Author Archives: Haley Smith

For a while now, I’ve heard talk of The Ettes. I didn’t know much other than that they opened up for the Dead Weather during their latest tour. I finally checked them out, and it was like finding the long-lost love I’d never known I was missing. The trio made up of Coco (Vocals, Guitar), Poni (Drums), and Jem (bass) struck the right blues, beat-punk/garage-rock chord in me. When I heard about their newest album Wicked Will, which came out on August 2nd, I knew it would be love.

Lucky for me, and any of you who made it out to the Black Cat on Saturday night, we got to see The Ettes play the last show of their latest month-long tour. If you didn’t get to see The Ettes play, here’s a snap shot of what you missed: loud beat-punk filled with blues riffs to die for, Poni, whom I am now calling the female Slash of drumming with her big hair and insane playing, two rounds of shots, and girls taking their shirts off. Sad you missed out? Yeah, you should be.

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Breakups are rough.

When people lose something that they love, they often go through various stages of grief. The initial stage is usually shock and denial followed soon after by anger. Once the anger subsides and reality sets in, people sometimes feel a little lost and lonely before they start to feel normal again. Then normal turns into hope—hope for something new, something better, or maybe just gratitude for the time you had.

I know this is a little melodramatic, but six months ago today, The White Stripes decided that after 13+ years it was time to part ways. No more albums, no tours, no new music from the most original music duo ever, in my opinion. I was completely blindsided by the news. I was so sure that Jack and Meg would record a least one more album together. Jack was done with his latest tour with the Dead Weather. The Green Horns had just released their latest album and were on tour, so The Raconteurs weren’t going to be getting back together anytime soon. And Alison Mosshart was back with The Kills.

Everything said to me—this is the year for another White Stripes album! Sadly, I was wrong.

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This was my first official Record Store Day. My plan ­was to hit all the record stores I could. This is Record Store Day we’re talking about, go big or go home right? I had a schedule of when each store was opening, and I had my list of “must have” RSD releases. I even restrained myself from buying music in preparation for this day because I knew I was going to drop a good amount of money. I was pumped and ready to go.

I started the day off strong paying a visit to my local Arlington store the CD Cellar. They opened at 10 am, the earliest out of all the stores. I was there with about ten other people scouring the shelves for RSD releases. The first one I picked out was Mississippi John Hurt, The Immortal LP. The Foo Fighters release was in high demand and was quickly taken off the shelf.

I picked up the Eric Clapton and John Mayall 7” and The International Submarine Band LP with the exclusive 7” included. I saw the John Hammond LP I wanted, Skip James, the Mumford and Sons/Laura Marling 10”, and a few others on my list. There were also a couple of albums that were in the bins that I of course needed to have. I realized this could really get out of hand. My plan was to buy something from every record store, and I needed to pace myself. This was a marathon, not a sprint. I restrained myself, purchased the first three records, and went on my way to D.C.

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There’s something about the Black Lips that makes people go a little crazy, and “a little” may be an understatement.

I was first introduced to the Black Lips in 2008 when they opened up for The Raconteurs at 9:30 Club. I had no idea what I was in for. The insanity that is rhythm guitarist Cole Alexander was rolling around on stage in a captain’s hat, jumping off the bass drum, spitting in the air, and expertly catching it [the spit] in his mouth. Then there was “magic time” where red blobs were projected on the stage, and people put their hands up and did jazz fingers. I didn’t know what it was all about, but I figured what the hell and put my hands up. I walked away from that first encounter a Black Lips fan.

I saw them for the second time at the Black Cat after their 2009 album 200 Million Thousand came out. This time I was more prepared. Cole had a pilgrim hat on, Ian had sweet gold fronts, and Jared ended up hanging from a ceiling pipe.

I don’t remember as much crowd participation at my first two Black Lips’ shows as there was at Friday’s show at the Black Cat. The Atlanta-based band has steadily grown their fan base since their emergence on the rock scene in 2002, and DC fans were definitely out for a face-melting good time on Friday night.

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