Holy Ghost!/Cut Copy 3/29/11

What a great four (six) day break I'm having! I have been totally on a DFA/New York disco binge ever since I went to visit with Gary last year. The whole scene is great and I would love to venture back in the city for some local clubbing. For now all I could was wait for Cut Copy's return to DC. They sold out two 9:30 Club shows this week and even spin records at the U Street Music Hall after their final Wednesday set. Going to the show, and seeing Holy Ghost! open, was quite the treat. These two groups play some infectious big beat dance anthems that made the weather bearable for at least one night. I have been pumping Holy Ghost! EP since it came out last year and the duo surprised me with a full band. Hearing booming live drums helps tremendously as the sound carried throughout the venue. They played about six or so songs before leaving for Cut Copy. The Australians new cd is better than their last cd, which I finally bought at the show, and they got the crowd involved every song. The band's leader had a charismatic way he delivered his music as if to say "I love these songs, enjoy them with us." Everything was clicking that night and I can't wait to see either band perform in the future either live or spinning records. I'll take anything they produce!

Black Squirrel/Smash! 2/3/11

Broke out the Washingtonian Best Bars Edition and had to check something out for happy hour. I gave my roommate three addresses and told him to pick. One was in Georgetown, Adams Morgan, and the Atlas District. He picked the Black Squirrel in Adams Morgan. I haven't been to Adams Morgan during the day and was pleasantly surprised that they're were no cars on 18th St. We parked right out front and walked in, just up the street from my favorite bar on the block, Bourbon. We kind of opened Black Squirrel and got thoroughly wasted with the very wide selections of beers from all over the world. My favorite was the Aventus and 10% double IPA that was off the menu. To slow down the high content I checked out the food selections and got the four cheese mac. It was awesome!!!!! The bar staff was very cool and the patrons fit the "good beer bar" vibe. It was the best possible scenario at happy hour, though they had no specials, and I was very satisfied. On the way out we stopped by Smash!, the local record store. They had reasonable prices and some lps and punk stuff hanging around but the store was awful. One employee working with headphones and no sound! This guy gave me the creeps, plus I was a little buzzed. No sound too? What a buzz kill. Check out the bar but skip the record store, such a shame!

Girl Talk 1/29/11

I love DC, really I do but it does has its hang ups. We're better than a Baltimore and smaller than a Philly but as far as music goes you gotta be real quick on the trigger when it comes to shows or you'll miss something before the tickets go on sale! And thus begins my new program of leaving town when good artists sell out quickly. I had wanted to see Girl Talk ever since I saw him two summers ago at Virgin Free Fest. The guy had the crowd with his mash up mixes of everyones favorite songs, both past and current staples. When spin.com posted an interview last year and a link to a free download of his new album "All Day" for free I was hooked. Slow as I might I missed whatever presale he had for two(!) upcoming shows at the 9:30 Club here in town. Word on the street is he sold those two dates out in a mere ten minutes. The only good news is that he was playing the preceeding Fridany and Saturday in Norfolk and Richmond respectively. Since Norfolk is my old stomping ground I emailed the old gang and set up a dance party that they would soon not forget. Last Friday we embarked on the most sweaty and drunken dance party any of us could ever have hoped for. Imagine yourself at the greatest wedding reception on crack! Girl Talk is not a DJ, he's a visonary with a laptop that knows how to put on a great live show. I was hoping he wasn't going to just plug in some speakers and play "All Day" from start to finish but instead he followed the new record loosely adding more danceable cuts from past works into a two hour dance frenzy. He had everything: people onstage, toliet paper flowing out of leaf blowers, camera crews, balloons (giant/regualr/condom shaped), and lots of confetti. Everyone knew all the words to the mixes from Biggie to Miley and Black Sabbath to "Living on a Prayer". All my friends never stopped dancing and luckily they took my advise and wore t shirts and forgot about the pushing and beer soaked mess they were in. The venue was very similar to the 9:30 Club with a closer stage and wider balconies and no one had a bad time. Right around midnight the two hour sweat fest was over and we exited The Norva exstatic. The show sold out earlier in the week and although I'd rather have seen him in DC, Friday was the way to go. After all, who wants to go to work the next morning after staying up all night with Girl Talk?!

Download "All Day" for free!: http://www.illegal-art.net/allday/

Lights & Music

Well I definitely slept on Chromeo and Das Racist. That blows, but this weekend I'm catching Girl Talk and in a week Free Energy. But even better news is that in the coming months I'm going to check the 9:30 Club for Cut Copy and CSS. It'll be a hipster dance party this spring and I'm stoked about that. I gotta ask though, who's coming with me? No metal, no problem. And that'll set up the summertime because last year the DC was banging! So I've got mueseums to look at and concerts to look forward to. 2011 is shaping up nicely!

District Chophouse 1/17/11

One last thing! I almost forgot to review the District Chophouse from Monday. This place is located near the Verizon Center and the Crime & Punishment Museum and they boast a brewery and prime cut meats. I took the girls there after walking through a Smithsonian and it worked out because it was Restaurant Week. The deals are the best during lunch as each person is charged $20.11 for an appetizer and an entree. I ordered the calamari and pork chop and they were both excellent. Also served was a almond crusted halibut with some very creamy mashed potatoes. The calamari was very good and not too greasy and they didn't use a lot of weak tentacles which I hate. The pork chop had a strange sauce that I didn't like and was stuffed with something they smelled minty but the meat was very tender and the side of french fries were very good and hot. I also had a brown ale, which wasn't as good as a New Castle but it was smooth enough to order again in the future. They had many brews on tap and I would like to return. The bathrooms were a bit tricky as I had to take an elevator to a basement that was unoccupied and kind of gloomy. Overall they had great food and I was very curious to sample more beer so I would definitely recommend this place before a game or a play in the neighborhood.
www.districtchophouse.com/

MLK Weekend 1/14-1/16/11

Had my lady come up last weekend to celebrate her friends birthday from Virginia Beach because they don't have much to do when the waves out there are frozen. After I took her up for NYE she was impressed with the nightlife and things to do she decided that DC was going to be a good spot for an extended birthday weekend. They arrived late afternoon Saturday and though we missed the Tattoo Convention held at Crystal City's Doubletree, we did make to the Smithsonian before closing time. We ended up at the American History Museum and it was quite a treat. They recently renovated the place and it is very exquisite. The subjects of our country's history from wars, culture, and even sports were displayed with a modern freshness that begged the eyes to gaze upon it. They liked it so much we went to the Natural History building on Monday to look at the Night at the Museum themed exhibits! So getting cultured is in full swing and I think I'll hit a new place every Sunday and give a report. To conclude Saturday we went to my favorite bar in town, Bourbon in Adams Morgan. They have over 75 bourbons plus all the other wines, beers, and spirits and the upstairs has a dance party on the weekends. Two Southern girls can get on that trip, for sure. Sunday started late as we were going to catch a Capitals game (they won finally 3-1) but before that I took everybody to a drag brunch at Nellies off U and 9th Streets. Yeah, it was a total drag and they even lip synced to some pop songs of the drags they were supposed to look like. To each is own I guess but it was a good time. Great weekend and best of all I was able to show off a huge diverse part of the city to some out of towners that are big fans now. All in all great success.

Death Race!

My 2011 concert line is weak as of late as I missed Das Racist, missing US Royalty, and probably skipping Chromeo's first set. That's alright because outside getting cultured I'm going run my ass off this year. It started with my new Garmin watch I got for Christmas and a bunch of cold weather gear. Then came the the obsessive compulsive race calendar creations. Let's see I'm doing the National Half Marathon, The GW Parkway Classic, and the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler all on consecutive weekends this spring. That'll be some serious running that my fat ass needs to train for or else it's going to be real ugly. Why? Well this summer I'm focusing on obstacle course races such as the Metro Dash, Warrior Dash, and the Spartan Race. These look intense but they're only 5K. That's totally doable now but I want to be drinking standing up and not puking laying down at the finish line, or ambulance. Gotta go, gotta get moving and best of all I think I'm playing soccer in NYC this summer at the World Police & Fire Games! Here's to resolutions bitches!
connect.garmin.com
www.nationalmarathon.com
www.cherryblossom.org
pacersevents.com/parkwayclassic/index.html
www.warriordash.com
www.spartanrace.com/index.html
www.metrodash.com

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since an update, sorry I've been really lazy. The weather has been freezing, cold, snowing, and yesterday it was 50 degrees. It's incredible out here in DC. Well got a new sweetheart and she came to visit over new years and I determined a new goal for the new year. I need culture! First thing I did was join up to the Zoo. Becoming a member to the National Zoo has its perks. Actually outside of the animals the best part of joining up is all the social events members get like the Boo at the Zoo. Anyway, went to the Zoo on the 30th to see the final night of the Zoo Lights. It was pretty nice to walk around and the lady sure enjoyed it. We stayed out a Kimpton Hotel in DuPont called Hotel Topaz. Great big room and it was cheaper than most of the major chains in the immediate area. For New Years Eve we skipped the crazy young kids parties and headed out for a quiet night at Policy, a new place off 14th/T St. We went there because I had a Groupon for it (which was void during NYE) and because it was close to our hotel. The food was great and was of the small plate variety but the real treat was tons of can beer by Butternuts. The decor was pretty cool and the layout was good too. After a couple drinks we left for a new bar but settled into Bar Pilar until the ball dropped. After midnight I finished my cocktail and we hightailed home. Leave the singles to fight over cabs at 4am! The rest of the trip was spent at malls, Georgetown, and even a speak easy in Old Town. Great trip and I'm looking forward to checking out new and old aspects of the city in the coming year. Now, who's coming with me??!