Janelle Monae @ Black Cat, 3/15/10

Janelle Monae is an alien, an outsider, a misfit. Confounding critics and listeners since appearing on the Big Boi- curated Got Purp? Volume 2 back in 2005, she’s also been Exhibit A in one of the music industry’s most persistent and perplexing failings: what to do with black alternative artists. For an industry that hasn’t used the term “race records” since 1958, not a lot has changed, especially for artists that challenge the “hip-hop, R&B or nothing” paradigm. Unlike the census form, there isn’t an “other” box to check. Just ask Saul Williams, K-Os, and Kenna.

But all of that may be changing, with the little-d democratizing of the digital age, especially for an artist like Monae. At the Black Cat on Monday to kick-off her ArchAndroid tour, her performance art-cum-concert even made a few tongue in cheek references to Twitter, Facebook, and God forbid, MySpace. And playing to a sold-out crowd, something must be working. Maybe the wave of (rightly deserved) hype that she’s been riding for nearly half a decade is finally ready to break.

With Monae not taking the stage until two and half hours after doors opened, the audience was anxious, to say the least, as introductory music and video played until around 10:30. But any ill will was quickly forgotten as the performance kicked off. Monae, in trademark throwback trappings, stayed “in character” the entire show, with her herky-jerky dance moves and impressive vocal range. She was joined on stage by an on-spot three piece band and a few other performance artists, throwing balloons and noise makers into the first rows.

The songs of ArchAndroid dominated the set; only “Sincerely, Jane” from her debut EP Metropolis: The Chase Suite made an appearance, bittersweet for fans hoping to hear favorites like “Violet Stars Happy Hunting” and “Many Moons.” However, the first singles off her debut full length, the smooth, swinging “Tightrope” and the stirring “Cold War,” are in familiar enough territory that fans, old and new alike, will be singing and dancing along in no time.

After a dense 45 minute set that moved between operatic ballads and jams that just drip funk, it was time for Monae to blast off and head for her home planet. But not before fearlessly crowdsurfing the entire crowd, threatening to brain herself on the low ceilings at the Cat. Forgoing an encore for an after party at the Renaissance was an interesting choice, although I don’t know how many restless androids took her up on the offer. ArchAndroid lands on May 18.

RECAP: FEEDBACK @ DC9, 2/13/10

Monthly, weekly, or one-off, DC has plenty of DJ nights and dance parties. If you attend as many as the crew here at TGRI, they mostly start to blend together. This was not the case on Saturday, for a very special pre-Valentine’s Day edition of Feedback Dance Party at DC9. Turns out we gave it the Seal of Approval for a reason.

Taking over for Feedback host Stereo Faith (who had his hands full across town at Sutra) were kindred spirits and frequent collaborators James Nasty, Andrew Jaye, and Trevor Martin. Collectively known as the 1.21 Jiggawatt Soundsystem, Nasty and Jaye started the night with truly classic jams guaranteed to get the floor moving. Feedback is fast becoming a dance party where you can drop the pretension and bullshit of going out, and say, “Yes, I will be dancing to Marky Mark and Right Said Fred. So what?”

After double teaming the decks for a bit, Trevor Martin joined the fun, doing what he does best, mixing everything from Modest Mouse to Biggie to Miley Cyrus (yes, Miley Cyrus). At some point, somebody played Ke$ha and Lady Gaga back-to-back, and the crowd ate it up (with a few exceptions).

Feedback is known for combining top DJs with amazing live performers, and Saturday was no exception, with DC’s Roll Wit Us All-Stars dropping a killer set. The mission of Malik Starx and Mr. Cliff is right there in the name: the duo is determined to get the party moving, whether rapping over club beats by Tittsworth or G-funk cuts brought back from a recent trip to the City of Angels. A highlight of the set was a freestyle cypher with fellow DC rapper Ardamus. Don’t sleep on the Roll Wit Us All-Stars: their combination of lyrical prowess with a party-friendly attitude portends big things in 2010.

The night evolved – or devolved, if you prefer – into pure madness when James Nasty started playing Baltimore club, from classics (“Doo Doo Brown”) to exclusives (“Let me c wat you got”). If you still haven’t seen this man do his thing, you either need to get on 95 and hit the Ottobar for his Moustache Dance Party or wait until he returns to DC. Or better yet, both.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: The Dreamscapes Project

Music takes you to strange places – literally. Such was the case on Monday night, when I found myself on the campus of Catholic University for an old-fashioned rock show.

Playing with a host of campus musicians was DC-based “folk-core” band The Dreamscapes Project. Combining the orchestral elements of Arcade Fire with the acoustic, radio-friendly songwriting of Dave Matthews Band and Days of the New, the Dreamscapes Project brings a vibrant edge to the DC acoustic scene.

Since coming together at George Mason in 1997, the band has gone through some line-up changes, eventually ending up with a five piece arrangement which includes lead vocalist Keith Center on 12-string acoustic, Ben Guy on cello, Jeremy Rodgers on bass, and the combo of Gordon Shankman on drums and Eric Sanford on percussion. Much like indie-rockers Murder by Death, the addition of the cello gives the music a melancholic, gothic sound that only the sorrowful sweep of strings can do. But the band is also at ease with jaunty bluegrass and Southern swing, compelling the audience to clap and stomp along, as they did at the CUA show. Insert your favorite pun here, but I did see Santa Claus dancing during a spontaneous hoedown.

During their abridged set, the band proved to be true veterans: you get the sense that they can engage a crowd of 20 or 2,000 with their easy-going, sardonic humor. Choice cuts from their 2007 record Pity in a Heartbeat, like “Still Love” and “Excess,” sounded powerful, even in the small venue. And it’s always refreshing to hear straightforward rock songs stripped of pretension and heavy on the blues-based hooks that have always been at the core of great rock music.

What’s in store for the Dreamscapes Project in 2010? They will be launching the Twelve Days Project, a multi-dimensional initiative that finds the band joining with artists throughout the DC scene for a monthly collaboration. As DC continues to support its own and cultivate its artistic scene, the timing of the Twelve Days Project couldn’t be better. TGRIOnline will be working with the band on this, so stay tuned for an exclusive song and more info about this groundbreaking project!

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TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS @ THE BLACK CAT, 12/3/09

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Hometown heroes Ted Leo and the Pharmacists returned to a sold-out Black Cat on Thursday armed with a set heavy on new material from their upcoming record The Brutalist Bricks (their first album on new home Matador Records). Opening the night were DC’s Title Tracks, fronted by scene veteran Jon Davis, and Brooklyn’s Radio 4.

Title Tracks’ set delighted the early crowd with a mix of surf rock and jangly powerpop that would fit in a 60s AM radio playlist. Their Dischord debut It Was Easy drops early next year. Radio 4, with a dual-guitar/dual-vocal attack and danceable rhythms that owe much to Davis’ old band (Q and Not U), got the crowd moving to some serious dance-punk.

Forever DIY punks, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists took the stage and setup their own instruments. Their two hour set, marred by some early technical difficulties, was a treat for the Pharmacist faithful in the audience, even if twenty something songs didn’t allow for one of the frontman’s renowned stories. Still, Ted was engaging as ever (I’ve seen him a half a dozen times, both with the band and solo, so I’m pretty sure that warrants first-name-basis). “Fuck the public option,” he sneered. “I want free health care.” And to the incessant fans who request set staples, “Do you really think we’re not going to play [“Timorous Me”]?” This one garnered a round of applause, although he later remembered that the song was not on the setlist in Philly. Oops.

After kicking off with the raucous punk rockers “Heart Problems” and “Me & Mia,” bass amp problems led to a solo cover of the Pogues’ “Dirty Old Town.” The bittersweet nostalgia of those lyrics was a constant throughout the night, whether on their 2003 Thin Lizzy-riffed tribute to the Specials, “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” or brand new stand-out “Even Heroes Have to Die.”

The band put on a powerpop clinic, with the urgency of punks from a bye-gone era. When singing, Ted looks like every note physically pains him; it isn’t pretty, but from the barked out chorus of “Army Bound” to his trademark falsetto, his singing is spot-on as he nails the tone of each song. Ted is joined by rhythm guitarist James Canty, playing with a ferocity that makes you believe in the power of 16th notes. The locked-in rhythm section of Chris Wilson and Marty Key provide an insistent, driving groove throughout the set. Wilson’s drumming is particularly astounding, as he effortlessly rocks out with speed and precision, so fast at certain points that astute listeners were sure he was using a double bass kick.

And while their technical skills are impressive, the strength of the work is definitely in Ted’s songwriting. New songs like “Where Was My Brain?” rock just as hard (or harder) as anything he’s ever written, returning to the well of DC hardcore from which he sprang. But it’s songs like “One Polaroid A Day,” with its infectious pop hook, where they really shine. Watch Ted play it at CMJ, and try not to sing and dance along. It’s impossible.

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AMANDA PALMER @ The State Theater, 11/19/09

(Photo courtesy Don Whiteside)

Sometime during her Thursday performance at the State Theater, Amanda Palmer joked that, “We’ll see where the fucking spirit takes us, yo.” Her tone was facetious, but the sentiment was true. After opening the night with an enlightening music business Q&A before openers Nervous Cabaret took the stage, Amanda Fucking Palmer (as she’s affectionately known to her fans) embarked on an evening of pure Brechtian punk cabaret brilliance. Whether solo or accompanied by the Nervous Cabaret, playing songs off her solo debut (last year’s Who Killed Amanda Palmer?) and crowd-pleasers from the Dresden Dolls catalogue, Amanda Palmer gives the crowd what it wants.

The Nervous Cabaret is a Brooklyn-based band that looks and sounds like they belong in a Bayou blues bar. Their name is misnomer: there is nothing “nervous” about these guys, who are all swagger, in their thrift-store suits and pork pie hats. Bandleader Elyas Khan, somewhere between Lemmy and Johnny Depp, spits and howls without abandon, his vocal runs tinged with Middle Eastern melodies. The band has a keen understanding of dynamics, knowing when a guitar or trumpet riff is enough, and when the entire band should scream like their heads are on fire. They’re also the perfect opening act, hyping the crowd for what for what is sure to be a total bacchanalian affair: what else explains the bassist’s creepy goat mask?

Emerging from the back of the house in a procession resembling either a funeral or a wedding, and decked out like a goth Moulin Rouge performer, Amanda Palmer launched into the dour tale of unrequited (and forbidden) love, “Missed Me,” off the Dresden Dolls eponymous debut. Predictably, the crowd went wild.

While last year’s tour with the Danger Ensemble tended towards performance art, Palmer’s utilization of such a versatile backing band in the form of the Nervous Cabaret pushes the performance into rock show territory. Songs on WKAP that were either stripped down or dropped altogether the last time around benefit from this arrangement, with horns standing in for strings on powerful, rollicking songs like “Astronaut” and “Runs in the Family.”

Fittingly, the band left the stage, as Palmer keyed the intro for “Ampersand,” a song that finds an empowered Palmer soldiering on alone; it’s impossible to not read into the lyrics some of the underlying tensions that led to the dissolution of the Dresden Dolls. After “Ampersand,” it was time for Ask Amanda, where Palmer takes questions from the audience. Palmer is a performer 24/7, and no facet of her life is off-limits or out-of-bound; her engagement with fans, directly and through social networking, serves as a template for other “noncommercial” artists who struggle to push units and stay solvent.

The jazzy swing of “Mandy Goes to Med School” allowed the band introductions to veer into solos by the talented five-piece. Sandwiched between covers of the Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name” and the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” was fan-favorite “Coin Operated Boy,” with the lyrics taking the transgressive twist they always do.

A special, DC-metro-area-only treat was Palmer’s duet with her father Jack, doing his best Johnny Cash impersonation, on the haunting Leonard Cohen classic “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong.” For the second encore, Palmer brought the band back on stage for “Oasis,” the tongue-in-cheek, major key ode to date rape, molestation, and abortion. Replacing the bridge with a rousing cover of “Twist and Shout” reminded the audience what they love about this talented performer: she’s hilarious, she’s inappropriate, she’s Amanda Fucking Palmer.

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