Week Of:  November 26 - December 2, 2018

Summary: Work It ON This Week

Perhaps you felt some warm fuzzies along with some tepid frustrations this past week. Hopefully you also felt LOVE and had a really good meal. 

Now is the week to come back to your regular schedule with a healthy dose of great music. There's a lot happening between today and the winter holidays and this week kicks it off right with some humdingers to get you moving. EVERYTHING is listed way below (below below), but first!  A few extra special highlights this week: 

Monday:

My highlight:  The New Respects + JUXT at Jammin Java — I have heard and seen only wonderful things from the daring and provocative DC band  JUXT and I can't believe it's taken me this long to see them live. And THE NEW RESPECTS, well, let me say that I saw them play at Villain & Saint last year and I couldn't stop smiling. Their chemistry and their flow and way of bringing you into their family jam is pretty magical. I'd check this one out if you can.

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• ​Laura Gibson with Dan Mangan at DC9 Nightclub
• Matisyahu at City Winery DC

Tuesday:

My highlight:  Experiments in Sonic Meditation at Rhizome DC — Rhizome DC is a little gem of a place for the music community with an eclectic offering of shows and experiences that take place in the living room of a Takoma Park house/community space. This next installment of their Sonic Meditation series is devoted to the practice of Deep Listening, as coined/taught/enacted by the late composer Pauline Oliveros. From their site: "For one hour, we will focus on sound. Listening first, with an eye (ear) toward healing, toward a collective experience more than the sum of its parts. There will be vocal and percussive sound production involved at different points. The space will be available for conversation/debriefing/relaxing afterwards." For a $5 donation, you can support local music and maybe get to know yourself a little better. 

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• Sol Roots Band With Special Guest Ron Holloway at JV's Restaurant
• Black Girl Magic: A Monumental Theatre Company Concert at DC9 Nightclub
• Hot Tuna (Acoustic) at City Winery DC  
​

Wednesday: 

My highlight: District of Raga Presents: Three Voices ft. Chao Tien: chinese dulcimer, Huda Asfour: oud, Nistha Raj: violin, Avi Shah: tabla followed by Raga Jam Session at Bossa Bistro + Lounge — I've seen three of these four artists perform individually (many are graduates of the fabulous Strathmore Artist in Residence program) and was so impressed by their mastery and unique voicing, playing as if their instruments were extensions of their body and souls. To have these artists perform together in one show is spectacular. The District of Raga was was launched in January 2017 with a vision of "creating a space for practitioners and lovers of Indian classical music to gather for the purpose of musical dialogue and community within Washington, D.C." and is offering wonderful opportunities to experience great artistry like this showcase. Not to be missed.

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• ​All Good Presents: Toubab Krewe w/ Two Ton Twig at Gypsy Sally's
• About 19: A Musical 100 Years in the Making at Torpedo Factory — “19” is the dynamic and little-known story of Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Carrie Chapman Catt, Susan B. Anthony and the other women of the suffrage movement. A musical 100 years in the making!​

Thursday: 

My highlight: Dis Is Emerika w Orchester Prazevica and channelVolatile at Villain & Saint — Orchestra Prazevica's high energy dance music draws from "the tradition of Eastern European Czardas and Gypsy Swing, but widely influenced by jazz and blues." But why this show? Because watching the Orchestra Prazevica here and reading about channelVolatile, along with the title/lack of description of this show, completely intrigues me. 

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• Sister Sparrow with The Rad Trads at 9:30 Club 
• BSO Pulse: Parquet Courts at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
  

Friday:

My highlight: Thom Yorke - Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes at The Kennedy Center — Thom Yorke from Radiohead is making a rare, solo performance in DC at the Kennedy Center which is in and of itself a special treat. He, Nigel Godrich, and visual artist Tarik Barri and special guest Oliver Coates will perform songs spanning his solo works The Eraser, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, and Atoms For Peace’s Amok. Expect that space — along with the spaces inside your bones, your synapses, your breaths — to be filled. 

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• Brandon "Taz" Niederauer with Colin Thompson Band at Pearl Street Warehouse — (side note: "Taz," pictured above, is 15! And a virtuoso. And this is a great intimate venue to see him wail.)
• Kurt Vile and The Violators with Jessica Pratt (2 Nights!) at 9:30 Club
• Surprise Attack, Throwing Plates, Nah. at Rock & Roll Hotel​
• ​West End Blend at Tropicalia  

Saturday:

My highlight: Esperanza Spalding at The Lincoln Theatre  — Because Esperanza Spalding is "the 21st century's jazz genius." Her writing, her ease, her skill, her passion, her chops, her soul, her personality, her bass playing, her accessibility and yes...her genius. She is an icon for the times. 

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• Dark Star Orchestra at The Anthem
• Free! - DSO After Party with Better Off Dead! feat. Jess Lake at Union Stage 
• Kurt Vile and The Violators with Jessica Pratt (2 Nights!) at 9:30 Club
• ​Mix 'n Match with Caleb Stine, Letitia VanSant, Honey Dewdrops! at An Die Musik's Folkal Point / Singer-Songwriter Series (Baltimore)​

Sunday:

My highlight: ​ Fantasias - Carolina Eyck & ACME at 3:30p at the National Gallery of Art — "Theremin virtuoso and composer Carolina Eyck joins the American Contemporary Music Ensemble for the Washington, DC, premiere of their collaborative project, Fantasias, which was released to critical acclaim on Butterscotch Records in 2016. For the project, Eyck composed six minimalist-inspired string quartet pieces, over which she improvises a solo theremin part. With these pieces, Eyck strives to “sonically investigate the interplay between nature and human imagination.” Eyck’s musically daring and physically challenging compositions defy easy classification, while her uncanny mastery of the theremin and use of electronic effects bring an authentically fresh sonic pallet to the forefront."

DCMR staff also say to check out: 

• Peter Bjorn And John with Talos at Rock & Roll Hotel
• Justin Townes Earle with Lauren Calve at The Birchmere
  

And there are a LOT MORE exciting things to see and hear and jam on in the links below, with personal choices in bold, along with a list of the DCMR staff top picks and cool "gems" that you don't want to miss!  Now get out there!