This week rollcall

[showlistdc]

I was torn between this and the Iceland Airwaves at the Kennedy Center, but decided to go the KC route as I've seen a lot of the bands several times that are playing at the club.

I was at the KenCen Millennium Stage show last night too.

I'll be laying pretty low this week because of the upcoming weekend -

Wed 2/27 - maybe the local band showcase at Jammin' Java
Thu 2/28 - maybe the 9 Songwriters @ 6th & I
Fri, Sat, Sun - SingStrong A Cappella Festival in Reston, VA
Sun 3/3 - Samothrace, Pilgrim, Iron Man, and The Pilgrim @ Sidebar [yes, both "Pilgrim" and "The Pilgrim" are playing]

A bunch of great shows next week too-- still trying to decide between Nile and Peter Bradley Adams on Wed 3/6.

[Unsanity]

mmmmm I might have to go to that Samothrace show.

[lily1]

Show conflict strikes again!

Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Hamilton or Fishbone at the Howard Theatre?

Both this Sunday.

I might stop by Bebel Gilberto at the club tonight.

Likely check out Booker T at the Howard Theatre on Tuesday and Rebirth Brass Band at the Hamilton on Wednesday.

[stevewizzle]

did this sell out because of foxygen?   (UMO are terrible).

foxygen/umo, wednesday

i imagine - they are certainly not the main pull for me, or anyone i'm going with. everything umo produces is fairly forgettable, but i have seen the blogs blowing up that "so good at being in trouble" track, so who knows...

main pull was for foxygen, the audience cleared out a bit when UMO came on, but not much.

but holy shit, was foxygen raw. and weird. UMO was a nice surprise - album sound may be forgettable, but they seem to fill in the gaps nicely live.

[Vas Deferens]

I read this on twitter last night about foxygen:

https://twitter.com/PykeA/status/306952099390971904

[lily1]

I was at the KenCen Millennium Stage show last night too.

What did you think?

The first band was a poor man's Bjork and I'm pretty sure I nodded off, the second was kinda meh, the third I'd definitely check out again if they rolled thru town.

[showlistdc]

I was at the KenCen Millennium Stage show last night too.

What did you think?

The first band was a poor man's Bjork and I'm pretty sure I nodded off, the second was kinda meh, the third I'd definitely check out again if they rolled thru town.

Agreed - I had higher expectations for Soley, but she was just OK.  I've seen the live-looping thing way too many times to be impressed when it's only so-so (the gimmick isn't enough to sustain my interest in and of itself).  Agreed on your assessments of Retro Stefson and FM Belfast as well.

[lily1]

I don't think the Kennedy Center volunteers were prepared for FM Belfast to drop their trousers. That was hysterical.

[stevewizzle]

I read this on twitter last night about foxygen:

https://twitter.com/PykeA/status/306952099390971904

that sounds spot on - the only talent on stage was the drummer, who i believe was hired for touring. my sentiments about the band are reflected well in this album review: http://welistenforyou.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-foxygen-we-are-21st-century.html

[K8teebug]

Love the UMO album.  Glad they sounded good live. 

Has the RNR Hotel gotten any better?  I want to see METZ in April, but don't know if I want to go there again.

[stevewizzle]

gah - almost admitted to going to RNR without having to shit all over it.

no, it still sucks.

over capacity.
enormous security guards were busy making their way through an overpacked crowd all night for no apparent reason.
the sound was better than it has been.

it's not the worst place in the world, but between the inconvenience of getting there, essentially no bathroom, rude staff, bad sight lines, and how crowded it is, it leaves a lot left to be desired for every show.

that said... ii'll probably be at metz and one of the boris nights. and then i'll consider being less of a hypocrite and swearing the place off.

[showlistdc]

re: boycotting venues--

I hear what you're saying about why the venue sucks, but the fact of the matter is: if you want to see a certain band on a certain tour, you don't really have a choice.  Either you go to that venue, or you don't see the band.  Sometimes you're lucky and you have the choice of DC or Baltimore, but usually you get one shot at the band on any given tour.  Boycotting the venue is not going to make the venue change, it's going to mean that you don't see the band.  And yes, I hear the argument of "I'd rather not see the band than see them under less-than-ideal conditions", but I dunno, I go to ~120 concerts per year, and a ton of those are at venues I'm not particularly fond of, but seeing certain bands is that important to me that I just deal with it.  (And let's be real: MOST venues are unpleasantly overcrowded when the show is "sold out".)

[stevewizzle]

i'm not trying to take the position of an activist here.  i just buy tickets to the place and always leave underwhelmed (in comparison to other venues), usually at no fault to the artist.  i'm happy to see anyone live, regardless of the venue. but i was asked if it still sucks, and yes, it still sucks.

but in general, i disagree with you. if you want to make a change, or advocate for change, the first step is to remove yourself from the system, i.e., don't buy any more tickets.

[sweetcell]

if you want to see a certain band on a certain tour, you don't really have a choice.  Either you go to that venue, or you don't see the band. 

that is exactly the choice you have to make: which is more important to you, seeing the band or sending a message to the venue.  boycotts must take a long-term view to be effective, it's death by a thousand pin-pricks.  seeing the band tonight is instant gratification.  you can't have the former and the latter.

Boycotting the venue is not going to make the venue change

shitty venue operators are counting on exactly that attitude: i can continue to provide shit because people keep on coming.  you're reinforcing their ability to serve shit.

it's going to mean that you don't see the band.  

it's gotta come at a cost.  perhaps for you it's not worth it, seeing the band is more important than sending a message, but that only means that boycotts are ineffective as long as you are part of them... because in reality you refuse to actually boycott.  that's fine, it's your choice, but don't say they don't work.  

[showlistdc]

In the case of a show that's going to sell out, if you don't buy that ticket, someone else will.  That's the point I was trying to make.  A boycott by one person (or a small handful of people) won't work.  If people want to get a venue to change, there has to be a much larger effort to get people to stop patronizing the venue, beyond just the few people on this board who express displeasure at the way a certain venue is run.