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Live Review: J. Roddy Walston and Palm Palm @ Ottobar — 1/19/20

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J. Roddy Walston and Palm Palm rock a sold-out Ottobar on Jan. 19, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

In October of last year, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, posted through social media that “after 14 years, four albums and 889 shows of being creatively betrothed solely to each other, now feels like the time to explore other possibilities…” After sold-out sets in Baltimore and Richmond, J. Roddy Walston and the Business and their raucous brand of Southern rock and Stones-inspired music was on an indefinite hiatus.

But the story doesn’t end there.

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Live Review: Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker @ 9:30 Club — 1/18/20

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CamperVan4 David Lowery fronts Camper Van Beethoven at 9:30 Club on Jan. 18, 2020 (Photo by David LaMason)

As I was listening to Camper Van Beethoven at the 9:30 Club recently, I was reminded of the title of a Spotify playlist of ’80s alternative rock: Left of the Dial. To the crowd’s delight, the band opened with their delightfully odd cult hit “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” from their 1985 debut LP, Telephone Free Landslide Victory.

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Preview: J. Roddy Walston @ Ottobar, 1/19/20

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J. Roddy Walston (Photo courtesy Eventbrite)

For nearly two decades he’s been the “J. Roddy Walston” of the “and the Business.” Now he’s just J. Roddy, and a whole rack of songs… and a moving truck full of synths, pianos, tape machines, and sequencers. Catch him in a solo live show at Ottobar on Sunday, Jan 19!

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Preview: Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven @ 9:30 Club, 1/18/20

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Cracker’s David Lowery and Johnny Hickman (Photo by Bradford Jones)

Why front one band when you can front two? That’s surely the philosophy of David Lowery — guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and mathematician — who heads both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. As is David’s habit in the past several years, he’s bringing both bands to 9:30 Club for a double bill on Saturday, Jan. 18.

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Live Review: Last Train Home @ The Birchmere — 1/3/20

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Eric Brace, Thomm Jutz, and Peter Cooper (Photo by John Partipilo)

Last Train Home came together in DC in the late ‘90s, led by Eric Brace, who was then a reporter at the Washington Post. When the band took off, Eric left the Post to become a full-time musician.

After a hiatus, Last Train Home came home to The Birchmere recently.

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Live Review: David Wax Museum @ Union Stage — 12/29/19

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DWM09 David Wax Museum performs at Union Stage on Dec. 29, 2019. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)

I’ve yet to read a concert review that begins with the line: “It was a dark and stormy night…” but it would be apropos of this one. Despite the chilly rain falling on Sunday night, the hardy souls that made their way to Union Stage were rewarded with a light, lovely and warm performance by David Wax Museum.

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