At the Drive-In Announce Reunion Today

I discovered At the Drive-In by accident. Jim Ward, one of ATDI's founding members, was opening for Rhett Miller a few years ago at the Black Cat (you can see the shots from it here). It was one of those "get there early/fall in love with the opener you know nothing about" instances that I love. Ward played with this incredible combination of delicacy and metric ton of power that I was dumbfounded. I can count on one hand the number of musicians playing acoustic guitar and singing that have held my rapt attention for a full set-Ward is most definitely one of them.

So imagine the wonderful surprise to read the following a few hours ago:

@AtTheDriveIn_
¡ ATTENTION ! To whom it may concern: AT THE DRIVE-IN will be breaking their 11 year silence THIS STATION IS …NOW…OPERATIONAL

Ward with an acoustic that was electrifying...I can't wait to hear it plugged in.

Seen Your Video: Wild Flag Performs "Romance" on David Letterman Last Night

Wild Flag rocked the snot outta Late Night with David Letterman last night. I've now seen them twice (SXSW and the Black Cat a couple months back), and last night's performance was nothing compared to the power they bring during a full club set. Wow...

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Archers of Loaf @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (8-5-2011)

The late 90s were quite a time to be in the North Carolina Triangle if you were a music nerd. One of the Triangle's bigger-name bands, Archers of Loaf,went on its hiatus around the time of my arrival for graduate school in '98, so they were one I never got to see live. Which I think is why I wasn't so much into them then. On record, I didn't catch the melody and the hooks enough to dig further than Icky Mettle, and on that, I definitely preferred the more accessible tracks like "Web in Front" and "Plumbline.

Friday night at the Black Cat changed my mind on that. Oh, what a dumb little girl I have been.

Archers live is full of powerful bravado and a drum-and-bass combo that is a visceral call to arms. After they started, bass player Matt Gentling asked us in the first row, "Hey, if you see my amps start to topple over, can you let me know?" Amps tend to do that when you have someone pogoing in front of them for 90 straight minutes (thankfully, they stayed in place). The melodies and hooks that alluded me on record jackhammered my eardrums over the set's 21 songs and it was glorious. Archers of Loaf on record is one thing, but Archers of Loaf live was how rock music should be played.







Other photos from the set can be seen here.

Check out my piece in the Washington City Paper about the show here.

Deer Tick Announces Fall Tour Dates

(Deer Tick at the Americana Music Association Showcase, SXSW 2010. See the rest of the photos here)

Deer Tick is heading back out on the road in October in support of The Black Dirt Sessions. Lead singer John McCauley brings his Camel-corroded rasp and the band's twangy-by-the-fireside riffs across the eastern southeast to Cali this time, then back across through the northern regions,just in time for the cold winter air. But that makes sense somehow; a heavy-chord laden song like "Pieces" just doesn't sound like summertime you know?

Deer Tick will be at the Black Cat on 11/2.

Give a Listen: Pieces-Deer Tick/Buy The Black Dirt Sessions

Deer Tick Fall 2010 Tour

Wed-Oct-06: Chapel Hill, NC, Local 506
Thu-Oct-07: Athens, GA 40 Watt Club *#
Fri-Oct-08: Greenville, SC Fall For Greenville *
Sat-Oct-09: Auburn, AL Bourbon Street *
Sun-Oct-10: Birmingham, AL Zydeco
Mon-Oct-11: New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
Tue-Oct-12: Houston, TX The Bronze Peacock Room @ House of Blues
Wed-Oct-13: Austin, TX Emo's
Thu-Oct-14: Laredo, TX Old No. 2
Sat-Oct-16: Tempe, AZ Sail Inn
Sun-Oct-17: San Diego, CA The Loft / UCSD
Tue-Oct-19: Los Angeles, CA El Rey
Wed-Oct-20: San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
Thu-Oct-21: Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri-Oct-22: Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret %
Sat-Oct-23: Bellingham, WA Wild Buffalo
Sun-Oct-24: Seattle, WA Neumos
Tue-Oct-26: Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Wed-Oct-27: Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Thu-Oct-28: Omaha, NE TBD
Fri-Oct-29: Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
Sat-Oct-30: Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
Tue-Nov-02: Washington, DC Black Cat
Wed-Nov-03: Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church

* = w/ JASON ISBELL
# = w/ Blitzen Trapper, Malcomb Holcolmbe
% = w/ Phosphorescent

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Fitz & the Tantrums @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (5-29-2010)

It was great to see the turnout for Fitz & the Tantrums last Saturday at the Cat. Memorial Day Weekend can be tough for any band to play in town, but for a band from out-of-town, you never know. So big ups to DC because they welcomed these out-of-towners with a good showing. Music, as well as a live show this good, is something that should not go unrecognized.

(Go here to see the rest of the show photos)

Fitz & the Tantrums to Play Black Cat This Saturday

(Fitz & the Tantrums @ SXSW 2010, Day 1 (3-17-2010))

Will you be in town this weekend? Oh, and you like music that might rock your booty into another zip code? Then my friend, you owe it to yourself, and your booty, to hit the Black Cat on Saturday for Fitz and the Tantrums. (Tickets available here.)

I'm almost sorry that I'm shooting this show, as it will prevent me from dancing up a storm to their infectious heap of happy hooks. This is a band with a groove so uptempo that a friend, after seeing a video of their track, "Breaking the Chains of Love," told me, "I think we should designate a special day where anyone standing in a line of any kind is legally required to shimmy from side to side like they do in the beginning of the video. The DMV alone would be spectacular." A combination of blue-eyed soul and Brit-Pop, lead singer Michael "Fitz" Fitzpatrick and his Tantrums bring it oh so mighty live, with a great rhythm section, horns, a Hammond B3 organ, and a killer accompanying singer, Noelle Scaggs. Resistance of a combo such as this is futile, so know in advance that legs and feet attached to one's booty will experience major movement; shoes and clothing should be prepared accordingly.

FATT opened many dates as of late for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (including the New Year's Eve show this last year at the 930 Club), and of the many acts I saw at this year's SXSW, they were one that immediately lodged themselves in my top 5. So get yourself to the Cat on Saturday and prepare to groove, move, and rock your your booty clean into Prince Georges County. That is one trip to Maryland I can promise you'll be glad to make...





Fitz & the Tantrums EP Songs for a Break Up, Vol. 1 is out now, with a full length coming 8/24.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: The Wrens @ Black Cat (11-20-09)

The Wrens came to the Black Cat last Friday as a little outing prior to their three big shows coming up the first weekend in December at Maxwells in Hoboken, NJ. Ever since discovering them at SXSW last year where I was knocked plumb off my feet from their incredible passion and power, I've made it a point to see them wherever I could. So them playing where I don't have to travel for it? Bonus!

As those Maxwells shows include a set of fan requests, a set of their entire amazing opus, The Meadowlands, and a set of new compositions, the DC show's set list was a little insight into what's to come, all tucked into their typical energetic and vigorous playing. I'm truly hoping "Leaves Ground" finds its way into the "new compositions" set at Maxwells; full of Whelan's piano, his brother's keening guitar and Bissell's loops, it's one I found on par with "13 Grand" from The Meadowlands " or "Safe and Comfortable" from Secaucus, utterly gorgeous.









While the show was great, there were a few mishaps. The sound was....well, I'll put it this way: I saw the Ramones in 1991 and the only way I could tell the difference between one song and the next was by the "1, 2, 3" that was yelled out. This show seemed a lot like that. The Wrens are a loud band, granted, and while not loud enough so that I didn't know what song was playing, their sound this night was somehow garbled enough that I couldn't tell you words at times (and I even inquired to people who were standing in front of the sound guy who said the same thing). "North to Nothing" is a favorite so I "knew" it, but at the Cat, it sounded like "khiuhiyhhihihaaaaa," I'm sad to say.

Lead guitarist Greg Whelan also had equipment issues onstage. Whelan's stage presence is the complete opposite to the human pogo stick that is his brother, singer/bassist Kevin Whelan, but when the jack on his baritone guitar cut out after the first chorus of "This Boy is Exhausted," the audience watched as the guitar went sailing to the back of the stage. (Happily, it survived to play another day.)

(The guitar just before it went airborne ...)

Probably the sweetest moment of the night was when lead singer/bassist Whelan pulled a young boy of about 10 from the audience to hit the keys during "This Is Not What You Had Planned," the last song on The Meadowlands.



At one point, Whelan asked the kid his name ("Theron") and asked the crowd to give him props. How cool must have this 10 year old kid felt hearing an entire club chanting his name? (I found out later though that his actual name was "Darren," and Whelan had obviously misheard him above the din.) Didn't matter though, the kid was beaming. $10 says you see this kid onstage somewhere in a few years.

(During "Exhausted" I think, I kept noticing singer/guitarist Charles Bissell standing up on his toes like this repeatedly as he sang. Maybe that's a new singing technique for extra power or...something?)






(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

The Wrens have been around for 20 years now and they exert more energy in three songs than many bands half that age exert in three shows. It makes you wonder how many cases of Red Bull their rider includes. Whatever it is, it's fantastic, and consistently makes for an incredible and explosive show.

Seen Your Video: Dismemberment Plan's "The Ice of Boston"

Washington, DC has been home to some interesting bands of note: Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, Fugazi. Jonathan Fire*Eater was located in NYC but everyone in it was from DC. Then there was this band called The Dismemberment Plan. They broke up right around the time I got a DC address so while I'd heard the name, I never heard their sound.

Recently, I met someone with ties to the band so I gave TDP a listen and...wow. If Stephen Malkmus fronted and wrote songs for Fugazi, I think it would sound a little like TDP. And given that my ears have just stopped hearing nothing but Pavement, TDP was a nice find.

TDP regrouped in 2007 for a two-night-only benefit at The Black Cat. I understand that they were known for wild stage shows and massive amounts of energy, and this video from that show seems to capture some of that. But you can just tell it only scratches the surface and they were a band you most definitely had to see live.



Give a Listen: Ice of Boston-The Dismemberment Plan
(buy The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Rhett Miller & the Serial Lady Killers @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (9-17-09)

Rhett Miller's solo show here last Thursday at the Black Cat was everything you'd expect in a Rhett Miller solo show: a set list compiled of songs from his three solo records and the eight from his other band, the Old 97s, top-notch playing, and quite a bit of hip-swinging onstage. (Should Tom Jones ever wish to hand his crown down to an indie musician, my money's on Rhett.)



What was also unexpected was just how stellar and incredibly tight his band, the Serial Lady Killers, played. When a musician has a side-band apart from the group for which he's more known, the side-band may play well as individuals but rarely does it perform seamlessly as a group; side-project musicians tend to be interchangeable so there are not multiple tours to get comfortable with each other. However, Miller's Serial Lady Killers are, in fact, the same people as when he called his band "The Believers," so they've all had time to settle in some. "We changed the name on a whim...well, my whim," said Miller from the stage.

(Bassist Greg Besher)

(Lead guitarist Tommy Borscheid)

The secret weapon of the Serial Lady Killers is most definitely the drummer, Angela Webster. Playing barefoot, it was really something to watch someone her size make that much of a noise; the power with which she hit those skins, you'd think there were two drummers back there.

(Drummer Angela Webster)
Another unexpected thing was the age range of Miller's fans. At Old 97s shows, it's mostly college kids and thirty-somethings. Here, I saw everyone from guys in their 50s, down to an 11 year old girl who discovered Miller via her dad's music collection. (What was so cool was that girl sang every word and danced the entire show. It's too bad every 11 year old doesn't have that keen a musical ear...).






The 11 year old girl who dug Miller's music first noticed him, her dad said, because she thought he was "cute." If you have 2 X chromosomes and like boys, chances are you would agree with this girl, regardless your age, 'cause well, he is a handsome dude. But when Miller's voice faltered a bit on some of the higher range notes (and I mean higher like the line 'You're the only one' during the refrain of "Come Around,") on Thursday, he cut the phrase short and added an enthusiastic "Yeah!" each time, which frankly, added an enthusiastic punch to the song. Sounds minimal but someone less professional would probably try to croak it out. "Cute" only gets you so far in terms of sticking around in the music business, just ask anyone from a 90s boy band (apart from Justin Timberlake of course). Rhett Miller continually writes great rock and pop songs, and is always happy to give audiences what they want. And that takes more than just a pretty face.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

Nobody Says I Love You Anymore...

News: DC Venue Black Cat Kicking Ticketmaster to Curb, Using Ticket Alternative

The Black Cat is a rad middle-size venue here in Washington, DC (roughly 500-800 people I'd guess-timate), and consistently books great acts. Owner Dante Ferrando has long held the respect of many because while he's a music club owner, it's obvious he's also a music fan (Ferrando had been a drummer in many of the DC HardCore bands), and acts accordingly. Be it because TicketMaster is so pricey, or to avoid giving money to the competition, I know an entire community of music fans is singing Ferrando's praises right now.

Venerable D.C. music venue the Black Cat announced today that it will stop selling advance tickets through Ticketmaster, instead switching to competitor Ticket Alternative. The change will become effective September 25, so all shows that are taking place after that date are already on sale via Ticket Alternative.

In a strongly worded release, the venue made plain the reasons for the switch: Ticket Alternative's service charges are lower, typically $2.50 or less for the vast majority of Black Cat shows; and Ticketmaster's impending merger with Live Nation.

In a conversation with DCist, owner Dante Ferrando explained that while the local version of Ticketmaster has been relatively easy to deal with versus the oft-maligned national corporation, the company's merger with Live Nation made continuing to work with them impossible. Live Nation operates several venues in the Washington, D.C. market, including the Warner Theatre and Nissan Pavilion. "It just doesn't make any sense to be handing a portion of your shows to your competition," Ferrando said.
According to Ferrando, tickets for Black Cat shows that are $10 and under will be charged a flat $2 fee by Ticket Alternative, while for tickets that are $11-$20, it will be $2.50. The Black Cat's box office will remain free of all service charges. (Source)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Show Photos of Eulogies, Great Northern, The Dears @ Black Cat (5-7-09)

It was a shame so few came out to see Eulogies, Great Northern, and The Dears last Thursday at Black Cat. But those of us who did got the good kind of brain tinnitus, that of super catchy music that kept ringing through the grey matter long after.

I knew nothing of The Dears, enjoyed the little bit I caught of Eulogies when I saw them at SXSW this year, but Great Northern is the one I've loved for months now. Their fab new release, Remind Me Where the Light Is, has been banging around my brain since I got it back in February, and I was thrilled I could finally catch them in a proper venue. Not that they weren't good at SXSW, they were; but, to me anyway, experiencing the dark and desperate passion that permeates "Remind Me" just fits more a club bathed in darkness than outdoors at 2:30 pm on a bright and sunny afternoon.

(Eulogies)

(This a projector cycling through what looked to be band family photos on the bass drum throughout their set. How cool is that?)




(Great Northern)


(This was about how much light there was the whole show. Great for mood, bad for photography)






(I love this shot. Solon Bixler was having a full throttle guitar solo meltdown, and this is him holding the body of this guitar against the speaker for more feedback.


(The Dears)




See the rest of the show photos here.

(For more on the show specifics, the talented William Alberque did a nice writeup of the show here.)