In September, The The released Ensoulment, the band’s first studio album in a quarter century. Now, frontman Matt Johnson has marshaled his collective for a North American tour that arrives at The Anthem in DC on Monday, Oct. 14!
John Darnielle, the singer-songwriter at the core of The Mountain Goats, may be the most prolific songwriter in the world. Since he started recording in lo-fi on a tape machine by himself more than 30 years ago, he’s released about 600 original songs.
I’m not ashamed to say that, while I’ve listened to his catalog several times, I still struggle to identify his songs. I have a freakishly good memory, but there’s too many even for me to remember them all. The upside of the size of his catalog is that, while there some songs repeated on the second of his two recent nights at The Birchmere, the two sets were quite different from each other, and from what he played at Wolf Trap in August.
Two enduring British bands built around brothers — both of which put their indelible stamp on the 1980s — are co-headlining a North American tour at this very moment, and it is a must-see concert for any fan of thoughtful, poignant music.
The Psychedelic Furs — with core duo Richard and Tim Butler — and The Jesus and Mary Chain — with principals Jim and William Reid — complemented each other wonderfully while covering distinct sonic ground in their recent performance at The Anthem in DC.
Earlier this year, two-time Grammy-winning producer Kaytranada released his third studio album TIMELESS via RCA Records. He then hit the road for a North American tour that included a recent show at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Micaela Cerball was there to photograph the performance!
The Warner Theater was recently host to an unusual supergroup. The group is called BEAT. Their focus is the trio of King Crimson studio albums from the 1980s: Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair.
It may sound like a very specific focus, but it makes complete sense when you learn who the band is composed of. The anchors of Beat are two members of that era of King Crimson: Adrian Belew on guitar and Tony Levin on bass, Chapman Stick, and percussion. Rounding out the band are guitar legend Steve Vai and the drummer for Tool, Danny Carey.
“Throw some ass, free the mind” is the hook from Sofi Tukker’s lead single “Throw Some Ass” from their new album, Bread. It’s a statement that may seem inane at first, but gets more amusing the more you listen to it. That’s been my relationship with Sofi Tukker’s music over the years; accepting that it’s not meant to be taken too seriously, and the purpose is to let loose, dance with your friends, etc.
Bread stands for “Be Really Energetic And Dance,” which is truly what they’re all about.
Playing at his largest DC venue yet, Dayglow recently “ran the world” at The Anthem with his dreamy indie-rock set. Having played the 9:30 Club twice in the past few years, Sloan Struble, professionally known as Dayglow, moved up to The Anthem for his DC stop on his latest tour, Dayglow the Tour.
In August, New York City recognized the 50th anniversary of the first-ever live performance of the Ramones, the seminal rock ‘n roll band that reminded listeners that simple and fast were good for music.
Drummer Marky Ramone wasn’t there of course — he would first join the band in 1978 — but he certainly left his mark on the storied legacy of the world’s most fantastic punks. But as fate would have it, the original Ramones have all left us know, and Marky remains to carry on their legacy.
This year, Marky developed a new iteration of his Ramones show and he’s touring it now. He recently visited Black Cat, where he stomped through a welcome bunch of Ramones classics on the drums.
Khruangbin Brought Good Vibes to DC
Words by Dan Rozman
Photos by Jackie Lee Young
DC music fans packed The Anthem for Khruangbin on the first of two sold-out nights not too long ago. The Texas trio sold out both a Monday and a Tuesday on their A La Sala Tour.
Snallygaster is DC’s biggest and beastliest beer festival, bar none. And the merry monster makes its triumphant return to DC for its 12th year as a rollicking tribute to the wonderful world of craft beer on Saturday, Oct. 12, along Pennsylvania Ave NW .
Festival goers can expect a mind-boggling selection of over 450 highly sought-after brews on draft from nearly 175 of the finest American and international producers set against a backdrop of local food trucks and two stages of live music.
Brought to you by the minds behind DC’s Bluejacket, ChurchKey, The Sovereign, Shelter, and more, this is far and away the biggest event of the year for beer geeks of every stripe.
