27 Jennifers, 7 Videos, and 83 Photos of Mike Doughty on a Stool

I went to see Mike Doughty play at the Birchmere a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the last time I saw a show there -- I want to say that it was 10 years ago, for a Bill Bruford/Tony Levin show, but I can't believe that's true.

Anyway, I got there about 6:30, and was able to get a seat at a table right up front. So I got some good photos. Too many of them, probably; the bulk of them are interchangeable pics of Sr. Doughty sitting on a stool and looking at slips of paper (I have many fewer pics of cellist Mr. Andrew "Scrap" Livingston, because I was directly in front of him and the mike stand was generally in the way.)

Here's the full set: Mike Doughty and the Question Jar Show, Birchmere, 9/9/08. Some highlights:

The eponymous Question Jar:

At first, I was unclear on the concept, but it goes like this: You put a question (no song requests, please) in the jar, and they answer it.

For example, here is Doughty answering my question, about what I should do if the activation of the Large Hadron Collider really was going to destroy the Earth:

Now, at a certain point, Mr. Doughty told us that he'd lost his green wallet, but as he did so, he thought to look under the blank Question Jar slips. And so it was found:

Here, Misters Doughty and Livingston recreate The Creation of Adam:

Some handling of questions and playing of guitar:


Mr. Andrew "Scrap" Livingston on cello:

And on guitar:

And then, the two pausing before the fake encore:

So it was a good show (even though I didn't get to hear His Truth is Marching On, which is one of my favorites.)

I have a couple of more short videos in the set.

Tags: mike doughty, question jar tour, scrap livingston

Why are these parked cars all facing the other direction?

I was going to go to the semi-usual Psychotronic Movie Night at Dr. Dremo's, but I bagged it. I mean, if I need to get my fix of early-80s trucksploitation T&A... actually, I don't think this would ever happen. So I'm just having a few Yeunglings and catching up on some photos and such.

Monday night, met up with about a dozen other folks to go see Rogue Wave at the Black Cat. It was the largest group I'd ever been there with -- we ended up parking in the couches at the back through the opening act.

The crowd was typically young and hipster, though we were noting (okay, snarking) at one couple with more of a Real Housewives of Orange County look (even though they both sported underage Xs on the back of their hands).

The opener was Port O'Brien -- they were pretty good. They had, like, 8 people on stage and their lead singer sounded a lot like Neil Young (though, as Nate noted, they played a few upbeat, poppy songs that were very un-Neil Young-ish).

Rogue Wave was also pretty good, though I can't say I really have a handle on their sound. I took a few cameraphone pics, but only 2 came out at all:

I also didn't get a picture of a small child -- one of the band member's, presumably -- who was being held (by her mom, presumably) backstage (presumably). I was prepared to be righteously indignant, until I saw that she was wearing full earmuff-style hearing protection (fancy slim-profile ones, too). Kudos.

It was raining when we left the club at around midnight. I was parked on T Street. I pulled out and did a K turn to turn left onto 14th Street, when I saw that the parked cars on both sides of the street were facing the other direction.

I had to think about this for a second. Then I saw the One Way signs.

Blogger having problems with FTP uploading.

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In other news, as it turns out, Blogger is indeed having problems with FTP uploads -- they have a scheduled outage tonight to try to fix it. I was more than a little concerned that publishing problems would interfere with my participation in NaBloPoMo, so we'll see what happens.

Tags: black cat, rogue wave

Show Report: The Raveonettes at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 3/16/07

Last Friday, I went to see The Raveonettes at the Rock and Roll Hotel (and I have to thank either Brightest Young Things or Pandahead, since I didn't know about the show until I saw an entry about it in the DC Blogs Live feed).

Here's the full Flickr set photo set.

Getting There = Significantly Less Than Half the Fun

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This was my first time going to Rock and Roll Hotel, and I almost didn't make it. I got a super late start in, and I misplaced the directions at least 3 times. (Apparently, putting them in my pocket instead of my laptop bag -- which then went into the trunk -- was too difficult a concept to grasp.)

Then, I hit a snag following the directions from the site (E St NW, Left on 17th St NW, Right on H St), because police cars were blocking the intersections where I needed to go.

I parked and looked around -- I finally figured out why: The damn communist hippie antiwar protesters were gathered around the White House. And they were going to make me miss the show.

Eventually, between the suggestions of a helpful MPD motorcycle cop and the compass on my mirror (head northeast), I got to the club at around 11pm. I'd already made it that far and the ticket was paid for, so I figured I'd catch the tail end of the show from the back of the room.

Thank You, New Jersey Turnpike

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In a fortunate turn of events (for me), the band had hit some snow and ice leaving New York, got stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike for 16 hours, and didn't take the stage until midnight.

The club feels very much like the Black Cat, especially with all the yutes running around (it's all-ages). So I was pretty much surrounded by children (literal and actual).

I was able to snake my way up to the front and squeezed up against the right speaker stack, so I was able to rest my camera on the monitor (which is why most of my photos are angled up slightly).

Sune Rose Wagner sets up.

Now, I had a 50-50 shot, but I just happened to pick the side closest to Sharin Foo, who is hot. She's got the Danish thing going, of course, and has great gams (see how most of my photos are oriented portrait-style? That was a choice.) And her last name is "Foo." Score.

Anyway, because I couldn't move, all the photos pretty much look like this. I took over a 100, (whittled down to 88 in the set), and these are probably the best of the bunch (damn rock stars won't stay still for a photo).

There were a lot of cameras going off, and a lot of camera flashes. I only used mine a few times.

For some of the later shots, I tried the Auto ISO (1600) setting, and bumped down the exposure level a bit. Just playing around.

One of the few flash shots I tried.

Sune generates some feedback. Note: Legs.

So, it was a good show. Afterwards, I skipped the "Sharin Foo & Sune Rose Wagner DJ Set" (the floor of which showcased some of the worst dancing I've ever seen), and went to the bar upstairs to look around.

An interesting space, though I'll have to try harder (and be less drunk) do get some decent pictures.

There was also a gaggle of Gallaudet students (I'd noticed the stage manager downstairs using ASL to talk to the sound tech during setup, which seems like a useful club talent) and various other flavors of young hipster. I hung out for a bit, then left around 2am.

Tags: foo, gams, raveonettes, rock and roll hotel

James Brown... Is Dead

And L.A. Style experiences a sudden surge of popularity, bobbing briefly into view, before sinking back into the depths of obscurity:

I saw the Godfather of Soul at the 9:30 Club with MWH a few years ago.

James Brown wasn't actually on stage all that long; he was more like the emcee at a variety show, which included a few different vocalists and a magician, plus about 23 people on stage.

We were standing pretty close to the stage -- close enough that we flinched when he snapped the mike stand at the crowd, reeling it back by the cord with the practiced hand of the hardest working man in show-business.

I remember at one point, he was talking about DC, and something about how we needed to get the city back on track. We weren't sure exactly what he was saying, but we applauded along dutifully, until he said something that made me realize, "Wait a second, are we clapping for the return of Marion Barry?" (This was before his political resurgence, such as it is.)

Anyway, I'm glad I got the chance to see an icon like him live, especially in a small venue like the 9:30 Club.

However, it looks like we're going to be hearing a lot more of 'Christmas in the Ghetto' during the holidays from now on, which is unfortunate, since it's one of my least-favorite Christmas songs.

Technorati Tags: james brown, la style, 9:30 club