You’d never had known from his recent sold-out show at The Anthem that Sturgill Simpson suffered a vocal chord rupture a few years ago. In a three-hour marathon performance, Simpson sounded as good as he ever has, working his way through a fantastic set of originals and covers.
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Snapshots: Slowdive @ The Anthem — 11/17/24
A little over a year ago, Slowdive released Everything Is Alive, the band’s fifth studio album. It was their second studio album since reforming in 2014 after roughly 20 years away, and it boosted the band to new heights!
After selling out 9:30 Club earlier this year, Slowdive recently returned to DC for a bigger show at The Anthem, and Nalinee Darmrong was there to photograph the concert.
Live Review: Haley Heynderickx w/ Kalia Vandever @ 9:30 Club — 11/16/24
Haley Heynderickx dedicated “Swoop” to “tiny Filipino mothers and the sacrifices they made for weirdos like me.” She might be a bit of a weirdo, but in a charming way, and her set delighted the crowd at the 9:30 Club during her recent early show there.
One of the more charming parts of the show was when Haley introduced her band and asked them to share a fun fact about themselves. We learned her trombone player was an undocumented immigrant for two decades, and that her guitarist speaks English as a second language — his native tongue is Japanese. He’s also married to the band’s cellist, and they recently welcomed their first child. When it was Haley’s turn, she demurred, saying she didn’t have a fun fact, because “I’m not a fun person.” I disagree!
Live Review: Sam Grisman Project @ Wild Buffalo House of Music (Bellingham, WA) — 11/14/24
Sam Grisman Project (SGP) recently made a highly anticipated return to Bellingham, Washington’s Wild Buffalo House of Music, 2024. After SGP’s successful debut at the Wild Buffalo nearly two years ago, we were ready for another evening of Grateful Dead-Dawg inspired music.
Live Review: Wale @ MGM National Harbor — 11/15/24
Wale, DC’s homegrown hero, recently ended his sold-out tour at MGM National Harbor. The surprise show was added after hundreds of fans flooded Wale’s social platforms in confusion as to why his home city did not make the cut for his tourdates release. It appears he had held out because he had a trick up his sleeve — as he announced the DC date along with a week-long roster off events to coincide with the one-year anniversary of “Wale Day” here in the District. The week’s events provided many opportunities for him to give back and connect with the city.
Live Review: Doechii @ Union Stage — 11/14/24
Doechii the Don, Doechii the Dean, Doechii Supreme, The Swamp Ruler — Doechii recently performed at Union Stage DC. Leading up to the final stop of The Alligator Bites Never Heal Tour, Doechii has been ruling the rap game. In every aspect possible, she’s a lyrical genius, a fashion goddess, and your rapper’s favorite rapper.
Live Review: Palehound and Ratboys w/ youbet @ The Atlantis — 11/11/24
“It’s so great to do this and create a space for everyone in this room,” said El Kempner, the guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the indie band Palehound after finishing their song “The Clutch.” It was the first of the band’s recent two nights appearing at The Atlantis on a split bill with Ratboys.
Live Review: Knocked Loose w/ The Garden, Drain, and Militarie Gun @ The Anthem — 11/10/24
I’ve worked a handful of hardcore shows and attended even fewer, but I can definitively say that this crowd is a group of seasoned pros when it comes to moshing.
Knocked Loose is a Kentucky band formed in 2013 consisting of members Bryan Garris (lead vocals), Isaac Hale (lead guitar), Nicko Calderon (rhythm guitar), Kevin Otten (bass), and Kevin “Pacsun” Kaine (drums). I’ve never seen a mosh pit comparable to the one at Knocked Loose’s recent set at The Anthem. Knocked Loose was at The Fillmore Silver Spring earlier this year, and I didn’t expect them to come back to the area so soon, let alone at The Anthem, so I knew this was a show to see. While I expected to see bodies in the air and thrashing limbs, I did not expect what was a relatively respectful crowd.
Live Review: Jeffrey Foucault Band w/ Erik Koskinen @ New Prospect Theatre (Bellingham, WA) — 11/10/24
“You may have noticed I’m playing an acoustic guitar. That means this is a folk music show.”
I’m not one to quibble, but Jeffrey Foucault’s recent show at Bellingham’s New Prospect Theatre was indeed folky, but oh, so much more. The Jeffrey Foucault Band, currently on the road in support of his newest album, The Universal Fire (Fluff and Gravy Records), showed us what happens when you get five master musicians in a room together playing at the top of their game.
Live Review: Andre 3000 @ The Kennedy Center — 11/9/24
In Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud grapples with the persistence of suffering despite the great technical and cultural advancements of modern society. Why, he asks, are people with access to all manner of technical achievements and amusing diversions still so frustrated in their pursuit of pleasure? He enumerates several means by which we cope with this societal failure, including intoxication, asceticism, and religion. Art, he suggests, is of little help in this struggle against unhappiness.
“The enjoyment of beauty has a peculiar, mildly intoxicating quality of feeling,” Freud writes, “but its intensity is weak as compared with that derived from the sating of crude and primary instinctual impulses.”
Andre 3000 disagrees.