DC Rocks This Weekend

This year, mostly due to last winter's exasperating government shut down, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be Really Short and Very Local. The festival runs just two days this weekend with a go-go concert featuring activists from the Don't Mute DC movement on the docket as well as a punk rock "story time" given by a DC librarian.  A music market Saturday afternoon provides an unusual  chance to shop home grown labels from the well known Dischord to This Could Go Boom!  Hit the link for the full schedule.

Coincidently, another Smithsonian event goes native on Sunday with the "Space Was the Place" lecture at the National Gallery of Art at 2 pm. Seating is a first come first served kind of affair.

(Maybe the ever swelling tourist population will learn a thing or two about our fair city this weekend.)

Also lots of musical choices on the DC ROCKS calendar as June sneaks on out of here:

27

Dave Chappell Band @ JV

28

King Soul @ Mason District Park

Billy Coulter @ Rockville Town Square

29

Punk the Capitol @ AFI

Beanstalk Library/Nitepool @ Pie Shop

Laurel Canyon Tribute @ Birchmere

Ruthie and the Wranglers @ Soundry

30

Fuzz Queen/ Kosari @ Galaxy Hut

The Innermost Ear

Once upon a time in a studio far away from things afloat in the main stream, a man named Don Zientara worked his magic with the outliers and the mavericks that were bouncing around our Beltway. He recorded bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Government Issue, Fugazi and more.

From Mark Noone of the Slickee Boys:

"In 1979 I found myself in the basement of a modest house in Arlington Va. This was the world renowned recording studio known as Inner Ear. Slickee Boys were recording the first record that I would  be on. I wrote one song, "Gotta Tell Me Why" and co-wrote "Forbidden Alliance" with Kim Kane. At the helm were Skip Groff and Don Zientara; two men who changed my life. 

I'll admit I never heard the great Skip sing, but Don does a darn good job of it. His singing and his songs are very much like him straight up and honest."


Don Zientara will be performing at one of my all time favorite watering holes- the Galaxy Hut this Monday June 24 with Dougie.

Summer Solstice Solace

The longest day is here. Here are a few thoughts for how to spend that extra day light:
                                     
Read a book just for fun hopefully in hammock. I recommend "The Man Who Came Uptown" by George Pelecanos

Sleep late on Sunday with impunity, then wander down to Fletcher's for river gazing or perhaps rent a row boat.

Find a bar without a TV like Lyman's Tavern, Jack Rose or Galaxy Hut and hoist a very local beer.
Raised By Wolves comes to mind...
or
plan an early evening picnic in Rock Creek Park and watch the local firefly show.

Mystical Marathons

James Joyce once wrote such a weirdly wonderful book that people still feel compelled to read it out loud every year, especially in Dublin, where they celebrate Bloomsday with Joycean costumes and specials on gorgonzola sandwiches and a glass of burgundy. "Not logwood that." (Right, Hugh?)
Joyce gives us the story of one day in the life of Leopold Bloom, June 16th, 1904 to be exact, encapsulated... or perhaps I should say elongated... into one long-ass Irish tome.  It begins with the line: "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed, and, some seven hundred pages later, ends (spoiler alert) with the word "Yes." 

My friend Hugh urged me to tackle Ulysses once, several years ago, and it was like hearing everything in a man's head erupt out of a tinny speaker on a street corner. A teacher friend of mine gave me the best advice on wading through the experience. She said just keep reading the words.  Never mind what they mean.

Yes.

This Saturday,  the Bloomsday Marathon Reading begins at noon at Loyalty Books in Petworth and continues on at Petworth Citizen where Bloomsday inspired cocktails will help numb or enhance the experience which continues through the night and all day Sunday.

Another enigmatic marathon, the third annual Seventh Stanine Festival, also kicks off on Saturday starting at 2 pm at the house of Rhizome in Takoma DC, and will include our friends in Tone hitting the stage about five hours later.  From Norm Veenstra: "This festival will take place rain or shine -- the Rhizome house can be both shelter and source of sound."

And:
Little Red and the Renegades will be  testing out a new to them venue at Celtic House in Arlington and Valentine Slim will be hold forth at Rockville Moose Lodge. All on Saturday.

This week's alert: call before you go to any show happening at Villain and Saint.... The kitchen has closed, and things are going South in a hand basket over there.



get your joyce

Sign Me Up Chuck

CVS just ate the friendly little independent pharmacy in my neighborhood. Again. When the Company of Tyranny first arrived in our neck of the woods in 1997, it swallowed the MacArthur Theater whole, then slowly squeezed MacArthur Drugs until it was out of business. I'm sure this is all fine and dandy in the world of commerce, but chalk up another loss for things human. 

However, I am glad to see that our mayor, Muriel Bowser, is putting some effort towards preserving the arts in this town even as we vie with the rest of the U.S. for Number One in Gentrification according to a recent article in the Washington Post.  Mayor Bowser seems to understand that many artists qualify for that low income bracket, and thus a nose count was born.  The DC Music Census is open to all musicians and those related to the music industry who live in the area, not just within the borders of DC.  Submissions are accepted until June 25. Step up and be counted while you can. (God knows usually nobody asks.)

"Simply put, music matters in the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Bowser. “The musicians, the venue owners, the educators, the technicians, all areas of the music economy are important to who we are as a city. As the underlying component of my 202Creates initiative, supporting the DC creative community and economy is vital and the DC Music Census augments those efforts.” 

The census takes about 12 minutes. For the rest of your weekend, I'm eyeballing Billy Price at Jammin Java or the euphon-X extravaganza at Slash Run-both on Friday. No jerks allowed. 

Old School Things

June brings the end of the school year which reminds me of my own high school graduation and long ago salad days from the 1970s. Fortunately I have journals to refresh my memory and tell me that  I called my boyfriend from pay phones outside of Little Tavern or Tastee Diner.  I saw people getting arrested at a smoke-in in Georgetown. I watched Harbison, Bond and Goddard play at Babe's on Wisconsin Avenue and went across the street to the Pour House Pub to play pinball.

That year graduation dinners happened at Martin's or Luigi's and live bands like Reunion and Fancy Colours played our dances. Carousel played my prom, but I didn't get there until midnight because I was going out with a guitar player which was a truly a dumbass thing to do in high school. I should have gone out with that nice kid, the one who was my own age and wouldn't leave me home watching Saturday Night Live on the weekends

I got over that guitar player eons ago,  but never the music. Here's a few things to think about for June 2019 and please write with more suggestions if you've got 'em:

JUNE BUG DAYS

1

Apollo 66/ Tru Fax/Sister Ex @ Silver Spring American Legion

6

Thrillbillys @ JV

7

Billy Price Band @ Jammin Java

Euphonx @ Slash Run

9

Johnny Neel / Dave Chappell @ JV

Suga Grits @ Villain and Saint

13

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

15 

Valentine Slim @ Rockville Moose Lodge

20

Skydiver/ Collider/ Duskwhales @ Pie Shop

David Kitchen @ JV

21

Teen Mortgage/ Menage a Garage/ Liquid TV @ Comet Ping Pong

22

Goin Goin Gone @ Villain and Saint 4 pm

24

Don Zientara @ Galaxy Hut

25

Sol Roots @ JV

27

Dave Chappell  Band @ JV

29

Punk the Capitol @ AFI

Beanstalk Library/Nitepool @ Pie Shop

Laurel Canyon Tribute @ Birchmere

30 

dc space lecture @ National Gallery of Art 2 pm

Fuzz Queen/ Kosari @ Galaxy Hut

Stardust and Reed

Monday holidays always leave me slightly disoriented, and the thunder of a limb falling in the alley woke me this morning. The concussion sounded like a distant bomb so I was happy to see that it was raining, and that we were not at war. Then I'm foggily thinking about trash day being Friday not Thursday when I suddenly remember that notable shows this week are happening well before the weekend!

I am not the biggest fan of cover bands, but tribute shows jammed with talent are another rock n roll animal. "Ziggy and Lou" happens tomorrow- Wednesday -at Gypsy Sally's, and  the list of players is impressive including Desson Thomson, Cal Everett, David Kitchen and the Duskwhales.

The next evening Jumpin' Jupiter opens for Southern Culture on the Skids at Hill Country BBQ. Front man and long time chef Jay Jenc will be smoking in the kitchen as well as on stage. 

Finally, it may not be a five o'clock world anymore what with telecommuting and flex time, but Billy Price will rock the Sculpture Garden on Friday. Say good-bye to the work week and the month of May from 5 p.m. until 8:30. Free.

Enjoy the Flight

Welcome to Washington, DC. The local time is relative, and the temperature is balmy. I got off an airplane this week just in time to see our local hero Nils Lofgren play the Birchmere last night. Nils, who has almost as many good stories as he does songs, played two of my most favorites "Like Rain" and "Goin Back." That was thrilling, but the way the audience is jammed in, I felt like I was back on the plane. Every time I go to the Birchmere, I think never again.  I don't like sitting still for music much less jammed cheek by jowl in a place that serves mediocre overpriced food to the captive masses who must arrive early to get the best seats. That being said is there a better venue to see the Seldom Scene this Friday? The answer is probably not.....and this is why I keep going back.

If you are still in a homey- country type mood on Saturday, Dee Dee and the Doo Rights will be over at Takoma VFW where the drinks are cheap, and you are free to move about the cabin. On the other hand,  if you are in a "Hell, no!" sort of mood, Kill Lincoln thrashes up things at the Black Cat on Friday.

 The veteran players of Lunch with Bob hit Villain and Saint on Saturday. And no need to put those tray tables up yet.... Sunday is the new Saturday this holiday weekend with the Chuck Brown Band at the Hamilton and Oh He Dead at the Pub and the People. 

Postcards from Roads Less Traveled

DC ROCKS is on a bison tracking, grave haunting, roots seeking, musical kind of ramble and will return next week if all goes according to plan. In the mean time here are a few postcards from.....
guess where......

green photo-bomber on inadvertent heart

I could stand in the middle of this town and....

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

11

DC Funk Parade

Seldom Scene @ Black Rock

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

Takoma Porch Fest

12

Thrillbillys @Villain and Saint

May Day on the Roadway

DC rush hour 1964 /Library of Congress

According to the Inrix Global Traffic Scoreboard,  Washington has once again taken a non-coveted second place for the worst traffic in all of these somewhat United but generally fractious States of America.  (Perennial favorites New York and Los Angeles remain in the top ten, but Boston knocked off  L.A. for the number one spot, and Chicago claimed number three.) Our little town in second place to these giants?

I'm feeling it, people.

Who remembers when the Beltway emptied out by 7:30 and became our own personal Daytona Speedway? Anyone else remember dirt roads near Tyson's Corner or Gaithersburg?

Dulles Access road construction 1960 near Tyson's Corner

Ok. That's all ancient history, but it wasn't so long ago that I used to defend our fair city proper as somewhat traversable except for that lethargic part of K Street near the White House and Independence Ave during cherry blossom meltdown.  Now I have to remind myself to break out the GPS Lightsaber no matter what time of day. There's even a wiki-how page on how to avoid DC area traffic, but it doesn't mention the zen of happy hour. As a possible silver lining, commuters have plenty of time to hoist a beer, enjoy a hot wing and sober up again until the worst of the "rush" is over.  Better yet- stay out and watch a band who just got howling lost in Virginia or was recently in tears on 495, but still managed to show up on time for you.

Planning ahead for May distractions, don't forget that big Switchblade reunion this weekend!

Here's a few more:

2

Thrillbillys @ JV

3

Switchblade Reunion Weekend w/

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours

4

Switchblade w/ Rock-A-Sonics

Little Red @ JV

Sister Ex/ Fallout Shelter etc @ Pie Shop

Ubangis/ Apollo 66 @ American Legion Silver Spring

Vintage #18 @ Hamilton Loft

8

Strawberry Sleepover/ The Beginner's Mynd @ DC9

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

11

DC Funk Parade

Seldom Scene @ Black Rock

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

Takoma Porch Fest

12

Thrillbillys @Villain and Saint

17

Desperados/ Wax Museum Reunion w/ NRBQ and Skip 

Castro Band@ Birchmere

Jelly Roll Mortals @ Takoma VFW

18

Ruthie and Wranglers/ Billy Coulter @ Villain and Saint

21 / 22

Nils Lofgren @ Birchmere

22

The Duskwhales @ Evening Star Cafe

23

The Duskwhales/ The Young Birds/ Maddi Mae @ Songbyrd

The Delarcos/Taciturn/ We Capillaries @ Pie Shop

24 

Kill Lincoln @ Black Cat

Seldom Scene @ Birchmere

Capitol Ska and Reggae Review @ Songbyrd

25

Dee Dee and the Doo Rights @ Takoma VFW

26

Chuck Brown Band @ The Hamilton

29

Ziggy and Lou Tribute @ Gypsy Sallys

31

Punk, Funk and Pies for the People @ The Pie Shop

Vintage #18 @ The Hamilton

A Very Green Day

A  riot of tulips and storms of cherry blossoms have made this a magnificent Spring in Washington so far.  Now those loud mouthed azaleas are having their day in the sun.  I feel lucky not to be allergic to this profusion of pollen which turned DC (and my car) a vivid green overnight.

 Take advantage of this weekend's delightful Spring temperatures and get the hell out. The intimate musical venues on DC ROCKS' radar kick off with a very busy Thursday.  Dave Chappell will tear up JVs where there is no such thing as a green room.  In Silver Spring, musicians and fans alike come together at Bump n Grind for a singer/songwriter night with Billy Coulter and Bill Williams. Look for Ty Braddock and Ruthie Logsden sitting in. Meanwhile  The Thrillbillys will be roaring at the Takoma VFW where there is no back stage unless you count the hall to the men's room.

 Friday the cool cats of Lunch with Bob will also play the VFW.  Here is a picture of some of those dudes back when they had way more hair.

And on Saturday round off the triple header at the VFW with Valentine Slim's honky tonk kind of thing after the Takoma Park Art Hop. Also on Saturday is the opening of "Visualizing Fugazi" at the Lost Origins Gallery. This is a cool, very local art project brought to us in part by the Smithsonian Folklife people.



Or you could spend the afternoon and/or evening with the now grown up wunderkind Jon Carroll who will be back in town for a songwriting workshop and an evening concert. Details here.

If  louder things appeal, the Breakin' Even Fest at the Pie Shop is happening all weekend long. Here's the line up although 3 day passes are also available.

Punk rock and pie.

What could possibly go wrong ?

By the by Sunday is also Greek Easter, another punk rock event in my book. Don't be alarmed if you see tribes of people doing battle with bright red eggs.

Where the Waldos Are

When I was in the fifth grade, my best friend told me to drop everything and read Harriet the Spy. She also told me to get a black and white composition book and to start thinking about a spy route.  I was in.  As soon as I finished the book, we got together to begin our new lives in espionage.  I firmly wrote KEEP OUT on the cover and PRIVET. My friend then dictated the rules which had to be written on the first page.

1. Never let anyone see this book no matter what.

2. Practice writing metholy.

3. Write everything in this book.

4. Use also for spy route

I asked her how to spell that inscrutable word in rule number two, not wanting to admit that I didn't know what it meant. I never did find out. Despite my confusion, I forged ahead with a spy route made up of five neighbors and loosely the whole fifth grade.  And then the sixth grade.  And so on.

I soon realized that keeping my thoughts in a notebook was an excellent way to relieve crushing boredom at school, work, or even a Grateful Dead concert. (Sorry, my dear deadheads, but in my defense, I was sober.) I became a voracious eavesdropper, yet somehow I got through most of my life without ever hearing about 4-20. According to one notebook, I did partake in high school.  (ha ha. high school,  get it?)  WHFS always used to play that inspirational anthem "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" on the radio, and we wouldn't go in to school until the song was over.

But I digress.

Although the expression was once credited to followers of the Dead, the real story happened at a school far away from my own in San Rafael, California. In the early 1970s, an informal smoking crew called "the Waldos" used to meet at 4:20 after school to discuss all things cannabis.  (Man, the internet is like one giant notebook, isn't it? ) The Huffington Post has the full story.

San Rafael High School paper

Celebrate the foggy legends of 420 with Better Off Dead and the Black Muddy River Band at Gypsy Sally's on Saturday, of course. 

If that's not your thing, The Luce Unplugged concert series is happening on Friday at the American Art Museum with one of my favorite bands We Were Pirates. Art, music and libations all together in one beautiful room.

Black Holes and Gravity

Yesterday we Earthlings were treated to the first known photograph of a black hole in outer space.  The event sparked manic joy in the scientific world, but this dark matter, molecule ripping, suck station is not my favorite example of a black hole. I would say that honor belongs to a much smaller orifice found in the middle of a vinyl disc.

Once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away called Rockville, Skip Groff opened a record shop in an otherwise banal shopping center appropriately named Sunshine Plaza. This seemingly ordinary store produced a mysterious gravitational pull which sucked kids like Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye right out of DC and into Yesterday and Today Records. Sunshine Plaza was never the same.

Ian MacKaye with the luminary Skip Groff@ 9:30 Club 1984

The mystery was solved a few weeks ago when a cosmic cloud of local talent gathered to pay their respects to Skip who left us in February.  He was the star that pulled customers into his realm and shed light with his encyclopedic knowledge of music and his sympathetic ear.  Henry Rollins flew in from LA to say goodbye. Both Henry and Ian spoke of the many legendary trips in a beat up car from DC to Rockville just to talk to Skip and see what was new. Both attributed their musical careers, which include bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat, to Skip. Ian started Dischord Records. Mark Noone of the Slickee Boys remembered his visits to the store:

"I met Kim Kane there before I ever considered that I might some day be in Slickee Boys. My buddy Mike Dignan drove me there to get the materials that I would need to practice so I could audition for Slickee Boys. We used to go up there before that just to see who would be there. It was a church; a shrine. Skip Groff changed lives, including mine. He believed in people. He validated the thing we did and encouraged us to want to do it."

This Saturday is Record Store Day, and although Skip is gone, his comrades remain. Please support our local record stores. Joe's Record Paradise is having a listening party from 3-6 p.m. Here's a link to more choices brought to you by DC 101, but a field trip to Frederick would have to include local musical stars Bob Berberich and Martha Hull's shop Vinyl Acres. Plus the punks from Snubbed Records are putting on a free show with live music at the Pie Shop starting at 4 pm.

Make Me Rock

"Ratso." Eddie Angel. Johnny "Shock" Castle. Jim Dougherty. Any of those names sound familiar? Once upon a time, children, back in the eighth decade of the last century, there lived amongst us a bad ass rock band called Switchblade.  Though short lived, this band kicked up the DC music scene and spawned many a would-be musician who came away from their shows inspired by the roar of our own local rock and one especially high octane pompadour.

And now, stay tuned if you will,  for the Switchblade reunion is coming up on the first weekend of May at Villain and Saint, a somewhat intimate club perched on the edge of Bethesda. DC ROCKS is giving you the heads up now because both of the shows will probably sell out. 

No April Fool. 

In the mean time, here's the easily amendable calendar for

APRIL

1

American Television/ Alright/Late Bloomer @ Galaxy Hut

4

Thrillbillys@ JV

6

King Soul @ Takoma VFW

7

Chill Parents/ Ryan Harvey/ Conrado Music/ Company Calls 

@ Slash Run

11

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

Heavy Pets/ Suga Grits @ Gypsy Sally's

12

Little Red and Renegades @ Haydees

Karl Stoll/ Mojo Nixon @ JV

13

Record Store Day show free @ Pie Shop

Crooks and Crows @ Takoma VFW

On the Bus/ Ron Holloway @ Villain and Saint

14

Dave Chappell and Tommy Lepsom @ JV

Thrillbillys @ Villain and Saint

18 

Thrillbillys @ JV

20

District Funk Fest @ Pie Shop

Better off Dead/ Muddy River Band @ Gypsy Sally's 

22

Alex Parez and the Hell Rojos/ Lost Fox @ Galaxy Hut

25

Dave Chappell @ JV

Thrillbillys @ Takoma VFW

26

Lunch with Bob @ Takoma VFW

26-28 

Breakin Even Punk Fest @ Pie Shop

27

Valentine Slim @ Takoma VFW

Play Ball

Since today is Opening Day for the Nats, I have a story about both music and baseball. Last spring I met Hank Thomas at a tribute to Billy Hancock.  We must have crossed paths in the past. Hank used to manage Poseurs and the Psyche Delly. We had a brief conversation, but what with Washington being the small town that it is, I soon realized that our grandfathers were acquainted with each other.  I even have a letter from his grandfather to mine and an old photograph of the two of them moldering away in a family album.

I don't know how Roger Calvert met Walter Johnson, but I'm sure he was fan. Walter Johnson played ball for the Senators for 21 years back in the day when your home team actually meant something, and players weren't traded away like baseball cards. I also learned a lot about Walter Johnson from Jake Flack's song "Big Train" which should be on every baseball fan's play list.

As far as music this weekend Friday there's a free rockabilly show with the Flea Bops and Aaron LeBeau at the Pie Shop on H St NE. This might be my new favorite venue. Great sound, a nice space both indoors and roof top, and PIE! Also on Friday,  Crooks and Crows are honky tonkin' at the Takoma VFW which is always a fun place. 

The Cherry People are at Jammin' Java. Yes, The Cherry People. I had to read that twice myself. The Cherry People were a local sensation during the swinging sixties and seventies of the last century. This performance is billed as a final show with original players Chris and Doug Grimes and Jan Zukowski. 

And on Sunday you can catch King Soul livening things up after the game at the Bull Pen.  A very cool way to finish off the weekend with both baseball and music.

Cobwebs and Strange

Staring at the ceiling wondering what to write about this week, my eye falls on those pesky cobwebs I keep meaning to knock down. I think what the heck are those things anyway and what exactly is a cob?  A quick tour of the web comes up with everything from magical fairy creations to a slightly more rational theory concerning sticky abandoned spider webs. I also find out that a "cob" is translated from the Middle English "coppe" meaning spider which seems like a stretch to me, but, as my Greek grandmother used to say " there you go." I look for a video and find Cobwebs and Strange  an aptly named little piece by The Who featuring a lot of drums and a small scream from Keith Moon. (Crank this baby up full blast to wake up your comatose teenager.) Speaking of moons, tonight is the last of the Three in a Row Super Moon Set of 2019. Look for this moon rise a little before 7 pm, just an hour after Official Arrival of Spring at 5:58 pm aka the Equinox.

Get on your fairy helmets- it's going to be a witchy kind of evening and a perfect one for "Sweeping Cobwebs off the Moon."

O.K. I'll stop now.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. There's a lot of music this weekend from Dead covers to...well,  the sky's the limit. Ok, stopping now. For real.

Support our musical tribe, DC!

Here's some suggestions for budget conscious rock n roll animals:

22

The Nighthawks @ Pearl St Warehouse (free!)

King Congo's Birthday Party @ Comet Ping Pong

The Hall Bros. @ College Park Legion

23

The Outpatients @ JV ( 4 pm)

Split Seconds @ Dangerous Pies

Cravin Dogs @ Red Bear Brewery

Riverbreaks/ Suspect Class/ Beanstalk Library @ Union Stage

The Oklahoma Twisters @ College Park Legion

Elikeh @ Gypsy Sally's