Let me explain before you answer this question. I pride myself on keeping up with popular music. My biggest asset to our trivia team is the ability to name the title and artist of the songs played as clues during trivia night. While I may not be familiar with the indy music scene, I generally at least know the band names. Therefore, I was stunned to see the upcoming concert schedule at DC's 9:30 Club.
The 9:30 Club is pretty well-known music venue with a capacity of about 1,200. While the venue is way too small for the Rolling Stones (or Neil Diamond), many big name bands have played here over the years as an intimate setting for its fans. This is also a good place for up-and-coming bands as well as those that are no longer at its peak. I attended the Collective Soul concert here last year and had a great time.
Anyway, I cannot name one song of any band listed on the schedule. In addition, I've only heard of a handful of these bands. What happened? Did I lose touch with the music scene in the few weeks I've been a father? Or am I just old and don't know music that kids listen to these days?
Friday, April 15, 2011
Am I Old?
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9 comments:
Aside from the more obvious artists (Femi Kuti, Echo, Airborne Toxic Event, most of the others are pretty much unknowns. Don't know anything about The Dan Band, but I know of them.
The one that is going to be big is The Downtown Fiction. They're local (from Fairfax) and have had a great buzz from their first single, betting DC101 type of airplay and being buzzworthy on VH1.
I'm old, too, Sean, but it has nothing to do with this list.
Yes. Yes you are.
Your only saving grace is that you are not as old as me. I can remember going to a concert at the 9:30 club twenty years ago and feeling too old then. Maybe I was born old. I should at least get a discount at the movies, doncha think?
Barry - Femi Kuti is an obvious artist? I consider you much more in touch with the music scene than me, so I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in my lack of knowledge of these bands. I've heard of Of Montreal, The Dan Band, Peter Bjorn and John, The Airborne Toxic Event, Echo, Rev. Horton Heat and Matt & Kim, but if any members of these groups showed up at my door, I would have no idea who they are.
Lacochran - Movie tickets are so expensive, so you deserve to get a discount. I remember going to the movies for $2. Maybe I was born old too!
I've heard of a bunch of these artists, because they fall under the "adult alternative" genre that my favorite radio station plays (WXPN Philly - listen online at xpn.org.
And you may not know who Raphael Saadiq is, but I bet you've heard of a little group called Tony! Toni! Toné! that he was a member of in the 80s...
fwiw, balkan beat box was founded by members of gogol bordello and firewater... alejandro escovedo used to get regular airplay on wyep back in pittsburgh, so again with the adult alternative kinda stuff... oh, and I've liked everything I've ever heard from the twilight singers, including this little tune you may recognize... and they're nothing special, but there are worse bands out there than okkervil river...
also, the full 9:30 club schedule includes a host of more well-known acts whose tickets have already sold out (and hence don't need to be advertised)... iron and wine, the kills, sleigh bells, css, my chemical romance, adele, lykke li, arctic monkeys, death cab for cutie, the cars and paul simon...
... that said, although I've seen several of my favorite bands at the 9:30 club, the black cat still may be dc's superior concert venue...
You know the Dan Band! They sing songs in an ironic fashion that were originally sung by women (well, maybe this is not everything that they do). They sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in the wedding scene in Old School, and they sang something in The Hangover (Fame, maybe?)
Andy - I may have to check out that radio station. I also definitely know Tony! Toni! Toné! but I really must be getting old if they were an 80s band. Please say that they were a little more recent.
Captain - Good point about the 9:30 Club not advertising the sold-out shows. I did see that Cake recently performed there and as you mentioned, Paul Simon is coming. That should be a great venue for a Paul Simon concert. Oh, I do recognize the Real Love cover.
Messiah - Is the Dan Band the group that performed at the wedding reception portion of the Hangover? The guy who sang Magic Stick?
Yes, I misspoke... I did my fact checking, and although Tony! Toni! Toné! got their start in 1988, their heyday was clearly in the early to mid-90s.
XPN streams online at xpn.org.
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