This is shaping up to be a rock-tastic weekend, heavy on the Velvet Lounge, with some parties mixed in.
Tonight: "Better Dead Than Red" party thrown by my favorite party hosts, WC and LG. They promise righteous indignation, fancy cheese and condescending smirks. Super.
Afterwards, I'm hoping to overcome rain-induced sloth and head out to Velvet Lounge and see Full Minute of Mercury, Karmella's Game and Rockbot.
Baltimore's Karmella's Game have a neat-o Web site. It's quite possibly the cutest band site I've seen in a very long time. Once there, you can download three of their songs, including a cover of Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight." I haven't made up my mind on whether or not I can get behind a synth-pop cover of this amazing song, but I have made up my mind on whether or not I like Karmella's Game in general. Female-fronted, synth-heavy power-pop? Yes, please. Their singer has a great voice: it's light and breezy but has a lot of depth when it's needed. Oh, and they wear school uniforms. No, I have no problems with gimmicks.
The theme of the evening is obviously cute girls and synths, because Richmond's Rockbot boast a Suicide Girl playing… synths. Their site has four songs to download.
Saturday: Housewarming party for friend/former boss. I hope to be good-wine-drunk by 9:30 p.m. Then, it's the Velvet Lounge for local favorites The Hard Tomorrows. Saturday night is about cute boys instead of cute girls. Download The Hard Tomorrows' "Put Yourself Out" from betterPropaganda.
Sunday: Delgados at Black Cat. I didn't know about them until MG lent me their new album, and I like it lots. A few weeks ago, [information leafblower] yelled at me for not knowing who the Archers of Loaf are. Well, opening band Crooked Fingers is a project of Archers of Loaf singer Eric Bachmann. That's all I know right now.
Thursday, November 11, 2004 ::: Full Minute of Mercury
I was so excited by how much I liked Full Minute of Mercury that I took tons of pictures, but I didn't want to use the flash (and I admit to being a bit tipsy) so they're all sort of blurry, and I didn't get any good ones of more than half the band. But you get the idea. Those girls sure are adorable, aren't they? These are for all of you who say that all I ever post are photos of boys with guitars:
I'd listened to some MP3s before going to the show, but the recordings don't do this band justice. Their energy, interaction and excitement are a crucial element that can only come across in a live performance. And since they're local, I look forward them to seeing them play again soon. Actually, they're playing tomorrow night at Velvet Lounge, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. But if you like fun girl-fronted powerpop with a smile, be sure to check out Full Minute of Mercury as soon as you get a chance, and don't forget to sing along when they ask you to.
I listened to it twice and almost cried a bunch of times. It's just so damn lovely. They're sort of like a toned-down Polyphonic Spree with only two people in the band and lyrics that are, for the most part, far less joyous and uplifting. The piano, the pretty voices and harmonies... songs that sound pretty and happy but are really sad always get to me. Download "Goods (All In Your Head)" here.
Onto more cheerful music news. Last night's iPod Jukebox had quite a turnout. It was a jarring contrast from the last event, which was held on the same night as the final presidential debate and didn't get going until much later in the evening. Gate 54 was already crowded when I got there a little after 9:00. Michael and rj3 were already there, and were soon followed by Mike DCist, [information leaflower], and MG. It was also very nice to finally meet David a.k.a. Out of Step / DC.
Here's what I played:
Elkland, "Apart" (download it from the band's site)
The Ponys, "I Love You 'cause (You Look Like Me)"
Sahara Hotnights, "Who Do You Dance For?"
The Cloud Room, "Hey Now Now" (download it from the band's site)
I didn't stick around long enough to hear anyone else's set other than MG's, which was really great. Covers are the best, especially Local H's "Toxic." Some people at the next table actually clapped in approval. My apologies to everyone on whose set I skipped out. Next time I'll caffeinate myself and stay around long enough to hear more of the sets.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 :::
Tonight: iPod Jukebox at Saint-Ex's Gate 54. I'll tell you tomorrow what I played (well, programmed and handed over, to be exact), but hopefully you'll be there to hear it for yourself this evening.
Tomorrow: I post pictures of Full Minute of Mercury and Salem.
Damn good show. Juliette and the Licks aren't doing anything new, but they do what they're doing extremely well. Juliette Lewis' talents and strengths as an actress translate well to her rock 'n' roll endeavors. She's great at encouraging the audience to go wild with her, and in between her Iggy Pop stage moves, she constantly interacts with her tight band, which consists of Hole's Patty Schemel on drums, Todd Morse (H2O) and Kimbel Pie on guitars and Paul Ill on bass. Here are my best shots of Juliette:
An aside: I didn't realize Juliette Lewis was so popular with the lesbians, who made up a good chunk of the crowd last night. I can't think of any movies in which she played a lesbian, and I've only read about the men she's dated.
Another aside: On our way out, MG spotted a girl in a denim jacket with a large Micky and Mallory patch on the back. I recently read an interview with Woody Harrelson in Entertainment Weekly in which he bashes Quentin Tarantino's original script for Natural Born Killers.
Morning commmute music: Full Minute of Mercury, Summer Sampler '04. Twice. Because it's short and it's so much fun.
While I get my act together this morning, be sure to check out MG's coverage of last night's Juliette and the Licks performance. Also, she gushes about the opener, Full Minute of Mercury, who were totally gush-worthy.
From Pitchfork: No new Nine Inch Nails until March 2005. Not soon enough for some, "who the hell cares" for most. I'm looking forward to it, in case you were wondering.
Curious about the bands opening for Juliette and the Lickstonight? Read about and download five songs by Full Minute Of Mercuryhere. Visit Salem's site. Looks like they're on the same label as Juliette and the Licks, but their site isn't exactly informative. Or maybe I just haven't figured out where to click. I'm starting to dislike them based on their site alone. You can learn more at Fiddler Records, if you're still curious.
Monday, November 08, 2004 :::
Thanks to rj3 for the heads up: You can now buy Postal Service's Give Up from the USPS's Web site. You have to check it out just for the product description. Excerpt: "Using the name Postal Service under license from The United States Postal Service, this band has gone on to garner reviews like..." Well, that's not exactly how it went down, but okay.
Interestingly, it's going to cost you more to buy this CD from the USPS than from the band's label or other sources.
USPS price: $13.98
USPS shipping: $3.85 (what, they couldn't use media mail?)
Sub Pop price: $12
Sub Pop shipping: $2.29
Barnes & Noble price: $11.18
Barnes & Noble shipping: $2.98 (free if you spend $25 or more)
Amazon price: $11.99
Amazon shipping: $2.98 (free if you spend $25 or more)
Liberation Dance Party didn’t reach full capacity on its first night, but it has a lot of potential. The upstairs at DC 9 is a really great space for a dance party, because there are booths around the dance floor for those who don't want to dance but want to watch and there's a room in the back with some really comfortable couches, Christmas lights and a TV so that you can watch the music videos/movie. I declared that as the party takes off and more of the hoi-polloi turns out, this room will become the VIP room. Yeah, so it's not like this is my party and I have any right to hold court in the back room, but once everyone gets drunk enough, I will stage a coup. In attendance were Megadork (thanks for getting us in for free!), Sarah a.k.a. mammal playtime, Avram, Ben (The Cause play Velvet Lounge on November 16), Jeff, Michael, some cool people to whom I can't link because they don't have blogs or bands and, of course, the usual suspects, MG and rj3.
The evening did end on a bizarre note as I was cornered on the dance floor by a "paid intern" from some "subcommittee" for some "senator from Maine." Hey, creepy drunk guy, we don't dance like that to The Hives and The Darkness. We smile and sing along and dance like idiots with our friends. Or at least that's what I do. MG and rj3 noticed that he was trying to break me off from the group and dance me into a dark corner and attempted to un-creepy-fy the situation, but he was just not getting it. So we stopped dancing and went to the back room for a break and creepy intern guy followed. He was too drunk to make any attempt at conversation but was still able to rattle off his 20-word resume to rj3, who was the most likely to be impressed by any political mumbo-jumbo but he was not at all. Maybe that impresses the ladies at the bars you usually go to, but we're not on the Hill or at some college bar in Georgetown, so just stop please. And how about you give me some space on that couch, huh? It also didn't help that creepy intern guy's drunker friend wandered in and picked a stupid fight with rj3 that almost ended in a fistfight. Anyway, we couldn't go back out on the dance floor because I didn't want to be cornered again, and we couldn't enjoy sitting around in the back room, so we just gave up and left. Here's to never again getting hit on by a guy from the Hill. Luckily, they don't usually get lost and wind up at any of the bars I frequent.
Saturday afternoon rj3 and I tried to catch The Incredibles but the timing didn't work out, so instead we checked out Amsterdam Falafelshop on 18th Street, which was awesome. Highly recommended. I love falafel, and this is the best place I've had it in D.C., although 24 Seven on U Street is a close second, mostly because it's right near the Black Cat. Then we met up with aglazer, his lovely lady friend and others to welcome back mr. glazer to the U.S. Once again, welcome back, glazer! Because he's the bestest, I even broke my "no saloon" rule and ended up at Childe Harold in Dupont Circle post-dinner at Thai Chef.
Over the weekend I listed to some CDs I randomly pulled off my CD rack because I always mean to do that but get caught up in the new stuff. I listened to Burning Brides' Fall of the Plastic Empire and The Star Spangles' Bazooka!!! I also finished a book I started too long ago: The Anxiety of Everyday Objects. It's chick-lit but not quite. It's not so much about the main character's romantic life as it is about her career and artistic attempts. Richard Russo has a quote on the front cover, which I guess sets it apart from Bridget Jones-like reading. I watched Taking Lives at one point, because I'll watch almost any movie that has to do with profiling serial killers. It was pretty atrocious, as expected. But Angelina Jolie is hot. She's in my top five girl crushes right now.
Sunday night I thought about going to Taint and dancing with the gay hipster boys, but I was just too sleepy. Another time, soon. Speaking of Sunday nights, Arrested Development is back and it's great. And Desperate Housewives still has me hooked. And have I mentioned glazer is back and how great that is? We had dinner Sunday night and I got wine-tipsy and it was super.
This week: Juliette and the Licks on Tuesday, iPod Jukebox Night at Saint-Ex on Wednesday and perhaps Asobi Seksu on Wednesday also.
01/05: Taint and Bliss present INFAMY, 9:30 Club
01/10: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, 9:30 Club
01/19: Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, Greenland, Black Cat 01/24: Hej Hej, Cafe Saint-Ex
