Tag Archives: DC9

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Q&A: Dave Hartley of Nightlands (@DC9, 5/30/13)

Dave Hartley of Nightlands (photo courtesy of Nightlands)

Dave Hartley of Nightlands (photo courtesy of Nightlands)

The band Nightlands is the brainchild of Philadelphian Dave Hartley, who actually grew up nearby in Frederick, Md. The band last came through DC in June 2011 after the release of their first album, supporting Sondre Lerche at the 9:30 Club in June 2011.

With second album Oak Island released in January, Nightlands is returning to DC to play at DC9 on Thursday, May 30. Tracks like “Born to Love” suggest lush progressive rock of the 70s, with the tone set by buoyant vocals instead of guitar solos.

Hartley talked to We Love DC about growing to love touring and being a perfectionist in his songwriting.

Mickey: You’re going on the road to support a new album! Can you tell us about it?

Dave Hartley: The tour starts Wednesday in New York. This will be our second tour, supporting Oak Island, which is the second record from Nightlands.

It’s a record that came out in January. We went on tour for a month. This is a shorter tour; it’s like a week and a half. DC is the second stop. We are looking forward to playing there!

We will have my four-piece band. We’ll be singing some beautiful harmonies and playing the songs from the record and some older songs and some new stuff I’ve been writing.

I’m really proud of the band and the way we are playing together right now. I think we are really good. It makes me look forward to the tour.

I didn’t always look forward to tours. Sometimes I make these records and they are very complex recordings, and I didn’t know how to play them live. I would get real stressed out about it. But we’ve gotten to the point now where the band is really good.

I’m really proud of the way it sounds, and I get excited about the tour. I never thought I would be excited to tour.

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We Love Music: The Orwells @ DC9 — 3/3/13

Photo courtesy of The Orwells

Photo courtesy of The Orwells

Chicago quintet The Orwells perform a cover of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in concert.

Sadly, they didn’t play it when they rolled through DC Sunday night with a late show at DC9. The fact that the cover is in their repertoire, however, tells you a lot of what you need to know about these up and coming guys. They like to rock and roll.

Mostly everything about The Orwells suggests early garage and punk bands of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Lead singer Mario Cuomo (clearly not the former governor of New York) is a long-haired rocker, literally throwing himself into his songs, shaking his head and body to the beat of the band.

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We Love Music: The Spinto Band @ DC9 — 2/19/13

photo courtesy The Spinto Band

photo courtesy The Spinto Band

The Spinto Band may have taken a few years off, but the time off appears to have reenergized the quintet, who are definitely providing proof they weren’t simply a flash in the pan. Certainly, they have proven their work ethic, bouncing back with two albums in the past two years.

Having lived in Delaware for seven years, I can attest very little breaks out of the state and captures artistic attention on a trans-Atlantic scale. That’s why it seemed unusual to me the very first time I caught The Spinto Band opening for the Arctic Monkeys in Philadelphia in 2006. How was it that a band still living in Delaware might open for NME’s UK post-punk darlings?

The Spinto Band seemed like another example of an American band poised to be generally loved more by Europeans than Americans. And they probably were for a while. But now their appeal and sonic palette seems broader. To demonstrate this, The Spinto Band put the tunes from their latest album, Cool Cocoon, on display in concert at DC9 Tuesday night, bringing a happy, chirpy bunch of songs to a very appreciative if small audience.

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We Love Music: The Last Liberation Dance Party — 1/18/13

Matt Dunn occasionally gets old school at Liberation Dance Party furcafe

I was sad to learn recently that DC9 will end its weekly Liberation Dance Party, the premiere indie pop dancehall experience in DC, on Friday, Jan. 18.

Not only has Liberation kept up with the best mix of britpop, glam, new wave, post-punk, dreampop, shoegaze, house, nu disco, hip hop, grime, sheer guilty pleasures, and more since its inception in 2004, it has done so as a video party. For me, the resulting effect has been very similar to a modern equivalent of taking mid-1980s MTV, cutting any of the soft rock crap, and making a party out of it in your favorite third space.

I’m not instantly comfortably anywhere, but I was always at home at Liberation Dance Party, cloaked in the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, Hot Chip, The Sounds, The Killers, and some occasional New Order. I was introduced to new favorites like Dragonette and Goldfrapp. I learned to love Kylie almost as much as Bill Spieler, the host with the most. (Thank you, Bill, for bringing the party for so many years.) VJ Matt Dunn dependably brought David Bowie with him every time and VJ Shannon Stewart played Lady Gaga until Bill got sick of her and banned her from the club (Gaga, that is, not Shannon!).

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We Love Music: Sky Ferreira @ DC9 — 11/30/12

Sky Ferreira

Sky Ferreira, she of slight frame and smoldering voice, took to stage backed by a three-piece band at DC9 Friday night, presenting a short set of occasionally melancholy but consistently wonderful songs.

Her latest EP, Ghost, turns out to be a collection of five wistful songs full of longing and daydreams. Ferreira sang them plaintively but earnestly to a packed room that seemed pretty impressed with the 20-year-old’s range. “Sad Dream” was full of regret for a lost love while “Ghost” consigns another love to the past with a recognition that the relationship must end.

At the other end of the spectrum, “Lost in My Bedroom” is a catchy reprieve, basking in the joy of being tucked away in your own private space.

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Hot Ticket: Sky Ferreira @ DC9, 11/30/12

Photo courtesy of David Boyle
Sky Ferreira
courtesy of David Boyle

Sky Ferreira last month released Ghost, an EP with a set of songs that sound so diverse that you have to wonder if she’s ready to take on the world or just too easily distracted.

But Liberation Dance Party put the video for “Everything Is Embarrassing” into rotation these last few months — and it’s got a great DIY new wave vibe for a slow dance. The song certainly offers echoes of Ferreira’s reported heroes, Nico and Debbie Harry. Her husky voice captivates. By the time the song is over, it seemed way too short (and it kind of wisely is, clocking less than 3 minutes).

Ferreira’s debut album is due to drop very soon — after clashes with label EMI last year over the direction they expected of her as The Next Big Thing.  But the 20-year-old Ferreira wanted to be more “indie” than “mainstream.” Interestingly, instead of breaking off the relationship, EMI chose to nurture her.

So what’s she really all about? I’m curious to find out when she performs this Friday, Nov. 30, as part of Liberation Dance Party at DC9. (All I truly know about her is that she really can’t wait for the release of The Hobbit.) Doors for Liberation usually open at 9pm and bands generally start up around 11pm. In the meantime, watch videos and dance dance dance the night away.

Sky Ferreira
DC9
Nov. 30
$8
21+

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Q&A with Dark Dark Dark

 

photo courtesy of Dark Dark Dark

Dark Dark Dark hail from Minneapolis, Minnesota, but spend much of their time on the road. Their sound blends moody piano and clarion female vocals with understated percussion and layers of cello, accordion and horns to create a dark, dramatic and beautiful melange. Dark Dark Dark is currently on tour in support of their new album Who Needs Who, and you can see them play tonight, Monday, October 15th at DC9. We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman got to have a little chat with Nona Marie from Dark Dark Dark recently, and here’s how it went.

Alexia: So how did you first start playing music, and singing?

Nona: Well there was a piano in the house, and we always just played.

Alexia: In your family house?

Nona: Yeah, in my family house, when I was a kid.

Alexia: And how did you start singing?

Nona: My mom sang a lot around the house just listening to the radio and, I don’t know, singing in the car.

Alexia: Are there any singers past or present that really inspire you?

Nona: I mean yeah, every singer inspires me. It’s my favorite thing.

Alexia: Are there any artists or albums that first made you fall in love with music?

Nona: Yeah, I guess I really loved listening to that Joni Mitchell Blue record- that was a good one.

Alexia: How did Dark Dark Dark come together?

Nona: We just, Marshall and I just started playing together in Minneapolis, um and then just started traveling around and meeting people and playing with different people, and sort of over time it became what it is. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Laetitia Sadier @ DC9, 9/25/2012

photo by author

French-born singer Laetitia Sadier and her band played a beautiful, uplifting, fun set at DC9 Tuesday night. Sadier, currently on US tour, is the former front-woman of the UK-based experimental-indie-lounge-pop group Stereolab. She released her first solo album, The Trip, in 2010 after Sterolab went on hiatus, and released her sophomore record, Silencio, this year. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of interviewing Sadier, and you can check that out here.

Tuesday night brought Sadier and her trio (drummer James Elkington, and bassist Julien Gasc) to the small stage of DC9, where they were surrounded by adoring, attentive fans. Sadier’s presence onstage was graceful, happy, and quietly engaging. The group started off their set with the quiet, contemplative “The Rule of the Game,” which set the mood for the evening- introspective, melodic, lovely, serene. At times the group broke out with more spastic rock moments, or in the case of the song “Between Earth and Heaven” they took a turn towards samba. Though DC has a reputation for not dancing at shows, my friends and I couldn’t contain our glee, and wiggled and shook our way through the samba-infused number. Sadier rewarded us by thanking “the dancers” afterwards and smiling.  

While many of the songs on her latest album Silencio have strong political themes, and Sadier did speak a bit about her thoughts on the sad state of democracy today, it never felt heavy or preachy. For the most part she let the music speak for itself, and it rang out. Sadier’s presence, her smiles, and commentary to the audience added charm to what was a soulful, stimulating, soothing and ultimately satisfying performance.

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Laetitia Sadier

photo courtesy of Laetitia Sadier

French singer Laetitia Sadier has a beautiful, dreamy, captivating voice, and for about two decades was the front-woman of the London-based experimental/psychedelic/pop/lounge ensemble Stereolab. In 2010, after Stereolab went on hiatus, Sadier released her first solo album, The Trip. In July of this year she released her second solo album, Silencio. It is beautiful, introspective, lush, groovy at times, with political themes woven through. You can catch Laetitia Sadier live at DC9 this Tuesday, September 25th! We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman was thrilled to have a conversation with Laetitia recently, and here’s how it went.

Alexia Kauffman: So what was the experience of making your most recent album, Silencio, like? And was it different from making your first solo album?

Laetitia Sadier: Oh yes, I guess it was kind of the same and it was kind of different from one to the other, but what do you want to know exactly?

Alexia: What went into making the new album, what inspired you on this album? I know you collaborated with some different people- just kind of what the experience was like?

Laetitia: Well, you know I guess the intent was to have a political content, because I find the situation – the political and financial and economical and social situation you know kind of getting worse. I mean especially the state of democracy, you know, is kind of worsening in Europe certainly, and in America, very seriously, and I thought that all should be voiced. So that was a very central concern regarding the album. But I didn’t want it to just be kind of aggressively political, you know, I have other centers of interest. I study Chinese medicine and we look at the human body, the human being in a kind of holistic way, and they are part of the universe, you know, so it is kind of on the other side of what capitalism teaches us to be, which is kind of selfish, self-centered consumer. It looks at people elementally, and I focused somehow on fire, on the fire element. And the fire in people, you know, the passion, the heart, the spirit, which are all kind of fire-related, and how these things are really essential to life, but they are things which can’t be bought. And the idea was to bring back the attention on us human beings as non-exchangeable, non-buyable beings that we are, you know, humans, and that’s a sacred notion around this that can’t be touched by money. So those were my concerns for this album, and, of course, the title “Silencio”, which, I don’t know if you heard the record?

Alexia: Yes.

Laetitia: The last track basically explains the situation as to how this title came about- it wasn’t, you know, “Shut up, everybody! Let’s have some silence around here!”, it was about connecting deeply with oneself because I think that to have a revolution you need to be connected to yourself, to your sense, to your better self, and your sense of it. And then you can derive some ideas to lead some kind of action for change, for progress, for moving forward, not being stuck in the system, which I think disconnects people from their deeper and truer natures, you see?

Alexia: That’s very powerful. I appreciate your album because I can clearly hear the political themes in it, but yet it’s beautiful and makes you want to listen to it, and I don’t know, it’s like the best kind of art where it has a message but it’s transcendent, you know?

Laetitia: Yeah, I mean to me art is about you know putting what’s the most important to you, and I guess transcend to some degree. Of course, transformation, I mean that’s the real alchemy of art. You know, art is alchemical, or it can be, it can transform your life. And I know it sure has mine. If you’re open to it, and of course it should be really kind of essential stuff, the stuff that really matters, and not the mindless stuff.

I mean listen to the radio- it’s just appalling, the quality of the music. I think it’s really about demolishing people, and their truer connection, you know their connection to themselves. It’s just soul-breaking and heart-numbing. It’s numbing, I want to protect myself from it, to not receive it, not feel it, it’s so obnoxious. I don’t know, I find it super-dangerous. So it’s true, I’m kind of reacting against that, in a way, you know, that’s my purpose, it seems.

Alexia: You have a very beautiful and distinct voice. Are there any vocalists or singers that inspired you when you were growing up or even now?

Laetitia: Yes, of course. Carmel- she was an Irish singer in the 80s, she kind of had semi-hits, but she never really took off, you know? But the first album she ever did was a six-track kind of experimental jazz piece, and it was very, very bare, and kind of badly recorded, but really good. I was fascinated, and it’s still one of my favorite records. So she was a real inspiration in terms of “I want to sing”, in terms of “Yes, this is what I want to do.” I guess Morrissey also inspired me to sing. He has an incredible voice, and I love that first album that they did, cause I’m a first album girl. And besides that, um, France Gall also really inspired me. And then there’s of course singers like Dionne Warwick- the perfection, you know? Like wow! I wish I could sing like that! Divas like that. I like distinctive vocals. I like white women that sound like black women- I really like that. And I like an open and sincere voice, you know? We can hear the heart and the personality of the person, rather than a super-trained voice, you know, a super-technically-apt, but kind of affected, rather than natural. So that’s what I am most attracted to.

Alexia: Are there any artists right now or albums or songs that really catch you currently?

Laetitia: I’m a big fan of the French band called Holden. They really, really touch me- their music really touches me. And they’re about to release a new record, and I saw them live recently, and they really really blew me away- so much grace and beauty. They played some new songs, and I’m like “Oh my God! They’re doing it again!” I played the record by Connan Mockasin, which is really interesting and fun to listen to.  Continue reading →

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We Love Music: A Q&A with Filligar

Photo Courtesy of Filligar

The industry landscape for independent musicians in America has been in a continual state of evolution ever since the internet went and changed the game. Still, though, it come down to the fact that hard work, perseverance, raw talent, and being at the right place at the right time seem to be working out for those who hold out long enough. Filligar is an example of that.

Full disclosure: I first heard Filligar back in Chicago when I was a freshman in high school. I was 14-years-old and performing in my first “Battle of the Bands.” They were playing too. It was the day that George Harrison passed away. The date was: November 29, 2001. As it turned out, three out of the four members of Filligar just so happened to be in my high school class (Pictured Above: Casey Gibson – keyboard, Pete Mathias – drums, Teddy Mathias – bass), while lead singer and guitarist Johnny Mathias was a couple years behind us.

Back then, they went by the moniker Flipside, sported shorter haircuts, and played a very different style of rock than they do now. But that’s the beauty of age — as you grow, you learn, and Filligar’s made it a point to utilize their personal growth as the means to create one of the most engaging live rock shows in the country.

Hailed as “one of the best young bands in America,” this quintet’s been given an opportunity that they and any other independent musician can appreciate — they’re opening up for Counting Crows on the first leg of their Outlaw Roadshow this Summer. But before they leave on tour with Counting Crows, they’re playing a live show at DC9 Saturday May 26.

Filligar took a few minutes to exchange thoughts with We Love DC via e-mail. Here’s what they had to say.

Rachel: Filligar’s been a band for over a decade. How would you describe your evolution from the time you first sat down to jam and now that you’ve been touring for a few years with several albums under your belts?

Filligar: Well, the first time we sat down to jam we played a song that wasn’t our own: Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. We butchered it, and ever since we’ve been playing original music. As times go on, our music has changed just as we’ve changed. Touring the country and experiencing America the beautiful has definitely impacted that sound. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: R. Ring @ DC9, 5/15/2012

R. Ring, photo by Jason Coile

We Love DC guest writer Jonathan Druy attended the R. Ring show at DC9 Tuesday night. Read his thoughts on it below! 

Tuesday night started with a fairly sparse DC9 room, but the evening opened with a sharp acoustic/punk set by Marc Ganancias, and then a soulfully beautiful set by Mean Season, who know how to intertwine chick vocals and guitar into a lean indie-rock gift. When Kelley Deal’s new project R.Ring took the stage, the room began to swell with fans of the Breeders guitarist, who got to see a warm set, highlighted by Deal’s sweet vocals and Mike Montgomery’s amplified acoustic interactions, as well as some really funny between-song convos.

 Kelley Deal uses that voice, imprinted on those of us who came of age when the Breeders reigned the alternawaves, as one of the band’s electric instruments, cranking up the reverb, or singing through an effects pedal. It provides a nice touch, so songs like “Fall Out and Fire” and “Hundred Dollar Heat”, which Deal sings from the floor, draw in the audience, resulting in an echo-embellished electric/acoustic lullaby. Deal accompanied Montgomery on guitar for a few numbers, and the electrics came out for their closer, a cover of Shellac’s “Ghost”, on which Montgomery also shared vocals.

 The DC9 crowd grew over the course of the set, so by the end there was no shortage of fans chatting with Deal after the show. Here’s hoping the rest of her tour generates as much goodwill as Tuesday night.

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Q&A with Kelley Deal

photo courtesy of the artist

We Love DC guest writer Jonathan Druy had the chance to interview Kelley Deal. Read his account of it all here!

Breeders guitarist Kelley Deal is touring with her beautiful new acoustic project R.Ring, and they’re stopping by DC9 on Tuesday night, in what may prove to be a truly talent-rich night of acoustic-based indie-folk-rock-thingies, with Mike Ganancias and Mean Season. A new release from Misra Records is on its way.

From Dayton, Ohio, R.Ring is Deal and Mike Montgomery of the band Ampline, performing acoustic, spare, melodic explorations led by Deal’s unique and sometimes distorted vocals, her voice familiar to those who remember the once-ubiquitous Breeders. If you were sentient 20 years ago, you probably owned “Last Splash”, with it’s beautiful singles “Cannonball” and “Divine Hammer”, and its surfy instrumentals, and the sweet chick-rock vocals led by twin sister and Pixie Kim, and harmonized sweetly by Kelley. You probably also loved the “Cannonball” video on early-90s MTV, an unimaginable pre-WWW/Youtube/Smartphone era when the cable network stumbled into post-Cobain indie-land, and played these things called music videos, because it was the only place you could see them, kiddies.

The lead-up to our interview lead me to revisit “Last Splash” and “Pod” and “Safari EP”, and well-up all nostalgic-like with my memories of seeing the Breeders ’92 show at the old 9:30 Club, which almost made me forget that Deal has had plenty to do since then; first with Kelley Deal 6000, then with the reformed and rejuvenated Breeders, first in ’02 then in ’08. And while I did just see a friend of mine sing “Cannonball” at karaoke, fear not, middle-aged geezers, the Breeders haven’t gone away, but the other day Kelley talked to me about her new project and about being among the current crop of veterans that are still doing it and doing it well.

She also got curious about the Ethiopian food I told her about on 9th St. You haven’t lived until you’ve explained Injera to a Breeder…

Jonathan Druy: Are there any memories or feelings about DC you have from past tours?

Kelley Deal: I do remember our ’92 show at the old 9:30 club – DC at the time was considered really hip and really happening, and I just remember being a rube from Dayton, and I didn’t know about any of this stuff and I remember thinking “wow, this is really cool!”. Continue reading →

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We Love Music: Young Prisms, Boy Friend, & Ceremony @ DC9 – 3/4/12

Photo courtesy of Ethan.K
Young Prisms
courtesy of Ethan.K

I have a friend who swears a 90s revival is around the corner. It’s going to be big and it’s going to make industrial music popular again.

But while my friend wasn’t looking, the 90s revival already has come, but not in the form he envisioned. In the past several years, there have been an explosion of dreampop and shoegaze bands leaping out of their dens and onto our stages, putting any so-called 90s revival much more in the debt of bands that followed My Bloody Valentine than those that followed Nine Inch Nails.
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We Love Music: Girl In A Coma @ DC9, 11/9/2011

photos by Aminta S. Nieves-Candamo

San Antonio rock trio Girl In A Coma played a power-charged set to a crowded DC9 Wednesday night. They are currently in the middle of their US tour in support of their latest album Exits & All The Rest, released November 1st on Blackheart Records. They were joined by punky openers Brothers of Brazil and The Coathangers. Continue reading →

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Hot Ticket: Girl In A Coma @ DC9

photo courtesy of Girl In A Coma

Get your mid-week dose of rock tonight with Girl In A Coma at DC9. This female trio of hotties from San Antonio, TX play dramatic, punk/rockabilly-tinged rock & roll. Vocalist Nina Diaz has a strong, captivating voice that has been compared to country icon Patsy Cline. The band formed when drummer Phanie Diaz and bassist Jenn Alva bonded in Junior High art class over a mutual love of The Smiths and Nirvana. In 2006, after seeing them perform at New York’s Knitting Factory Joan Jett signed the band to her label, Blackheart Records. The band’s name is a nod to The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend In A Coma,” and they even lived out their teen dream and toured opening for Morrissey in 2007. Girl In A Coma are currently on tour in support of their fourth album, Exits & All the Rest, released on November 1st on Blackheart Records. Check out their video for “Clumsy Sky” here.

Girl In A Coma
The Coathangers
Brothers of Brazil
8pm/$12
DC9

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Hot Ticket: Small Black @ DC9, 8/11/2011

The Monument Music & Arts Festival has organized to “engage bands and their fans in forward-thinking causes.” They do this through a series of benefit shows that raise money for progressive causes that the artists and organizers believe in and want to share their passion for with the audience – while also putting on a good show, of course.
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We Love Music: Jeremy Messersmith @ DC9, 6/19/11


courtesy of J. Messesmith.

It is unusual for me to go to a show of a band I’ve never heard before and be swept off my feet. That happened Sunday night when Jeremy Messersmith and his band played DC9.

From the first song, “Novocain,” off of his first album Alcatraz Kid, it was clear there was something special happening. This song, like much of his music, has a dichotomy of upbeat music paired with melancholic lyrics or morose subject matter. Listening to “Novocain” makes you want to bop your head and maybe even dance, while Messersmith sings of his heartbreak “There ain’t enough Novocain to numb my broken heart.” I love that.

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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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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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ABRA: DC9 may reopen December 15th

Photo courtesy of
‘DSCN3278.JPG’
courtesy of ‘::FiZ::’

According to TBD’s Sommer Mathis, who attended today’s ABRA hearing, DC9 has been given permission by ABRA to reopen on December 15th if they so choose.  The Board had some conditions set out under previous meetings that were met: they had to revamp the video security system, and under no circumstances could they employ at any of the restaurants/bars in the same group, the five individuals initially charged with the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammad until after the January 19th status hearing.

I’m not sure why that last condition was necessary, but given the choice between abandoning his staff and keeping his various licenses in order, there’s little choice that Joe Englert has at this point.  By the status hearing on the 19th, the DC Medical Examiner should have an autopsy report, hence the rescheduled date.