Category Archives: The Features

These are our features. They come back either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Seraphin Shines In Wizards Win Over Superman-less Magic

Photo courtesy of BrianMKA
Kevin Seraphin dunk
courtesy of BrianMKA

Coming into tonight’s final game against the Magic this season Washington was 0-3 against Orlando. However thanks to a career performance from Kevin Seraphin (and a Dwight Howard-less Magic team) the Wizards pulled out their second win in a row 93-85. Tonight’s win follows a victory against the hapless Charlotte Bobcats Monday night.

Without Nene and Trevor Booker both out with  plantar fasciitis, the Wizards have leaned on big man Seraphin more in recent games and he has responded well. He led the team with a career high 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the win.

Also in the mix were Jordan Crawford (21) and John Wall (15). Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 19 points.

After the Magic took a 29-18 lead in the first quarter, the Wizards hung on tying the game at halftime and breaking away with 10 minutes left in the final quarter thanks to a bank shot from Seraphin.

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Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Drinks
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Event (P)Review: On the Town with Dale DeGroff

Dale DeGroff 1
All photos by the author

Dale DeGroff returns Thursday night for what I’ve been told is a bigger and better On the Town show, this time featuring pianist Dan Ruskin. This article, originally published last year, is a good preview for this year’s show.

The fact that you probably already know what a Cosmopolitan cocktail is, and most likely even have a mental picture of the sort of person you imagine would drink it, owes its existence to King Cocktail. Widely credited as the bartender who made it popular (if not ubiquitous) from behind the bar at the Rainbow Room in the 1980s, DeGroff has a long history both with his leg up in front of the bar and as the all-seeing, all-hearing master of ceremonies behind it. The “On the Town” seminar is a chance for him to tell a sample of the stories he has collected – or been a part of – since he moved to New York four decades ago.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of Joe in DC
F Street
courtesy of Joe in DC

A nice street-scape, where the very people walking along are part of the scenery. This shot, done by Joe, is something that we all see everyday. It just takes someone to take the picture for us to stop and notice the beauty. Take that moment now and look: the light is soft and low in the sky, casting long, expressive shadows. The people and cars are arrayed in a random pattern which fills the shot just right. And the picture is wide enough that you can see the lines of the brick sidewalk; a sidewalk made of multiple different colored bricks. Most definitely a photo worth seeing.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Arias with a Twist

Joey Arias in Arias with a Twist. Photo by Steven Menendez

Woolly’s Arias with a Twist is Arias as in Joey Arias, drag performer, and Basil Twist as in puppets. The show is visually stunning on every level – the lighting, costumes, sets, and oh my, the puppetry – the puppetry is superb. And I was bored through almost all of it.

Which is so disappointing. I love a good, campy, drag show. I love live music and cover songs. But it would have taken a step up for me to make it to underwhelmed by the experience as a whole. We got more enjoyment after the show from ranking which other theater would be more or less likely to show someone feliating a puppet. [For the record, we had no consensus on most likely, but National was the winner for least probable]

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 4/6-4/8

Photo courtesy of vpickering
Drum Circle
courtesy of vpickering

Two for three isn’t bad! Baseball season has finally started and the Nationals are off to a really good start. I’m so excited! Oh, and I guess some other things happened this weekend: fireworks, pillow fights, and a major religious holiday. But nothing as big as the national pastime starting up for the year! But if you insist on seeing the other minor events of the weekend, pictures of them are below…and one last time: GO NATS! Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Homebrewing, The Features
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Homebrew DC: Uniquely American

Photo courtesy of Poncho Equihua
Hops and Yeast, lupulos & levaduras
courtesy of Poncho Equihua

This is another in a series of articles about homebrewing in the DC area by Carl Weaver of RealHomebrew.com. Want to learn about making your own beer? Keep an eye out for Friday homebrew features.

America’s biggest contribution to the beer world, at least in my opinion, is a very good jumping-off point for homebrew: the American ale. It is safe to say that the majority of beer enthusiasts have enjoyed an ale at one time or another. Despite the commercial popularity of pilsners in America, the craft brew community has brought about a rebirth of this uniquely American style.

American ales are generally a bit more hoppy than their cousins from across the pond and often have a bit higher percent alcohol by volume (ABV). A great deal of the unique hoppiness is due to the floral and citrus characteristics of the hops grown in the United States, especially those developed in California and the Pacific Northwest. In addition to the increased hop characteristics, American ales are generally medium bodied with a lighter malt flavor than than European-style ales. Some of the more notable American ale styles are the American pale, amber, brown, and IPA.

Let’s get brewing!  Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: April 6-8

Photo courtesy of ekelly80
102/365
courtesy of ekelly80

 

Carl: Friday night holds a bit of a wind-down from the week’s activities as I draw a pint off my new draft system and plan my wood-aged beer I will make next month. On Saturday night I will hang out with the lovely and talented Jenn, and then on Sunday I will go to Beautiful Girlfriend’s cousin’s place for Easter dinner. I hope they have circus peanut salad. It’s just not Easter without circus peanut salad. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Plants and Animals

 

photo credit: Laura Totten

Plants and Animals are a post-rock trio from Canada, currently based in Montreal. Their energetic, guitar-driven indie sound has garnered them acclaim and recognition from the likes of Paste, Filter, and Nylon, among others. They are currently on tour of the US and Canada, and are making a stop at DC’s Red Palace this Friday, April 6th. WeLoveDC’s Alexia Kauffman got a chance to chat with guitarist Nic Basque, and here’s what he had to say.

Alexia Kauffman: How’s your tour going?

Nic Basque: Oh, it’s going well! We’ve done a few shows where we’re from, in Montreal, Quebec, and we went to South by Southwest, and now we’re on the West Coast, driving to Portland.

Alexia: How did South by Southwest go for you?

Nic: It was great! A bit insane, but we got lucky. Our label and management company organized a showcase in a church, so it was pretty calm, and we had good sound. That was great. And we did a couple of bar shows, and those were fun too. I think it was the first time we traveled there with a sound engineer, and that made a huge difference. We were a bit more in control, so that was great. But it was insane!

Alexia: I’ve heard it’s like totally nuts! Did you have any favorite moments while you were there?

Nic: Well the show was fun, and we went to a Mexican place we go every time where they have avocado margaritas- that was fun. We saw some friends too…In terms of shows we didn’t see much except for the showcase. It’s so weird the conditions that bands are playing, that it’s tough to really enjoy bands there. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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What the Nats need this season

Photo courtesy of oddlittlebird.
HR!
courtesy of oddlittlebird.

The Nationals begin their 2012 season today at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the second oldest of all of the parks still in use. They’ll return to their own friendly confines at Nationals Park, the fifth youngest of the parks. As the “newest” of the franchises, they still have much to prove, and their first few years in the District have not been as successful as many would have hoped. The battle for the hearts and mind of the DC area hasn’t been an easy one for the team, having lost many locals due to a bitter stadium fight, and others with a lackluster franchise performance.

In the off-season, the Nationals shored up their pitching, and have assembled one of the finer rotations in the National League.  Over the last three years, they’ve built a fine minor league system, and revamped the attractions at Nationals Park, to include some innovative options. What the Nationals need to develop this year is their fan base. A trip to Verizon Center this past weekend would have revealed what DC’s fans can do when they’re excited and wound up, and everyone who was there said it was the loudest game they’d heard in some time. The question is: can the Nats engender that sort of loyalty in the fan base this season?

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Taming of the Shrew

Irina Tsikurishvili as Katherine, Ryan Sellers as Petruchio, Alex Mills as Grumio in Synetic Theater's Taming of the Shrew. Photo credit: Johnny Shyrock.

Synetic Theater takes Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and beautifully reinvents it – not as a “problem play” about women being subjugated to men, but as a love story between two people desperately trying to cast off their masks and rise above the damage of broken trust. It’s effectively rescued from the misogynist dustbin in a rollicking ninety minutes, performed with all the sexy aplomb of an Italian fashion show on acid.

The production also sees the apex of choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili’s skill, where movement is flawlessly integrated to characterization and plot. Allowing not only for the usual expected moments of Synetic athleticism, but also for quiet beauty that’s truly human, this is dance theater at its finest.

Opening with a funeral to pinpoint the heartbreak of two motherless women, director Paata Tsikurishvili frames the story in a helpful way that provides motivation for both sisters’ acting out. While older Katherine (Irina Tsikurishvili) explodes in caustic rage at paparazzi, the younger Bianca (Irina Kavsadze) struts and pouts for the tabloids. Into their hollow lives come two men completely outside the flash – earnest Lucentio (Scott Brown) and rebellious Petruchio (Ryan Sellers).

Oh, there’s also a wink to Victoria’s Secret catwalk shows, a hair-raising motorcycle ride, nude modeling, body paint, and a rubber chicken. Irreverent? Definitely. But always in service to the story.
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We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Strange Interlude

Rachel Spencer Hewitt as Madeline Arnold and Joe Short as Gordon Evans in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Strange Interlude, directed by Michael Kahn. Photo by Scott Suchman.

Before there was Herman’s Head there was Eugene O’Neill and Strange Interlude.

Wait, where are you going? Come back!

Okay, sorry, sorry – I get it, comparing a B-level 90s sitcom to the Pulitzer-winning work of a nobel laureate is maybe a little jarring. The Shakespeare Theater Company’s production of Strange Interlude is certainly a far cry better than the show that brought us such masterful dialog as “regret is a rough sheet to sleep on,” but they’re both trying to do the same thing: give the viewer a peek behind the curtain of what a person says, shows, and implies and instead convey every exact thought.

Michael Kahn trimmed the notoriously long play himself and directed this cast, providing us with a snappy, funny, clever, compelling, riveting, tragic story of people living the lives of quiet desperation that Thoreau described. O’Neill wanted to expose us to that song rather than just see the reflection of it around the edges and STC’s production does it beautifully. It might be longest show I have ever seen in the Harman and may also be the one that felt the shortest.

In the spirit of the play I’ll be explicit: I really loved it.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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Greek Easter at Zaytinya

Photo courtesy of Greg Powers

Spit-roasts and cocktails? Get me to the Greek! Restaurant that is…

Starting this Sunday, Zaytinya, one of my Jose Andres favorites, is offering a special lamb-festive menu to celebrate the Easter holiday and all things spring (hence the beautiful green accents on every dish). Regardless of what Gods we do or don’t praise, Easter is a time for gathering over a lot of food, while drinking hair of the dog (or what I call a standard Sunday), and who better than the Greeks to give us a taste of their cultural heritage to live by.

Photo courtesy of Greg Powers

If you are a lamb lover-crafty cocktail sipping-date kinda guy/gal, the ten-course ‘Chef’s Experience’ has your name written all over it. A ten-course meal designed by Chef Michael Costa showcases a variety of dishes that speak to the versatility of the good old lamb, and highlight the chef’s own ability to take a classic dish and add a modern twist (case in point- Asparagus Salata, aka, the upgraded tzatziki – a combination of white asparagus, green asparagus, pistachios, microgreens, and lemon). Other standouts included Arni me Sparangia, spit-roasted lamb shoulder with asparagus, ladolemono and dill; Mayiritsa, traditional Easter soup with lamb’s liver, caramelized onions, short grain rice, egg and lemon broth (and I thought I wasn’t into offal); Spanakorizo, rice pilaf with wilted spinach and tomatoes, spinach puree, preserved cherry tomatoes and feta.

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Sports Fix
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Ramos, Desmond Can’t Power Nats Past Red Sox

Photo courtesy of MudflapDC
Danny close-up
courtesy of MudflapDC

This Spring Training Danny Espinosa struggled to the tune of .241/.302/.342 with 26 strikeouts in 79 at bats, and just as it looked like he was going to end the Spring on a good note things turned sour. With two outs and Desmond having walked and stolen second ahead of Espinosa’s single it looked like the Nats had either ended their last exhibition game in a tie or sent it to extra innings, but that was not to be as Desmond was thrown out at the plate by Jason Repko to end the game and give the Red Sox the hard fought 8-7 victory over the Nationals.

This last Spring Training game for the Nationals came with many twists and turns, but the biggest might have been what happened off the field. Around the third inning Davey Johnson informed John Lannan that he would not be getting on the plane headed to Chicago with the rest of the team. Instead John Lannan was sent to Syracuse. This decision was not made lightly and it wasn’t made because Lannan pitched poorly in the Spring. The decision was made because Ross Detwiler pitched that much better than John Lannan and had earned the fifth spot in the Nationals rotation.

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We Love Arts, We Love Music
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We Love Arts: The Adventures of Prince Achmed

YouTube Preview Image

For three days only – with two now remaining – Constellation Theater Company brings you Tom Teasley, performing live accompaniment to the almost 90-year-old animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. It’s a blast, and the best $20 you’ll pay for a musical performance this year.

Admittedly, on a beautiful day like today you might wish this was going on out at the lawn at Wolf Trap. But any longing you have to be anywhere else should pretty well disappear within about five minutes of the lights going out. The initial hook for me was “oldest surviving animated film,” but after a few minutes of admiring the techniques I found myself engrossed in the story.

Photo courtesy of Kevin H.
Cartoon
courtesy of Kevin H.

Teasley’s music takes a good deal of credit for that. His middle-eastern inspired sound melds some afro-rhythms, in particular when the African wizard is on screen. Through it all it’s a guided improv piece; when I asked during the subsequent Q&A why he’d choose to do a live piece rather than a single recording the answer was short and to the point. “I’m a jazz musician,” Teasley said, and that informs all his choices.

The subsequent Q&A was almost as entertaining as the performance itself. Teasley quipped about why he’s do this in conjunction with Constellation, in comparison to past collaborations when he provided scores for performances. “The actors keep talking over my music.” We were treated to a bit of talk about his collaborations and nowhere near enough show-and-tell about the array of instruments he pilots through the piece.

If you go it’s possible you’ll hear an entirely new array of information; the post-show session is open for questions from the audience, so if something else is more in your wheelhouse you’re free to ask. All indications are that Teasley will answer. His passion and enthusiasm for the work comes through and it’s obviously dear to him. After an hour of never getting a moment’s rest while accompanying the film it would have to be.

Tickets are still available on the Constellation website, and if you enjoy the sound from the clip above I would highly encourage you to go.

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 3/30-4/1

Photo courtesy of pablo.raw
Samurai
courtesy of pablo.raw

So, how was the weekend in DC? I really don’t know because I’m still out of town. Judging by the pictures below, it looked lovely; full of kites, flowers, and people. Or are the pictures deceiving? Either way it is, be sure to check out the stellar collection of weekend photos. They’ll keep the “Mondays” at bay for just a little bit longer. And if that doesn’t work, try to get through the Lost Woods of Kenilworth in the 8-bit Washington. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Five Observations About The New-Look Wizards

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Nene, Jordan Crawford
courtesy of Keith Allison

It’s been awhile since I went down to the Verizon Center to check out the Washington Professional Basketball Team. Last night I went down to Chinatown to see Nene in person for the first time he arrived to the team in a trade-deadline deal that drastically reshaped the team. The look of the Wizards is now closer to the long-term vision that the franchise hopes to make reality. By shedding the ill-fitting pieces in JaVale McGee and Nick Young and gaining quality character in Nene, the team can now focus on developing their young core and acquiring more pieces in the upcoming draft (where they will most likely have a high pick).

Now the addition of Nene hasn’t changed the team overnight, with only 14 games left to play heading into Friday’s game against Philadelphia the team was in the midst of a five-game losing streak. However there were a few things that I saw and liked about the Wizards that helped them beat the 76ers 97-76.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: iMusical Time Machine

Washington Improv Theatre’s “iMusical” has been a long-standing staple to the theatre’s slate of rotating productions. For several years the improvised musical has taken on new formats and wrinkles and the latest includes a trip back in time.

Last weekend I visited The Source on 14th street to see what happens when a group not only has to create comedic material on the fly but also add a little song and dance as well.

The show starts with the selection of the time period, which was done by a random audience member who chose among four mystery cards. In the show I attended the ensemble was sent back… to the future!

After collecting suggestions of futuristic themes and ideas (rocket ships and really small iPods), the ensemble got to work in creating a musical about a two families who become separated from their sons. Because it was in the future it was only appropriate that one family consisted of a brazen space explorer father and a half-human, half-cylon mother.

Things certainly got interesting that night.

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The Features
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Google Maps Quest Mode turns DC into Zelda

It’s hard not to love April Fools’ Day at Google, where the good jokes actually get made, but today’s Google Maps 8-bit Edition gag actually turns DC into a Zelda-esque collaboration of awesome, with special glyphs for the Washington Monument and White House, as well as Google’s office on K Street, all pictured above.

Don’t forget to jump into street view, where all the pictures are rendered in perfectly crisp 8-bit display, perfect for your Nintendo.

We’ve added a couple shots below the cut here of the best parts of DC.

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Entertainment, Food and Drink, The Features
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ARTINI Week Four Feature Nights

Cocktail created by Alexandra Bookless of The Passenger for ARTINI 2012. Inspired by Rob Fischer's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" 2008. Photo by Dan Swartz

ARTINI 2012 is tomorrow night! Eleven talented bartenders have created cocktails inspired by works in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Every Friday the We Love DC drinks team wrapped up the week’s feature nights with reviews of each ARTINI entry, to culminate at the (sold-out) gala on March 31st. Check out our notes from Week One, Week Two and Week Three, and find out what we thought of the final week.

ARTINI 10: Alexandra Bookless, The Passenger
Inspiration: Rob Fischer’s “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” 2008
Reviewer: Fedward

Alexandra Bookless, bar manager at the Passenger, has gotten where she is by having an encyclopedic knowledge of classic cocktail recipes combined with an excellent palate that allows her to create new twists on just about anything based on a customer’s mood. Approaching cocktail recipes as formulas (which I have pointed out before are magic) makes it possible to see where a substitution here or an extra ingredient there will create something all-new (or at least something that hasn’t been printed in a hundred different recipe books).

All of that is a really long winded way to say that if the Dance tastes kind of like a Margarita to you, well, that’s because it takes off from the Margarita formula. Served in a tall glass, the Dance takes its inspiration from Rob Fisher’s sculpture titled They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. Continue reading →