Category Archives: The Features

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

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Art of Video Games

Photo courtesy of mosley.brian
We Love DC – Art of Video Games – 03-15-12 07
courtesy of mosley.brian

I promise, once you’re done reading this article, you’re going to want to dust off your Atari 2600, or NES, or PS1, or whatever was your first video game system, and play all the games you grew up with. That was my reaction, and I have the couple of hours I lost playing The Legend of Zelda last Saturday to prove it.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum opened their new exhibit, the Art of Video Games, with a big festival this past weekend. If you missed it, don’t worry; the real festival, the exhibit itself, is far from over, as it is going to be running until September 30th. Employing some impressive, and modern, multi-media tools, the museum has put together a truly engaging art exhibit of some very influencial, but generally overlooked, modern art. Namely, video games.  Continue reading →

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

Basil Twist's production of Petrushka at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Richard Termine.

I’ve lost my heart to a clown.

It took less than an hour to be seduced by his madcap ways, his shining eyes like fiery coals, pleading for my adoration as he leapt over the stage – hovering magically, springing about with elastic grace.

Too bad he’s in love with someone else. She doesn’t deserve him. Oh, did I mention he’s a puppet? That’s probably a deal breaker too.

It’s a testament to the puppeteers’ skill that even during a post-performance demonstration of what goes on backstage, I still didn’t notice them. I tried, but they infuse the puppets themselves with so much life that it’s nearly impossible. That’s the power of Basil Twist‘s production of Petrushka. Words like joyful, exuberant, and humorous all spring about the mind like the puppets themselves, in perfect symbiosis with their masterful manipulators.

It’s inspired by the famous Ballet Russes production of Stravinsky’s score. That original clown was brought to life by the brilliant and damaged Vaslav Nijinsky, and this puppet Petrushka has enough nods to iconic images of Nijinksy’s performance and others in the Ballet Russes canon to please ardent balletomanes. Hauntingly beautiful from the beginning, it’s also a quick night of theater that enthralled the few children in the audience and took the rest of us back to those happy, pure days ruled by imagination.

Since this is a limited engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (part of the Basil Twist Festival D.C.) closing on March 25, I’ll be blunt: go see it.  Continue reading →

Adventures, Cherry Blossom Festival, Downtown, Special Events, The Features
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Celebrating 100 Years of Blossoms

Photo courtesy of katieharbath
Cherry Blossoms
courtesy of katieharbath
It’s cherry blossom time! This year is the Centennial anniversary of Japan’s gifting of the cherry trees to the U.S. and the National Cherry Blossom Festival has planned a whopping five weeks of events to celebrate. While the festival officially kicks off this coming Sunday, some events are already unfolding this week – not to mention we’re smack in the middle of the peak bloom time of the trees.

We’ll provide you a weekly listing of events here on WeLoveDC so you can keep up with all the fantastic offerings. There’s so much going on for the Centennial that we can promise there’s something for everyone! (And don’t forget to drop your photos into our Flickr pool!)

Tonight is the sold-out 2012 Pink Tie Party at the Mayflower Renaissance. Chefs José Andrés and Roy Yamaguchi, innovators in the culinary community, will host the evening, exemplifying the international collaboration and creativity at the heart of the Festival. The sixth annual fundraiser and kick-off to the Centennial Celebration and the “season of the blossoms” will feature area chefs’ spring-, cherry- and blossom-inspired cuisine and cocktails. An auction contributes to the Festival’s fundraising efforts offering everything from weekend getaways and yacht charters to concert, sporting, dining, and theater experiences and blossom- and Japanese-themed jewelry and apparel. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of theqspeaks
FDR Room Four
courtesy of theqspeaks

One of the benefits of doing a long exposure is that you are able to capture motion in a still photograph. Think about that for a moment; it sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t? But then you have pictures like the one above from theqspeaks, which is of one of the more dramatic fountains in the FDR Memorial along the Tidal Basin. The water is both frozen and moving within this two second exposure, giving a new perspective on the fountain, splashes and all. As well, the blacks of the rocks contrast well against the white of the water. All around an excellent photo!

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Ah, Wilderness!


Photo: Scott Suchman

Nostalgia has been on the minds of Americans more than ever. Pop culture junkies are writing about it, those disillusioned by our current economic times are looking back to sunnier days, and Hollywood is playing to our nostalgic tastes more than ever with remakes and reboots of shows and films of yesteryear.

This isn’t a new phenomena, in 1932 Eugene O’Neill wrote “Ah, Wilderness!” as a fond look back to the mood and world he grew up in as a teenager. It is a certainly a world viewed with rose-colored lenses, O’Neill grew up in a less than perfect home full of alcoholism and philandering yet in Arena Stage’s production we are presented with a more idyllic vision: a warm, fuzzy home where the mood is relaxed like a night sitting on the porch sipping an iced tea.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Hank 3 @ 930 Club, 3/15/2012

all photos by Matthew Carroll unless otherwise noted

Hank 3  is a musical maniac. Last Thursday night at the 930 club he played over three and a half hours of music spanning four genres, with only one five-minute break. Hank 3 and his band tore the roof off of the club with their breakneck paced country and Hellbilly sets, and then he and his drummer charged on with the progressively darker and weirder sludge/doom/metal and Cattlecore sets, ending the show after midnight.

http://matthewthomascarroll.com/

With no opening act, Hank 3 and his crew of outlaws started off the night right on time, playing their rowdy, rough-and-tumble style of country music to a pretty full club. The audience was ready to get down, and band led the way on stage, beginning with the super-charged “Straight To Hell.” The song, a boot-stompin’, barroom sing-along stirred the crowd up and showcased the virtuosic playing of fiddle player Adam McOwen. The pace never really slowed down for the next hour and a half (or more), as they charged through twenty-six songs in the country set.

  Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 3/16-3/18

Photo courtesy of Columbia Heights Climber
spring
courtesy of Columbia Heights Climber

It was one of those great weekends that make it awesome to live in DC! Whether you were running a marathon, celebrating Irish Day, avoiding the people celebrating Irish Day, admiring the cherry blossom blooming, playing on an Atari 2600 in the Kogod Courtyard, or just going for a walk with the great weather, it was simply marvelous. Our photo contributors certainly found stuff to do, so check it out below.  Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features
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ARTINI: Week Two Feature Nights

Ronald Flores of Art and Soul's cocktail for ARTINI 2012. Photo credit: Dan Swartz. Courtesy of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

ARTINI 2012 is underway! Twelve** Eleven talented bartenders have created cocktails inspired by works in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Every Friday the We Love DC drinks team will wrap up the week’s feature nights with reviews of each artini entry, to culminate at the gala on March 31st. We kicked off Week One last Friday; let’s see what Week Two had at the bar.

ARTINI 4: Jon Arroyo, Founding Farmers
Inspiration: Behind Every Good Man, Nina Chanel Abney, 2010, acrylic on canvas
Reviewer: Moses

What kind of beverage can be inspired by one of the hottest young American artists, Nina Chanel Abney? Abney was named to Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” this year, and her work starred in the Corcoran’s “30 Americans” exhibit this past autumn. Abney’s Behind Every Good Man depicts her characteristic mask-like facial imagery and buzz of sexual energy, creating an unsettling scene, where one look captures both terror and resignation. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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Mr Daisey and the Imperiled Woolly Mammoth Run?

That’s the bomb This American Life just dropped on the web, perhaps not so coincidentally the same day as the new iPad hits the streets. The impact for DC is a little farther out: specifically, July 17th when “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” is scheduled to return to Woolly Mammoth.

Agony is the source material for the TaL episode and it’s a powerful piece; I saw it in previews and Patrick reviewed it when it came back in full release. I don’t know what was in the piece in its final form, but when I saw it there was even an explicit statement as part of the dialog where Mike Daisey says “I am not a journalist.” A statement he’s repeated today as part of his response to this development.

Whether or not that’s enough, or baloney, or a completely reasonable response, I have no idea yet. I’m looking forward to hearing the TaL piece and a detail of what is and isn’t factual in regards to Daisey’s time in China. Personally I’m uncomfortable with any piece that presents something as fact when it may be an embellishment or a composite, but not everyone agrees. Plenty of biopics come out of Hollywood that do it every year and the conflict can be seen in stark black and white in the new book The Lifespan of a Fact. In it John D’Agata’s resistance to an article fact-checker who took issue with his playing fast and loose in his “lyrical essay” takes on comically excessive proportions.

I do know that the portions of Daisey’s show that detailed events I was very familiar with – the early days in Silicon Valley – were accurate in relating the stories behind the early days of Apple,  Micro-Soft (as they were then named) and others. They might have been “lyricized” but I couldn’t tell from my recollection – if they were, it was in the manner of Monet where the up-close details might not make sense but the picture from afar was perfectly representative of the truth.

I’m curious to see what the TaL revelations are and eager to hear what Woolly Mammoth has to say about it. As I finish this I haven’t heard back from them yet. I expect they’re huddled up trying to decide what to do, or perhaps waiting as the rest of us are for the TaL details. I’d wager the show will go on, with perhaps a statement on the matter.

Update: Woolly Mammoth stated to DCist’s Ben Freed on twitter that Daisey’s July appearance is still on. A certain chief editor here wryly commented “hell, if I were them I’d extend.”

Downtown, Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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Celtic Air: Moya Brennan

Photo courtesy of Marvin (PA)
Moya Brennan – Triskell – Trieste
courtesy of Marvin (PA)

What better way to truly celebrate the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day than to join a céilidh? Since such intimate gatherings are a bit tough to come by here in the DC area, the next best thing would be going to National Geographic and immersing yourself into the music of Moya Brennan. On her last stop of a brief U.S. tour, Moya will be filling the air with her ethereal voice and Irish and Gaelic music tradition.

Known best as the front singer for Clannad, Moya’s solo career has flourished over the last two decades. (My wife – herself of strong Irish heritage – and I have been a fan of her music since Moya’s first solo album Máire, which came out in 1992.) Bono of U2 describes her as “one of the greatest voices the human ear has ever experienced.” Her seemingly otherworldly voice mixed with her mastery of Irish and Gaelic musical traditions have made her into a master of taking traditional, cultural music and making it “new” for the modern age.

I had the extremely blessed opportunity to chat with her about her life, traditions, music, and Saturday’s sold out concert. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Trade McGee and Young For Nene In Three-Team Deadline Trade

As the NBA Trade Deadline loomed, it appeared that the Wizards would not be able to make a deal. The Wizards have tried desperately to move team headache and fan boo favorite Andray Blatche but couldn’t find anyone to take him. The team had made it known that they would be open to trading anybody but John Wall if they would take Blatche as well. In essence Blatche became the Shipping and Handling for any deal an NBA team would make with the Wizards. Unable to move Blatche, the team looked to make changes elsewhere. According to NBA sources, the Wizards traded JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to the Denver Nuggets for Nene. Also involved in the deal are the Los Angeles Clippers who will sent Brian Cook and a future second-round pick to Washington for Nick Young.

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Mar 16-18

Photo courtesy of maxedaperture
Cold Blooded Video Game Killer
courtesy of maxedaperture

I’m going to spoil the big surprise for you: Fedward intends to be at the Passenger this Sunday. Even less surprising is that a lot of us intend to enjoy the out-of-doors as Spring has super-sprung and we’re looking at a mostly dry and very pleasant weekend. If you want more specifics you’ll have to read on…

Mosley: Video Games. That’s my weekend.  More specifically, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition, the Art of the Video Game, is opening this weekend.  And to kick off the opening, the museum is holding Game Fest, a three day festival of activities celebrating the opening of the exhibition.  The schedule of events looks AMAZING, so I highly recommend going; be on the lookout for a review next week.  Other than that, I’m going down to the Tidal Basin and Haines Point to check out the Cherry Blossoms before they’re gone.  Again, I highly recommend going.

Photo courtesy of vpickering
Cupid’s Undie Run 2012
courtesy of vpickering

Addison: Saturday morning I’m running the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon. After that, sleep, lots of sleep. Maybe some bourbon and ice (for my legs). Then more sleep.

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Maggie Dempsey

MaggieDempseyHeadshot
Photo by: Jessica Neumann Photography

Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament, FIST, Commissioner Maggie Dempsey took some time to chat with me about her role organizing and maintaining the largest improv tournament in D.C. ever. This month, the Washington Improv Theater is having their Sixth Annual FIST with 58 teams competing and over 170 people performing. The tournament started March 8 and will be going on until April 7 where an improv trio will be victorious and a huge party will ensue; however, in the meantime Maggie is in the middle keeping everything in check. Continue reading →

Interviews, Penn Quarter, People, Special Events, The Features
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Scribblings: Max Holland

Photo courtesy of cliff1066�
Richard Nixon, Time cover April 30, 1973, “The Watergate Scandal”
courtesy of cliff1066�

On Friday, March 16, join author Max Holland for a look at Mark Felt, the FBI official behind “Deep Throat,” the secretive whistleblower of the Watergate scandal. Holland will be speaking at the International Spy Museum from noon until 2 p.m. on his latest book, Leak: Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat.

Best known through Hal Holbrook’s portrayal in the film version of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s All the President’s Men, Felt was regarded for decades as a conscientious but highly secretive whistleblower who shunned the limelight. Yet even after he finally revealed his identity in 2005, questions about his true motivations persisted.

Max Holland has found the missing piece of that Deep Throat puzzle—one that’s been hidden in plain sight all along. He reveals for the first time in detail what truly motivated the FBI’s number-two executive to become the most fabled secret source in American history. In the process, he directly challenges Felt’s own explanations while also demolishing the legend fostered by Woodward and Bernstein’s bestselling account. Continue reading →

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


Photo: Scott Suchman

My favorite moment of last night’s opening of Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Warner Theatre was at the top of the show after an opening graphic in the familiar Monty Python animation style.

As King Arthur (Arthur Rowan) comes “galloping in” with his trusty porter Patsy (Michael J Berry) who is clapping two coconut halves for effect, the packed house cheered and applauded. What followed was a familiar exchange for anybody that’s seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

GUARD: Where did you get the coconuts?

ARTHUR: We found them.

GUARD: Found them? In Mercea. The coconut’s tropical!

ARTHUR: What do you mean?

GUARD: Well, this is a temperate zone.

ARTHUR: The swallow may fly south with the sun, or the housemartin or the plover may seek warmer lands in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land.

GUARD : Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

ARTHUR: Not at all. They could be carried.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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Sneak Peek: SŪNA Pop-up

The pop-up restaurant phenomenon is taking over DC, but if you are looking for a place to pop your taste bud cherry, here it is. From March 21-25, three incredibly young and talented chefs are taking over the new Living Social event space for a unique culinary collaboration to showcase what they have in store for us at their upcoming restaurant, SŪNA. The triple threat team is made up of Chefs Johnny Spero (Komi and Townhouse), Erik Bruner-Yang (Toki Underground), and Ari Gejdenson (Acqua Al 2). SŪNA, due to open at the end of this year in Eastern Market, will offer Spero’s unique perspective on modern progressive cuisine that reflects both his professional and personal experiences. I was invited for a sneak peek of the pop-up menu and witnessed firsthand how chef Johnny Spero literally creates art, of the tastiest kind, on a plate. Not only are the dishes aesthetically beautiful, but they are also creative, delicious, and given the same attention in every detail. This is what a pop-up experience should be made of– energy, dedication, innovation.

Chef Johnny Spero will be spearheading the SŪNA project and continuing his strong focus on sustainability, supporting local farms and cooking seasonally as he and his co-chefs develop the menu and concept. Chef Spero’s culinary resume is impressive; he worked at Komi here in the District and Townhouse in Virginia, and has traveled the globe to stage at some of the best restaurants, including NOMA in Denmark (oh hey, it was rated #1 in the world), and spent a week at Alinea in Chicago.

Tickets to this coveted culinary event are priced at $120 and include an 8-course meal with 4 pairings. For a visual tasting of what to expect from it, read (and drool) on…

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Hank 3

all photos courtesy of Hank3
Shelton Hank Williams, III, who now goes by Hank 3, is a rebel and an outlaw in the music world. The grandson of country music legend Hank Williams, and son of pop-country singer Hank Williams, Jr., Hank 3 has always gone against the grain. He refuses to conform to one style of music, or any set of rules, and tries to set himself apart, make his own name for himself. He recently broke free from the shackles of his former record label, Curb Records. In what could be seen as his declaration of independence he recorded and released four albums simultaneously on his own label- Hank 3 Records. Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown is a double LP of Hank 3’s blend of country music, Attention Deficit Domination is his tribute to sludge/stoner/doom-rock, and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin features Hank 3’s newly created genre- Cattlecore, a blend of auctioneer vocals and hardcore metal guitar. He is on tour now supporting the four records, and will bring his ambitious production to the 930 club this Thursday, March 15th.
 
We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman got to chat with Hank 3 over the weekend, and here’s what he had to say.
 
Alexia Kauffman:  When you were growing up what music moved you; what were some formative artists for you growing up?
 
Hank 3: Heart, Ted Nugent, ZZ Top, KISS, Walt Disney. Queen, Adam Ant, Gary Numan, April Wine, all kinds of stuff.
 
Continue reading →
Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of TheRobbStory
U Street/Cardozo Metro
courtesy of TheRobbStory

The brutalist architecture of Metro stations; there really aren’t any better examples of the style in the city. TheRobbStory does a great job of capturing the angular features of the station’s vault, and the vanishing point at the end of the platform adds a pinch of mystery. And for an added, modern touch, the curving lines of the escalator compliments everything. I bet you’ll notice all this the next time you’re in a Metro station.

Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Kaiser Chiefs @ 9:30 Club — 3/9/12

Photo courtesy of sergione infuso
Kaiser Chiefs @ Magazzini Generali, Milano – 13 novembre 2011
courtesy of sergione infuso

Could it be? Could it be that you’re joking with me and you don’t really see you with me?

The Kaiser Chiefs weren’t joking at all as they pummeled the sold-out 9:30 Club Friday night with a one-two punch in a testosterone-fueled new wave rampage. The lads from Leeds (UK) never missed a beat as they rocked out through songs about hanging out with their fellows, scoffing at the lack of intelligence among the masses, and questioning the veracity of women, the best testosterone booster without a doubth.

I always absolutely loved the music of the Kaiser Chiefs after being introduced to the upbeat songs from their first album Employment, which skillfully married punk sensibilities to new wave dance tunes. The Kaiser Chiefs delivered great advice for men by men on that album: watch your back, love your friends, mind your diet, and keep a wary eye on women. Indeed, the band writes music primarily for men while many of their new wave contemporaries create music for girls.

Continue reading →