Conservatives and liberals play nice to the groove of good music, and occassional tasty libations, with these four summer concert series going on now. Don’t miss out!
Artomatic: May 18 – June 23
Crystal City, Virginia is hosting the largest creative event in the DMV. An 11-story building is bursting with creative innovation, with 1,300 artists and performers sharing their crafts, and countless others being inspired. Let out your free spirit and try a little bit of everything from wine tasting, film, art lectures, exhibits, and so so so much more. Oh, and did I mention it is all FREE?
Please support our local artists and help keep these cultural events in the city by making a donation, or volunteering your time.
http://artomatic.org/
Songwriters and Poets Guerilla Showcase Series 2012, at The Black Squirrel : May 22 – June 28
The Black Squirrel, in Adams Morgan is letting it all out in the summer heat. This series features everything from folk, rock, blues, hip hop, and jazz. If you think you like all kinds of music, this series your scene.
The early weekday shows make the perfect happy hour gathering, and there is no need to worry about any lame dress codes at any day of the week. Come as you are and enjoy.
http://www.blacksquirreldc.com/songwriters-and-poets-2012-series/
DC Jazz Festival: June 1-10
The DC Jazz Festival is here and that means it’s the season for cocktail dresses, sports jackets, fly hats, and some shameless flirting—or is that just me.
The spirit of jazz can not be contained in just one venue or street corner; it cocoons the city with the sweet sound or horns, bass, strings, and vocal melodies you will hum for days. You can also get the DC Jazz Fest app for your smart phone. How cool is that?
http://www.dcjazzfest.org/
Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert Series: (Wednesdays) June 20 – Aug 8
The Strathmore is giving what the people of North Bethesda, Maryland want. This includes a little, rock, country, and bachata. All events are family friendly, and are held outdoors on Wednesday nights. Feel free to frolic.
http://www.strathmore.org/press/pressreleases/view.asp?id=41255866
Friday, June 1, 2012
Monday, April 5, 2010
Jamie Cullum
The era of melodic swing did not perish when we lost old-school crooners like Nat King Cole or Frank Sinatra. Nope, that jazzy swag is pulsating in artists like pianist Jamie Cullum.
But don’t confuse him with Harry Connick Jr. or Michael Buble. Though these men are also great performers and at the top of my heartthrob list, Jamie Cullum is on a different stage of experimentation when it comes to his music.
Maybe it’s the promiscuity that comes with the youth he embraced in his album “Twentysomething,” or maybe his ears hear something we don’t. Check out one Cullum show and he will stun you.
His remixing skills bring a little bit of jazz, funk, blues, rock, and pop with songs like Pharell Williams’ “Frontin’,” “I Could Have Danced All Night” from the musical My Fair Lady, and even Jimi Hendrix’s “Wind Cries Mary.”
I think it’s safe to say that maybe he is a radio junkie and doesn’t lie when he says he likes all types of music. I think it’s safe to say Jamie Cullum is a real musician and your tired radio station sucks for not playing more of his music.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hal Linton
So I started this blog about a month ago because I was fueled by the music and people around me, but lately I’ve been having a dry spell because, frankly, I haven’t heard or seen anything that got me excited.
A friend told me about Hal Linton and a D.C. R&B club called Posh and that was enough to put a mischievous smirk on my face.
It didn’t matter that I had work the next morning and a midterm immediately after leaving my cubicle because when someone sounds that good on YouTube and a new treasure opens in the Diamond District, you’ve gotta go.
They say my generation doesn’t know music but Hal Linton is here to represent.
For a minute I thought cupid pinched my ass when he took the stage. His voice is a siren, to longing mending hearts, with an R&B sound reminiscent to Al Green and Marvin Gaye.
Sure you can sway close with a new honey for the night, but can he get down with the funk? Pick up the beat and a couple of guitar riffs and watch the newest sensation put it down on the dance floor like the Godfather of Soul, only in Converse sneakers and a finesse that lets you know this guy is the real deal.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Hal Linton. Don’t be lame; go to a show and experience the music.
A friend told me about Hal Linton and a D.C. R&B club called Posh and that was enough to put a mischievous smirk on my face.
It didn’t matter that I had work the next morning and a midterm immediately after leaving my cubicle because when someone sounds that good on YouTube and a new treasure opens in the Diamond District, you’ve gotta go.
They say my generation doesn’t know music but Hal Linton is here to represent.
For a minute I thought cupid pinched my ass when he took the stage. His voice is a siren, to longing mending hearts, with an R&B sound reminiscent to Al Green and Marvin Gaye.
Sure you can sway close with a new honey for the night, but can he get down with the funk? Pick up the beat and a couple of guitar riffs and watch the newest sensation put it down on the dance floor like the Godfather of Soul, only in Converse sneakers and a finesse that lets you know this guy is the real deal.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Hal Linton. Don’t be lame; go to a show and experience the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGAnIy__Woo
http://www.myspace.com/hallinton
Facebook Group – The Hal Linton Experience
http://www.myspace.com/hallinton
Facebook Group – The Hal Linton Experience
Monday, May 18, 2009
DC101 Chili Cook-Off
On Sunday, May 16, over 35,000 people crowded RFK Stadium for the DC101 Chili Cook-Off. The festival, which benefited the National Kidney Foundation, is a one-day rock festival that featured Niki Barr Band, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach, Shinedown, Third Eye Blind and The Offspring.
The line up was the perfect example of why I fell in love with rock in the 90’s. Before rock was full of Ashton Kutcher looking, pretty boys, playing love songs, there were the guys who were a little rough around the edges. They were loud, with messy long hair cuts, their shirts a bit wrinkled paired with torn jeans, but damn it they were hot cause they knew how to rock!
Puddle of Mudd brought back old but never forgotten songs like “Contol” and “She Hates Me,” which the crowd sang word for word.
Once Shinedown came on stage, it was time for moshing and crowd-surfing. Everyone seemed to chant the lyrics to the song “Second Chance” as the official summer anthem for 2009. It’s just a feel good song about taking life by the horns, against all odds, against everything you know, and making the most out of it.
Of course I am a 90’s kid and Third Eye Blind was the soundtrack to my adolescence and yours, especially if you watched the teenage drama Dawson’s Creek. Even if you didn’t, you still bobbed your head to the songs “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Never Let You Go,” and “Jumper.”
We finished off the day of rock euphoria with The Offspring and every white boy from the not so white neighborhood claimed “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” as his song.
Once Shinedown came on stage, it was time for moshing and crowd-surfing. Everyone seemed to chant the lyrics to the song “Second Chance” as the official summer anthem for 2009. It’s just a feel good song about taking life by the horns, against all odds, against everything you know, and making the most out of it.
Of course I am a 90’s kid and Third Eye Blind was the soundtrack to my adolescence and yours, especially if you watched the teenage drama Dawson’s Creek. Even if you didn’t, you still bobbed your head to the songs “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Never Let You Go,” and “Jumper.”We finished off the day of rock euphoria with The Offspring and every white boy from the not so white neighborhood claimed “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” as his song.
Neither the piercing sun, rain, or flying sandals could thin out the crowd. We had good music, good company, chili, and beer.
Did anyone try the chili?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Redman Block Party
Since the conception of hip-hop emerged from the cracks of the concrete pavements of Bronx, NYC, the language, dance, fashion, and art that made up the music has evolved substantially within the last three decades.
Is it for the better or worse? Is your local radio station still playing you hip-hop or are they just slapping that badge to a song for the hell of calling it music?
Rapper, Redman partied at Listen Vision Recording Studios Hip-Hop Shop, on Georgia Avenue, NW, D.C. on May 4, promoting his and Methodman’s new album “Blackout! 2,” set to release on May 19.
The night promised the perseverance of the art and movement that is the hip-hop culture because that’s what it was all about. There were no flashy lights, rented bling, or hired super-models to distract you from the addiction that Methodman and Redman have been rolling as a sequel to their 1999 classic “Blackout.”
The album has songs like “A-Yo,” featuring Suakrates, which carries a steady beat with a swagger that is old-school but never outdated; and dedicated to woman, doing it all with style, is a slow jam called “Miss International.”
Damn, we were so lucky rappers like Red and Meth are still doing their thing and keeping it real with lyrics that say and mean something, despite some of the trash Youtube is infesting this generation with; like _____ (you fill in the blank).
I'm tired of these new "rappers" showing off ice, cars, mansions, calling one repetative chorus a song and cashing in on ignorance.
Give me substance, inspire me, give me "Blackout! 2"
Is it for the better or worse? Is your local radio station still playing you hip-hop or are they just slapping that badge to a song for the hell of calling it music?
Rapper, Redman partied at Listen Vision Recording Studios Hip-Hop Shop, on Georgia Avenue, NW, D.C. on May 4, promoting his and Methodman’s new album “Blackout! 2,” set to release on May 19.
The night promised the perseverance of the art and movement that is the hip-hop culture because that’s what it was all about. There were no flashy lights, rented bling, or hired super-models to distract you from the addiction that Methodman and Redman have been rolling as a sequel to their 1999 classic “Blackout.”
The album has songs like “A-Yo,” featuring Suakrates, which carries a steady beat with a swagger that is old-school but never outdated; and dedicated to woman, doing it all with style, is a slow jam called “Miss International.”
Damn, we were so lucky rappers like Red and Meth are still doing their thing and keeping it real with lyrics that say and mean something, despite some of the trash Youtube is infesting this generation with; like _____ (you fill in the blank).
I'm tired of these new "rappers" showing off ice, cars, mansions, calling one repetative chorus a song and cashing in on ignorance.
Give me substance, inspire me, give me "Blackout! 2"
Gavin Rossdale at the 9:30 Club
Confirmed fans crowded the 9:30 Club Sunday, May 3, on a pilgrimage worshiping Gavin Rossdale, one of the best guitarists/songwriters to bless our ears.
His coming was long overdue but we quickly forgave him as we indulged in the hip-swaying, head- banging, hard rocking songs of his new album “Wanderlust”. The night in D.C. may have dampened a few of us outside in line to enter the club, but it served as a baptism for the few who were either too young, too high, or too ignorant to remember the glory of mid-90’s grunge rock.
Fortunately, Gavin keeps himself in good company during tours, introducing us with an opening act by the band “Endless Hallway.”
The Los Angeles-based five man group warmed up the crowd exactly the way they were supposed to, with a raw, grungy, punk-rock style that leaves your body sore and wanting more. They pleasured us with songs like “Games” and “Cell”, from their must have album “Autonomy Games” and tranquilized the crowd’s need for grunge by playing Nirvana’s song “Breed.”
The world stopped for everyone at the 9:30 Club as Gavin seemed to confess to us that he has been gone for too long, singing “Can’t Stop The World.”
He rocked D.C. with familiar songs from Bush like “The Chemicals Between Us” and “Breathe In Breathe Out” and dominated the stage with new songs “If You Are Not With Us You Are Against Us”, “The Skin I’m in”, and the smooth rock ballad “Love Remains the Same.”
It was like Gavin Rossdale never stopped playing or writing songs and I am glad for it.
Music always has a way to evoke the best in everything. There is no telling how many first dates, mended hearts, and new friendships were formed that night. But one thing is certain, Rock is alive and here to stay in Washington D.C.
His coming was long overdue but we quickly forgave him as we indulged in the hip-swaying, head- banging, hard rocking songs of his new album “Wanderlust”. The night in D.C. may have dampened a few of us outside in line to enter the club, but it served as a baptism for the few who were either too young, too high, or too ignorant to remember the glory of mid-90’s grunge rock.
Fortunately, Gavin keeps himself in good company during tours, introducing us with an opening act by the band “Endless Hallway.”
The Los Angeles-based five man group warmed up the crowd exactly the way they were supposed to, with a raw, grungy, punk-rock style that leaves your body sore and wanting more. They pleasured us with songs like “Games” and “Cell”, from their must have album “Autonomy Games” and tranquilized the crowd’s need for grunge by playing Nirvana’s song “Breed.”
The world stopped for everyone at the 9:30 Club as Gavin seemed to confess to us that he has been gone for too long, singing “Can’t Stop The World.”
He rocked D.C. with familiar songs from Bush like “The Chemicals Between Us” and “Breathe In Breathe Out” and dominated the stage with new songs “If You Are Not With Us You Are Against Us”, “The Skin I’m in”, and the smooth rock ballad “Love Remains the Same.”
It was like Gavin Rossdale never stopped playing or writing songs and I am glad for it.
Music always has a way to evoke the best in everything. There is no telling how many first dates, mended hearts, and new friendships were formed that night. But one thing is certain, Rock is alive and here to stay in Washington D.C.
When people think of D.C. they think of politics and museums, but my city is full of so much more than that. Sure, our bars and clubs may be full of more politicians, military members, and government contactors than in most cities, but when the ties come off and the shirts are buttoned low amazing things can happen.
We love, cry, laugh, and do it all with a soundtrack in the background. I call the soundtrack the metro siren and it’s the music in D.C.
Music is my passion, and lately my obsession because I am addicted to concerts. I’m not trying to lobby for or against a genre or artist. I just want to share with you my favorite shows and learn something about yours.
What is your favorite part about a concert? For some it is the chance to get just a little closer to that hot guitarist or vocalist who seems to cry and strum all your pain and desires. A chance to be within feet of the mortal God whose image is plastered all over your locker and bedroom walls; the one who answers every apprehension with a song and makes us laugh with them in their music videos.
My favorite part is the crowd. The people, just like me, who are there for all of the above and more. We memorize the tour schedules and sign up for every email alert. We make sure everyone knows when the band comes home to play. We are the ones who come early to the show and stay late until everyone leaves. Call us what you want, but we are fans of music.
In the crowd it doesn’t matter if you are rich, poor, young, old, prep, punk, Emo, pop, from the country or the city. We may never otherwise talk to each other and we might even hate each other but the truth of the matter is that this silly little piece of music brought us all here. We are singing, dancing, having fun, and all is good in the world.
So, when is the next show?
We love, cry, laugh, and do it all with a soundtrack in the background. I call the soundtrack the metro siren and it’s the music in D.C.
Music is my passion, and lately my obsession because I am addicted to concerts. I’m not trying to lobby for or against a genre or artist. I just want to share with you my favorite shows and learn something about yours.
What is your favorite part about a concert? For some it is the chance to get just a little closer to that hot guitarist or vocalist who seems to cry and strum all your pain and desires. A chance to be within feet of the mortal God whose image is plastered all over your locker and bedroom walls; the one who answers every apprehension with a song and makes us laugh with them in their music videos.
My favorite part is the crowd. The people, just like me, who are there for all of the above and more. We memorize the tour schedules and sign up for every email alert. We make sure everyone knows when the band comes home to play. We are the ones who come early to the show and stay late until everyone leaves. Call us what you want, but we are fans of music.
In the crowd it doesn’t matter if you are rich, poor, young, old, prep, punk, Emo, pop, from the country or the city. We may never otherwise talk to each other and we might even hate each other but the truth of the matter is that this silly little piece of music brought us all here. We are singing, dancing, having fun, and all is good in the world.
So, when is the next show?
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