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LIVE MUSIC: Other Lives @ The Red Palace - 2/21/12
I first saw Other Lives back in 2009 opening for Bat for Lashes at the 9:30 Club. It was a chance encounter that not only would shape our little groups philosophy toward concert going (ALWAYS get there for the opener...ALWAYS) but in a large part was the beginnings of the idea to create this site. What I witnessed then was a band that demonstrated a maturity and a commitment to their craft that, as someone who has played music to varying levels of achievement for over 30 years now, hit on an almost spiritual level. For a while I just couldn’t stop talking about it the band and that show to whoever would listen, which became increasingly frustrating when, for whatever reason, they didn’t immediately blossom into the biggest band in the world. The “southwestern Radiohead” instead slipped quietly from the public eye to become a not-so-well-kept secret of music nerds far and wide.
LIVE MUSIC: Wildlife @ The Red Palace - 1/19/12
There is so much that can go wrong when you insert any musical genre before the word “punk”. Pop-Punk? Art-Punk? Post-Proto-Pseudo-Punk? All serve to diminish the actual punk of the thing, but one supposes that they are necessary in a time when the lines between genres become more and more blurred. Even worse, most bands, once saddled with the burden of this blood red generalization to wear prominently on their sleeves, most bands give in to all of the tropes and traditions that they’re new made-just-for-them genre would suggest, and never manage to rise above the branding.
Luckily, Wildlife is not one of those bands.
"I Have TWO Phasers": The War On Drugs w/Caveman @ The Red Palace - 9/2/11
First of all, I have to give it up for the NYC band known as Caveman. It’s embarrassing that I’ve never even heard of them, but after witnessing their opening set Friday night, you can be sure that I won’t be forgetting them. Floating around somewhere between Radiohead and the sound of America in the 70’s (think Midlake’s Trials of Van Occupanther, but a little more out there) the band is one of the best you’ll see this year. Their debut album Coco Rises will be out September 13, so make sure you pick it up. You’ll thank me, promise. More to the point though, when Caveman comes to your town, at all costs GO!
Hanging with Laura Palmer: Other Lives @ The Red Palace 6/10/11
When I walked into the Red Palace on Friday night, I already felt like I was in a David Lynch story. Strange sideshow oddities peered down on me at obtuse angles as I climbed the steps and made it through the large curtains, I fully expected to see a dwarf dancing in a strobe light with special agent Cooper sitting and watching. But there was no dwarf, or Cooper, to be found, so I assumed this feeling would settle out as the night went on. Largely unfamiliar with The Other Lives catalog of music, I came to their show as an open book, waiting to be filled in with whatever story this 5 piece from Oklahoma was about to tell me.
“Like a velvet bathtub” – Phosphorescent - 5/10/11 at The Red Palace (DC)
That’s how Phosphorescent front man, and for the most part only man, Matthew Houck described his usual voice to the near sold out crowd Tuesday. Poking fun at himself and his vocal “issues” about midway through the set, it was an endearing moment that was typical of the night. His voice noticeably cracking throughout, Houck and his Taking It Easy band tore through a mostly ferocious hour and a half long set that ranged from the quietest of songs (“My Dove, My Lamb” performed solo”) to outright feedback breakdown at the end of “A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise” that echoed the best moments of Crazy Horse and their legendary band leader.
Sharon Van Etten @ The Red Palace 4.17.11. (Washington, DC)
Over the course of three albums she has spoken of nothing but heartbreak, betrayal and more heartbreak. With a throaty wail that is threatening to burst into a roar at any moment, she has dragged listeners into the very dark places that all of our relationships can/have slipped if things go awry and she typically leaves very little room for even the hint of brightness or positive resolve. To be sure, her songs aren’t happy. So again, why is this woman smiling?
Because she’s Sharon Von Etten and she is f@#@ing fantastic.
Live Music: Apex Manor @ The Red Palace 2.21.11
Fresh off SXSW, Apex Manor made their DC debut at The Red Palace Monday night. I’ll get to their performance in a minute but first let’s talk about the room. The remodeled space that combines the upstairs of both Red and The Black and Palace of Wonders has been flying under the radar since it was repurposed, but one glance a their upcoming schedule and it’s clear that they gunning to attract business from some of the larger clubs (Black Cat, 9:30 Club) in the area, and after finally catching a show in this room, it’s clear that they are going to succeed in that.
This is a room where memories are going to be made for both the audience and the bands. It’s small, dark and simple, with an easily accessible bar in the back corner. The sound, as far as I could tell, was impeccable and overall it feels like a tiny club should. This room is built for rock, and so it was that Apex Manor was obliged to bring it.