A Packed House

Finally it's over. Today is the last day of the shortest but what felt like a very long, grey month.  Don't forget to say rabbit rabbit tomorrow and get out and celebrate our incoming March.

This Saturday night four entirely different bands will be packed into four different venues in four corners of our area, but they all have one thing in common: all of these joints are extremely cozy as they say in the real estate biz. A lot of you might remember Catfish Hodge as a regular around town. He and his band will be at JVs in Virginia. Ruthie and The Wranglers will be wrangling for elbow room at the Quarry House in Silver Spring, and the Jelly Roll Mortals roll into the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt. Last but certainly not least The Very Small will make some noise at Comet Ping Pong here in DC. No excuses now. Get out. Enjoy.

A Tale of the Old Dirty Thirty

Here's the contest winner for the DC Funk/Punk show tickets at 9:30 on Sunday from a fan who wishes to remain anonymous:

"The first time I went to the 9:30 Club sometime in the 1977 or 1978, it was actually a place called The Atlantis. A very makeshift "rock/punk" venue run by a middle aged, pot-bellied, balding guy (from what I could tell) that seemed unlikely to be a fan of the music he was hosting. Nevertheless it was a music space and I was able to gain entry and drink (at age 15 or 16) with a borrowed Massachusetts driver's license that had no photo. I only went to 3 or 4 shows before it closed, and I wasn't surprised that it hadn't lasted very long. However, it obviously planted the seed for the 9:30 Club which opened in the space with more serious intention to be a club. I remember my teenage brain thinking that the new club was too mainstream, and it's real purpose was to cash in on folks wanting to rough it downtown in a semi-ghostland filled with wig and shoe shops.  I obviously got over that. 

One of the first concerts I remember going to at the "new" 9:30 Club, (now known as the old 9:30 Club at 930 F St) was Ultravox with the Police as the opening act. This was around 1979 or 1980. I saw maybe one and half songs by the Police and remember thinking the band made a pretty big sound for three guys. Then something I had ingested a bit earlier in the evening suddenly made it necessary to barricade myself in the girl's bathroom. I was sick for the rest of the night. At that time, there was only a single toilet down in the basement, before the coat check room existed. I missed the entire Ultravox set, and I want to take this chance to say I'm sorry to all that needed the bathroom that night. 

Remember The Time?

Nostalgia-gedden going on this weekend between the Cool "Disco" Dan film at AFI and the opening of the Corcoran exhibit  which celebrates the "subculture of the 1980s." ( hey- now I realize that's exactly what DC ROCKS is all about- "subculture") Plus the corresponding 9:30 Club funk -punk concert happens on Sunday. To top it all off- catch the documentary which covers the history of the Bayou-one of DC's lost music venues featuring great back stage stories. "The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint" this Monday (not last) on Maryland Public TV at 9 p.m.

Love Ins This Weekend

This Saturday night the Vi- Kings are back at Clyde's Chevy Chase to warm up February with their cool psychedelic groove, and on SUNDAY an unbelievable crew of musicians is lining up for the Barry Hart benefit at the Golden Bull out in Gaithersburg. Look for this year's Wammie award winners- The Nighthawks, Dave Chappel and Mary Ann Redmond and much more. (Congratulations you guys!)

Ticket Give Away Is Over

Thanks for all the entries sent in to DC ROCKS ticket contest for the punk funk show at 9:30 Club this Sunday, but we do have a winner who wishes to remain anonymous. (Stay tuned for the winning story.) Also the Corcoran's exhibition "Pump Me Up: DC Subculture of the 1980s" will be running from this Saturday, February 23rd through April 7.

Whoops- Back to the Bayou IS NEXT Week

Sorry for the wrong information on the last posting about the Bayou documentary on Maryland Public TV. Look for it Monday Feb 25th not tonight.

Go Back to the Bayou

Hey, all you local rock fans - here's a show you actually have to stay at home to watch. Remember the Bayou? That divey old night club down under the Whitehurst Freeway? If you have even the haziest recollection, the documentary "The Bayou DC's Killer Joint" will bring those memories flooding back, plus a nice slice of DC history thrown in, too. And even if you are not familiar with the old scene, it's a fun film to watch full of footage of the bands that passed through- both local and national. Tune in to Maryland Public TV NEXT MONDAY night at 9 p.m to catch a glimpse of our musical past.

Punk and Funk Fans Ticket Give Away Alert

Hey Campers

DC ROCKS apologizes for not reminding you procrastinating types about the ticket contest for the DC funk/punk extravaganza at the 9:30 Club on Sunday February 24th so we've extended the deadline.  There's still time to send in a random memory or anecdote in to win, but the new deadline is this Sunday February 16th at 6 p.m.

Click here for details.

Greetings from New Orleans

New Orleans might still be recovering from Mardi Gras, but a Bloody Mary at Lafitte's Blacksmith shop today, and a dose of King Soul this Saturday night at IOTA might be just what the doctor ordered. Show starts round 9 pm with Kid Goat.

$12 

Tuesday

Tuesday. A work day, a school day. The beginning of the week. Just a day. But Fat Tuesday is not just one day - it's the last day-the end of carnival season and a finale of a celebration. Sadly- folks up North might see a few references to Mardi Gras- maybe a drink special at a bar, but in New Orleans parties and parades have been happening since the three kings went to visit Jesus. At least it feels that way. Muses, Chaos, Thoth, D'etat, Endymion and Iris are just a few of the parades that have rolled since Thursday, and if you are lucky, you know someone on the route who has white beans and rice on the stove and King cake on the table.

Back in Washington, it's just a Tuesday in February, but if you are looking to break out of the box, Clarendon does throw a parade right up Wilson Boulevard and IOTA is throwing the after party with The Grandsons. Louisiana Express in Bethesda is still making a decent catfish po-boy. And last but certainly not least Little Red and the Renegades will be whooping it up at Tropicallia.

Lundi Gras Rocks

The name Art Daniels makes me smile for many reason. For one thing he is often found behind the bar at one of my most favorite haunts The Galaxy Hut, and, more often than not, he's smiling, too. This Monday is a little known holiday called Lundi Gras. (yes, fat Monday) In New Orleans, this day marks the arrival of Rex, King of Carnival. In Arlington, this year and day marks the arrival of Art's Sixth Decade here on Earth.  What better way to celebrate than to go to the Hut for a beer and the Art Daniels Band?

Happy Birthday Art and many happy returns from DC ROCKS.

Live Acts of Music

  Doug Stevenson and the Spades are among the bands waiting to ring in the weekend with you this Friday at The Pinch in Columbia Heights.  Very funny name for a band if you ask me, but you've got to go if you want to find out why.

Carnival Time at Black Cat

Alternative to driving South for a party? Try the Black Cat this Friday.

Pencils Up Punk and Funkateers

The upcoming exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art explores DCs music scene in the the 1980s.  "A collection of photos, records, concert flyers and other key pieces of history collected mainly between 1980 and 1992 will be displayed at the Corcoran’s Atrium and Rotunda. The exhibition will open on February 23rd, 2013."

That same weekend on Sunday Feb 24th, the 9:30 Club is putting on an outrageous companion party from 3 until 11 p.m. featuring bands from that era including the newly reunited Black Market Baby,  Troublefunk and scads more with Henry Rollins presiding as host.

To win tickets just send in a short anecdote about a local DC band you saw way back when. We'll publish your story, and give you two tickets to the extravaganza at the club. Send your entry to dcrocksblog@gmail.com. Please put Punk/ Funk contest in the subject header. Contest ENDS February 15 at midnight.

To get your memories jump started- here's a list of some of the local bands I saw around the middle of the decade: 9353, Crippled Pilgrims, Here Today, Insect Surfers, Root Boy Slim, Bad Brains,The Slickee Boys, Tommy Keene, Danny Gatton, Troublefunk and Teresa Gunn. Back then I had no idea how lucky we were to have so much music in this tiny town.

Old 9: 30 Club schedule/artwork by Mark Holmes