Parklife DC

Tickets also are available online!

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December 14, 2016

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PHOX (Photo courtesy Big Hassle)

Hailing from Baraboo, Wisconsin, the (now) five members of PHOX are preparing to release their second album — a follow-up to 2014’s self-titled debut released via Partisan Records.

In the race to that release, PHOX are launching a US tour that begins at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The alternative folk group — consisting of Jason Krunnfusz, Monica Martin, Matthew Holmen, Matteo Roberts, and Davey Roberts — are probably best known for their single 1936.

Watch PHOX perform “1936” live in the studios of 89.3 The Current on Aug. 7, 2014, via YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAM6pm9qSww]

Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see PHOX 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 PHOX.

For the rules of this giveaway–

Comments will be closed at 5pm 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!

PHOX
w/ Cuddle Magic
9:30 Club
Wednesday, Jan. 25
Doors @7pm
$20
All ages

Don’t Miss: Tokyo Police Club @ Black Cat, 1/22/17

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December 13, 2016

Tickets are available online.

Tokyo Police Club (Photo courtesy The Billions Corp.)

Tokyo Police Club are having a busy year! The Canadian post-punk quartet released two EPs in 2016 -– the first and second parts of Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness. (There is a Smashing Pumpkins joke in there somewhere…?)

Equipped with the first of those EPs, vocalist and bassist David Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop hit the 9:30 Club locally back in April. They published the second EP in September, rounding out the set on Dine Alone Records. Now they are returning to DC to perform at the Black Cat on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017.

Watch the official music video for “Not My Girl” by Tokyo Police Club from Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness Part 1 on YouTube:

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

With the release of the two EPs earlier this year, Tokyo Police Club were not yet finished, however! You see, 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut EP, A Lesson in Crime. So they reissued that album as well.

The upcoming tour by Tokyo Police Club is being billed as a 10th anniversary tour for A Lesson in Crime, although they also are sure to play some of those new songs. Experienced the “Radness!” Brooklyn bubble-grunge quartet Charly Bliss open for Tokyo Police Club.

Tokyo Police Club
w/ Charly Bliss
Black Cat
Sunday, Jan. 22
Doors @7:30pm
$20
All ages

Music Park: Jai Wolf @ 9:30 Club, 12/8/16

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Corey Paterson

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December 13, 2016

Jai Wolf performs at the Treefort Music Fest on March 26, 2016. (Photo by Kristen McPeek)

Jai Wolf made a stop at the 9:30 Club on Thursday night as part of the Kindred Spirits tour. The show started late (he got on around 11:30pm), but the time of the show did not deter fans from filling up the club.

The mastermind behind the EDM project Jai Wolf is Sajeeb Saha, who hails from Bangladesh. He recently released his debut EP, “Kindred Spirits,” which features six tracks, including his most popular song “Indian Summer,” which you can hear on YouTube.

Don’t Miss: Laura Burhenn @ Songbyrd Music House, 12/14/16

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December 13, 2016

Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds (Photo by Bliss Katherine)

A little over a year ago, DC’s own Laura Burhenn stopped by U Street Music Hall while touring the latest album from The Mynabirds, Lovers Know. When she wrapped up that tour, she found herself in a lull. Thankfully, she hit the road again and returns to DC to perform solo at Songbyrd Music House on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Music Park: Dragonette @ U Street Music Hall — 12/9/16

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December 12, 2016

Martina Sorbara of Dragonette shines literally and figuratively in her disco jacket at U Street Music Hall on Dec. 9, 2016.

New wave trio Dragonette kicked off a show at U Street Music Hall on Friday with some new songs — and they were really rather good tunes as well!

After the release of their fourth studio album Royal Blues in November, Dragonette launched a US tour that brought them to DC. The band started their show with the title track from the new album — a sweetly sad song that has really great synth melodies. Immediately, I’m reminded of the impressive partnership between vocalist Martina Sorbara and her synthesizer player husband Dan Kurtz. They write and perform together in a way that simply flows in a very natural way, and in performance her voice and his synthesizer dovetail in a way that truly augments the other.

Don’t Miss: Book of Love @ U Street Music Hall, 2/11/17

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December 12, 2016

Ted Ottaviano and Susan Ottaviano of Book of Love (Photo by Frank Ockenfels)

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, many very good UK bands adopted the synthesizer as their primary instrument and made sweeping, romantic dance tunes.

Although many US bands also adopted synthesizers, few Americans added to the canon of New Romantic synthpop. One notable exception was the exceptional New York quartet Book of Love, who released their debut album 30 years ago in 1986, serving up terrific and epic songs like “Boy,” “I Touch Roses,” “You Make Me Feel So Good,” and “Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes).”

Susan Ottaviano, Ted Ottaviano, Lauren Johnson, and Jade Lee published a total of four albums before calling it a day in 1994. Thankfully, the band officially reunited in 2013 to start performing again. And after a long absence from DC, Book of Love will play U Street Music Hall on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017.

Watch the official music video for “Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls” by Book of Love from their sophomore album Lullaby on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8efAQ33fq0]

At recent shows, such as two performances in Southern California on Dec. 9 and 10, Book of Love have been revisiting all of these songs and more. Clearly, this is a show to get excited about!

Book of Love are offering a VIP ticket that includes a meet and greet and early admission to the venue. VIP check-in occurs one hour before doors. Tickets are available online.

Book of Love
U Street Music Hall
Saturday, Feb. 11
Doors @7pm
$25 GA/$50 VIP
All ages

Don’t Miss: denitia and sene. @ POV Live, 12/16/16

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Free registration is available online at Eventbright.

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December 12, 2016

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denitia and sene. (Photo by Aaron Vazquez)

Brooklyn alt-R&B duo denitia and sene. perform in a free show at POV Lounge on the roof of the W Hotel DC on Friday, Dec. 16.

Denitia Odigie and Brian Marc are fresh off the release of their second full-length album, love and noir. The New York Times hailed the new album, published in November via Input, as “a tightly edited collection of bedroom jams, dialed up by soulful vocals and perfectionist production values.”

Watch the official music video for “open wide.” by denitia and sene. on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyaNSjLoAh4]

The POV Lounge at the W Hotel has been offering access to some rather good free shows lately, and Friday evening is an excellent opportunity to get up there and check out some of what’s been going down! While it’s not strictly required to register for the show, you can do so at the Eventbright page for the conference. Registration ensures you entry in the event that the roof reaches capacity. Limited table seating also is available for purchase.

denitia and sene.
W Hotel DC
Friday, Dec. 16
Doors @8pm
Free
All ages

Don’t Miss: Tim Darcy @ Black Cat, 3/8/17

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December 9, 2016

Tickets are available online.

Tim Darcy (Photo by Shawn Brackbill)

Here at Parklife DC, we are big admirers of Montreal post-punk quartet Ought, who visited the Black Cat recently in support of their new album, Sun Coming Down, and its mesmerizing lead single “Beautiful Blue Sky.”

So complete seems Ought’s nervy rock music that it comes as something of a surprise to hear that lead singer Tim Darcy, an American originally hailing from Arizona, has launched a solo career. His debut album, Saturday Night, is due Feb. 17 via Jagjaguwar.

Judging from the lead single “Tall Glass of Water,” Tim is going for more straightforward jangle pop than the arty post-punk of Ought. Still, the fast-talking “tall glass of water” himself seems to have plenty of social commentary to pack into his songs! He will tour his solo album backstage at the Black Cat on Wednesday, March 8.

Watch the official music video for “Tall Glass of Water” by Tim Darcy on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbgPiAGspB8]

I’ve been among those to draw a line between Tim and David Byrne with his music in Ought, as the innovative sometimes disjoined melodies of the two bands seem similar. Tim undoubtedly will continue to put some distance between such comparisons, as flattering as they are meant to be, with his solo material.

When I saw Ought at the Black Cat last on May 10, I observed, “With his tall, lanky frame, vocalist and guitarist Tim strikes the figure of a melancholy academic on stage, looming large over the proceedings in a manner metaphorically similar to the way his words hang over our heads.”

All in all, Tim is a brilliant musician, and his solo effort is surely worth checking out!

Tim Darcy
Black Cat
Wednesday, March 8
Doors @730pm
$12
All ages

Around Town: BBQ Bash @ MetroCooking DC 2016 — 12/3/16

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December 8, 2016

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David Guas, chef and owner of Bayou Bakery, at the BBQ Bash of MetroCooking DC on Dec. 3, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

MetroCooking DC arrived at the Washington Convention Center for its annual show last weekend, smoking up its specialty food pavilion with some outstanding BBQ on its first day.

David Guas, chef and owner of Bayou Bakery, headlined the BBQ Bash, providing a cooking demonstration and displaying his own bakery’s buttermilk biscuits with a pork BBQ. We do recommend checking out those fantastic biscuits for yourself at Bayou Bakery’s Capitol Hill location on the grounds of Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (901 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, DC). Visit http://www.bayoubakerydc.com for details.