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Don’t Miss: Pet Shop Boys @ Warner Theatre, 11/11/16

Mickey McCarter
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Don’t Miss: Pet Shop Boys @ Warner Theatre, 11/11/16

Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys at the first night of four sold-out shows at London’s Royal Opera House on July 20, 2016. (Photo by Ken McKay)

The ever-fabulous Pet Shop Boys have been feeling particularly creative lately, releasing a series of very very good albums.

Neal Tennant and Chris Lowe always have been somewhat restless musicians, setting high marks for their disco-oriented synthpop. Their recent work with producer Stuart Price, pop king of modern disco producers, really has raised the bar, however, particularly with their latest and 13th album Super, published in April via their own x2 label.

Pet Shop Boys launched a US tour in support of the new album in Las Vegas last month, and the tour arrives in DC on Friday, Nov. 11 in a sold-out show at the Warner Theatre. (Resale tickets are available for DC, and a few tickets remain for surrounding dates in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere.)

Like the very best of the Pet Shop Boys’ catalog, Super is stuffed full of cheeky observations on society as well as substantive ruminations on who we are — all set to extremely appealing disco and house beats. Super opens with the outstanding “Happiness,” an addictive house composition that carries a great deal of weight with its minimalism without at all leaving us empty.

“Twenty-something” is one of those tracks full of cheeky observations, assessing the cockiness of youth. The lyrics of the song are offset by a cinematic video that depicts an unfortunate young man in San Diego caught in an unforgiving cycle of life as a criminal.

Watch the official music video for “Twenty-something” by the Pet Shop Boys on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KCVmOQ1q6Y]

The new PSB songs sit very well beside older numbers while seeming like a sharpening of the vision displayed on some of the duo’s ’90s material like the Nightlife album, while improving upon it immensely.

Parklife DC is so excited about this show, that we dedicated our monthly new wave party, Careless Memories (which happens second Thursdays at Dodge City!) to the inimitable Pet Shop Boys. This is going to be a great show.

The show is sold out, but resale tickets may be available!

Pet Shop Boys
Warner Theater
Friday, Nov. 11.
Show @8pm
Sold out
All ages

Don’t Miss: Priests @ Black Cat, 3/11/17

Mickey McCarter
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Don’t Miss: Priests @ Black Cat, 3/11/17

Priests
Priests (Photo courtesy Pitch Perfect PR)

DC’s explosive punks Priests are set to release their first full-length album in January — Nothing Feels Natural via their own Sister Polygon Records. The band is launching a US tour to support it, and that tour ends at the Black Cat in a belated record release party on March 11, 2017.

Priests recently released a second video for a track from the album, satirizing greed and consumerism with their song “Pink White House.” The video paints a grim picture of people sometimes literally murdering others for a buck. Even a seamonster gets on the action, mugging a hapless fisherman (portrayed by guitarist Gideon Jaguar).

Watch the official music video for “Pink White House” by Priests on YouTube:

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

In a press release, singer Katie Alice Greer said this of the song and video: “Lyrically, this is a Priests song I am maybe most proud of to date. I am very inspired by the filmmaker Adam Curtis, the first time I saw ‘It Felt Like A Kiss,’ I thought, man, I want to start a band where I can write lyrics the way this guy makes films, like these politically pointed surreal avant-garde narratives, and then I met Daniele and we started Priests.

“So for me, ‘Pink White House’ is a step towards achieving this style of lyricism. I’m excited about that. Musically we wrote the first half and then were like, ‘where do we go from here?’ We wanted the second half of the song to feel like you’re in a new scene of the story, where ‘come on palm trees’ starts. It was very fun and adventurous for us, writing this way! For the video, I wanted to do something playing on the notion that pop culture repackages your identity and sells it back to you for ‘entertainment.’”

Add to this that Priests are a thrilling live band, and you know you can’t miss this date. (Check out our Parklife DC reviews from Black Cat shows on May 10, 2016, Feb. 14, 2016, and Feb. 7, 2015.) Tickets are available online.

BTW, as we reported previously, Priests have launched an official website, and they also recently appeared on Twitter. Follow them at @PRIESTS_TWEET.

Priests
Black Cat
Saturday, March 11
Doors @8pm
$15
All ages

Music Park: Mandolin Orange @ The Hamilton Live — 11/3/16

Mickey McCarter
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Music Park: Mandolin Orange @ The Hamilton Live — 11/3/16

Mandolin Orange 12 Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin of Mandolin Orange perform at The Hamilton on Nov. 3, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Before hitting the road to tour their new album, Mandolin Orange did a number of recording sessions for various music outlets, which really warmed them up to the songs and how to present them live.

Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily Frantz (vocals, violin, guitar) were especially mindful of those experiences during their sold-out show at The Hamilton on Thursday night. They praised the DC concert hall for its acoustics and warmth, which aided their ability to capture the sound they wanted from the new songs — songs like “My Blinded Heart,” which they performed next.

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Don’t Miss: Ingrid Michaelson @ Lincoln Theatre, 11/21 & 11/22/16

Jeremy Bailey
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Don’t Miss: Ingrid Michaelson @ Lincoln Theatre, 11/21 & 11/22/16

Ingrid MichaelsonIngrid Michaelson’s Hell No Tour (Photo from Ingrid Michaelson FB)

Ingrid Michaelson will bring the Lincoln Theatre to life for two nights, November 21st and 22nd, during her Hell No Tour. The tour spans the country and the final two nights are in DC!

She’s supporting her seventh album, It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense, released in April 2016. Although I haven’t listened to many of the songs from this album, I liked her previous two albums, especially 2012’s Human Again. Indeed the song “Do It Now” was among my most played songs that year.

The new “Hell No” is an upbeat ode to breaking up and not missing that person at all. The video is a Snapchatesque cornucopia of weird things happening to Ingrid’s face. Kind of funny.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4tefnQGtNY]

(Updated) The second night is sold out, but you can still get tickets to the November 21st show. Buy your tickets here.

This will be my first time to catch Ingrid perform live. Should be a good time. Don’t get FOMO and regret missing this show!

Ingrid Michaelson
w/ AJR
Lincoln Theatre
Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22, 2016 (second night sold out)
Doors 6:30pm
$55
All ages

Don’t Miss: TORRES (Opening for Tegan and Sara) @ 9:30 Club, 11/6 & 11/7/16

Jeremy Bailey
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Don’t Miss: TORRES (Opening for Tegan and Sara) @ 9:30 Club, 11/6 & 11/7/16

Torres_Shawn_Brackbill4TORRES (Photo Credit: Shawn Brackbill)

Both Tegan and Sara shows at the 9:30 Club (November 6th and 7th) are sold out, as you may have noticed.

If you don’t have a ticket yet (what?), be resourceful! But if you do already have your ticket, you’ll want to get there early to catch TORRES (aka Mackenzie Scott) as she once again visits DC, this time as the opener for both shows.

TORRES came through DC last January and I caught her performance as she pulled double duty as the opener of both Garbage shows in October 2015. Read that review here.

Her most recent album, last year’s Sprinter, includes the self-titled single and “Strange Hellos”, which glides slowly before jumping to a full-throttle growl of emotion and sound. A theme you will become familiar with.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187188055″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

Remember, get there early!

TORRES (Opening for Tegan and Sara)
9:30 Club
Sunday, November 6 and Monday, November 7, 2016
Doors 7pm
$36 (Sold Out)
All ages

Snapshots: Gang of Four @ 9:30 Club — 10/8/16

regardingtess
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Snapshots: Gang of Four @ 9:30 Club — 10/8/16

Gang of Four at the 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. 10/8/16
John “Gaoler” Sterry sings in Gang of Four (as Andy Gill plays behind him) at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. (Photo by Theresa Sanchez)

#FBF – it’s internet slang for what some “kids” today refer to as “Flashback Friday” and is a way for people of all walks of life and interest to transport themselves back in time in an audio/visual manner.

#GoF is another acronym of sorts for a British punk band that was ahead of their time with regards to politic activism and social criticism in the late 1970s. You’d be hard-pressed to find many of rock music’s classic bands — R.E.M., the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, and Nirvana to name a few — who haven’t called them an influence over the years. 2016 couldn’t be a more appropriate time then to tour given the contentious political climate and one of them most memorable elections underway in most recent history.

The latest version of the band visited the 9:30 Club on Oct. 8 to open for The Faint. (Read our Parklife DC review of The Faint that night — ed.)  While the band has had many iterations since officially forming in 1977, they managed to retain guitarist Andy Gill is the sole original member.

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Snapshots: Violent Femmes @ Rams Head Live! (Baltimore) — 9/30/16

regardingtess
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Snapshots: Violent Femmes @ Rams Head Live! (Baltimore) — 9/30/16

Violent Femmes Perform at Rams Head Live, Baltimore 9/30/16
The Violent Femmes perform at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland on Sept. 30, 2016. (Photo by Theresa Sanchez)

The Violent Femmes played to a sold out show at Baltimore’s Rams Head Live, Saturday, September 30, 2016. It was the 5th stop on their 12-city Fall 2016 tour, which promoted their ninth studio album “We Can Do Anything.” It was released 16 years after the trio’s eighth album, “Freak Magnets” — which was published in Feburary 2000.

Bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo formed the band in 1981 in Wisconsin. Gordon Gano serves as lead singer, guitarist, violinist, and songwriter. Ritchie can be seen playing the xylophone, while a member of the group’s longtime back up band Horns of Dilemma hops on bass. John Sparrow is on drums. Blaise Garza manned the brass.

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Music Park: Dan Croll @ 9:30 Club — 10/31/16

Mickey McCarter
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Music Park: Dan Croll @ 9:30 Club — 10/31/16

Dan Croll 19
Dan Croll performs at the 9:30 Club on Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Liverpudlian Dan Croll recalled the first time he performed in DC — more than three years ago in the basement of Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.

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Around Town: The Emporiyum @ Union Market, 11/12 & 11/13/16

Jeremy Bailey
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Around Town: The Emporiyum @ Union Market, 11/12 & 11/13/16

The Emporiyum DCThe Emporiyum is tasty (Photo from http://theemporiyum.com/)

It’s that time once again to start focusing on food. Amazing, delicious food. Cookies, cakes and pies, ramen burgers (yes, it exists), lobster, dumplings, cheese, bacon, beignets, buns, beer and more!

Don’t worry, I’ll give you a moment to take all that in.

All good? On November 12th and 13th the Emporiyum returns to Union Market with over 90 purveyors of food, artisans and vendors.

A ticket gets you into the marketplace, where you can sample, sip, shop and generally be immersed in all things food-inspired.

There will also be a DJ and hand-crafted items to browse and buy.

Make a day of it or just go for a couple of hours – the ticket options are flexible.

Buy your tickets here.

The Emporiyum DC
Union Market & Dock 5 (1309 5th St NE)
Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13, 2016
10:00am-3:00pm (depending on ticket)
$15 (Entry: 1:30pm), $25 (Early Entry: 11:00am Entry), $40 (VIP Entry: 10:00am)
All ages (12 and under are free)

Don’t Miss: Burn It Up @ Villain & Saint, 11/11/16

Mickey McCarter
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Don’t Miss: Burn It Up @ Villain & Saint, 11/11/16

burnitup01
Burn It Up (Photo courtesy the band)

Ska rock band Burn It Up mix it up with hard rock refrains and ska melodies. These six high energy guys from Rochester, NY, have released a new album, Toys, in October.

Now they have joined the Get Amped Tour, which is visiting Villain & Saint in Bethesda, Md., on Friday, Nov. 11.

Vocalist Joe Harmon summed up the band: “We spend a lot of time trying to explore the boundaries of what genres like ska, reggae, rock and punk can do, mixing in elements of jazz, funk, and classic and progressive rock. We all have a wide range of tastes and influences, and bring those influences in to the writing process and our performances.”

Burn It Up certainly succeed in exploring those boundaries! Hear for yourself as you listen to Toys by Burn It Up on Bandcamp:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=684927146 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

In addition to Joe, the band includes Mike Frederick (guitar), Justin Lloyd (trumpet), Dan Carter (bass), Evan Dobbins (trombone), and Alex Bochetto (drums).

Burn It Up was formed by members of Mrs. Skannotto, which released three full-length albums and toured with names like Less Than Jake, Mad Caddies, Reel Big Fish, The Toasters, Flatfoot 56, and A Wilhelm Scream. They are sure to be entertaining at Villain & Saint, where they are joined on the Get Amped Tour by We Were Sharks and North 11.

Tickets are available online.

Get Amped Tour
Burn It Up
w/ We Were Sharks and North 11
Villain & Saint
Friday, Nov. 11
Show @9pm
$10-$12
All ages

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