Too Many Zooz and Moon Taxi, Oct 21 2017 at 9:30 Club

Too Many Zooz

I took Natalie and our French exchange student Solene to the 9:30 Club on October 21 to see Moon Taxi, not because I love that act, but because it was an early show and Solene was excited to go to a concert in America. The opener, Too Many Zooz was infinitely better than Moon Taxi. The front man, saxophonist Leo Pellegrino was a non-stop dancing machine, and the percussionist David "King of Sludge" Parks wore half a dozen instruments like a one-man band. They reminded me of Moon Hooch, in a totally awesome way.  I was completely bored by dude-band Moon Taxi, but I still felt like I got my money's worth with the opener. 

Moon Taxi

ACL October 6-8, 2017

 Yeah, we went to ACL again! Dana, Trish, Anita, and Jill (for the first time). We stayed with Saint Katie, who had just broken both wrists in a bicycle accident (but still put us up!) She was crazy kind, and we tried to repay her by doing all her housework and shopping.

My first act of the festival was Welles - dirty bass, male vocals, rockers. They had a good sound, but an unimpressive stage show. I then heard Asleep at the Wheel from a distance - fun, old time-y country. Carson Mchone was background music in the tent as I had lunch - she wasn't half bad, but didn't make an impression. Methyl Ethel was a bunch of dorky Australians that were nothing special live. The rest of the day is a long-ago haze, but heard Missio from the shade by the port-o-potties (which were AWESOME - flushing toilets at a festival!) Nothing special, nothing bad about them. They did seem a little stoned. I have a photo of Andrew McMahon, so I must have seen him for a moment, but I've seen him twice before, so he didn't make an impression. I also collected two full bags of trash - I ended up doing three throughout the festival, bringing home shirts for me and the kids. Spencer Ludwig's dance music impressed me with dancing ladies, a Prince-like vibe, and trumpets. The Lemon Twigs were bleh. Vulpeck was so fun! Funky - lots of people with high energy. So worth seeing!  La Femme was entertaining French language indie music.  I remember seeing the Revivalists and disliking the lead singer. He seemed contrived to me. I didn't stay for the headliners.

Saturday was a hot day and I was in pain from the 1000 squats I did picking up 2 bags of trash the day before. I spent a lot of time hiding in the shade, watching acts from a distance. We did some of the photo opps, then I say Capyac. They were a hoot. They made pancakes on stage and threw them in the audience, they had costumes, they made the crowd do stretches with them, there were dancers. Dull music, but a great show! I stopped by Grace Vanderwaal, who was preciously 12 years old and ever so twee. Not my thing. Allan Rayman came off as pretentious. Might have been on drugs, might have been having seizures. I couldn't tell, but I didn't stay long to find out. Parker Millsap looked like Elvis, but blond. I thought I detected some Christian lyrics and wasn't in the mood to be preached at, so I skedaddled after finishing my food. Benjamin Booker sounded great, but had low energy on stage. Dana accidentally won us all backstage passes (I know - crazy!) at the HomeAway stage, so we saw some of Dreamcar from the side of the stage. Great costumes, but I didn't stay long. Angel Olsen was BORING on stage. And Alison Wonderland was too crowded - I left the festival before she started feeling claustrophobic. I heard reports that Spoon did an elaborate skydiving gag to the song "Freefallin'" (Tom Petty had died the week before. Tributes abounded.)

Sunday was again hot, but I'd regained some energy. Tank and the Bangas were FAN-FRICKIN-TASTIC. Charismatic, energetic, so much fun. Tank did spoken word poetry bits, and the brass section was hopping all over stage. She also led everyone in simple choreography. It was uplifting and joyous. So worth seeing. That was so good, I don't even remember seeing Middle Kids, who I know are excellent. I also think I saw Milky Chance and a tiny little bit of First Aid Kit. I know I saw Portugal The Man and was very disappointed. Not much registered with me on Sunday after Tank - or maybe it's that I waited 2 months to write this and didn't take any notes that day. Maybe.

It was a busy work week for me, so I did quite a bit of teleworking when not at the festival, but it wasn't overwhelming. It was an insanely busy month for me, but worth it. I felt a lot less in shape than the last time I went - the walks felt longer, but there was also a lot of heat this time. Somehow, I ended up with a small poison ivy rash when I got home. Best food of the weekend was Bananarchy - frozen banana dipped in vegan dark chocolate on a stick. The chocolate was warm and cooling as I ate it. YUM. It was shocking to see how white the city and the crowd seemed. I've gotten very used to multi-ethnic in DC. It felt staged, like a TV show. Nowhere is that white, right? Well, maybe some places, but it feels SO WEIRD (and not in the keep Austin weird way.) The festival grounds were much larger this year - they co-oped the other side of the street for an additional stage. It addressed some of the crowd congestion to move the stage by the rocks to the perimeter.

What - no stage here?

Favorite hair style

I don't remember her, but she had sparkle pants.

Capyac, the pancake makers.

A life changing toilet.

I love Benjamin Booker's music.

Tank was THE BEST.

Angel, you're dull.

French indie La Femme.

Andrew, you're always good.

Arts and crafts with my daughter at home.

LP, Car Seat Headrest, Nap Eyes, Lauren Ruth Ward, Josiah and the Bonnevilles - May-June 2017

Natalie and I went to U Street Music Hall on Sunday, May 28, 2017 (Memorial Day weekend) to see LP.  The openers were Josiah and The Bonevilles and Lauren Ruth Ward.

Josiah's Bonevilles appeared imaginary to me, thought we were late arriving and only caught the final song or two - perhaps they exited the stage prior to the song and a half we caught. An online search for the band name brings up images of one to four people, including the singer I saw. He was good, in an acoustic, singer-songwriter way. I didn't fall in love with his music, but I didn't find it boring or irritating either.

Lauren Ruth Ward turned out to be a band, and the singer had a very good voice and decent energy on stage.  I thought they were quite good live, until LP took the stage, that is. LP was one of those rare performers who is not only a virtuoso at her craft (amazing vocals), but also had charisma. She wasn't ultra-talkative, but she still connected with the audience, and everyone had a fantastic time. It was a really impressive performance that went on and on. I think of LP as a relatively new artist, but she apparently has plenty of songs in her playbook. She was on stage for at least an hour, and we skipped the encore.

LP

Lauren Ruth Ward

Josiah and the Bonevilles

On June 1, 2017, Jill and I went to 9:30 Club to see Car Seat Headrest, a 4-piece new band made up of barely post-pubescent young men.  Their recorded music is exceptional, and the lead singer's voice is  rather deep and mesmerizing. I was REALLY looking forward to the show, but unfortunately, they were HORRIBLE as showmen. They just stood there. The drummer or guitarist tried to say something once in a while, but everything they tried fell flat. The sound mixing had every setting at the max, so even with earplugs, it was too loud and chaotic sounding. And there were strobes aimed at the audience, blinding us.  I started looking at my watch 2 songs in and left after about 4 songs. It was a major disappointment. I missed most of the opener, Nap Eyes, an indie jam-band from Canada. I did not like what I heard from them, so didn't mind that I missed most of their set. I really hate jam bands.

Nap Eyes

Car Seat Headrest

Middle Kids, March 30, 2017 at DC9

On Thursday, March 30, 2017, I went alone to DC9 to see headliner Middle Kids. A local band called The Queue was the opener. Queue suffered from horrible sound quality, so it was hard to judge the vocals.The musicianship seemed to be at a beginner band level. I thought they must have been chosen as the opener before Middle Kids exploded, but they said they were hired after the Conan appearance. The bassist had a great personality. The last song was the best. It had a moody quality to it.

The Queue

Hannah Joy

 Middle Kids were fun and frenetic. Hannah Joy, the singer, has a fantastic voice. She and Tim Fitz (the guitarist/bassist) were the start of the band, which includes drummer Harry Day and some random bloke for the stage show. I got the impression Hannah and Tim were married to each other based on the wedding bands on their hands and the connection they seemed to have. It looked like they had a bunch of inside jokes they shared with one another. I can't confirm that impression based on a web search, though. Hannah looks like a model  - tall, great features, lots of presence. The  show had energy and charm - I highly recommend it. I think this band will get very big.

Middle Kids

Late 2016 and Early 2017 Shows

I went to a few shows in late 2016/early 2017 that I never got around to writing up, so I'm posting them as a group here, with limited reviews.

On Friday, October 28, 2016, I saw Margaret Glaspy (with opener Half Waif) at DC9 in Washington, DC. Margaret was authentically awkward - it wasn't an affectation. She did the growl-y voice a bit much. I remember nothing about Half Waif, which means I didn't like them.

Half Waif

Margaret Glaspy

 On Monday, December 12, 2016, I joined Dana and Trish at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball at the Verizon Center.

Fifth Harmony seemed like a dance production for teens who want to learn to be strippers. I got the impression that some of their set was pre-recorded.

 Tove Lo wore pasties and short overalls with crotch flames - her usual classy self. I think they might have made her add the translucent camoflage pattern body suit because "it's a family show" (LOTS of kids in the audience.) She's got a great voice, and she's the poster girl for daddy issues.

Alessia Cara was young and had a great voice. She was all about empowerment.

 Ellie Goulding had a confetti cannon.

 Machine Gun Kelly was a short act. The girl from 5th Harmony did the vocals, and I thought it was horrible.

 G-Eazy seemed to have been weened on Beastie Boys as tots. There was a lot of cursing to really bad music. Diplo was a DJ with fireworks and strobes. I can't even remember his set. Then Niall Horan took the stage for an acoustic song and made a bunch of tweens squee. He's from One Direction.

 Daya was the last act I saw - she's some random pop singer I don't care about. 

 March 18, 2016, I joined Dana and her friend Meredith at Tropicalia in the U Street neighborhood of DC for opener The QREW followed by headliner Madame Gandhi. Dana runs a charity  (Support the Girls) that had a presence at the show. QREW was pretty good for a local act. They had a lot of energy and fun audience interaction gimmicks, including a Mylar balloon that said LOVE that they passed through the audience, asking the audience to sing, and sending a dancer with lights and wings into the audience to spin and dance.

 Dana tells me that Madame Gandhi is having a moment in youth culture. She was MIA's drummer before her solo career and is a Georgetown University alumni. She's all about female empowerment. Her style is spoken word/rap. It's not my thing at all, and I don't find the music to be well composed or performed. Her fans love her, though, and she was supportive of Dana's charity, so it was good to be there in support.

All Things Go Fall Classic - October 8, 2016.

My daughter Natalie joined me (Anita), Dana, and Jill at the All Things Go Fall Classic on Saturday, October 8, 2016. The line-up was great, so we were really looking forward to it. The weather leading up to the day was excellent, then a hurricane struck to the south and it ended up lightly raining for the first six hours of the concert. It was a poorly attended muddy mess, which really is a shame. I was bummed that the Landmark festival did so poorly it won’t be repeated. I’m hopeful that this show grows into a real festival someday. Biggest drawback: the mud, of course, but also the 30 minute wait between each act with nothing to do but eat and drink. There’s only so many Korean tacos any one person can eat! It would have been so much better with a second stage. The sound mixing was often good, with occasionally heavy-handed bass that bothered me. (It shouldn’t hurt with earplugs in!)

Dana: I didn't mind the rain and mud, as we were all fairly well prepared. Sometimes I'm so excited to be at a music festival with friends

Ace Cosgrove – None of us saw this act, but none of us like this artist either, so no love lost.

Sofi Tukker – Natalie was impressed by the personality of this duo. They are young and met their senior year at Brown University. The man, Tukker, used to play college basketball, then some illness left him bedridden for 8 months during which time he reignited a passion for music. Sofi had a very international upbringing that sounds like an ambassador’s kid’s life. She’s German-born and Italian-educated and taught herself guitar and Portugese while on study abroad. Both have ready smiles and engaging personalities on stage. I loved their exuberance, and the book-tree-drum thing they used for synthesized sound reminded me of early Purity Ring and their use of light-sound machines.

Pop Etc – This band used to be named Morning Benders. They were boring on stage; we really just watched the videos above them, but the music sounded good. They ended with the song everyone was there to hear. (“What Am I Becoming?”)

Bishop Briggs – AWESOME, according to Natalie. She has an amazing voice and a twitchy style of movement when she’s not hunched over on herself. Surprisingly, her horrible posture doesn’t affect her singing.  I loved her Mickey Mouse hair buns and deadmouse-esque icon. She looks goth but sounds like a church revival with naughty lyrics.

Christine and the Queens CANCELED. That’s right. Here’s what Christine said on Twitter as her reason:

Prima donna much? So instead, Sofi Tukker did an extra set with Ace Cosgrove joining for a while, and maybe some others. They even crowd surfed. Very fun.

Sylvan Esso was surprisingly disappointing. It says something about the low quality of performance at Firefly 2015 that Sylvan Esso wowed by comparison there and bombed at All Things Go. Part of it was that you just couldn’t see them through all the smoke machine smoke. Such a stupid effect outdoors! (And I would argue, indoors as well.) Natalie felt ill during this act and there were still four hours left until the end of the concert, so we bailed. Standing around for 6 hours, unable to sit down on the ground had taken a toll on us both.

Passion Pit - Anita and Natalie missed this, which Anita didn’t mind at all.

Empire of the Sun - This was a real bummer to miss (the entire reason I bought tickets!!) But it was just too much standing around in the cold and wet weather.

Sofar Sounds pop-up concert September 16, 2016 - Plastic Picnic, Edy Blu, Tyne

Sofar Sounds does secret venue/secret act living room concerts all over the world. The idea is that intimate settings and a lack of expectations create a magically environment for both the guests and performers. And the sets are all short - 30 minutes give or take - so even if you hate an act, they leave the stage soon enough. Eric and I tried it on the lunch patio/rehabbed loading dock of a Union Market startup office building made from a converted warehouse. Very hipster. The audience was mostly 20 to 30 somethings, but with enough diversity to not be entirely cliche. There were even a few people older than us 40-somethings.  Eric and I sat off on our own in the comfy chairs we claimed when we arrived, but the main mass of people were grouped closer together on benches and blankets, and there seemed to be some mingling of strangers, which is part of the point. Overall, I didn't find a new favorite, but I did enjoy the evening out very much. I recommend it for date night.

PLASTIC PICNIC
The first act were all from Seattle(?) but met in Brooklyn, and hadn't been together long. I got some hairy eyeballs for using my phone to take notes during the set, but this is what I wrote: guitar driven beach-inspired sound with lots of vocal reverb. Upbeat, dreamy, echoes, tinny, synth-heavy, uneven sound mixing.

Plastic Picnic, from Brooklyn

EDY BLU
Edy Blu is a singer songwriter from DC. She exhibited moments of vocal excellence, but most of her sound was too samey-samey for me. I think she could grow into some impressive musicianship. She has a great look and is good at engaging the crowd.

Edy Blu, from DC

TYNE
Her confidence and disarming personality were very nice, as was her banter. Her voice was lovely, but her style depressing. She even joked about being a 19 year old who writes depressing songs. I feel like I've heard too many artists who are similar, but she does have talent. She's just not my thing.

Tyne, from the UK