DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Matt and Kim light up 9:30 Club on Nov. 20, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
In 2009, Brooklyn indie pop duo Matt and Kim released Grand, their sophomore album, and party bands were never the same again. The couple celebrated 10 years of the record by playing it in its entirety in a super sold-out show at 9:30 Club recently.
Big Thief performs at the 9:30 Club on Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo by David LaMason)
Big Thief is one of those bands that is as true to the idea of a band as can be. Each time I’ve seen them, I come away with the feeling that each piece of the whole works so well together. And that cohesion over each record seems to get tighter and seem like second nature. Even when, as she did Sunday night to a sold out audience at the 9:30 Club, singer/guitarist Adrianne Lenker started the evening solo for a newish song “Zombie” (which has been in rotation for their live shows for the last year or so). The rest of the band focused their attention as if performing along through some telepathy.
Kishi Bashi captivates a sold out Lincoln Theatre on Nov. 8, 2019 (Photo by David LaMason)
There are performances that are good, some are great, and then there are the transcendent ones that leaves you a little different than when you came in. Kaoru Ishibashi (who performs under the name Kishi Bashi) created an experience that is both musically and visually compelling — moving the audience to feel like a part of what was going on there on the stage — as was the case of Friday night’s performance within the crowded walls of the Lincoln Theatre.
King Princess performs at 9:30 Club on Nov. 7, 2019. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
King Princess exploded onto the 9:30 club stage for two nights of sold-out shows recently in a blinding haze of strobes. She let us know she has arrived, in more ways than one.
Kishi Bashi (Photo by Max Ritter)
Kaoru Ishibashi, known better as Kishi Bashi, released Omoiyari, his fourth full-length studio album, via Joyful Noise Recordings earlier this year. The violinist is on tour with a visit to the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Friday, Nov. 8.
Dave Longstreth and Nat Baldwin of Dirty Projectors play at the 9:30 Club on Sept. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brenda Reyes)
Dirty Projectors‘ joint tour with Deerhunter finally came to the 9:30 Club for a fulfilling night recently — both bands are no strangers to DC. Dirty Projectors had just played last summer 2018 for their latest album Lamp Lit Prose.
Dirty Projectors (Photo by Jason Frank Rothberg)
Deerhunter released Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, the band’s eighth studio album, earlier this year via 4AD. Dirty Projectors dropped Lamp Lit Prose on Domino Records last year. The two bands now join forces for a tour, and they visit 9:30 Club on Sunday, Sept. 8!
Angel K
AJ Waugh
ambienteye
Ari Strauss
Andy Jillson
Brenda Reyes
Chester Simpson
chriscastilloweb
Chris R. Smyth
crvock
Daniel Webb
David LaMason
EDMit it
Shantel M Breen
isaiahhattix
Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur"
jesternate
julesontheroadphotos
jwillview
kristiechua
Mark Caicedo
Mark Engleson
Mathew Harkins
Corey Paterson
mdxpc
Mickey McCarter
Miyun Park
Neal Keller
Parklifer
Kyle Gustafson
paivi
Rebecca
regardingtess
Robert Smith
shedrickpelt
theeternalname
Matt Ruppert
Will Colbert
Andrew Goodwin
wefoughtthebigone