That’s One Ton Wonton and while I admit I don’t understand the name of the band, I do like the funky / jazzy / rock thing they’ve got going on. They’ll be at Ragtime at 1345 North Courthouse in Arlington on Wednesday (June 20). I’ll be there with some past and present coworkers and as many of the Happy Funtime Crew as I can convince to come along.
I can’t believe I totally missed the start of Jazz in the Garden. But after the lingering cold and lack of spring like weather (other than the raging pollen count), it just escaped me that it could be that time already. But here we are, so it’s time to skip Friday happy hour, grab a blanket, and head over to the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden to listen to some great local jazz artists. If you’re not a bring a picnic and sit on a blanket kind of person, the cafe stays open until 8:30 on jazz nights. Tonight is Frank LoCrasto Group and coming up soon is one of my favorites - Thad Wilson.
Everyone is always asking how we know what’s going on around town. I like to say “The Force” because it sounds cooler than telling people that I spend hours trolling ticket and theatre sites, going through print and web calendars, and (gasp) actually listening to people talk about what’s coming up.
And in case I already didn’t have enough text messages because of Twitter, there’s a new site to help keep you up to date on what’s going on. Their tag line is “be in the know” and they have customized content for a variety of cities - happily, DC is one. I’ve signed up for the indie music alerts, but there’s also fashion, weather, hip-hop, and something to do with kids (but HappyFunTime is no expert on what to do with children). They nicely limit themselves to one text message per day with the most relevant information and then you text back to get additional details. Visit 80108 to sign up or learn more. I’m looking forward to their adding additional authors and topics in the area.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I learned about 80108 from BzzAgent - a word of mouth marketing group that I participate with. No money involved but I do get samples of products to try and tell people about. (Another good way to meet people, by the way.)
I’m trying not to be intensely bitter or disappointed now that the line-up for the Virgin Festival has been announced and the pre-sale has begun. Oh, my disappointment isn’t over the line-up… how could it be? The Police, Beastie Boys, 311, Velvet Revolver, Wu Tang Clan, TV on the Radio, Interpol, the Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, oh did I mention THE POLICE? are all going to be just up the road at Pimilico. Okay, my disappointment might be at the $175 (ouch) ticket price and the fact that at the moment, only 2-day tickets are available. One-day passes will go on sale at a later date, availablility pending.
No, my disappointment is that I will be flying back from India on the first day of the festival, Saturday, August 4 and not getting to Dulles until 7:00 p.m. And I have severe doubts at my ability to rally for a concert the next day, even if I could get a one day pass for Sunday. Okay, if it were U2 I’d be there, but I don’t see it happening.
If you have the pre-sale password, tickets are onsale now at Ticketmaster through 10 p.m. Otherwise, the general onsale is Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m.
Who knew? The schedule for Loudon Summer Music Fest 2007 has just been announced. It includes Blues Traveler on June 24th (and I’ve been denounced for not accepting John Popper as my personal savior).
Sponsored by AOL, the festival’s tagline is “The most fun you can have without saying you’re sorry” which I have to admit is pretty good.
Other acts include Sugar Ray, Pat Benatar, and Eddie from Ohio and apparently it all benefits a local charity. They haven’t yet selected the charity yet, so go visit the form if you have a charity you’d like to have considered as this year’s beneficiary.Good music for a worthy cause - there are worse ways to spend a summer evening. Be sure to go by and visit Hawaiian Scoop in Ashburn if you’re out that way.
Because I recently missed Snow Patrol and the Decembrists because they were sold out, and because Ted Leo,Lily Allen, Kaiser Chiefs, TV on the Radio, and Arctic Monkeys are all sold out at the 930 and the Killers are sold out at the Patriot Center, I don’t want you to miss your chance on these:
Lily Allen will be at Sonar in Baltimore on May 28th. If you’re inclined, it’s a good show and probably the last chance to see her in a smaller venue. I imagine her next tour will be playing larger spaces.
Stephen Marley w/ Jr. Gong at 930 on May 8. For some reason, they aren’t reminding anyone that Jr. Gong is Damien Marley and to me, that’s a good enough reason, even if I didn’t like Stephen.
Bloc Party was just announced for June 3 at Constitution. It’s not my favorite room for a concert, so I leave that up to you.
John Prine at the Warner Theatre on June 15. I’m not usually a fan of folk, but I like his voice.
Charlie Murphy at the Improv June 22 - 24. This will sell out quickly so get your tickets now.
I won’t bore you with the details of the plague, the job change, and the computer that blew up, but suffice it to say that Las Vegas + Pogues + birthday celebrations = many days on antibiotics. I love my new job as a producer at an interactive creative agency in Washington, DC even though it keeps me very busy. And now I have a spiffy new Mac mini.
Spring has sprung in DC and there’s plenty going on. This Saturday you can find the Happy Funtime crew enjoying ice cream at Hawaiian Scoop in Ashburn (I want some Dole Whip to remind me of my Hawaiian vacation and my trip aboard the Pineapple Express).
Saturday evening we’ll be at The State Theatre in Falls Church to see Honor by August along with Will Hoge. I haven’t seen Will before but I’ve heard his songs and I’m looking forward to the show. Come on out and say hi.
The same people who bring us Jazz in the Garden, Jazz on Ice and Jazz Brunch also nicely provide weekly Sunday evening concerts during the fall and winter. This is the 65th season of concerts in the West Building of the National Gallery - often the programs are matched to a particular exhibition. And they are free (I love Washington). For example, the November 5th concert is English music in honor of the exhibit of Constable Landscapes. The Suspicious Cheese Lords perform Flemish works on November 12th in support of the Neatherlandish exhibit.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Concerts start at 6:30. The cafe will remain open until 6:00 p.m. when there is a concert. Use the entrance at 6th & Constitution.
I was at Dremo’s open mic night (and get out for that while Dremo’s is still there) when someone I hadn’t seen before came in. He turned out to be a long lost member of the tribe, coming by after his own gig up the street. And this turned out to be why I like open mic night. You never know who’s going to show up and what you might discover. And now I know about Willie Strings. You can check out Willie at Ragtime in Arlington on October 19th or at the upcoming second round of the Bodog Battle of the Bands.
Willie transcends genres and blends a variety of traditions to create a sound that is uniquely his own. He played a couple of covers and original songs. I loved his original song that’s still a work in progress but his Sublime cover was indeed sublime. I’ll be looking forward to the opportunity to see him again either solo or with the Players.
Belga Cafe over on Barracks Rows in Eastern Market is a new favorite of mine and one I found through Restaurant Week explorations. Well, that and I’m always looking for an excuse to check out places that serve both Belgian beer AND mussels. And Beglian chocolate pastries (and the pastry chef is cute… but that’s another story).
Back to the beer. This Saturday, 16 September, is Barracks Row Fest and along with the live music and street vendors, the lovely firefighters at Engine 18 / Truck 7 Firehouse will be hosting an Open House (take cookies and say thank you) and Belga will be serving brunch.
But that’s not even the fun part. Monday, 25 September through Sunday, 1 October is Drink Your Beer and Steal Your Glass and the glass is specially designed for each specific Belgian Beer. So go buy, get a kilo of mussels and some beer, steal your glass, and tell the pastry chef I said hi.