Month / Year
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
Best Of 2017: Mauricio's List
In the world of DC live music, there was a lot to write about in 2017. I.M.P. made its broad presence even broader with the 6,000-capacity Anthem. Songbyrd solidified its niche in the up-and-coming R&B/hip-hop scene with clutch bookings like Xavier Omar, Jamila Woods, and Noname (and booked its first show at The Fillmore, with more co-bookings to come). Competition in the 200-500-capacity space increased with new venues like Union Stage, Pearl Street Warehouse, and The Miracle Theatre. Mount Pleasant DIY venue OTHERFEELS hosted its first DMV music showcase at 9:30 Club, with a second coming in late December. There really is no shortage of opportunities to catch live music in our nation's capital.
I covered 47 shows and one three-day festival for ChunkyGlasses this year, and it’s been a wild ride covering shows in venues big (Capital One Arena) and small (Dew Drop Inn). While most of there were a lot of great shows, the following ten best showcase why the live music experience is so essential. These artists convey emotion and energy in a way that can’t be contained within the confines of an album. With these shows, it was hard to walk away without the lingering feeling of ‘holy shit, they REALLY put their heart and soul into it tonight.’
So with that, here are my ten favorite shows of 2017. Click the headers to see more pics and a full recap of that show.
PS - And if you're still interested in knowing what my favorite songs from this year were, here's my Spotify playlist - Mauricio's Favorite Fifty of 'Seventeen!
LCD Soundsystem @ The Anthem - 10/17/2017
LCD Soundsystem has become a part of the musical zeitgeist. One could gather as much based off their countless festival headlining spots, their sold-out Madison Square Garden “farewell,” and the amount of pages dedicated to James Murphy and company in the 2017 oral history book Meet Me In the Bathroom. The phrase ‘going out on top’ is a nice ideal for those that idolized the rock-meets-electronic outfit in the 2000s, but Murphy couldn’t help but come back to the thing he did best: make music. So here we are in 2017 with a new LCD Soundsystem album, American Dream. Murphy has now become an icon of sorts for the aging hipster population. (Even a T-shirt at the band's merch table alludes to this observation. Among other conversation-starting merch choices - a baby onesie that proclaims "I might be gay" in rainbow colors.) For this demographic, the excitement was understandably high at The Anthem, where the band kicked off their North American tour. After a long, anticipated wait (seven years have passed since their last DC-area show), LCD Soundsystem kept it as down-to-earth as the band has always done. Aside from the massive disco ball, of course.
How To Say Goodbye - LCD Soundsystem's Final Show
When I say I love this band I mean I love this BAND. Sure, James Murphy might be the driving creative force, but without this wonderful group of friends that he has assembled to perform his music, we wouldn’t be talking about any of this right now.
Taking the late 70’s/early 80’s New York art/rock/punk scene and throwing it into a blender with the dance/electronic sounds of a more modern New York wasn’t anything new. Acerbic wit with a “fuck you” attitude wasn’t anything new either. In fact, nothing that LCD Soundsystem did was technically new except for one thing:
How goddamn well they did it.