Category Archives: Holidays

The Incredible Shrinking Macy’s Parade

By Roger Catlin | Published: November 26, 2020

The first half of The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade (NBC, 9 a.m.) was always concentrated on Herald Square, where Broadway stars would incongruously stage big production numbers of the type you’d see at, well, no other parades. This year, because of Covid, what’s left of the parade will all take place at a Herald Square devoid […]

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She & Him Throw a Christmas Party

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 7, 2019

The first time Zooey Deschanel sang a Christmas song for huge audiences was 16 years ago in the movie “Elf,” crooning “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in the shower, eventually dueting with an unwelcome Will Ferrell. It was that moment that showed M. Ward that the actress could actually sing, and they eventually got together to form […]

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A Soulful ‘Motown Christmas’ at Signature

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 6, 2019

Because Christmas is mandatory on entertainment stages all month, it’s no surprise that a cabaret at Signature Theatre is again devoted to the Yuletide songbook. But in a clever and very welcome variation, they’ve approached the holiday through the classic interpretations of one of America’s favorite labels. “A Motown Christmas” brings together enduring holiday originals […]

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Riding Rev. Horton Heat’s Holiday Hayride

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 19, 2018

The Rev. Horton Heat issued his Christmas album 13 years ago, but only for the last few years has he loaded up a big holiday revue that includes a few other acts equally worthy of headline status — Junior Brown and The Blasters. They all packed into the Black Cat in D.C. Saturday, playing a […]

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Regarding Looking at the Sun

By Roger Catlin | Published: August 21, 2017

You’d think the sky was a BB gun, aiming to put your eye out every time there’s an eclipse. But Angela Des Jardins, director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium and leader of the Eclipse Ballooning Project says it’s not a particularly more dangerous time to look up into the sky. Des Jardins, who is […]

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The Old 97’s Ring in Another New Year

By Roger Catlin | Published: January 2, 2017

In the 2014 song “Longer Than You’ve Been Alive,” The Old 97s note “most of our shows were a triumph of rock, although some nights I might have been checkin’ the clock.” Checking the clock is what playing New Year’s Eve gigs are all about. And though Texas band’s return to the tony Hamilton Club […]

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Inside A Rainy ‘A Capitol Fourth’

By Roger Catlin | Published: July 5, 2016

An invitation to the “Capitol Fourth” concert on the National Mall seemed interesting. Smokey Robinson was headlining, a bigger draw for me than, say Barry Manilow or Frankie Valli, who have performed in earlier years. It’s always enlightening to see a TV special put together, too, and it might be the first chance I’ve gotten […]

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Ten Christmas Songs That Aren’t Really

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 24, 2014

Think of it as the inverse of the War on Christmas. Rather than being downsized by supposed political correctness, Christmas is the aggressor, swallowing up land (mall parking lots), airwaves (all-Christmas music stations in October) and everything you see (enough with the Christmas commercials already). It has also annexed the meaning of a number of […]

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Nick Lowe’s Quality Holiday Revue

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 13, 2014

The snow white hair of Nick Lowe is about the only concession to the season in his tasty “Quality Holiday Revue” that played a sold out show at the Birchmere in Alexandria Friday. Sure, he had some nifty red and green patterned shirts (that he could wear year round) and his super sharp backing band […]

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When Bowie Met Bing

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 2, 2014

It’s one of the iconic videos of the holiday season: An alien-looking David Bowie trading countermelodies with the 20th century’s most iconic crooners, Bing Crosby. But their 1977 TV collaboration on “Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth” almost didn’t happen, according to interviews in the Bing Crosby bio film that debuts tonight on PBS’ […]

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