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Music Park: Junior Boys @ Black Cat — 3/29/16

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Jeremy Greenspan sings at the Black Cat on March 29, 2016.

“This place is like a time capsule,” said Jeremy Greenspan between songs at the Black Cat on Tuesday night. “It hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

Jeremy, vocalist and guitarist of Canadian synthpop duo Junior Boys, recalled playing perhaps his second show ever in the United States at the Black Cat soon after it took up residence at its current location in 2001. On Tuesday, Junior Boys appeared again to perform songs from their alluring new album, Big Black Coat, released last month via City Slang to critical acclaim.

If the Cat hasn’t changed much, the music of Junior Boys at least has matured in some interesting ways.

The new album is the first from Junior Boys in five years, and the time off seems to have been really good for them creatively. Jeremy and synthesizer player Matt Didemus enthralled a very full room at the Black Cat with their blend of technopop and R&B, giving the new songs their opportunity to shine alongside established favorites.

Sports Park: Beer Offerings at Nationals Park in 2016

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Nationals ParkThe new sign on Budweiser Terrace at Nationals Park

The Washington Nationals opened their doors on Tuesday, March 29th for a behind the scenes tour of what’s new and exciting for the 2016 season.

Although there is a lot of good things to cover, now we focus solely on the Nationals Park beer offerings. Because we like beer.

One of the biggest changes for 2016, is the Nationals’ new partnership with Anheuser-Busch, replacing that of Miller.

In addition to more Budweiser beers than you can handle, this will bring changes to many of the areas you have grown to love hanging out in over the years. And it looks like they will be for the better.

All the of the names will be different. As follows:

  • Budweiser Terrace (was the Miller Lite Scoreboard Walk)
  • Swing Big Beer Pen (was the Miller Lite Beer Pen)
  • Bud Light Loft (was the Red Loft)
  • Budweiser Brewhouse (was the Red Porch)
  • Lime-A-Rita Lookout (a new area in the Gallery Level)

FYI – In the Budweiser Terrace, they have also doubled the size of Shake Shack (because you said you didn’t like the long lines – they do listen!).

Beer snobs, don’t fret, there will still be a plethora of local beers found throughout the Park.

I’d love to create a map of where each beer can be found, but let’s take one thing at a time.

Local breweries: From DC: Beers from 3 Stars, DC Brau and Atlas will be on hand. Other local breweries that will have their beers available: Heritage, Mad Fox, Port City and Old Ox.

There will also be a Goose Island Pub and a Shock Top Bar and for those that don’t like change, Miller Lite can still be found in certain kiosks. Stella Artois and Blue Point Toasted Lager will also be on the menu.

Happy Hours: The Nationals will offer a very agreeable Happy Hour option; $5 Budweiser beer (until up to 30 minutes before the first pitch) that will surely compete with the festivities over at the Bullpen.

Tailgating: The white tent near the Home Plate Gate and aptly named, Home Plate Tailgate, will be available for 90 minutes before the first pitch as an all-inclusive group package, that will include games, food, beer and wine, and a game ticket. Minimum of 75 people, for $75 per person.

And on a beer/baseball related note, don’t forget to visit Bluejacket for their Opening Day Fest on April 7th. Read more.

 

Bud Light Loft and Budweiser BrewhouseSomething brewing in the new Bud Light Loft and Budweiser Brewhouse

Grapevine: Union Station Expansion Project Forum, 3/30/16

Union Station-4715Union Station (Photo by: Norman Maddeaux)

Union Station is expanding and getting a face lift. You can learn more about it tonight in an open forum.

The forum will be held on March 30, 2016, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Washington Union Station’s Presidential Room in the East Hall.

From Greater Greater Washington:

“Changes to Union Station: Big plans are in the works to expand and modernize Union Station. Learn about the project at a forum this Wednesday, March 30, in the East Hall of Union Station (50 Massachusetts Avenue NE). There will be an open house from 4 pm to 8 pm, with two presentations, one at 4:30 and one at 6:30.”

Read more about the project here.

Music Park: Savages @ 9:30 Club – 3/27/16

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Jehnny Beth and Ayse Hassan blow the lid off the 9:30 Club on Sunday, March 27, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

During the high point of a concert full of high points, Jehnny Beth rose up on the hands and shoulders of the audience at the 9:30 Club after walking out onto the crowd to belt out “Hit Me” from the Savages’ debut album, Silence Yourself.

After having kicked off her famously high heeled shoes, the lead singer of the post-punk quartet was born aloft by dozens of sturdy hands by admirers who readily followed her direction. Taking the opportunity to turn a combative track on its head, Jehnny asks the audience if they will catch her if she falls. The answer from the nearly sold-out house on Sunday night was an overwhelming “yes!” When she is done singing her verse, Jehnny crowd surfs back to the front of the club to return to the stage.

Music Park: Angus Tarnawsky @ 9:30 Club — 3/27/16

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Angus Tarnawsky performs at the 9:30 Club on Sunday, March 27, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Angus Tarnawsky is a drummer, but in performance he’s not a traditional percussionist.

The Australian-born New Yorker takes to the stage with an electronic dashboard, bursting with knobs and wires, as well as a deconstructed drum set — cymbals to his left and a drumhead to his right. As he moves his way from song to song, Angus creates deliberate, focused sound on his drum set, samples it, and then loops it into an electronic selection that can dissolve into ambience or hopscotch into tribal rhythms.

Performing as the opener for UK quartet Savages at the 9:30 Club on Sunday night, Angus held the attention of a very full room. The gathering crowd waited politely when the lights dimmed to signal the beginning of his set, not fully knowing what to expect. But soon, concert-goers were pleased to travel along Angus’ experimental sonic landscapes. Angus was a perfect opener for Savages, who handpicked him as the first act for the first three weeks of their US tour, which began Sunday night. (He’ll jump off the bill during the time the band perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in mid-April.)

Sports Park: Capitals Fortnightly Report Card — 3/14/16-3/27/16

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Washington Capitals Report Card

Fortnightly Record: 4-2-0 (8 pts)
Overall: 53-16-5 (111 pts)

The Capitals had a couple bad losses over the last two weeks, yet four wins. They are putting together a strong finish.

There are eight games left in the NHL season, and the Caps have a 16 point lead in the Metropolitan Division and are 12 points better than any other team in the NHL.

Let’s celebrate that they clinched the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs!

Alex Ovechkin leads the league with 43 goals and has an outside shot at reaching the 50-goal plateau again (which would be his 7th time in his career and 3rd year in a row). Bring it on!

Evgeny Kuznetsov has slowed down in recent weeks, but has 53 assists, still good enough for 4th in the league.

There are four home games left, including tonight’s tilt against the Blue Jackets.

 

Get your tickets to tonight’s game here.

 

Results

March 15, 2016: Hurricanes at Capitals – Win (2-1 OT)

March 18, 2016: Predators at Capitals – Win (4-1)

March 20, 2016: Capitals at Penguins – Loss (2-6)

March 22, 2016: Capitals at Senators – Win (4-2)

March 25, 2016: Capitals at Devils – Win (1-0 OT)

March 26, 2016: Blues at Capitals – Loss (0-4)

 

March 14-27 Fortnightly Report Card: B-

 

2015-2016 Fortnightly Report Card Archive

Don’t Miss: Operators w/ Bogan Via @ DC9, 4/19/16

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Operators, headed up by Dan Boeckner, attempted to play in DC twice in the past 18 months, but they were thwarted both times — once due to a water main break and a second time due to visa issues! The third time’s the charm, however, as they are destined to make it on Tuesday, April 19, at DC9.

Dan, who formerly supplied guitar and vocals to Montreal quartet Wolf Parade, puts a big emphasis on dance music and the band released its first offering EP1 in 2014.

For Operators, Boeckner has partnered with keyboardist Devojka, hailing from Macedonia, and drummer Sam Brown (the latter of whom he also worked with in Divine Fits). Their EP1 supplies us with five tracks, including the likes of “True,” a very new wave track with funky vocals and pleasantly pulsating electro.

When Operators finally make it to DC in April, they will come armed with their debut full-length album, Blue Wave, due for release on April 1 via Last Gang Records.

Listen to the latest tracks from Operators via Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/users/96168710″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Indie rock duo Bogan Via, hailing from Los Angeles, open for Operators. Tickets are available online.

Operators
w/ Bogan Via
DC9
Monday, Jan. 12
Doors @8:30pm
$12
All ages

Don’t Miss: Junior Boys @ Black Cat, 3/29/16

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Junior Boys (Photo by Tom Weatherill)

Techno duo Junior Boys released a new album, Big Black Coat, via City Slang on Feb. 5, and they have launched a tour in support of it. That tour stops at the Black Cat on Tuesday, March 29.

The new record is the first Junior Boys album in five years, and on it, Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus meld electropop with techno with a firm hand.

The first single, “Over It,” demonstrates the light, glittery touch the men from Ontario, Canada, bring to the album. Pitchfork’s Cameron Cook really digs the new stuff, saying, “On Big Black Coat, you hear some mid-era Kraftwerk, a big debt to Detroit techno, that sweet spot in the mid-’70s when krautrock met disco, several of Arthur Russell’s many house aliases, and even Prince circa Controversy.”

Watch the official music video for “Over It” by Junior Boys on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFGa1JeTI8A]

Jeremy produced the latest effort from alt R&B musician Jessy Lanza, who hails from the Junior Boys hometown, and she comes along as an opener for this show. Dark electronic artist Jason Borys (aka simply Borys) is also along for the ride.

Tickets are available online.

Junior Boys
w/ Jessy Lanza and Borys
Black Cat
Tuesday, March 29
Doors @730pm
$15-$18
All ages

Music Park: ShamrockFest 2016 @ RFK Stadium Festival Grounds — 3/12/16 (Part 2)

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ScythianScythian gets the crowd ready at ShamrockFest 2016

Herein lies a look at the music of ShamrockFest 2016.

Celkilt – I entered the ShamrockFest fray in time to see Celkilt, a Celtic rock band, on the Gold stage. The energy of their performance was enough to fire me and the nearby festival goers up for the day of music ahead. Even some of those had drank too much by this point… Celkilt is from Lyon, France and competed on the TV show, France Got Talent. I was intrigued by how much fiddle can be inserted into any given song.

Scythian – Which leads me to the band I most wanted to see (even after having seen them too many times to count). Scythian, a Celtic band led by the Fedoryka brothers (Alexander and Danylo) that started in DC at local Irish pubs like Finn MacCool’s (RIP) and Fado, is a fiddle enthusiasts dream.

They started a bit slowly, easing in to the set, but quickly picked up the thread of dance and fiddle with the foot-stomping, “Hey Mama Ya”. Their St. Patrick Day sing-a-long, “Galway Girl”, won over anyone that hadn’t yet heard of them. While “Dance All Night” and the bare knuckle brawler, “Jack Dempsey”, simply gave the eager masses crowded around the Green stage no quarter and no time to stand still. I will say that this wasn’t the best performance by Scythian (some of their 9:30 Club shows could claim that honor), yet their set imbued the spirit of Celtic music, and is always a joy to experience.

Stars and Bars: Cherry Blossom Season @ Chaplin’s Restaurant — 3/21/16

Kirin Ichiban Kicks Off Cherry Blossom Season in DC by Joy Asico
A Kirin beer and a shot of sake (Photo by Joy Asico)

With the assistance of Japanese beer Kirin Ichiban, Chaplin’s Restaurant (1501 9th St. NW, DC) introduced a couple of Japanese-themed cocktails on Monday, March 21, to celebrate the DC cherry blossom season.

Chaplin’s, a popular ramen house in Shaw, is known as a cocktail destination, and the introduction of its two “beertails,” both using Kirin Ichiban as an ingredient, comes as DC cherry blossoms are about to hit peak bloom on Wednesday, March 23, and Thursday, March 24.

MoKi Media Co-Founder Dannia Hakki and Chaplins Owner Ari Wilder kick off cherry blossom season with Kirin Ichiban by Joy Asico
MoKi Media co-founder Dannia Hakki and Chaplin’s Restaurant owner Ari Wilder (Photo by Joy Asico)

The two specialty cocktails available at Chaplin’s during cherry blossom season are Bread & Soda, made with Kirin Ichiban and Bulleit Bourbon, and Honzo’s Steel, a mix of Kirin Ichiban orange-blossom honey reduction and Nolet’s Gin. Chaplin’s is also offering pints of Kirin Ichiban and shots of Sakura Emaki Rose sake as a “Cherry Blossom Bomb.”

Chaplin’s offers all three drink specials — $8 Kirin beertails and $5 Kirin pints or pints-and-sake — through April 17.

By the way, we loved the Kill Bill reference, Chaplin’s, as we presume Honzo’s Steel is named for Hattori Hanz?, master swordsmith who outfitted Bill and his Deadly Viper Assassination Squad!

Here are the ingredients for the two cocktails:

Bread & Soda
Bulleit Bourbon
Kirin Ichiban
Maple ginger
Lemon
Ginger beer cake
Cardamom caramel

Honzo’s Steel
Nolet’s Gin
Tozai Plum
Ichiban Orange Blossom Honey
Lemon

For more information on Chaplin’s or to make a reservation, visit http://chaplinrestaurantdc.com.

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Chaplin’s barstaff put the finishing touches on Bread & Soda cocktails (Photo by Parklife DC)