Hot Town

Welcome to summertime in DC y'all. There's fireflies and flowers in the back yard tonight with an unusually cool and wonderful breeze, but tomorrow the temps are climbing up to the 90s with no end in sight. The melt down arrives just in time for the 50th Smithsonian Folklife Festival which is always hot as Hades. The festival will be celebrating its own anniversary with circuses, memories, and lots of music including The Chuck Brown Band on Friday.

The Fourth of July lands on a Tuesday this year so the upcoming holiday weekend comes with a Lego Expansion set, and a flashback. Our old pal Eric Brace is bringing Last Train Home back to IOTA. Two long sets are promised Friday and Saturday nights starting promptly at 9.

Party Like It's 1990 Something

Grunge, rave and hip hop all came into their own during the 1990s while I was home with kids paying absolutely no attention to what was happening in the music world. Fortunately I had a former 9:30 deejay keeping our house current with the eclectic scene, especially bands not playing on the radio. So basically, if it happened in the 1990s, I missed it.

This Saturday local bands Getchoo, Dammit Josie and Dashing Bumpkins converge to reanimate that bygone decade with an all ages tribute show at the Rock n Roll Hotel.

On the other hand, if you want to see a band that has been playing since the '90s, check out the  Ubangis' Summer Fling show at Slash Run. (For you trivia fans The Ubangis' first show was with The Wanktones in December 1990 at d.c. space.)

And for those of you who fondly remember The Wanktones- be sure to listen to Takoma Park's WOWD this Sunday morning for a trip back in time.

Trolls Redux

Once upon a time, folks lived in fear of trolls.  Cumbersome and ugly, these creatures could be found in remote caves with piles of questionable bones laying nearby. By the time I was a child, trolls had been relegated to fairy tales. This was my concept of a typical troll:

Circling back, modern day trolls function as malevolent entities again. No longer skulking in caves,  they hide on the internet, throwing up offensive tidbits like chum, hoping to deliberately provoke and disturb.

D.C.'s Comet Ping Pong, the pizza parlor with an imaginary underground dungeon, has withstood a particularly vicious onslaught of rumors. Despite it all, the ping pong tables remain busy with erratic young players and parents chasing after both balls and kids. Messages of support from young and old can be found scrawled across a poster near the bar. The phone may be oversubscribed, but you can always order your love in the form of a pizza pie online.

After dinner, Comet doubles as a concert venue and even though local musicians who once played there have been menaced as well, the music will not be silenced. This Friday ole 9:30 Club pal Norm Veenstra will be on deck with Tone, Show Pony and James Wolf. All ages show starts at 10 p.m.

We Like to Rock Too Much

Washington DC's federal hat tends to overshadow its true denizens- those incredibly lovable and often talented natives. Those of us lucky enough to have grown up here in the 1980s can't help but remember the supernova group Switchblade and a certain hot shot guitar player with an eye popping pompadour.

I am happy to report that DC's own Ratso is back and ready to rock again. Look for him this Thursday night at Villain and Saint in Bethesda with a new project called Lunch With Bob. According to Mr Silman, the band will be playing “kick ass American music” when they open for Colonel Josh and the Watt Brothers. Might be a raucous night considering V and S is having its first Biker's Happy Hour, too.

Long Live Rock n Roll

Once upon a time, most of us lived in a world relatively untouched by digital logic circuits. Yes, we had transistor radios, but we still had to be at home to answer the phone.  We lived in caves, but we did have lots of live music starting with middle school mixers and high school proms. (Fancy Colors, y'all.)  Plus there were loads of little clubs. Emergency, Babe's, The Far Inn, One Step Down,  One Flight Up,  Takoma Tap Room, Columbia Station,  Childe Harold, L.B.J Club, Italian Gardens, Friendship Station,  My Friend's Place, Gallagher's, The Keg.

Now it's deejays at school events and rocketing real estate values have brought down many an old haunt.  The smaller venues are as endangered as this tiny dude.

 Forest Owlet

Out in the wilds of Palisades, there's been no live music since Starland Cafe closed its doors many a moon ago. This Saturday, however, The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours will storm the castle with a church basement rock party just off the Boulevard. There's a real stage and plenty of dance floor.  And you won't be paying ten dollars for a beer because it's BYOB.   Tickets at the door.  Details here.