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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Nationals drop game to Orioles 7-4, end streak at 8

Photo courtesy of
‘Moon over Nationals Park’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

Streaks are hard things.

Streaks take you out of seeing the Big Picture, and they change your focus to the tiny reality of the streak.  Streaks of either kind aren’t microcosms, they’re localized disruptions of the normal. As a good friend said Sunday, “Losing streaks are the result of talent, while winning streaks are the result of luck.”

The Nationals came into Sunday’s game riding as high as they’ve been all season, winners of eight straight and 10 of their last 13. They didn’t hardly look like the same team on the field on Sunday. Maybe they indulged a bit too much at Saturday night’s Dream Foundation Gala, but the Nats just couldn’t get it going. 3 errors, and some rough plate appearances were their undoing, and they dropped the game, and the streak, in a 7-3 loss in front of 35,439.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats rack up 8 in 7th straight win, beat Orioles 8-4

Jayson Werth makes contact

Photos by Patrick Pho, special to We Love DC

Oh, for a real crosstown rivalry.

The Nationals came into the Battle of the Beltways (or whatever they’re calling it this year) on a tear, having won six straight, and having just swept the formerly hot Cardinals. Tonight, they put their best starter on the mound against a slumping Baltimore team, and the damnedest thing happened.  The Orioles ganged up for a dozen hits off Marquis, but only plated four runs. They’d pick up another half dozen against the Nationals’ bullpen, but couldn’t strike again, while the Nationals picked up 8 runs on just 10 hits, striking for 7 runs on 6 hits in the fifth and sixth innings.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Quanta Robinson of Black’s Bar and Kitchen (Part 2)

Black's Bar and Kitchen-10
‘Black’s Bar and Kitchen-10’
‘courtesy of spiggycat‘

Summertime rolls around and if you’re like me and have a kitchen that turns into a sauna from June through September, you want to spend as little time as possible over the stove. That’s not to say that you’re willing to sacrifice having a good meal. After the jump, you’ll find chef Quanta Robinson’s recipe for Malt Mussels with Frites (read: french fries). It’s straightforward and doesn’t take a ton of time to cook. Plus who doesn’t love a brothy bowl of mussels with a good chunk of crusty bread or frites?
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Weekend Edition


courtesy of Iceage.

There are more live music options than you can count on two hands happening around town and beyond this weekend. To help you cut the chaff, we’ve cooked up some concert recommendations that can’t miss. Read on about four upcoming shows that have the We Love DC stamp of approval!

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Quanta Robinson of Black’s Bar and Kitchen (Part 1)

Black's Bar and Kitchen-17
‘Black’s Bar and Kitchen-17‘
‘courtesy of spiggycat‘

A lot of people will say that food can open up a whole new world for a person, be it a new world of flavors and ingredients or insight into a foreign culture. Quanta Robinson, executive chef at Black’s Bar and Kitchen in Bethesda, sees it as her job to open people’s minds with cooking.

“It’s rewarding to hear, ‘I would never have tried ‘blank,’ but I did and I liked it,” she says. Quanta says that sometimes it’s as easy as changing the seasoning or the approach to a dish or particular ingredient, in order to get people to try something new (and like it). “I’m horrible with change, so I know it’s hard to break out of a comfort zone,” she jokes. But when a server or a guest at Black’s tells her that they enjoyed a dish they never thought they would, that’s when she can smile and cherish a “small victory.” “A lot of people aren’t chance-y or they’re picky, so it’s about making those people leave happy,” she says.
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Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Beirut @ Black Cat, 6/14/11

Photo courtesy of
‘Zach Condon’
courtesy of ‘ElfieTakesPictures’

Zach Condon breezes on stage before the sold-out audience with his shirt-sleeves rolled up and smiles as he takes his spot in the center. To either side of him are the five other musicians who make up the current line-up of Beirut, sharing amongst the six of them about a dozen instruments, but this one-time solo bedroom project remains clearly Condon’s band and he looks comfortable in the starring role.

Beirut’s distinctively lush and exotically-influenced style is recreated beautifully live. One notices early in the set that Condon really, truly sings more than the average male indie vocalist – and when he does it is stunning. Presumably honed by years of projecting out over the massive crowds on the European festival circuit, he fills the Black Cat with his voice. When not singing, he alternates between six-string ukelele and trumpet and, at one point, switched to piano.

There is a sophistication to the whole band’s performance that set it apart. There is a trope in concert reviewing to describe musicians as having “raw energy” or “blistering power.” That is not Beirut. Which is by no means to say they lack emotional intensity or seem unenthusiastic about live performance. Instead, the band simply seems rehearsed – not surprising given the time they have spent with the majority of the night’s songs at this point – and genuinely musically proficient and talented.
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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: June 19-20, 2011

Photo courtesy of
‘Another Pass’
courtesy of ‘qr7d88 (Alex)’

Rachel: I’m embarking upon a self-imposed stay-cation for the weekend and will be hiding away in my studio apartment. What will I be doing? Turning off all electronic devices, sticking a guitar in my hands along with a pen and paper on the side, and writing. My goal is to come away with at least one solid song from the process and a lot of additional material to continue to work on as time progresses. If I weren’t tucked away in songwriter’s solitude, I’d likely find myself at Kramer’s — which happens often on the weekends — for a bagel and lox on Saturday. I’ve also been trying to stay active now that I have my mountain bike, so I’d like to scope out some good riding paths around town that are as far away from major streets as possible. When I need a break from music making, my bike will take me somewhere to clear my cluttered head. Any suggestions of where to ride? Leave ’em in the comments!

Brittany: On Thursday, I am heading to the Black Cat (second time this week) to see charming English twee-pop outfit Allo Darlin’. I really am terribly twee, after all. Friday night, I will be stopping by the headquarters of The Dunes LLC in Columbia Heights for a fashion-photography exhibit closing party, featuring a few vintage and boutique vendors to shop while partying – including my beloved Ginger Root. I cannot stay very late though, because I have to wake up rather early to embark on a mini-road trip up to Brooklyn. This will call for a coffee stop at SOVA or Peregrine before I drive anywhere. My companion and I will devote the rest of our weekend to an intense schedule of seeing friends, shopping, drinking awesome cocktails, and, possibly, the McQueen exhibit.

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The Features
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Scandal Tracker, DC Council Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Grand Larceny vs. Petty Larceny; Or, Political Justice Exemplified’
courtesy of ‘Cornell University Library’

Let’s see if we can do some yeoman’s work tracking where we are with a lot of the political scandals that are currently underway here in the District relating just to District Operations. If we had to handle Congressional and Executive scandals, this post would be too long for anyone to digest, so let’s keep politics local, shall we?


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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Dawes/M.Ward/Bright Eyes @ Wolf Trap, 6/11/11

bright_eyes
Bright Eyes photo courtesy of Wolf Trap.

We recruited Alexia Kauffman to hike out to Wolf Trap and cover this show for us.

Saturday night the audience at Wolf Trap heard three unique angles on American indie-folk music. Omaha, Nebraska’s Bright Eyes, currently on an international tour, brought along Portland’s M. Ward and Los Angeles’ Dawes for what was a spirited evening of Americana, indie-folk, rock, and just plain good music.

Up first were rockers Dawes.
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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats mount comeback, deal Cards 8-6 loss

Photo courtesy of
‘bang, zoom go the fireworks’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

On the night when Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup for the first time in over two months, the Nationals put together one of their more impressive rallies. In the seventh inning tonight, they plated six runs against the St. Louis Cardinals, four of which scored with two outs. The Nationals got to their former teammate Miguel “Miss Iowa” Batista for five runs in a “6-run, 5-hit, 3-walk, 1-hit batter, 1-wild pitch, 12-batter rally.”

Second only to the offensive explosion against the Cardinals’ bullpen was the quality of the fans this evening at Nationals Park. The crowd of 26,739 was on its feet for a good part of that 7th inning rally, likely fortified by the new Shake Shack at the ballpark. On a day when many feared that the fans of Nats Park could only be plied by fancy bawbles and gewgaws in the form of concessions, fans of the home team showed that they could get into a close game, and were on their feet and rallying around the home team as they beat the Cardinals’ bullpen into submission after being down by four.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘I Can’t Hear You’
courtesy of ‘pablo.raw’

Juxtaposition is a powerful tool, especially in photography. It lets you make commentary on an otherwise silent picture.

Pablo.raw must have either waited for a bit in front of the Studio Theater, or was lucky enough to have a flip-flop wearing, iPhone toting guy walk by as he got on the scene. The yelling mouth certainly screams “can you hear me now?” from the old Verizon commercials.

Whether he needed to hang around or not, it pays to keep an eye out on your surroundings and know when that makes the picture.

Fun & Games, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Glee Live 2011 at the Verizon Center

Sing // Photo by Rachel Levitin

The pilot episode of the award-winning Fox television program Glee describes the definition of its moniker within the first two minutes of run-time. “By its very definition,” the show reveals, “Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.” Two seasons and a few Billboard records later, Glee has gone beyond its namesake. It is a cult classic in the heart of its heyday.

The show’s drawn a devoted group of fans who have deemed themselves “Gleeks.” They are a proud group stretched over a wide range of demographics preaching the same message of acceptance and love of music over all else. Whether you’re a fan of the program or not, it’s impossible to deny the influence Glee has had on an expansive American audience. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Homestand Preview

Photo courtesy of
‘the best chance to score’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The Nationals return to DC on Tuesday, and there’s a lot for everyone to look forward to. One of the longest homestands of the season starts with a three game set against the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Nats are here through the middle of next week, and there are plenty of reasons to get out to the ballpark. Let’s take a look at what this run of baseball brings, shall we?

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 6/10-6/12

Photo courtesy of
‘Capital Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘vpickering’

Why didn’t anyone tell me there would be a Civil War ballon on the Mall this weekend? I hear some other things happened around the city in the past few days, but this is the only thing that caught my attention. And I missed it. It’s not everyday that a Civil War ballon gets inflated on the Mall, and I was not around to see it. Please excuse me while I go sulk in my corner; here are some photos of the weekend to keep office work away for a bit longer.
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Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Chris White

Chris White

I had a beer in a coffee shop with Chris White who will be recording his second album at the DC Improv this month and is the creator of the DC open mic website DCStandup. You may be curious as to why we drank beer at the coffee shop. Well, it’s an amazing story. You should be sitting down to read this. Anyway, I drank a pot of coffee before I left my house and was on the verge of a nervous attack. When I made it to the coffe housee I saw that they had beer there, so I ordered one. Then Chris appeared and said “I’ll have one too.” Then we sat down and had a nice conversation. Wasn’t that awesome!? Anyway, let’s get to know Chris. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Special Events, The Features, The Mall, We Love Arts
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NMAI’s Indian Summer Showcase Not Just for Natives

Photo courtesy of
‘Bill Miller and Derek Miller (no relation) perform at the 2010 Indian Summer Showcase at NMAI’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Tomorrow afternoon, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is hosting a free outdoor concert to kick off their yearly Indian Summer Showcase. This year, the Indian Country/Country Indian concert will feature Victoria Blackie (Navajo), Rebecca Miller (Six Nations, Canada), and Becky Hobbs (Cherokee). The concert will take place at 5 pm outside on the Welcome Plaza in front of the museum’s main entrance.

I was fortunate enough to squeeze some time from Victoria and Becky to talk about their music, their heritage, and what inspires them in their artistry.

First, there’s Victoria Blackie. Last year’s winner of the Debut Artist of the Year at the Native American Music Awards, she also performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her voice has been described as powerful with lots of soul, hearkening back to the days of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and other female greats of the past. And don’t let her small stature fool you (she’s 5’1”); her voice is strong enough to pull you in and versatile enough to appeal to a wide range of country enthusiasts.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Weekend Edition

lenka_img03_hires
photo by Guy Aroch.

The city is chock full of great live music options this weekend but there a few performances that we wanted to make sure show up on your radar. Rather than deluge you with Hot Ticket columns through-out the day, we decided we would round-up these concert recommendations for you here. Consider this your one-stop shop for weekend concert recommendations. (PS- Let us know if you like this idea in the comments section, if you dig it maybe we can turn this one-off feature into something a little more regular.)

For all your weekend concert needs…
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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – June 11th and 12th

DSC_2212-16
Tubing down the river, courtesy Don Whiteside

Addison: This weekend is busy for me, which really isn’t unexpected at all. I just moved into a new apartment, so Friday I’m heading over to Arrowine in Arlington to pick up some charcuterie, cheese, and wine for a housewarming party (going classy now that i’m out of the group house and in a big boy apartment). Saturday, its gonna be sunny and hot, so I really can’t think of anything better to be doing than floating down the Shenandoah river in an inner tube while sipping on some frosty brews.  Sunday, as usual, I can be found down around the Capitol playing kickball and flipping cups at My Brothers Place.

Tom: We’re headed north to Charm City for our anniversary, taking in the BROS at the Autograph Saturday night after dinner at Tapas Teatro.  We had hoped to head to Richmond to see a friend’s art opening, but it has been postponed. We may head down to the Civil War Capital anyhow, just to see the sites and get away from the hustle and bustle.

Marissa: Friday I’ll be taking advantage of Jazz in the Sculpture Garden which started up for the summer a few weeks ago. Picnic dinner and sangria? Done and done. Since the Corcoran Gallery of Art is offering free admissions on Saturday until Labor Day, I’ll be taking in a few exhibits there for the afternoon, before I make my way over to Harry’s Smokehouse on Sunday evening to watch (and eat burgers) DC Central Kitchen’s chefs-in-training compete in a burger slider competition.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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We Love Upcoming Food Events in the City

Photo courtesy of
‘Every Food Fits: Thanksgiving Edition’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Every now and then you splurge with food, usually it being something with a lot of butter and a high calorie count. After the jump you’ll find a little roundup of some food events that are not only worthy of the extra calories but also of breaking the bank a little.
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Entertainment, We Love Arts
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Spring Awakening Makes U.S. Amateur Premiere In Frederick

On the pages of Music Theatre International, the licensing and royalty agent for Spring Awakening, you see that the show is rolling out across the country after the national tour closed in May. You won’t likely see the show being performed at your local church basement anything soon however, upcoming dates of the show include regional theatres and colleges. You’ll have to settle for geeky college boys performing Bitch of Living on YouTube til then.

So how did a group of performers in Frederick, MD get the blessing to put on the show before every other amateur group in the country?

It’s all about who you know, and for Producer David Horch it was the Producer of the now-closed national tour. Horch was able to secure the rights to hold a number of performances in honor of Stephen A. Bomango, a leader in the local arts community who passed away in 2003. The proceeds from the performances of Spring Awakening will go towards the a scholarship fund in his name.

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