Parklife DC

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October 14, 2015

Electric Six with Dick Valentine (left) (Photo by Frank Nash)

Much of the appeal of the Electric Six comes from the band’s desire to have fun and to make you dance by any music necessary.

And that sense of fun was on full display Sunday night at the Black Cat, where frontman Dick Valentine (born Tyler Spencer) and company absolutely packed the backstage beyond capacity. To be fair, the band originally were slated to play on the larger mainstage, but were moved backstage for some reason as the DC federal holiday weekend approached.

“The Electric Six were demoted!” Dick proclaimed early in the set. “Write to the Speaker of the House, whoever that may be, and have us remoted!”

I personally have never been in a more crowded show backstage, so I fully embrace Dick’s sentiment. At the end of the day, however, the Electric Six brought everything it had to bear in a genre-bending stampede of music that went from funk to punk to metal and even to country. It was a double-barrel shotgun blast of raucous dance music.

At a midpoint in the concert, Dick declared that it was time to break out the dance music, although 99 percent of the show consisted of dance music, as evidenced by an audience that was actively bopping and hopping. The declaration came as an intro to a medley of the band’s songs “Improper Dancing” and “(Who the Hell Just) Call My Phone,” one song from the band’s popular debut album Fire and another from their 2014 album Human Zoo.

Don’t Miss: Matt Pond PA @ Rock and Roll Hotel, 10/14/15

By

Jeremy Bailey

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October 13, 2015

Matt Pond PA

Matt Pond PA comes to the Rock and Roll Hotel on Wednesday, October 14.

They are currently touring in support of their 10th full-length album, The State of Gold.

Listening to parts of their new album is my first real exposure to their work, which has been prolific. Sampling more of their music, it at times sounds like a dash of country (“Red Ankles”), a touch of Tom Petty (“Let Me Live”), a bit of folk (“Hearts and Minds”) and pieces of pop (“Take Me With You”).

“Take Me With You”

Music Park: The Zombies @ Lincoln Theatre — 10/8/15

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October 12, 2015

Colin Blunstone (front) and Jim Rodford at The Muni Arts Centre, pontypridd, Wales, May 29, 2013 (Photo by Sean Rowe)

The Zombies had not played their song “I Want You Back Again” for a while but then they heard Tom Petty cover it.

The band then recalled what a good song it was, and they determined that they should revisit it in their live sets. This led them to record a new version of the song for their latest album, Still Got That Hunger, released Friday, Oct. 9, via Cherry Red Records.

“If it is good enough for Tom Petty, it is good enough for The Zombies,” quipped Colin Blunstone before a performance of the song at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Thursday night. The band then launched into their new rendition of “I Want You Back Again,” a single the original band first released in 1965.

Colin sings very soulfully on the song, dedicated to a woman who should return to the lonely narrator. The Zombies cofounder Rod Argent plays some lonely blues piano and he spearheads a rather lovely musical interlude early in the song. Rod is a keyboard maestro who really gets into the zone during moments like that interlude, and it’s a pleasure to watch him behind the piano most of all.

Don’t Miss: Electric Six @ Black Cat, 10/11/15

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October 9, 2015

Electric Six (Photo by Chris Betea)

It’s a long holiday weekend in DC, and many of us have Monday off thanks to Columbus Day. In this case, what better way to spend your Sunday night than seeing a concert?

For our money, your best bet may be Detroit-based collective Electric Six, appearing at the Black Cat on Sunday, Oct. 11. Headed by Dick Valentine, the Electric Six are electric, eclectic, and loud! The official lineup of Electric Six today has only five members: Dick Valentine (vocals), Da Ve (guitar), Johnny Na$hinal (guitar), Tait Nucleus? (synths), and Percussion World (drums). They are still best known perhaps for their 2003 debut album, Fire, which spawned several hits in the United Kingdom — “Danger! High Voltage,” “Gay Bar,” and “Dance Commander.”

As you can see from those three songs alone, Electric Six have a unique way of traversing genres — going from the depths of hard rock to positively new wave. They keep the pace high with their 11th studio album, Bitch, Don’t Let Me Die!, released on Oct. 2 via Metropolis Records. They also stay absolutely quirky with song titles like “Slow Motion Man,” “When Cowboys File for Divorce,” and “Kids Are Evil.” If anything on this new album, Electric Six are more than ever crossing the hard rock lyrics of early AC/DC with the sweeping progressiveness of a middle-period Styx.

Electric Six don’t seem to have released a new music video in a while, so let’s revisit “Danger! High Voltage” and recall how damn catchy it is.

Watch the official video for “Danger! High Voltage” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FxmoVM7X4]

Oh, hey, Baltimore, we see Electric Six had to cancel their show tonight at Metro Gallery due to a personal emergency. Come party with us on Sunday! Tickets are available online and at the door.

Electric Six
w/ Yip Deceiver
Black Cat
Sunday, Oct. 11
Doors @7:30pm
$15
All ages

Don’t Miss: The March Violets @ Recessions, 10/10/15

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October 8, 2015

The March Violets in 1984 (Photo courtesy The March Violets)

As many a member of Generation X knows, the songs appearing on soundtracks to the films of John Hughes in the 1980s are critical elements of those movies.

Where would we be without “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds in the Breakfast Club or “If You Leave” by OMD in Pretty in Pink? (… or “Pretty in Pink” by the Psychedelic Furs, for that matter.)

And so we also embrace “Turn to the Sky” by the March Violets in “Some Kind of Wonderful,” where it sets the mood for a club scene with Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Watch the official video for “Turn to the Sky” by the March Violets from 1986 on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrr6sj1Ra2c]

The latest lineup of the post-punk/goth quartet from Leeds, England — featuring vocalists Simon Denbigh and Rosie Garland — is set to perform in DC on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Spellbound dance party, which takes place weekly at Recessions (1823 L St. NW, DC). (They also play at the Mercury Lounge in New York City on Friday night.)

The March Violets have been rather active since their reformation in 2007, releasing a new album Made Glorious in 2014 after a very successful Pledge Music campaign.

The band has launched a new Pledge Music campaign to fund yet another album, Mortality, and they already have achieved more than half their goal with more than 70 days remaining in the project.

Buy or listen to the album Made Glorious on Bandcamp:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1489389526 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Tickets are available at the door! “Space will be limited, so get there early!” say the promoters.

The March Violets
Recessions
Saturday, Oct. 10
Doors @9pm
$15
21+

Food Park: Taste of DC @ Penn Ave NW, 10/10 & 10/11/15

By

Jeremy Bailey

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October 8, 2015

Taste of DC

Time to get out of the house after last week’s hurricane ‘scare’. The weather should be just fine this weekend.

We have the annual Taste of DC along Pennsylvania Avenue both Saturday and Sunday.

Almost 60 restaurants and 10 food trucks will be doling out their delicious food concoctions. Each will have one item between $1 and $3, plus more robust offerings for $8 or less.

There will be music (see the band schedule), a Cocktail Corner, a Wine Walk, and a Beer Garden with plenty of breweries (see the list).

Buy tickets here. General admission also gets you one free drink and a coupon for a free ShopHouse bowl (for later use).

Taste of DC
Pennsylvania Avenue NW (between 3rd St – 7th St)
Saturday, October 10 and 11
12:00pm-7:00pm
$20 general admission ($40 for Drink Lovers Package – adds $25 in drink tickets)
All ages (ID required)

Don’t Miss: YACHT @ U Street Music Hall, 11/7/15

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October 8, 2015

Tickets are available online.

Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans (Photo by Ricky Tompkins)

Disco-punk duo YACHT are about to release a new album, I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler, via Downtown Records — their third full-length effort operating as a band rather than as a solo project by founder Jona Bechtolt.

After the new album’s release on Oct. 16, YACHT will appear mystically at U Street Music Hall soon after on Saturday, Nov. 7, in a tour stop to support the album.

The new album finds Jona and his songwriting partner Claire L. Evans concerned about the quality of life and the future of mankind — two themes that preoccupied them in previous albums See Mystery Lights and Shangri-La, which lyrically assessed topics like the lack of an afterlife and utopia, despite mostly being earnest dance records. Aside from being an arresting performer, Claire is also a science journalist, writing and blogging about science for the likes of National Geographic, OMNI and Vice.

The first single from the new album “L.A. Plays Itself” is a love letter to their adopted city, inspired by the 2003 Thom Andersen documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself and incorporating 163 production location signs.

Watch the video for “L.A. Plays Itself” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaAqe5nMAuA]

YACHT cites a mind-boggling array of influences on The Future Would Be Cooler — including 80s Japanese electronic reggae (Sandii & The Sunsetz, Haruomi Hosono), 70s and 80s post-punk and no wave (Family Fodder, The Waitresses, Suburban Lawns, Killing Joke, A Certain Ratio, Devo), Norwegian disco (Todd Terje, Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas), and Grand Royal Records-era alternative music (Cibo Matto, Luscious Jackson, Money Mark).

YACHT
w/ Larry Gus
U Street Music Hall
Saturday, Nov. 7
Doors @7pm
$20
All ages

Don’t Miss: Lane 8 @ U Street Music Hall, 10/15/15

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October 7, 2015

Lane 8 (Photo courtesy Pitch Perfect PR)

Deep house composer Lane 8 released his debut album Rise in July, and he’s launched a supporting tour including a stop at U Street Music Hall on Thursday, Oct. 15.

Lane 8, born Daniel Goldstein, hails from San Francisco, but he’s been living in Leipzig, Germany, and he’s signed to Anjunadeep, the house label established by English progressive trance trio Above & Beyond.

As you can hear in his lead single “Ghost,” which features vocals by Patrick Baker, Lane 8 favors dreamy melodies and soothing vocals.

Watch the official music video for “Ghost” by Lane 8:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5huIYWuoY]

Lane 8’s 10-track debut album offers a journey across melodic instruments and dreamy electronics, and it inspired remixes by ODESZA, Eric Prydz and Above & Beyond.

New York-based DJ duo whiteowljaguar open for Lane 8. Tickets are available online.

Lane 8
w/ whiteowljaguar
U Street Music Hall
Thursday, Oct. 15
Doors @10pm
$12
18+

Music Park: FFS @ Lincoln Theatre — 10/5/15

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October 7, 2015

Alex Kapranos flanked by the Mael Brothers — Russell and Ron in DC on Oct. 5, 2015.

Starting from the very opening lines of Franz Ferdinand’s “Do You Want To?”, you could easily imagine the 2005 second album lead single as a classic Sparks song.

“When I woke up tonight, I said I’m…/Gonna make somebody love me!”

Consider songs from Spark’s 1983 opus In Outer Space — songs like “Popularity” and its similar glam/post-punk beats:

“I like you and you like me a lot/And it’s nice to be all alone with you too”

In hindsight, it’s little surprise that indefatigable Franz Ferdinand and the trailblazing Sparks also saw the synergies and combined forces to become the supergroup FFS (which of course is a shorthand for Franz Ferdinand Sparks… and not “for fuck’s sake” as some member of the audience called out on Monday night much to the amusement of singer Alex Kapranos).

FFS struck glam gold in a thunderous performance Monday night at the Lincoln Theatre in DC, charming an ecstatic audience who were clearly hyped to see the smooth blend of old school meets new school and the resulting theatrics.