Parklife DC

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April 22, 2016

Bryce Harper, the best in the game! (Eight home runs after 15 games) (Bryce pictured against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 12, 2015, in Baltimore, Md. — Photo by Keith Allison)

Your Nationals are flying high to start the 2016 campaign. At 11-4, they are in first place in the NL East Division by 3-1/2 games over the Mets.

Stephen Strasburg already has three wins and 21 strikeouts, while Joe Ross has started with a blazing 0.54 ERA after three starts.

This weekend the Nats take on the Twins. On Saturday there is the first Pups in Park (bring your dog!) sponsored by Budweiser (their new beer partner).

Music Park: Operators @ DC9 — 4/19/16

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April 21, 2016

Devojka and Dan Boeckner of Operators perform at DC9 on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

“The US Department of Homeland Security, the DC Department of Public Works, and you have all cooperated to make tonight happen,” commented Dan Boeckner from the stage of DC9.

Dan was referring to two thwarted attempted by his band Operators to perform at DC9 in the past two years –- visa issues stymied the band’s visit from Canada once and a watermain break closed DC9 on another occasion.

But if Dan were worried about a third strike against Operators at DC9, he need not have. The new wave quartet hit a smash home run in a sold-out show on Tuesday night as they delighted and entranced their crowd, which was eating out of their hands. Operators performed a stellar live show in part because they have boatloads of talent and charisma. Everyone in the room pressed as far forward to the stage in earnest anticipation as to what would come next from the synthpop band.

RIP, Prince

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April 21, 2016

Prince performs at the Warner Theatre in DC on June 14, 2015. (Photo by Karrah Kobus / NPG Records)

We at Parklife DC are shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of the legendary musician Prince, who was found dead today at his Paisley Park studio complex in Minnesota.

Reportedly, Prince was hospitalized with the flu a few days ago. You can read the latest on the situation via the Associated Press.

Last year, I saw Prince twice — once on my birthday weekend at Warner Theater in DC on June 14, and prior to that at Royal Farms Arena for the Rally 4 Peace concert in Baltimore last May.

I ranked the DC show as my #1 concert of 2015, describing it as follows:

“Soon into a 2.5 hour set, Prince reached down into the audience and grabbed the hand of my favorite lady Yasmin –- and then Prince brought her up out of the front row and ONTO STAGE TO DANCE WITH HIM. Yasmin kicked off her shoes and danced up there with Prince for three songs or so as he sang through ‘U Got the Look,’ ‘Shake!,’ and ‘Cool’ (covering the Time).

If that wasn’t enough to set the night on fire, Stevie Wonder snuck onto stage during our late-night show at the Warner Theatre to take over keyboards at some point, perhaps around the time of ‘Controversy,’ the title track to the amazing Prince album from 1981. Stevie stayed on stage for the strongest segment of Sunday’s late show, rolling from ‘Controversy’ to ‘1999’ to ‘Little Red Corvette.’ Prince himself was full of delicious swagger, and the audience ate it up. The man often took center stage during his performances, dancing up a funky two-step or thrashing away on his guitar while strident before his microphone. He was in good form, and he sounded fantastic and looked as fit as fuck.”

We loved your music, Prince, and we loved how you broke barriers from soul to funk to R&B to new wave. Bless you, my friend.

Don’t Miss: Born Ruffians @ Rock and Roll Hotel, 5/3/16

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April 21, 2016

Born Ruffians (Photo by Laura Lynn Petrick)

When Born Ruffians performed in DC last year, I hailed it as one of the top shows of the year, ranking it at #4 in my Top 10 Concerts of 2015.

“Born Ruffians roared back into DC with a fourth album, demonstrating how the post-punk stalwarts are at least as clever and good as bigger bands in their genre, including Interpol, Vampire Weekend, and Bloc Party,” I said of their show at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Nov. 3, 2015.

And so it’s great that the Canadian post-punk quartet are returning to play again, six months later to the day, at the Rock and Roll Hotel on May 3, 2016, in support of their fourth album RUFF, released in 2015 on Yep Rock Records.

The Wall Street Journal apparently agreed with my assessment, saying Born Ruffians bring “nervy, wily rock that peers back to precursors like Talking Heads and sideways to like-minded contemporaries including Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective.”

Watch Born Ruffians perform “Don’t Live Up” live in the Sawyer Sessions at Mystery Brewing Public House in Hillsborough, NC, from Dec. 10, 2015, on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx-irQl7kU4]

The Born Ruffians are in tremendous form these days, with bandmates Luke Lalonde (guitar/vocals), Mitch Derosier (bass), Andy Lloyd (guitar/keyboard), and Adam Hindle (drums) all truly firing on all cylinders.

Experimental pop trio ON AN ON from Minneapolis open for Born Ruffians. Tickets are available online.

Born Ruffians
w/ ON AN ON
Rock and Roll Hotel
Tuesday, May 3
Doors @7pm
$15
All ages

Don’t Miss: Suuns @ DC9, 4/27/16

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April 20, 2016

Suuns (Photo by Nick Helderman)

Suuns means “zeroes” in Thai, and it’s also the name of neo-psychedelic quartet from Montreal that released their third album Hold/Still last Friday via Secret Canadian.

The last album sees Suuns delivering 11 tracks of cold, austere psychedelia, where words become part of the instrumental mix as singer/guitarist Ben Shemie gives voice to desire. The album thematically centers around sex, Ben said in its press notes — “perhaps not the act specifically, just [themes] of a sexual nature. But there’s also a spiritual undertone that points to another kind of searching.”

The song “Paralyzer,” for example, features pulsating rhythms that mirror the longing expressed in the lyrics. Watch the official music video for “Paralyzer” by Suuns on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuhfu-GTBGQ]

Ben and his bandmates in Suuns — including Joe Yarmush on guitar, Max Henry on synths, and Liam O’Neill on drums –- are touring in support of the new album with a stop at DC9 on Wednesday, April 27.

Interestingly, indie rocker John Congleton, who produced the new Suuns album, also produced acts like St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, and Sleater- Kinney. John is coming along to serve as opener with his own new project The Nighty Nite, which released an album on April 1. Tickets are available online.

Suuns
w/ John Congleton and The Nighty Nite
DC9
Wednesday, April 27
Doors @8:30pm
$12
All ages

Around Town: Celebrate National Park Week @ Shenandoah, 4/16-4/24/16

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April 20, 2016

Rock Creek Park is free this week! Oh wait…

All week (April 16-24) is National Park Week! You can get into any National Park for free.

Time to put your hiking boots and backpack in the car and head over to Shenandoah National Park this weekend (April 23-24).

You can also just stay local and use the already free parks or in the city or nearby. Rock Creek Park is a great hiking or biking destination, if you’ve forgotten.

Check out any of National Park Service managed sites in:

DC – https://www.nps.gov/state/dc/index.htm
Virginia – https://www.nps.gov/state/va/index.htm
Maryland – https://www.nps.gov/state/md/index.htm

The overall National Park Service system has 409 designated ‘units’. 59 of those get designated as ‘National Parks’ and those usually cost money to get into. But not this week. See the complete list of all ‘units’ in the USA.

In the Top 10 of most visited ‘units’ in the country, we have three (all free), as follows:

#4 Lincoln Memorial
#6 George Washington Memorial Parkway
#9 Viet Nam Veterans Memorial

Music Park: High Waisted @ Black Cat — 4/17/16

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April 20, 2016

Jess Dye sings with High Waisted at the Black Cat on Sunday, April 17. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath /Instagram+Twitter: GrillworksBen)

Sunny waves of dazzling surf roll out over the audience as High Waisted start to play.

The band waste no time in getting down to business on Sunday night at the Black Cat. Singer Jessica Louise Dye and her three bandmates are there to open for soul trickster Har Mar Superstar, but quite a crowded room has turned up early to see the surf rock quartet from New York City.

Sports Park: DC United vs. New England Revolution @ RFK Stadium, 4/23/16

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April 20, 2016

Season Record: 1-3-3 (6 points)

Your DC United couldn’t net a goal last Saturday after Toronto punched in a goal in the first minute of the match, so they fell 1-0 and remain at 6 points on the season. This was the third time they’ve failed to score in 2016. Despite the loss, the United are 12-8-4 against the Canadians all-time.

This Saturday, April 23rd, they host their third straight home game, this time against the New England Revolution. The Revs are 5th overall in the Eastern Conference at a mere 8 points, after going undefeated over their last four games. A victory by the United would vault them ahead in the table.

The Revolution will be looking for a bit of revenge in this game, since DC United bested them in the knockout round of last year’s playoffs, 2-1.

Get your tickets here.

Or find a future game from the season schedule.

Audacious Assertion: United 2, Revolution 0

Editor’s Rant: The MLS is expanding to 24 teams by 2018 and 28 teams by 2020. Fine, the sport is taking off and many cities love their team (Seattle, anyone?). In the next few years, we’ll get teams like Los Angeles FC, Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC. Let me repeat the last two. Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC. That’s absolutely terrible. Two more teams with the name United?!? Is there no such thing as originality? Did DC United not protest loud enough? Bah.

MLS: New England Revolution at DC United
RFK Stadium
Saturday, April 23, 2016
5:30pm
$20-55
All ages

Music Park: The Joy Formidable @ 9:30 Club — 4/13/16

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April 19, 2016

The Joy Formidable (Photo courtesy of Big Hassle Media; Photo credit: James Minchin)

I’m sure Welsh people are brilliant at many things, but one thing I can definitively add to that list is swearing. Ever so casually. Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan, lead singer of The Joy Formidable, gave the 9:30 Club crowd an epic glimpse of that brilliance during their show on April 13th.

One of the first, of many, things she told the mostly packed audience was that “the acoustics are f*cking lovely”. Or when she mentioned she used to live in DC years ago, “it was f*cking great.” Just a wee bit of flair that soon proved to be the norm. And when describing why they loved playing at the 9:30 Club, “They brought us cupcakes and dog biscuits. F*cking dog biscuits!”

The Joy Formidable, who also include Matthew James Thomas on the drums and Rhydian Dafydd on bass, are touring for their third studio album, Hitch.