Navigating the Madding Crowd

According to wikipedia "non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants, blue wildebeests, walruses, wild horses, and rhinoceroses." In the District of Columbia, a trip to the grocery store the week before Thanksgiving puts us right up there with the wildebeest. Woe betides the weak minded member of the pack who innocently strolls into Giant to stock up on necessities. She senses danger upon entry and soon finds herself in line behind a woman racking up $400 worth of provisions which include a giant foil roasting pan full of root vegetables while the clueless one behind her is buying paper towels and laundry detergent. And a chocolate bar.

Next year Clueless hopes to have the foresight to stock up on non- perishable items in advance and avoid this soul crushing experience. And for those avoiding all things grocery, home, and hearth on Thanksgiving Thursday, JV's will be open by 4 pm for dinner with the Dave Chappell Band hitting the stage round 8:30 pm. See one of DC's best players for no cover and, surprisingly,  no stampede.

Friday catch the venerable Nighthawks at the stately State Theater, and on Saturday, Little Red and the Renegades will be throwing down their New Orleans vibe at New Deal Cafe.

If that's not your thing, Lunch with Bob fires things up at the Takoma VFW, or dare to split the herd and go to both.

Whatever the case, keep your wits and humor about you like the chaps in the photos above, and have a very happy thanksgiving!

Gavel to Gavel Coverage

Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings commenced on television in May of 1973, but  I wasn't paying a lot of attention even though one of the Watergate burglars lived right next door.

I was more tuned into his son's rock band which practiced "Smoke on the Water" almost every day after school.  I was also thinking that I needed to get my ears pierced.

 In 1998, when Bill Clinton was facing the music, I had two small children and missed a lot of that drama while hanging out in circles of hell such as DC Stoddert soccer games, play grounds, and birthday parties. Those were blurry days full of sugar highs, low crimes and misdemeanors.  Once I intercepted my five year old trying to smuggle a croquet ball out of a party in his goody bag.

Fast forward to now. Impeachment number three for me in DC. Living in a world of multiple media sources makes living here even more of a fishbowl, but we also have many sanity saving distractions. Here's a few suggestions:

 #1
Tune into online old school radio and reconnect with deejays we grew up with like Cerphe's Music Planet Radio, and Weasel live on WTMD on Fridays and Saturdays and WOWD on Sundays. Plus Milo's on WOWD on Wednesday mornings. I also love WPFW Saturdays.  Good for your groove.

#2
Stare at art. We have a lot of it from tiny galleries to Smithsonians including the newly updated Anacostia Community Museum which reopened last month. Good for the brain.

#3
Get out of town. Even for the day. Massive amounts of water like the Chesapeake Bay and views from Sugarloaf Mountain are good for the soul. Barring that, wander down to our rivers and sit yourself down on Roosevelt or Kingman Island.


#4
You guessed it, dear readers.  Live music. Preferably in a bar without a tv. Good for whatever ails.
See  DC Rocks' calendar for a subset of options.

Reel Music

I didn't even know you could listen to music on a reel to reel contraption until I moved into a group house on Dickinson Avenue in College Park. The year was 1979 and thank god, my house mate Alan had similar musical tastes which were basically eclectic and WHFS driven. Those were the days when friends would drop by around 12:30 a.m. to see if anyone was up, the drinking age was 18, and we spent an inordinate about of time at the Varsity Grill and Italian Gardens.

Back then bands like NRBQ were in heavy rotation on Alan's magic machine. NRBQ has weathered many a roster change throughout the years, including founding member Joey Spampinato bringing in his younger brother Johnny which brings us to a story from Ruthie Logsdon of Ruthie and the Wranglers:

"I booked my band and The Spampinato Brothers for Bill Starks’s 1st CD party at Bethesda Blues and Jazz several years ago. Joey and Johnny knew the NRBQ song "I Got A "Rocket in My Pocket" was written by my cousin Jimmie Logsdon so we had a rockin’ hootenanny of a finale with that song. Joey has been ill and unable to tour so I invited Johnny back to DC to play with us, and we finally found a date that worked at JV's. To make the trip from Cape Cod worthwhile, I suggested Johnny as a guest artist for the Last Waltz tribute as well. Johnny did a call in with Weasel last week and has just returned from a string of dates in Japan. Gonna be a busy weekend with JVs on Friday and the Hamilton Saturday!"

Kudos for wrangling this guitar slinger for the JV party, Miz Logsdon, and congratulations to Lorraine for keeping the doors open for 72 years, and for hosting live music pretty much 365 days a year which is tantamount to running a chicken circus.

Meanwhile the Last Waltz Tribute at the Hamilton has become a Thanksgiving tradition round these parts, and the ticket price includes a turkey dinner in a mason jar. The show usually sells out so get your tickets in advance. This year's line up includes our old friend Eric Brace who is on that two gig-economy-tour bandwagon and is also playing Friday night with Peter Cooper at Jammin Java. And, for something completely different, I'm liking Color Palette at the Pie Shop- also on Friday. 

For those who want to slipstream back in time, "Punk the Capital,"will be screening all weekend  at AFI with multiple Q and A panels brought to you by members of Chalk Circle, Black Market Baby, The Slickee Boys, Tru Fax and more.  Check AFI's website for details. Plus Eric Felten will be up at Glen Echo on Saturday celebrating Veteran's Day with a canteen dance. Vintage attire encouraged.