Days of Future Passed

The Futureheads
Black Cat
June 4, 2010

I heard an interview with the Futureheads on KEXP back when their first album was released in 2004, where they said that they figured the way they could make the most noise as a band was to have each band member sing each song at the same time. I’m not sure many groups outside of the a capella ghetto try that approach but it certainly lends itself to a big sound. While not a sell-out, the Futureheads drew a pretty good crowd to the Black Cat and were able to keep people interested in the new shit, although it seemed pretty clear, given the enthusiastic reception of the crowd to 2004’s “False Conversation” (from the self-titled album of the same year) that most of the audience was, like me, attending because they wanted to hear the old stuff. The band seemed to enjoy one another’s company, which is a rarity given that two of them are brothers. Also lead singer David Hyde has a early 1980s alternative British guy look about him that you don’t see too much anymore, like he could be one of the extras in the video for “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” and could bore the living shit out of you by complaining about Margaret Thatcher for a few hours straight if you had the misfortune to be stuck in a corner with him at a party. And more than likely the food at the party would suck balls because the hosts would be vegan, and consequently you would be like, Jesus, I need new friends, because look at this lame-assed party I ended up at.

Potsy and I noted that the area around the Black Cat continues to change rapidly and we’re starting to see the sort of people on 14th that you previously would only see south of Dupont, or in Georgetown maybe. I don’t get as up in arms about gentrification as others do—it’s a free country and people can live and hang out wherever they like—but you definitely get the sense that some essential shittiness that made the area interesting has been lost forever and that the Black Cat is probably on its way to becoming some sort of museum piece, like CBGB or something. Potsy even thought he saw a bro get iced while we were in there, which was fucking demoralizing to hear. Nevertheless, I was impressed that the Futureheads were able to energize the audience the way they did, because not only did it include the aforementioned 2004 nostalgiacs, but also a good amount of pikers and summer intern types who likely had no idea who the band was. Well done, Futureheads.

Going back to 2004, does anyone else agree with me that 2004-2005 was a golden age of music? I think we’ve gotten a little distance so I can make a grand, ridiculous statement like that. Look at the albums that came out in that period and tell me they weren’t awesome:

Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
The Futureheads, The Futureheads
Spoon, Gimme Fiction
Arcade Fire, Funeral
Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand
Air, Talkie Walkie
Mark Lanegan, Bubblegum
The Libertines, The Libertines
The Black Keys, Rubber Factory
Wolfmother, Wolfmother EP (am I a jackass for liking this? Someone tell me)
Neko Case, The Tigers Have Spoken
Fiery Furnaces, EP
New Pornographers, Twin Cinema

Maybe this is a symptom of my advancing age, but every time I hear new releases from the bands above, I find myself hankering for that 04-05 sound, and I keep not getting it.

From this day forward

The Wedding Present - Friday, April 9th @ the Black Cat with the Jet Age - $15

There wasn't much brewing on Friday night, so why not check out The Wedding Present?

I knew/know very little about this band, having mostly thrown them into the same basket of British bands that my neighbor in college would listen to, while I donned my flannel and set my sights on music from the Pacific Northwest. My neighbor, Jason Lee (not that Jason Lee, obv), was a huge fan of Ride, Swerve Driver, Suede, the Reading Musical Festival, and I'm pretty sure the only reason I ever heard of The Wedding Present was because it was in rotation coming from his dorm room.

Here's what I've learned since.

• The Wedding Present is basically David Gedge. He's the only constant in the band since they formed in 1985.
• They didn't stop making music just because Jason Lee is no longer my neighbor. Friday night's show included a handful of tracks from albums produced after 1995, actually. Some good stuff.
• While DC area band The Jet Age opened for The Wedding Present on Friday, as they did some 5 years earlier, there is another Jet Age connection to The Wedding Present. The Jet Age's Eric Tischler "was commissioned to remix the lead track for The Wedding Present’s first ever download-only single, “The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend” from the band’s album El Rey" (thank you BLURT on-line).
• Lots of bald dudes in their late 40s/early 50s love this band. They showed up in full force Friday and even had themselves a ghey-ol' dance party in the middle of the floor. Nice to see people dancing.
• The Wedding Present can reach back and deliver some intense indie rock (as well as some softer jams), but they played a long long set. David Gedge turns 50 in twelve days, but he rocked it like a 30something Friday, playing the Bizzaro album (their 2nd in the catalog).

Arctic Rock: Greenland at the Black Cat

Andrew, our Senior Youth Correspondent is picking up our slack. Here's his take on the recent Greenland show.

Greenland w/ Dennis Kane
Wednesday, January 13 2010
Black Cat backstage

When you are on winter break from college, Wednesdays are a lot like other days of the week. So this past Wednesday I pretended it was the weekend and headed to the Black Cat for local heavies Greenland. Dennis Kane opened to a decently sized crowd. Dennis is the main sound guy at the Black Cat, it was nice see him have a go from the other side of the room. He played gruff garage and post punk songs backed by a three piece band that included the Mrs. on bass. His songwriting brought to mind a more fierce Bowie or a less fierce Iggy. I didn't love every song I heard, but the overall performance was solid and Dennis get points for Fender Jazzmaster usage.

New material was the order of the day once the Greenlanders took the stage. Greenland is an indie-rock/post punk quartet that channels Joy Divsion and Wire as astutely as they do Neil Young and Queen. The band opened promptly with staple "Salome" and proceeded to a handful of fresh songs the band perhaps jokingly claimed were to appear on series of 3 upcoming EPs the first of which would come out in 2012. ("Be patient, guys") Lyrical content was as engaging as the music per usual. One tune about college was right up my alley: "Baby, baby/got caught by the RA." I happen to live in the basement of my dorm so I tend not to run into my resident advisor, but still it was nice to have some of the emotional spice of college life set to reverb soaked post punk. Potsy, Slice, you still remember going to college right? The new stuff sounded really solid, including older new songs "Black Lighting" and "Coffee" (both streaming here). I discovered these guys at Fort Reno in 2006, and have been a big fan ever since. If you have not checked them out yet, do it, they are easily one of the most original and enjoyable local bands currently active.

Rock Machine: Max Levine

Andrew, our Senior Youth Correspondent is back! This time he reviews the Max Levine Ensemble.

Max Levine Ensemble
Wednesday December 23, 2009
Black Cat Backstage
Photos by Rachel Atcheson

When DC native David Combs (aka Spoonboy) is not busy spreading the word on grass roots anarchy movements or supporting local charities, he fronts the Max Levine Ensemble, one of DC’s best-kept musical secrets. The Max Levine Ensemble (MLE), a pop punk trio that follows a DIY ethic that brings to mind bands such as Fugazi, are something of a rare (relative) success in the world of DC underground punk-which despite what people say still exists, albeit not very visibly. While there is some similarity to the operation of 80s/90s Dischord bands in MLE’s anti-corporate stance and self-run, exhaustive touring of the country, they do it with a sincerity not seen in many “purist” DC punk acts.

Maybe you caught MLE at Fort Reno—they have played several summers over the past few years. The group plays super high-energy blend of pop punk and ska that incorporates politically and socially conscious lyrics. A sampling of tracks from the band’s handful of albums and EPs brings to mind Ted Leo and The Thermals. I caught MLE this past Wednesday at the Black Cat.


For a band that I had seen twice before and already knew I liked a lot, MLE still managed to put on a very entertaining show. The approximately 40 minute set saw the band pulling out new songs from a new cassette release entitled “Them Steadily Depressing, Low Down Mind Messing, Post Modern Recession Blues.” Well that’s just a mouthful! Lyrical content on those songs seemed to consist of pretty direct indictments of those responsible for the financial debacle of 08/09. The band played super tight and had a surprising fidelity to the quality of the recorded versions of their songs. Meaning they are a good live act, not that you’d be just as satisfied to stay home and listen to the records. Drumming from Nick Popovici was fast and furious; bassist “Bepstein” handled a fair portion of the singing, adding a nice change from Spoonboy’s lead vocal. Banter was at just the right level-enough to make the audience feel recognized but not so much that something stupid/annoying is bound to be said.

I think a big area of success for this band has been the accessibility of their music, especially to the younger portion of the DC scene (The band are in their mid twenties however). Upbeat, catchy pop punk is often written off as mall punk Hot Topic garbage—and often there is truth in that. MLE pair deathly serious lyrics and outlook with catchy pop punk in a way that, as mentioned before, comes off very sincere.. Sure, they have goofy nicknames and too long cassette titles, but these guys deserve some credit. They are a punk band that is still finding issues to comment on even after George W. left the White House. That plus the quality of the tunes is enough for me. Check em out!

Thaoer of power

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down @ the Black Cat - 11/6/09 - $15

I know that Jumbo Slice is going to write up something for Thao when he sees her later this week, probably letting us know how he whored himself out as indie-rock innkeeper and invited the nomadic minstrels to crash with him and his ever-so-patient wife and unsuspecting child, Tiny Slice in their Austin abode. So I'll just let our reader know a little about Thao's performance on Friday night.

I made sure to get to the club at 8 to buy my tickets. It was a Friday night and little else going on, and the DCist among others was pushing the show. The box office didn't open on time, so there was a bit of standing around waiting. Also standing around waiting was an attractive woman of Asian decent, and we kept making eye contact periodically. It started getting a little weird and then it got in my head. Even though I didn't know this woman, I knew who she wasn't. But still, I started thinking, "maybe she thinks that I think that she's Thao." Anyhow, I left with my tickets and came back later with Emma Peel in time for the Portland Cello Project.

My advice to the Portland Cello Project: less cello. I liked the idea of busting out some familiar tunes played on the cello, but choosing Britney Spears and Outkast covers did not do much for me. Pantera was a good call, but something a little more accessible would be better. Maybe some Elton John, Bad Company, Metallica, that sort.

Emma asked me to describe Thao before the show, and eventually I described her music as something you'd hear on an iPod/iPhone commercial. Oh oh oh, oh oh oh. Cheery and pop-rocking. I like it, so that's not meant to be a criticism, but I can see how it could be taken that way.

The show was a sell out, a nice homecoming for the VA native / W&M alumna. Glad I got my tickets early. More than mid way through, two young hipsters appeared on stage, and the chap asked the lass to make it legal. You'll see the tail end of that happening on the video below, complete with Thao's apology for having so many songs about relationships breaking down. Then you got the bag o hammer's song.

Good show, and thanks to Lil and Lauren for their Black Catspitality.

The Day After

Jay Reatard @ Black Cat - July 5th, 2009 - $12

When the fireworks have fallen, the beer is warm and stale, the potato salad has turned, and the weekend is finally over, what else can you do but get back out there and keep on keepin' on?

We ventured to the Black Cat's backstage Monday night to get a look at Jay Reatard and his hairbandied extravaganza. The man has a fountain of hair that just seemed to spurt out of the top of his melon in a massive stream covering 360 degrees of his head. His band mate guitarist had equally impressive hair, both reminiscent (as Jimbromski said) of Hurley from LOST.

Neither Jimbromski nor I were terribly familiar with Mr. Reatard's catalog, but we knew he played fast and that things could get physical (not in the Barry White nor Olivia Newton John sort, mind you). The backstage was packed for this set and despite my giraffe neck, I never did see the drummer in the back. Indeed, a mosh pit formed, and at one point play was halted due to excessive hair-pulling.

Punk with a touch of pop. Most of the songs were pseudo metal, mostly punk, and occasionally sugary for a radio-friendly sound. Here's just a tiny snippet:

T.V. Smith, of 1970s punk band The Adverts, opened for Jay Reatard and returned to the stage for the only song I truly recognized: Gary Gilmore's Eyes. If you don't know anything about Gary Gilmore, or this song, it's actually quite fascinating. Gilmore murders two in Utah in July of 1976. Convicted and sentenced to die, he chooses to be shot versus being hanged. Asked if he had any last words, he says, "Let's do it." According to wikipedia, within hours of his execution, and complying with his request, two people received Gary Gilmore's transplanted corneas. There begins the connection to The Adverts' song. We probably erred by not checking out TV Smith, who I mistakenly referred to as "TV Set" at one point in the evening.

A few more details. We were pleased to see Mark Kapiloff (aka Everywhere Man, That Guy, Wandering Mark) en route to the club. It had been a while. Glad he is still a man about town. Also seen that night was Ahmad, the blind avid concert goer, who continues to out-rock us.

Lastly, behind Jimbromski's head you'll see Jay Reatard interacting with his fans. I think he looks a little like a young Meatloaf.

Ticket Giveaway: An Horse at the Black Cat Tonight!

It kills me we're not able to review this show. I'm totally obsessed with An Horse right now. Plus Telekinesis, also on the bill, is quite good. Our loss is your gain though.

We're giving away two tickets tonight's show at the Black Cat Backstage. Simply email us your name at DCRockClub@gmail.com and we'll randomly pick the winner. The contest ends this afternoon so enter now. Good luck!

I've already posted a number of An Horse videos so how about something from Telekinesis? Here's my favorite tune by them, "Coast of Carolina":

Thermal Dynamics

The Thermals - May 13, 2009 @ The Black Cat $13

Always good to see an enthusiastic crowd for a DC show. It doesn't happen with any regularity, but every once in a while, DC eats itself a bran muffin and lets loose. The folks who gathered together on Wednesday night made a decent show an enjoyable show for me. And while The Thermals delivered a solid performance, in their past two shows they have failed to conjure the same sense of shock and awe as they did in March of 2007.

Last night's show suffered from a soggy middle where the songs (newer ones I suspect) seemed less earnest and lacking the passion that I remember their earlier performances. Still, the crowd stuck with them faithfully, and the pogo-stick of a young lady in front of me proved that The Thermals still stoke the fire in the bellies of today's youth. Though she may have been on pills.

I haven't really listened close to Now We Can See, so that biases me against the unfamiliar, but like Andy Rooney, I like the ol' stuff better.

Jumbo Slice isn't the only DCRC twit. Here's what I thought was interesting in less than 140 characters:

The Thermals at the Black Cat. Good crowd.10:57 PM May 13th from txt
The Thermals at the Black Cat. Girl jumps on stage. Girl gets thrown out.11:04 PM May 13th from txt
The Thermals at the Black Cat. Yet there is a Charles Manson figure in the back...11:06 PM May 13th from txt [He was "security." Although, I didn't feel safer with him there.]
I love how the drummer eggs on the audience.11:20 PM May 13th from txt
Nirvana cover.11:24 PM May 13th from txt [Sappy - didn't delight as much as one might have expected]
Breeders cover.11:36 PM May 13th from txt [Saints - hard to hit the high notes - but this worked better]
Over.11:43 PM May 13th from txt

High School Musical

These United States w/ The Spinto Band & Greenland 5/8/09 @ the Black Cat - $12

What do folks think of The Roots being the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon? Steady work...not a tough gig. Sounds like a nice pretirement set up. But doesn't it preclude them from having any real future as a touring band?

If DCRC could swing a house band, I'd like to think that we'd change it up every season or two, just to keep things fresh. Statehood would've been the DCRC band in 2006/7, as we seemed to see them every other week. In 2008, we went in a new direction and These United States (TUS) emerged as the band de l'année. Deleted Scenes looks to be the front runner for DCRC house band of 2009 (that's probably bad news for them, sorry).

Since we've seen and reviewed TUS a number of times already, we decided to reach into the emailbox for one of dozens of shovel-ready reviews submitted by our faithful readership. I will serve as editor in thief and try to move us along [in].

From the desk of our newest Youth Correspondent, Andrew:

I found about this show on Thursday and decided to check it out because two solid local acts were on the bill, Greenland and These US. I went into this with fairly high expectations. Greenland has been a personal favorite since I first saw them at Ft. Reno in '06, These US always put on a great performance, and an impressive cursory listen to the Spinto Band seemed to indicate that I might not have to head outside of the club for a breather as I usually do with local shows. Although I was in a grouchy mood because the girl I was bringing to this thing [Andrew tells us a superfluous anecdote about being stood up Friday night - no doubt trying to win sympathies from our female readers] ...I entered the Cat feeling pumped for some solid rock.

I got there a little bit after Greenland started their set, thanks to the parking spot I found which was about equidistant from my house to the club. I missed "Black Lightning", their opener which is not on the record and thus a rare treat. What I did hear was a mix of new and old tunes. A highlight from the new is definitely "Coffee", a forward moving, bass driven number that features the chorus lyric "It's getting serious, It's getting serious, It's getting serious, I guess I'll drink some coffee." This is great stuff which I think represents most D.C. 9-5ers jobs pretty accurately. That said, I don't know anything about "9-5." Old tunes that landed well with the crowd were "We Are Clipper Ships" and "Tiger Rug" off of the debut album Call Message. Although not too many people were there for Greenland, those that were seemed to be digging the reverb soaked guitars and stream of consciousness lyrics. Myself included.

[Andrew tells us of his jock sniffing banter with Greenland band members after their set] Not wanting to overstay any hypothetical welcome I had with the Greenlanders, I headed up to the stage to check out Spinto Band, who is from Delawhere? If you are reading this review, a pre-lecture question you might have had is "What was the Spinto Band like?" In a word, Hobbits. [Ironically, Andrew goes to great length to describe this band as being short.]

Anyways, the Spinto Band played quasi danceable pop music in the vein of OK Go or Shout Out Louds. More people were in the club now and the crowd was notably closer to the stage than during Greenland's set. They were a tight band and had a decent amount of stage presence, but I couldn't get over the Hobbit thing. Not to harp on appearances, but the lead singer who was not particularly Hobbit like (hence he is the front man) did remind me of that berry's and creme ad [shameless]. He had a very similar mannerism and repeatedly referred to the stage as "the bandstand." Weird I know. There music was original and seemed to appeal to the people dancing, but I couldn't help feeling I had heard it/read about it a year or two ago from some similar but better band.

Ok so they finished up and got off the bandstand. As I was staking out a primo spot for the headliner's set, I saw this woman staring at me. [In this part, Andrew gets hit on by a "strange example of a female" only to have her freak out by his juvenescence.] I finally escaped from this philistine by retreating to the back lounge area until These US started.

First thing I noticed was that the band had gone through some heavy changes since the last time I had seen them (last summer, Ft Reno). I was aware of their new Kentucky connection--the normally rotating cast of characters had been replaced by two new permanent members, a guitarist and drummer from Lexington, KY, and the band had recorded a record there recently. But of the five people playing in the band, only two (Jesse and JT Hnatow) were original members. The new (newer than KY guy) looked downright scary and had a haircut that was waaay two young for him. Highlights from the set included "First Sight", the closest this and comes to indie rock and a nice break from the usual array of southern fried rock the band specialized in. Southern fried rock highlights included "Honor Amongst Thieves" and "We Go Down to That Corner." The stuff sounded good in a slower Neil Young sort of way, but I missed the vitality and one two punch delivery of the band's set last summer. I was getting pretty tired as it was pushing midnight and I wasn't looking for another run in with that crazy chick so I headed home.

Greenland was awesome. They really did it for me. The Hobbits were trying too hard to be pop sensations. Yes, some hipster looking tweens were dancing, but if you actually watch the movies about the ring, the way to destroy the ring is by helping Frodo, carrying his stuff, and not trying to frame Golum. There is nothing about starting some twee Voxtrot wannabe band. Come on now, grow up! These US seemed tired. It's hard for an older DC band that has toured the hell out of the country (and Europe for that matter) and achieved only relative merit for it to stay strong. I also think the line up change hurt more than it helped. I saw a few people from the scene, most notably Randy from the now defunct but then awesome DC band Let's French as well as a guy from Bellman Barker.

Not bad, Andrew. A few points off for referring to TUS as "These US;" for not mentioning TUS drummer Robby Cosenza (I didn't recognize him at first, either - he's got a 9 to 5 haircut now) and sometimes-TUS-member Mark Charles (aka Vandaveer), and his last second appearance on stage (and birthday?); for mentioning the Berries and Creme ad (I'm not a fan); and finally for all the typos I had to fix. Extra points for going solo to the show, your analysis of the bands and for your making it through your senior prom (let's hope you didn't get stood up for that one).