I'm a 38-year-old gal, living in the Washington, DC area, who loves going to concerts of all kinds. My blog tracks most shows I attend. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to comment!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Bayou Bluesman Sonny Landreth Plays Wolf Trap
recommended beverage: a 16-oz cup of Dogfish 60-Minute IPA, from their bar. The chili ain't half bad either.
January 29: Sonny Landreth, the Barns of Wolf Trap [front row!] January 30: The Blackjacks, Jammin' Java
Feb. 2: The Pretenders, 9:30 Club (thanks OT!) Feb. 3: Andrew Bird, 9:30 Club Feb. 6: Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Miller @ Birchmere Feb. 10: Gary Louris & Mark Olson of the Jayhawks, the Birchmere (maybe) Feb. 13: Jason Mraz and Ben Folds, GWU Smith Center
Road trip! Feb. 28: X Levitation Cult in Medford, NJ (XLC is a Seattle-based indie rock band led by Joie Callio from Dada) Mar. 1: Steve Poltz, house party in East Windsor, NJ March 14: The Sauce Boss, Madam's Organ March 22: Bloc Party at the 9:30
Chopteeth w/ Elikeh, Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC January 17
DC is dancing again. There's hope and joy in the air. At Rock and Roll Hotel, a packed house danced and celebrated as two Afrofunk bands tore it up at this inaugural weekend concert. Headliner Chopteeth and newcomer Elikeh, both based in DC, blended varied cultural influences and driving beats. The result was a high-energy dance party. Headliner Chopteeth, with its 5-piece horn section, played two sets, never waning in energy. African and Latin rhythms filled the room, as bongos kept the beat. Some 13 musicians crammed on the small stage and made a big sound. They call their sound Afrobeat, or big band funk, "a stew of modern jazz, Yoruba tribal music and burning, James Brown-inspired rhythms." And that reggae beat that seems to drive some of their songs? That's the Jamaican ska, mixed with Ghanian dance tunes and Senegalese rumba.
First up was Elikeh, whose lead singer hails from Togo. Their sound was positively infectious.
West Side Story, The National Theatre, Washington D.C.
recommended beverage to go with this show:
a hot Toddy at a nearby bar. I have a cold.
The American classic West Side Story will re-open on Broadway sometime this year, but first the show scheduled a one-month run at the National Theatre in Washington, where the musical had its world premiere back in 1957. The show is nearing the end of its run here (it closes this Saturday) and it's been a spectacular one. The singing, choreography, and orchestra were exceptional. The costumes and set put you squarely in the 1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The gangs were fierce, the ladies dainty--except Anita, who was one tough chica.
There were at least two artistic liberties that added so much to this production. There was quite a bit of Spanish interweaved throughout in both speech and song, most notably in the second act, when whole segments were in Spanish, including the song, "I Feel Pretty." It gave an authetntic feel to the story. Also in the second act, a little boy sang most of "Somewhere," which the cast continued, and Tony and Maria finished. To me, the little boy symbolized future generations hoping to live in peace, and I thought it was a wonderful touch.
This new production was directed by Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents and the choreography was reworked from the original by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely. This show was a fine adaptation of the original Bernstein-Sondheim classic.
Gogol Bordello: A Fantastic Night of Immigrant Punk
Gogol Bordello, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., January 3
Recommended beverage to go with this show: a bottle of water. Gotta hydrate after all that dancing.
Catching Gogol Bordello live is pure joy. They play what they call "immigrant punk," a highly energetic mix of klezmer, Gypsy, and punk rock with heavy doses of reggae, flamenco, and other world music mixed in. It's music so infectious that one cannot help but gleefully jump around and dance.
Bandleader Eugene Hutz, a Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant, told the crowd he's sorry the economy is down, "but at least good music is up." He also told fans to pick up another kind of Gogol at the merch stand; books by classic Russian author Nikolai Gogol were apparently there for sale. He then opened the encore with a bit of Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," singing "we don't need no education," beginning a 30-minute encore that kept the crowd in as much of a dance frenzy as they'd been in all night.
Dada, North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA New Year's Eve 2009
Recommended beverage
to go with this show:
Maredsous 10, a fantastic Belgian triple abbey ale on tap there.
The three lads from southern California who comprise the band Dada rocked out at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, putting on a fantastic 3 ½-hour show. Unwavering in their energy, they played songs from their five studio albums, a couple rarities, and a few new ones slated to appear on an upcoming album.
Dada has been recording and performing together for some 16 years and they’ve waited 13 years for their song, “Spirit of 2009,” to be truly appropriate, as it was on this night. They chose to play it as the second song after the midnight countdown, after “Dim,” and an electric Auld Lang Syne jam.
The club’s built-in monitors apparently gave the boys a little trouble but it was virtually undetectable to the enthusiastic crowd. The musicianship is first rate; the boys’ interaction on stage was fun to watch, and Joie’s and Mike’s vocal harmonies were excellent. And, showing their musical versatility, bassist Joie took a turn at the drums once while drummer Phil sang two songs, once playing bass, once playing guitar.
I am a Dada newbie, having heard just about everything—minus "Dizz Knee Land," the radio hit I previously disliked—for the first time that night, and I was thoroughly impressed. It’s a reminder of how a catchy radio hit does not always reveal the complex layers of a band. Their music is steeped in classic rock and blues influences, and the dynamic among them works so well.
Dada played a good chunk of their beloved 1992 debut album, Puzzle, and played a half hour beyond their scheduled 3-hour set, finally playing “Dorina,” which traditionally closes out their shows (so I’m told). They opened their encore with a song by singer Mike Gurley’s side project, Butterfly Jones, called “It’s Cool, Dude.” At the merch stand, we picked up a copy of Joie Calio’s side project, X Levitation Cult, and that disc is mighty fine if you too love the post-punk sound.
This was a memorable show, indeed. And the night didn’t end there. Mike invited my boyfriend and me to hang with the band after the show for a couple hours in Mike’s hotel room. We arrived just after 3 a.m., greeted by tour manager Brian. Mike was embroiled in conversation with three women from Texas whose politics confounded him. Joie was sipping cheap red wine, mellowing out to Rolling Stones tunes coming from his laptop, while trying to track down his wife. We all were enjoying listening to the blues-inspired, harp-based early Stones stuff that so clearly influences Joie’s music. Phil and his wife soon arrived. Phil sat with us for quite a while, chatting about music, his day job doing voice-overs which he loves, and life in general. They are very chill, down-to-earth dudes.
Happy New Year to all!
SET LIST (thanks to Stephen from the Dada boards):
Mercury Down
Playboy in Outerspace
Feet to the Sun
Surround (w/Gurley jam)
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
72 hours
I Get High (w/extended Gurley solo)
California Dreamin' (cover / Mamas & Papas)
Information Undertow (w/Joie bass solo)
Ask the Dust (long version w/ bass solo)
Agent's Got No Secret
Rockin' in the Free World (cover/N. Young)
New Year's countdown / auld lang syne
Dim
Spirit of 2009 (extended jam version)
Bob the Drummer
Sick in Santorini
Dizz Knee Land
Moment in the Sun (extended version)
encore:
It's Cool, Dude (Butterfly Jones w/Phil on bass and Joie on drums)
Heaven and Nowhere
Posters
Feel Me Don't You (extended Joie bass solo)
Moon
Mary Sunshine Rain
Dorina
Chopteeth w/ Elikeh, Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
Jamaican ska, mixed with Ghanian dance tunes and Senegalese rumba. 
Gogol Bordello, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., January 3
usic is up." He also told fans to pick up another kind of Gogol at the merch stand; books by classic Russian author Nikolai Gogol were apparently there for sale. He then opened the encore with a bit of Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," singing "we don't need no education," beginning a 30-minute encore that kept the crowd in as much of a dance frenzy as they'd been in all night.
ocal harmonies were excellent. And, showing their musical versatility, bassist Joie took a turn at the drums once while drummer Phil sang two songs, once playing bass, once playing guitar.
