Héloïse Letissier aka Christine and the Queens performs at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
“I don’t quite fit. It’s like Tetris, and I’m the wrong piece,” said Héloïse Letissier, known by her stage name Christine and the Queens, in her sold-out show at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday.
But that is okay by Christine and the Queens. And in fact, the musician has a mantra, tattooed on her arm: “We accept you.”
SUSTO (Photo by Wesley Vance)
Although based in South Carolina, alt-country band SUSTO actually has its origins in… Cuba!
In 2013, singer and songwriter Justin Osborne moved to Havana to study anthropology. There, he threw himself into the music scene, absorbing music from locals playing in the Trova style. At the time, Justin also got into the American confessional poetry movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
When he got home, Justin founded SUSTO, combining his inspirations in Cuba with the music of Charleston, SC. He recruited Johnny Delaware (guitar, piano), Marshall Hudson (drums), Jenna Desmond (bass), and Corey Campbell (keyboard and guitar) to join SUSTO.
SUSTO released its self-titled debut album in April 2014, and then a live album in 2015, and now they are gearing up for their second album, to be titled “& I’m Fine Today” and to be released in the near future. SUSTO have launched a tour to showcase some of the new material, and they visit the Rock and Roll Hotel on Thursday, June 9.
Twangville premiered the band’s new video for “Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wine” and you can watch the video, made up of footage from an upcoming documentary on the band, on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrsO4yVfIh0]
“Their exceptional melodies come in long, lean, curling lines set against sonic atmosphere that’s rich and bright…keep an eye on these guys,” said the Orlando Weekly. Other critics have compared the band to Wilco!
In DC, SUSTO’s opener will be our own Justin Jones, who also knows a thing or two about alt-country music! Tickets are available online.
SUSTO
w/ Justin Jones
Rock and Roll Hotel
Thursday, June 9
Doors @ 7pm
$14
All ages
Cyndi Lauper and Boy George (Photo courtesy True Colors Fund)
Cyndi Lauper performed in a sold-out show Wednesday at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, at times fiery and at times sentimental but always irrepressible!
Nominally, she was touring in support of her new album Detour, a collection of country music covers released last month on Sire Records. But the concert sold out in part because it was the last of seven dates where she shared the spotlight with another ‘80s icon, Boy George.
In performance, Cyndi and George sang three songs together — at the end of George’s set, they covered “Bang a Gong” by T. Rex, a favorite of George. And at the end of Cyndi’s set, they performed “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly,” originally by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, and covered on Cyndi’s new album with Vince Gill. Afterward, Cyndi and George joined forces for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!”
Ladyhawke (Courtesy of Girlie Action Media)
Ladyhawke (Pip Brown) comes to DC on June 25th, gracing those looking to dance at U Street Music Hall with her new indie pop songs from Wild Things.
Her third album, Wild Things, is set to be released on June 3rd via Polyvinyl Records. Find it here.
“Let It Roll” and “A Love Story” are dance-worthy, energetic songs that bode well for her return.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUwAnVX2ylc]
Born in New Zealand, she performed in a couple of bands early in her career before going solo in 2007. Her first album, Ladyhawke, brims with catchy synthpop songs like, “Paris is Burning”, “My Delirium” and “Magic”.
I’ve seen Ladyhawke twice now in DC as she toured for her previous albums (2009 and 2012), so I’m looking forward to seeing her again with a new set of songs. Roughly every four years…she’s due.
Come and get dancing!
Ladyhawke
w/ Psychic Twin
U Street Music Hall
Saturday, June 25
Doors 7:00pm
$20
All ages
A Right Proper Astral Weeks sits on the handle of a Foeder oaken fermentation vessel.
Looking for weekend plans? Like beer? You’re in luck! Remarkably, limited tickets are still available for general admission to the annual SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience event at the National Building Museum (401 F St. NW, DC) for Friday, June 3.
Caravan Palace get into the swing of things at the 9:30 Club on May 26, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Clad in an elegant, short black dress, Zoé Colotis slides out onto the 9:30 Club stage and starts to sashay and sing, shooting rapid-fire words as she wiggles her hips.
In “Lone Digger” from the new album by her band Caravan Palace, Zoé makes a call for getting out to dance. And her audience Thursday night responds in kind, jumping, dancing, and clapping along to the rare treat of the French electroswing band.
Jacky Majic and Mark Cisneros of the Desdemonas at the Black Cat on Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Paul Vivari knows a thing or two about music, and he is well known around town as DJ Soul Call Paul. Paul’s intense interest in soul and jazz led him to curate one of the most celebrated jukeboxes in the city — at his own Showtime, a young DC bar that received recognition only last week as one of the “best bars in America” by Esquire in part due to the strength of that jukebox.
But the punk spirit of DC is strong, and so Paul has been a player in a new punk band called the Desdemonas, who played their most recent gig at the Black Cat on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, as openers for The Effects. A lot of people turned up to see the Desdemonas, and the backstage at the Cat got pretty full!
Andy McCluskey (left) and Paul Humphreys of OMD (Photo courtesy Big Hassle)
As a champion of new wave music in general and synthesizers specifically, one of my biggest musical heroes is Andy McCluskey, frontman for the groundbreaking British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). A decade ago, Andy reunited with collaborator Paul Humphreys and relaunched the classic OMD lineup, which has been publishing new albums in recent years. And here in the United States, OMD remains celebrated for ‘80s singles such as “Enola Gay,” “So in Love,” and of course “If You Leave” (the band’s contribution to the soundtrack of the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink).
I had the singular honor of chatting with Andy recently about OMD’s upcoming tour of America, recent projects (including a new OMD album in the making), and matters of state in the European Union! [We also discussed more politics, but I cut some of that in favor of length and focus.]
Mickey McCarter: Hello, Andy!
Andy McCluskey: Mickey, hello again, how are you?
MM: Great! How are you?
AM: Great! I just got home from a very successful concert in Stockholm over the weekend, and the sun is shining in England, so all is good. [OMD played in Stockholm recently on May 21.]
MM: Fantastic! Since you mention that concert, you’ve been doing quite a bit of live album shows and releases, and that all seems to be going very well.
It’s Gary Numan’s Day on the third day of Moogfest 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Saturday, May 21, could have been Gary Numan Day in Durham, NC, as the Moogfest headliner had quite a day there. First, he received the 2016 Moog Innovation Award in an afternoon ceremony, and then he performed the third of three concerts a few hours later at Fletcher Hall in the Carolina Theatre.
Sadly, I couldn’t make Gary’s award ceremony as the 2pm time conflicted with a Moogfest show by Gwenno, who was high on my “to see” list for the synthesizer festival.
Toward the end of her show, Welsh songstress Gwenno apologized for the sad lyrics of songs on her debut solo album, Y Dydd Olaf, which after all was inspired by a Welsch dystopian science fiction novel of the same name from 1976. (The title translates as “the last day.”)
Gary Numan performs during Moogfest 2016 at the Carolina Theatre on Saturday, May 21, 2016.
When Kraftwerk performed as headliner in three shows for Moogfest 2014, the synthesizer pioneers essentially played the same (very good) show three times.
Gary Numan, being something of an overachiever, performed three different shows over three different nights as the headliner for Moogfest 2016. On the last day of Moogfest, Gary had quite a day — first receiving the 2016 Moog Innovation Award in a ceremony on Saturday, May 21, and then performing the third of his three concerts a few hours later at Fletcher Hall in the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC.