“It’s cold outside, but it’s warm in here…” Raze the Bar
There’s something about the seemingly innate positivity of the Scottish band, Travis, that’s hard to resist. Sure, it’s partly the infectious Beatlesque hooks of songs like “Sing” and “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” — but recently listening to singer Fran Healy talking to the crowd at the 9:30 Club, I think that good nature goes beyond those hooky tunes.
Chatty and charming, Lauren Mayberry was an alluring musician in her most recent appearance at 9:30 Club, touring her debut solo album, Vicious Creature. And yet her show also was a thoughtfully staged protest, capitalizing on her forthright persona and distinctive soprano voice.
Haley Reinhart put on a masterful performance recently at Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis. The show at Rams Head was one of the last dates Reinhart plays on a current tour before stopping to take a rest and get prepared to write her next album. Reinhart, known for finishing in third place on the 10th season of American Idol, showed her vocal range and power as a singer during this show producing one of the finest concerts I have seen so far this year.
Toro y Moi and Panda Bear are both leading-edge projects, and the musicians behind them — South Carolina native Chaz Bear and Noah Lennox from the Charm City, respectively — have long been celebrated across the globe for the scope of sounds they’ve achieved.
For these two prolific outfits to team up for a co-headlining tour would seem like a wild endeavor, but that’s exactly what was announced last fall, only weeks after Dead Oceans’ release of Toro y Moi’s eighth studio album, Hole Erth. The tour recently landed at 9:30 Club for a sold-out show.
Emmaline, based out of the Nashville area, keeps getting better and better with stunning vocals and arrangements of songs. At Rams Head on Stage recently, Emmaline and band played an outstanding set of jazz and contemporary music.
It had been over a year since I had first saw her perform her magical songs at The Hamilton Live, so it was great to catch up with her again at her high-energy night of jazz songs at Rams Head on Stage.
Musician Josh Tillman released Mahashmashana, his sixth studio album under the stage name Father John Misty, via Sub Pop and Bella Union in November. He tours in support of the album with a DC show at The Anthem on Saturday, March 1!
If a band is going to play a gig on Valentine’s Day, it ought to be in a city it cares for and one that reciprocates the sentiment.
Real Estate loves Baltimore, and the Charm City loves it right back.
That was plain to see on Valentine’s Day, as the Ridgewood, NJ-born indie rock outfit pleased a packed Ottobar with a loaded set featuring some of its most celebrated songs, deep cuts, new favorites, and a surprise cover, too. All night long, band members professed their appreciation for a city they’ve been playing since their early days together.
Sold out long in advance, Real Estate spoke of its “high hopes” upon taking the stage at the storied North Howard Street venue, and the group was welcomed by the titillated cheers of a crowd looking to be unwound on a romantic holiday.
“This is a song about the road,” said Bartees Strange of the cleverly penned “Lie 95,” a song from his third studio album, Horror, recently released via 4AD.
The song, which references Interstate 95, appeared early in Bartees’ recent set at 9:30 Club, which was a bit of a homecoming for the longtime DC resident. He now lives further north along that same highway, drawn to Baltimore for its affordable cost of living.
Powerhouse Americana musician Jason Isbell visits DC for two solo shows at Warner Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 27, and Friday, Feb. 28. Friday is very nearly sold out and only a handful of tickets remain for the Thursday show!
Molchat Doma recently published Belaya Polosa, the band’s fourth studio album, and they keep doubling down on the things that make them great. In their recent show at The Anthem, their frontman looked and danced like a wild monk while they washed the audience in bright synthpop melodies and scrubbed them in mournful Russian vocals.
In drawing from equal parts Depeche Mode and The Cure, Molchat Doma could easily fall into pastiche but instead the trio raised their heads and infused originality and raw energy into their enchanting set during their biggest DC appearance so far.
