Category Archives: Review

On the various Luna tours the band has done since it reunited in 2015 following a 10 year pause, they almost seemed miffed to have to play the old stuff fans wanted. Not that they had much new stuff — just an album of covers and another of instrumentals. But now, embarked on one of [...]

Before there were labels like alt country or Americana, The Long Ryders were providing the connection between country and rock with a punk punch through their very limited recording years of 1984 to 87. They proved the thread between the pioneering work of the Byrds and Gene Clark (who lent vocals on the first Long [...]

“Welcome to the 7:30 Club!” Billy Bragg said, at the outset of his three-night residency at The Birchmere. He was both poking fun of the Alexandria club’s famously early nights, while name checking the D.C. area’s other famous club, the 9:30. It was the first of several residencies he’ll also do in New York and [...]

The B-52’s are marking their 40th anniversary the same way they might have celebrated their 20th, their first or a random Tuesday – with a party. True to their skull ’n’ beehive colors that declare “Born to Party” they got a big crowd at D.C.’s Anthem riled up with a freewheeling set of their catchy, [...]

Peter Frampton supercharged his career with a live album decades ago, so he’s going out playing live as well. In a stop at the Anthem in D.C. Wednesday, he seemed to have the kind of bouncy energy and joy in performance that doesn’t usually come on anything titled “Finale – The Farewell Tour.” Frampton at [...]

For a woman whose songs are so direct, and whose voice is so clear, Jenny Lewis also likes to dress up a bit. So for the stop in her On the Line tour at The Anthem in D.C., she wore a glamorous form-hugging gold lamé dress as if it were dug out of an trunk [...]

Juliana Hatfield still looks like a bit of a waif taking the spotlight at Union Stage in Washington, D.C. on a recent summer weekday night. She’s rail-thin in her flowered pantsuit; her slight stature seemingly made smaller by the size (and sound) of her electric guitar. But it’s her still high and girlish voice that [...]