Rhode Island

Live Review: Daughters @ 9:30 Club — 12/18/19

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Daughters @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC, 12/18/2019
Alexis Marshall fronts Daughters at 9:30 Club on Dec. 18, 2019. (Photos by Paivi Salonen; Words by Mickey McCarter)

Opening with “The Reason They Hate Me” from a new album at 9:30 Club recently, Daughters’ frontman Alexis Marshall slowly began to reveal why he occasionally draws comparisons to Nick Cave. The slim singer swayed to the front of the stage in a suit to conjure energy from an audience ready to dance.

Although the vocals of that opening number were rather growling in a way sympathetic to hardcore, Alexis quickly became much more measured and select with his words and pacing by the time of “City Song,” the third number in the set.

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Live Review: The Low Anthem @ Jammin’ Java — 11/21/19

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TLA+Dec+2017
The Low Anthem (Photo courtesy Blind Ambition Management)

Haunting. Spectral. These are a few words that describe the folk-Americana of The Low Anthem, who appeared at Jammin’ Java recently. Following a switch to the Joyful Noise label, TLA has released a limited-edition vinyl pressing of their 2008 album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. They played the entire record, described as a “very sciencey gospel” album, along with some newer material.

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Live Review: Deer Tick @ Wolf Trap — 6/20/19

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Deer Tick
Deer Tick performs at The Charm City Bluegrass Festival in April 2019.  (Photo by Matt Ruppert)

In so many ways, Deer Tick is the quintessential modern American band. Started sometime in the mid-2000s and officially releasing War Elephant in 2007, theirs is a sound born of something many of us can find familiar: as at home on a small stage in the corner of a bar/coffeehouse, in a party club, or on a big stage in the middle of a national park.

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