This Dog Can Hunt

Sonic Phenomena

Can't get enough of Slickee Boys?

Nope, they aren't coming back.

And yes, you missed the event of the summer if you missed their last show at the 9:30 Club, but here's a saving grace- former Slickee- Marshall Keith will be at Surf Club this Friday night along with outer limit music making Cigarbox Planetarium and The Spectacles. 

Marshall has struck out on an ethereal path all his own which can be heard most often on his solo CD Roadside Shrine. Live and in person, just go ahead and expect the unexpected.

Be Cool and If You Can't Be Cool Be Hot

Every summer I lose my will to do just about anything right around now. The Dog Days are here followed swiftly by the Doldrums which are brought on by the "code red" air quality. My garden has to fend for itself. My neighbor, Joel comments that I've let my lawn go dormant as if that were a Plan.

The only thing that rescues ninety plus days are the slightly less steamy though still sultry nights.
That is the time to defy the elements and make your own heat: dance hard and create a breeze of your own.

Here are possibilities for this week: The Atomic Mosquitos which do not have an annoying habit of sucking your blood to ensure future progeny will be at The Surf Club Friday night and the Quarry House on Saturday. On the other side of Old Man River, look for Kid Goat and Yell County at IOTA- also on Saturday night. And finally Greenland, a perennial favorite of DC ROCKS, will be at the stellar Galaxy Hut this Sunday.

A Guy with a Guitar Walks into a Bar

Saturday Night We Need a Time & Space Inter-County Connector by Lynn Thorp

(and the best poster award goes to...)

It's hard to know where to be Saturday night. To catch all the shows you'd have to rely on good old 410 our East-West Highway, but a time-space travel machine would be easier.

Over in Prince Georges County, you've got The Yachtsmen, Monsters From the Surf and El Quatro at the Surf Club. The music is back at this iconic place, and they need your support to keep it live. If you've never gone because you don't know where Kennilworth Avenue is, choose the Eastern end of the night's listings, and I guarantee you will be back for more. Three bands, a great sound system and dance floor, plus pool tables and a place that feels like a honky tonk should on a Saturday night.

To the West, you can opt for Color School at Parker's in Bethesda. Check out their newly posted songs, and you'll hear these guys are a real treat live. No cover here.

If you need to get your Dead on, not far north of Parker's you can catch Black Muddy River Band. This mostly-Grateful Dead acoustic trio does it better than I've ever seen. They're at Branded 72 BBQ in Rockville.

So wherever you are on the East/West continuum of our thriving music scene, support our local bands with whatever rocks your boat this Saturday.

Stranger Things May Happen But This Is a Good One

This load of alliteration just in from last week's Surf Club Soul man Mark Noone:
"Aloha nui loa friends and fans of Hawaiian Swing Music and Boogie Blues! Washington DC's highfalutin-hillbilly-hula-honchos, The Hula Monsters will be swingin’ the stage with the legendary boogie-woogie-bad-boy-barn-busters, The Nighthawks at Surf Club Live right there on Kenilworth Avenue in Hyattsville this Friday night, July 15th.  
Get there early, stay late, bring your dancin’ shoes! 
Only 10 bucks!!!"
And watch Mark transform himself yet again on Saturday night. Same Bat place. Same Bat time. Whole different persona. Stay tuned.

Be In Love With the Past

All of you sentimental people out there looking for nostalgia in cool places-check out Owen Wilson channeling Woody Allen in his new film "Midnight in Paris." Then head over to Clyde's cavern club Friday night for those masters of the flashback The Vi-kings. These guys are veteran rockers bringing you back to the Sixties with a secret weapon in their midst-Bob Berberich. Bob's a walking legend around these parts, and we are lucky he is still keeping the beat alive. In the mean time Vi-Kings' ring leader Joe Dolan wants you to know he is putting you all on the guest list. (which is his way of saying "no cover")

Live Music Attack This Weekend

Be prepared for your in box to be full from DC ROCKS this week because when it rains it pours,and when it rains, this DC native is a happy summer camper.
This show was brought to our attention by Dead Leaf Echo. All ages is always a cool scene.

Dash Out to the Rock and Roll Hotel Thursday by L. Thorp

Dot Dash, Ft. Reno, August 2010
Photo Courtesy of Peter Muise

Dot Dash and The Jones share the stage with Urge Overkill Thursday night at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Two great local acts and a blast from your mid 80s - mid-90s past.

ERROR Please note Goldrush at Galaxy Hut JULY 17

Sorry about the mix up.

BAck to the Future JULY 17

Our old friend Prabir will be at the Galaxy Hut NEXT Sunday in his new incarnation Goldrush.

The Galaxy Hut is so small you're bound to come away with new friends, and the music will surprise you. Absolutely worth a school night out.

Wait a minute...make that a summer school night.

Support Your Local Hercules

Everyone knows Hercules. He's the guy immortalized in myth and cartoon as the strong man who can throw a raging bull or a large car across the street with one hand. If you remember the original myth, however, Herc had a huge to-do list which included taking care of man eating birds, (right after he cleaned up the Aegean stable) rounding up the Mares of Diomedes, and going after the elusive Golden Apples. All of these chores seemed insurmountable, but Hercules some how found a way.

A few years ago, James Byrum, unsuspecting music lover, put himself in the same position as Hercules. He bought the Surf Club.

Next thing you know, here came the man killing birds, (county regulators)  strange creatures which had to be herded inside(local musicians)and those golden apples- ever elusive profits- are still hanging out of reach.

Yet James continues to defy the odds by bringing on more live music than ever this month. This week alone look for The Thrillbillys Friday, King Soul on Saturday night, and an afternoon open-mike with Stacy Brooks on Sunday.

Come out, have fun and support our local music heroes.

You Can’t Go Back and You Can’t Stand Still by Lynn Thorp

my daughter nicole carrying the flame

Everybody keeps asking me if I’m sad that DC’s legendary Slickee Boys are playing their last reunion show this Sunday. Surely I will miss these annual-or-so reunions of great friends, but I’m not aware of any other local band who has retired and then entertained us at least yearly for twenty years so it’s hard to complain. Also, I’m not one for living in the past, and DC provides plenty of proof that when one door closes another one will always open. All the musicians who’ve played in the Slickee Boys have and will continue to make great new music. I was thinking about this recently when 7 Door Sedan played at DC 9. Here you’ve got a band full of talent who have all played a role in DC music history but this band isn’t on a nostalgia trip. It’s new and fresh, and it’s about DC now. Check out Ft. Reno on Mondays and Thursdays this summer, and you’ll see there’s no shortage of new music around here.

A buzz of loss reverberated in some of my circles lately when Garrett’s closed, a bar and restaurant well-known since 1979 for its friendly local ambiance in the heart of Georgetown. Garrett’s was the site of many momentous occasions in my life, but I’m just hoping that many more pleasant memories are made sampling the new places that DC has to offer. There’s great food galore, interesting spaces and even homegrown beer! Here’s my plug for the first on the scene – DC Brau – whose Public Ale should become the everyday go-to beer for all of you of the beer-liking persuasion.

DC’s ushering in a new age built on the old one. Don’t forget that the heart and soul of this city is still being ably nurtured at Ben’s Chili Bowl, and that Chuck Brown did two shows in one day recently. The wheel is turning and the beat goes on.

We Have a Winner

Slickees at Ottobar 2009  photo by DC ROCKS

Congratulations Todd Savitch! You are our big winner to the Slickees show this Sunday.
Rock on.

Slickee Boys Ticket Give Away

Skeptics and believers, it's true-The Slickee Boys last shows are coming up this weekend, and DC ROCKS has a pair of tickets to give away to Sunday's show at the 9:30 Club. The Slickee Boys are a major player in DC musical history, and have played  9:30 more than any other band so it's a good place to say good bye.


If you (or the kids) are wondering if they've still got what it takes after 35 years, take a look at this cool little film shot by Jeff Krulik when the Slickees played at the Black Cat in 2009.


Also on the bill are The Factory- another DC band on its way back IN after twenty years. DC ROCKS was at their Surf Club show last winter and is happy to report this is a good thing.  But there's more: the Nun Chucks , devotees to vinyl and classic rock, bring their own style and high energy to the table as the opening act. 


Be a part of this historic show. 


Send an email to dcrocksblog@gmail.com. for your chance to win a pair of tickets. The Slickee Boys have had numerous bass players.  Name all six and be eligible for a drawing.
One entry per person, please. Deadline 9 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Winner announced July 1.

Veteran's Park Rocks This Thursday

Drummer man Nick Ruggeri's latest project LaRue Boogaloo will be playing this Thursday at Veteran's Park one of the tiniest but liveliest parks in downtown Bethesda. If you are like me you might get lost in what is now the booming metropolis, but if this helps at all-you can see it from Tastee Diner. 

Here's the word from Nick:

"The band was started by Pete Ostle and myself. It is a soul jazz band in the vein of the 60s and 70s organ groove bands. The grooves are on the funky soul side and the horn melodies are straight ahead jazz lines. It's really fun groovy music. We have a lot of originals and fantastic arrangements of tunes by Paul Murtha, a national arranger/composer."

 

The line up:

Chris Watling - Tenor/Bari Sax

Vince McCool - Trumpet

Tim Ford - Organ/Keyboards

Dan Hovey - Guitar

Pete Ostle - Bass

Nick Ruggieri - Drums

Rob White - Congas/Percussion

The Time: 6-8 p.m.

The Cover Charge: Gratis

 

She Made Her Decision When She Saw the Slickee Boys by Lynn Thorp

You wouldn’t believe what happened to me the first time I saw the Slickee Boys. Let's just say there's a reason I have these not so professional photos in my scrap book.

You never know what the Universe might do next so get thee to the 9:30 Club on Sunday July 3 for the last “reunion” this legendary band is going to play. Some things define DC, and I think it’s safe to say that the Slickee Boys will go down in the record books as a monumental example of the diverse and influential force that is our homegrown music scene. Also it’s fun and friends. See you there.

Some Slickee Boys when they played at our wedding

Slickee Sighting

photo by LC

"

"Deep in the jungle where evil resides there's an ancient curse of the Slickee Tribe..."


It's coming. They're alive.


The Slickee Boys July 2 @ 8X10, Baltimore: July 3 @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC.

Hold the Fort

What are Cat Jack, Elephant Pistol and Hundred Acre Wood?  Recipes for cocktails? Guests at Piglet's after party?
Actually these are just a few of the bands you can see this summer at Fort Reno.  The tradition of summer concerts here has a rich history for music lovers who thrive outside of the box. This is a great place to see off the radar DC centric bands. It's a unique all ages scene- and there are always surprises- be it the weather or who you might run into, or the bands themselves. Last summer, the Black Sparks, very young rockers, (average age 12?) blew other bands and the crowd away with their energy, talent and originality.

Fort Reno's summer season kicks off on this Monday June 27. All shows run from 7:15-9:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays. (except July 4)
Bring a blanket, a picnic, and a wide open mind.

Nighthawks HIt Classic Dive

Hank Dietles stands on the godforsaken Rockville Pike as a living reminder of the way things once were when roads had landmarks rather than homogenized big boxes. This little bar has outlived many an invention- like the pay phone. Last time I was in there it still had a one- booth and all.

This SUNDAY DC's own Nighthawks will be there from 5-9. The Nighthawks haven't been around as long as Dietles, but  they've been here long enough to become a household name in these parts. Hard working, too. They'll play just about anywhere from the State Theater to a private party, from a Blues Festival to Hank Dietles - and that's just this week!

A sawbuck gets you into what has got to be a great local party, and a trip down memory lane.