Cowboy Mouth (Photo courtesy Michael J. Media)
Louisiana jam band Cowboy Mouth released The Name of This Band Is, Vol. 2, a new greatest hits album with two new songs, on Friday, May 4. And frontman Fred LeBlanc and company are set to perform at City Winery or two nights on Friday, May 18, and Saturday, May 19!
The Kills (Photo by Clayton Cubitt)
The Kills have been preparing their first new music since their fifth album, Ash & Ice, released in 2016 via Domino. The duo returns to DC to perform at the Lincoln Theater on Monday, May 14.
Skyzoo performs at Songbyrd Music House on May 4, 2018. (Photo by Will Colbert)
Brooklyn MC Skyzoo made a long overdue return to DC Friday to perform songs off his recently released album, In Celebration of Us. It was an early show that started late, but well worth the wait.
Dave Monks fronts Tokyo Police Club at 9:30 Club on May 2, 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Tokyo Police Club provided a nice counterbalance as openers to Matt and Kim for two sold-out dates at 9:30 Club last week. In comparison to hyperactive party band Matt and Kim, Dave Monks and company were positively sedate, which was actually quite good for absorbing the Canadian band’s post-punk rhythms.
Kim Schifino struts her stuff at 9:30 Club on May 2, 2018. (Photo by Brenda Reyes)
The crowd went wild for the first of two sold-out nights of Matt and Kim at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday. The band wanted to see every single person having the time of their lives during their set. I can testify that everyone did!
Jess Williamson performs at DC9 on May 2, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Austin folk artist Jess Williamson releases Cosmic Wink, her latest full-length album on Friday, May 11. On the road to its release, Jess performed at DC9 to open Loma on Wednesday. David LaMason captured the show on film!
Loma captivates at DC9 on May 2, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Back in December 2016, I went to see one of Shearwater’s last shows of the Jet Plane and Oxbow tour at the Ottobar in Baltimore. It was a cold night, and the stage was festooned with large lights as part of Shearwater’s stage set up. The opener that night was a duo called Cross Record. Primarily using keyboards and guitars, the band — made up of Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski — created beautiful landscapes of sound.
So it was a joy to hear that over the past year Emily and Dan had started making a record with Jonathan Meiberg of Shearwater in a band that eventually became Loma. Loma performed at DC9 on Wednesday.
Quiet Slang (Photo by Charlie Lowe)
Editors Note: This show was originally scheduled for May 19.
James Alex of Beach Slang releases an album under the banner of Quiet Slang on May 18. Quiet Slang then launches a tour in June, presenting some of the new songs from Everything Matters But No One Is Listening, to be published by Polyvinyl Record Co., with a stop at Rock and Roll Hotel on Thursday, July 12.
Michael Blume (Photo by Cha’ves Williams)
New York City soul artist Michael Blume is planning to release a new EP, Cynicism & Sincerity, on June 8, following on the heels of two previous EP releases in 2016 and 2017. He’s performing at Union Stage on Thursday, May 17, to open Lawrence, the duo of fellow New Yorkers Clyde and Gracie Lawrence.
Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon performs at DC9 on April 29, 2018. (Photo by Paivi)
In his recordings, Oakland, California’s The Soft Moon, aka Luis Vasquez, sounds distant and submerged, stitching together a mosaic of murky shapes on frameless canvasses. Amidst a backdrop of ominous tones and layered guitars, the heavily treated vocal parts often seem to emerge from the vortex of sound like leaves in an updraft. It’s the kind of technique that works well in the studio, but can be difficult to present live. So as I awaited their set Sunday night at DC9, I was curious to see how it translated to the stage.
