Poppy performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
Last fall, crossover media star Poppy released Flux, her fourth studio album, via Sumerian Records. She recently embarked on the Flux Tour, which saw her visit The Fillmore Silver Spring. Katherine Gaines was there to document the show.
Geordie Greep leads black midi in a performance at Black Cat on April 5, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
Once in a while, there comes a band with a presentation so volatile, so unruly that it almost becomes an endeavor to be navigated by its members.
Since forming in 2017, the London-based group known as black midi has experienced a gigantic leap in popularity. That popularity resulted in a smashing turnout for their most recent appearance at the Black Cat in DC.
Following a period that included the release of two singles, a residency at Brixton’s popular venue The Windmill, and then a key live (and recorded) performance during the Iceland Airwaves festival, black midi was signed to Rough Trade Records in 2019 leading up to its premiere studio album, Schlagenheim, which went on to earn a nomination for that year’s Mercury Prize.
Christopher Vanderkooy shreds on the electric guitar during a Peach Pit performance at 9:30 Club on April 2, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
Though naturally some of a band’s recorded material is going to create some expectations of its in-person sound, a musical act doesn’t have to let its studio work define its live presentation.
But whether it’s by foresight or luck, the bulk of some artists’ songbooks turns out to be scalable thanks to either a set trajectory or built-in room for improvisation to expand and amplify the sound.
Peach Pit, a red-hot indie pop-rock outfit out of Vancouver, has experienced a rapid rise to popularity since its two founding members graduated high school. As students, Neil Smith and Christopher Vanderkooy teamed up in 2014 to create what began as a possible one-off music project.
Big Thief (Photo by Alexa Viscius)
Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, out now on 4AD, is already one of the most raved about albums of 2022. The band tour in support of the album with a date at The Anthem in DC on Thursday, April 21.
Sierra Ferrell (Photo courtesy Fantasy Records)
West Virginia native and current Nashville resident Sierra Ferrell says she’s listens to everything and, when you hear her music, you’re inclined to believe her. The singer-songwriter, who recently released her label debut, Long Time Coming, on Rounder Records, combines bluegrass and the Appalachian mountain folk music of her home state with not only swing and jazz, but even strands of Latin music. All of this is brought together by her unique, distinctive voice, which sounds as though it is out of time.
I caught her just in time to experience that powerful sound at The Hamilton Live in DC recently.
Leif Vollebekk performs at Union Stage on April 1, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
A voice that sounds like it’s lived a lifetime’s worth of heartache — if that’s not a solid foundation for an indie folk singer-songwriter, then possessing the skills of a world-class multi-instrumentalist would most certainly assist those efforts.
Leif Vollebekk began playing instruments as a little kid in Ottawa, and it would appear that the countless hours the 36-year-old spent training served as a worthwhile and illuminating runway for the music he’s offering the world today. Leif offered that music to a receptive audience at Union Stage in DC recently.
Jack White (Photo by David James Swanson)
Jack White soon hits the road for his Supply Chain Issues Tour, his first headline shows in four years, and he visits DC to perform at The Anthem on Tuesday, April 19!
Andrew Savage performs with Parquet Courts at 9:30 Club on April 5, 2022. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Colored lights strobed across Parquet Courts as they performed at 9:30 Club recently, and the effect was akin to an artist splashing paints across a canvas, allowing subjects to emerge from pastoral hues rather than appear fully formed from the outset.
The lighting suited the Brooklyn quartet, who have become increasingly psychedelic with their new album Sympathy for Life, released last fall via Rough Trade, in an effort to capture the essence of late-night dance clubs and perhaps also the sense of solitary souls coming together within a city’s communal space.
Maxo Kream accepts a birthday cake from Union Stage on April 2, 2022. (Photo by AJ Waugh)
I think I heard the name Maxo Kream around for at least a year before I ever heard his music, but from the first time I heard “Grannies” in 2017, it connected instantly. I downloaded his Punken project and the Houston storyteller has stayed a constant in my rotation ever since; so I had to be there when I saw Maxo’s Big Persona Tour was making its DC stop recently at Union Stage.
Andy Shauf leads his band in a performance at Black Cat on March 30, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
When a musician is so particular enough about their sound as to be exact, it can be heard in their recordings. Translating that approach to a live performance should be appreciated and admired for the impressive feat that is.
After two previous attempts were simply not to be due to the pandemic and travel challenges, Andy Shauf finally returned the nation’s capital to appear at Black Cat recently for a tasteful and rewarding display of the unique and flawless brand of music that has made him a sensational figure out of Western Canada.
