David Hintz – We Love DC https://www.welovedc.com Your Life Beyond The Capitol Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:12:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.9.9 We Love Music: Los Lobos / Taj Mahal @ 9:30 Club, 2/21/2011 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/24/we-love-music-los-lobos-taj-mahal-930-club-2212011/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/24/we-love-music-los-lobos-taj-mahal-930-club-2212011/#comments Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:00:45 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=63799 IMG_3329.jpg
all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

I always enjoy d…

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all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

I always enjoy double headliner billings and this one was one of the finest I have seen since The Zombies were paired with Love some 6 years ago. Tonight we had the legendary, world-wide blues of Taj Mahal matched with the multi-genred, Grammy winning veterans, Los Lobos. It was a large crowd at the 9:30 Club looking for a rootsy, danceable, swinging good time on a cold Monday night. With musicians like this, it was sure to be a successful night for all.


The Taj Mahal trio comes out with the 68 year-old master bluesman in charge of the vocals and guitar backed by 5-string electric bass and drums. He kicks it in with a real electric bite on his acoustic guitar. He is playing finger-style with plenty of thumb and the sound is closer to a fuzzy electric guitar. His licks are hot and Mahal theatrically has to shake his right hand off to the side to cool off. The crowd, of course, eats it up. Mahal introduces his vocals on the second song. I believe his main claim to fame is not vocal or guitar prowess, but his ability to balance both at still a high level of skill and use them with a palette of blues and world styles in a much wider manner than that of many bluesmen.

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Tonight, his vocals are solid, not overwhelmingly gruff, but melodic enough and with heart. He has a guest saxophonist, Ron Holloway of DC, come on stage for a few numbers which lend even more variety to the sound. The bass player is solid and can really fill some quick runs when needed. The drummer is rock steady and holds it all together. Mahal switches guitars, but plays acoustic throughout the night. He flat picks some songs, often the steadier blues rockers. About half way through the set he heads to keyboard and plays some nice piano with an organ solo. He is back to guitar and plays a long and brilliant bit of Africa-blues called “Zanzibar”. Finally, he brings out a banjo which he uses both clawhammer and flat picking techniques on a couple of songs to close out a strong evening of blues variations. The crowd gave him a great ovation for this 75 minute set and the band earned it. They have to turn on the house music quickly or the demand for an encore would have continued for a while. But fear not, Taj Mahal fans, there is more to come.

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Los Lobos came out with a line-up that featured three guitars, bass, drums, and keyboardist/saxophonist. But there would be plenty of other sounds used such as button-accordion, flute, percussion, congas, and more. This band has had steady success over the years and has come out with many fine albums. While not terribly familiar with their catalog, I did review their recent CD which I found to be excellent. Of course, they played material from that such as the title cut “Tin Can Trust” which had a steady rock groove that this band can really put out so well. The interesting thing about the set as a whole was how it built from a rather slow opener into better and better songs with so many subtle shifts in style. Yet with all the shifts in style, it was like walking up a lava field at Mauna Loa. There was always something building as you went forward over the intriguing terrain. Nothing out of control or crazy, just steady music growing and growing.

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They mix Americana, traditional Mexican music, rock’n’roll from the 50s, 60s and beyond, folk, and blues into such a lovely set. There are some bands that come close to the component parts, but few that can put it together as a cohesive whole. I even detected some Southern-Cal psychedelic moves at times. In the rock songs, I almost felt the rhythm was too dull, but ultimately I think they made the right choice as a great droning groove was established for the guitarists to do their thing. At the ninety minute mark, they wished everyone a good evening, but of course there were encores to come.

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The encores were a lot of fun and not too much of a surprise because it was hinted earlier that we might see Taj Mahal back. No surprise that these acts were enjoying each other’s company on this mini-tour, as they seem to be kindred spirits. Taj Mahal came back for some vocals and guitar with his trio also joining in on bass and congas. They ripped it up with “Born Under a Bad Sign” before doing some additional blues and Latino classics. I would wager to say that most people left happy. When you get two great acts worth seeing separately, together on one bill, it is a recipe for a great night out.

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We Love Music: The Drive-By Truckers @ 9:30 Club, 2/18/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/21/we-love-music-the-drive-by-truckers-930-club-21811/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/21/we-love-music-the-drive-by-truckers-930-club-21811/#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:00:24 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=63581 IMG_0360.jpg
all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

Drive-by Truck

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all photos by Andrew Markowitz.

Drive-by Truckers, one of the most accurately named bands, have been working the road over a little over a decade. They have worked it hard and have built a huge fan base as a result. However, you have to also give them credit for several outstanding albums showcasing their quality songwriting, blasting guitar work, and Americana/alt-country twang. The result, as far as this weekend in DC shows, is two sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club. And on Friday night, the band showed they can still deliver the goods with a quite a bit of variety in their songs.

But first, Baltimore’s J. Roddy Walston and the Business hit the stage for a nice 40-minute set of honky-tonk rock’n’roll. I saw them do a very nice job opening for Shooter Jennings and Hierophant last September at the State Theater in Falls Church. They were a great match with the headliner that night and that is also the case tonight. Walston plays the keys and handles the lead vocal duties with plenty of gusto. The guitar, bass, and drums are loud and keep things rocking all through the set. It is real honky-tonk fun that is hard not to enjoy on the weekend for Americana/rock’n’roll fans.

The songs are simple, straight forward, and easy to enjoy. It’s a Little Richard style piano that moves the faster songs and well, the piano pretty much moves all the songs forward. The only question I would have, would be do these guys have the ability to play a longer set and keep the energy and variety high enough to involve the crowd? I think they have a good chance as they work hard, have a lot of sincerity, and have some good songs. They are touring hard and mentioned something about a regular weekly set of shows at the Rock’n’Roll Hotel in a few months? We will have many opportunities to watch this band grow.

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Drive-By Truckers have an interesting combination of critical acceptance, a huge fan-base, and lacking a care in the world for what any critic would say. That pretty much shows that these guys are good, they work hard, and maintain a fresh creative approach to what is a seemingly simple style. It could be simple, if their three guitar, keyboards, and rhythm section fell back into an Allman Brothers model. But they have long played around with the many different angles of scorching Southern rock, Alt., even straight country, Americana, and western rock’n’roll.

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It came together tonight like it often does at their live shows as they really alternated some loud and wild rock songs with some slower heartland tunes early in the set. The guitarists were trading hot licks and the keyboards were a little low in the mix early, but that was fixed. The sound was strong and mostly clear. It is tough for the vocals to stay with the guitars, but they did for all but the loudest sections. The band was happy with Patterson Hood saying “Goddamn, I’m so glad to be back in this beautiful place. Got to play my two favorite rooms on the East Coast. It’s awesome.” And although he probably had already dipped a bit into the Jack Daniels bottle that he passed around to the band during the set, I think that remark was sober enough to be believed.

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They played the usual variety of songs. Hood and Mike Cooley handle the majority of the songwriting duties, but bassist Shonna Tucker gets the George Harrison space on albums for a couple of songs and also got a few here tonight where she handled the lead vocals. After several songs, guitarist John Neff moved over to pedal steel guitar and some acoustic guitars made their way into the songs as well. It kept things interesting, although it was a little long for me until Neff finally strapped on a guitar again. Another personal issue for me is the quantity of Cooley songs where he employs a cliched sing-song lyrical style which has always turned me off on country music. Thankfully, he has varied it a bit on recent albums and his songs on “The Big To-Do” were very good. But the set did start to tire me out a bit as the variety was not as strong late as it was early. They did feature some cuts off the brand new album which was fun. The title cut “Go-Go Boots” had a nice murky vibe that stood out as yet another subtle combination of styles.

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But my criticisms are minor. This was a fun show which the sold-out crowd enjoyed as I did. The band makes a lot of records that make Top 50 lists or Top 5 lists most every time they put one out, but it is in front of the stage where the fans really get their full pleasure from this band.

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Hot Ticket: Los Lobos / Taj Mahal @ 9:30 Club, 2/21/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/18/hot-ticket-taj-mahal-los-lobos-930-club-22111/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/18/hot-ticket-taj-mahal-los-lobos-930-club-22111/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:00:03 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=63461

If you are looking for a double billing with two l…

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If you are looking for a double billing with two legendary acts, it is hard to pass up on this one. Taj Mahal is one of the most inventive players in the blues field. No surprise that one of his most famous albums (issued over 25 years late) came out of the short lived band “The Rising Sons” which featured another hard to categorize guitarist, Ry Cooder. Although they did not work together much, they both share an explorer’s heart in searching out musical forms from all over the world and finding new ways to express the personal interpretation of their discoveries. I remember how welcome it was to see what Taj Mahal came up with when I saw him on the old late night television shows “In Concert” and “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert”. He is three years shy of a half century of performing and it will be exciting to see what he comes up with at the 9:30 Club.

Joining him is Los Lobos, far removed from the “just another band from East LA” label they placed on themselves with an album now over 30 years old. I find it hard to believe they have been around that long, especially when their latest album, “Tin Can Trust” sounded so fresh and strong. It got a positive review from me, and most other reviewers give it raves as well. Like Taj Mahal, I know the band pretty well but have somehow missed them over their long career. Thankfully, I get to accomplish two goals in one night.

Taj Mahal
Los Lobos
9:30 Club
Monday, Feb 21st
$40

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We Love Music: The Postelles / Snowmine / Dinosaur Bones @ Red Palace, 2/12/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/14/we-love-music-the-postelles-snowmine-dinosaur-bones-red-palace-21211/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/14/we-love-music-the-postelles-snowmine-dinosaur-bones-red-palace-21211/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:00:59 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=62965
“The Postelles” by Harper Smith.

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“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.


Dinosaur Bones is a five-piece from my personal musical Mecca that most people call Toronto. They line up with a couple guitars and keyboards and rhythm section and there was plenty of sound. They put that sound in the comfortable direction of indie rock, but they kicked it up a notch by first song’s end. There was some good ringing guitar with some nice off-setting bass and rhythm guitar that showed both some nice musical ideas and good comfort between the musicians. Toronto bands seem to feature this every time. There is not really a “Toronto sound”, but with so much quality music coming from that town (like my favorites Elliott Brood and Do Make Say Think) there seems to be a healthy competition for bands to come up with great music before they ever hit a stage there. No matter the cause, this band has a great approach with its mix of styles and genres and showed it off to about 50 people tonight. This is the band’s third time through DC, so they are working hard on the road and hopefully it will pay off for them.

Another five-piece with an identical instrumental line-up is up next, although they played an entirely different style of music. Snowmine had a much more lush pop sound with a touch of shoegaze, dance rhythms, and some edgy pop moves. They are from Brooklyn and showed that they can ratchet up the rock content as well on a few songs. The keyboardist handled the lead vocals and guided the dreamy nature of the pop song melodies they put forward. The crowd slowly grew throughout the night and a few of them danced and swayed with the sounds. The set lacked brilliance, but was steady with a few very nice songs standing out. It is very hard to not like this on some level, as the competence is there along with a positive attitude. Many more hits than misses in this set.

The Postelles are from New York City and followed the same type of back-line without a keyboardist this time. But yet again, there were some style differences easily noted from the first two bands. They immediately began by grinding out chords with nice clean pop vocals on top. This is power-pop, but as the set went on, the Postelles were able to vary their sounds to represent just about every decade of pop from the 1950s onward. From their cover of “Houndog” to the rest of their originals, they displayed a subtle versatility while always keeping the music accessible and fun. The crowd was amazingly attentive for a Saturday night and was one of the more diverse crowds I have seen for lesser known bands. They clearly enjoyed this band and all the diverse music tonight. I was also surprised that the encore of the Ramones “Beat on the Brat” was one of the best received songs of the night. I should not be by now, but as someone who beat my head against a wall trying to get people to go to early Ramones shows in small clubs, I still have trouble with the posthumous reverence. The Postelles are touring with their debut album and if this was any indication of their sound and audience reaction, they will probably need a bigger club to hold them by album two or three.

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Hot Ticket: The Postelles @ Red Palace 2/12/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/11/hot-ticket-the-postelles-red-palace-21211/ Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:00:25 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=62205

If you have not been to the Red and the Black latel…

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If you have not been to the Red and the Black lately, you are in for a pleasant surprise. They have combined their space with the upstairs space from the Palace of Wonders and have an attractive and thankfully bigger space now called the Red Palace. The stage is higher off the ground, the PA is larger, the DC9 guy has run the sound when I have been there, and it just has a nice club feeling inside rather than the former cramped space which felt more like an attic than a club, since it basically was an attic.

So why head out there this Saturday? Well, the Postelles bring some of their New York pop/garage rock to the new stage. Could they be the heirs to the Fleshtones? No, I think they have a little more indie rock to their sound than flat out garage pop, but boy can they do pop harmonies. I will be interested to see how harmonize live and in person over the course of a full set. And with sets from New York’s Snowmine and Toronto’s Dinosaur Bones, there will likely be some great sounds emanating from these three touring bands.

The Postelles
w/Snowmine, Dinosaur Bones
The Red Palace
Saturday, Feb 12th
$10 Advance, $12 Day of Show

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We Love Music: Fern Knight/The Plums @ Comet Ping Pong, 2/5/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/07/we-love-music-fern-knightmartin-bisri-comet-ping-pong-2511/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/07/we-love-music-fern-knightmartin-bisri-comet-ping-pong-2511/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:00:30 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=62278
Courtesy of Fern Knight.

The back room is fillin…

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Courtesy of Fern Knight.

The back room is filling up at Comet Ping Pong in anticipation of two intriguing bands set to showcase their sound and songs. Ping Pong tables are being pushed aside to make way for the crowd as the rather confused method of having people go back and pay a cover charge takes place. Martin Bisi and band [correction: The Plums]* set up and go through the laborious sound check as everyone eagerly awaits the music. And this is a fine bill with the talented New York based producer/engineer Bisi leading a band that sound a bit like some of the bands he has worked with such as Sonic Youth and Swans followed by Fern Knight, an always interesting DC/Philadelphia band with wonderful psyche and folk elements in their songs.


It is a few minutes after eleven pm. I have been hanging out on this small commercial block on Connecticut for an hour and a half. Not being one to hang around bars, especially in crowded Saturday night bars like this, I perused the Politics & Prose bookstore until it closed at ten pm. Then, it is off to the club to watch ping pong and hoping some music would get going. And this is why I have avoided Comet Ping Pong shows in the past. I don’t mind staying up late, but I do mind starting my evening this late. If I don’t get out the house early enough, it is just too easy to stay home. And if I was off to the theater, I would be more in the mood to go home and not continue the artistic theme in a different venue. But this bill interested me, so here I am and finally the music begins.

Martin Bisi [correction: The Plums] went from sound check to some quiet adjustments to stage volume and feedback into their music in a manner where it was difficult to say where the song began. But it quickly went from a John Cage/Terry Riley sound through a quirky lof-fi Pere Ubu sound into full fledged psychedelic jamming that ultimately reminded me of local favorites, Kohoutek. When it really moved, there was some nice motortik style drumming and a rhythmic throb of guitars reminiscent of Hawkwind. There were three guitars going along with bass and drums, so it was loud and strong with some nice wailing guitar work. They were keeping it instrumental until the end when they added some rather meaningless barely audible vocals for a few seconds. Transitions were a bit awkward, but I could live with that as they did not waste any time retuning and chatting. They added some keyboards late in the set which was more of a rhythmic sound, as opposed to any real dexterous playing. And ultimately that is what it was all about – laying down a sound with power and conviction. I thought they were successful, but I have seen it done better with Kohoutek, Mogwai and the like. I would still say this was a nice 35 minute blast of sound.

Fern Knight eventually hit the stage with the biggest lineup I have seen from the band. Margaret Ayre is the mainstay with her lovely singing and cello playing. Also in the lineup are drums, bass, guitar, violin, and flute. And that combination of sounds is perfect for psychedelic folk music, which is pretty much what Fern Knight provided tonight. They had a nice drone quality and the band used dynamics well from lighter sounds to heavier psyche-rock moments. It was a bit of a Faun Fables meets Spirogyra (with more of a Mandy Morton vocal style rather than Barbara Gaskin). I also detected some of the folkier Amon Duul II at times which sounded great. They added some harp toward set’s end, so the ethereal, mystical sounds were only enhanced. On the downside, the sound was not always balanced very well with some instruments lost at times. I did like the guitarist’s wah-wah sounds coming from deep in the mix rather than powering things up front. It was a lovely effect. But then it ended. The 25 minute set was over and the night was done.

Although the music was solid and enjoyable, tonight, I have to say that I probably will not be headed back to this venue to often, which is a shame since they book some really good bands. But the late start, casual style, and really short sets do not make me anxious to come back. Keep in mind, I am very lazy and can walk to all the U Street area clubs, so it is very easy for me to pass up events at an even moderately inconvenient club like this. But I am sure I will give Comet another chance when they do produce another really exciting band. The bands tonight did deliver some fine music, even though as Fern Knight’s Margaret Ayre pointed out, “it is past my bedtime.”

* Editor’s Note: Thanks to Patrick who pointed out that Martin Bisi and band performed even later in the night after many people had left. David and company had in fact seen The Plums open the show.

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Hot Ticket: Fern Knight @ Comet Ping Pong, 2/5/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/04/hot-ticket-fern-knight-comet-ping-pong-2511/ Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:00:44 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=61321

If you are in the mood for pizza on a weekend eveni…

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If you are in the mood for pizza on a weekend evening, Comet Ping Pong on North Connecticut is one of the fine choices you have in our fair city. Most weekends there come with the bonus of live late night music with excellent, mostly local musicians often featured. Coming this Saturday night are two excellent variants of the psychedelic folk world.

Martin Bisi’s music is edgy and exciting with a wide variety of shifts between quiet and loud, spacey and grounded, linear and obtuse. Even if I did not enjoy the music I have sampled from him, I would go just to see his special guest: Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls. The last time, I saw the Dolls, Viglione impressed me as one of the finest drummers I had seen that year.

Fern Knight also plays psychedelic folk music and through their several albums have moved their sound around quite a bit. One thing is guaranteed, there will be strings. Cellos, violins, violas, along with percussion and more. No matter what else they dream up, you can be certain it will be an exciting personal journey. They have dazzled DC before at the Velvet Lounge and I can’t wait to see what they will come up with this Saturday.

Martin Bisi & Fern Knight
Comet Ping Pong
Saturday, Feb. 5th
10:30pm

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We Love Music: Robert Plant @ DAR Constitution Hall, 2/1/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/03/we-love-music-robert-plant-dar-constitution-hall-2111/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/02/03/we-love-music-robert-plant-dar-constitution-hall-2111/#comments Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=61989
courtesy of RobertPlant.com

Like many people m…

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courtesy of RobertPlant.com

Like many people my age, we grew up as big fans of Led Zeppelin. They had the power and the superstar aura about them. They seemed far more mystical and untouchable than many of the other big bands of their day, akin to latter day Beatles perhaps. It has been interesting to follow the individual members since that time, as they have been much more down to earth in accessibility both personally and musically. John Paul Jones worked with Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age members, Jimmy Page plays often and is open for interviews and was even featured in the documentary “It Might Get Loud”. Yet it is Robert Plant who has been most active with album releases. He has released a ten-disc box set covering his career and has since added an award winning duet CD with Alison Krauss. Now he is touring in support of his latest album with another solid group called Band of Joy.

First on the bill are the North Mississippi Allstars. This veteran band starts the show promptly at 8pm with a good crowd, but with some empty seats which will be filled by set’s end. It is just the Dickinson brothers tonight with no accompanying players. Cody mans the drum kit, while Luther (who also plays with the Black Crowes) plays guitar and sings. This is pretty much straight blues music, which can wear me out as I have heard so much of it over my lifetime. It takes a good player to get me excited about it and fortunately Luther is every bit of a good player. He is particularly excellent with the slide guitar parts, especially on the fast-paced solos. All of the faster paced songs were excellent. Some of the slower cuts also worked well with his straight forward vocal style. There were covers of Dylan and R.L. Burnside, who has played with this band (as has Burnside’s son). The set pulled in the audience and was enjoyable for me, which is no small task when you play straight forward blues.

The best thing about Robert Plant‘s solo career is the quality of the bands he puts together. After perusing some recent set lists, I was disappointed that he was not doing anything from “Dreamland” or “Mighty Rearranger” which had great bands and brilliant songs. But this band was not only excellent at the Americana style that I had expected, they also laid down some deep, dark, swampy-psyche blues rock as well. They were not too far off from a sounding like a slightly more mainstream, unholy alliance between Gun Club and Dr. John. Ace guitarist Buddy Miller was excellent and key to the style shifts. Byron House was solid and offered a flourish at times on acoustic and electric bass. Patty Griffin offered fine vocal assistance and some acoustic guitar. While Darrell Scott played mandolin, guitar, steel guitar, and banjo–sometimes two instruments in the same song. I thought the real key was the tribal thumping of drummer Marco Giovino. His style was sort of a middle eastern Scott Asheton (The Stooges) that really set the tone for the others to riff on. Plant was in fine voice and played a mean harmonica on one song. He stepped back allowing all but the drummer to have a lead vocal, but sang harmony parts throughout.

The interesting thing I found was how much more universal this music is, rather than the “British guy goes Americana” that is often mentioned. First of all, British acts not only grabbed on to American blues, but they have been pulling in Americana since the 60s with bands like Fairport Convention, Pentangle and many of the guitarists operating solo at the time. Plant was clearly into that scene. But like Davy Graham, he is also pulling from the Middle East and combining everything into great bursts of intriguing songs and arrangements. He did just short of seven songs (well 6.3) by Led Zeppelin, which begs the question of why not do that reunion? Of course the arrangements here were quite different and hopefully he’ll make some time to work with his former band again. But if this is all you get, it is well worth it. “Down to the Sea” was amazingly mystic, while their bluesy take of “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down” was solid. He even did one of the two Low songs from the album, which is also a credit to his ability to find great music from various places–past and present. The set was solid and if I had to pick, I would say his “Ramble On” was the best of the Zeppelin arrangements. But don’t take my word for it, I counted at least 12 phone cameras recording that one, so I am sure this and much more can be sampled in lo-fi. Fortunately, the sound tonight was full out hi-fi and better than I expected with clarity and space for the instruments to maneuver even with the volume. The crowd enjoyed it for likely a whole lotta reasons.

His current set lists seem to vary within a tight group of songs, although the encores remain the same. Tuesday’s set list: Black Dog – Down to the Sea – Angel Dance – Houses of the Holy – Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down – Move Up – Cindy, I’ll Marry You Some Day – Gates to the City/Wade in the Water/In My Time of Dying – Satisfied Mind – Tangerine – Harm’s Swift Way – House of Cards – Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go – Monkey – You Can’t Buy my Love – Ramble on – Tall Cool One – Gallow’s Pole. Encores: In the Mood – Rock’n’Roll – I Bid You Good Night…

Oh, and before I go, I must take issue with other websites putting the Grateful Dead’s name behind the final song “I Bid You Good Night”. At about the time the Dead started playing this Bahamian song it had been done many times before by other artists. a Scottish duo called the Incredible String Band incorporated it into “A Very Cellular Song” in early 1968. Plant most likely heard it there first, as he was a fan. In fact, he has earned my undying respect for his attendance at the Incredible String Band reunion show over a decade back at a moderate sized club in Scotland. As I said, there is much more than Americana at work in this Robert Plant performance.

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We Love Music: Archivists/Fluorescent Sense/Southern Problems @ the Rock & Roll Hotel, 1/28/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/01/31/we-love-music-archivistsfluorescent-sensesouthern-problems-the-rock-roll-hotel-12811/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/01/31/we-love-music-archivistsfluorescent-sensesouthern-problems-the-rock-roll-hotel-12811/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:00:43 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=61464

Rock & Roll Hotel’s upstairs bar wa…

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Rock & Roll Hotel’s upstairs bar was packed with the usual Friday night denizens dancing away to the predictable throbbing drumbeats of the hired DJ. The downstairs bar was the place to be for rock music fans wanting to catch three fine, up-and-coming, local DC bands displaying their original songs and rock musical acumen. Archivists were headlining tonight, but on a good local bill like this, all three bands were given a full chance to provide a set of their original music to fans, friends, and people wanting to have something more than just a DJ’s beat with their buzz. And Archivists, Fluorescent Sense and Southern Problems delivered the goods.

Southern Problems got things underway in front of a decent crowd of about 40 people. That is a nice crowd for a band starting at quarter after nine and playing their fourth or fifth show. They were a three-piece with the guitarist doing almost all the singing. The sound was mostly straight ahead rock music featuring a muscular Ibanez guitar, but with a bit of an indie rock sound in there as well. They veered toward pop a few times and had a couple of songs that featured some interesting cross patterns between the guitar and the five-string bass player. The bass player had a lot of positive energy and played a lot of interesting runs both in counterpart to the songs with intricate guitar runs or in the songs with steady power riffing.. The drumming was good but perhaps a little too good, as his ride-cymbal had a lot of trouble staying upright and the kit ran around the stage bumping the microphones out of place. But the sound was solid and the band was together. Ultimately the riff-heavy songs stood out the most and the band reminded me of Sugar at times with their guitars, vocal work and song structure. Good half-hour set and well received by the crowd. The positive energy vibe works both ways.


Fluorescent Sense
hit the stage with two guitarists and the usual rhythm section. One guitarist sang lead and at times went upstage to play a real live Farfisa. Farfisa, like a mellotron, is almost always worth bonus points from me. Although I thought the early songs did have a garage-psyche feeling to them; it really wasn’t due to the occasional use of the Farfisa; it had more to do with the interesting arrangements they had; where they were able to latch onto the late sixties San Francisco meets LA style of psyche-rock. I could not really come up with a perfect comparison (which is good) but it was as if Canned Heat tried to play like the Music Machine. And if I thought the first bass player tonight had a lot of energy, this guy was trying to jump out of his skin. He reminded me of an old cover band from Cincinnati I saw as a college student. Fortunately, in this century, the black spandex one-piece and mirror shades are but a distant, painful memory. I heard a bit of Mighty Baby in their songs too which is a big positive for me.

I was wondering if their subtleties were a bit much for the growing audience, until their cover of the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat” prompted someone shout out for “Sister Ray–all of it”. But they did not have that 17 1/2 minute song in their plans tonight. The VU song and a couple others reminded me a bit of the Feelies and I swear I heard the Kink’s “Village Green” hook in a song. All in all, this band had a lot of great music in their set. They have their voice and only a couple of songs failed to move me. Now if they can work on their stage patter a bit, they can really start soaring.

Archivists hit the stage a bit after eleven and the crowd has swelled to about 75 people or thereabouts. I have seen this band once before as they played a fine set at the Velvet Lounge. Their one EP is an excellent indicator of their sound, but a live set can bring a bit more out of them (like it does for almost everybody). Archivists have the most classic indie rock sound of the night with the two unique guitar sounds dancing around in front of the solid rhythm section. The songs are catchy and intelligent. Although the Friday night crowd was likely a bit on the happy side by this third set, they were quite attentive to this music.

I particularly enjoyed the two distinct guitar tones on “Phantom Pains” which had biting lead sound on top of a grungy thick slab of sludge that reminded me of a twisted Chicago punk band called The Mentally Ill. Vocally, the range was kind of a cross between Billy Corgan and Colin Meloy, which offered a distinct clarity to the lyrics while flowing with the hooks in the songs. They finished with a nice gutsy rocker which capped off a very good night of local music. It is nice to see decent crowds supporting the local music scene and having a great time doing so.

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Hot Ticket: Archivists @ Rock & Roll Hotel 1/28/11 https://www.welovedc.com/2011/01/27/hot-ticket-archivists-rock-roll-hotel-12811/ https://www.welovedc.com/2011/01/27/hot-ticket-archivists-rock-roll-hotel-12811/#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:00:41 +0000 http://www.welovedc.com/?p=60907
‘Archivists’ by Betsy Quilligan

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‘Archivists’ by Betsy Quilligan.

Rock & Roll Hotel has turned over their excellent stage to some of the many outstanding local bands for several Friday night shows. Continuing this week, they present the Archivists who have a great take on the indie rock sound. Their two guitar line-up offers up everything from angular indie Americana-rock to flat out garage rockers. Also on the bill are local indie-rockers Fluorescent Sense and Southern Problems.

We are blessed with many excellent high quality bands in the Washington DC area. To be able to get three of them together on one of the nicest stages in Washington DC on a Friday night for $10? Well, that’s an affordable hot ticket that allows you to bring along a date plus buy a great dinner all for under the price of one ticket from Neil Young’s last tour. While it is unlikely that any of these bands will reach the heights of Neil Young, they will certainly be entertaining. And if one of them does reach those heights? Well, will you ever have a great story for your children!

Archivists
w/ Fluorescent Sense & Southern Problems
@ Rock & Roll Hotel
1/28/11
$10

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