"HOBO CABARET" Yard Dogs Road Show makes a jangle of vaudeville, voodoo, stage magic and rock 'n' roll at the Birchmere on Friday with the Indigo Belly Dance featuring Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes, and Mardi Love.
Photo from yarddogsroadshow.com
THE ANTI-FOLK movement is alive and well and living in Britain. Luckily, it tours to the United States with some regularity.
If you need a definition of anti-folk, look here. If you want an example of an awesome anti-folk rocker who was in part inspired by Shakespeare (hey, come on, that's cool), you can watch Johnny Flynn on YouTube, or you can go to the Birchmere Thursday night. Your call.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria; Thu., Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. $20; 703-573-7328.
Photo courtesy Marius Hansen
R&B SINGER Amel Larrieux became famous as half of Groove Theory, but she's struck out on her own, relying on her preternaturally beautiful voice.
The music is R&B, but with a confessional quality reminiscent of Joni Mitchell's "Blue." It will be a mellow, introspective evening, but it will indubitably have soul.
» Birchmere Music Hall, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 7:30 p.m., $35; 703-549-7500.
Photo by Babak Delafraz
FACT: Viewers love tension. The Democratic Convention crackled with the possibility that at any moment the Clintons might decide not to endorse Obama, that Joe Biden might stumble over his (or someone else's) words, that the very fabric of the Democratic Party might be shredded in the industrial fan of egos and stress and red, white and blue streamers.
The tension at the Republican convention has a similarly primal, but less controllable, source: Hurricane Gustav, which raked the Gulf Coast on Monday. How much of a convention there will be and what form it will take is still up in the air. And the storm's similarity to Hurricane Katrina has meant that many voters have their eyes trained on New Orleans rather than the convention site in St. Paul.
But we're Washingtonians. When John McCain, Sarah Palin and the rest of the GOP team take to the cameras, we'll be poised to listen. Here are some spots where you can convention-watch with company.
Continue Reading "Grand Old Party Down: Where to Watch the GOP Convention" »
AT FIRST GLANCE, you might think Mindi Abair is the Heidi Montag of, um, something.
She's blond and vaguely plastic-looking, and her fan club is called "Mindiwood." There are also a lot of pictures of her wearing giant sunglasses.
But unlike Heidi, Mindi has some musical talent. I mean, she's still got a laquered, Los Angeles style, but she also plays the saxophone, which is not something you can fake. Seriously, try it. Go into a music store and try out a saxophone and see whether you make music. When you discover you can’t, come hear Abair play one for real at the Birchmere.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave, Alexandria; Tue., Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m., $29.50; 703-549-7500.
Photo courtesy Mindi Abair
POOR TERRENCE HOWARD. All he wants is to be a singer and the big bad world conspired against him and made him become an Oscar -nominated actor instead. But now, NOW he has released his own album, "Shine Through It," and he is coming to the D.C. area tonight.
And is he any good? Well, he's ... um ... he's fine. He's as good as anyone on "American Idol." Let's go with that.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandra; Mon., Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m., $25; 703-549-7500.
Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images
IF YOU MISSED the Joni Mitchell concert last week, why not try Suzanne Vega? She plays smart, heartfelt, folk-inspired music.
Ready for some sedate yet intriguing sounds? Here's your Monday night. You're welcome.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandra; Mon., Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m., $35; 703-549-7500.
Photo by Anoek de Groot/AFP/Getty Images
IS THERE MORE to Peter Frampton than "Baby, I Love Your Way"? In a way, no, there isn't.
Being a Frampton fan means being a devotee of the I-know-I'm-not-supposed-to-like-this-song-but-I-do sappy love ballad. That's the essence of Peter Frampton. You're not supposed to like him, and you'll probably pretend you're buying Wilco tickets, but you're still going to go, aren't you? Say whatever you want about the "ironic camp value" of his music. You're not fooling anyone.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandra; Mon., Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m., $75; 703-549-7500.
Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
PICKING A PLACE TO LIVE is hard! Sure, you could think about property value and crime statistics, but wouldn't you rather focus on revolving restaurants and other important things like that when you're thinking about what to look for in your new neighborhood?
1. COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Relive your misspent youth, and your WWII days, just off the Green Line.
You may have gone drinking at the college bars — like the cavernous Town Hall, the dive bar with pinball machines and a colorful, cheap-beer-enjoying clientele — of College Park. The neighborhood combines suburbia with cozy bungalow houses, bikes parked on the porches, all screaming of academia.
You can rent a one-bedroom place starting around $1,050, take the Green Line anywhere you want to go, take in a physics lecture at the University of Maryland, and then play pinball all day and night while swilling affordable suds. Yes, yes, yes — but you can also do something far more exciting in College Park: You can eat at 94th Aero Squadron, a World War II-theme restaurant that sits next to College Park Airport, the country's oldest continuously operated airport. There is weekly hand dancing at the 94th Squadron, too. That's D.C.'s answer to the jitterbug, in case you didn't know.
» 1 br: $1,050-$1,100
» 2 br: $1,300-$1,500
2. DEL RAY, VA.
Serenity off the Yellow and Blue lines
Del Ray is either the calmest or most stressful place on Earth, depending on what you make of the more than of six "relaxation" or "stress-relieving" shops on its small, quaint and entirely charming main street. Massage shops, day spas, a place advertising "authentic" pilates — if you need stress relief, this is your place.
But also, if you need custard, the Dairy Godmother is there to fill that need. Buy cheeses from Cheesetique, local meats (Let's Meat on the Avenue) or hats (try Tops of Old Town). Del Ray also has a number of gift shops, a gallery featuring monthly rotating exhibits of local artists, an upholsterer, a handful of tasty restaurants including the famous St. Elmo's Café and the less famous Al's Steak House ("no cell phones permitted"), a dog bakery and other amenities that make this charming neighborhood a way to live in a great small town right next to a Metro stop.
It also lets you buy comics and exotic plants from one of the greatest shops ever: the Exotic Planterium and Card & Comic Collectorama, a dusty, treasure-filled store whose owner, Dennis E. Webb, grows many of the plants from seed, and collects everything from Sweet Valley High dolls in their original packaging to old Spiderman comics. Webb has operated the shop right on the main drag for 34 years. So, go buy a plant from him. Plants are relaxing, too.
» 1 br: $1,050- $1,350
» 2 BR: $1,500-$2,200
Continue Reading "Renter's Guide: Check Out These Six Hot D.C. 'Hoods" »
JUNE 11 MARKED the opening of La Strada in Del Ray, an Italian family restaurant owned by the parents of Stephen Scott.
You may not recognize his name, but Scott worked with celeb Roberto Donna at his Il Radiccio restaurants and at Galileo, then served as the chef de cuisine at Zola.
Now, Scott's head chef at his fam's new place, serving up gnocchi alla Bolognese and penne alla puttanesca. The restaurant is currently dinner-only but will soon begin serving lunch and brunch --the latter featuring polenta sponge cake French toast and sweet Italian crepes.
» La Strada, 1905 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 703-548-2592.
Written by Express contributor Rachel Kaufman
Addison Road