Category Archives: The Features

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

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
By

The Winning Ticket (Extra): Fences


photo by Lindsey Byrnes

Since so many people tried to win tickets yesterday and since we could only pick one winner, we decided that we should give all of those who didn’t win yesterday, a chance to win tickets to a different free show happening this holiday weekend!

Today, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Fences perform at the Red Palace on Sunday, February 20th.

Fences has been getting love in the press with his self-titled debut that SPIN magazine recently named one of their 10 Best Albums You Might Have Missed in 2010, calling the album “sorrowful, self-deprecating, and charming pop-folk songs with catchy keyboard melodies and lyrics about squandered love.” NPR digs Fences too; they featured his song “My Girl The Horse” as one of their songs of the day last Fall. I am just discovering Fences myself, but I am getting a real “best kept secret” vibe from the guy. Judging from the tunes on his Myspace page, he probably won’t a be a secret much longer.

For your chance to win simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, but you still want to check out Fences this weekend, tickets are just $10 and can be bought here.

Free Fences track and contest rules after the jump!

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC
By

Comedy in D.C.: Brad Ryan and Ralph Cooper’s Awesome Thursdays

awesomethursday - bradandralph

I was in the part of town that has Chinese letters beside English ones hanging with Brad Ryan and Ralph Cooper who are the founders of Awesome Thursdays at the R.F.D. in Chinatown. We had a good chat on a Saturday afternoon in the Chinatown Coffee Company and were lucky to be at a table. It took me about twenty minutes to snag one. While I stalked the area I noticed one girl sitting alone with her purse placed on the chair beside her. At first I thought she didn’t want to get her bag dirty, but then in walks this guy who heads right to her. She looks up. “It’s nice to meet you in person!” He tells her. It was a successful online date. Beautiful. I sat alone for a couple minutes and then in walks two dudes who come to my table. Another successful online date. Um… anyway, let’s learn about Ralph and Brad. Continue reading →
Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
By

We Love Spoken Word: Rollins @ 50 @ Grosvenor Auditorium, 2/13/11


courtesy of Henry Rollins.

Henry Rollins turned 50 years old on Sunday. To celebrate he performed two spoken word concerts at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium. I went to the late show that kicked off around 9:45 and ended at about midnight. The two and hours in between were filled with words; thousands of words; flying out of Henry Rollins’ mouth at a manic rate of fire. Some of the words were funny, some were serious, some could be considered challenging, while most should be called inspirational.

It was a highly entertaining evening of high-energy storytelling from one of society’s most interesting misfits. A tag that Rollins would probably embrace if his self-deprecating humor and admitted outsider attitude are any indication. In fact one of the points Rollins made over and over again during his set was that his audiences are probably his favorite people to spend time with; he certainly stressed that he can’t stand being at home with himself. So what better way to spend your birthday than surrounded by a room full of your favorite folks in your hometown?

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC, The Daily Feed
By

Comedy in DC: Cool Dudes Hanging Out

YouTube Preview Image

The comedy show for cool dudes is back, and as we have already established, you are a cool dude, in the unisex, non-gendered sense of the word, so it seems this comedy show is for you.

On Friday night, 7 PM at the Velvet Lounge on U Street, 5 measly bucks gets you an evening of comedy hosted by Hillary Buckholtz, and featuring Tim Miller, Kyle Martin, and Michael Foody, all hilarious.

Headlining this cornucopia of hilarity will be Team Submarine, a duo from New York (video above), who describe their comedic style as “grown men throwing things at each other while words come out of their mouths.” So, you know, maybe sit in the back.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: On the Razzle

Michael Glenn, Matthew McGloin and Ashley Ivey in Constellation Theatre Company's "On the Razzle." Photo credit: Daniel Schwartz

Imagine polishing off several bottles of bubbly with your ditzy old Aunt. That’s the kind of delightfully dizzy night you’re in for with Constellation Theatre Company‘s madcap production of Tom Stoppard’s On the Razzle. There are more groaning puns and twisted tongues here than I can possibly quote. The completely ridiculous wordplay seems endless, gorging itself on a verbal box of chocolates until the farce bursts at the seams. You’ll feel like a goose stuffed with foie gras. Yes, I meant to mix those metaphors. That’s the beauty of the evening.

To lovers of Broadway musicals, the plot will be familiar. It’s Hello, Dolly! without Barbra Streisand, I mean, without the matchmaker. Stoppard based his play on the Viennese comedy that Thornton Wilder used to write the play Jerry Hermann used to write the musical – deep breath – it’s this kind of whirligig origin that director Nick Olcott calls “an analgram of stunning originality and blatant theft.” It’s no surprise this production is set on a revolving stage. The usual brilliant Stoppard wordplay is itself a swirling waltz, with malapropisms building on themselves in an excess of tomfoolery.

You could just sum it up as a play about two guys trying to pick up girls by pretending to be high rollers. Somehow, in a town gone mad for tartan, with the help of a wooden horse named Lightning, they become made men. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Vace Italian Delicatessen

Photo courtesy of
‘Vace Italian Deli’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Vace in Cleveland Park isn’t just an Italian market, it’s a way of life. The best way to explain this is with this little story. A friend of mine loved the pizza from Vace so much that every time he ordered it, he never made it home without eating a good portion of his order mid-commute. Not so interesting? Well, let me set the actual scene. He would order a large pizza while on the train at Metro Center, head up to Cleveland Park and spend the walk down Connecticut Avenue to his place in Woodley Park chowing down on half his pizza. I certainly hope some tourists leaving the zoo snapped a picture of this crazy dude, box top askew with pizza down his face. Now THAT is love.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, We Love Drinks
By

A Round With … Katie Nelson

Katie Nelson
Katie Nelson
Photo by the author.

The drinks team decided that this concept from the Flickr blog would be a fun way to get to know some local bartenders. So we stole it. We’re passionate about spotlighting D.C.’s finest behind the bar. Our first round is with Katie Nelson from the Columbia Room.

1. Introduce yourself. What’s your current position and how’d you get where you are today?

Katie Nelson, Service Manager and Bartender at the Columbia Room, a 10-seat private bar within the Passenger.

In a literal sense, I got my current job because I had been a regular at the Gibson, which was my neighborhood bar and, of course, where my boss, Derek Brown, worked for over a year. I was in the right place at the right time when he asked me to take a job working for him, and I’m a lucky lady. Beyond that, though, I come from a family that relishes food and unique experiences. I grew up mostly in North Carolina, but I’d also lived overseas in Saudi Arabia and traveled from a young age, which I reckon helped me to develop a wider palate. After college, I took on a bartending position in a restaurant where I’d worked as a server, and I loved taking care of the customers and making drinks, but I was under the impression at the time that the job wasn’t meant to be a permanent position. I moved to D.C., worked a few different jobs and moved around a bit more before coming back finally to the beverage/hospitality industry. I’d noticed that all of the things I’d liked about all of my previous jobs had in some way to do with aspects of this field, and considered culinary school, but realized that the immediacy of working in a bar — crafting drinks in addition to being able to personally serve and talk to the customers — made bartending a more ideal position for me. My Southern-ness comes out — I really enjoy making people feel happy, so it’s a natural fit. My particular role at the Columbia Room brings my joys to the forefront: constantly experimenting with flavor, learning from the cocktail greats of the past and present, educating my palate and passing on information to others when I can, and helping to create a hospitable experience for our guests.

2. What’s the first drink you remember learning to make (or the first drink you remember drinking)?

Continue reading →

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo


Dupont Underground Continues by MikaAltskan

While most photographers tend to focus on the prettier aspects of DC such as the monuments, the cherry blossoms, or the wildlife, others like to explore the underbelly of our city with their cameras.  Urban exploration, sometimes known as “urban spelunking” or “urban caving”, involves going to forgotten places that are relics from past eras.  Many times it’s difficult (and illegal) to reach these hidden gems, but the reward is often worth it (unless you get arrested).

We Love DC does not condone trespassing, however we love to see the haunting images of decay that you discover in the darkness, whether they’re of the Dupont Underground, Forrest Haven, the Metro tunnels, or the Washington Coliseum.  Just be sure you’ve had a recent tetanus shot before you shimmy down a rusty tunnel and bring backup in case you run into some C.H.U.D.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: The Postelles / Snowmine / Dinosaur Bones @ Red Palace, 2/12/11


“The Postelles” by Harper Smith.

Two bands from New York and one band from Toronto come to the Red Palace on a warming Saturday night. There is a festive crowd present looking for some good pop music tonight. I am looking for the usual alchemical combination of originality and accessibility. There are lots of choices in indie rock music and pop bands, and it is nice to see tonight did indeed offer some good choices in these fields.

Continue reading →

Foodie Roundup, The Features
By

Pop-Up Restaurants and the ADD Diners Who Love Them

Photo courtesy of
‘Now Open’
courtesy of ‘moleitau’
Blink and you’ll miss them, but pop-up restaurants may just be the wave of the future. What exactly is this culinary classification? Popular on the West Coast for some time now, pop-up restaurants are spots that are open for a day, a week, a month or another vague period of time and come from nowhere to dazzle diners before they disappear like that dingy snowbank outside my house this weekend. Characteristically slim on decor, these restaurants are a chance for chefs to try out something new and wacky in the name of spontaneity. Ludo Lefebvre, a Los Angeles area chef who you may remember screaming at everyone and their mother on Top Chef: Masters, has made quite the name for himself with LudoBites, a string of pop-up restaurants in Los Angeles. TIME Magazine named Lefebvre a “Chef of the Future” after his pop-up success, and D.C. is a town of the future, right? So it’s nice to see that we’re finally on the pop-up bandwagon.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
By

Have a Say in SAAM’s 2012 Art of Video Game Exhibition

Photo courtesy of
‘BrySi | Bryan Simon’
courtesy of ‘Joriel “Joz” Jimenez’

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is inviting the public to help select the video games that will be included in its upcoming exhibition “The Art of Video Games,” which opens in Washington, DC on March 16, 2012. Voting is taking place online beginning today and running through April 7. A valid e-mail address is the only requirement to vote.

The exhibition is the first to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition.

The website offers participants a chance to vote for 80 games from a pool of 240 proposed choices in various categories, divided by era, game type, and platform; winning games will be displayed in the exhibition as screen shots and short video clips. The website includes an online forum where gaming enthusiasts can campaign for particular games and voice their opinions about the selections. The games on the voting site were selected for their graphic excellence, artistic intent, and innovative game design. Results will be available online in May. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Braids / Baths @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 2/11/11

IMG_7509
all “Baths” photos by author.

The show on Friday night at Rock & Roll Hotel was a perfect illustration of three concert going phenomenon that I don’t really get to experience that often. Two pleasant, the third not so much. So this review will be coming from that perspective.

First, I rarely see bands that I don’t already know something about; on the occasions that I do, I am rarely impressed by what I see and hear. So I was quite happy by the pleasant surprise offered by Braids. Second, I try not to get overly excited about seeing a new band with a phenomenal debut recording. I try to keep my live expectations at a reasonable level because, frankly, I have been burned by too many bands that are great in the studio but haven’t figured out their live performance just yet.* But with Baths and his album “Cerulean”, I just could not help myself. Third, while I was enjoying the show I had the unpleasant experience of being used as a humping post by, not one, but two under-age couples making out to such a degree that I began to worry about being splashed with bodily fluids. Gross.

Continue reading →

The Features
By

A We Love DC Interview: Lucas Furniture Design

Nathan Lucas of Lucas Furniture Design.

Each piece of furniture tells a story.  Some stories may be more romantic than others, while the majority of stories are never told at all.  I am not saying that my antiqued wooden chest talks to me at night about its feelings, however, I do sometimes find myself wondering about the life it lead before I salvaged it from a junkyard. Furniture plays a much larger role in our lives than we care to notice.  Without it, we feel bare, but with it, we are provided with numerous opportunities to personalize our space – a behavior that all humans, in one way or another, engage in.  We personalize our space as a way to inform outsiders about who we really are (or who we we want you think we are) inside. This is why we are always in the lookout for new furniture pieces. When it comes to nice furniture, I always tend to visit the Furniture & Mattress Store for inspiration.

As society continues to place more emphasis on sustainability, the field of custom furnishings has become a growing facet.  I had the unique opportunity to meet Nathan Lucas of Lucas Furniture Design to find out more about his labor of love in DC.

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC
By

Comedy in DC: Seaton Smith

Seaton standing up

I had the very fortunate opportunity to cruise with Seaton Smith, 29, on Sunday Jan. 30, on his way to do a show over at High Topps in Timonium, MD. We chatted the whole way on the road, which was good, because I didn’t really know the guy and he had no idea who I was, but somehow we were in the same vehicle together. People should get in strangers’ cars more often. I had a blast. I was able to learn a lot about him and caught him at a time when he just changed his career two weeks prior to that day to be a full time comedian. He quoted Bob Dylan about how success is about doing what you want to do in between waking up and going to sleep. “The past two weeks have been the most successful of my life.” Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
By

We Love Music: Gang of Four @ 9:30 Club, 2/9/11


courtesy of Gang of Four.

In 2005, the return of Gang of Four felt vital. Playing to a packed 9:30 Club, touring in support of ‘Return the Gift’ on which they re-recorded most of their greats, the original Gang of Four roster played a blistering set that left us breathless and neck-sore from the sudden aural thrashing they gave us. The surprising vigor and fury that this 25-year old band played with in 2005 seemed to deliver a message to the droves of post-millennial-shift, post-punk pop revivalists that said “This is how its done”. Danceable rhythm and angular guitars amount to little substance without the spit and anger, the passion and snarl, the political outrage and razor sharp criticism. It was one of the best shows of the year.

In 2011, the return of Gang of Four feels somewhat unnecessary and yet it is welcome. Playing to a 3/4 full 9:30 Club on Wednesday night, touring in support of a strong new album ‘Content’, the reconstituted Gang of Four (featuring Jon King and Andy Gill with a new rhythm section) played an uneven set that entertained us and occasionally thrilled us but did not come close to the impact of their last reunion run. Part of the reason for this was the uneven mix of new songs and classics, part of it was the slightly off chemistry of the new line-up, and part of it was the fast and loose nature of the performance which lacked the ruthless reclaiming-the-title motivation of their 2005 shows. Even with the lumps though, this show was a fun one that offered enough highlights to make for a fine night of music and ended with a fantastic finale that finally tapped into some of that 2005 tour magic.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
By

We Love Drinks: Todd Thrasher’s Preserved Cherries

Prepared Jars
Prepared Jars by Don Feduardo
All photos courtesy of the author

We Love Drinks embarks on a series where we attempt to make our favorite cocktails and essential drinks ingredients from around town. If there’s something you’d like us to feature, please let us know!

The proper garnish is a critical part of some cocktails. DC has no shortage of bars where you can get a craft cocktail, and if you watch the bartenders at work at one of these establishments (and I have) you can see (and taste) how the garnish really can finish a drink, either emphasizing or complementing certain flavors in the liquid ingredients.

My first craft cocktail experience in the area came at PX, where the craft most definitely extends to the garnish. One of the cocktails I had on my first visit was listed on the menu as not just a Manhattan, but “My Wife’s Manhattan.” How could I pass that up? So I was very pleased when the Washington Post ran the recipe for Todd Thrasher’s preserved cherries. I made my first batch of them as soon as I could round up a cherry pitter and some cherries, based on the vagaries of supply and demand at Giant. And they were good, but they were salty. I had done something wrong.

It didn’t matter that they were too salty, though, because the Social Chair and I polished them off with some dispatch. We had three problems, really: 1) that first batch was too salty; 2) supply is unpredictable and the cherry season is short; 3) the recipe says they’ll last for two weeks in the fridge, nowhere near as long as our own Manhattan season. So I decided the next batch would solve all three of those problems. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends, February 12-13

Photo courtesy of
‘Cupcakes’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

John: This weekend I’ll be starting off with a nice quiet dinner at home here at the WLDC DirtLab. Saturday (and Friday as well) my old bandmates in Honor By August will be doing a double-header at the recently renovated IOTA Club and Café in Clarendon. Sunday, I think that the Lyon Hall Local Pork dinner and wine pairing is hard to beat and delicious to boot.

Addison: Friday, I’m heading to the Zoo for a little bit of educational fun (ok, and cute baby animals) at the Woo at the Zoo event. Saturday, I plan on taking a quick day trip into Virginia horse country to sample the wares at Horton Vineyards and Blue Mountain Brewery, since I really felt the urge to get out of the city. Saturday night, I’m headed to a friend’s house to tap his first batch of homebrew. Sunday is family time, since my mom will be in town. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People
By

Q&A with Henry Rollins


courtesy of Henry Rollins.

At this point does Henry Rollins really require an introduction? Since the hardcore punk era Rollins has been a jack-of-all-trades entertainer and thought-provoker with his bands, books, acting gigs, radio shows, spoken word tours, stand-up comedy, and most recently two National Geographic television specials about ‘the warrior gene’ and about snakes! Rollins grew-up in DC and to celebrate his 50th birthday on Sunday (50th!? We’re getting old!) he is coming home to put on two sold out shows at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium. I recently caught up with the notoriously tight-lipped Rollins and wrestled a few answers out of him.

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit
By

Talkin’ Transit: Sarles in Charge

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro Blogger Roundtable’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

Last week, Metro’s new, permanent General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles held a blogger roundtable to talk about system safety, improvements in customer service, and bag searches. You probably read about it here and there, so I’ll leave the recap to below the fold and tell you about my impressions of Sarles and why I think he’s going to be the most important head of the system for the foreseeable future.

Sarles is a relatively soft spoken guy, but he’s got a gravitas that lets you know he’s both in charge and very well versed in the details of the system he runs. He’s also very much an engineer, having come to management at NJ Transit later in life. He understands the system, and strikes a pragmatic tone in his talk with us.

He brings that engineering background to the role of GM, and already has a systemic plan to return the system to what’s referred to as a “state of good repair.” That means, essentially, that the critical systems of transporting people have to be well maintained so that they do not pose either a safety or breakdown hazard. And that’s a long way away.

Continue reading →