Live music I've seen lately
schnipper
528 Posts
Two Dudes I am Friends With Named Daniel[/b] 
Pictured above yelling is one of my closest friends Daniel. He lives in San Francisco now, but is home for two months this summer, as his girlfriend is still in DC. He used to be a lot more fun, but that seems to have stopped lately. He also used to be in a band with like eight zillion drums and now he really likes classical guitar and quiet time. He played some shit in the other Dan's living room in a basement apartment in Adams Morgan. The Dan who lives there played first, doing multi-layered drone stuff on a laptop. It was okay. Pulsed in a out. People giggled and smoked weed then one of his amplifiers stopped working and he started again. Yeah. So (above photo/discussed) Daniel is going to start and he is nervous, despite his professing that he knows everyone in the room except one person and that he is going to play some classical guitar. He looks at me and smiles a little goofy and I start laughing and shake my head and tell him he's a huge fucking dork. He shakes his head in return and agrees and then, for some unknown reason, I say "it's pathetic" which isn't particularly appropriate heckling. I go stand in the kitchen while he plays the first piece and try not to laugh. He plays some boring acoustic improv shit I don't care about. Then he picks up his electric hollowbody for the second piece and it's boring until he starts playing a very loud, really heavy doom metal piece that is real sick and then the upstairs neighbor comes downstairs after about a minute and is like "not happening" and he stops. He plays a third piece, bowing his guitar with a cello bow. It was boring. I feel bad saying this, as though my alliency to my friend depends on my agreement with his aesthetic and artistic choices of a particularly evening, so, shit, maybe they do? We talk after he is done and I appologize for being a douchebag. He says "it's cool." It's not cool, really, man, I was kind of an asshole to you in front of a lot of people. "No, it's cool." Dude. Then everyone goes home or to a party and I go to Krunk, but not before a quick trip home to drink a Yuengling and listen to Stay Fly. Eight Million Years of Baltimore Club Featuring K-Swift[/b] 
She is so much more adorable than that picture. He hair is real long and a lot lighter and in these almost ringlets and her focus game was serious! Two CDJs and a turntable ensured that I was listening to someone say the words HEY RIDERS or NEVA SCARED for about two hours straight. This was at an enormous warehouse in Baltimore with no air conditioning and a lot of people. PBR donated 300 cans of beer, plus there were three kegs, but that shit was killed fairly early in the night, leaving most everyone sweaty and sober by one. It was so hot I drank a million glasses of a Baltimore tap water and peed more than I ever thought I could. It was astonishing. I couldn't believe I peed that much. Like I'd pee and then five minutes later more would show up with greater bladder fervor. This was akin to my first and hopefully only experience getting sick from drinking and puking for about 12 hours straight. No more. Anyway, I realize this isn't exactly live music, but I don't care and I bet you don't either. K-Swift is a tight DJ but this confirmed that there is a lot of terrible Club being produced and she totally has all of it. No discretion at all, just play that shit if it's got the Sing Sing break. But shit I'm not complaining (at least not too much. look I'm jewish and curmudgeonly it's what happens) but can I get a little more ridiculous horns and less Sing Sing? Horn shit makes me lose my shit. I didn't really have too much of a problem doing that anyway because that shit is fun to dance to and K-Swift brought her friend who stood on the stage encouraging dancing by swinging various body parts while wearing a shirt that said FETISH: WHAT'S YOURS? Around two thirty we went home because K-Swift took off and my friend Josh's ass sweat was making him embarrassed. I saw some other shit I'll write about it later
Pictured above yelling is one of my closest friends Daniel. He lives in San Francisco now, but is home for two months this summer, as his girlfriend is still in DC. He used to be a lot more fun, but that seems to have stopped lately. He also used to be in a band with like eight zillion drums and now he really likes classical guitar and quiet time. He played some shit in the other Dan's living room in a basement apartment in Adams Morgan. The Dan who lives there played first, doing multi-layered drone stuff on a laptop. It was okay. Pulsed in a out. People giggled and smoked weed then one of his amplifiers stopped working and he started again. Yeah. So (above photo/discussed) Daniel is going to start and he is nervous, despite his professing that he knows everyone in the room except one person and that he is going to play some classical guitar. He looks at me and smiles a little goofy and I start laughing and shake my head and tell him he's a huge fucking dork. He shakes his head in return and agrees and then, for some unknown reason, I say "it's pathetic" which isn't particularly appropriate heckling. I go stand in the kitchen while he plays the first piece and try not to laugh. He plays some boring acoustic improv shit I don't care about. Then he picks up his electric hollowbody for the second piece and it's boring until he starts playing a very loud, really heavy doom metal piece that is real sick and then the upstairs neighbor comes downstairs after about a minute and is like "not happening" and he stops. He plays a third piece, bowing his guitar with a cello bow. It was boring. I feel bad saying this, as though my alliency to my friend depends on my agreement with his aesthetic and artistic choices of a particularly evening, so, shit, maybe they do? We talk after he is done and I appologize for being a douchebag. He says "it's cool." It's not cool, really, man, I was kind of an asshole to you in front of a lot of people. "No, it's cool." Dude. Then everyone goes home or to a party and I go to Krunk, but not before a quick trip home to drink a Yuengling and listen to Stay Fly. Eight Million Years of Baltimore Club Featuring K-Swift[/b] She is so much more adorable than that picture. He hair is real long and a lot lighter and in these almost ringlets and her focus game was serious! Two CDJs and a turntable ensured that I was listening to someone say the words HEY RIDERS or NEVA SCARED for about two hours straight. This was at an enormous warehouse in Baltimore with no air conditioning and a lot of people. PBR donated 300 cans of beer, plus there were three kegs, but that shit was killed fairly early in the night, leaving most everyone sweaty and sober by one. It was so hot I drank a million glasses of a Baltimore tap water and peed more than I ever thought I could. It was astonishing. I couldn't believe I peed that much. Like I'd pee and then five minutes later more would show up with greater bladder fervor. This was akin to my first and hopefully only experience getting sick from drinking and puking for about 12 hours straight. No more. Anyway, I realize this isn't exactly live music, but I don't care and I bet you don't either. K-Swift is a tight DJ but this confirmed that there is a lot of terrible Club being produced and she totally has all of it. No discretion at all, just play that shit if it's got the Sing Sing break. But shit I'm not complaining (at least not too much. look I'm jewish and curmudgeonly it's what happens) but can I get a little more ridiculous horns and less Sing Sing? Horn shit makes me lose my shit. I didn't really have too much of a problem doing that anyway because that shit is fun to dance to and K-Swift brought her friend who stood on the stage encouraging dancing by swinging various body parts while wearing a shirt that said FETISH: WHAT'S YOURS? Around two thirty we went home because K-Swift took off and my friend Josh's ass sweat was making him embarrassed. I saw some other shit I'll write about it later
Comments
Kind of like when the power kept on shutting off at my gig in Boston on Friday except in a bad way cause nobody was clapping they were just looking at me like what the fuck?
You aren't as cute as K-Swift, I guess
On my way to see Tussle on a recommendation from our friend Rape Donkeys. I'll write about why this years Folklife Festival is kind of busted and how Gang Gang Dance and Bloodlines killed it and my special moment with Dan Higgs of Lungfish soon
Recommended.
DUDES THAT LOOK A LOT ALIKE PLAYING DRUMS[/b]
They really just beat the shit out of some drums and other shit. That's a half quote from my friend Chris who apparently is reviewing this shit for the Washington Post so check for that Wednesday. he also did a very newspaper style review of Gang Gang Dance. ANYWAY today sucked shit so I figured I should go see some music so I leave the house get a Nutrageous and walk over to Black Cat around 9:30. Dude at the door is like HEY MATT I DON'T NEED TO SEE YOUR ID HOW ARE YOU and I am like "how do I know you?" then I remember but it's not well enough for him to be quite so jovial, but he could be like HEY MATT TURN AROUND AND GO HOME FAGGOT or something so that's good. I pay and go into the back room where there is no one aside from the bands. I sit there and cross and uncross my legs for a half an hour before getting a gingerale and running into the above mentioned Chris (who I thought was out of town) and his girlfriend. We chill and then the band Eats Tape starts. Best part of this band is the cute turquoise slipons the lady had. They were low budget house music with bleeps and shit. NEXT.
okay so next was Tussle. They have one full kit, one kit made of various percussion things then a floor tom and some rototoms. Then a dude plays bass sometimes and a dude does keyboards and electronics. Basically they just play grooves. Shit is in the pocket like a gigantic pocket that fits three real dudely dudes from California that probably say "hey man" a lot. They are really into Liquid Liquid which is fine. Okay seriously it's like DRUM GROOVE ATTACK SLIDE BASS GROOVE GROOVE and I mean this in only a good way. I heard a 12" of theirs two years ago and thought it was dull. They probably are better recorded now but I still don't care. I like drums a lot and watching dudes play drums is sick and that's cool with me. Second to last song dude starts killing it, hitting the bell of his ride cymbal and I was all closing my eyes and shit like on E or something but dude could have played that bell for years and I would only be able to muster up the strength to say Chill.
Uggghhhhhh...
thats the worst cover I've ever seen
2). I just saw Lady Alma last night with Rich Medina. It was a great time. Rich Medina play some dope stuff (skill wise he was a bit lacking) but Lady Alma was fire.
Seriously, Noz, I used to be a huge asshole. I kind of got my shit together with that in the last few years.
Also tomorrow I will write about the DC Caribbean Carnival Parade which featured the loudest music I have ever heard in my entire life. And, tragically, it was soca
Matt...what were you expecting at Carnival?
And are you back in town?
Chris, yeah I am. I have a feeling my DC days are somewhat numbered, though... You DJing tomorrow? We should get a drink some time soon!
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GANG GANG DANCE BLOODLINES DAN HIGGS IN BALTIMORE (BALTILESS)[/b]
That is an actual photo from the actual show I went to. psychicduck.com (?) dude has photos of Bloodlines which are worth looking at.
So we get to the Ottobar in Baltimore early so I stand on the corner and talk to my parents on the phone before they leave for Italy. Right now they are in Italy having fun. My dad is totally retiring at 58 and my mom is like yeah I want to stop being vice president of this insurance company and be CEO of some medium sized company for a few years while your father figures out his life. I am like cool I'm in Baltimore I'm gonna go inside now. We go up to the bar and chill out there while some dude DJs punkish records until we go downstairs and Dan Higgs (of Lungfish and tattoo artist fame) is playing. I expected him to be playing a jews harp but he was instead playing acoustic guitar over some constantly repeating low toned noise. It was boring, kind of like if Sandy Bull had a two year old kid who was trying to play like his dad. I went over and stood against a wall. I realize I must have looked like a total herb to wildman Higgs because I was wearing this light pink polo shirt and a half smile and he stares right at me and keeps staring and I give him a wider smile and he smiles back and keeps staring so I give him a I don't know what you are doing but that's okay because you're in Lungfish style shrug and he shrugs back and keeps playing. He plays for another 20 minutes or so, all completely improvised and not particularly well played. OF NOTE Dan Higgs recently told NPR about his lyrics in Lungfish that "im not trying to get anything across with the lyrics, im just trying to get the lyrics across." SICK
Bloodlines were up next. Two members of Cranium this old DC band including Raquel who is nice and used to live in DC but has been in bands I haven't cared for in the recent past (Ducks Only, anyone?) and the dude who sung for Cranium and is still insane. Dude looks like a crust punk with a mud flap mullet haircut and came out dressed in bright red pants and a bright red jacket. He looked totally ridiculous. Also the drummer of this band is a total fox. Anyway the guitars totally sounded like Television (no bass, either) and dude singing for them is completely absurd and jumping all over the stage and has these really bad melodramatic lyrics that totally work because of it (like "WHERE IS LOVE IN THE HEART OF PLACES OF COLD MIRRORS WITH BLOOD KISSES AND SHALLOW SEAS" I made that up, good huh?). He was kind of a douche when he was like "Im not feeling good vibes from the crowd here this is going to be our last song" it's like uh what do the other members of your band think about that? But whatever they were trill I'll buy their full length when it comes out
gang Gang Dance played last and they were SO SICK. Shit made me bummed out that I don't book shows right now because I don't have a space to do so because the warehouse I used to do shows at would have been a ridiculous place to see them play. (Plus I wouldn't have had to go to Baltimore.) Woman who sings for them is wearing a sick ripped up Oakland Raiders shirt and has roto toms. Dude playing guitar looks mad about something the whole time and dude playing drums has this weird regular/traditional grip meshing going on that makes him fascinating to watch. seriously they would just be like WHITE NOISE and then dude from no where all quiet dude would just start in this tight groove and then some electronic pan flute would come in and lady would start her Kate Bush wail and you were like what the fuck is happening? It was ill. I haven't cared a whole bunch about music like that lately but D U U D they were ill best band I've seen this year I dunno go see that shit blah blah blah
oh shit dude - can't believe i forgot to mention how the fuses blow at enormous room all the time. sorry.
Hey! I was there too.
And, yeah, the two times I've DJed at the H&H, the power switched off on me incessantly throughout the night. Seeing the same thing happen to K-Swift in front of roughly the same crowd made me feel a little better about myself.
http://www.davenada.com/kswiftjam.htm
That space is so tight. Did you get to see Manhunter? I love that shit
yeah that record has been on near constant rotation for the last few months... props to rape_donks for puttign it on my radar screen
nice reviews schnipper
I just checked and TUSSLE is playing tonight in Greensboro... which is a long way... and I'm completely broke. I know one of those dudes, he's from here... too bad...
i have seen a lot of shit lately on either coast but i gotta say afrirampo is basically sonning everyone in the world right now with some brutal relentless art damage hardcore that just makes the whole world lurch for about 20 minutes.
fucking devastating.
saw flora purim and airto sometime ago off the mush...good times
BALTIMORE
looking forward to them live. their album is