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Don’t Miss: Eliot Sumner (Opening for ON AN ON) @ DC9, 9/15/15

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Eliot Sumner (Photo courtesy Press Here)

Eliot Sumner was once “I Blame Coco.”

She’s not “Coco” any more, but she’s still the daughter of Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting — and she’s coming to DC9 on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

In 2014, Eliot released an EP, Information, as her first release under her Sting-given name, and she released a second EP, Early Reflections SMPLR, only last week.

Make no mistake: Eliot doesn’t sound like her dad, but I think you can occasionally catch her father’s cadence in some of her songs.

Watch the video for her latest single “Species,” released on August 24, 2015, on You Tube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzUgn7TIdz4]

On her new songs, Eliot plays guitar, often accompanied by synths, bass and drums, but her distinctive voice serves as the cornerstone of her sound. The low register of her voice lends her songs a certain urgency, and she occasionally sounds trip hop. For her new material, she cites influences like the Bad Seeds, Cluster, Faust, and Kraftwerk.

Listen to the songs from Eliot’s two recent EPs on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/users/23486956″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Eliot performs at DC9 as part of a tour where she is opening for experimental Minneapolis trio ON AN ON. Tickets are available online.

Eliot Sumner
(Opening for ON AN ON)
DC9
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Doors @8pm
$12-$14
All ages

Music Park: King Raam @ Black Cat — 8/27/15

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King Raam

King Raam took the stage at the Black Cat Thursday night, and immediately recognized he had drawn a “home crowd.”

Raam addressed the audience directly in Farsi, and indeed the very crowded room presented him with a robust audience of DC Persian music enthusiasts who responded in kind.

I of course don’t speak Farsi, so my observations on Raam’s performance are limited mostly to his musical skill and capabilities. I will say however that Raam, visiting DC on a brief US tour from Tehran, was a magnetic presence to the audience, who swayed respectfully in place, hypnotized by his rhythms.

Don’t Miss: Snallygaster 2015 @ The Yards, 9/12/15

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Friends toast the Snallygaster beer festival.

The Snallygaster is a beast worth embracing!

Named for the dragon-like creature once said to roam the DC area, the Snallygaster is set to return for its fourth year as DC’s preeminent craft beer festival on Saturday, Sept. 12. For the second year, it’s being held at The Yards near Nationals Park stadium (at Lot H/I on First St. SE and N St. SE, DC).

The Snallygaster beer festival is a great time for beer geeks because so many high-end breweries turn up, represented by actual brewmasters or staff from their breweries, at the invitation of beer director Greg Engert of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which includes such well-regarded DC-area beer destinations as Churchkey, Bluejacket, Rustico, and others.

Greg has assembled more than 300 beers for this year’s festival, including nearly 50 making their debut at Snallygaster 2015.

According to a press release from Snallygaster, the beer list includes Perennial Barrel-Aged Abraxas, Allagash Ghoulschip, Bluejacket Whiskey Barrel-Aged Double Mexican Radio, Firestone Walker Feral One (Batch 2), The Bruery Grey Monday, Alpine Beer Nelson, and Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. The full list is available at http://www.snallygasterdc.com.

Come hungry and Snallygaster 2015 won’t disappoint you there either. Local food trucks and vendors on hand will include Rappahannock Oyster Co., Dolcezza, Big Cheese, Tasty Kabob, DC Slices, GBD, Red Apron, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Pork Barrel BBQ, Westray’s Ice Cream, Cajunators, DC Empanada, Lemongrass, and Mess Hall.

Musical entertainment at Snallygaster 2015 includes Rare Essence, Kokayi, White Ford Bronco, Brothers Brau, and more.

VIP “Kraken” passes are sold out! But “Gargoyle” regular admission passes are still available for $35. An advance Gargoyle pass includes 1pm entry into the festival, 30 food and drink tickets, and a custom Snallygaster 2015 beer mug. Additional food and drink tickets are available onsite for $1 each. (A beer “tasting” serving generally will cost three to six tickets.) A portion of the proceeds benefit the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture.

Tickets are available online.

Snallygaster 2015
The Yards
Saturday, Sept. 12
Festival @1-6pm
$35
21+ to drink

Sports Park: Navigating the DC Social Sports Scene – ZogSports

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ZogSports VolleyballSmile, you’re a winner!

Social sports are a big deal in DC. Since there are so many options, how do you determine which league to join?

The sport you want to play and where you’re willing to play at will impact your decision. Unfortunately, there are no Whirlyball leagues at the Verizon Center quite yet.

Let’s continue to look at three leagues you should try out. See Part 1 here.

Part 2: ZogSports DC

I’ve played sand volleyball (6×6 and 4×4) with ZogSports DC since 2014.

Sand volleyball is a lot of fun. Although the season for league outdoor volleyball is winding down, on weekends, there is usually a big turn-out at the Lincoln Memorial Sand Courts for free pick-up matches.

The sign-up fee for ZogSports DC includes six matches (with playoffs if you qualify), a team t-shirt and the winning team each week gets a free pitcher or bucket of beer at the sponsor bar. The top two teams in each league gets a donation (from ZogSports) sent to the cause/charity of their choice. I also like that the website tracks the standings and archives any past leagues you have played in.

The locations of the different sports are all across the city, so you should have no trouble finding something that is convenient for you.

Kendra Hansen, General Manager of ZogSports DC, chats with Parklife DC:

Don’t Miss: The Jet Age @ Villain & Saint, 9/12/15

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Bassist Greg Bennett, guitarist Eric Tischler, and drummer Pete Nuwayser of The Jet Age (Photo by D. Wade)

Q&A with Eric Tischler of The Jet Age

This weekend, David Gedge, lead singer of The Wedding Present, will present his annual music festival, At the Edge of the Sea, in Brighton, England.

For most of us in DC, the festival may seem a world away, but to Eric Tischler of The Jet Age, it’s a party he won’t miss. You see, Eric and his DC-based band are friends and tourmates with The Wedding Present, and they have chosen to debut their new record, Destroy. Rebuild, at the UK festival in a performance this Saturday. (The album is officially available this Friday, August 28.) In a way, it’s completely appropriate, given Eric’s love for UK shoegazers and other English bands and how their genres shaped his own band.

Parklife DC caught up with the versatile guitarist and vocalist of The Jet Age to ask him about the influences on his band, how he approaches his craft, and his next DC-area show at Villain & Saint (7141 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md.) on Saturday, Sept. 12.

Don’t Miss: King Raam @ Black Cat, 8/27/15

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King Raam performs in Toronto as a part of Tirgan 2011 Festival. (Photo by Reza Vaziri)

King Raam, the lead singer of Iranian band Hypernova, has gone solo. In doing so, he’s been indulging a taste for psychedelic melodies and exploring solitary journeys through video imagery.

Now based in Tehran, King Raam is hitting four dates in the United States along the east coast, starting at the Black Cat on Thursday, August 27. (The tour will include a stop in New York, traditional home to Hypernova.)

Singing in both Farsi and English, Raam is encouraging progressive music in his homeland, releasing the album Songs of the Wolves in 2011, and a new single “Closing Credits” only last month.

Watch the video for “Closing Credits” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9w6wMkVVMY]

You can listen to and purchase Raam’s solo debut Songs of the Wolves on Bandcamp:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3876242304 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

L.A.-based soul duo Smoke Season, consisting of Gabrielle Wortman and Jason Rosen, open for King Raam. Tickets are available online and at the door.

King Raam
w/ Smoke Season
Black Cat
Thursday, August 27
Doors @7:30pm
$15
All ages

Stars and Bars: Second Anniversary Party @ 2 Birds 1 Stone — 8/24/15

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A simple sign marks the subterranean entrance to 2 Birds 1 Stone.

A modest crowd gathered for the second anniversary party of 2 Birds 1 Stone (Lower Level, 1800 14th St NW, DC), the approachable yet intimate cocktail bar established by Adam Bernbach in Shaw.

From 7pm-midnight on Monday evening, the bar served up $5 punches and $6 pina coladas and dark & stormys. There were consistent opportunities to get seats at the small bar, which holds seats perhaps a dozen people.

The crowd may have remained light due to the waning days of August in DC or due to the torrential rain then struck in the first 90 minutes of the party.

“If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain, then the 2 Birds 1 Stone party is for you,” this blogger quipped after enjoying a pina colada special at the bar. IMG_8938
Do you like pina coladas? And rain? Then last night was for you.

2 Birds 1 Stone actually offered two $5 punch specials: one with peach, bourbon, sherry, and cava; a second with watermelon, tequila, Hefeweizen, and lime. Both were light and refreshing.

Cheers to Adam and two years of offering weary travelers a welcome respite in the quiet den of 2 Birds 1 Stone. Since its opening, the bar has operated with integrity and transparency, and it always just seems a little bit more pleasant than many other cocktail destinations.
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Peach and bourbon punch was a crowd-pleaser.

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Happy birthday, 2 Birds 1 Stone!

Music Park: Grand Opening @ Soundcheck — 8/20/15

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Soundcheck owners address the crowd - by Joy Asico
Soundcheck partners Antonis Karagounis, Pete Kalamoutsos, and Win Sheridan toast the opening of Soundcheck. (Photo courtesy MoKi Media)

The premise of Soundcheck (1420 K St. NW, DC), a stylish new nightspot, is to bring the feel of the recording studio to the club scene. As a person who has spent a fair amount of time around recording studios, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to experience that feel firsthand at their recent grand opening party on Thursday.

From the street level entrance, one descends a staircase to the below ground facility. Few things isolate sound transmission like good old Mother Earth, so this is in keeping with the theme. The walls along the stairway and corridors are lined with Aurelex-type acoustic foam and cork, reminiscent of studio interiors (Dr. Wallace Clement Sabine, creator of the absorption coefficient for sound, would be proud).

Upon entering the main room, one is greeted by a sound system that is neither harsh or overbearing. Line array-type speakers buttress the DJ booth, complemented by a satisfying aggressive low end. Speakers are also part of the decor, inset into the glowing lucite cubes that serve as drink tables. Soundcheck Interior by Joy Asico
The interior of the Soundcheck nightclub (Photo by Joy Asico)

Thankfully the lighting system is not modeled after that of a typical recording studio, as the latter seldom have use for mirror balls. Here, we are treated to a high tech assortment of moving heads and L.E.D. PAR lights. In addition to the huge video display behind the DJ booth, there are numerous other screens lining the walls from the dance floor to the VIP room. Compliments to the people who set up the opening night promotional reel, nicely done!

On the night we attended, the music started out low to allow for conversation and mingling. It was nice to hear a P.A. system that maintains clarity and power even at low levels, such that it doesn’t drown out discussion. Clearly, the DJ was eager to break loose and drive the system a little harder, which he did as the evening progressed. At the higher levels, the system still maintained thick lows and clear high end. I predict it will keep the dancers in motion on many nights to come!
Soundcheck Interior 2 by Joy Asico
The disco balls are a welcome touch. (Photo by Joy Asico)

Parklife DC contributor Neal Keller is a professional sound engineer at Omega Studios as well as DJ of the long-running 80’s Dance Party at Tropicalia! For more on Neal, visit http://www.80sdanceparty.com.

Music Park: Marina V @ The Hamilton Live – 8/18/15

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqnOFCMNe1M]

Growing up in Moscow, singer-songwriter Marina V eagerly learned English in part from a mix tape she received with Beatles songs.

She thought she had discovered a whole world of music all her own with The Beatles, Marina told a very full house at the Hamilton Live Tuesday night, and as a child she would listen and learn the words to the songs voraciously.

Later, she discovered other bands that were contemporaries of The Beatles in the ’60s, and harboring a fondness for the period, she wrote a new song “Sunshine Guaranteed,” an ode to what it may have been like to have been alive and making psychedelic music during the period.

The song provides the listener with the “happy mindset of an LSD trip without the drugs,” Marina V quipped when introducing the song. No less than Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash appreciated the song and lent his studio and guitar to her for the making of her 2008 album, Modern Fairytale.

In performance Tuesday, Marina V made a bit of a medley with her song and The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” to the delight of the audience.

Sports Park: The Nationals’ Homestand vs. the Brewers, Padres & Marlins, 8/21-8/30/15

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Bryce Harper

Wow. What a difference a few weeks make. The Nationals are on an epic, uncontrolled tailspin in August with little end in sight. They did win two out of three against the Rockies. And now they have a nine-game homestand to look forward to.

From first place and a joyous time for us fans to second place and a dip below .500.

The Nationals are four games behind the Mets, who seem to be on a mission to make Jon Stewart the happiest man on Earth (as a Mets fan). Jon, I want you back at the Daily Show immediately, but I hope your Mets crash and burn.

The Nationals have gone 6-13 in August, including a four-game sweep by the Giants. Bah.

I repeat. Bah. It’s time to put up or shut up.

Yet, I still believe. Plus, if you plan on attending any games next week, look out for a Rendon Gnome, a Werth Bobblehead and even an ’80’s night.

For game tickets and more information, call 202.675.NATS(6287) or visit nationals.com/tickets.

Friday, August 21 vs. Milwaukee Brewers

  • The first 15,000 fans (21 years and up) to enter Nationals Park through ALL GATES will receive a Nationals cap presented by Miller.
  • As fans exit the ballpark, Good Humor will provide complimentary samples of an array of Good Humor ice cream novelties outside Center Field Gate on N Street. Available while supplies last.