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Music Park: Glen Hansard @ DAR Constitution Hall — 11/28/15

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Glen Hansard sings with a young lad live at Vicar Street in Dublin on Nov. 25, 2013. (Photo by Silvia Pititto)

Glen Hansard was determined.

“I have a friend who always ruins the moment,” Glen told an audience at DAR Constitution Hall on Saturday night. “He’s the kind of person that finds the fault in everything even when everything is going well. He’ll find that one thing that will ruin it for everybody.”

So to brighten his friend’s spirits, Glen said, he brought him along on tour. Glen also wrote a song dedicated his American friend, Thomas Bartlett, called “My Little Ruin,” which captures the spirit of being able to find that fault in everything.

Ticket Giveaway: Darwin Deez @ Black Cat, 12/9/15

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Darwin Smith (Photo by Krista Schlueter)

Brooklyn-based quartet Darwin Deez released a third studio album, Double Down, in September via Lucky Number — and the band, led by Darwin Smith, has been touring in support of it. They hit DC with a stop at the Black Cat on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Last month, Darwin Deez produced a clever video for the single “The Mess She Made,” which features Darwin singing as various international currency is superimposed over his head.

Watch the official video for “The Mess She Made” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r40tpNUQMC8]

Joined by Charly Bliss on the current tour, Darwin Deez promises smart choreography and high energy to accompany their blend of soulful and bluesy pop.

And you have a chance to see it for yourself, as Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets for this show. To win, follow us on Twitter, or retweet or like the tweet announcing this ticket giveaway. (You can follow us at http://www.twitter.com/ParklifeDC!)

For the rules of this giveaway–

We will choose a winner at random from Twitter follows, retweets, and likes by 5pm on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The winner will be notified by Twitter! The winner must respond to our communication within 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets, and we will pick another winner.

Tickets also are available online!

Darwin Deez
w/ Charly Bliss
Black Cat
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Doors @7:30pm
$15
All ages

Music Park: English Beat @ 9:30 Club — 11/25/15

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Dave Wakeling of The English Beat performs at Bumbershoot 2010 in Seattle on Sept. 6, 2010. (Photo by Dave Lichterman)

Calling all rude boys and rude girls!

The venerable English Beat have been revitalized this year with a new toaster — King Schascha. For a 2-tone band, a toaster isn’t mechanical, but in King’s case, he’s certainly electric.

The reggae rhymer from San Diego effectively got the very full house at the 9:30 Club dancing right away on Wednesday, Nov. 25, paving the way for band leader Dave Wakeling and his time-tested repertoire of ska and reggae. They kicked things off with “Rough Rider” from the debut album by the English Beat, 1980’s I Just Can’t Stop It, and the entire audience was moving and grooving from the very first note.

Grapevine: Right Proper’s Tasting Room Opens in Brookland

Brookland

If you haven’t heard, Right Proper is expanding to the Brookland neighborhood. Their new production brewery and tasting room was meant to open this Thursday, December 3rd, as reported by the Washington Post.

But according to Right Proper’s Twitter, it opened early on Saturday, November 28th. Good news for beer lovers and fans of the trendy Brookland neighborhood!

 

The Washington Post reported:

“The tasting room will eventually offer charcuterie and other foods prepared offsite at the brewpub. Other plans in the works include a front patio with tables, bike racks, and planters that will be functional as well as decorative, letting Zeender grow herbs to use in his beers.

The brewery and tasting room will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Right Proper Brewing Company, 920 Girard St. NE.”

Music Park: Young Empires @ U Street Music Hall — 11/25/15

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Matthew Vlahovich of Young Empires at Royal Athletic Park during Rifflandia/BreakOut West on Sept. 19, 2015 (Photo by Tyson Elder/Used with permission/See more of Tyson’s photos)

Vocalist Matthew Vlahovich has some charisma to spare, and he was ready to share it as he danced to his own music at U Street Music Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Matthew and his band Young Empires performed as openers for Canadian trio Dragonette, providing a smooth, soulful counterpoint to the sparkling house compositions of their countrymen. Technically a trio themselves, Matthew, bassist Jacob Palahnuk, and drummer Taylor Hill toured as a quintet with the support of a touring guitarist and keyboardist.

The total group produced waves of deep sound that benefited the numbers on the debut album by Young Empires, The Gates (released in September) — numbers that generally were uplifting electropop punctuated by worldbeat rhythms and carried by Matthew’s pleasing voice.

Sports Park: Nationals Winterfest @ Washington Convention Center, 12/12-12/13/15

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Nationals Winterfest 2015

The Washington Nationals’ annual fan ‘fest’ is coming this December 12th and 13th to the Washington Convention Center.

They call it Winterfest this year, but it’s the same concept of games, contests, activities, photo ops and transforming into a human snowball.

You can also meet and greet many of your favorite Nationals players. No word on whether newly minted National League MVP, Bryce Harper, will be there, but stay tuned.

Keep the baseball dream alive! In the winter!

Nationals Winterfest 2015
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
December 12 and 13
11:30am-4:00pm (Season plan holders enter at 10:00am)
$30 Adult; $20 Children
All Ages

Happy Thanksgiving, 11/26/15!

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Presidential Pardon
President Barack Obama delivers remarks before pardoning Cobbler, the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey, at the White House on Nov. 21, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Happy thanksgiving from Parklife DC, friends.

We are off today, but you’ll see more music, sports, and bar chat from us tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we hope you too might pardon some turkeys in your life.

–Mickey and Jeremy

Stars and Bars: Miracle on 7th Street @ Mockingbird Hill, 12/1-12/24/15

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Miracle on 7th Street’s Gretchen, Stop Trying to Make Fetch Happen, served in a frosted glass. (Photo by Joy Asico)

For the month of December, Mockingbird Hill owner Derek Brown will transform his sherry bar (1843 7th St. NW, DC) into a Christmas bar.

And Derek and company are really going all out to do it.

Borrowing the concept from Cocktail Kingdom and barman Nico de Soto of Mace and Miracle on 9th Street in New York City, Derek will introduce a line of 10 Christmas-themed cocktails and a shot from Tuesday, Dec. 1, to Thursday, Dec. 24.

Miracle on 7th Street bar will feature daily Christmas and Hanukkah-themed happy hours.

“Guests can expect to enjoy Christmas classic movie nights, Manischewitz Pong competitions, and cookie baking shenanigans. The holiday pop-up will serve up everything from live Christmas carolers to cocktails served in outrageous Santa mugs, adorned with frosty evergreen trees and gingerbread men,” according to a press release.

Don’t Miss: Young Empires (Opening for Dragonette) @ U Street Music Hall, 11/25/15

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Young Empires (Photo courtesy Young Empires)

Canadian trio Young Empires have a fondness for soaring world music and themes of redemption and elevation. They are a band in search of better things, and you have an opportunity to join their soulful exploration Wednesday night at U Street Music Hall.

Young Empires released their debut album, The Gates, on Sept. 4, and they are touring in support of it as openers for another Canadian trio, Dragonette.

On The Gates, Young Empires treat us to “Mercy,” a song calling for forgiveness; “So Cruel,” about the tortures of love; and “The Gates,” about the search for a higher place spiritually.

Watch the official music video for “The Gates” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHnwNUr1UQ]

Note the doors open at 6pm for this early show, and so be sure to get there early to allow vocalist and keyboardist Matthew Vlahovich, bassist Jacob Palahnuk, and drummer Taylor Hill elevate your spirit.

Tickets are available online and at the door.

Young Empires
(Opening for Dragonette)
U Street Music Hall
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Doors @6pm
$20
All ages

Music Park: The Ocean Blue @ Jammin’ Java — 11/21/15

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The Ocean Blue
The Ocean Blue perform at The Tractor Tavern in Seattle on Feb. 24, 2013. (Photo by David Lee)

The Ocean Blue embarked on an all-too-brief four-city tour last week to commemorate the remastering of their first three albums.

They only played in New York City, Philadelphia, DC metro, and Lancaster, Pa., as those were “their very favorite cities” where they first got their start, explained frontman David Schelzel at their local show on Saturday.

Last week, The Ocean Blue reissued their first three albums — The Ocean Blue, Cerulean and Beneath the Rhythm and Sound — on vinyl, and they embarked on a short tour to commemorate the occasion. It was an opportunity for the band to recapture their youth and play those cities they played early and often as a quartet from Hershey, Pa.