Whispertown 2000, the Breeders (08.21.09)

the Band: Whispertown 2000, the Breeders
the Date: Friday, August 21, 2009
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to Derek Denim and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/41695739@N02/)

Whispertown 2000 opened. They were okay.

The Breeders were the main attraction. They are nothing short of amazing. They have always put on a phenomenal show and such was the case at Friday night’s show at the Black Cat. The current members are Kim Deal (guitar, vocals), Kelley Deal (guitar, vocals), Jose Medeles (drums), Mando Lopez (bass), and Cheryl Lyndsey (guitar). Their regular bassist had to leave the tour to witness his girlfriend give birth so the band called in their original bassist Josephine Wiggs to fill in. It was a healthy dose of nostalgic awesomeness!

The Deal twins, et al. played tons of songs from the early material, maybe to be sure that Josephine would be comfortable. Whatever the reason, the crowd, myself included, absolutely loved it. Even though it was an all too brief affair, only about 65 minutes, the show was amazing. My favorites of the evening were Drivin’ on 9 (where Kelley picked up the violin), Divine Hammer, Cannonball, Saints, and Huffer.

Full setlist: No Aloha / Walk it Off / Divine Hammer / New Year / Cannonball / I Just Want to Get Along / Do You Love Me Now? / Happiness Is a Warm Gun / Iris / Fortunately Gone / Hoverin’ / Little Fury / I Am Decided / Night of Joy / Bang On / Huffer / Drivin’ On 9 / Safari / Saints / Tipp City

Motherhood means mental freeze ...

Rockmaster General, French Kicks, the Walkmen (08.08.03)

the Band: Rockmaster General, French Kicks, the Walkmen
the Date: Friday August 8, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to David Loomer and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/kidneybingos/)

Rockmaster General was the opening act. They are a local DC band. I completely missed their set.

French Kicks were next. They were great. The French Kicks are Nick Stumpf (vocal/drums), Lawrence Stumpf (bass), Matthew Stinchcomb (vocal/guitar), and Josh Wise (vocal/ guitar). All but Josh grew up in DC … so even though the band got together in New York, they are kind of a DC band.  I really liked their tune Wrong Side and picked up a couple of their CDs at the merch table.

The Walkmen were the main attraction. The band, made up of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals/guitar),Walter Martin (organ/bass), Paul Maroon (guitar), Matt Barrick (drums), and Peter Bauer (orga/ bass), are all natives of the DC area and have known one another and made music together since childhood (Walter and Hamilton are cousins). Walter, Paul and Matt were in a New York band called Jonathan Fire*Eater while Hamilton and Peter were in a DC band called the Recoys. Each band had a relatively short existence before the boys formed the Walkmen. So long story short, these guys are hometown boys too!

I was really looking forward to seeing these guys. I love their album Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone. This was a great show. My favorite tunes of the evening were Blizzard of ‘96, Wake Up, and We’ve Been Had (used extensively in a Saturn commercial - still love the song though).


Sometimes I’m just happy I’m older …

Metropolitan, el Guapo, the Dismemberment Plan (05.28.03)

the Band: Metropolitan, el Guapo, the Dismemberment Plan
the Date: Wednesday May 28, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to Andrew Winn and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/andrewwinn/)

This was a benefit show for Fort Reno. Metropolitan and el Guapo were the opening acts. I missed them, but picked up a couple of Metropolitan CDs at the merch table. Nice stuff … a little bummed I missed them. Note, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists were supposed to open, but Ted was having some voice problems and had to cancel … Metropolitan filled in.

The Dismemberment Plan was the main attraction. D-Plan is an indie rock band from D.C. The band members include Eric Axelson (bass), Jason Caddell (guitar), Joe Easley (drums), and Travis Morrison (vocals and guitar). I caught them almost a year ago in Houston and they rocked. This show was even better. The band was on their last tour after announcing their break-up in January. For this hometown crowd, D-Plan played a super-long set about 100% determined by requests from the audience. It was awesome! My favorite tunes were What Do You Want Me to Say?, Time Bomb, You Are Invited, and Back and Forth.

Full setlist: What Do You Want Me to Say? / Time Bomb / The Face of the Earth / The City / Do the Standing Still / Ellen and Ben / You Are Invited / Girl O’Clock / The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich / Gyroscope / Tonight We Mean It / Following Through / The Ice of Boston / Close To Me / Bra / That’s When the Party Started / Soon To Be Ex-Quaker / Life of Possibilities / OK, Joke’s Over / ENCORE / Rusty / Back and Forth

What do you want me to say?
What do you want me to do?
To let you know that I do mean it …

Ex-Models, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (04.06.03)

the Band: Ex-Models, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
the Date: Sunday April 6, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to Peter and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/peter_skinnywolves/)

I missed the ex-Models completely. Oops.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, consisting of Karen O (vocals), Nick Zinner (guitar), and Brian Chase (drums), are the quintessential minimalist, lo-fi, New York indie band. They were awesome and perfectly suited for the intimate Black Cat.

Karen O was outrageous! Songs like Date with the Night and Rich although great on the recent album, Fever to Tell, seem to gain new life as Karen danced her way through them. Describing Karen as energetic barely does justice to what she actually achieves on stage. It’s like watching a punk rock superhero as she whizzes from corner to corner; crawling, leaping, high-kicking. Everyone in the crowd fell head over heels in love with her, myself included.

My favorites of the night were Date with the Night, Y Control, Our Time, and of course the big hit, Maps.

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … sorry, best I could do): Shake It / Kiss Kiss / Cold Light / Date with the Night / Bang / Rich / Art Star / Mystery Girl / Man / Black Tongue / Y Control / Maps / ENCORE / Blow Hard / Miles Away / Our Time


Wait, they don’t love you like I love you . . .

the Bennies, David Lovering, the Reid Paley Trio, Frank Black & the Catholics (11.23.02)

the Band: the Bennies, David Lovering, the Reid Paley Trio, Frank Black & the Catholics
the Date: Sat November 23, 2002
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Holy Crap! I totally missed the opening acts including, the Bennies, the Reid Paley Trio, and David Lovering, who performed his magic/science show!! For those who know their Pixies history, Lovering was the band’s drummer. I heard his show was something between a mad scientist and performance art. Cool! I picked up a couple of cds for the Bennies and Reid Paley at the merch table, but I was still bummed to be so late.

Frank Black & the Catholics were amazing. Great show. I think I still enjoyed the time I saw them in Houston back in April a bit more, but this was a great show. They were supporting their two recent albums released simultaneously, Devil’s Workshop and Black Letter Days. My favorites of the evening were Cactus, Monkey Gone to Heaven, All My Ghosts, and 85 Weeks. It was a long set … awesome!

Full setlist: All the Tired Horses / Gouge Away / Freedom Rock / There Goes Nadine / How You Went So Far / Cactus / Men in Black / Black Letter Day / Steak n Sabre / Monkey Gone to Heaven / Bullet / Southbound Bevy / California Bound / Cold Heart of Stone / Manitoba / Whiskey in Your Shoes / Velvety / Hermaphroditos / I’ve Seen Your Picture / Horrible Day / All My Ghosts / Solid Gold // ENCORE // Farewell Blend / Valentina & Garuda / 85 Weeks / End of Miles / Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl cover)

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore . . .