Tag Archives: washington dc

Christian Fennesz, Merzbow, Richard Pinhas @ Sonic Circuits

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Christian Fennesz

I was lucky enough to cover Christian Fennesz’ performance at the Sonic Circuits festival… it was at the Strathmore Mansion, a very intimate (and classy!) location for a concert. Fennesz has only rarely played in the US and the small room was packed with very lucky people… I’m sure there must be footage of this somewhere on youtube, but it’s not a replacement for being in that room and hearing Fennesz perform. A great night.

Read the Washington Post review | See the rest of the Fennesz photos.

Merzbow & Richard Pinhas

I was also able, thanks to the awesome people at Wayside Music (waysidemusic.com) and Cuneiform Records (cuneiformrecords.com), attend a EXTREMELY rare collaborative performance of Merzbow and Richard Pinhas at the French Embassy in DC. This was by far the most SECURE show I’ve ever been too, and in fact when I tried to leave the show, was locked in the super luxurious grounds until an unseen person remotely opened the steel gate. So surreal. We also got to pal around with Richard and his son and discuss America, France, and all sorts of topics. Richard was really funny in person and his son was a trip!

Merzbow & Richard Pinhas     Merzbow & Richard Pinhas

The show itself was pretty great – Merzbow creating sonic textures on his laptop/electronic gear while Richard Pinhas played analog soundscapes with his guitar rig. Great stuff, and again, a packed theater. I’m not sure if this is the first Sonic Circuits festival, but this year was quite an accomplishment and I am already looking forward to 2011’s!

Dan Deacon Ensemble, Future Islands, Teeth Mountain @ 9:30 Club

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Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club
Future Islands @ 9:30 Club   Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club
Dan Deacon Ensemble crowd.
Teeth Mountain @ 9:30 Club   Future Islands crowd.
Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club   Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club

Sunday, Dan Deacon and his Ensemble rolled back into the area (along with Future Islands and Teeth Mountain). It was awesome to see so many friends playing on the big stage at the 9:30 Club. It was especially great to see Denny Bowen (of Double Dagger, Smart Growth fame, and part of the Ensemble) up there, as I have known Denny for years, and used to have his high school bands playing in the basement of my old house, the Dirtfarm. Such a good show, so great to see Dan’s songs performed with instrumentation, and to see him work his showmanship magic on such a huge crowd, and a “professional” space.

Future Islands and Teeth Mountain were really good as well, I was especially taken by Teeth Mountain, their set really benefited from the big sound that is possible at a venue like the 9:30.

More Dan Deacon Ensemble photos here!

Mastodon & Kylesa @ 9:30 Club, DC

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Mastodon @ 9:30 Club   Mastodon @ 9:30 Club
Mastodon @ 9:30 Club   Mastodon @ 9:30 Club   Kylesa @ 9:30 Club, DC
Kylesa @ 9:30 Club, DC   Kylesa @ 9:30 Club, DC

View the whole set here. The show was fun, though I miss the days that Mastodon and Kylesa hung out in my house with my old roommate Sonny and played sold out shows at the Velvet Lounge vs sold out shows at the 9:30 Club. Still, times change and both bands are still very talented… I’ll never like Mastodon’s new sound as much as their earlier work, but it suits them and has obviously won them alot of fans, so more power to them.

Lykke Li @ 6th & I Synagogue, DC.

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Lykke Li.    Lykke Li.

Last night I went and saw Swedish performer Lykke Li at the “Historic 6th & I Synagogue” in DC. Great show. Live, she adds alot more drumming and dynamic sound versus the album… mostly at the hands of her backing group, a group of Swedish men who my friend declared as being the most handsome backing band in the world. The venue was seated-only, which at first I was put off by, but it was really cool. A totally different atmosphere than a rock club.

See the whole Lykke Li set here

Tradition Dies Here final show @ the Black Cat

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Tradition Dies Here.

Last week I went down to DC to catch one of my favorite bands from the “old days” of Maryland Hardcore (the early 00s), Tradition Dies Here. Mikey is leaving town for a year or two to travel the world so they had this show in case it is the last one. Good times, old friends. Good luck Mikey!

Click here for the full Tradition Dies Here set.