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.