginning with “Broken Arm,” by Winterpills. Philip Price and Flora Reed’s voices intertwine perfectly to create a beautiful, haunting sound in this shimmering little pop gem. If you like what you hear, Winterpills will be at IOTA this Saturday, March 24th.

MP3: Broken Arm - Winterpills

And we close out this week with some Butch Walker. He’s back in town this weekend, bringing his rocking, glam-tinged band, The Let’s Go Out Tonites with him. “When Canyons Ruled The City” is a swaggering, majestic album-closer of a track – one that you can definitely raise your lighter to while singing along with the “nah-nah’s” in the chorus. Butch Walker will be in town this Sunday, March 25th at the 9:30 Club.

MP3: When Canyons Ruled The City – Butch Walker

Amie Street Comes To DC

The newbie digital music service Amie Street is about to head out on its first ever tour. Three of their most popular artists will be co-headlining the event that will take place in the artists respective cities. The Dead Trees will be representing Boston, The Epochs will be representing New York and our own Middle Distance Runner will be representing DC. The tour ends here on Saturday night at Rock and Roll Hotel and Crash Boom Bang will be opening that show.

For more information about Amie Street, the tour and to sample some mp3s, head here.

Bonnaroo Festival Downloads

I've never actually been to a Bonnaroo Festival before, but now I can get that Bonnaroo experience at home. Or those of you who were there can now relive it. The folks at Bonnaroo are offering downloads of artist-approved high-fidelity, mastered, multi-track recordings from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 shows. For a price, of course. Check it out here.

A Case of the Fridays

We’ve got a very green weekend coming up, but unfortunately, these 70-degree temperatures aren’t sticking around. Regardless, we kick things off with “Chaos,” by Mute Math. The song title is pretty accurate, as the choruses of this pop prog-rocker frenetically jump around, both lyrically and sonically, with wild abandon. However, the verses soar majestically, providing a peaceful yin to the chorus’ energetic yang. If you like what you hear, Mute Math will be at the 9:30 Club Monday, March 19th.

MP3: Chaos – Mute Math

And we close out the week with a live selection from Pete Yorn, with “Crystal Village.” It’s a nice catchy slice of Americana. Yorn starts off with just his acoustic guitar, but is gradually joined by additional electric guitarists and vocalists, adding layer upon layer to eventually reach a nice crescendo. If you like what you hear, Pete Yorn will be playing two shows at the 9:30 Club, Tuesday, March 20th and Wednesday, March 21st.

MP3: Crystal Village - Pete Yorn

Artomatic 2007

The multimedia Artomatic 2007 is gearing up, and it's ready for artists, musicians and performers to register. Artomatic will be taking place from April 13th to May 20th at the old Patent Office in Crystal City, Virginia. Check out their website for more information here.

Report from the Beercup Fields, Part 1

It's Sunday afternoon, and if my interviews at last night's Shamrock Fest are any indication, the exurbs of Maryland and Virginia are well-populated with young, hungover white people.

Starting on the cars of the "SPECIAL" Metro trains added for the event, I encountered group after group of pale revelers sporting green polo shirts, low-cut green tops, green ball caps, green Mardi Gras beads, and shamrock-shaped pins, sunglasses, stickers, face-paintings, stocking-spangles and giant foam hats. Men outnumbered women, but every group was mixed, not to mention mixed-up as they negotiated the unfamiliar caverns of the subway. For not a single person I encountered lived in DC, or even in the contiguous towns like Silver Spring or Arlington. Instead I met nice folks from places like Hagerstown, Columbia, and Waldorf, Maryland; Virginians from Woodbridge, Alexandria, and points further out. Many people identified their place of origin as "Virginia, but not Northern Virginia -- that's not really Virginia."

Before I go further, let me reiterate that Shamrock Fest contributes heavily to SCAN-VA: Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia. It’s a worthy cause, and they don’t have to do it: most of the attendees I saw would have shown up without any mention of a charity angle. So kudos there.

A sort of pre-St. Patrick's Day bash, the event was held in Ballston for five years, filling several blocks with partygoers and overflowing into selected local restaurants. In 2006, they had 20 bands, and apparently around 15,000 attendees, which was too many for the streets to handle. Thus the 2007 move to the RFK Stadium Festival Grounds, more commonly known as the parking lot. The number of acts shot up to 50, if you include the DJs, dance troupes, comedians and other performers, filling nine stages for ten hours. Early estimates of attendance were at 50 to 60 thousand.

Sound nuts? It was. Imagine that many people -- enough to fill the stands inside, had the stadium been open -- roving the enormous RFK parking lot, penned in by chainlink fence, wearing various pseudo-Irish attire, and everyone carrying at least one plastic cup of beer. The atmosphere of determined jollity was thick and pervasive. Young women with shamrock deely-boppers shrieked in delight to find their friends in the crowd. Young men proudly displayed their burgeoning beer-bellies in clever T-shirts proclaiming “Irish Boys Do It Better,” “You Looked Better On Myspace” and all the vulgar variations on “Kiss Me I’m Irish.” The general vibe was like a well-lit frat party, with plenty of kegs but no cozy corners for snogging.

Only a few children appeared, dragging their parents to one of the handful of carnival rides or dancing to the endless wash of cover songs emanating from one stage or another. Even rarer than the tykes were faces with a hint of color not imparted by alcoholic flush. A small group of Indian-American men came through the gate together; some college-age circles had Asian members; but here in the heart of DC, all the black folk in attendance could have shared a cab home.

Diversity aside, these people were having fun. Amazingly, I saw not a single instance of vomiting, and everyone danced a lot, to the DJ sets in the tents, to the top-40 cover bands, and to the headliners like Flogging Molly.

By sundown the number of empty plastic beer cups littering the asphalt was like tulips in Holland; every step of every person either kicked a skittering missile along or crunched a cup into pieces. Mazeltov! And we had four hours to go.

Next: I actually talk about the music!

Shamrock Fest at RFK

Saturday, March 10
Not in the stadium, but at several small stages on the grounds, this festival presents over 40 bands, many of them local. Of note: acoustic pop with old-school instrumentation from Richmond's Carbon Leaf; local punk-funk immortal Jimi Haha and his Chicken Shack; 1980's favorites the Connells; L.A. punk-Irish band Flogging Molly; and a nighttime set from Philly's A-list spinner DJ AM. For the complete schedule, see shamrockfest.com.

I'll be wandering with a photographer, so pose and smile if you see us. We'll be posting pics and reviews here on the blog.

You can get in for $20 and the shenanigans run from noon until 10 PM. Kids 12 and under are free, but I'd think twice about dragging the tykes to the beer-fest. Knowing their audience, the Shamrock Fest people are setting up a massive viewing area for watching college basketball.

If you want to throw the long green while wearing the green, or something, you can become a "Hotshot VIP" for $100. That's a lot of clover, but since it includes all your beer for the day, it might almost be a bargain. (You must be 21+.) VIPs get access to various private areas, including DJ sets, stages and bars.

A portion of the proceeds benefits Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia (SCAN-VA). Shamrock Fest is sponsored by a slew of radio stations, beer companies, car companies, and of course On Tap Magazine.

Eat...And Raise Money For WAMA

On Monday, March 5, 2007 from 5pm to 10pm, Austin Grill will donate 33% of sales at their Silver Spring location to WAMA, as part of their First Monday program. Plus, Austin Grill Silver Spring's open mic takes place every Monday from 9pm to midnight, so you can stick around to play or catch some music.

A Case of the Fridays

The week’s almost over, so go ahead and take that Friday off you’ve been wanting to. We start things off with The Thermals’ “Pillar of Salt.” It’s quick, it’s punky, and it’s full of attitude and rollicking guitar. They’ll be at Black Cat Friday, March 2nd, and it sounds like it’d be a good time.

MP3: Pillar of Salt – The Thermals

And we bring things down a bit with the last selection of “Grace,” by Tobias Froberg. It’s an elegant-sounding ballad that’s got touches of that laid-back folky Eagles sound in the vocal harmonies and piano. If you like what you hear, Tobias Froberg will be at IOTA Thursday, March 8th.

MP3: Grace – Tobias Froberg