Show Recommendation

There are many good reasons to go to the Velvet Lounge tonight. Here's five:

1. Look at the fucking poster! I love it. That kangaroo isn't taking any shit. Try and take his picture and you're getting popped in the throat.
2. Imperial China. My favorite DC band. I wish they'd come to Austin. Maybe for SXSW?
3. If I'm not mistaken, the Velvet Lounge serves inexpensive Pabst cans. Sure it'll give you gas and the runs the next day but it tastes good going down. Okay, maybe not.
4. Girl Loves Distortion. I'm listening to their latest album, Earth Beings On Exhibit, and it's pretty good. How have I not heard of this DC band before?

And finally...

5. Report Suspicious Activity. It's a "post-punk supergroup". By law, you're obligated to check out all supergroups. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

The Cheniers

The Cheniers - Thursday, November 13th, 2008 - The Velvet Lounge - $10

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What about the Chocolate Rain dude?

I know Jimbromski loves a good list so here's the Top 100 Singers according to Rolling Stone (deftly copied and pasted from stereogum):

Art Garfunkel is only #86?! Horseshit. Which part of the F-U-N-K in Garfunkel don't they understand?

100 Mary J. Blige
99 Steven Tyler
98 Stevie Nicks
97 Joe Cocker
96 B.B. King
95 Patti LaBelle
94 Karen Carpenter
93 Annie Lennox
92 Morrissey
91 Levon Helm
90 The Everly Brothers
89 Solomon Burke
88 Willie Nelson
87 Don Henley
86 Art Garfunkel
85 Sam Moore
84 Darlene Love
83 Patti Smith
82 Tom Waits
81 John Lee Hooker
80 Frankie Valli
79 Mariah Carey
78 Sly Stone
77 Merle Haggard
76 Steve Perry
75 Iggy Pop
74 James Taylor
73 Dolly Parton
72 John Fogerty
71 Toots Hibbert
70 Gregg Allman
69 Ronnie Spector
68 Wilson Pickett
67 Jerry Lee Lewis
66 Thom Yorke
65 David Ruffin
64 Axl Rose
63 Dion
62 Lou Reed
61 Roger Daltrey
60 Björk
59 Rod Stewart
58 Christina Aguilera
57 Eric Bourdon
56 Mavis Staples
55 Paul Rodgers
54 Luther Vandross
53 Muddy Waters
52 Brian Wilson
51 Gladys Knight
50 Bonnie Raitt
49 Donny Hathaway
48 Buddy Holly
47 Jim Morrison
46 Patsy Cline
45 Kurt Cobain
44 Bobby "Blue" Bland
43 George Jones
42 Joni Mitchell
41 Chuck Berry
40 Curtis Mayfield
39 Jeff Buckley
38 Elton John
37 Neil Young
36 Bruce Springsteen
35 Dusty Sprinfield
34 Whitney Houston
33 Steve Winwood
32 Bono
31 Howlin' Wolf
30 Prince
29 Nina Simone
28 Janis Joplin
27 Hank Williams
26 Jackie Wilson
25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison
23 David Bowie
22 Etta James
21 Johnny Cash
20 Smokey Robinson
19 Bob Marley
18 Freddie Mercury
17 Tina Turner
16 Mick Jagger
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin

Personally, I'd rank Willie Nelson, Thom Yorke, and Patsy Cline higher. Also, Mariah Carey should be striken from the list for having the IQ of an amoeba.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help...

It's YouTubesday... Armistice edition.

I think a lot of us are familiar with Barry Sadler's Ballad of the Green Berets. But did you know he had another green beret inspired tune?

While we're talking A-Team...


"I don't like Irish proverbs."

Dude Pees from Upper Deck of 9:30

This news item courtesy of Rick--Jersey City Councilman Steven Lipski was at the 9:30 on Saturday night to see a Grateful Dead tribute band and decided to relieve himself on the hippies on the floor. I'd endorse this if it were some sort of anti-Grateful Dead gesture but it turns out the guy was just being a dick.

No Concert for Old Men

stellastarr* w/ US Royalty - Sunday, November 9th @ RnRH "$16"

Don't send old men to do a young man's job.

Despite my recent review of The Who, here I am again reviewing this week's DCRC show. You may ask yourself what you did to deserve this. I have asked myself the same question. I'll spare you the details of my comrade's absences. But since we are not a professional sports team, I will out my clubmates publicly. They are weak.

I ventured down to H Street to catch both local band, US Royalty, and NYC's stellastarr* on Sunday evening. I had been listening to stellastarr* over the weekend via Myspace, not being all that familiar with their work. Survey said... not bad. I kinda liked it. With songs like Warchild and Jenny, I figured this to be a band with a pseudo 80s tinge.

Their live performance gave me an entirely different feeling, however. I saw somewhere that lead singer Shawn Christensen has had trouble with his voice in recent years, affecting his ability to hit the low notes. Maybe that was the difference... But in all honesty, I found it hard to really get into this band. They had a pretty loyal following, with the downstairs of the RNRH being 70% full on a Sunday night, and with a good number of superfans singing along - or at least mouthing the words.

There was also a large number of females in the audience for this show. I noted three incidents of upright spooning, not a good sign if you're the band inspiring this type of behavior. The Goo-Goo Dolls inspire upright spooning, ya know. Not sure if bassist Amanda Tannen inspires fellow fems to rock and is what brought so many ladies out Sunday night. But who's complaining? Amanda Tannen is not only hot, but she also lays down heavy bass lines and plays a prominent role (no window dressing here). Her singing isn't her best attribute, but it's not a detraction either.

Here's a clip that represents what this show did for me.

Overall, they were...fine. Nothing that really jumped out at me. Not offensive or annoying, but not all that inspiring either. At least not for me.

A quick word about opening act, US Royalty. I was interested in seeing another of DC's touring bands perform at the RNRH. I missed the first half of their set, but I was pleased to see a cover.

US Royalty were pretty tight, and their sound had a produced quality to it, which may have worked against them slightly. They actually sounded a bit too polished. Anyhow, onto more important matters, the guitarist needs to reconsider his boots. I don't mind it when chicks want to dress like it's 1982, but dudes need to think twice before returning down that path. Those boots do not make me envious of your rock and roll lifestyle. And that is job 1 for you Mr. Rockstar.

Fool me twice - won't get fooled again

The Who - Monday, November 3rd - Verizon Center $120

I never thought I would see The Who in concert. When I first embraced their music as a youngster, the three surviving members had officially disbanded and were well on their way to middle agedom with all of their influential work behind them.

I was a sophomore in high school during The Kids Are Alright tour in 1989 - neither savvy enough nor in possesion of a credit card to score a ticket. I likewise missed their Quadrophenia tour in the mid 90s, and was unwilling to deal with last year's Virgin Festival.

With one foot in my own middle agedom, but with decent credit, I finally came to my senses in July of this year, vowing to see The Who before anyone else died (myself included).

I was trying to keep my expectations low for Monday night. This isn't your father's Who. Half of them are gone, so is Townshend's hair, and after watching the abysmal Rolling Stones live film, Shine a Light, the thought of a mediocre show was looming large in my mind. Jimbromski wasn't helping either. Here's a bit from an email he sent hours before the show, suggesting that Daltrey was going to choke, literally.

yeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh we don't get fooolllleeeddd agaaaaaaiiiiinnn-COUGH-COUGH-COUGH-HACK-shoobie-doo-waa, doobie doo

Daltrey can't hit the high notes anymore. But that's not what I wanted to hear anyhow. Here's how it actually went down.

Obviously the video isn't high quality, but The Who were. I think Jimbromski was just bitter that he didn't have a ticket for the show. sacklunch and I were close enough to see Townshend's windmills, and Daltrey reeling in his microphone, and it didn't cost us $200/ticket. It was a little odd (though not surprising) to find ourselves adrift in a sea of 60-year-old dudes. I half-expected my ticket would read, "Flomax presents: The Who - Nov. 3rd @ Verizon Center."
And going from smaller shows at the Black Cat to a large arena show takes some adjusting, but I was comforted to see a familiar figure occupying the same spot he takes up at the 9:30 club.

Rob Corddry loves to dance

A bunch of us got together on Saturday night to watch Quadrophenia, in preparation for this show. The film was so moving, Jimbromski jumped on eBay and secured himself one of those green rain coats the Mods wore while riding their scooters.

Duh-cut took in a bit of the film with us and reminded me of his ingenius plan for the ultimate nostalgia super group. His idea: take Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and Ringo Starr, put them together on tour (you have a bassist, a guitarist, a singer, and a drummer - a complete band), and they just happen to be the remaining members of the Beatles and The Who. They can play songs from both catalogs, or even combine the two in some cases (Won't Get Fooled on The Hill Again; Who Do You Love Me Do; Getting Better, You Better, You Bet; etc). It really is genius.

I was particularly excited to hear The Who play The Seeker. And they played it second. Yeah! Alright! ... Okay.... That was quick. No matter, they kept the hits coming, and I couldn't have been more excited.

Here's the set list as far as I could decipher:

• Can't Explain
• The Seeker
• Relay - (both sacklunch and I were expecting this to morph into Eminence Front. it didn't)
• Fragments
• Who Are You
• Behind Blue Eyes
• Real Good Looking Boy
• Sister Disco
• Baba O'Riley
• Getting In Tune
• Eminence Front
• 5:15 (I thought I smelled pot during this one. Noteworthy for the crowd and venue.)
• Love, Reign O'er Me
• Won't Get Fooled Again
• My Generation
• ?? (bathroom break - I heard a guy puking in a stall behind me - arena rock inspires vomiting)
• Naked Eye
• Pinball Wizard
• See Me, Feel Me
• Tea and Theatre

Fantastic. Honestly. Except for Real Good Looking Boy, which is a super ghey song, but I can live with it. Like I said, I never thought I would actually see The Who in concert, and now I have. And it wasn't a watered down version. They rocked like it was 1972. Okay, maybe not 1972, they didn't break anything. But they didn't hold back at all and Daltrey was most impressive.

Wow. I'm all worked up now. It's been quite a week. Monday: The Who. Tuesday: Oback Barama.

Where am I and what year is it again?

Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Camacho

Some Wednesday filler while Potsy prepares his review of The Whom. Sorry, The Who. I didn't go because it was too expensive but I'm dying to find out how it went, beyond the succinct "fucking awesome" that Sacklunch texted me. He also said "maybe I need more arena rock in my life." That, and a better personality, haircut and set of clothes, then you'll be set.

Election night! Yay! I tried to cast a write-in vote for Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho but ran out of space, so instead I settled for John Hegelin of the Natural Law Party. I felt strongly that Camacho's experience as porn star and five-time ultimate smackdown wrestling champion would come in handy over the next four years. All the same, congrats to Obama. Whatever you think of the man, his daughters are incredibly cute and when he promised to buy them a puppy I nearly fell over. The darker part of my soul also noted that if he ends up as a two termer then the older Obama girl will turn into a woman before our very eyes. A very hot, nubile, young woman. That's a powerful incentive to vote Barama in 2012.

Here's a video of President Camacho addressing Congress. Listen and learn, Obama.