Live Review: Gogol Bordello @ Rams Head Live! — 12/31/21

Posted on 01/06/2022 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged Gogol Bordello, New York City, punk, Rams Head Live.

Gogol Bordello perform at Rams Head Live! on Dec. 31, 2021. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

It can sometimes be a struggle to decide on what to do for New Years Eve. Many people choose the ring in the new year in a variety of ways. In the DMV there’s no shortage when it comes to venues for the most common styles of New Year’s celebrations – places of worship, raucous parties, or gathering to take in live music. At a Gogol Bordello show music is religion, their live show is always a party, and Rams Head Live was understandably the ideal place to welcome the magnificent year of 2022.

Live Review: The Struts @ Lincoln Theatre — 9/7/21

Posted on 09/13/2021 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged England, glam, Lincoln Theatre, The Struts.

The Struts perform at Lincoln Theatre on Sept. 7, 2021. (Photos by Rashad Polk)

The Struts rolled through D.C. recently, taking over the historic Lincoln Theatre to deliver a genuine rock and roll show.

Best of the Year: Top 10 Photos of 2019 by Rashad

Posted on 12/20/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Agnostic Front, Beck, Best of 2019, best of the year, Cafe 611, Cage the Elephant, Con Brio, Dom Flemons, Hill Center, Integrity, Masked Intruder, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Metro Gallery, Pixies, Royal Farms Arena, The Devil Makes Three, The Fillmore Silver Spring, The Hamilton, The Hamilton Live.

A photo from Beck’s summer concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion ranked among Rashad Polk’s Top 10 Photos of 2019 (but not this photo). (Photo by Rashad Polk)

Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2019 or choose their Top 10 photos of the year. We will run them over the course of mid-December as our Best of the Year posts.

Editor (again): The very skillful Rashad Polk picked 10 of his photos as the best of 2019 — take it away, Rashad!

Live Review: Reverend Horton Heat @ Black Cat — 12/15/19

Posted on 12/19/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged Black Cat, Dallas, holiday party, psychobilly, Reverend Horton Heat, rockabilly, Texas.

The Reverend Horton Heat performs at Black Cat on Dec. 15, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

As the year winds down, we enter a period of mandatory social gatherings. There’s the ugly sweater parties, the holiday party at the office, Chanukah with the in-laws, Christmas dinner at a tableful of third and fourth cousins… but the one holiday event that should truly be mandatory went down recently at the Black Cat. The Reverend Horton Heat came through town for the 2019 edition of Horton’s Holiday Hayride.

Live Review: Highly Suspect @ 9:30 Club — 11/17/19

Posted on 11/21/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, blues, hard rock, Highly Suspect, Massachusetts, reggae.

Highly Suspect performs at 9:30 Club on Nov. 17, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

Anyone in attendance at 9:30 Club can easily deduce that DC is dope. The logic is simple — according to the title of Highly Suspect’s brand new album, MCID, their crew is dope. It was evident at the band’s recent sold-out show, the band’s first D.C. performance since a two-night stand at 9:30 Club last year, that Highly Suspect’s crew has a large presence in the nation’s capital.

Live Review: Con Brio @ The Hamilton Live — 10/10/19

Posted on 10/14/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged California, Con Brio, funk, R&B, San Francisco, soul, The Hamilton, The Hamilton Live.

Con Brio performs at The Hamilton Live on Oct. 10, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

The stage at The Hamilton was recently host to one of the funkiest bands to come out of the San Francisco Bay area — Con Brio. While Con Brio can easily be compared to other legendary groups from the same area such as Sly and the Family Stone or Tower of Power, another group that comes to mind is Metallica. Though there isn’t too much in common on the surface, both bands seem to continually deliver on the promise of their respective band names.

Live Review: Agnostic Front @ Cafe 611 — 10/3/19

Posted on 10/08/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged Agnostic Front, Cafe 611, hardcore punk, New York City, punk.

Agnostic Front performs at Cafe 611 on Oct. 3, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

The Godfathers of hardcore, Agnostic Front, recently graced the stage at Cafe 611 in Frederick, Maryland, during a DC-area stop of their tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of their debut studio album Victim in Pain. Throughout the years since their first release, the New York Hardcore legends’ sound has evolved while still retaining the essential elements that have cemented their status as a band whose style is so often emulated.

Live Review: Beck @ Merriweather Post Pavilion — 8/22/19

Posted on 08/28/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged Americana, anti-folk, art pop, Beck, Cage the Elephant, California, Los Angeles, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Beck performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Aug. 22, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

In preparation of the release of his upcoming album Hyperspace, Beck stopped by Merriweather on his co-headlining tour with Cage the Elephant.

Live Review: Cage the Elephant @ Merriweather Post Pavilion — 8/22/19

Posted on 08/27/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged blues, Cage the Elephant, garage, Kentucky, Merriweather Post Pavilion, punk.

Cage the Elephant performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Aug. 22, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

The last time Cage the Elephant played the DC area was last fall at the DC Entertainment and Sports Arena. This time around, the six-piece band from Kentucky played Merriweather Post Pavilion at the DC stop of their co-headlining The Night Running Tour with Beck recently.

Live Review: Rebelution @ MECU Pavilion — 8/8/19

Posted on 08/13/2019 by mdxpc in Live Review and tagged California, MECU Pavilion, Rebelution, reggae.

Rebelution performs at MECU Pavilion on Aug. 8, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)

With a pristine sunset over the Inner Harbor as a backdrop, Rebelution brought their good vibes and good times to MECU Pavilion for their Baltimore stop on their headlining Good Vibes Summer 2019 Tour. The good vibes were apparent as they radiated throughout the lawn, the pavilion, the stage — basically the entire venue.