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Music Park: Blanck Mass @ DC9 — 3/8/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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Music Park: Blanck Mass @ DC9 — 3/8/16
Blanck Mass
Blanck Mass performs at the festival Best Kept Secret in The Netherlands on Friday, June 19, 2015. (Photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet)

The opening track, “Loam,” on the latest full-length album from Blanck Mass begins as a confused muffle of sounds that resembles someone speaking underwater. The song then mellows out midway and becomes the sonic equivalent of a soft strobe light, electronic beats skipping gently toward a languid conclusion.

Blanck Mass, born Benjamin John Power, performed “Loam” also as an opener for his show at DC9 on Tuesday night as a stop on his tour to support the album and an ensuing EP, the Great Confuso, both released last year. He drew a dedicated crowd excited to dance to Blanck Mass’ very accessible cut on music that occasionally borders both neo-psychedelia and dark ambient pop.

Loam means soil, and it’s clear that Blanck Mass envisions this to mean “clay” as in material for sculpting a human form. The album, Dumb Flesh, thematically explores how human beings are victims of their biology, responsive to the biological stimuli of all mammals despite our intellectual yearning to strive for something more.

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Around Town: Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series, 3/15/16

By
Jeremy Bailey
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nerds-noma-whose-art-33

Next Tuesday, March 15th, come out for the third session of the Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series.

The topic is ‘Urban Adventure’, a look at how to find an adventure in the city that is right for you.

It will be moderated by Matt Liddle of REI. (You know I love REI!)

With the following panelists:

I went to the session on February 16th, on “Who’s Art”, and heard some lively debate and interesting tidbits on social art in DC, with updates on current and future projects, all while snacking from a bag of popcorn and sipping a cold beer. There was a decent crowd on hand to listen to the panelists share their experiences and opinions. With a little more word of mouth and a topic of greater interest (to me), it might just be full this time.

 

Register for the free event here.

They still have free beer and popcorn!

Future sessions

4/19 – Capital Climate Change

Nerds in NoMa Speaker Series
Session 3 (of 4): Urban Adventure
The Lobby Project (1200 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002)
Tuesday, March 15
6:00-8:00pm
Free
All ages

Music Park: Q-Tip Named Artistic Director for Hip Hop @ Kennedy Center, 2016-17

By
Mickey McCarter
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Qtip
Q-Tip (Photo courtesy Def Jam Recordings)

Popular musician, producer, and DJ Q-Tip has been named artistic director for hip hop culture at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In his new role, Q-Tip will manage the Kennedy Center’s new Hip Hop Culture series, set to launch in the coming months.

“With Hip Hop constantly changing and evolving, it is easy to forget the history and legacy that precede it,” Q-Tip said in a press release. “I want to begin at the beginning of the Culture to help people see its roots, better understand its present, and responsibly create its future.”

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Don’t Miss: Nap Eyes @ DC9, 3/11/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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Nap-Eyes-Polaroid-2-web
Nap Eyes (Photo by Colin Medley)

Psych folk quartet Nap Eyes are an intriguing band, given to deep musings on existence and a taste for arcane literature.

Hailing from Nova Scotia, the band released its sophomore album Thought Rock Fish Scale via Paradise of Bachelors, a North Carolina label that definitely has a particular psychedelic flair. Nap Eyes have launched a tour in support of their new album, and they visit DC9 on Friday, March 11.

Songs from the new album have a vibe of imparting friendly, welcome wisdom — such as the song “Stargazer,” wherein vocalist Nigel Chapman sings of the search for inspiration. Nigel draws a lot of critical comparisons to Lou Reed for his lyrical compositions and his conversational manner of singing. The fellow certainly has a way with words and brings a much needed intellectual heft to indie rock.

Nap Eyes dropped by Coach House Sound Sessions to record a live video for “Stargazer” in February. Watch it on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihn66RDDfJ4]

With able collaboration from bassist Josh Salter, guitarist Brad Loughead, and drummer Seamus Dalton, Nigel develops winsome guitar pop, recording plainly and simply live with no overdubs.

Said Noisey of the band, “Nap Eyes moves from psych-riffs to astrophysicists, from Rubaiyatic poetry to punctuated bass, in easy fluid motions. Chapman’s calm, steady voice can be as pained as Bob Dylan’s, and his lyrics can be just as profound.”

Irish guitarist Cian Nugent opens for Nap Eyes. Tickets are available online.

Nap Eyes
w/ Cian Nugent
DC9
Friday, March 11
Doors @6:30pm
$10
All ages

Don’t Miss: Metric @ The Fillmore Silver Spring, 3/13/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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0

metric
Metric (Photo by Norman Wong)

Last September, Metric released a fantastic new album — their sixth — Pagans in Vegas. It continues a journey Metric began with their first album, as the Toronto quartet have blazed a trail from catchy melodies and clever wordplay to sophisticated vignettes of complex musical arrangements.

While fourth album Fantasies had a big sound reflecting its themes of life among others and fifth album Synthetica turned inward to assess life within ourselves, the new album straddles the two, which is appropriate as the band said they drew inspiration from influences like Depeche Mode and Underworld. The resulting songs occasionally project out or turn inward, but the results always make for excellent songcraft.

Lead singer Emily Haines is in fine form, and the band seem to have grown in such a way that depends less on her sassy demeanor and more on operating as a collective. In the lead-up to the album release, I caught Metric at the Verizon Center opening for Imagine Dragons on July 6, 2015, and observed: “Metric were in terrific form all around, and Emily sounded superb and looked fantastic.”

Now Metric return for their own headlining tour at The Fillmore Silver Spring this Sunday, March 13, in what is certain to be a great show.

In some of their latest music videos, Metric have opted for swirling visual effects rather than film of the band performing. Watch the official music video for “The Governess,” a song that gets a bit bluesy, by Metric on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjHLlyVvac8]

Metric also recorded acoustic versions of four of their songs this year at 11th Street Records in Las Vegas for a Spotify Session. Listen on Spotify!

I have long pointed to Metric as the standard-bearers for intelligent new wave music since their formation in 1998, and The New York Times recently echoed my sentiment in a review of the new album. “Whether the attitude is deeply cynical or brightly optimistic, the Canadian band Metric keeps its songs neat, succinct, and tuneful on its sixth album, Pagans in Vegas, making the lessons of 1980s new wave sound current,” said The Times.

Electro quintet Joywave open for Metric on Sunday! Tickets are available online.

Metric
w/ Joywave
The Fillmore Silver Spring
Sunday, March 13
Show @8pm
$31
All ages

Don’t Miss: Your Friend @ Rock and Roll Hotel, 3/9/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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0

unnamed
Taryn Miller aka Your Friend (Photo by Crystal Lee Farris)

Taryn Miller is Your Friend.

No, really she is. She’s performing as such at the Rock and Roll Hotel tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9. She’s Your Friend.

The bedroom-pop chanteuse has won praise for her lilting yet brooding synthy style.

Said Stereogum: “Miller has a knack for combining disparate sounds into a unified palette, deploying everything from guitar samples to drum loops to field recordings to ominous synth sounds in service of her distinct sonic point of view. The resulting music exists in a shadowy space between Radiohead’s cinematic brooding and Wye Oak at their slowest and stateliest.”

Taryn released her debut album, Gumption, on Jan. 29, and she’s opening for Porches and Alex G, her labelmates at the Domino Recording Co., tomorrow as part of her tour to support the album.

Taryn began writing the songs that would become Gumption at her studio space and apartment in Lawrence, Kan., after returning from touring in mid-2014 including some dates with Courtney Barnett. She took a field recorder to her family farm in Winfield, Kansas, in the process of trying to capture a dreamy, nostalgic vibe. You can hear the results yourself in slow, contemplative songs like “Come Back from It.”

Watch the official music video for “Come Back from It” on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8z8J1EoLA]

You can stream the some of the album Gumption on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/189237851″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Tickets are available online!

Your Friend
Opening for Porches and Alex G
Rock and Roll Hotel
Wednesday, March 9
Doors @7pm
$13.50/$15
All ages

Ticket Giveaway: Deer Tick @ Sixth & I, 3/10/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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0

Deertick_640x640

John Joseph McCauley and his alt-country band Deer Tick have launched an acoustic tour, and they are hitting the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue on Thursday, March 10.

Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets for you to see the show!

In 2013, Deer Tick released their fifth album, Negativity, which was inspired by John Joseph’s personal struggles with family, divorce and drugs. The band draw inspiration from diverse sources, including blues, grunge and even glam. You see, in recent years, Deer Tick have paid tribute to the late, great Lou Reed by covering a few of his songs, like “Hangin’ Around” from the seminal album Transformer.

Watch Deer Tick perform “Hangin’ Around” in a recent acoustic session on YouTube:

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

This is a great opportunity to see Deer Tick in a setting sure to bolster their acoustic Americana. For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between now and noon on Wednesday, March 9. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Deer Tick! One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketmaster.

For the rules of this giveaway…

Comments will close on Wednesday, March 9, at noon and we will randomly select a winner. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within 12 hours, or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the Sixth & I box office on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.

Good luck! (And you can buy tickets online if you don’t win.)

Deer Tick
w/ Mutual Benefit and Ryley Walker
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Thursday, March 10
Show @8pm
$25
All ages

Don’t Miss: ShamrockFest 2016 @ RFK Stadium Festival Grounds, 3/12/16

By
Jeremy Bailey
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0

Shamrockfest 2016 - Schedule

On Saturday, March 12th, the 17th Annual ShamrockFest hits the RFK Stadium Festival Grounds with an epic amount of green and Irish music.

Your local Irish heroes, Scythian, will be playing at 5:30pm, along with plenty of other bands, notably Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys.

And Mr. Van Winkle himself, aka Vanilla Ice, will also rock the mic like a vandal. Paired with an Irish Coffee, things could get very interesting. (Irish Vanilla Ice Coffee?)

Here are 17 reasons you should go this year!

Shamrockfest 2016 - Top 17

 

ShamrockFest 2016
RFK Stadium Festival Grounds
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Festival: 3-11pm
General: $29.99 (or $24.99 with purchase of 4+ tics)
VIP: $74.99+ (21+ only)
All ages

Music Park: Deep Sea Diver @ DC9 — 2/29/16

By
Jeremy Bailey
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0

Deep Sea DiverDeep Sea Diver (Photo Courtesy of Force Field PR)

There was a moment in Deep Sea Diver’s set at DC9 on February 29th, where lead singer Jessica Dobson suddenly ignited and the energy level ratcheted up to 11.

That moment came halfway through the set, in the long intro to “Wide Awake”, a song that left the crowd no doubt they were witnessing a revelationary performance. Just that short burst of rhythm and rock alone was enough to make the show.

Then from boisterous anthem to subdued, yet equally sublime, they transitioned to “Great Light”, a ballad of hopeful love, brought to life through Jessica’s lilting voice, that might break your heart if it wasn’t merely a song.

As Jessica set down her guitar (one of two used during the show) with broken strings poking in every direction, Jessica joked that this is, “literally the first song I play without an instrument in my hands.” And she did need both hands to hold the mic steady enough to take the force of the lyrics.

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Music Park: Radiation City @ DC9 — 2/29/16

By
Mickey McCarter
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0

150904_Radiation+City_64_FINAL2
Radiation City (from left to right): Dasha Shleyeva, Cameron Spies, Elisabeth Ellison, Randy Bemrose, Patti King (Photo by Holly Andres)

Radiation City’s musical renewal with their third full-length album, Synesthetica (released Feb. 12), has served the quintet well, extending the band’s catalog with catchy guitar licks and roving synthesizers.

At the heart of Radiation City are Elisabeth Ellison on vocals and synths and Cameron Spies on vocals and guitar. I’m not certain how the band’s dynamics worked in the past, but on tour to support the new album with a stop at DC9 on Monday night, the couple dominated the proceedings when trading off on lead vocals, providing the audience with two different yet welcome flavors in their sound.

The crowded room enjoyed quite a full bill with Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver opening, and they make for great tour companions with Radiation City. But more continuity with their tourmates is found in the songs where Cameron takes lead on vocals, as his songs have a similar edge to them with forward guitar and soulful, worldly vocals. Cameron serenades his audience early with Radiation City’s “Winter Blind” from their 2012 EP, Cool Nightmare.

It is a distinguishing feature of Radiation City, however, that the band consistently has strong guitar forward for a dreampop band. The women of Radiation City — Elisabeth and Patti King — flank the rest of the band with their synthesizers on the sides of the stage but they sure do take center in many of the songs, particularly the catchiest of the new crop.

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