IN THE PAST, it was hard to know how to react to a Growing concert. Were you supposed to stand up or sit down?
Up until recently the Olympia, Wash., turned Brooklyn, N.Y., drummerless duo performed music so soothing and tranquil that the natural impulse was to lie down on the ground, close your eyes and think deeply about episodes of "Planet Earth." But the places Growing used to play — art spaces, lofts, rock-clubs — were not particularly conducive to such meditation, unless you wanted to be doing lotus pose in a puddle of stale beer and cold cigarette ashes.
But with "All the Way" (The Social Registry), Growing has finally embraced rhythm, or at least made rhythm a more overt force within its pleasantly droney compositions.
At the very least, the driving pulses, abstract beats, and minimalist momentum will give you a reason to stay on your feet when the band performs with Hot Chip on Oct. 8 at the 9:30 Club.
Guitarist Kevin Doria recently spoke with Express about Growing's newfound not-quite-dance-ability, not knowing anything about "intelligent dance music" (IDM) and hecklers.
WE ALL NEED a place to watch the debates. Sure, your living room will do, but you live in the beating heart of the political world and don't you want to be surrounded by like-minded, smart Washingtonians who can laugh at the little jokes you make? Of course you do. That's why debate-watching parties exist at places like Busboys and Poets.
Here's the problem, though: last Thursday, I went to Busboys and Poets around 7:30 to watch the 9 p.m. vice presidential debate. They'd scheduled a concert that let out around 9 for the same room in which they were holding the debate party, and telling people that to get a good seat for the debate they'd have to buy a ticket to the concert. Some would call it clever marketing. I call it bull ... puckey. It was also, at 7:30, impossible to get a table before 9 p.m., according to the hostess.
In conclusion, get there early or stick to your living room couch.
» Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW; Tue., Oct. 7, 9 p.m., free; 202-387-7638. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
AS FAR AS anyone knows, the Residents all have giant, brilliantly colored eyeballs for heads. As you can see, that's how they represent themselves — after four decades and 60 albums, the group has remained completely anonymous.
This major quirk is our first clue that their music probably doesn't sound much like the Jonas Brothers. Rather, their brand of experimental-psych is full of eerie whispering and otherworldly instrumentals.
Whether or not its your thing, their live shows are a spectacle to behold. If there's a fan of such avant garde trippiness in your life, head to the 9:30 Club with them for a Twilight Zone-esque experience.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Tue., Oct. 7, 7 p.m., $35; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Ken Friedman
AS PART OF the always-illustrious Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, D.C.-based trumpet maestro Thad Wilson and his Orchestra will perform at their home venue, Bohemian Caverns.
Although Wilson is not a native of our fine city, he has quickly become a staple of its jazz scene by pulling together an eclectic variety of musicians who will follow him anywhere. His Orchestra, for example, is a 16-piece strong, grandiose affair with a larger than life sound that typifies but modernizes the genre. In short: Sweet tunes, sweet venue, sweet reason to step out on a Monday.
» Bohemian Caverns, 2003 11th St. NW; 8 p.m., $5; 202-232-3611. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Dudley M. Brooks
I WOULD SUGGEST being wary of anyone who can't get down with a little Chromeo.
If you're not familiar, you're in the clear — but if you've ruled this dance-fueling electronics-loving duo (P-Thugg and Dave 1) out, you probably are generally against partying. And more generally, fun.
For the rest of our readers — there is something so infectious about this group's songs. They are a bizarre, delightful blend of '80s and hip-hop, with an occasional Latin influence thrown in for good measure.
They also manage to mix things up: listen to "Bonafide Lovin'," "Momma's Boy," and my personal favorite, "Needy Girl," you need to see for yourself.
If you're down to dance this Saturday night, check them out at the 9:30 Club with Treasure Fingers.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Sat., Oct. 4, 8 p.m., $20; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Tim Barber
WE'RE ON THE wrong side of the pond for exposure to The Rumble Strips, but now this hot British outfit will be in close proximity at our very own Black Cat.
For those of you into uppity tunes, one listen to the track "Boys and Girls in Love" will hook you. There's something about a Brandon Flowers-like (The Killers) voice singing soul-infused pop in a British accent that I can't get enough of.
Find out if we're in agreement tonight, when they play the backstage with Birdmonster.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Sun., Oct. 6, 9 p.m., $12; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo courtesy of the Rumble Strips
MATMOS IS KNOWN for glitch-pop albums that are heavy on concept and loaded with musique concrete samples of real-world things: cut hair, body fat, a cow's uterus.
The electronica duo's latest record is called "Supreme Balloon" (Matador) so you might guess the entire work is made up of inflatable-rubber samples and chopped up Diana Ross LPs. Nope. It's a lovely all-synthesizer record, with the only other restriction being that the duo couldn't use microphones.
"It's such a dumb, simple concept that we tried to avoid calling it conceptual, though I suppose technically it is," said Martin Schmidt from the Baltimore home he shares with his musical and romantic partner, Drew Daniel.
The twosome takes turns shepherding its albums, and this one was Schmidt's li'l lamb.
IT MIGHT BE WRONG to credit Tom Tomorrow with single-handedly creating "This Modern World." He couldn't have done it without a host of venal pols and corrupt tycoons, not to mention a clueless citizenry suckled by a bullying punditocracy that renders cogent debate as likely as a moonbat/wingnut love-in.
"The Future's So Bright, I Can't Bear to Look" collects three years of Tomorrow's strip, preserving the outcry of an exasperated, angry, even baffled voice in times that are absurd beyond imagining.
It's a good read, and it's made of paper, so when the lights finally do go out, it'll burn for a little while.
» EXPRESS: Do current crises pose a unique challenge to the weekly cartoonist?
» TOMORROW: My problem right now is I simply can't keep up. I had a whole cartoon about Sarah Palin's rollout that was ready to go, and by the end of the week the entire financial system had melted down and it felt like a cartoon from three months ago.
WHEN YOU FIRST wrap your ears around the electronica duo Ratatat, it might seem like the Brooklyn-based group's biggest asset is that it has developed a new sound playing only instrumentals. But a bigger claim to fame might just be the fact that Ratatat is achieving fame itself. The band has generated buzz that has eluded other groups that forego vocals, and it now regularly sells out shows, like its September concert at the Fillmore Auditorium and Friday Black Cat gig.
The group conjured its synthfully haunting style in 2004, when guitarist Mike Stroud and keyboardist Evan Mast plugged into a laptop and started a career of furious overdubbage.
Since then, Ratatat has released a trio of acclaimed albums; toured with Bjork, Daft Punk and Interpol; done remixes, and had its music featured in movies and on NPR's "This American Life."
"I didn't expect it to be this popular," admits Mast by phone while on the road. "But I knew we'd hit on something pretty interesting with the first record. It's kind of wild because some of these shows have massive crowds, and people go pretty crazy for it. It's pretty amazing to see that for instrumental music."
MASON JENNINGS is one of those adorable guitar-bearing minstrels who really feels everything he sings. None of this detached hipster silliness for him, oh no.
Mason's ruminations on love and religion will hit you like a very sincere sandbag at times, but it's nice to get away from the mumbling, vaguely depressed apathy that so infects modern indie rock.
Oh sure, sometimes his religious schpiel gets old — "I Love You and Buddha Too" sounds like a Peter Alsop song — but the happiness of tuness like "Keepin' It Real" make him one to buy off iTunes. Or, you know, see at the 9:30 Club. With Zach Gill.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Wed., Oct 1, 6 p.m., $20; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo courtesy Mason Jennings
Addison Road