Concerts featured Festivals Out of Town

Pavement @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2010

Posted on July 20, 2010

Before Sunday’s set closing out the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival, the last Pavement show I saw was on my 25th birthday at Irving Plaza in NYC. It was the Terror Twilight tour and the show was horrible.  It was clear the band weren’t really into what they were doing at that point.  When they soon announced they were splitting, I wasn’t too broken up about it. Truth be told, I wasn’t overly excited about seeing them again…

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9:30 Club Concerts

Hole @ 9:30 Club

Posted on July 15, 2010

Hopefully by now you’ve read David Malitz’s world famous review of the Hole show at the 9:30 Club.  There’s not much I can say about the show that will add anything to it. Except this. While we were all standing around waiting for Courtney to take the stage, a roadie appeared on the balcony of the dressing room and motioned down to the soundboard with the universal “crazy person” circular hand motion.  I knew it was going…

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Arenas & Sheds Concerts Jiffy Lube Live

Lady Antebellum @ Jiffy Lube Live

Posted on July 15, 2010

I don’t know much about country music, but I do know Lady Antebellum are about the biggest thing going right now. Chris Richards has written about them numerous times for the Washington Post. They took the stage to “1901” by Phoenix, so I figured they couldn’t be all bad. And they weren’t. You could tell they were a bit unsure of themselves on such a big stage, but they still put on a great show and used…

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Arenas & Sheds Concerts Jiffy Lube Live

Tim McGraw @ Jiffy Lube Live

Posted on July 15, 2010

One valuable lesson I have picked up during my time at the Washington Post is big country shows make for the best photos. Country shows are exactly that, shows. Spectacles. The artists work very hard to give their fans the show they want. The lights for these shows are generally much better than the average rock show. The artists actually want to be seen. Imagine that. Tim McGraw was no exception. Even though the show was a…

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Events

Ford’s Theater Gala 2010

Posted on July 9, 2010

American Independence in June! Last month I had the opportunity to cover the red carpet for he annual Ford’s Theater Gala which is a Fourth of July special taped for TV in June to air during the Independence Day Weekend. A host of celebrities were scheduled to appear – Kelly Clarkson, Lionel Richie, George Lopez and Ty Burrell to name but a few – but only Burrell, who was the night’s host, actually made an appearance on…

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Concerts State Theater

Clipse @ State Theater

Posted on July 9, 2010

Shooting hip-hop shows is always a bit of a crap shoot (no pun intended), illustrated beautifully by the Clipse show at the State Theater last weekend. After showing up at the venue around 8:45 or so, I staked out a spot up front, shot the openers and waited for the headliners.  And then only one of them showed up! Malice, one half of the duo that makes up The Clipse, never showed so Pusha T was left…

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Concerts State Theater

Tabi Bonney @ State Theater

Posted on July 6, 2010

Wale gets all the pub for repping D.C. hip-hop (and rightly so) but there are a bunch of up-and-comers worth checking out.  First on that list is Tabi Bonney. I’ve seen Tabi a few times in the last few months (opening for Talib Kweli and K’Naan and Wale) and he puts on a great show every time. Just last week Tabi released his first-ever mixtape entitled A Place Called Stardom.  It’s been in heavy rotation in all…

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Concerts State Theater

Mambo Sauce @ State Theater

Posted on July 6, 2010

I’ve heard the name Mambo Sauce around town quite a bit in the last two years, mostly due to their hit “Welcome to D.C.” which get splayed at all the Washington Wizards games. Their blend of go-go, hip-hop and reggae is quite infectious.  Most of the people at Friday’s show at the State Theater came to see Clipse perform, but you’d have never known it after Mambo Sauce’s set.  They are the goods. Be sure to check…

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