Livestream Preview: RDGLDGRN @ Facebook Live, 3/20/20
RDGLDGRN (Photo by Ky Kasselman)
DC-based hip-hop trio RDGLDGRN broadcasts two free livestream performances in support of Capital Area Food Bank via Facebook Live on Friday, March 20.
My Favorite Artist: Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams (Photo by Danny Clinch)
Editor’s Note: Parklife DC asked its contributors to write essays about their favorite bands. These essays appear in an occasional series, My Favorite Artist, and provide our readers with insights into our bloggers, their motivations, and their approach to covering concerts.
In 1994, Lucinda Williams won her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Passionate Kisses,” a track from her self-titled 1988 turn to Americana. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover of the song also won for Best Country Vocal Performance.
While Mary may have taken away the hardware for her performance of the song, Lucinda’s hardcore fans — like me — will always prefer her performance of the song.
Live Review: Dead Kennedys @ 9:30 Club — 3/11/20
Dead Kennedys frontman Skip Greer impressed with flair and deadpan comedy at 9:30 Club on March 11, 2020. (Photo by Paivi Salonen)
Coronavirus couldn’t stop our District’s vulnerable punk population from coming out in droves to support one of the scene’s most iconic bands, Dead Kennedys. Despite increasingly dire news around the global pandemic, and a declaration of emergency from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser mere hours before doors opened, 9:30 Club was packed to near capacity with diehard DK fans eager to see these living legends in the flesh.
Around Town: All DC Music Venues Now Officially Closed
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser at the DC Funk Parade on May 12, 2018. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
Yesterday, Parklife DC speculated under what circumstances some DC music venues might remain open in the face of the coronavirus threat. Under an emergency order clarified on Sunday, Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed music venues, such as Songbyrd Music House for example, with a tavern or restaurant license to remain open while closing those categorized as nightclubs or multipurpose facilities.
Ultimately, Songbyrd decided it was impractical to remain open under the circumstances, and the venue announced it would close its doors all the same.
Yesterday at 4pm, Mayor Bowser made our hair-splitting assessment moot by ordering the closure of all restaurants and taverns in addition to the previously closed nightclubs and multipurpose facilities in order to staunch the spread of coronavirus.
Parklife will continue to update our readers on the status of music venues and concerts in the DC metro area.
Live Review: Destroyer @ Black Cat — 3/9/20
Destroyer performs at Black Cat on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Casey Vock.)
Strange times are best scored with a bizarre and darkly complex soundtrack. We are clearly in such times, and thanks to the Black Cat’s eclectic schedule, including the occasional Canadian band, DC area fans were recently given a healthy dose of avant-garde rock, only a couple days before local venues started canceling shows.
Live Review: Wire @ Union Stage — 3/9/20
Colin Newman performs with Wire at Union Stage on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Paivi Salonen)
For over 40 years, Wire has been one of the most innovative bands to come out of the United Kingdom, if not the world. Since their 1977 debut, Pink Flag, they’ve shifted their musical style with almost every album. Beginning as a stripped-down, breakneck-paced punk affair, Wire has embraced new textures and sounds, including electronic music.
The band’s recent show at DC’s Union Stage began with a 45-minute DJ set of electronic music, with one notable composition that sounded like a fusion of Ennio Morricone and ambient electronics.
Around Town: DC Closes Nightclubs Indefinitely to Fight Coronavirus
Music gear on DC9’s stage (Photo by Jon)
Prior the declaration of a national emergency on March 13, DC’s IMP concert venues, including 9:30 Club and The Anthem, declared they would voluntarily close down through March 31 as part of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
But a clarified order issued by DC’s mayor on Sunday shut both venues indefinitely all the same.
Live Review: Lankum @ Jammin’ Java — 3/12/20
Lankum (Photo courtesy Rough Trade Records)
The droning guitars and eerie pipes of the Irish folk band Lankum have led some to describe their music as apocalyptic. On the evening before the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic as a US national emergency, the band darkly joked, “Thanks a million for taking your lives into your own hands.”
Frontman Ian Lynch added, “We kind of feel like the band on The Titanic.”
Live Review: Graham Nash @ The Birchmere — 3/10/20
Graham Nash performs at The Birchmere on March 10, 2020. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
With a voice as powerful and pure as ever, Graham Nash gifted a full house at The Birchmere recently with a stunning two-and-a-half-hour performance. Though many of us had seen him perform with CSN (and sometimes Y), to experience a Nash solo performance was a rare privilege.
Snapshots: Heart Bones @ Metro Gallery — 3/10/20
Heart Bones perform at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore on March 10, 2020. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
Heart Bones might be the least pretentious band in existence. They hop on stage looking like somebody’s embarrassing parents in their matching khaki shorts, and walk away sweating through their own faces on their T-shirts.
On a recent night at the Metro Gallery, Heart Bones danced to their hearts’ content.
