DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Samantha Fish performs at The Birchmere on Oct. 19, 2020. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
I wasn’t sure what the experience of a concert would be like when I attended my first show since early March at The Birchmere on Monday evening. I knew that the concert hall would be a half-capacity, sold out for blues guitarist extraordinaire and singer-songwriter Samantha Fish. But I wasn’t sure what kind of energy such a crowd would generate.
A Marvin Gaye mural by Aniekan Udofia in the 700 block of S Street, NW, DC (Photo by Elvert Barnes)
Required Reading is Parklife DC’s essay series on music appreciation.
Recently, Rolling Stone released a new list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, releasing a wave of responses. These responses to the list largely focused on content of the list, on issues of representation and of the position of various genres in the canon of popular music. Almost nothing, however, has been said about the form and structure of the list.
Justin Townes Earle (Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins)
Americana singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle passed away yesterday, Aug. 23, at only 38 years old. Yesterday was the day after my own 40th birthday, and it had me hard — an incredibly talented man even younger than me leaving this world. Continue Reading
Creative writing! (Photo courtesy Microbiz Mag, http://www.microbizmag.co.uk)
Required Reading is Parklife DC’s essay series on music appreciation.
When I was just starting to write concert reviews, my editor advised me to find the story and tell it. That turned out to be great advice. A concert review should be more than just what happened. It should be unified, it should have a through-line. This is true for any narrative, fiction or non. In learning to tell the stories of concerts, I’ve become a better writer, not just of concert reviews, but of fiction.
Bobby Bare, Charlie Daniels, and Randy Travis (Photo courtesy of 117 Entertainment)
Charlie Daniels’s biggest hit was “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” but it’s not his best song. In my opinion, his best song was “Then, Now, and Until the End,” a celebration of the roots of American.Continue Reading
The Birchmere is among the DC-area music venues closed by the covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Dan Reed)
Required Reading is Parklife DC’s essay series on music appreciation.
Music provides more to its fans than just entertainment. Live shows provide community. They are places where people who share an interest can come together. Losing live music during this pandemic has stripped away my primary outlet for socialization.
I have Autism Spectrum Disorder. Socializing and relationships do not come easily for me. I struggle to make smalltalk. My affect strikes a lot of people as “off.”
Of the many communities where I’ve dipped my toes, none has proved as supportive and welcome as music and music fandom. I can relate to fellow music fans on the basis of a shared interest, which makes me feel comfortable and confident in that setting. I’m even appreciated and respected for my encyclopedic knowledge.
A peek inside the Country Music Museum (Photo by Adinda Uneputty)
Required Reading is Parklife DC’s essay series on music appreciation.
Country music and genre fiction (specifically science-fiction and fantasy, hereafter just “sff”) might not seem like they have much in common. In fact, they have developed along strikingly similar lines. Both are popular art forms subject to a certain devaluation, especially by cultural elites. And in both cases, there is a divide between a more conservative mainstream that appeals to the masses and more political progressive, artistically ambitious element.
John Prine (Photo by Danny Clinch)
(Editor’s note: Folk musician John Prine, 73, died of complications related to COVID-19 on April 7.)
A Personal Remembrance of John Prine
I only saw John Prine live once. In November 2017, he played DAR Constitution Hall. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys opened the show.
The Birchmere (Photo by dontdothisathome)
With a history going back more than 50 years, The Birchmere enjoys an unparalleled prestige with both artists and fans among DMV venues. Known as the region’s center for roots music, the venue has hosted a staggering number of legendary artists.
Lucinda Williams (Photo by Danny Clinch)
Editor’s Note: Parklife DC asked its contributors to write essays about their favorite bands. These essays appear in an occasional series, My Favorite Artist, and provide our readers with insights into our bloggers, their motivations, and their approach to covering concerts.
In 1994, Lucinda Williams won her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Passionate Kisses,” a track from her self-titled 1988 turn to Americana. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover of the song also won for Best Country Vocal Performance.
While Mary may have taken away the hardware for her performance of the song, Lucinda’s hardcore fans — like me — will always prefer her performance of the song.
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