Jon Bellion (right) poses with a friend on June 16, 2015. (Photo by ccierraa)
Jon Bellion — wow.
Jon and company blew the roof off The Fillmore Silver Spring on Monday. The crowd was hyped and loved every minute of it.
Music Park: Jon Bellion @ The Fillmore Silver Spring — 11/21/16
Music Park: Ingrid Michaelson @ Lincoln Theatre — 11/21/16
Ingrid Michaelson and band on the Hell No Tour (10/26/16) in LA (Photo Credit: Justin Higuchi)
With notes and remembrances writ large behind the stage, Ingrid Michaelson and her merry band regaled the sold out Lincoln Theatre on November 21st with songs of longing and heartache and empowerment.
In fact, we knew we were in for an entertaining night when Ingrid exclaimed, “DC! So nice, doing me twice.” Referring, of course, to the fact she was playing at The Lincoln Theatre for two nights.
Ingrid’s show was about having fun, and it was clear that she was enjoying herself immensely, with a wry smile on her face at all times and a steady supply of jokes and stories.
Don’t Miss: Jai Wolf @ 9:30 Club, 12/8/16
Jai Wolf (Photo by Jasmine Safaeian)
Jai Wolf released his debut EP, Kindred Spirits, on Nov. 18 via Mom+Pop. It includes previously released singles “Indian Summer,” “Drive (feat. Chain Gang of 1974),” and “Like It’s Over (feat. MNDR).” Billboard calls the result “grand and glowing.”
In support of the new release, Jai Wolf is touring with a stop at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, Dec. 8.
His EP presents an agreeable blend of electronic, hip hop, and 80s-style pop. Listen to Kindred Spirits by Jai Wolf via Soundcloud:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/276278222″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
“The idea of Kindred Spirits came to me about a year ago. I have a really good relationship with my fans on Twitter, and I noticed that two of them had befriended each other because they wore the same piece of Jai Wolf merch to one of my shows. This sort of chance meeting really fascinated me — how two people were brought together because of music. My EP is a tribute to that concept. Each song represents a different type of connection: connections between people, places, and memories,” said Jai Wolf in a press release.
Jai Wolf explained that his stage recreates the Kindred Spirits album cover, where two characters are exposed inside of an orb. He promises his audience “a visual journey that accompanies not just my EP but my remixes and personal edits,” adding that it is “dreamlike,” “grand,” and “surreal.”
Jai Wolf
w/ Jerry Folk, Chet Porter
9:30 Club
Thursday, Dec. 8
Doors @10pm
$25
All ages
Ticket Giveaway: STRFKR @ 9:30 Club, 11/30/16
STRFKR (Photo by Cara Robbins)
Josh Hodges and STRFKR have come dancing back into our lives with a fifth full-length album — Being No One, Going Nowhere — released Nov. 4 via Polyvinyl Records.
The album is full of introspective reflections and expositive synthpop. “Yet, for all its meditative inquisitions, Being No One, Going Nowhere burns brightest in its restructuring of STRFKR’s necessitative, dance-ready songs into opaquely glistening voyages of self-exploration. Sonically, Hodges and company have expanded their booming, slick beats and voracious earworm hooks into a nebula of unfolding instrumentals that embody the album’s philosophical gravity, as much as they accompany it,” said Steven Ward in Impose magazine recently.
STRFKR are touring in support of the new album, and they alight at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Watch the official music video “Open Your Eyes” by STRFKR, featuring a contest for the fate of the world, on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkeOoWquAqk]
Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see STRFKR at the 9:30 Club. To win, simply leave a comment on this blog. You can leave any comment, but we would like to know your favorite song by STRFKR!
For the rules of this giveaway–
Comments will be closed at 12pm on Friday, and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within 24 hours, or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner. We will email you instructions on claiming your ticket. Good luck!
If you don’t win, tickets also are available online.
STRFKR
w/ Gigamesh, Psychic Twin
9:30 Club
Doors @7pm
$25
All ages
Don’t Miss: My Jerusalem (Opening for The Sounds) @ 9:30 Club, 11/28/16
My Jerusalem (Photo by Steve Gullick)
The Sounds are touring on the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album Dying to Say This to You, and they are bringing along some exciting openers when they appear at the 9:30 Club on Monday, Nov. 28.
The first of those openers My Jerusalem, a post-punk quartet, hails from Austin. My Jerusalem released their third full-length album, A Little Death, via Razor & Tie in June, and they initially hit the road to tour with Eliot Sumner and the Psychedelic Furs.
The new album garnered critical praise for band founder Jeff Klein and company, with Noisey proclaiming, “It is, as Klein’s music always has been, a dark and tormented affair, but it’s also one infused with black humor as well as an infectious sense of emotional defiance.”
Watch the official music video for “Rabbit Rabbit” from A Little Death by My Jerusalem on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHoeVJh98-A]
Said Jeff in a press release: “We’ve taken great care to make sure the live show presents the new songs with the intense, heady cocktail of romance and violence they deserve. I can’t fucking wait to leave it on the stage every night.”
Jeff has reason to be excited as he has solidified the band’s lineup with Grant Van Amburgh (drums), Kyle Robarge (bass), and Jon Merz (guitar, keys, horns).
Surely, that should convince you to get to the 9:30 Club early for My Jerusalem! And Zipper Club, featuring Lissy Trullie, are along for the ride as well. (Read our preview of Zipper Club.) Tickets are available online.
My Jerusalem
Opening for The Sounds
w/ Zipper Club
9:30 Club
Monday, Nov. 28
Doors @7pm
$25
All ages
Snapshots: Mitski @ Black Cat — 11/18/16
Mitski performs at the Black Cat on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. (Photo by Kristie Chua)
Mitski stopped at the Black Cat on Friday to promote her fourth studio album, Puberty 2, released via Dead Oceans in June. Music critics universally cheered the hotly anticipated new album from the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter.
Don’t Miss: Careless Memories @ Dodge City, 12/8/16
Duran Duran for Melody Maker Magazine in England in 1982. (Photo by Chester Simpson)
Christmas is the season of giving, charity, and good will toward all men. Duran Duran are the band of style, optimism, and really good parties. The two go very well together, don’t you think?
And so it is that Careless Memories: A New Wave Party will celebrate Duran Duran at the Christmas edition of our dance party on Thursday, Dec. 8, at Dodge City. Join us for an evening of amazing new wave songs as Duran Duran Save Christmas.
Watch the official music video for “New Moon on Monday” by Duran Duran on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3a4OTh2Y8w]
The timing of our party is inspired by the surprise announcement of Duran Duran concerts on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at MGM National Harbor. (Read our Parklife DC preview!) Of course, Duran Duran came through town on their Paper Gods Tour at the Verizon Center back in April. (Read our Parklife DC review and analysis of why they are so great with disco-master Nile Rodgers.)
When you attend our holiday party, Duran Duran Save Christmas, you’ll dance along to an extra dose of new wave tunes from Birmingham’s brightest stars –- Duran Duran! Alongside Simon Le Bon and company, I’ll play some of their contemporaries in bands like Spandau Ballet, Japan, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Eurythmics, and Adam Ant (who’s visiting DC in January!). You can also count on hearing a little bit from Duran Duran influencers like David Bowie, Roxy Music, and CHIC.
Admission is free. RSVP on Facebook, or simply show up and say hello! (And what an opportunity to introduce yourself: We are named after a Duran Duran song after all.)
For more from our fantastic photographer friend Chester, visit http://www.rock-n-rollphotos.com.
Duran Duran Save Christmas
Careless Memories: A New Wave Party
Dodge City
Thursday, Dec. 8
Show @8pm
Free
21+
Don’t Miss: Jon Bellion @ The Fillmore Silver Spring, 11/21/16
Jon Bellion (Photo courtesy Capitol Music Group)
Jon Bellion co-wrote and produced “Trumpets” for Jason Derulo. He also co-wrote the 10x-Platinum hit “The Monster” for Eminem and Rihanna. Beyond that, he contributed vocals to Zedd’s “Beautiful Now” and B.o.B’s “Violence.”
Clearly, the gent has talent, so it was only a matter of time before he released his own album, which he did in June with his debut full-length record, The Human Condition, published on Capitol Records. He’s touring in support of that album with a stop at The Fillmore Silver Spring tonight, Nov. 21. The album reached #5 on the US Billboard 200, and its lead single “All Time Low” hit #16 on the US Mainstream Top 40 at Billboard as well.
Watch the official music video for “All Time Low” by Jon Bellion on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXnqkVTFUqY]
Of the song, Jon told Mike Wass at Idolator:
“It’s an illustration of what it feels like to be three days into a break up — the really heavy, emotional, ‘I don’t even know if I want to continue living at this point.’ I’m just being majorly honest and letting you know how horrible everything’s been since you left. I don’t think it’s a specific situation but I want it to be broad so everyone can relate to that. I think everybody’s been in that situation at least once in their life. Your first love… when that ends that’s a devastating thing to feel.”
The show is sold out but resale tickets might be available through Live Nation.
Jon Bellion
w/ Travis Mendes, Blaque Keyz, Clark Beckham
The Fillmore Silver Spring
Monday, Nov. 21
Doors @7pm
Sold out
All ages
Snapshots: Broods @ Echostage — 11/17/16
Broods perform at Echostage in DC on Nov. 17, 2016. (Photo by Paivi)
New Zealand’s Broods have been blazing a trail around the world in the past few years. The trip hop duo made their most recent stop in DC last Thursday to open for Two Door Cinema Club at Echostage.
Snapshots: Two Door Cinema Club @ Echostage — 11/17/16
Two Door Cinema Club perform at Echostage in DC on Nov. 17, 2016. (Photo by Paivi)
Two Door Cinema Club visited Echostage on Thursday in support of their third album, Gameshow, released recently via Glassnote Records in the United States.