DON'T MUTE DC

photo by Alan Kresse

Bit by bit the Washington we know slips away.  People's Drugs, Woodward and Lothrop, and Little Tavern are long gone.  We once shopped for groceries at a DGS, went for ice cream at Gifford's and bought shoes at Hahn's. The establishments we grew up with seemed like institutions, but turned out to be dinosaurs.

Last week the oldest Safeway on the East Coast abruptly closed down in my neighborhood. People shopped there all their lives.  As the stock wound down to nothing, you could see the empty shelves from the street. I was extremely proud when a local horn band formed a second line and snaked through the semi- deserted store at the good-bye party.

Last month an uproar ensued when the crew at a Metro PCS store in Shaw received a noise complaint about the go-go music spilling out of speakers on the street. The objection was a bit surprising considering the playlist has been part of the store's atmosphere for 24 years. Or perhaps not so surprising when we consider the upscale development just down the street. Here's the full story and links from the Washington City Paper.

Thanks in part to the powers of social media,  the music is back... for now... but the issue remains. DC's rapid gentrification is spawning a major identity crisis, and not unlike the saga of "Alice's Restaurant," this could become a movement, people. Consequently a "Don't Mute DC" conference is happening this Saturday as part of the  DC Funk Parade schedule.

On the brighter side, the U Street scene has seen a slow but steady revival since the Cardozo Metro Station opened in 1991, and the Funk Parade/ Music Festival, now in its 11th year,  has now become part of the effort to save DC's soul. Music happens all afternoon and and deep into the night.

Check the DC ROCKS calendar for more musical suggestions which help keep our local music scene alive and kicking. Here's just a few of the things happening this weekend:

9

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

10

Ex Hex/ the Messthetics/ Clear Channel @ 9:30 Club

Spirit Plots/ The Effects/ Erotic Killers @ Slash Run

Rock-A-Sonics @ JV

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DC Funk Parade

Seldom Scene @ Black Rock

"Blue" and "Blood on the Tracks" Newmyer Flyer Tribute @ The Hamilton

Takoma Porch Fest

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Thrillbillys @Villain and Saint