Krewella (Photo by Chris Parsons)
Krewella brought their energy with them on this Sweatbox Tour performance last Thursday at a sold-out U Street Music Hall!
The tour name does it justice as you can see the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their music. The Chicago duo was joined by their touring drummer, Frank Zummo, who had breathtaking solos and kept up with the consistently fast-paced beats dropped by Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf — aka Krewella!
EDMit it review: 8.5/10
In 1994, my friend and rock-n-roll photographer Chester Simpson snapped a picture of shoegaze quartet Lush at the old 9:30 Club (once at 930 F Street NW, DC). That’s his one-time caption for that picture describing it above.
But the story of Lush isn’t quite done. Lush are back, releasing new material in 2016! They published new songs on an EP, Blind Spot, back in May via their own Edamame label.
But let’s rewind to 1996 and watch the official music video for “Ladykillers,” a great song from Lush, on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSgYHzACvMI]
Now, Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson (vocals and guitars) along with Phil King (bass) and drummer Justin Welch (Spitfire, Elastica) are on a world tour that stops in DC at the 9:30 Club tonight! Although many dates on their US tour sold out, the 9:30 Club show has not yet closed ticket sales!
What are you waiting for? Join us to see this fantastic band. Tickets are available online!
For more from my wise but wild photographer friend Chester, visit http://www.rock-n-rollphotos.com.
Lush
w/ Tamaryn
9:30 Club
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016
Doors @7pm
$35
All ages
Buzzcocks (Photo by Leone Collinane)
Punk exploded in the United Kingdom in 1976, and nowhere was that more true than specifically on June 4, 1976, when the Sex Pistols played at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto — the two men who would form the Buzzcocks, Manchester’s most enduring punk band — organized that gig for the Sex Pistols.
In the film 24 Hour Party People, Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson, portrayed by the actor Steve Coogan, estimates that are 42 people in the room during a recreation of the show, and many of them went on to form monumental bands like Joy Division, The Fall, and even The Smiths.
Season Record: 7-9-13 (34 points)
After going 1-1-3 (6 points) over the last five games, your United are still looking upwards in the hopes they can climb into the final playoff spot.
With only five games left, sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, the United have some work to do.
Lamar Neagle is leading the team in goals scored (6), adding two in September so far. Yet the United remain near the bottom of the Conference in total goals scored (39).
I think they find the momentum they need starting this Saturday and beat the purple Pride of Orlando. The two teams are tied in the standings.
No more draws allowed, something has to give.
Buy your tickets here.
Audacious Assertion: United 2, Orlando City 1
(My home picks so far: 4-4)
MLS: Orlando City SC at D.C. United
RFK Stadium
Saturday, September 24, 2016
7:00pm
$20-55
All ages
Sam Feldt (Photo courtesy AM only)
Sam Feldt started his music career in 2013 at the age of 20! And here in that short time, we are all dancing to his music. A year after his debut, the Dutchman signed with Spinnin’ Records and released his first track on the label.
In 2014, he grabbed our attention with his remix of the Sander van Doorn and Firebeatz release “Guitar Track,” which received almost two million plays on Soundcloud (250,000 plays in one week!) and a #1 Hypem spot.
Sam really drove it home with his 2015 release “Show Me Love,” a track that characterizes his signature sound of “beautifully built melodies, loads of atmosphere and emotion packed in a tantalizing, often laidback groove, ” according to his label.
In advance of a new release, Sam is spinning at the 9:30 Club with Bakermat on Friday, Sept. 30.
Listen to a preview of “Runaways” by Sam Feldt and Deepend featuring Teemu (available Oct. 7!) on Soundcloud:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/282859128″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
So far in 2016, Sam released his first extended play, Been a While, and singles “Shadows of Love” (featuring Heidi Rojas) and “Summer on You” (with Lucas & Steve featuring Wulf). The young DJ is unstoppable!
At the 9:30 Club, Sam is joined by fellow Dutchman Bakermat, who recently released the single “Living” featuring Alex Clare from the album of the same name.
Bakermat & Sam Feldt
9:30 Club
Friday, Sept. 30
Doors @11pm
$26
All ages
The Faint (Photo by Bill Sitzmann)
Synthpop quartet The Faint released a new song this year, and it’s pretty damn good… one of their better singles in quite a few years, I daresay!
The single will also see inclusion on an upcoming retrospective release by The Faint — CAPSULE: 1999-2016, due Sept. 30 via their longtime label Saddle Creek. To celebrate the release, The Faint are going on tour, and they stop at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Listen to “Young and Realistic,” the catchy new single by The Faint, on Soundcloud:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/264856931″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
The CAPSULE compilation arrives 17 years after the first release by The Faint — 1999’s Blank-Wave Arcade. The band rapidly matured and by 2001 released what many consider their masterpiece, Danse Macabre. The upcoming “greatest hits” includes contributions from albums Blank-Wave Arcade, Danse Macabre, Wet From Birth, Fasciinatiion, and Doom Abuse as well as “Young and Realistic” — and two brand new songs “Skylab1979” and “ESP.”
To me, the interesting thing about The Faint is that they almost always hit the perfect mark for what I consider “dark wave.” The Faint are a new wave band, but they eschew a lot of the sunny optimism of most new wave bands to drum up spikey dirges warning of difficult choices ahead. However, they never quite fall into the gloomy despair or overly distorted sound of modern industrial bands, saving them from easy categorization. And The Faint frontman Todd Fink is a joy to behold on synthesizer. (Seriously, it’s hard to find someone who can play synth with half as much energy!)
Opening for The Faint are Andy Gill’s new-look Gang of Four and Brooklyn dark-waver Travis Egedy, better known as Pictureplane. Don’t miss this action-packed bill!
The Faint
w/ Gang of Four, Pictureplane
9:30 Club
Saturday, Oct. 8
Doors @6pm
$25
All ages
Bloody Knives perform at Velvet Lounge on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photo by Paivi)
Bloody Knives stopped by Velvet Lounge last Friday on their fall tour. They were supported by Stems, Chester Hawkins, and Machine Drift.
The Dirty Nil (Photo courtesy Girlie Action)
The Dirty Nil hit the Rock and Roll Hotel in support of headliner Billy Talent last Wednesday night. The performance was high-speed, high-energy, and high-volume!
The Dirty Nil hail from Ontario, Canada, and are made up of Luke Bentham (guitar, vocals), Kyle Fisher (drums), and Dave Nardi (bass). The group released their debut album via Dine Alone Records back in February — an album titled Higher Power.
Pete Tong (Photo courtesy Infamous PR)
Pete Tong has seen it all — as radio host, producer, and DJ. The man was there at the start of acid house, and he famously signed Run DMC and Salt-n-Pepa to landmark record deals with London Records.
The Englishman recently began a new chapter of his life, relocating to Los Angeles. He helped Clear Channel Entertainment to launch Evolution dance while still maintaining his popular BBC Radio 1 programs. In addition to being a radio host and a producer, Pete also maintains his tremendous presence as a DJ, taking up no less than three residencies in the United States. He maintains an All Gone residency at Sound Nightclub in his new home of Los Angeles, while he also visits Miami regularly to DJ at Story and SLS Las Vegas at new club LiFE.
In addition to that, the All Gone Pete Tong brand has gone worldwide with festivals like the Winter Music Conference, Creamfields, TommorrowWorld, and SW4.
Well, you don’t have to travel the world to see Pete Tong, because Pete is coming to DC to spin at Soundcheck on Thursday, Sept. 22. What a brilliant opportunity to see a living legend in an intimate space right in our own city!
But in this case, hearing is believing. Become a believer, and listen to what Pete has been doing on Soundcloud:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/users/902711″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
“The electronic dance music scene in the USA has reached a critical mass and the opportunities for our world are taking us into uncharted territory. I feel now it’s essential to be in the middle of all that,” Pete said in a recent press release.
Sail into uncharted territory with Pete this Thursday! Tickets are available online.
Pete Tong
Soundcheck
Thursday, Sept. 22
Doors @10pm
$20
18+
Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange performs at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo by Kristie Chua)
Earlier this summer, Blood Orange released a third studio album, Freetown Sound, and recently launched a world tour that included only a handful of US dates.
One of those dates included a stop at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Tuesday, Sept. 13, where Blood Orange, born Dev Hynes, mesmerized the crowd with funky synthpop and orchestral R&B. Of the 21 songs he performed, only about half a dozen came from his previous work. This show was truly “Welcome to Freetown,” and it was a hit.