Six Pics – Bandwidth

Six Pics: Old 97’s, Heartless Bastards And BJ Barham At 9:30 Club

Erica Bruce — Tue, 10 May 2016 16:32:14 +0000

Playing a Monday night in D.C. can be tough for any act, particularly when the gig kicks off at 10 p.m. But The Old 97s started as bar band in Dallas, so they know what gets a crowd moving any day of the week.

At the 9:30 Club last night — with opening sets from Heartless Bastards and BJ Barham from American Aquarium — Old 97’s deviated from some songs’ typical arrangements, just to mix things up. The group switched to minor key for “Nineteen,” darkening a song about young love, and played the usually somber “Valentine” at a faster pace with a rougher style.

Never mind the Monday night gig: Old 97’s frantic “Every Night Is Friday Night” was just what the doctor ordered. Quipped bassist Murry Hammond, it’s “a song which makes us the Cheap Trick of alt-country.”

BJ Barham:

Heartless Bastards:

Old 97’s:

All photos by Erica Bruce

Six Pics: Santigold At Fillmore Silver Spring

Kyle Gustafson — Mon, 09 May 2016 15:56:04 +0000

Santigold visited the Fillmore Silver Spring Friday night for the last stop on her North American tour promoting her recent album, 99¢. Her set showcased her unique blend of dancehall, hip-hop and pop, and tracks like “Unstoppable” and “Freak Like Me” had the crowd dancing along from the get-go.

All photos by Kyle Gustafson

Six Pics: Puddles Pity Party At 9:30 Club

Erica Bruce — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 17:41:37 +0000

You may recall the cover of Lorde’s “Royals” a while back, performed by a 6-foot-8-inch clown who crooned like Sinatra. That clown, who performs as Puddles Pity Party, brought his eclectic and interactive show to the 9:30 Club in D.C. last night.

Puddles, a sad clown whose voice you only hear in song, brought audience members onstage to have coffee with him, sing backup, eat pie and receive party hats and costumes, all in a very slapstick fashion. Mixed in was him singing songs like “Under Pressure,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” “It’s Now or Never” and, of course, “Royals.” Afterward, he took photos with every last audience member.

Puddles may be a sad clown, but his hijinks and impressive voice bring pure joy.

Six Pics: Murder By Death And Kevin Devine At 9:30 Club

Erica Bruce — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 17:08:40 +0000

When Indiana’s Murder by Death kicked off its set Friday at D.C.’s 9:30 Club with a cello-enhanced cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” it brought out all of the feels. But Murder By Death always excels at emotional music, with songs that tell tales with a heavy goth-folk feel and the deep baritone of lead singer Adam Turla. This is a band that could nail the soundtrack to a remake of In Cold Blood.

Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band opened the show. Devine’s music falls closer to the post-punk end of the spectrum than Murder By Death, but the Brooklyn ensemble brought an energy just as intense.

Kevin Devine

Murder By Death

All photos by Erica Bruce

Six Pics: Smashing Pumpkins And Liz Phair At Lincoln Theatre

Kyle Gustafson — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 14:25:38 +0000

Billy Corgan brought the latest incarnation of Alternative Nation titans Smashing Pumpkins to the Lincoln Theatre Sunday night as part of his “In Plainsong” tour.

The set started off with a solo Corgan playing a few acoustic numbers before being joined by guitarist Jeff Schroeder for a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and a sublime version of “Mayonnaise.”

The rest of the band, including original Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, joined the duo for a plugged-in mini-Siamese Dream set that included “Rocket,” “Soma” and “Today.”

Liz Phair opened the show, prepping the crowd for the night of ’90s nostalgia with a killer set that focused on her first three albums. Whip-Smart‘s “Supernova” sounded particularly fab.

Liz Phair

Billy Corgan

All photos by Kyle Gustafson

Six Pics: Den-Mate, Bless And More DMV Artists At MACROCK

Cassandra Mullinix — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 16:25:58 +0000

A handful of the D.C.- and Baltimore-area artists who performed at the 2016 edition of MACROCK in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Abdu Ali at Clementine Cafe:

Den-Mate at Court Square Theater:

The Obsessives at Little Grill Collective:

Zomes at Court Square Theater:

Bless at Artful Dodger:

Dove Lady at Court Square Theater:

All photos by Cassandra Mullinix

Six Pics: Young Rapids, RDGLDGRN And More D.C. Artists At SXSW

Cassandra Mullinix — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 17:48:46 +0000

Music acts from the D.C. region perform at the 2016 edition of Austin superfest SXSW.

BOOMscat at the WeDC showcase:

Go Cozy at the WeDC showcase:

RDGLDGRN at Monster Energy Outbreak House:

Tabi Bonney at the WeDC showcase:

Two Inch Astronaut at Stereogum/Exploding In Sound showcase at Hole In The Wall:

Young Rapids at the WeDC showcase:

All photos by Cassandra Mullinix

Six Pics: Brian Fallon & The Crowes At 9:30 Club

Erica Bruce — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 14:45:11 +0000

What we saw when Brian Fallon (of The Gaslight Anthem) and his band The Crowes played 9:30 Club March 15.

All photos by Erica Bruce

Six Pics: Those Darlins Say Goodbye At Rock & Roll Hotel

Erica Bruce — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 19:52:40 +0000

Nashville’s Those Darlins are disbanding, but when the band stopped by D.C.’s Rock & Roll Hotel Sunday night to play one of four goodbye shows, they bid farewell with panache.

With friends and family in the crowd (guitarist Nikki Wariner originates from Rappahannock County), the group delivered fun covers of Divine’s “Female Trouble” and The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” — along with originals — full of rockin’ twang.

All photos by Erica Bruce. See more on Flickr. The original version of this post inaccurately referred to a member of Those Darlins. The musician Nikki Kvarnes, not her bandmate Jessi Wariner, is from Rappahannock County.

Six Pics: Unknown Mortal Orchestra And Lower Dens At 9:30 Club

Kyle Gustafson — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:05:29 +0000

Scenes from Wednesday night’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra show with Lower Dens at 9:30 Club.

Lower Dens

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

All photos by Kyle Gustafson