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As mentioned yesterday in this spot, our guest DJ all week Carol Bui returns to her old stomping grounds of Washington, DC (as opposed to her new stomping grounds of Tacoma, Washington) for a homecoming show at the Black Cat next Wednesday night (12/8.) Joining Carol on the bill are Kristeen Young and Lucia Lucia.
And as is so often with our Guest DJ/Takeover weeks, we've got a pair of tickets to put in the hands of one of you guys for next week's show.
Let us know why you should be chosen for the pair of tickets to see Carol next Wednesday night in the comments to this post and the most convincing of the bunch will take home the tickets for the show.
We'll close this one on Tuesday (12/7) 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.
The Top Five Reasons to Come to Poor But Sexy, Dirty Bomb, and JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound at the Velvet Lounge
So I recently moved away from Washington, DC to New York City, and I've had to take on two jobs to make the rent on our modest little nest here. That doesn't leave me with much time to spend on inspired blog posts about why you should come see my band, Poor But Sexy, at the Velvet Lounge on Friday, December 3rd.
Neverthless, I am pretty psyched to get back down to the District of Columbia for this show, so I am resorting to the most economical form of persuasive writing: the enumerated list. Here goes:
1. New Single: Cherry Delicious | This is track 4 from our record, "Let's Move in Together," which will come out mid-February. Come early to hear it live (we kick off the bill at 10pm sharp.)
2. Cowbell | If you listened to Cherry Delicious, you know that there is a prominent cowbell in there. Eric Axelson from the Dismemberment Plan is going to play it with us at the show. If you thought he was good at bass, just wait until you hear his bovine bell skills.
3. Dirty Bomb | A DC band with a concept album loosely based on the story of Jack Abramoff. I listened to the jams, and they are hot! If you read the interview with songwriter Andy Sullivan from the Express paper, you know that he has actually spent time chasing Jack Abramoff around federal courthouses. It's an inspiring reminder to always write what you know.
4. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" | Our friends in JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound covered this Wilco song and made a video of it. It's undeniable! There was a contingent of hard core Wilco fans, however, that reacted like Catholic bishops if Tweedy was Jesus and JC Brooks had made 'The Last Temptation of Christ.'
Last time JC Brooks was in DC, they killed it for about two solid hours at the 9:30 club. This is a rare opportunity to see a band that works and works it all night, for the us...the audience. They hit at 12:00 am. Leave your coats in the car, because it's likely to get sweaty.
5. The Walkmen Suck | A band feud seemed like a good way to get the publicity ball rolling, so I just checked some newer Walkmen songs online to verify that they do, in fact, suck, before I slander them. Unfortunately, they don't suck. They are mature, accomplished artists, and apparently passionate performers. Luckily, their show at the 9:30 club is sold out. So we'll see you at the Velvet Lounge.
It's Day #4 with Carol Bui who's spending the entire week with us in advance of next Wednesday's homecoming show at the Black Cat and she's sharing the music from her own collection that informed her upcoming 2011 release, Red Ship, out on her own Ex Oh Records.
Connie Francis - Malaguena | Growing up in Vietnam, my parents didn't have much access to American popular music except maybe the likes of the Beatles circa 'She Loves You' or Elvis's 'Love Me Tender'. Connie Francis was another one of those few artists to make it out there, and her music made quite an impression on my Dad.
I used to look through his CDs and saw mostly Vietnamese contemporary singers with an occasional Hong Kong movie soundtrack. One day I heard a lady singing what sounded like a bullfighting song from his office speakers. Her voice was HUGE and sometimes tearful, I loved it and still love it. The singer was Connie Francis.
I asked my Dad about her and he said it reminded him of his early Vietnam war days. Malaguena is a Spanish folk song written by Ernesto Lecuona and is popular among marching bands and drum corps. It has been performed by many others as well—Ritchie Valens did an electric guitar solo version of it, Brian Setzer did one, Caterina Valente did a German version.
This is by far the most powerful rendition of the song I've ever heard.
It's our Thursday flashback, culled from the rare and ultra-obscure (and often bizarre) crates of 80’s vinyl, curated by our pal Gil:
Dog Police – s/t LP | Here we have a rather wacky American new wave group called Dog Police that was formed in Memphis, TN by band leader Sam Shoup. The core group was made up of three members that dressed up as..well…dogs. This inventive trio was active in the mid to late 80’s. Their music was a skewed new wave pop that reminds one of the wise-guy word play from the Los Angeles brother duo Sparks.
They entered into the MTV basement tapes competition in 1985 and came out victorious with an inventive and quite entertaining video of what would be their anthem tinged album title song. There was another video made for the song 1-800, which pokes fun at television marketing ads and their toll free 800 numbers.
They obviously garnered some attention in alternative music circles and were subsequently able to produce a lone full length album that was a private pressing. Not surprisingly, wild man Weird Al Yankovic was enamored by the group’s silliness and featured them on his short lived MTV music video show. A lost new wave pop obscurity.
