DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Lower Dens performs at Songbyrd Music House on Feb. 14, 2020. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Beach House. Dan Deacon. Future Islands. Animal Collective. Baltimore has been a hot music scene for a while now, but for some reason the amazing Lower Dens never seem to be mentioned in these conversations often enough. That’s a real shame because Jana Hunter’s outfit has been pumping out quality tunes for over a decade now.
Temples perform at U Street Music Hall on Jan. 20, 2020. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Sometimes when it’s cold as hell out, the best thing to do is pack into a small crowded room and watch a killer rock show. That’s exactly what I did on Monday, catching a brilliant show from Temples at U Street Music Hall.
Cage the Elephant performs at The Anthem on Dec. 3, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
It’s been a good year for Cage the Elephant fans in DC. The band has been through town twice this year, playing Merriweather over the summer with Beck and Spoon and also headlining the recent DC101 holiday shindig at The Anthem. Add in October 2018 performance at the new Entertainment and Sport Arena, and that’s three shows in just over a year. Not too shabby.
Billy Bragg performs at The Birchmere on Sept. 19, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Not many solo artists armed with only an amp and a guitar have done it longer or better than Billy Bragg. Accordingly, the recent trend of artists playing classic albums in their entirety is a great opportunity for Bragg, a master storyteller in addition to being a master songwriter, to look back on his career, but with a bit of a twist.
The Hives perform at Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia on May 18, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Look, I don’t make the rules. But the rules clearly state that if THE BEST DAMN LIVE BAND ON THE PLANET decide not to play D.C. on their tour, but they are playing Philadelphia on a Saturday night, well you gas up the car and hit the road. So that’s what we did, trekking north to the City of Brotherly Love to catch Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, Nicholaus Arson and the rest of The Hives on the opening night of their all too brief US tour.
The Dandy Warhols perform at 9:30 Club on May 6, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
The Dandy Warhols are 25? For serious? If you would have asked me back in mid-’90s, I would have said no chance. And how wrong I would have been. The Dandys have carved out a nice career for themselves, being smart about song placements for ads and video games, making friends in right places (they opened for David Bowie!), investing back into a home studio and most importantly, making a steady stream of their wonderful brand of oddball pop.
Spiritualized performs at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on April 16, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Spiritualized were so fucking good on Tuesday night I’ve decided to go see them again on Philly on Friday.
That’s it. That’s the review.
Teenage Fanclub performs at 9:30 Club on March 16, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
It seems wrong to start a concert review by mentioning the one guy that wasn’t there, but we might as well address the elephant in the room first thing. Last fall, Gerry Love, bassist and founding member of Teenage Fanclub, announced he would leave the group after their winter run of shows in the UK.
Gruff Rhys performs at DC9 on Oct. 11, 2018, in one of the best shows of the year. (Photos by Kyle Gustafson)
Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2018 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.
Kyle Gustafson provided us his Top 10 concerts of the year — most of which he shot personally! Check out Kyle’s Top 10 shows.
Kurt Vile performs at 9:30 Club on Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)
Kurt Vile played a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club last Friday, the first of two nights at the club as part of the first leg of his US tour supporting his latest album, Bottle It In.
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