Hip-hop provocateurs The Cornel West Theory took a while to drop their full length album Coming From The Bottom a few months ago, but the hype is building already for a new release late December called The T.A.B.L.E. The collective tease their mysteriously acronymical album with a music video for “PiLLz”, featuring sinister sounding rhymes over old soul samples. Whoever booked TCWT at this Sunday’s DC Punk Funk Revival show at U Street Music Hall really knows what’s up, as this lineup with Loud Boyz, UCB and Drew Kid is completely unmissable.
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Category Archives: shows
Polyon – Blue
Polyon‘s fuzzy, loud and drone-y take on rock has surprised longtime fans of singer Ryan McLaughin and shown his wide and developing taste in songwriting. Their pay-what-you-want EP Blue recently came out on Funny/Not Funny Records (pre-order a cassette!), and now the title track has a music video to show off the release. “Blue” is undoubtedly one of the messiest videos of the year, and it’s oddly and completely satisfying watching others get covered in paint and flour, for art. You can catch Polyon live this weekend as part of the 6th anniversary celebration of Brandon Wetherbee’s live talk show You, Me, Them, Everybody on Saturday night at the Black Cat.
Middle Distance Runner – The Unbeliever
Our favorite music festival of the year, the all DC based Magnificent Intentions, spreads its wings tonight at Iota and tomorrow at DC9. As we said on this week’s podcast, you won’t find a better way to check out such a wide variety of excellent DC bands live. Saturday night’s show features the album release party for Secret Things by Middle Distance Runner, who’ve kept us waiting for 6 years for a new full length from the hook-laden rock band. In case you’re new to these fine fellows, watch this claymated music video for “The Unbeliever”, the lead single from their 2009 album The Sun and Earth. See you this weekend at the festival!
Heavy Breathing – I NO LUV
Once upon a time, before the proliferation of swipe-to-date apps led by Tinder, lonely singles logged into anonymous internet chat rooms to search for love. This obviously never really worked because of geography and outright lying about everything from looks to gender, but psychedelic electronic rock band Heavy Breathing still looks back on this dark era nostalgically in the new music video “I NO LUV” from their just-released album Airtight. The only thing Heavy Breathing takes seriously is their ability to make you feel weird and exhilarated, and in this “I NO LUV” succeeds like only their live shows have before. Heavy Breathing is one of DC’s must-see live acts, and you’re in luck as they’re anchoring a fantastic late-night bill this Saturday night at Comet Ping Pong with Tone and The Caribbean, where’s you’ll be able to score the new album on vinyl. Be warned, don’t watch this video at work like I just did.
Time Is Fire – Fetneh
If you’re the type to lose yourself dancing in a psychedelic haze, Time Is Fire have your ticket for a perfect Tuesday evening. The quartet of DC music veterans, hailing from Alma Tropicalia, Thievery Corporation and Multiflora Productions, release their 4 song self-titled debut EP with a show tonight at Bossa in Adams Morgan, one of the primary locations to see live music curated by TIF drummer Jim Thomson. Their first music video also dropped today, showing the band jamming on “Fetneh” while Sufi poet and Iranian daf player Kamyar Arsani sings and dances with a distinctive enormous fez. Grab the EP for free on Electric Cowbell’s SoundCloud page and make your way to Bossa tonight for the show!
Exit Vehicles – Module
Indie rock band Exit Vehicles broke out of the usual DC music blogs with the premiere of their new video at ComicsDC, a blog devoted to the local graphic storytelling scene. Illustrator Matt Rasch of Michigan created this playful tale of a space-faring monkey for the lead single “Module” from Exit Vehicles’ new album Stages, which should please old school fans of The Dismemberment Plan. Exit Vehicles headlines a bill presented by euphonX at Iota on Saturday December 12th.
Drew Gibson – When The Vinyl Scrapes
WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO!
Sometimes it feels like it snuck up on us, but music listening has changed so much in the last 15-20 years. Now with earbuds, podcasts, YouTube and paid streaming services, we curate and share songs and albums very personally, hearing music in bubbles that only get pierced by the ceremony of live shows.
On our DC music podcast I’ve been known to lightly slag off the recent vinyl and cassette resurgence as vastly inferior to the convenience and ubiquity of digital music. However, one thing I must concede, putting the needle on a record invites a communal listening of recorded music that’s often missing in 2015. Music’s power is amplified communally; just ask any club DJ.
Singer/songwriter Drew Gibson taps into this energy in “When The Vinyl Scrapes”, the latest single from the full length album 1532 from earlier this year. “Where do you go when that needle hits?” Drew sings, as music leads him through memories of family made poignant through loss. The songs on 1532 were written after the passing of Drew’s father back in 2012, and helped him cope with that change, reviewing family lore to inspire the songwriting process.
Many, I’d say most actually, musicians project an aura of “cool”. They rehearse a carefully crafted image of detachment and confidence designed to entice, but really puts distance between performer and fan. Drew Gibson is not at all like this. Drew is friendly, “warm”. Drew is unafraid to pour his emotions and family history into songs and describe the process as he goes. His easygoing folk troubadour style and quiet fingerpicking guitar sound make 1532 extremely approachable. Talk to Drew after a show and you’ll see what I mean.
For the video for “When The Vinyl Scrapes”, which we are honored and excited to premiere today, Drew returned to filmmaker Tobin Herringshaw, director of two videos from Drew’s prior album The Southern Draw. Tobin’s breathtaking new video uses the Nevada desert as canvas, creating long widescreen images that look like gelatin silver photographs from a hundred years ago. The languid pace of the video is a great fit for Drew’s contemplative song.
The Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club hosts Drew Gibson on Sunday December 13th with support from occasional collaborator Devon Sproule. Get advance tickets now (and pick your seats out in advance too! Neat!).
Sara Curtin – Garden of Ghosts
“Garden of Ghosts”, singer Sara Curtin’s ode to the home of her alma mater, Michigan, stood out on her recent full length album Michigan Lilium as a song with lyrics to really dig into. Curtin recorded a live version of the song at Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor, MI and even brought on Phredley Brown, music director for Selena Gomez and Bruno Mars, to lend a hand. The performance was thoughtfully captured on video, showing Sara’s versatility as a leader to whatever ensemble of musicians she gathers. Catch her next on Saturday December 5th at DC9 as part of the second annual all-DC curated music festival Magnificent Intentions.
The Max Levine Ensemble – My Valerian
It’s ambitious projects like the in-progress 3 part music video series from The Max Levine Ensmeble that make us feel extra good about our mission to get you to see more DC music videos. If you recall from the last video “Sun’s Early Rays”, Katie Alice Greer stole the doomsday device from the evil villain Sharad Satsangi and escaped. This time in “My Valerian” singer David Combs’s brain is swapped for the device, and trippiness ensues courtesy of animator Ben Levin, well known as a writer on Steven Universe and creator of his own series Doris & Mary Anne Are Breaking Out Of Prison, which I am totally binge watching next Saturday morning. The new album Backlash, Baby drops November 20th and TMLE celebrate with a record release show Sunday November 22nd at Black Cat. Expect doomsday devices.
RAtheMC – F.A.M.M.
One of DC’s most prominent female rappers RAtheMC is back on the scene with a new music video. Showcasing her love for her mother with a casual stroll around the National Harbor, “F.A.M.M.” features RA rapping about the most important things in her life, naturally Family and My Money. RA appears next with Thee H Collective supporting fellow DMV rapper Vito Brown at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Friday November 6th.
Hometown Sounds 