2009 US Air Guitar Championships Regionals 5/29

Been playing a lot of Guitar Hero recently, minus the plastic guitar?  Perhaps you’re ready for the 2009 US Air Guitar Championships Regional Competition this Friday, May 29^th at the 9:30 Club.  For 15 bucks you can watch this area’s best oxygen shredders face-off for the right to represent DC in the national championships.  The national champ heads to Finland, home of Nordic death metal and men with long beards, to compete for the world championships.  

My Weird Musical Week

I just wanted to take a moment to recap the range of musical experiences I had over the long Memorial Day weekend. It started with Toad the Wet Sprocket at National Harbor. Preternaturally youthful Glen Phillips looks and sounds nearly the same as he has for Toad's nearly quarter-century tenure, and Dean Dinning, Randy Guss and Todd Nichols ably complement Phillips' unusual delivery. Although I enjoyed the concert, I have very little in the way of nice things to say about National Harbor or ticketstobuy.com, the local ticketing vendor. Suffice it to say that it's unlikely I will return.

Later that same evening, I wound up drinking at Solly's on U Street when a buddy asked if I wanted to go see a German industrial show across the street. Such was my introduction to Das Ich, one of the founders of Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (New German Death Art), at Club Liv. Never one to turn down the chance at a musical adventure, I set out to Club Liv wearing khaki shorts and red canvas shoes, an oddly preppie free radical in what was otherwise a sea of black and metal. Unlike my reception at National Harbor, the fans and what may have been the management of Das Ich or the club encouraged me to take pictures. More Gothic "dark wave" than mechanistic industrial, Das Ich calls to mind mid-80s Depeche Mode or Nine Inch Nails moreso than fellow Germans Rammstein. The fans were overwhelmingly gracious, as well. I would very much like to hear this band in a space like the 9:30 Club.

Friday night found me in the Black Cat for a set by St. Vincent. I can't conjure up any words to describe Annie Clark other than otherworldly. A talented guitarist as well as a vocalist, she imbues her live set with an electricity that doesn't necessarily translate to her recordings. Check out NPR's concert archive to listen to the set.

The weekend finally ended with not one, but two, sets by The National at the 9:30 Club Sunday night. This Brooklyn-based, Cincinnati-born quintet proved why they are one of the hottest indie bands on the scene today. Combining the orchestral sensibilities of Tindersticks with the experimental bent and deadpan delivery of the Velvet Underground, The National defy easy (or any) categorization. Vocalist and songwriter Matt Berninger vacillates between his commanding presence when singing or flailing about onstage, and his almost-shy persona in between songs. And I must applaud the band for inserting the oft-requested All the Wine into their first set in an impromptu "audible", and for ending their second set with a new track entitled Blood Buzz Ohio.

Photos courtesy of Brian Flores

The Winter Sounds and Jukebox the Ghost @ Rock & Roll Hotel 5/23

There’s a good three-band show going on this Saturday, May 23rd over at the Rock and Roll Hotel. The Winter Sounds (above) kick things off with an expansive melodic indie-pop sound, complete with soaring lead vocals that have a vaguely British sound – at times almost sounding like a british indie version of the Beach Boys, at least on their recordings.

MP3: Trophy Wife – The Winter Sounds

Singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs from Montclair, NJ will be bringing her folky, Feist-y groove to the stage second.

MP3: Led To The Sea – Jenny Owen Youngs

And then local favorites Jukebox The Ghost will be closing out the night with their catchy brand of piano pop.

MP3: Hold It In – Jukebox The Ghost


Photo by Danny Reisch

A Saint Making a Joyous Noise

The venerated noise in question belongs to Annie Clark, otherwise known as St. Vincent. Having established herself as a member of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band, Clark set off on her own with her stunning 2007 debut, Marry Me. Now touring in support of her new release, Actor, Clark brings her considerable musical chops to bear at the Black Cat on Friday, May 21. Evoking not only female singer/songwriters like Kate Bush and Regina Spektor, but also the idiosyncratic Stevens, this is a show not to miss.

Photo courtesy of Lever & Beam

Hotspur's "Chandelier" Video

"Chandelier"


Local power-poppers Hotspur have got a new album You Should Know Better By Now dropping June 23rd, but in the meantime, they just released a video for the first single, "Chandelier." Take a peek.

Tereu Tereu / CD Release 5/19 @ DC9

These kids from Fredericksburg, VA have been busy, and they're ready to drop their full-length debut, All That Keeps Us Together this Tuesday, May 19th at DC9. Tereu Tereu’s noisy indie-pop is sneakily catchy, and they aren’t afraid to blend different sonic elements together (like trumpet). But most importantly, they can bring it live, thanks to Ryan Little’s earnest, almost fragile, vocals, and a pulsing rhythm section.

MP3: Beyond the Coast - Tereu Tereu

Sixto Rodriguez @ Rock & Roll Hotel 5/13

Catch the psych-folk sounds of Sixto Rodriguez at the Rock & Roll Hotel this Wednesday, May 13th, as he tours to support the reissue of his 1971 album Coming From Reality. A lost classic? You can decide for yourself. But these two tracks from it groove quite heartily, complete with some strong cool vocals from Rodriguez.

MP3: Heikki’s Suburbia Bus Tour – Sixto Rodriguez
MP3: Climb Up On My Music – Sixto Rodriguez

Red Collar at the Velvet Lounge - Wednesday 5/13

In need a little Hump Day reverie? Can you not make it to the weekend without putting on your dancing shoes? Then come check out Red Collar at the Velvet Lounge tomorrow. Think Springsteen meets Social D. They're fun and high energy and earnest all at once. They're playing on a bill with Noon30, Floored on Empty, Wicked Hemlocks & Spiral Beach. Five bands. Eight bucks. Do the math. Doors open at 7:30, and the show starts at 9.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Leah Woliansky.

Leonard Cohen @ Merriweather / A Review

As if to contest any argument that he may be too old for this at 74, Leonard Cohen jogged spryly on to the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion promptly at 7:30 the night of May 11th, and the band kicked into “Dance Me to the End of Love.” Thus began an evening of masterful musicianship, high sartorial style, inspired lighting and some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written in the English language.

Leonard Cohen’s age was reflected in the suit and fedora that he wore. The formal, retro stylishness was reiterated in the breast pocket handkerchiefs, haberdashery, and polished wingtips of his excellent backup musicians. A bygone time was also recalled in the way he would take off his hat while listening to the solos — the melancholy moan of the stand-up bass played by Roscoe Beck, the mandolin hauntingly plucked by Javier Mas, the aching tones of Bob Metzger’s steel pedal guitar — or when accepting the adulation of the audience. When singing, though, his voice belied the years, the low, gravelly growl rumbling strongly in “Tower of Song,” and “I’m Your Man,” the soaring notes achieved in “So Long Marianne” and “Take This Waltz,” the moving subtlety of “The Partisan” and “Anthem.” In between sets, he skipped on and off the stage.

Not even for the best seats in the house, my ticket was just over $100 when ticketing fees were added in, and I grumbled over the un-Buddhist exorbitancy of the most expensive concert ticket I had ever bought. But the investment began to look quite smart when the rain came shortly before the start of the concert. Leonard Cohen made it very clear that he was on this tour for the money, after being fleeced by his former manager (and lover, he ain’t just making up the stories about tortured love affairs). He didn’t just take the money and run. He delivered a concert that was more than 3 hours long, and he played a career-spanning repertoire of songs, from “Suzanne” on through to his latest album from which 3 songs were performed, “In My Secret Life,” “Boogie Street,” written and performed by his longtime songwriting collaborator Sharon Robinson, and “A Thousand Kisses Deep,” powerfully delivered as spoken word. Unfailingly polite and respectful of the audience, Leonard Cohen humbly thanked us for coming to see him, a refreshing change from smug, self-righteous musicians that regard adulation as a tiresome burden better answered with lectures and scorn. He especially acknowledged those who were standing out in the rain on the lawn. He also introduced his band twice to the audience to make sure that they got their well-deserved acclaim.

Often he would get down on one knee, either in deference to his musicians, or as the only sensible position in which to deliver exquisitely elegant lyrics that so perfectly express the fatally flawed human condition. Sometimes he would do a few, tight dance moves of economical exuberance. Or else he would curl up close to himself, eyes closed, to croon both of deforming angst and transcendent ecstasy, occasionally at the same time.

The lighting lent the final master brushstrokes to the evening. Blood red for the flamenco-like “Who by Fire,” bruised blue for “Famous Blue Raincoat,” bright and spot lit for “First We Take Manhattan,” and awash in red, white and blue for “Democracy.” Bathed in a golden light for “Hallelujah,” the stage soon fuzzed into a shimmering haze as the redemption that the theology of music brings to the imperfect human spirit brought me to tears. “There’s a blaze of light in every word, it doesn’t matter which are heard, the holy or the broken Hallelujah.”

Next time he comes to town, I'll pay for the expensive ticket with no complaints. Rent is not cheap in the tower of song.

**Special thanks to Alice Stephens for conributing this review**

A Tale of Two Concerts - My Gato Negro Weekend

I had the pleasure of seeing not one, but two, shows at the Black Cat this past weekend. Saturday night saw me in attendance at the Noah & the Whale show. This Twickenham quartet is like a Wes Anderson movie set to music - witty, inscrutable, yet oddly charming. This shouldn't be surprising, as the lads are big fans of Wes Anderson, and draw the inspiration from director Noah Baumbach and his movie The Squid and the Whale (a film Anderson produced). They played many of the tracks off their debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, offering particularly spirited renditions of their songs "Rocks and Daggers" and "5 Years Time". The latter song benefited from the backup vocals of opening artist Anni Rossi. The band also showcased several tracks from their forthcoming albums, decidedly darker and less folky tracks that seemingly derived their origin in the implosion of lead vocalist Charlie Fink's relationship. Although I was disappointed their encore wasn't longer, I couldn't help but chuckle by their song selection, a cover of the The Smiths' "Girlfriend in a Coma".

Sunday night was an abrupt about-face with the Cursive show. This Nebraska post-hardcore outfit aren't afraid to show their softer side, and featured a cello player at one point in their lineup, but they bring a thunderous edge to bear on their albums and in their live shows. Touring in support of their new album Mama, I'm Swollen, the band ruminate on the human condition, issues of morality and the existential angst of modern life. Frontman Tim Kasher meditates lyrically on whether civilization has improved our lot or simply altered our routine and sublimated our more primitive instincts for upward mobility and enlightenment. On the album's first single, "From the Hips", he sings, "Don't want to mumble what I'm trying to say / I want to scream if from my foaming mouth / Shoot out the lights and ride away". With "Caveman", a rollicking, honky tonk-inflected number, Kasher launches a broadside against American materialism and the socio-economic Darwinism of our capitalist ways. In the refrain he howls "The taller we become the more dollars we can grab from that highest branch / And then step on your back given the chance". This set displayed every facet of the considerable musical charms of the band and their new album, blending their post-punk cred and country-tinged roots with their proggier and more experimental impulses.

Photos courtesy of Brian Flores
Special thanks to Amanda Pitts of Cobra Camanda Publicity for arranging the photo pass to the Cursive show (shhhh, I didn't have one for the NATW show)