Parklife DC

-

April 15, 2016

Zoe Reign fronts No Parents at DC9 on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Readers of L.A. Weekly voted No Parents as “Best Band” of 2015! And the goofy skate punks, who opened for Bleached at DC9 on Wednesday night, sure have a way with words.

“No Parents are like a John Hughes movie starring the Menendez brothers: a cute comedy loaded with violence and splattered adults. For the layman who reads about punk rock in fashion mags, they’re the next FIDLAR — the new torchbearers of skate-punk,” said L.A. Weekly.

No Parents are four men strong, although there were five of them at DC9. An additional touring guitarist perhaps?

Around Town: Final Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series, 4/19/16

By

-

April 15, 2016

Next Tuesday, Apri 19th, come out for the fourth and final session of the Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series.

The topic is ‘Climate Change’, a look at how DC is addressing issues related to climate change, all while having some free beer, wine and popcorn.

It will be moderated by Tommy Wells, Director of Department of Energy & Enviroment

With the following panelists:

Harriet Tregoning, Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Angela Fritz, Deputy Weather Editor, Capital Weather Gang
Dave Good, Manager, Energy and Sustainability, Gallaudet University

Register for the free event here.

Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series
Session 4 (of 4): Climate Change
The Lobby Project (1200 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002)
Tuesday, April 19
6:00-8:00pm
Free
All ages

I went to the session on March 15th, on “Urban Adventures”. Here is what I learned:

Music Park: The Subways @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 4/12/16

By

-

April 15, 2016

The Subways perform at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Billy Lunn had a friend who lost his job at an underwear factory in Essex, England. To cheer his friend up, Billy and other friends took the unemployed chap out to an awesome ‘80s pub called Billie Jean’s. (Billy informed his audience that Billy Jean’s has since sadly closed.)

As the night wore on, the unemployed friend began to feel down because his friends were being too generous. He didn’t want to be a charity case! So although people were having a good time, the friend suggested he would retire for the night, play ‘80s music at home, and break out some video games.

To his pleasant surprise, his friends agreed to go with him, leading him to declare, “We don’t need money to have a good time!” Seized by inspiration, Billy agreed with this sentiment but rushed home to write a song — titled “We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time” — which ended up on the third album by his band The Subways — Money and Celebrity — in 2011.

Food Park: Return of Truckaroo @ Fairgrounds, 4/15/16

By

-

April 14, 2016

Red Hook Lobster Pound Food Truck

Food trucks have definitely lost a step in the popularity department over the last couple years. The hipsters have moved on to the new, shiny thing and now food trucks are ‘simply there’, serving good food (most of the time) and acting as a proper business.

Once a month in the summer, over 20 food trucks circle together in the Fairgrounds space near Nationals Park to dish up some of the best in DC’s food truck options. There is also live music, adult beverages and games like cornhole.

Open from 11am to 11pm, it’s good for lunch, happy hour and dinner!

Some notable tasty food trucks:

CapMac
Peruvian Brothers
Korean BBQ Taco Box
Surfside

Food trucks I may need to try:

Tacos Matadores
Urban Poutine (Oh Canada, help us get on the cheese curds and gravy truck…err train)
Due South

See the full food truck list here.

Truckaroo 2016
Fairgrounds (M St and Half St SE) near the Nationals Park
Friday, April 15
11am-11pm
Free Admission (pay for food and beverages)
All ages

Music Park: JD & The Straight Shot @ Lincoln Theatre — 4/7/16

By

-

April 13, 2016

James Dolan of JD & The Straight Shot (Photo Courtesy: Publicity Please)

JD & The Straight Shot warmed up the crowd trickling in for Jewel’s Picking Up the Pieces Tour last week, April 7th, at the Lincoln Theatre.

Fancied as an Americana band (from New York, started in 2005) and fronted by James Dolan (aka JD), they also include Marc Copely (guitar, vocals), Bryron House (bass), and touring musicians Erin Slaver (violin) and JJ Appelton (guitar).

James Dolan (who just so happens to be the CEO of Cablevision and the owner of the New York Knicks) is quite the character indeed, he sauntered on stage sporting a red velvet jacket and told many a tale about his son, his songs and somehow managed to fit in a costume change to get into his ‘Ballyhoo’ character. Many of the tales were about songs featured in films like August: Osage County and Jane Got a Gun.

Snapshots: PINS @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 4/12/16

By

-

April 13, 2016

Faith Vern performs at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, April 12. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

PINS, an all-female quintet from Manchester, England, visited the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday night as openers for The Subways, and both bands took the stage by storm.

In 2015, PINS released a sophomore album, Wild Nights, via Bella Union as a follow-up to their 2013 debut, Girls Like Us. PINS are an exciting band, and they sound great. They have a fabulous noise-pop sensibility, sparkling guitars and bass that smack of their inspirations in The Jesus and Mary Chain. And they also have a great post-punk attitude with their succinct songs and alt-girl stylings.

Parklife DC doesn’t have a full review of PINS, but in this new featurette Snapshots, I wanted to share some pix of the ladies, except their excellent drummer, who was difficult to photograph from my limited position!

Sports Park: DC United vs. Toronto FC @ RFK Stadium, 4/16/16

By

-

April 13, 2016

Season Record: 1-2-3 (6 points)

Your DC United put a hearty four goals to nil beat-down of the unmighty Vancouver Whitecaps this past Saturday.

It’s only one game, but you can’t help but feel just a whole lot better about the United getting their first win in impressive fashion.

Fabián Espíndola was named the MLS Player of the Week with two of the goals, while Álvaro Saborío also punched in the other two goals.

Now your DC United take on another of Canada’s finest this Saturday, 4/16. They face Toronto FC, who sit a mere single point behind the United in the standings.

Time to start climbing higher.

Get your tickets here.

Or find a future game from the season schedule.

MLS: Toronto FC at DC United
RFK Stadium
Saturday, April 16, 2016
5:00pm
$20-55
All ages

Don’t Miss: High Waisted @ Black Cat, 4/17/16

By

-

April 13, 2016

Tickets are available online!

Jessica Louise Dye sings at the Dead Kennedy Center on Feb. 2, 2016. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath/Instagram+Twitter: GrillworksBen)

You may recall surf rock band High Waisted from their last visit to DC! (Or at least you may recall us talking about them…) They are fronted by spunky vocalist Jessica Louise Dye, who also wields a mean guitar. They also consist of versatile guitarist Steven Nielsen, shimmering bassist Jeremy Hansen, and whip-smart drummer Jono Bernstein.

They look kinda like this when they perform — as they did at the DIY space the Dead Kennedy Center in DC on Feb. 2, 2016:

Jessica with bandmates drummer Jono and guitarist Steven at the Dead Kennedy Center. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath/Instagram+Twitter: GrillworksBen)

Since their last visit, they have released their debut LP, On Ludlow. It sounds a little bit like this:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F200036530%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-FvE2r&visual=true&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

And now High Waisted return to play at the Black Cat on Sunday, April 17, as the opening act for Har Mar Superstar! When I saw them, High Waisted sounded terrific, and they will make you a surf punk convert if you aren’t already. I was particularly taken by their number “Shanghai Spy,” what I considered a slick answer to the Hawaii Five-O theme. After their last DC show, I observed, “Jess Dye brings a lot of energy to the stage but at the same time she fits like an interlocking block with her bandmates…. Together, they play wonderfully loose, shimmery beats — but at the same time, they are amazingly sharp.”

Be sure to get there early to hear the NYC surf quartet rock out before LA-based Mr. Superstar lays down his smooth if irreverent soul music.

High Waisted
(Opening for Har Mar Superstar)
Black Cat
Sunday, April 17
Doors @7:30pm
$15
All ages

Don’t Miss: The Joy Formidable @ 9:30 Club, 4/13/16

By

-

April 12, 2016