DC ROCKS AWOL

Dear Readers

Sorry to abandon the ship, but transmitting from overseas is proving to be a technological effort beyond my ken resulting in colossal futility. Watch this space for things returning to something akin to normal sometime in mid-August. Until then, hang in there DC. Try to stay cool without me... (Ha!)

Let's Go Honky Tonkin Round This Town

Roadhouse. Tavern. Honky Tonk. Dare I say dive? These are the places where DC ROCKS feels most at home. This Saturday night Ruthie and the Wranglers will be throwing it down with The Thrillbillys at the new and improved but still small enough to rub elbows with everyone JV's  in Virginia. This show is sure to be a hoot- a revved up rocking version of a hootenanny.

Not to be outdone, over in Maryland, Hank Dietle's Tavern now has Curley-S Q BBQ's truck in the yard (check their website for time) with Monsters from the Surf and Jumpin' Jupiter in the house to work off that pig.

When We Go to the Beach

One of the great things about living in Washington, D.C. is our sweet spot location between the mountains and the shore. However, judging by the traffic on Route 50 every weekend, I think the beach "wins" by a long shot, and always has. Many of my summer memories go way back to an old hotel in Ocean City, Maryland called the Del-Mar which had a dining room, rocking chairs on the double decker porches and beds with sunken mattresses.  My brother and I shared one bed which was okay except we tended to end up in the exact same space, and then a lot of kicking ensued. Remember that "I Love Lucy" episode when they all slept in a cabin by the railroad tracks? Fred and Ethel had the bunks, and Lucy had to tuck Ricky into their bed with a tight fitting sheet so they both wouldn't roll down to the middle... It was like that.

This summer you don't have to fight traffic to experience the seashore. The Building Museum has got our backs on this with its own version of "The Beach" - a 10,000 square foot space devoted to the illusion of sand, sea and light. Admission (which includes access to the entire museum) seems a bit stiff at first - $16 for adults and $13 for kids, but maybe that's because I am spoiled rotten having grown up with the Smithsonian Institution. Today, and every day, the weather at "The Beach" is 70 degrees with no chance of rain, and when you think about it, the entry fee is not much more than a movie. Plus one million translucent balls don't come cheap.

photo by Christine Hansen Martin

Crazy Cat Round Up

Imagine herding cats. (aka musicians)  How many could you get on a stage for one evening? Take your typical rock band which has 4 or 5 people involved, odds are one of them forgets to check their email on a regular basis, one travels for work and yet another is in two other bands. Now add a bath tub on that stage because there is always going to be some kind of extra problem about getting there or parking or not having all your cables and mike stands.

Enter Herschel Hoover, cat wrangler extraordinaire from Chess Club Romeos, who dreams big. He wanted The Romeos to play on a bill which would feature his eclectic taste in music and his favorite bands- hoping to turn people on to all kinds of music in one fell swoop. The result is euphonX -eight bands playing at IOTA this Saturday. Yes, eight bands doing half hour sets starting at 6 p.m. and running all night.  Just twelve dollars for a lot of crazy cats.

Come Outside DC

Now that we are deep in the heart of summer, the Fort Reno Concert Series is back in business starting tomorrow at 7 p.m. and happening Mondays and Thursdays through out the month of July.  If you've always wondered why that little stage is there- set seemingly at random in a park on the highest hill in Washington, then now is the time to find out. Tomorrow's bands are East West Hwy, Sara Curtin and The Fuss. I'll be there for a lot of the shows, but will sadly miss Jack On Fire July 27 so somebody please let me know how that goes.

Comin' Comin' Back

Goin' Goin' Gone hasn't been around for a long long time, but now the band is back, back back with  members whose names will be familiar to people who have been in the DC music scene for a while: David Goodfriend, Russ Beeker, Nick Ruggieri and Mitch Mitchell. GGG has already had a few gigs under its new belt, so they are ready to go, go go. See them live and in person Saturday night at Hank Dietles on da Pike, and bring bring back some memories.  Here is the scoop from David Goodfriend:

"Late last year Russ and I talked about putting the band back together, and I knew he was ready to do it.  Mitch Mitchell, who played bass in GGG for over a decade, and I have been playing together for the last 5 years.  Both he and Nick Ruggieri, who played drums in GGG for a few years, were up for another go round.

It's the four of us for now. We will add a 5th piece when we find the right one.  We really miss being onstage and rocking,and Russ and I have gotten much better at writing through the years.For now we have a few originals in the mix including one I just wrote.  We've gone through old set lists and brought back the songs we thought were our best.  

While it is of course a reunion, we look at it as more of a continuation.  We'll do some of the old tunes we know people dug and add lots of new ones as we go along."

It's All In How You Look At It

I like rock and I like stars, but the last time I went to a super star rock concert,  I wondered why am I paying all this money to sit in the back of a sports stadium and look at a gigantic screen?

Instead, for a mere $10 I can see four hard rocking working bands including The Beatnik Flies this Thursday at the Tree House Lounge- a joint not even big enough to hold a jumbo-tron.  The Flies are a hard act to catch these days, and they never fail to knock me out.

By the by- speaking of knock-outs-we get two full moons this month. Moon Number One will be working its show all night long tonight- literally from sunset until sunrise. (none of that sneaking up during the day biz here) The "once in a blue moon" will be happening July 31. Watch them both alive and in person if you can.