Live Review: Yungblud @ Rams Head Live! — 2/15/22

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Rashad Polk in Live Review and tagged England, hip hop, pop punk, Rams Head Live, Yungblud.

Yungblud performs at Rams Head Live on Feb. 15, 2022. (Photos by Rashad Polk)

“We want Dom! We want Dom!” The chants for Dominic Harrison, performing as Yungblud, echoed throughout Rams Head Live recently as the house lights went down and he prepared to take the stage. Despite the show being his first time performing in Baltimore, the suspense had been building for years. Yungblud has a handful of shows in DC under his belt, but the closest to Charm City he’d come has been performing on the 2018 Warped Tour at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, where he not only blew minds with his own set, but also joined Canadian pop-punkers Simple Plan on stage to lend vocals on their hit “Just A Kid.”

Live Review: RoseRiot @ Jammin’ Java – 7/23/21

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Mark Caicedo in Live Review, Local Spotlight and tagged DC, Jammin' Java, pop punk, Rose Riot.

RR01 — ***Rose Riot pose for the camera at Jammin’ Java on July 23, 2021. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)***

Anyone who’s familiar with the DMV’s music scene knows Cathy DiToro, an incandescent ball of energy whose bands So Fetch (aughts covers), The Legwarmers (’80s covers), and Party Like It’s (ska/dance) clearly don’t occupy enough of her time.

A songwriter in her own right, Cathy has assembled a fresh quartet, the aptly named RoseRiot, to perform original songs, and the band made a long-awaited return to live performance with an outdoor appearance at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia this past Friday.

Live Review: Rose Riot @ Union Stage — 11/19/19

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review, Local Spotlight and tagged Cathy DiToro, DC, pop punk, Rose Riot, Union Stage.

Rose Riot performs at Union Stage on Nov. 19, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Should ever you found yourself in DC listening to a local cover band that isn’t White Ford Bronco, odds are that you’ve been struck by the blonde lightning bolt that is Cathy DiToro. The vocalist and guitarist appears regularly in ’80s coverband The Legwarmers, ’00s coverband So Fetch, and ska partyband Party Like It’s.

In addition to raising money to support women in music as chief of Project HERA, Cathy has been honing some original tunes as a solo artist for a while. So, it’s only natural that she would assemble a band to play more originals. Rose Riot, that very band, started playing around DC in November, and the quartet opened Letters to Cleo at Union Stage recently.

Snapshots: Yungblud @ 9:30 Club — 10/17/19

Posted on October 24, 2019 by paivi in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, England, hip hop, pop punk, Yungblud.

Yungblud performs at 9:30 Club on Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo by Paivi Salonen)

Dominic Harrison, better known as Yungblud, closed his North American Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club Tour at 9:30 Club recently. Paivi Salonen was there to shoot the show.

Snapshots: 5 Seconds of Summer @ Capital One Arena — 10/15/19

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Ari Strauss in Live Review and tagged 5 Seconds of Summer, Australia, Capital One Arena, pop punk, power pop.

5 Seconds of Summer frontman Luke Hemmings on stage at Capital One Arena, Oct. 15, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)

5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), the power-pop band from Australia that Rolling Stone calls “the biggest new rock act in the world,” played to a packed Capital One Arena crowd recently as they opened for The Chainsmokers on their World War Joy Tour.

Ticket Giveaway: Shonen Knife @ Black Cat, 9/3/18

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged Black Cat, cuddlecore, free tickets, Japan, Naoko Yamano, Osaka, pop punk, post-punk, punk, Shonen Knife, ticket giveaway.

Shonen Knife (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)

Shonen Knife play at the Black Cat on Monday, Sept. 3! You can win tickets to go with Parklife DC.

Music Park: Quiet Slang @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 7/12/18

Posted on July 16, 2018 by David LaMason in Live Review and tagged Beach Slang, Charlie Lowe, indie rock, James Alex, Philadelphia, Polyvinyl Records, pop punk, power pop, punk, Quiet Slang, Rock and Roll Hotel.

James Alex of Quiet Slang pours out his heart at the Rock and Roll Hotel on July 12, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)

Beach Slang — the loud, driving, heart-on-your sleeve band led by James Alex — has been making their brand of Replacements-tinged powerpunk for a few years now. Beyond the rough and noisy exterior, Beach Slang songs are about connecting with the feeling of being different or an outsider or being yourself despite what others think.

But there’s a soft center to that hard exterior. So when James Alex announced the new quiet focus on Beach Slang songs with a project called Quiet Slang, it seemed like a natural extension. The resulting album, Everything Matters But No One Is Listening, is a beautiful retelling that sounds natural instead of forced, particularly when presented at Rock and Roll Hotel on Thursday.

Music Park: Superchunk @ Ottobar — 2/15/17

Posted on February 19, 2018 by David LaMason in Live Review and tagged indie rock, Jason Narducy, Jim Wilbur, Jon Wurster, Laura Ballance, Mac McCaughan, Merge Records, pop punk, Portastatic, punk, Split Single, superchunk.

Superchunk rocks a sold-out Ottobar on Feb. 15, 2018 (Photo by David LaMason)

Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Superchunk has been blazing punk riffs for just shy of 30 years. Although the band needs no introduction perhaps what is needed is a reintroduction. Superchunk — consisting of Mac McCaughan (vocals/guitar), Laura Balance (bass), Jim Wilbur (guitar), and Jon Wurster (drums) — just released their 11th studio album, What a Time to Be Alive, this past Friday. On the night before, they played to a sold-out crowd at Ottobar in Baltimore.

Music Park: Beach Slang @ Black Cat — 11/28/17

Posted on December 1, 2017 by David LaMason in Live Review and tagged Beach Slang, Black Cat, emo, James Alex, Philadelphia, Polyvinyl Records, pop punk, punk.

Beach Slang pour their hearts out at Black Cat on Nov. 28, 2017. (Photo by David LaMason)

It goes without saying that Beach Slang have been having a difficult year. There was the well-publicized changes in band members in 2016, immediately followed by the first of two thefts where all of their gear was stolen. The second coming this past month in Seattle where their tour van was stolen. But it’s a testament to the spirit of Beach Slang that they not merely continue on or go through the motions, but they consistently play some of the best heart-on-your-sleeve-seat-of-your-pants rock ‘n’ roll every night. And at Black Cat, James Alex and Company poured out those hearts on Tuesday.

Music Park: Reggie and the Full Effect @ The Fillmore Silver Spring — 7/21/17

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Daniel Webb in Live Review and tagged emo, James Dewees, Kansas City, pop punk, post-hardcore, Reggie and the Full Effect, The Fillmore Silver Spring.

Reggie and the Full Effect perform in Chicago on Dec. 9, 2014. (Photo by Megan Leetz)

The Karate Kid took on Cobra Kai at The Fillmore in Silver Spring last Friday — and the result looked a lot like Reggie and the Full Effect.