Author: Neal Keller

Live Review: Stray Cats @ Wolf Trap — 8/13/19

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Stray Cats, from left to right: Lee Rocker, Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom (Photo by Russ Harrington)

From the balcony, in a rickety old theatre in Rochester, New York. That’s where I first saw the Stray Cats perform, back in 1984. And when they started rocking, that balcony pitched up and down in a way that probably should have concerned us a bit more. But it was college, we were cool, and the band left us little choice — you couldn’t have sat still for this one. I walked into that show all those years ago a casual attendee, and left a dedicated fan.

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Live Review: The Brian Setzer Orchestra @ The Anthem — 11/30/18

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Brian Setzer performs at The Anthem on Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath/Instagram+Twitter: Insomnigraphic/GrillworksBen)

No offense to the National Symphony Orchestra, but The BSO has got way mo’ boogie than the NSO. The BSO, or The Brian Setzer Orchestra, was in town for their 15th Annual Christmas Rocks tour recently at The Anthem.

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Around Town: Dimensions DC @ Ai — 9/28-9/30/18

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Projection dome by Derrick Planz at Dimensions DC (Photo courtesy the artist)

Entering the warehouse space that was set up to house the Dimensions DC multi-sensory art and music experience recently, I realized that I had been to the place before. Several years ago, the nondescript building was one of the sites for the Forward festival, a citywide electronic arts and music showcase. I don’t think this stretch of West Virginia Ave. was as developed back then.

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Music Park: Rising Appalachia @ 9:30 Club — 5/25/18

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Rising Appalachia 12 Rising Appalachia performs at 9:30 Club on May 25, 2018. (Photo by Neal Keller)

The music of Rising Appalachia seems intent on taking you to places. Places that are off the main roads, overgrown with kudzu, under the lazy glow of june bugs rising from beneath the porch swing. Their regional affiliations are alluded to in the band’s name, and as their set slowly unfolded recently at the 930 Club, they took the audience on a tour of the hazy south east.

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Music Park: The Soft Moon @ DC9 — 4/29/18

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Soft Moon @ DC9, Washington DC, 04/29/2018
Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon performs at DC9 on April 29, 2018. (Photo by Paivi)

In his recordings, Oakland, California’s The Soft Moon, aka Luis Vasquez, sounds distant and submerged, stitching together a mosaic of murky shapes on frameless canvasses. Amidst a backdrop of ominous tones and layered guitars, the heavily treated vocal parts often seem to emerge from the vortex of sound like leaves in an updraft. It’s the kind of technique that works well in the studio, but can be difficult to present live. So as I awaited their set Sunday night at DC9, I was curious to see how it translated to the stage.

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Music Park: of Montreal @ 9:30 Club — 3/25/18

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Of Montreal performs at 9:30 Club on March 25, 2018. (Photo by Neal Keller)

Witnessing Of Montreal’s live show, both on this current tour and on tour in 2016, has magnified my appreciation for the band immensely. I happened into their music through hearing tracks in the sets of DJs I admire, and I attended my first show as a bit of a lark. Expecting to see an eclectic sounding indie rock band drop some catchy tunes in an unassuming fashion, I was instead treated to a spectacle of theatrics and mania.

Better prepared for their elaborate production this past Sunday at 9:30 Club, I am ready for immersion in the experience.

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Music Park: Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ State Theater — 12/30/17

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Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Blind Boys of Alabama at Ottawa Jazzfest
Kirk Joseph plays Sousaphone for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Ottawa Jazzfest on June 23, 2015. (Photo by Mike Bouchard)

The last week of 2017 will be remembered as a cold one. I’m not very fond of winter and I spend most of it grousing. So I found myself, somewhat sullen in mood, entering the State Theatre on the last Saturday before the New Year to encounter — warmth!

I’m not just talking about the toasty temperature of the State Theatre itself; I’m referring to the mood being set by the band on the stage. Dirty Dozen Brass Band (DDBB) had come to Falls Church this evening as part of their 40th Anniversary tour, and they were throwing down a piping hot musical stew of New Orleans Jazz over a bed of sizzling funk that turned this otherwise icy patch of Northern Virginia into summertime on the Bayou.

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