Cut Copy & Holy Ghost!, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

The hipsters came from far and wide to see the fun synthpop band

I walked into the venue with opener electropop duo Holy Ghost! already on stage. I had recently heard of them and figured they’d be a good way to start off an evening. Their high energy and carefree beats got the crowd dancing even as the night was young. The crowd was on the young side and damn were there were a lot of hipsters. Guys in skinny jeans and girls in ironic trucker hats everywhere. And lots and lots of plaid. Scanning the crowd, I attempted to position our group as close to the stage and adjacent to the biggest group of hipsters that I could find. I figured this would be our best bet for getting amongst a group that would also be dancing and having fun. As a bonus, it seemed a number of hipsters in this group were gay – no one dances like gay hipsters – jackpot! Cut Copy took the stage, and the sold out crowd went wild. And of course, I was dancing and jumping up and down right in the middle of it all. The show was blast and the band sounded great as they cycled through their hits, both older selections as well as from their newest album, Zonoscope. Who said that hipsters didn’t know how to have a good time?

Approximate Setlist:
Visions
Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
Where I'm Going
Feel the Love
Corner of the Sky
Lights and Music
Take Me Over
Pharaohs & Pyramids
Saturdays
Hearts on Fire
Sun God
Need You Now

DeVotchKa, 9:30 Club, Washington, Dc

A unique blend of Eastern European Gypsy, Mariachi, and indie rock with beautiful vocals and a mini- burlesque show

Since discovering them on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack (which I now realize was almost five years ago), I’ve been consistently impressed by DeVotchKa, in both their studio releases and live performances. The four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, and Mariachi music with American rock and folk roots to produce a sound which few other groups can compare. This show, almost unfortunately, wasn’t sold out. I’m consistently surprised that DeVotchKa hasn’t developed more of a following. A Tuesday night in late March at the 9:30 Club would be my second time seeing them at my standard venue and my third time overall (other time was with David Byrne at Wolftrap). Having seen them previously, I was anticipating a good show and looking forward to hearing both old staples as well as live versions of songs from their newest album, 100 Lovers, released earlier in the month.

It was arguably my favorite of any of their performances that I’ve seen, which is remarkable since often second and third performances don’t stack up to the first. Perhaps it had something to do with lead vocalist Nick Urata. For some reason, perhaps the mood I was in, the place I was standing, or the effects that were chosen, the clear highlight of the evening was his enchanting singing. His powerful yet haunting voice sounded amazing as it carried through the small club as he savored each note. His voice was incredible, just incredible. It’s been some time since I’ve been so impressed in a vocal performance, although it probably didn’t hurt Nick’s chances that I was so disappointed with Shane MacGowan’s drunken stammering at the Pogues show the previous week.

The story I’ve heard is that DeVotchKa got their start playing as a backing band to burlesque acts. So another aspect worth mentioning is that they still incorporate some of these elements into their live performances. The last time that I saw them, an area in the audience was cleared so a female acrobat could propel herself up and down a ribbon/cloth/rope during their encore. This time around, they upped the ante a bit, with a pair of acrobats performing throughout the show, including the aforementioned highwire acrobatics as well as some more grounded sensual dancing and rhythmic gymnastics. The whole thing added a fun and unique layer to the performance. Top notch all around.

Approximate Setlist:
The Alley
Head Honcho
Queen of the Surface Streets
Poland
The Clockwise Witness
The Man from San Sebastian
We're Leaving
Vengo! Vengo!
Exhaustible
All the Sand in all the Sea
How It Ends
Basso Profundo
Undone
Contrabanda
I Cried Like A Silly Boy
100 Other Lovers
The Enemy Guns
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
You Love Me
Such a Lovely Thing

Shamrock Fest, RFK Stadium, Washington, DC

Finally, the sun shines on Shamrock Fest!

Though I had tickets again to Shamrock Fest, I was up in the air about going, mostly because the past several years had been so rainy and miserable. I ended up dumping my VIP tickets and just showing up at the gate without a ticket in hand. Considering the price I paid for my ticket and the cost of beer on the inside, perhaps not the greatest deal, but I was happy to not have feel like I should try to get my money’s worth from a ticket that includes free beer.

None of the acts at Shamrock are ever really that memorable, but it’s just a good excuse to be outside, have a few drinks to celebrate St. Patty’s, and see some live acts. The various Irish bands are always fun, even if they always blur together in my mind, both the more traditional acts as well as the Celtic Fusion ones. Perhaps the highlight of the day was DJ Pauly D, that’s right Jersey Shore Pauly D, though more for just the novelty rather than the DJ set. The set itself was very forgettable as he just spun a few random tracks and talked over them at inopportune times. If nothing else though, it did make me appreciate just how hard it really must be to DJ well. Despite any particularly good acts, it was a nice day to be outside and worth the trip.

The Pogues & Titus Andronicus, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Getting reved up for St. Patty's with this great Irish fusion band and relative newcomver Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus was already on stage when we arrived at the 9:30 Club. Despite the sold out crowd, it was still pretty empty and we were able to make our way fairly close to the stage. I’m a passive fan of Titus Andronicus, liking but not loving their recent albums. While they sounded fine, it was nothing close to what I remembered from their albums. I wondered if knowing their audience and who they were opening for, they opted for a harder, more punk sound. Even for a Tuesday night, much of the crowd was well lubricated and ready to get down. At the slightest hint of a worthy song, about 15 or so guys in the front of the crowd took it upon themselves to start a mosh pit. While we were just far enough back to avoid the chaos, a few other people weren’t quite so lucky and were quite startled. One guy, who didn’t seem to understand that a mosh pit was a distinct possibility when standing close to the stage at a Pogues concert, was visibility angry when someone transferred the contents of his drink to his shirt. Though I feel for the guy, he was standing in the path of a tornado and such has to be expected. All this from a crowd that was amongst the oldest that I’ve ever seen at the 9:30 Club.

The Pogues took the stage and got straight into their typical set, beginning with “Streams of Whiskey.” Frontman Shane MacGowan sauntered on stage with a tumbler full of booze in one hand and a cigarette in the other. These items seldom left his hands throughout the night. He was dressed in sunglasses and a long leather jacket. With his portly, aging, drunken, and disheveled demeanor, he reminded me of a cross between Neo from the Matrix and Willy, a regular at a pub I used to frequent in Dublin who was enough of a staple of the establishment to warrant having his own dedicated bar stool and the clout to occasionally grab the microphone and belt out Irish tunes despite a complete lack of talent. Like Willy’s, Shane’s singing left much to be desired. Though he has always had a gruff and somewhat unique voice, it was just a mumbling shadow of what it once was, with most of his words slurred together and barely intelligible. The only words I could understand were those that I already knew by heart. However, the rest of the large ensemble was spot on in their sound, and I had a great time dancing amongst the crowd. The setlist was exactly what I wanted to hear, including their classic songs “A Pair of Brown Eyes,” “Sunny Side of the Street,” “Thousands Are Sailing,” and “Sally MacLennane” as well as great covers that they’ve made their own such as “Dirty Old Town” and “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” Certainly the highlight of the night for me was “Tuesday Morning,” a song I’ve loved since I first discovered it when I was about 11 years old. So while the concert left a little to be desired, I still certainly enjoyed it and felt that I got my money’s worth. The true test will be if I get tickets when the Pogues come back to help DC kick off St. Patty’s Day next year.