Parklife DC

Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs at Lincoln Theatre on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band was in town for National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) opening festivities. Following their Friday show at the National Mall, the audiences at Lincoln Theatre were treated to a second helping of New Orleans jazz.

As a special guest later in the show, none other than Dave Grohl walked onto the stage to play a second set of drums. When the encores were done, the music never ended: part of the band including Mr Grohl walked out of the theatre in a New Orleans style parade. The performance continued across U Street toward the Black Cat, followed by the enthusiastic crowds.

Interview: Midge Ure (@Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 10/4/16)

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September 26, 2016

Midge Ure (Photo courtesy Erika Tooker)

Midge Ure may have famously sang, “This means nothing to me” in the Ultravox song “Vienna,” but don’t be fooled. The influential musician and humanitarian invests quite a lot of himself in his music and his causes, touring the world and arranging endeavors like Live Aid, Band Aid, and Live 8 concert festivals. After being away from the United States for a very long time, Midge has been returning regularly in recent years, performing material from his solo albums, from Ultravox, and from other projects.

Midge’s next US tour starts on Sept. 30 in Amityville, NY, and ends Oct. 15 in Atlanta. (Find tickets for Midge’s shows via Songkick.)

On this tour, Midge performs in the DC area on Oct. 4 at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club — the same venue he visited when he was last here in early 2015. Joining Midge in a three-piece band are drummer BC Taylor and keyboard player Tony Solis, both of whom will also play other instruments for this “Live and Electric” tour.

Parklife DC was honored to catch up with Midge to ask him about the tour and his other current projects as well as the future of Ultravox and meaning in a world without David Bowie.

Sports Park: The Nationals’ Last Homestand vs. the Diamondbacks & Marlins, 9/26-10/2/16

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Jeremy Bailey

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September 26, 2016

Your Nationals (Photo Credit: Keith Allison)

11 things to look forward to during the last Nationals’ homestand of 2016.

Get your tickets here!

Diamondbacks – September 26-29
Marlins – September 30-October 2

1) NL East Division Champs! Your Nationals clinched the division crown last Saturday. Pop the champagne and jump around in joy!

2) Playoffs. After this homestand, the Nationals are headed to the 2016 MLB postseason. They will most likely play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series starting October 7th. Standing room only tickets are available here.

3) Garden Gnome. Get your stylish Ben Revere gnome on Tuesday, September 27th!

Music Park: Lush @ 9:30 Club — 9/21/16

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September 26, 2016

Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson of Lush play guitars at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016.

Lush returned to the stage at the 9:30 Club for a first encore Wednesday, and vocalist Miki Berenyi stepped up to the microphone.

“This song is for Chris,” she told the very full house. “We all miss Chris.”

With that brief intro, Lush launched into the dreamy, introspective “Lost Boy,” a lullaby to someone who has faded away, never to return. The Chris in question of course is former Lush drummer Chris Acland, who committed suicide in 1996. Chris’ death prompted the dissolution of the band after three full-length and one extend play albums, all issued during the height of UK shoegazing in the early to mid-’90s.

Music Park: EZTV @ Lincoln Theatre, 9/18/16

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September 23, 2016

EZTV perform at the Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 18.

Ms. Jenny Lewis toured the 10th anniversary of her seminal album Rabbit Fur Coat recently and brought her friends EZTV along to open for her when she and The Watson Twins stopped at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18.

Frontman Ezra Tenenbaum played guitars alongside Shane O’Connell and Michael Stasiak as the trio delighted the very full room with some bright, jangly guitars. Maybe it was the influence of their headliner, but the Brooklyn power pop trio delivered a sunny set of songs that were overall a bit more folky than what might have been anticipated. That was more than fine by our audience, who were bopping and grooving along to EZTV’s easy-going vibes by the end of their show.

Music Park: Sex Stains @ Comet Ping Pong — 9/15/16

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regardingtess

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September 23, 2016

Allison Wolfe of Sex Stains (Photo by Theresa Sanchez)

In 2016 riot grrrls use Snapchat.

Don’t believe me? Not punk enough?

Boisterous, bespectacled redhead Allison Wolfe would beg to differ.

“I’m learning Snapchat,” said Allison to the capacity audience at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., last Thursday, September 15. She was thanking Governess and Coup Souvage & The Snips for opening and had captured part of each local band’s session with her phone using social media app popularized by Millennials. “You can’t see it because it disappears in like 2 seconds. I’m supposed to be learning [technology] though. I am taking a class for that.” She’s enrolled at the University of Southern California and even wrote a song about it called “USC,” which kicked of the Sex Stains set that night.

Don’t Miss: Preservation Hall Jazz Band @ Lincoln Theatre, 9/23/16

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September 22, 2016

Tickets are available online.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Photo courtesy Girlie Action)

Lots of great music is coming to town this weekend to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)!

Although they are not part of the actual music festival occurring at the NMAAHC, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band appropriately arrives to play in honor of the museum’s launch. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band makes its home base at, of course, Preservation Hall in New Orleans. The Hall was a rare space in the South where racially integrated bands and audiences would share music together during the Jim Crow era.

Now, join Ben Jaffe, the son of the founders of Preservation Hall, and the band at the Lincoln Theatre on Friday, Sept. 23 for a jazzy cool show, as they protect, preserve, and perpetuate traditional New Orleans Jazz.

Listen to Preservation Hall Jazz Band, including tracks such as “Keep On” featuring Clint Maedgen and John Oates, on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/users/1959787″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

But wait, the band also step outside traditional jazz on occasion. Recently, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded an album of original material, That’s It, for the first time ever. And on that album, the band mixes genres a bit on selections like the drum and tuba-driven “The Darker It Gets,” sax and trumpet number “August Nights,” and the Caribbean pop song “I Think I Love You.”

“My parents were never preservationists in any strict sense,” Ben said in a press release. “They simply presented the music the way the old jazzmen wanted to play it. This is the music we want to play today. We’ll continue to do the old standards, along with new material that allows us to be creative and relevant. With this album, I wanted to do something that would challenge us and make us proud.”

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
w/ Special Guests Jimmy Carter and Joey Williams of The Blind Boys of Alabama
DuPont Brass Band
Lincoln Theatre
Friday, Sept. 23, 2016
Doors @6:30pm
$35
All ages

Don’t Miss: La Sera + Springtime Carnivore @ Songbyrd Music House, 10/20/16 [Buzzcocks Edition]

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September 22, 2016

Greta Morgan and Katy Goodman (Photo courtesy Grandstand Media)

Katy Goodman and Greta Morgan collaborated on a charming album of punk and new wave covers last month, releasing Take It, It’s Yours on August 26 via Polyvinyl Records.

I’ve enjoyed listening to the 10 tracks on the album, which include covers of songs by Billy Idol, Bad Brains, The Replacements, and others. Katy and Greta are bringing their bands, La Sera and Springtime Carnivore respectively, around to perform at Songbyrd Music House on Thursday, Oct. 20 as part of a US tour they have undertaken together.

Both La Sera and Springtime Carnivore have new material so I don’t know if Katy and Greta will perform any of their covers together. However, I’m reminded of their wonderfully dreamy version of “Ever Fallen in Love” by the Buzzcocks, because the Buzzcocks are coming around on their 40th anniversary tour to play at the 9:30 Club next week on Wednesday, Sept. 28!

Watch the official music video for “Ever Fallen in Love” with Katy and Greta covering the Buzzcocks on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SquWe1xS5yY]

I shared the Buzzcocks original (which lacks an official video) yesterday because Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets to see the Buzzcocks!

You can enter to win by leaving a comment on that blog!

You also can buy tickets to see the Buzzcocks online.

And you can buy tickets to see La Sera and Springtime Carnivore online!

Buzzcocks
9:30 Club
Wednesday, Sept. 28
Doors @7pm
$35
All ages

La Sera
w/ Springtime Carnivore
Songbyrd Music House
Thursday, Oct. 20
Doors @7:30pm
$10-$12
All ages

Don’t Miss: DJ Questlove @ Howard Theatre, 9/24/16

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