Monthly Archives: November 2013

The Daily Feed
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Philadelphia defeats Washington 24-16

It was a game a lot like the first meeting between Philadelphia and Washington. Philadelphia jumped out to an early lead as Washington’s defense couldn’t figure out how to stop them, and then in the second half everything changed and the defense was getting stops and the offense making plays, but it was all too little too late. There was almost a miraculous comeback this time, but if Washington could have done anything in the first half of the game then maybe they wouldn’t have even been in the position of needing a comeback.

The final throw of the afternoon for Robert Griffin ended up in the hands of Philadelphia’s secondary. That is still his biggest flaw. He believes he can do everything, that he can make all the plays, and that he can  win all the games on his own. This season he is learning he cannot, and he needs a coach that will instruct him on how to play within his abilities instead of criticizing him for trying to make something special happen on every play. The Robert Griffin and Mike Shanahan relationship will soon be at an end. Shanahan isn’t going to allow himself to be a lame duck coach and after this season the last thing he deserves is an extension.

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Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Bistro Bohem

Becherovka Old Fashioned at Bistro Bohem Paul Allen

I have been hooked on Bistro Bohem since the I first went there for a job interview (for this job actually). I love everything about the place, It’s a bar and a restaurant and a cafe and a late night spot and a brunch spot and a pretty-much-whatever-time-of-day-spot all in one. They have good, cheap, hearty food, a great tea selection, everyone I’ve met on staff is really, really friendly, and some of the drinks I’ve never even heard of before. Bavorak, Beton (Czech for concrete)? Sure! But the drink that first caught my eye was the Becherovka Old Fashioned.

I have a bit of a love affair with amaro-based Old Fashioneds; Campari-gin, Fernet-bourbon, sometimes I just want to sip something strong and bitter. No surprise then that I immediately noticed Bistro Bohem’s Becherovka Old Fashioned. It’s a mix of Becherovka, Bols oude genever, and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, all muddled with a lemon (bye bye, winter weather blues). Don’t worry If you’ve never tried Becherovka. It’s a rather uncommon ingredient in cocktails because not many people know what the heck it is. Actually, no one does – the recipe for this spirit is a closely guarded secret. Continue reading →

Week in Review
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Week In Review: 11/11-11/14

Washington Monument on 11/13/13 J Sonder

November keeps rolling on…any chance of someone being able to make it stop? Please! Well, I guess we’ve survived the increasingly DC centric holiday of Veterans Day (where else in the country does a significant portion of the population get the day off?), and now it’s the long slog to the Supermarket Battle Royale followed by Thanksgiving. And then it’s Christmas. Again, can someone slow this all down for a minute?!

Anyways, the week has, in fact, happened, so it needs to be Reviewed. And our loyal photographic contributors have provided material for an excellent Review. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Charli XCX @ U Street Music Hall, 11/16/13

Charli XCX (Photo by Dan Curwin)

Charli XCX (Photo by Dan Curwin)

Charli XCX is best known for something for which we don’t associate her—she wrote the hit song “I Love It” for Icona Pop. That alone suggests that she’s pretty clever.

But listening to her latest album, True Romance, confirms that she does indeed have good ears for good beats. Charli has a talent for lacing together different musical threads into what critics have labeled “neon goth.” What does that mean exactly? Well her pop songs tend to be upbeat and sometimes even upbeat but with dark musical textures. Take her single “Nuclear Seasons” for example. The lyrics compare the aftermath of a rocky love affair to the desolation of nuclear war. Some “summer lovin’!”

Ultimately, the lady comes to dance, so come out to dance along with her collection of catchy songs. I’ve heard she’s an energetic and charismatic performer, and I’m looking forward to finding out firsthand at an early show at U Street Music Hall on Saturday.

Charli XCX
w/ Kitten, Liz
U Street Music Hall
Saturday, Nov. 16
Doors @6pm
$20
All ages

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Nov 15-17

H Street Festival - Eat More Beef - 09-17-11 mosley.brian

Esther: My ancestors are British.  I’m one of those rare people who isn’t a mixed breed of nationalities.  I’m almost pure bred British isles (7/8 to be exact, and 1/8 Swedish), so I would be remiss to not take advantage of the bloody good opportunities DC offers me to connect with my ancestry.  So I will begin my weekend with a Boddington’s and bangers & mash at The Queen Vic on H Street NE and soak in true British pub atmosphere.  Saturday afternoon will find me viewing the temporary exhibit, Here is a Play Fitted, at the Folger Shakespeare Library, where scripts, designs, letters, and reviews of productions over the centuries show how the Bard’s works have shifted over time.  Now William Shakespeare is certainly brilliant, but British poet William Blake is also worth honoring, which I will do Saturday night by attending There is Happiness That Morning Is, one of the shows playing the closing weekend of the DC fall Fringe Festival.  Sunday morning, I fancy a jaunt to the Virginia countryside to enjoy tea and scones at The British Pantry, located about 45 minutes outside DC in Aldie. And to make sure I show off my British pride, my final weekend stop will be back to H Street NE, where Brit tattoo artist Paul Roe, owner of Britishink, is going to tat me with my custom designed union jack, capping off my Anglophile-d weekend and paying tribute to those awesome relatives of mine who had bad teeth, yes, but spoke with a freakin’ cool accent.

66081-27 furcafe

Rachel: My weekend started early with my last “big” solo acoustic full-set show at Ebenezers Coffeehouse in NW DC on Thursday night. That show featured fellow local ladies Brittany Jean and Jamie Kathleen as well as Philly-based Suzie Brown. The weekend continues with a stop at Iota in Arlington for the Deleted Scenes show on Friday followed by band practice with Jason Mendelson & the Open Doors in preparation for our show at The Dunes on November 20 (aka next Wednesday) with Two Dragons and a Cheetah and Star FK Radium. Lot’s of stuff on the plate these days. Hoping to see some of you at a show around town!

Red Apron butchers, Union Market, DC jacquesofalltrades

Tom: After spending last week amid the bustle and warmth of Southern California, I find myself craving, of all things, a run through H Street Country Club’s mini-golf course. I know it sounds crazy, but a night out on H Street sounds like what I need. Sadly, Charlie’s too young to join me on the links yet, so we may have to skip it. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, my mind is turning toward Turkey, and that means Red Apron Butcher’s delicious poultry. First up, though, is a community meeting about the Brookland Middle School construction progress. I know, I know, my weekends are just so full of awesome.

Chicago, Illinois. In the waiting room of the Union Station (LOC) The Library of Congress

Fedward:  Against every natural impulse I have to avoid the spotlight, I’m looking seriously at DC Startup Weekend.  I have an idea – a good idea, the sort of idea I could actually see getting funded – but I haven’t gone so far as to turn it into a pitch.  I’ve got until noon Friday to put my own $99 where my mouth doesn’t want to be. Other than that, we’re meeting friends for dinner at Casa Luca on Saturday, and we’ll have our usual brunch at the Passenger on Sunday.

Jenn: Tired, cranky, cold. That’s been my week so far, and I’m sick of my own whining. Time to pull up the bootstraps. That means getting my cold cyborg heart pumping at Tropicalia for Friday night’s Congo y Castro Pura Viba dance party. There’s even more steam at the Shakespeare Theatre these next few weeks as Mies Julie burns up the set with a forbidden love tale. Or is it hate? Either way, the temperature is almost unbearably hot in this re-telling of Strindberg’s ultimate battle of the sexes/classes, now set in South Africa. Believe me, you’ll debate the play for days. Another hot ticket (closing the 17th, so move on it) is Michael Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, bringing this hot choreographer’s subversive artistic magic to the classic ballet at the Kennedy Center. Only a few years back DC missed out on his Swan Lake, considered too much for us. Prove ’em wrong this time around. Hell, we can handle even more now. To round it all out, I’ll be searching for the perfect hot chocolate, and I bet I’ll find it at the new Palena Cafe, which I hear serves Bicerin – my all-time favorite chocolate, hazelnut and espresso drink. I’ve longed for it ever since my first sip in Venice. Yes. Happy dance.

Caged Don Whiteside

Don: Most of my weekend is going to be sucked up with the continuing effort to block off the chaos that darned baby from certain sections of our home, so the leisure time will be a little sparse and need to serve dual purposes. Namely shoveling food into our faces. So in that vein I thought we’d maybe finally see what the fuss is about and go by SUNdeVICH on Saturday when the weather is supposed to be kinda nice.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: 80s Dance Party@Black Whiskey, 11/16/13

80sdanceparty

It’s been pretty darn cold these past few days but DC is expected to warm up considerably this weekend! What better way to celebrate the warmth than to get out and dance?

And if you want to get out and dance, you might as well go for the gold and dance to some good synthpop. And that just happens be the theme of this month’s 80s Dance Party @ Black Whiskey, which this month presents Secret Circuits, a new recurring theme night.

The affable and capable DJ Neal Keller and I were once brainstorming after he was no longer hosting events in Adams Morgan. We hatched a concept for another dance party that he could spin somewhere–and to differentiate it from the pack of other 80s parties, we thought to focus it specifically on bands like OMD, Ultravox, Erasure, Soft Cell, Heaven 17, New Order, Yazoo, the Eurythmics and others!

To my delight, Neal (aka The Angel) has run with the idea, and he has recruited an extremely knowledgeable guest to assist in the form of DJ Bill Mallison, who hosted his own Kids in America party for a few years not too long ago. Monsieur Mallison is the master of pinpointing electronic and new wave music, breaking out everything from Book of Love to Tones on Tail. And I’m going to attempt to put up a video playlist at the Secret Circuits Tumblr to make the party interactive. (This is a *video* dance party after all!)

See you there!

80s Dance Party: Secret Circuits
Black Whiskey
Saturday, Nov. 16
doors @9pm
$5
21+

Entertainment, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The District
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Winning Ticket: Ha Ha Tonka @ Rock N’ Roll Hotel, 11/16/13

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Ha Ha Tonka at the Rock N’ Roll Hotel on Saturday, November 16th. Simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address by 9pm on 11/14. Feel free to leave any comment; they are VERY MUCH appreciated. One entry per email address, please.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to catch the crisp guitar pickings and fast paced tempo of this veteran band who just released their fourth full-length album. BUT YOU can experience the part Americana, part indie rock, part modern country act that is Ha Ha Tonka. The band showcases tried and true vocals, musical prowess and instrument dexterity –think Arcade Fire and Trampled By Turtles with a twist of Langhorne Slim. 

For the rules of this giveaway… Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Untitled Ernest Baroni

I spend a lot of time on Flickr wandering aimlessly around looking here and there, seeing what new and interesting work people have come up with. A few weeks ago, while looking through photos with Washington, DC tags I came across some shots by Ernest Baroni. The photos were very distinctive in their appearance. In fact I thought they were film. But they’re not, they were actually taken with the Leica M Monochrom digital camera. You can see in this wonderful shot what I mean. The lights and darks, the grays in between, and the grain. Let’s not forget the grain. It doesn’t hurt that he managed to capture such a great moment. Awkward on land, sea lions are amazingly agile underwater. They can glide without effort, averaging 11 mph with a top speed of 25 mph, and are able to hold their breath for 8 to 20 minutes, looking almost like dogs with flippers. They certainly sound like them.

I’m not a gear head, and I don’t own any Leicas, but the Monochrom makes some great pictures especially when in the hands of someone with a good eye like Ernest. Well done sir.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Crossing

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The cast of Signature Theatre’s production of Crossing. Photo credit: Teresa Wood.

There was so much to like about Crossing at Signature Theatre, the world premiere musical written by the extremely talented writing team, Grace Barnes and Matt Connor, whose Nevermore was premiered at the theatre in 2006. From Eric Schaeffer’s beautiful, yet simple set design, the spectacular rain effects orchestrated by lighting designer Chris Lee, the lovely underscoring of the orchestra led by music director Gabriel Mangiante, to the phenomenal acting and vocal prowess of nine incredible actors, Barnes and Connor created moments of theatrical magic, punctuated by uncomplicated dialogue and enchanting melodies.

There was also much about Crossing that was problematic. Although it has enjoyed readings and a workshop, this is the first full production of Crossing and, like all new shows, it felt like it was still trying to find its footing. The challenge of producing new work is that the premiere production is part of the continued refining and improving of a show, which means that the initial audience is witness to some of the kinks and challenges that eventually are worked out until a show is a masterpiece. Understanding this, I applaud the writing of Barnes and Connor, who have a very solid framework in place, and am confident that Crossing will achieve the same success that their Nevermore and Connor’s The Hollow and Night of the Living Dead are enjoying.

Set in a train station in anytown and anytime USA, Crossing follows the personal intimate emotional journeys of travelers as they wait for a train, highlighting the concerns and fears that they can’t share with loved ones, but choose to share with strangers to whom they feel a kinship, in the same way many people do with others they are seated next to on an airplane or a neighboring bar stool. Although the characters are living in different decades of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, they interact with one another beyond time and comprehension, listening to, supporting, and uniting with one another, giving the audience the impression that regardless when or where we live or have lived, each human soul has a journey they have to make alone, but are afraid to do so. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Winning Ticket: Cat Power @ Sixth&i, 11/13/13

Screen Shot 2013-11-11 at 10.52.46 AM

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Cat Power at Sixth & I Synagogue on Wednesday, November 13th. FYI Tickets are – somehow – still available. Scoop them up now!

Admittedly, I was late to the Chan Marshall – stage named Cat Power –  scene, but I’m super pumped to catch her on this stop in DC. Her latest album SUN is her and her alone, as Marshall wrote, played and produced the entirety of the album. A seasoned artist and performer, SUN showcases Marshall’s confident, evocative personality and her profound exploration of life’s challenges, failures and triumphs. A favorite of mine on this album is “Silent Machine.” YouTube Preview Image

For your chance to win these tickets, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address by 9pm today. Feel free to leave any comment, but perhaps share your favorite song by Cat Power! One entry per email address, please.

 

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 11/08-11/10

Bicyclist vpickering

Whether you’re reading this from the comfort of home on your Veteran’s Day holiday, or while slaving away in the office at your job, I hope you had a great weekend. I know our photo contributors did because we got some amazing photos. Some are of the fall colors peaking, some of Washingtonians going about their routines, and some are of the oddities that make this area so great. Please take a few minutes to check them out; it’s always a great start to the week. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Lion’s Share Cider at Tryst

Lion's Share Cider at Tryst Paul Allen

I was asked recently what I consider my guilty pleasure drink. I didn’t know what to say. Most of the time I’m drinking rather straightforward drinks. I like to get a little extravagant sometimes and experiment a bit, but I wouldn’t consider that a guilty pleasure. That I reserve for marshmallow vodka or whiskey from a plastic jug. I thought about it and decided that the closest thing I have to a guilty pleasure is day drinking. Even when I had a more traditional 9 to 5 style job I had a tendency to mix up a sherry cocktail before I made my way into work. It was how I got my morning OJ.

Before brunch cocktails became a weekend staple, I had such a hard time cajoling my friends to commit to serious day drinking. Bottomless Bloodies, Mimosas and Bellinis are some of the greatest things to happen to recent cocktail culture. Now it’s suddenly trendy and it’s not just me and Hemmingway drinking Daiquiris at ten in the morning. And thankfully cocktails for brunch are such a big thing in DC. Working as much as I do, I’d never get a chance to go out for a nice cocktail if it wasn’t for brunch. Which is exactly why I hoofed it across town to Tryst on a Sunday morning, to get my day drinking on (the food was good too).

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The Features, We Love Arts
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In the House with Howard Shalwitz

Howard Shalwitz

Howard Shalwitz of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

In the House is a feature interview series about the theater-makers that keep our most precious institutions up and running. We want to know what artistic and executive directors love about their jobs, how they see their work affecting the city’s theater culture, and what they hope for the future of the craft.

Howard Shalwitz is the co-founder and artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, which is currently in its 34th season of producing and developing contemporary new plays that “defy convention.”

Joanna Castle Miller: What does your job as an artistic director involve, and what is its purpose?

Howard Shalwitz: I used to say that my job was the guardian of the soul of the institution – and now I hate the word “institution” so I don’t say that anymore. You would think you’d define the job according to what plays we select, and the artists who work here, and the character of the work, and that’s all true; but I actually think more of my time goes into the long-term vision of the organization: What is the mission? How are we expressing our mission right now? I think I have an important role – because I’ve been here so long – as a kind of guardian of the institutional memory of the organization.

It’s really those long-term mission and vision parts of the job that I think are most important; and if you neglect that, then the theater’s really in trouble.

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Week in Review
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Week in Review: 11/4-11/8

7/30/365 anokarina

I must admit that I feel rather spoiled to be helping Mr. Mosley with these photography posts here on We Love DC simply because I now have a legitimate reason for the hours I spend looking at Flickr. I love looking at what gets posted everyday and getting a tiny glimpse into the lives of our photographical contributors – where they went, what they ate, who their friends are, etc. I’m continually impressed by what they capture and the variety of images they produce. Thank you all for your submissions and keep them coming!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the Week in Review: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Photos: Amazing Sunset Edition

Washington Monument Sunset Wide navinsarma

It’s no secret that late fall/early winter is one of the best times of year on the east coast for amazing sunsets. The setting sun casting its rays through cleaner, dryer air can create some dramatic light and vibrant colors. Lucky for us so many of you walk around with cameras it meant that we had quite a few photographs of Wednesday evening’s wonderful sunset from all over the area. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Nov 8-10

Fall on New Hampshire Avenue || Washington, DC kenudigit

If you can make it through the rain we’ve been promised a sunny weekend. We’re not going to waste it if we have a choice, though some of us don’t. Sorry Brian!

Mosley: Sadly, I’m working all weekend. But if I had the time to myself, I’d be going to as many of the Fotoweek DC events as I could; after Sunday most are over. Also photo related, I would want to get out and get as many photos of the Fall foliage as I could. It seem particularly good this year. If you’re interested in doing the same, my photography group is meeting up on TR Island on Saturday; all are welcome and it should be fun times and a great nature walk!

Jenn: Art exhibits at the friendly gallery curated by Amy Morton are always something to look forward to, and that makes this Friday a double pleasure with the opening party of Laurel Hausler’s new exhibit, Ghost Stories, from 6-8pm. Hausler’s multi-layered work is haunting, disturbing, and simply beautiful. Her current exhibit is inspired by Old Hollywood mysteries, spirit photography, and ghost stories, so it’s perfect for the season. Please stop by Morton Fine Art to see for yourself. As MFA has the added benefit of being next door to Locolat, get some Belgian beer and savory waffles too. Afterwards I’m heading to a Scorpio’s birthday party, which might just be one of the most dangerous outings you can join. Send bail money. If I survive, Saturday I’ll search for the perfect boudoir chair at the District Flea (I need something to faint on), no doubt indulge my latest sandwich obsession, the Istanbul, at SUNdeVICH, and finally, help save the Chesapeake Bay by downing oyster backs (oyster shooters as pickle backs, how awesome is that) at Eat the Rich – $1 from every oyster shooter sold goes to the Oyster Recovery Partnership! Sunday I’ll repent at Pekoe Acupuncture and Wellness with a Mindful Epicurean Brunch from 2-4pm, featuring a healthy cooking demonstration and wholesome brunch. Sigh.

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Getting Around, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Baby in the City: Taking Transit with Your Baby

Baby's first Metro ride! tiffany bridge

Hi, WeLoveDC readers. I’m back. Baby in the City is an occasional series exploring what it’s like to live a specifically urban-dwelling lifestyle with a baby. (Nothing but love for you suburban-dwelling minivan drivers, it’s just not for me.)

I am a city mouse. When we moved 7 blocks from a Metro station and across the street from a bus stop, we promptly became a one-car family. I take transit or bike as much as I can and have become allergic to looking for parking downtown. My smartphone is full of apps for navigating transit (in multiple cities!), hailing cabs, finding bike routes, and reserving carshare vehicles. I’m a city-loving, multi-modal lady.

And then we found out I was pregnant. And for a moment, I wavered- did we need a second car? Something with lots of cargo space for toting around strollers and whatnot? Was I going to have to get good at… parallel parking?! (You guys, I am so not good at parallel parking.)

But of course I won’t- plenty of people transport their pre-walking children around the city without a car all day because they have to. It’s not that hard to make it work when you want to. But like anything else involving a baby, it requires a little bit of planning.  Here’s what I’m learning as a new parent getting around town with a very small baby:

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Pride In The Falls Of Autrey Mill

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Photo credit: Margot Schulman

After Really Really sold out and wowed crowds at Signature Theatre last winter, up-and-coming playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo is back with another new play. This time instead of dissecting millennials, Colaizzo sets his sights on a more affluent crowd in Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill. Starring Golden Globe and Emmy winner Christine Lahti, Autrey Mill is a powerful character-driven dramedy that explores conventional human needs in an unconventional setting: a luxury community where only the elite of the elite reside.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Clouded Leopard J Sonder

Cute, cute, cute! John submitted this excellent, and unorthodox, animal shot of a clouded leopard at the National Zoo. Typically when shooting animals or wildlife I advise that the photographer should aim for the eyes. However, John made the smart choice of focusing on the leopard’s paw and pelt, completely avoiding the face, and forcing the viewer to look at this feline in a different way. Notice the large size of the paw, relative to the rest of the body. Also, look at the ear; even though the cat is sleeping or lounging, it still has one ear up for alerting it to danger. Of course, there is the fine detail of the cat’s fur and markings, as well as the very fine detail of the pads on the bottom of its feet. It’s a great shot all around!

Entertainment, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, The District, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Head And The Heart @ 9:30 Club – 11/04/13

The Head And The Heart

Last night, despite a 10pm set time, a frigid Monday night and a developing cold, I bundled up and hit the 9:30 Club to check out the Seattle group The Head And The Heart (THATH).

Had THATH been some sort of electronica, disco-pop, techno-ish band, then I would have been tucked away in my apartment downing Nyquil, but as I was familiar with the group, I knew to expect country/indie folk ballads with a kick of ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” The Beatles “A Day in the Life,” and Dexy Midnight Runner’s “Come On Eileen.”

The band took the stage shortly after 10pm, played about an hour and 15 minute set and produced a show identical to their recorded albums. Now when I see someone, I don’t expect a group to sound incredibly different or even “better,” but I do expect something – a tone, a sound, an energy, a vibe, a connection – that differentiates the performance from what I can listen to in my living room. Personally speaking, this show was a bit of a let down.

Continue reading →