Mother May I Do It Again?

 



















Attention DC Rockers-
Did you see either of these shows?

If not this Saturday may be your last and only chance to see two vintage DC bands in reunion mode. If you did- then you get to do it again.

Mother May I and Hyaa! will both be at IOTA October 2 playing a concert for the benefit of the children of Rob LeBourdais from Mother May I.(Please don't pull out your old 80s garb or hairstyles for this one because we don't want to see them!) But we do want to see you. Come out and support a good cause, and the musicians that are making this scene happen...again.

A $15 donation gets you in to witness DC rock history come alive.

(And thank you Alice Despard for your help with this post.)

Loggers Hail Local Hardware

Politicians and their lackeys come and go in this town, and most never even scratch the surface of local Washington. On the flip side families that have lived here for generations have never stepped foot in the Capitol- especially nowadays with all the terrorcrats barring the way to the peoples' own real estate.

But here's a story from Stock Wilson of the Loggers which has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with the history of our own Capitol Hill:

"Capitol Hill's oldest hardware store Frager's is celebrating its 90th anniversary next Saturday October 2nd with a rooftop performance by DC's Loggers from noon until 3. In the 80s I had a beat-up town house on Capitol Hill from which I was working sound for the Oxymorons, playing bass for the Slim Jims and fronting the Megatones. Our roadies all worked at Frager's!

"The original Loggers that formed on the Hill were Vince and Antoine Sanfuentes and myself. Piers Hackley has replaced Antoine and founding Mump, ex-Iggy Pop guitarist Rob duPrey joined the band in 2008. Although the Loggers are considered a roadhouse cover band in the DC tradition, our sets are heavily peppered with original material. Come join us for our Let It Be moment!"

TGIM by Lyn2

Thank the goddesses it's Monday. You can stop worrying about all those lofty weekend aspirations, put in a good day's work and go to Galaxy Hut to see Yell County and Musicband. I can tell you that Yell County rocks hard and smart. As for Musicband, you wonder why no one named themselves that before. Check them out. Galaxy Hut is a great little place at 2711 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. Near Clarendon Metro and they've got good simple food and an eclectic beer selection.

Last Clue for Sunday

Magical Mystery Tour SUNDAY

There's a great show coming up this Sunday night involving two really, really good local bands. The only problem is this event takes place in a very small place so it won't take much to fill this room. If you can figure out what and where by the pix, then you can come.

Stay tuned for one more hint tomorrow.

p.s dear subscribers- if you can't see the pictures in your email,
hit the link to DC ROCKS itself.

Saturday Night: Cure for Brain Fade?

We have three bands coming up at Comet Ping Pong this Saturday night

Sleeper Agent, X-MC and the Yachtsmen. Perhaps all, or more likely none of these names will ring a bell. We supposedly start losing brain cells a few at a time starting in our twenties. Yet, as our short term memory worsens, supposedly our long term memories become more deeply engraved... like my kindergarten teacher- Claire Kleess. How could I ever forget her? I got to be on her show!

If you have not heard of the bands above the names below might come back to you:
Holy Rollers, Grand Mal, Law of Fives, Ruthie and the Wranglers, Mother May I, Wanktones, Earth Eighteen, Hula Monsters, Adam West, Negative Approach, Cravin' Dogs, Meatmen, Government Issue, Dizzy Dizzy, Hyaa! and Slickee Boys.

And if you still aren't getting anywhere- go anyway. Comet Ping Pong is a very cool venue with wood fired pizzas, a big bar and a room in the back for ping pong or live music. Bands will fire up around 10, and there'll be a lot of people there to remind you about those good ole brain cell shedding days.

Cover- only $5

Coming up- mark your calendars for Hyaa's Reunion Benefit at Iota next week.

Not a Night Owl?

I know- the kidsthejobthe house...you just can't get out much anymore, but there's still day light left in this season and nice weather coming up, and fall things to do.

You can get a jumpstart this Saturday when Jumpin Jupiter kicks of Clarendon Day at 11 AM at the Carfreediet stage. (What the heck? I didn't make that up though I kind of wish I had.) All activities including two stages and lots of stuff going on take place right up there by the Clarendon Metro. Bands will be playing all day including King Teddy and Honor BY August.

(I don't know if Jay Jenc will be awake that early, but if not you can also catch Jumpin Jupiter at the Mobtown Greaseball Event Saturday night at the Dundalk Moose Lodge. A slightly different cup of tea.)

Wednesday is for Wonderland by Lyn2

Let Color School teach you a lesson this Wednesday at Wonderland in Columbia Heights. Color School's dreamy power pop sound is a lesson plan designed by Jerry Herg, Charles Steck and Bill Kalish. the band's named for a 1950's - 60's art movement that happened right here in DC, and this has me curious.
Mobius Strip tells me that the future has an anthem, so I'm curious about that, too. The third act is David Scoli. The music starts at 9 and ends around midnight-no cover. Wonderland has music upstairs, a nice bar downstairs, a great patio, really good beer choices and yummy food.

And a good place to go back to school.

Both Sides Now by Lyn2

I've got a dilemma on Saturday night - two sides of the DC scene on display and I'm supposed to choose. In town at the Black Cat my young friend Ray and the Black Sparks are joining Gist on the Backstage. In Bethesda, friends we've known a bit longer - the Vi-Kings- will show off their decades of talent and experience at Parker's Classic American.

The Vi-Kings are Joe Dolan, Stock Wilson, Bill Euler, Matt Maury, Rob Howe and Rob Fisher. What started as a junior-high reunion has turned into a band chock full of talent that plays their favorites of 60's rock - Stones, Kinks, Yardbirds.

The Black Sparks have been taking the area by storm and wowed the Ft. Reno crowd with their over-the-top performance this summer. Ranging in age from 10-12, this band is one to watch. Gist is known for their rock solid, emphasis on "rock," and have been on my list for a few years.

I hope you'll have as hard a time choosing one of these shows as I will.

Local Rockers Do It at Iota

Friday night, if for whatever reason you don't go down to see Tommy Keene at the 9:30 Club, (Mr. "Places That Are Gone" guy whose song made me cry at the 9:30 anniversary show) then head over to Iota where WAMA award winner David Kitchen is the opening act. David put out a killer CD last year, but rarely plays his own stuff.

And on Saturday night, DC's own Songwriting Guy- Karl Straub will be the opener at Iota as well. Karl's been around many a moon with many a tune often covered by other artists.

Iota, a tiny venue in Clarendon, often has bands worth checking out, and this weekend is no exception. But be aware- the club is undergoing renovations, and the cafe side is closed though food is still being served in the bar.

Dancing Off A Stay of Execution

Blob's Park was the brain child of Max Blob- a German immigrant who started the  business on his family's farm in 1933 bringing the atmosphere of a real German beer garden to Maryland. It was shut down in 2007 after being sold to developers, but a slow economy and Max Eggerl, great nephew of Max Blob, saved the day. Max has leased back  the place until the bulldozers return.

Here's what Slickee Boy Mark Noone has to say:

"Blob’s used to be a fantasy land looming on the outskirts of Baltimore. It was where my parents and their friends would go to drink beer, eat wieners, and polka. My late friend John Hyde went there one evening with his wife and kept talking about the atmosphere for weeks. It is a great place, the kind of place only found in Baltimore; well, Jessup really. The dance hall is surrounded by 40 acres of rolling terrain. There's a cement pavilion where I have played many times, but you will never forget the dance hall. 


This Friday at 8 p.m., DC’s premier western swing band, The Oklahoma Twisters, will be playing their collective ass off in the dance hall; its kind of like BBQ brisket --meets wiener schnitzel with beer and dancing. One should go there at least once in a life time to experience the place and act like my parents’ friends did in the fifties and sixties."

South, North, East, West- Sometimes DC's The Best

A lot of musicians leave this town to find sanctuary in places like Nashville and California, but luckily some grow tired of other places and come back to Washington again.

This Thursday look for an amazing line up at IOTA featuring native Jonathan Mudd and his new band- all DC rockers past and present- Parthenon Huxley from Don Dixon and ELO II, Cal Everett from 4 Out of 5 Doctors and Tom Conner from Simple Man.

The Billy Coulter Band will get things started EARLY at 8:30 - This is another band full of DC talent including John Penovich, Arch Alcantara and Doug Tull. Billy says "come on out if you like local bands playing the kind of music that made 'HFS great listening: mixing roots rock with power pop into one cohesive sound."

$12 cover

Gotta Love a Homophone

Natty Boh may be a moniker for a working man's Baltimorean brew, but when it comes to bands Natty Beaux is: 


"A fun-lovin', finger-snappin', hoppin' and boppin' combo featuring musicians from Billy Coulter Band, The Junkyard Saints, Alexandria Kleztet and Western Bop. Folks just can't sit still when they hear 'em play toe-tappin' numbers from Louis Prima, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, Bobby Darin, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Nat King Cole, Jerry Lee Lewis and more."

If that sounds like your cup of tea- take yourself down to the Bumper Car Pavilion dance and hear Natty Beaux live at Glen Echo Park this Saturday night. For the left footed amongst you- dance lesson from 8-9; the band swings from 9- midnight. $13