Ticket Giveaway! | Best Coast, Cults, Long Walks on the Beach, Saturday, 11/20

Usually when we do these ticket contests, the thinking is to save you guys some money (for drinks, of course.) But this time it's a little different.

Georgetown U. is doing away with its normally 'closed-to-students' policy for Saturday night's Best Coast, Cults, and Long Walks on the Beach show and we've got a pair of tickets to give away.

The really cool upside? The venue only holds 275 people, so you'll be lucky to just get in for what promises to be a pretty intimate show that's certain to sell out.

So yea, while we'll save you some cash with this one, it's the access for Saturday night that's working in your favor.


So sure, you could RSVP on Facebook here, but a better idea is to let us know why you should be chosen for the pair of tickets to Saturday night's show in the comments to this post and the most arm-twisty of the bunch will take home the tickets for the show.

We'll close this one on Friday at noon to give you plenty of time to conjure up your response—and remember to leave us a contact email address with your entry.

Remember, we've teamed up with ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways so you can enter to win either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC.

TVD's ROIR Records Seven Day Vinyl Giveaway Event

As promised yesterday, our Seven Days of ROIR Records Vinyl Giveaways continues today with the debut, self-titled Bad Brains release, or "the best punk/hardcore album of all time." If you're to trust Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, that is. (To which I'm inclined.)


"No album has ever been such an aural punisher - so blistering, so ashen. Nothing ever will again. Holy F***!"
—Big Takeover

"...they have inspired or influenced everyone from The Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Living Color and Jane’s Addiction. But upon re-listening to this glorious hardcore/punk masterpiece, it quickly became evident that not one of the many pretenders to the throne have even come close to matching Brains’ blisteringly majestic style.”
—Scrawl


"Where dreadlocked superheroes Bad Brains went, a thousand punk and metal wannabes followed. And what better album to tell you why these militant rockers were so powerful than this, their eponymous classic from 1982? Sell your Green Day records and buy this, kids."
—Vox (UK)

"Bad Brains were the band who taught the world how to play fast....this re-released 1982 masterpiece shows exactly why this is a band who could pull thousands of people to their shows when no one in the mainstream even knew they existed. Quite brilliant."
—Select (UK)

The rules for our seven days of ROIR giveaways are simple—tell us your ROIR story or sell us on why a particular LP should be yours in the comments to this post and the most compelling to any degree will find the record in his or her mailbox in time for the holidays. (Please note - we can only ship within the US.)

We'll close all seven contests on Monday, November 29 and remember to leave us your email/contact info—important!—so we can notify winners!

TVD Fresh Track | New from Poly Styrene

Poly Styrene, the unforgettable frontwoman and iconic face of the seminal band X-ray Spex is back with...a Christmas song?

I never knew
a very merry Christmas
Santa Claus was
a real bad guy

I’m dreaming of a
Black Black Christmas

Stream it below and grab it free at her official site.

TVD Package Deal

New column! New writer! New Tuesdays! —Ed.


The Punch Brothers, Friday, November 12th, Strathmore Music Hall, 8pm (on the nose)

I’ll have a whiskey.

Ties loosened, feet tapped, and yelps—random and inspired, echoed through the pristine sound-ship, The Strathmore, as we jumped in with ‘Next to the Trash’ sailed past ‘Watch At Breakdown’ and through ‘Punch Bowl.’ These upbeat honky-tonk (turns out it’s hyphenated) tunes kept the unknowledgeable portion of the crowd interested (me) and had enough ‘jamming’ for the PB regulars (my seatmate.)

'Don’t Need No' boasts about drinkin’ for free and having a lovely female bar tender take him home, 'Missy' a sad love song about a woman had (not really had) and lost—this band admires complex, and shifty female leads (and questionable relationships at best.) And the award for favorite lyrical line uttered during the show “I went to a little gypsy at a fortune telling place / She read my mind and then she slapped my face,” delivered with solid, light-hearted blue grass clapping, and ‘yippees’ to follow.

In 'O Santo De Polvoro' the instruments played the melody and sang the chorus and the hook. No words needed—all strings. ‘Me and Us’ reminded me of a suspense thriller, shot in black and white, or maybe a Sherlock Holmes intro. It was a rolling fog; creepy, and full. Fortunately, they warmed us up again with 'Alex,' light hearted pop gem about another psuedo-important love interest (which should be receiving a fair amount of radio play.)

I sat with a Punch Brothers fan, she will be referred to as ‘the expert’, who informed me of her obsession with the 40 minute, overly-ambitious, four movement, unheard live “Blind Leaving the Blind,” moments later Chris Thile uttered the word “excerpt” and ‘the expert’ nearly rocketed from her seat and I knew I was about to hear something rare.


They did not disappoint. This piece may change a listener's mind about bluegrass. The four movements are epic, but this most commonly requested section is requested for a reason (harmonies and the journey; a great music story).

They followed it smartly with a traditional, 'You are my Flower' by The Carter Family, a duet between the bassist (Paul Kowert) and fiddler (Gabe Witcher). Followed shortly by 'You Are,' one of the brightest spots with Chris Thile’s voice sounding controlled, crisp, and clear.

The Punch Brothers performed equal parts love song, jam attack, barroom stomps, covers (their traditional Radiohead cover). No breaks—all the slight pauses were filled with inter-band ribbing (mostly Noam Pikelny on banjo) mocking Chris about one thing or another with his deep resonating Johnny Cash-like voice) occasional song origin related tales, and consistently inappropriate jokes made by the awkwardly charming mandolin player/lead vocalist. (One about another musician losing a bet and as a result was forced to shave off, and eat, his own beard. Must be a Bluegrass thing.)

'Rye Whiskey' may make the band sound better but it made my heart beat louder and heated up the Strathmore which in all cases, could use it. They chose to play the popular 'Rye Whiskey' after the standing plea of claps.

The Punch Brothers have it all—technical skill, a charismatic front man with a unique voice, years of experience, and they could not have faked that sort of fun. Fun, which they played and squeezed from their instruments and channeled into the crowd.