Peter Hook at the Manchester Ritz on Sept. 25, 2014 (Photo by Chris Payne)
You know this man. You probably first met him in the opening chords of “Ceremony.” You definitely got to know him better in the resplendent bassline of “Blue Monday.” As an American, the Manc bassist had become one of your favorite Englishmen by the time you heard him play “Bizarre Love Triangle” or “True Faith.”
He’s Peter Hook, formerly of Joy Division and New Order, and he’s been on a quest to claim his legacy.
Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow seems to have a taste for beauty in unconventional spaces.
At least judging from the video for his latest single, “Rising Water,” where the camera explores intimacy in cramped alleyways and stodgy flats, only to release the participants in those encounters onto a scenic beach that (while scenic) seems unerringly real.
Well, the former folk rocker, now turned alternative R&B crooner, has released his third album, We Move, via Mahogany Books/Burning Rope in the United States as of September, and the whole thing seems very much about transporting oneself. Press releases for the album We Move suggest James was inspired by his own movements between Los Angeles, Toronto, and Dublin while recording the album. He’s on the move now with a tour, and he stops in DC to perform at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
Watch the official music video for “Rising Water” by James Vincent McMorrow on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3pmbuZYF2Y]
Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see James Vincent McMorrow at the 9:30 Club! To win, simply leave a comment on this blog. You can leave any comment but perhaps tell us your favorite song by Mr. McMorrow?
For the rules of this giveaway–
Comments will be closed at 5pm on Friday, Oct. 28, 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!
James Vincent McMorrow
w/ Dan Mangan
9:30 Club
Wednesday, Nov. 9
Doors @7pm
$30
All ages
It’s time to get excited about another beer festival! The DC Beer Festival returns to Nationals Park on Saturday, November 5th and you should be there.
This year’s festival will feature 75 breweries and over 200 beers (probably enough options for you?), and you can choose between two three-hour sessions (12-3pm or 5-8pm).
Get your tickets here.
Some of the local DC/MD/VA breweries I’ll be seeking to try for the first time include, 7 Locks Brewing (Maryland), Tall Tales Brewery (Maryland), Wild Wolf Brewing (Virginia), Ruhlman Brewery (Maryland) and Old Bust Head Brewing (Virginia).
This festival will have a lot of local breweries plying their brews, the most they’ve ever had, including some of our favorite DC standbys like 3 Stars Brewing, Atlas Brew Works, Right Proper and Hellbender Brewery.
From the limited list of beers on tap released so far, I’m looking at Ruhlman’s Holiday Brew, Stone’s Encore 6th Anniversary Porter and 3 Stars’ Nectar of the Bogs to definitely pour down my gullet.
Food options include food trucks like Urban Poutine, Peruvian Brothers, Red Hook Lobster Pound, PhoWheels, Rio Churrasco, Balkanik Taste and more. There will also be games, DJs and you get to hang out in Nationals Park.
Get your tickets before they sell out!
DC Beer Festival 2016
Nationals Park
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Two Sessions: 12-3pm and 5-8pm
$45
21+
Playoff Seed: #4
Let’s hope your D.C. United can do what the Washington Nationals could not, advance in the playoffs. (Too soon?)
The United get their chance against the Montreal Impact on Thursday, October 27th.
Entering as the #4 seed, they get a home game against the #5 seed Impact. Winner of this knockout game will play against one of the New York teams in a two-game home/away series. So if your United beat the Impact, they will get a home game on Sunday, October 30th.
Let’s go United! Get your tickets here.
Audacious Assertion: United 2, Impact 0
(My home picks so far: 7-4)
MLS Playoffs Knockout Game: Montreal Impact at D.C. United
RFK Stadium
Thursday, October 27, 2016
7:30pm
$20-55
All ages
Sshh Liguz sings while Zak Starkey plays guitar in the background and Glen Matlock plays bass in the foreground at the Roxy Hotel in New York City on Oct. 18, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Sshh Liguz, she a blonde Australian fury, and Zak Starkey, he the famous musician son of famous musician Ringo Starr, brought their album of covers to the Roxy Hotel in New York City to party down. In doing so, SSHH made a big impression on an elegant if tiny stage in their debut US show in New York City last week, playing a performance for charity Teen Cancer America.
SSHH developed a covers album, titled Issues, with support from PledgeMusic, and it consists of 11 tracks ranging from “Problems” by The Sex Pistols to “All the Young Dudes” by Mott the Hoople to “Private Life” by The Pretenders. (You can support the album or buy a copy here!)
Aurora Aksnes performs at U Street Music Hall on April 21, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Earlier this year, petite Aurora Aksnes gathered a large crowd into booming U Street Music Hall for a show packed with big ideas.
This time around, Aurora, the sensational Norwegian singer-songwriter, is performing at an appropriately larger venue, where the stage at the 9:30 Club is sure to provide a better platform for her artistic expression and the accompanying concert hall a better space for large crowds.
So come out on Monday, Oct. 31, to see Aurora as she sings, bounces, dances, and pantomimes along to the darkly glorious songs of her debut album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, released in March by Decca Records and Glassnote.
Following songs like “Runaway,” “Half the World Away” (an Oasis cover!), “Conqueror,” and others, Aurora released a sixth single, “I Went Too Far,” from the new album. You know an album has legs when it can support six singles!
Watch the official music video for “I Went Too Far” by Aurora on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT6dLJd3rYk]
Parklife DC reviewed Aurora at U Street Music Hall on April 21. (Revisit our full review and pictures here.) After seeing her, I said, “Although petite in size, the Norwegian folk popstar, who goes by only her first name, has a big voice that fits her ambitious songs of flight or fight. She also has a habit of physically moving where her music takes her. This somewhat off-kilter acting out of her own words and melodies might readily draw some comparisons to her fellow Scandinavian artist Bjork.”
I added, “Aurora’s folk pop is as spritely as she is, but it does carry dark overtones of struggling to find yourself, to be free, or to fight.”
You’ll want to be free for this show on Monday! Tickets are available online.
Aurora
w/ Dan Croll
9:30 Club
Monday, Oct. 31, 2016
Doors @7pm
$20
All ages
AJ Haynes leads the Seratones in a performance at SXSW 2016 on March 18, 2016. (Photo by Paul Hudson)
The Seratones, led by singer AJ Haynes, rocked DC9 nightclub Thursday, taking me back to what it may have been like if I were going to concerts in the ‘60s or ‘70s!
If I had to describe the sound of The Seratones, I would say it’s a mix of punk, blues, and rock. I can’t really think of a band to compare them to, but they have a classic rock sound. I might even go as far as to say that AJ’s vocals are comparable to Janis Joplin. The Seratones are made up of AJ (vocals), Jesse Gabriel (drums), Connor Davis (guitar) and Adam Davis (bass). They are currently on tour promoting their debut album “Get Gone,” released on Fat Possum records this past May.
Aperto Chef Luigi Diotaiuti, MoKi Media Partner Maha Hakki, and patron Lily Matini (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
In September, Chef Luigi Diotaiuti, proprietor of Al Tiramisu, opened a new restaurant Aperto in Foggy Bottom (2013 I Street NW), to serve lunch and dinner.
Last week, the Chef invited some folks to the ornate, intimate setting for a grand opening party, where we could tour the space and nibble on some hors d’oeuvres. Aperto proved to be a wonderful date spot with outstanding food and remarkably attentive service.
Lauren Mayberry sings at Echostage in DC on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Chvrches’ plan now that they have completely finished touring the album Every Open Eye?
“We’re going to go home and nap for a long time,” said singer Lauren Mayberry during her performance at Echostage on Monday, Oct. 17. “Then, we are going to start writing another album!”
The declaration that Chvrches would return in a few years drew a happy cheer from the sold-out Echostage, where Chvrches finished an epic tour on their sophomore album with two DC shows on Oct. 17 and 18. On the first of those two shows, the crowd swelled into every corner of the warehouse venue to show their appreciation for Chvrches, dancing excitedly to every one of 17 songs performed by the band.
Mitski (Photo by Ebru Yildiz)
Mitski released her fourth studio album, Puberty 2, via Dead Oceans in June, and she launches a US tour on Oct. 31 in Rhode Island to promote it.
Music critics universally cheered the hotly anticipated new album from the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter. She will stop at the Black Cat in DC on Friday, Nov. 18 to play new songs like “A Burning Hill,” — of which NPR Music said: “She decides to love ‘the littler things.’ It sounds like giving up, but she’s taking control, robbing her emotions of the power to capsize her wellbeing.”
Watch the official music video for “A Burning Hill” by Mitski on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ffnue9zMEY]
Mitski draws upon her own life experiences to sing of finding her own way in life and love, often leading observers to classify her songs as emo. Fans agree that her music is immediate and often urgent, thus lending itself particularly well to live performance. You’ll want to see her when she visits the Black Cat, although tickets have sold out.
Although tickets are not currently available, you may want to keep your ears open in case some become available.
Mitski
w/ Fear of Men, Weaves
Black Cat
Friday, Nov. 18
Doors @8pm
Sold out
All ages