Lights That Flash in the Evening: George Clinton & Parliment Funkadelic @ 930 Club

Glory be, the funk was on me. My piece on George Clinton and Parliment Funkadelic goes live tomorrow over at the WC Paper that is.... Update: Read all about it here.

Two Phrases I Never Thought I'd Put Together: "My Photo" and "New York Magazine"

I photographed the Jonathan Richman show on Saturday at the 930 Club (read all about it here) for the paper. Shortly after their uploading, I got an email from New York Magazine asking about their using one of the photos for their concert roundup segment on their Vulture section.

A girl can't say no to that...So we didn't. Check out the photo they used here.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Grinderman @ 930 Club, Washington, DC (11-16-2010)

I covered Mr. Nick Cave and his side project Grinderman, who played at the 930 Club for the WCP a few days back. My friend, also named Nick, writer and editor for Bloodbeat.com summed up Cave and Grinderman in a brilliant sentence. He said Grinderman was "More about destroying the structure of songs as well as shouting about getting well-laid and breaking hymens world-over with a flexed mustache muscle and laser eyes." Testify, ladies and gentleman, testify (See all of the photos of the show here).

I wasn't an immediate convert to Cave. He was good live, yes, but, I can't explain it, something was still missing for me. If I'm on the edge about band, it's usually their live show that can tip the scales for me, but I was still fence-sitting about Cave, even after Tuesday's show. I liked the intensity and the passion he displayed, but... I was yet to be convinced (in fact, I left before the encore). But then I happened upon the video for "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!" from the 2008 record Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" the next day, and... I finally got it, that weird, inane attraction that so many have for Cave. And I'm not even a fan of vampires!

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Of Montreal/Janelle Monae @ 930 Club, Washington, DC (9-13-2010)

My review of the first of two sold out shows for Janelle Monae and Of Montreal at the 930 Club is over at the Washington City Paper but additional photos are below. I went in not knowing one song from either band but simply put? One should not see a Janelle Monae show if you wish to remain calm, your body will be unable to stop itself from moving about to her space-age rock/funk/soul combo. This woman is the complete package in terms of a performer and is an absolute must-see live. She proves you don't have to have a ton of "stuff" onstage to be impressive, you just have to have talent.







On the other hand, Of Montreal seemed to believe that a massive stage show and props for every song will fake you out and take your attention away from the fact that the songs just aren't that good. And it worked for a little while...but close to two hours of this and it started to burn my retinas. While I applaud an artistic visual to go with the aural experience when you see a band live, I think it's a problem if the what you see if more interesting than what you're hearing...even if the lead singer is sporting a pair of tights and a June Cleaver apron.

(See the rest of the photos here

Give a Listen:
Tightrope-Janelle Monae/Buy The Android

Coquet Coquette-Of Montreal/Buy False Priest

NPR archived the stream the second show of their two-night stay in DC and it's available here.

DC's 9:30 Club Launches Record Label, 9:30 Records

Move over Dischord, there's a new label in town. Owners of the legendary 930 Club have started a new record label, 930 Records. Armed with a mantra, “If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!,” Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P. and co-owner of the 9:30 Club, said he decided to start the label after hearing local talent, Justin Jones. “You can imagine I’ve been exposed to more music than most, but once in a very blue moon, a new artist stops me dead in my tracks,” said Hurwitz. “When I first heard Justin Jones a few years ago I was blown away, and I’m determined to do all I can to bring this enormously talented artist to the rest of the world. It’s no secret the traditional record business is in total disarray. But I’ve been an independent businessman my entire career and have been used to taking things into my own hands, so we decided, hell, we’ll launch a record label so we can launch Justin Jones.”

Nashville's Thirty Tigers is distributing The Little Fox which hits stores and digital outlets on 9/14.

As you can imagine, Jones is mighty grateful. “We’ve been touring for more than a year showcasing this material and getting great responses from audiences, but signing on with major labels these days isn’t even something artists contemplate anymore. We decided to record something that sounds like us live. We went to our buddy’s basement, set up and in two days laid down the songs that would become The Little Fox EP. To have the 9:30 Club start a label just because of us, well, that’s pretty astounding. To have people like Seth Hurwitz believe in you and back you, I couldn’t feel luckier.”

No word as to other bands 9:30 Records is hoping to add just yet, but I'm sure we'll see news on this shortly.

To celebrate the launch of the record and the label, the 9:30 Club will host an exclusive invitation-only Open House Party on 9/16, which will include a special performance by Jones. Invites will be to media and such, but Hurwitz said they are also extending invites by a lottery to members of the 9:30 Club Forum (the club’s online discussion group), subscribers to Volume, the 9:30 Club’s print newsletter, the 9:30 Club’s email list subscribers, and members of 9:30 Club Social Media outlets.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Hole @ 930 Club, Washington, DC (6-26-2010)

By now, I'm sure you've heard, or read, or thought, "Oh no he didn't," then giggled over the honesty about the cuckoo bananas explosion that was the Hole show here at the 930 Club on Sunday. David Malitz for the Washington Post hit all the bases of crazy that were run that night; it was a rather spectacular meltdown. Hitting the stage almost a full hour past the scheduled start time, something that rarely happens at the 930, Love apologized to the crowd saying, "Sorry, I was hanging with a friend who is a senator and he can't be photographed with me in public..." Then she said something about how if folks were hoping for her Boston set list, they would be disappointed; "You're getting the Bruce Springsteen set, sorry."

Now, Springsteen does rehearsal shows that folks pay a lot to see, and they're fun and different. Springsteen does marathon shows that run 3-hours. In Europe recently, a Hole "Springsteen set" occurred and was a solid and amazing show according to a friend who attended; but Sunday, "Springsteen set" meant "a 3-hour slow-motion rehearsal show for a car crash."

There are various guesses flying around as to why Love was acting so out of it: drink, drugs, brain damage, insanity... And I've also heard a ton of people saying, "Well, how could you go expecting to see anything else, it's Courtney Love." And they might be right. Love is like a walking Murphy's Law in her personal life it seems, a continual reporting of "Hello deep end my old friend."



I initially thought my take on this show would be along the same lines of the many other negative reviews, given the number of times the phrase "train wreck" showed up in my notes. And then I got thinking about what I saw during Hole's set at the SXSW Spin Day Party set this year. At that show, Love was solid. Funny. "There" if you will, mentally. You could see the potential in terms of her band, which is pretty amazing by the way, and between her with her band, because they played so well together; it wasn't them acting as just her backup band, as it seemed on Sunday. She didn't have to have her handler come onstage in Austin to turn up her guitar knobs because she didn't seem capable, nor did her guitar hang as decoration around her neck while her keyboardist tore up the rhythm-guitar parts that I'm pretty sure she was supposed to be playing. When comparing the Austin show to the DC one, the difference was night and day. "Tonight is just...weird," someone with the band told me before I left on Sunday, "They've been really solid up to now, but tonight...I'm not sure what's going on." Had I not seen the set in Austin with my own eyes, I'd probably be questioning his definition of the word "solid" and writing a much harsher review now.



But who knows what Sunday was all about. Say what you will, but the new record, Nobody's Daughter is a good record, and Live Through This is truly a kick ass record. And maybe she didn't write the songs necessarily for LTT, as some proclaim, but words of a song are just words until someone sings them and makes them come alive.



"Violet" is one rage-fueled effing song that wouldn't blow the doors off if it were in the hands of someone else (though this was not so much the case Sunday night as the crowd sang most of the song. By the way, a fun fact she told us about that song: "I was in Chicago; Billy Pumpkin gave me a Vicodin, and I wrote this song." Maybe that explains the sky being made of amethyst?). Love still has a great raspy rock yell that can still make your nervous system go bonkers.


Love's got something that people gravitate towards though...how else could she pull off some of the stuff she's done over the past bunch of years? Sure she's scrappy, but you can't get by on that all of your career necessarily. Nobody's Daughter is the first Hole record in 12 years-for as many times as she turned the mic around for the crowd to sing because she didn't know lyrics (or whatever) Sunday night, there were just as many shouts of "Courtney, I love you!" from the crowd. And just as many people are defending her in the comments of the negative reviews of the show.


Would I want to be friends with her? Hell no (she kinda scares me to be honest). Would I want her as my neighbor? No, nor would I want her to ever sit for my dog, let alone my kids. Was it obnoxious that she put some woman "filming" her with an iPhone onstage-not a proper camcorder or anything but an effing iPhone- which she played to instead of her fans, not to mention making the woman block the view of said fans who paid $45 a ticket? Hell yeah it was...

But that aside, I know what I saw in Austin, which wasn't what I saw on Sunday at the 930. There was one song that that band did, start to finish, on Sunday called "Letter to God" off the new record that was really beautiful. One of the lines goes, "I lie awake conducting this symphony/That You have gifted to me but I can't ever sleep/Don't be mad but I get weak inside/And I start to fall apart 'cause I feel nothing." What was displayed Sunday on the 930's stage was many things, one of which may just have been a very public view into the demons with which Love still struggles. But she's still swinging, she's still trying...Maybe the way she goes about it sometimes isn't the greatest, but I, for one, have to give her props for that.

(See the rest of the photos here)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: 930 Club 30th Anniversary Show, Washington, DC (5-31-2010)

The awesome 930 Club here in DC turned 30 on Monday and to celebrate, it had a big ol' birthday party with a bunch of bands who played for free. It was a great celebration of all of the acts that helped put the 930 on the map as a club, as well as a great peek into the long string of bands that that came out of DC, many of whom owe their start in music because of the 930 Club. This history of the club is a great story and one that the Washington Post did an oral history of awhile back (definitely worth the read).

I had to miss the first couple of acts of the evening, Tiny Desk Units, who was the first band to ever grace the 930 Club stage back when it was on 930 F Street, The Fleshtones, the very first band then-independent promoter/now 930 Club owner Seth Hurwitz booked at the old location, and The Slickee Boys, the "the punk-psychedelic punk rock band may very well hold the all-time record of most times playing the 9:30 Club with 79 appearances." Sets were running about 15 minutes a piece so I did get there in time to catch the last song of Marti Jones & Don Dixon, which D.C.’s late, great alternative station, WHFS, helped break. Hurwitz sat in on drums for both the Jones/Dixon set, as well as The Fleshtones.

We were only allowed to shoot the first song of each set, and though I missed those bands, I'm really glad I got there in time for my first shots of the night to be of the great Tommy Keene.



This was my first time seeing him live and just...wow. Keene's biggest influence is said to be the 60s power pop band, The Raspberries and it shows, his songs are just so wonderfully uber hooky! Keene has worked with the likes of Paul Westerberg, and most recently, Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices. He's been an influence to tons of bands, whether they know it or not. If you haven't listened to his stuff yet, you absolutely should make your next purchase one of his.


There wasn't really a formal schedule of acts anywhere, but folks in the know around me were saying I should get upstairs in the balcony because the next act, The Evens, was going to play there. The balcony, really?? Kind of hard to imagine this setup upon first knowledge, but then Evens guitarist/singer Ian MacKaye has always been one to think outside the lines.


That's right, it was that Ian MacKaye, of Fugazi and Minor Threat, the rough and tumble hardcore punk bands, and his wife, drummer Amy Farina. Playing lovely harmonic songs that have simple but bursting melodies and hooks. Not at all what I expected, but I loved it. It's not aurally thrashing like "Waiting Room," and no, you can't slam dance to it. But it is still punk rock: utterly minimal and lovely yet still stripped down and strong.



And they played their set in the damn balcony like it was their living room! If that ain't punk rock, I dunno what is.


Henry Rollins was supposed to be the evening's MC but his plane had been delayed. So Hurwitz and Josh Burdette, the iconic 930-night manager (below), stepped up in the interim to introduce the next act.


Of all the acts of the evening, probably the youngest was Justin Jones. Jones' musicial style is in an alt-country vein with a side of Springsteen. He and his band, The Driving Rain, are mainstays in local DC-area clubs.


Around this time, I happened to glance over the backstage area and lo and behold...Rollins in the house!

(My very poor attempt at capturing MacKaye and Rollins together)
Rollins, MacKaye, and Bob Mould stood in the sidestage area for a bit and it was an almost-comical contest amongst the photographers as to who could catch the best shot of all of them together (tough, as a ton of folks were milling about).

Rollins came onstage to a loud wave of shouts and cheers. He first apologized for his delay (flight issues), then went on to introduce Mould. Rollins spoke of Mould's history and amazing chameleon musical changes from punk (Husker Du), to pop (Sugar), to pro-wrestling scriptwriter, to dance music (Mould's Blowoff DJ nights have been a 930-club staple for years now). Rollins also said that Mould has an auto-biography coming out next spring!!


Mould's long been a huge favorite of mine so his set was one I was most looking forward to (favorite living-in-DC story: I ran into Mould once at the meat counter of the local Whole Foods- yes, I totally dorked out, and yes, he was totally nice).


The man still rips up an electric guitar like no one else, tearing up tracks like "See a Little Light" and "Hoover Dam." His acoustic tour back in the early 90s was the first show I saw as an undergrad, and I obtained a whole new appreciation for his songs. To this day, I'm still trying to find an acoustic version of "Hardly Getting Over It."

Following Mould is hard if you're anyone, but Ted Leo gave it a hell of a try.


His set was interesting, and he pulled out a song that he wrote "back when I lived up in Mount Pleasant," a DC-neighborhood, "and haven't played it in as many years." His voice let out towards the end of it but he soldiered on. He twittered throughout the night about the show, and about his set, he said "Hey - thank you for your kind tweets about my set - sorry my voice crapped out - fatigue, et al. 'Twas fun though, & I'm honored to be here."

Rumors abounded since the show's announcement last week as to whether DC-native/club owner/VA property owner Dave Grohl would be appearing. And, as Rollins' said in his intro, "Well sports fans I have an answer for you, and that answer is yes, yes, yes." As you can imagine, the place went nuts.



Grohl went into a solo version of "Everlong," which was nice. However, the reunion with his first band Scream for the rest of the set is what blew the house down, because a) it was Scream, and b) they were doing covers of fellow DC-band The Bad Brains. Thank God for earplugs because the 930 crowd went ballistic.


The last band I stayed for was The Pietasters. Ska was a big part of DC music back in the day, so having the 'Tasters play was an obvious choice. Perfect music for a summer night.

See additional photos from all sets here
I couldn't stick around for the final bands, Clutch and Trouble Funk, but all accounts said they were just as great. Chris Richards from the Washington Post, did a great write up on the show with details that you should read (he even namechecked yours truly!!!)

All in all, it was a thrilling night to capture. The 930 Club is a super special place to a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and consistently remains the best place anywhere to see a show. If you ever get to DC, do not miss an opportunity to visit. It may not be made of marble and packed with tourists, but make no mistake, the 930 Club is just as much of a DC-monument as anything along the National Mall. Happy 30th 930 Club, and here's to many more!

Washington's 930 Club to Host Mammoth Show for 30th Anniversary Celebration This Monday...for Free!

DC has become my adopted city since I moved here after grad school for my first "real" job. It's a city that has its problems, but it also contains some amazing aspects as well. For a music dork like myself, at the top of this list of amazing DC elements definitely includes the 930 Club.

My first experience to the 930 was at its old location, on 930 F St.,to see Paul Westerberg on his first solo tour after the Replacements in 1993. By the time I'd moved back in 2002, the club had relocated six years prior to a bigger and better (and definitely cleaner) location at 815 V St. The place routinely gets the bigger name acts in terms of indie rock and there's really not a bad sight-line in the place. Definitely one of the better places to see a show.

2010 marks the 930 Club's 30th anniversary (for a great oral history of the place, go here), and May 31st is the exact day in 1982 that the first concert was held. To celebrate, they're putting on an amazing anniversary show this Monday, 5/31...for free even! “We wanted to do something really different, we want to be surrounded by people who have made this place special, and we found out from the Virgin Mobile FreeFest how much fun it is to give tickets away, so we combined it altogether for our 30th Anniversary concert,” said I.M.P. Chairman and co-owner of the 9:30 Club Seth Hurwitz.

The lineup inclues surprise guests ("stars with D.C. roots") and "acts that hold special meaning to the 9:30 Club and its role in the independent music scene, that have been instrumental to the 9:30 Club’s history," they said.

No kidding...To start, the evening’s host will be D.C native Henry Rollins, which is worth it alone. And then there are the bands which will include:

Tiny Desk Unit – the first band to play at the original 9:30 Club. Its keyboard player is no stranger to the new club. It’s Bob Boilen, of NPR – the guy that broadcasts All Songs Considered shows from the 9:30 Club for the entire world to hear.

The Fleshtones – these CBGB grads were the very first band then-independent promoter Seth Hurwitz booked at the 9:30 Club, back when Carter was in office. Since then, Seth and partner Rich Heinecke bought the Club, Jimmy went on to start Habitat for Humanity and the Fleshtones have been doing what they do: recording and touring.

Tommy Keene – Bethesda native, played the original 9:30 Club with his band Razz, known for being one of the most critically acclaimed authentic power pop acts.

The Slickee Boys – the punk-psychedelic punk rock band may very well hold the all-time record of most times playing the 9:30 Club with 79 appearances. Monday will be 80!

The Psychedelic Furs – the very first “Big Act” booked at the 9:30 Club, the English rock band was one of the most successful acts spawned from the punk, new wave scene.

Marti Jones & Don Dixon - back when radio “broke” artists – D.C.’s alternative station WHFS catapulted this duo to fame, and they packed the Club with fans eager to hear hits like “Praying Mantis”

Clutch - Germantown, Md., based internationally-traveling metal funk band cut its teeth at the 9:30 Club, and returns every year to sold out houses. The band just released a two-disc DVD “Clutch Live at the 9:30 Club” with material going back as far as 1991.

Trouble Funk - one of the best live bands ever gave the 9:30 Club patrons their first taste of Go-Go. Like they say, once you go Go-Go, you never go back.

The Evens – is headed by the seminal figure in alternative music Ian MacKaye. While known around the world as the front man of Minor Threat and Fugazi, and a bastion of rock integrity in the music industry, he’s always been “just Ian” to the 9:30 Club.

Justin Jones – represents the future of the 9:30 Club, with his soul-filled Americana sound, Justin has opened the club a dozen times for acts like ZZ Top, Loretta Lynn and Cheryl Crow. His next CD will be the 1st release on the 9:30 Club record label later this summer.

The Pietasters - they met at Virginia Tech, horns in hand 20 years ago – and the soul ska band comes back home to D.C. playing to full 9:30 Club houses every time.

Ted Leo – though he was born in Indiana and grew up in Jersey, Washington D.C. and the 9:30 Club are running through the veins of this Indie rock doc, most notably known for his association with pharmacists.

Bob Mould - in all his incarnations, starting with alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, Bob has always considered the 9:30 Club his home. In other worlds, getting the blowoff is a bad thing. But thanks to Bob Mould, it’s a D.C. favorite. Bob, who lived in D.C. for years, takes his Blowoff dance party to the 9:30 Club every month, and now he takes that show on the road. (from press release)

In terms of tickets...

-Members of the 9:30 Club Forum, and subscribers to Volume, the 9:30 Club’s print newsletter, and the 9:30 Club's email list will receive the first opportunity to secure tickets by lottery. Instructions will be sent out via these forums today about lottery inclusion. If you're in, you'll be notified no later than Sunday.

-A very limited number of tickets will be available at the door on Monday, 5/31, first come, first served. We'll provide an update as soon as we hear an exact time.

Update (5/28): Looks like doors are opening at 5 pm. However, if you're hoping to score a ticket at the door, it's highly recommended you get there well before that.

New Hold Steady Record, Heaven is Whenever Announced, Out 5/4

The Hold Steady @ Virgin Fest 2009, originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

Woot!! New Hold Steady record to be titled Heaven Is Whenever, is out 5/4 on Vagrant Records.

The Hold Steady recently put the finishing touches on Heaven Is Whenever, their new album set for release May 4th on Vagrant Records and May 3rd on Rough Trade in the UK and EU. The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s Almost Killed Me and produced Separation Sunday,, and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY.

Singer Craig Finn says Heaven Is Whenever, is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler.

Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on Heaven Is Whenever, received the benefit of being tested on the band’s recent tours. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.”

Tracklist:
1 The Sweet Part of the City
2 Soft in the Center
3 The Weekenders
4 The Smidge
5 Rock Problems
6 We Can Get Together
7 Hurricane J
8 Barely Breathing
9 Our Whole Lives
10 A Slight Discomfort

Give a Listen: Our Whole Lives-The Hold Steady (live, 930 Club, Washington, DC, 8-29-09)
Buy here (Available 5/4)

The Hold Steady Spring 2010 Tour Dates
April 2nd: LIFE the place to be, Ardsley, NY
April 3rd: Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT
April 5th: Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT
April 6th: Pearl Street, Northampton, MA
April 7th: Linda Norris Auditorium, Albany, NY
April 8th: Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY
April 9th: Eleanor Rigby’s, Jermyn, PA
April 10th: The Westcott Theater, Syracuse, NY
April 12th: The Club at Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, NY
April 13th: Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
April 14th: Diesel Club Lounge, Pittsburgh, PA
April 15th: 123 Pleasant St., Morgantown, WV
April 16th: Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA
May 5th: El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
May 6th: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
May 29th: Sasquatch Festival, George, WA
June 12th: Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival, UK
June 14th: Fleche D’Or, Paris, FR
June 21st: Melkeg, Amsterdam, NL
June 22nd: HMV Forum, London. UK
Jun 26th: Academy 2, Manchester, UK

DMV Helps Haiti Benefit Concert Set for 930 Club This Monday

BL&L doesn't typically cover rap events but when one is for a cause this important, you have to do what you can. DC rapper Wale is gathering a bunch of friends and other DC artists for a benefit to raise funds for residents of Haiti this Monday, 1/18, at the 930 Club. Organized by DMV Helps Haiti, 100% of all ticket sales will be donated to the Partners in Health Organization and Yéle Haiti, which was founded by Wyclef Jean.

Coined "DMV Helps Haiti Benefit Concert", the lineup will include Wale w/ D.C. Don Juan, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade, XO, Kingpen Slim, K-Beta, Que (formerly of Day26), and special surprise guest. Tickets are $20 and $100 (VIP), and went onsale today at 2 pm here.

If you don't plan to go, please still donate. Those poor people need all the help they can get. The video below, shot by a Christian NGO worker Troy Livesay who lives in Port-au-Prince, is in the Delmas 91 area, as Livesay makes his way to a makeshift survivor's camp.



Click here to make a donation to Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Click here to make a donation to Partners in Health Organization.

In Honor of Tonight's Gaslight Anthem Show @ the 930...

Gaslight Anthem is at the 930 tonight for the first time, I believe, and if what I hear is true, the live show that these NJ natives put on will blow DC's ears and minds with their rad rock sounds.

Lead singer Brian Fallon's voice and delivery have often been compared to NJ's more famous son. That sort of gravel-strewn bellow works for rock songs but not always on those that require a little softer touch; it definitely takes technique and style to let the tenderness come through in voices like those. Bruce does it beautifully and here, covering Leonard Cohen's epic "Hallelujah," Fallon proves he shares more with Bruce than hailing from the land of refinery towers.



(Gaslight Anthem's 930 Club show is sold out tonight. The rest of the dates for this leg of their '59 Sound tour can be seen here.)

Doh!

No post today kids...Having a small computer crisis here today at BL&L central headquarters, and an owner who's still learning how not to be a spaz when it comes to her touchphone.

But if you're in DC, be sure to go to the 930 club tonight for the fab La-La Land Trifecta of The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People, and Red Cortez. Red Cortez hits the stage at 8 pm, HCP at 8:50 pm, Airborne at 10 pm. That's a whole bunch of awesome for only $20.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: TV on the Radio @ 930 Club (6-8-09)

24 hours after seeing The Hold Steady tear down the place, I was back to see the first of TV on the Radio's two night stand at the 930 Club. It would be hard for anyone to follow up Craig Finn and company's hyperknetic stage show, but if anyone could it would be TVOTR's lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. That man has smoother dance moves than Fred Astaire and James Brown put together.





The set started off with slower songs, almost teasing the crowd. Having seen the set list, I was waiting for the mad eruption of dancing, both onstage and off, once they hit mid-set with the 1-2 power punch of "Golden Age" into "Wolf Like Me."

And when it hit, the sight of 1500 people pogoing in time with the Adebimpe's rise-and-fall vocal jabs during "Wolf" was an awesome sight. The crowd may had been slow to respond up to then, but from that point forward, the eyes of every bobbing head in the 930 were pinned to the heated swirl onstage. TV on the Radio was awake and ready to howl hallelujah this DC night.

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