Saturday, February 19, 2005
Catching Up
Sorry. I've been a bit of a slacker on here lately.
What's been going on...? hmmm. Well, I went to see The Wrens last Friday at The Cat. Army Of Me opened. I thought they were pretty good. Rockin', poppy stuff. The lead singer is definitely a "front man", which can be amusing at times, but he actually pulls it off. More power to him. I'd definitely check them out again, though I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to do so.
The Wrens were fun, if a little sloppy. It actually made them endearing, in a way. They had a bit more energy than I expected. The Meadowlands isn't exactly a rocking album, but they kicked it pretty hard. I was kind of surprised they focused so much on The Meadowlands. I don't think they dug into their back catalog much at all, and I don't recall them introducing anything new. They need to come up with some new songs before people forget about them. We're fickle that way.
What's with people going to shows and just blabbling the whole time the band is on? The Wrens' crowd was by far the noisiest bunch of folks I've ever heard. There were times when you literally couldn't hear the band because of all the talking. Parts of their songs get extremely quiet and the sound just vanished under the sounds of people yakking away about all kinds of crap. It's not like they just wandered into the bar. They paid decent money. It sold-out at the door, so they had to plan ahead at least a little. They made the effort - you'd think they'd want to hear the band. I don't expect everyone to act like they're at The Shushmere, but a little consideration goes a long way. If there's a band on stage and I can hear every word of your conversation from 10 feet away - you're talking too loud. Shut up already or go downstairs.
hmm....what else...
Oh yeah - Valentine's day. BF and I went out on Sunday instead of Monday. Went to JR's for a few drinks, then to DIK for dinner. JR's isn't half-bad, if you only go 4-5 times a year. We decided no presents this year, but he got me flowers anyway. awwww. He's so cute.
Our anniversary was Thursday. 9 years. Hooray for us! Best 9 years of my life. Really. We kept things very low-key this year. A very quick drink at The Eagle, then we were off to see De Novo Dahl and The Small Shouts at The Warehouse Next Door. DND is from Nashville. Great band. Just good basic pop music. Sometimes very catchy. Sometimes rockin'. One song was just flat-out funky. Fun band. The Small Shouts features Olivia from WSC. Damn that girl's busy. Apparently, it was only their 4th show. It was a little rough around the edges, but a great time. The each took turns singing and playing each instrument. It was a little odd seeing Olivia behind the drums or playing guitar, but she's pretty darn good at all of them. Back to The Eagle for another quick drink and we called it a night. It was a school night afterall.
The Warehouse is a great venue. It's like seeing a band in a row house living room. No smoking. Nice folks. Highly recommended. And right around the corner from The Eagle. How perfect is that?
Out-of-control week concert-wise next week. Even the BF is hitting 2 shows. We're starting tomorrow with Washington Social Club at The Black Cat. You should go. You have Monday off. See them before they're huge.
What's been going on...? hmmm. Well, I went to see The Wrens last Friday at The Cat. Army Of Me opened. I thought they were pretty good. Rockin', poppy stuff. The lead singer is definitely a "front man", which can be amusing at times, but he actually pulls it off. More power to him. I'd definitely check them out again, though I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to do so.
The Wrens were fun, if a little sloppy. It actually made them endearing, in a way. They had a bit more energy than I expected. The Meadowlands isn't exactly a rocking album, but they kicked it pretty hard. I was kind of surprised they focused so much on The Meadowlands. I don't think they dug into their back catalog much at all, and I don't recall them introducing anything new. They need to come up with some new songs before people forget about them. We're fickle that way.
What's with people going to shows and just blabbling the whole time the band is on? The Wrens' crowd was by far the noisiest bunch of folks I've ever heard. There were times when you literally couldn't hear the band because of all the talking. Parts of their songs get extremely quiet and the sound just vanished under the sounds of people yakking away about all kinds of crap. It's not like they just wandered into the bar. They paid decent money. It sold-out at the door, so they had to plan ahead at least a little. They made the effort - you'd think they'd want to hear the band. I don't expect everyone to act like they're at The Shushmere, but a little consideration goes a long way. If there's a band on stage and I can hear every word of your conversation from 10 feet away - you're talking too loud. Shut up already or go downstairs.
hmm....what else...
Oh yeah - Valentine's day. BF and I went out on Sunday instead of Monday. Went to JR's for a few drinks, then to DIK for dinner. JR's isn't half-bad, if you only go 4-5 times a year. We decided no presents this year, but he got me flowers anyway. awwww. He's so cute.
Our anniversary was Thursday. 9 years. Hooray for us! Best 9 years of my life. Really. We kept things very low-key this year. A very quick drink at The Eagle, then we were off to see De Novo Dahl and The Small Shouts at The Warehouse Next Door. DND is from Nashville. Great band. Just good basic pop music. Sometimes very catchy. Sometimes rockin'. One song was just flat-out funky. Fun band. The Small Shouts features Olivia from WSC. Damn that girl's busy. Apparently, it was only their 4th show. It was a little rough around the edges, but a great time. The each took turns singing and playing each instrument. It was a little odd seeing Olivia behind the drums or playing guitar, but she's pretty darn good at all of them. Back to The Eagle for another quick drink and we called it a night. It was a school night afterall.
The Warehouse is a great venue. It's like seeing a band in a row house living room. No smoking. Nice folks. Highly recommended. And right around the corner from The Eagle. How perfect is that?
Out-of-control week concert-wise next week. Even the BF is hitting 2 shows. We're starting tomorrow with Washington Social Club at The Black Cat. You should go. You have Monday off. See them before they're huge.
