Hozier performs at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore on March 13, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert).
Filled seats, flashing lights, rattling rafters, and the kind of folk-soul hybrid that shakes the soul and moves the feet. This defined the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore recently as Hozier took an audience’s hearts in his hands then broke and reconstituted them.
Author: Matt Ruppert
Live Review: The Dead Tongues @ Jammin Java — 2/17/19
The Dead Tongues perform at Jammin Java on Feb. 17, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
I walked around Jammin Java on Sunday, its brick walls reflecting the stagelights, crowd slowly filling in. My wife asked if I wanted a beer; we went to the bar, where a gaggle of musicians ordered drinks, special opener Molly Sarlé holding a bouquet of white and yellow flowers. Ryan Gustafson, also known by his stage name The Dead Tongues, walked away last, but not before I could say, “I’m really looking forward to the show.” He stopped, turned, looked me in the eyes, telling me “Thanks so much,” with a hand on my shoulder.
Live Review: Lucinda Williams @ The Anthem — 2/8/19
Lucinda Williams performs at The Anthem on Feb. 8, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
By nearly all accounts, Lucinda Williams is the undisputed queen of Americana. Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, recently passing its 20th anniversary, is a desert island record for nearly anyone who’s had the privilege of settling down with its songs. Full of nearly interminable heartbreak, its characters somehow keep picking up the pieces to start again.
And so, Lucinda rolled into DC with the Drive-By Truckers and Erika Wennerstrom to play The Anthem on an unseasonably warm night recently.
Live Review: Drive-By Truckers @ The Anthem — 2/8/19
Drive-By Truckers perform at The Anthem on Feb. 8, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
Full disclosure: The songs of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have guided me through some of the best and hardest years of my adulthood. From the first discovery of Southern Rock Opera during my college years to the most recent American Band, I can write with confidence that their songs hold persistent meaning to me.
So, I will not be objective about the recent performance of Drive-By Truckers at The Anthem. Consider this your warning.
Live Review: Sharon Van Etten @ 9:30 Club — 2/6/19
Sharon van Etten and her band performs at the 9:30 Club. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
Anticipation hovered in the thick, rain-refracted light over 9:30 Club as the early crowd nestled close to the brick, waiting. Darkness and light bouncing back and forth, the air felt thick with hope, with expectation, as Sharon van Etten would take the stage at the club recently for the first time to play the songs off her new album Remind Me Tomorrow.
Live Review: HC McEntire @ Jammin Java — 2/2/19
HC McEntire at Jammin Java on Feb. 2, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
I remember when I first saw HC McEntire play on a stage with Mount Moriah, knees shivering with the music, her voice echoing off the tin ceiling and walls of Boot and Saddle in Philly. Cavernous, passionate, and ultimately transformative, in many ways. I read my journal from around that show and it has a quote I think is worth sharing – “Shimmying, we are alive,” which is a reference to the song, “Hail, Lightning” from their eponymous album.
Her recent show at Jammin’ Java was equally transformative.
Live Review: Amen Dunes @ 9:30 Club — 1-31-19
Amen Dunes performs at the 9:30 Club on Jan. 31, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
In the minutes before Amen Dunes walked onstage on Thursday, a kind of trance settled over the 9:30 Club.
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