Author Archives: Rachel Lange

Michael Shannon is mostly known as actor; one whose intense presence makes for memorable roles in films like Man of Steel and The Iceman. As it turns out, he’s also a musician and R.E.M. superfan. A singer who, along with pal Jason Narducy, takes a love for the original “college rock” band on the road. There, they’re joined by other fans hungry for live performances of early R.E.M work.

After a successful run of sold out shows last year when the pair honored R.E.M.’s debut album Murmur, Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy and Friends are back at it, celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s 1985 album, Fables of the Reconstruction. Tuesday night, the men hit Washington, DC’s famed 9:30 Club for a gig filled to the rafters.

On the road, Shannon and Narducy are joined by “friends”: Wilco’s John Stirratt on bass, drumming powerhouse (and one of my very favorite Instagram follows) Jon Wurster, guitarist Dag Juhlin, and keyboardist Vijay Tellis-Nayak.

The show on this tour is divided into two sets: the first set is the entire Fables album. The band had no problem delivering fantastic performances of Fables tracks such as “Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” “Driver 8,” and “Can’t Get There from Here.” After “Wendell Gee,” the band wrapped up the first set with a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale.”

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The Faroe Islands are a tiny archipelago located halfway between Norway and Iceland and is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The capital city, Tóshavn, receives the fewest recorded hours of sunshine of any city in the world. Known for its rugged, isolated terrain and subpolar climate, it’s from this environment that musician and vocalist Eivør Pálsdóttir, who performs professionally simply as Eivør, comes to us. Sunday night Eivør wrapped up her North American tour in the Washington, DC suburbs, performing to an enraptured crowd.

Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard, who performs professionally as Sylvaine, served as support on this tour. Sylvaine is the first woman to receive a Norwegian Grammy nomination for Best Metal Album. At the Fillmore, her music was less “metal” and more electrified Nordic folk (a term I just made up). Others have compared the sound to something from Middle Earth. It’s an apt comparison.

Sylvaine is ethereal and her voice is beautiful. Performing without a backing band, and sometimes without even an instrument, her set was a compact five songs. However, she captivated the (seated) crowd like a headliner would. The last song, “Eg Er Framand” so affected the Fillmore crowd that they were brought to their feet in a standing ovation. It brought her to tears as she waved goodnight. Sylvaine’s latest album is Eg Er Framand.

It’s been great to see Eivør’s fanbase in the DC area grow. She first performed at the Fillmore in 2022, during her very first US tour. Like Sunday night, it was a seated show. But while the crowd in 2022 was on the smaller side, Sunday night was a sellout.

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It was an appropriately cold and snowy night Tuesday when Molchat Doma stopped by the Anthem in Washington DC. The post punk trio, from Minsk, Belarus, are in the midst of a North American tour and, despite the inclement weather, DC showed up in force.

Joining Molchat Doma on this tour is Los-Angeles based Sextile. The crowd at the Anthem was already starting to swell when the trio took the stage. Founding members Brady Keehn and Melissa Scaduto (who paced back and forth with a large flag emblazoned with “Sextile”) were joined by a standing drummer for a 40-minute, high energy post-punk/electronic set. Keehn was met with cheers when he gave a shoutout to DC and revealed he once lived in Columbia Heights. The trio were successful in getting the crowd hyped for the headliner. Sextile’s most recent album is 2023’s Push.

The Anthem’s floor was full by the time Molchat Doma took the stage just after 9PM. For the unfamiliar, Molchat Doma (meaning “Houses are Silent” in Russian) formed in 2017, in Minsk, Belarus; the current lineup is Egor Shkutko, Roman Komogortsev, and Pavel Kozlov. Their music is an amalgam of post-punk, new wave, and synth-driven sounds (a drum machine takes the place of a drummer), and is often compared to 1980s work by bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The men have also said they take influences from 1980s Russian rock bands, such as Kino.

The setlist was taken from across the band’s four LP discography; their latest album is Belaya Polosa, released last September. While their songs are sung exclusively in Russian, Molchat Doma’s modern-yet-retro sound has fueled their rapid ascent and appeal across generations and nations. In Washington, DC, the crowd, while skewing younger overall, featured a lot of Millennial and GenXers alongside the young goths.

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The Fillmore Silver Spring hosted legendary Jerry Cantrell last Friday night; it was a hard rock party with a 1990s flavor. Cantrell is in the middle of his I Want Blood tour, in support of his latest album of the same name. Along for the ride on this tour is Filter, a fellow ’90s powerhouse.

The Fillmore was already quite full when Filter took the stage—many in the crowd were just as stoked to see this Ohio band as they were Cantrell. Hitting the rock scene in the early 1990s, Filter released their first album in ‘95, titled Short Bus. The band has cycled through many personnel changes since then; front man Richard Patrick remains the sole original member. No matter, though—the rest of the band (Jonathan Radtke, Bobby Miller, and Tosh Peterson), provided an energetic dynamic for the nearly 45-minute set, performed in smoke and near darkness. The crowd rocked out to songs including “You Walk Away,” “Welcome to the Fold,” and ’90s bangers, “Take A Picture” and “Hey Man Nice Shot.” Filter’s most recent release is The Algorithm (2023).

“Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”

The mostly GenX crowd at the Fillmore had swelled by the time Alice in Chains frontman Jerry Cantrell took the stage at 9:15pm. They were anxious to see the legend and chanted and sang along for much of the night. Along with vocalist Greg Puciato and his backing band, Cantrell greeted the crowd and launched into “Psychotic Break,” from 2002’s Degradation Trip. What followed was a setlist that represented the scope of Cantrell’s career, including several very crowd-pleasing Alice in Chains tracks.

But it was I Want Blood that was the centerpiece; the set featured five songs from the album, said to have more of an Alice in Chains influence than other solo work. “Vilified” was performed early in the night; it weaves well with Cantrell’s AIC work. Much of the other solo work in the set was sourced from the southern rock/country tinged Brighten (2021), including “Atone” and “Had to Know.”

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Myles Kennedy, the golden-throated vocalist of Alter Bridge and Slash collaborator, is in the middle of his solo The Art of Letting Go tour. Along with openers Tim Montana and Sons of Silver, Kennedy conquered Baltimore Soundstage last Thursday night. It was—as always—a fun hang and a bright spot in what was a dreary January.

Sons of Silver got the festivities started in Baltimore, setting the tone for a night of rock and roll. Coming to us from Los Angeles, Sons of Silver are Pete Argyropoulos (vocals, guitar), Marc Slutsky (drums), Brina Kabler (keyboards), Kevin Haaland (guitar), and Adam Kury (bass). This band are veteran musicians and include former members of Candlebox (Kury) and Skillet (Haaland). As a lover of guitar-driven, bluesy rock music, Sons of Silver were a welcome addition to this tour. Their latest album is Runaway Emotions, praised for its energy and fun rock riffs.

Occupying the middle slot on the Art of Letting Go tour is Tim Montana. As the name suggests, Montana is from Montana—Butte to be exact. Growing up in a mobile home, Montana had no electricity and learned to play guitar by candlelight. It’s a past Montana refers to during his performance—he clearly comes across as a dude who has worked hard to overcome his underprivileged upbringing and is grateful for his successes. His notable friends include Billy Gibbons himself; the men are past collaborators on a few songs. In Baltimore, Montana blasted the audience with a grungey, southern rock sound pulled mostly from Savage, his latest album. “Devil You Know” and “Savage” were the standouts from his set.

Finally, the main event—Myles Kennedy, my favorite rock vocalist, the one who stands above all others. This tour supports his latest solo album, The Art of Letting Go, released last October.

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Washington, DC’s Anthem hosted a packed house Sunday night, welcoming British singer-songwriter David Gray on a cold winter evening. Touring in support of his latest album, Dear Life, Gray has singer-songwriter Sierra Spirit along as support.

Gray and his sizable backing band took the Anthem’s stage in near darkness. The venue’s ambient lighting—including lights around the concession stands and extra stage lighting—were turned off in order eliminate distractions for the artists and create a more intimate setting for the seated audience.

Dear Life is Gray’s thirteenth studio album, having released his very first back in 1993 (A Century Ends). However, it was 1998’s White Ladder (rereleased in 2000) which put Gray on the map. That album featured his now-trademark “folktronic” sound and the hugely successful single “Babylon.”

Sunday’s show featured “Babylon” as the final performance of the night—Gray packed a whopping 23 songs into the set list. Drawing from several albums including A New Day at Midnight and Life in Slow Motion, much of the material came from his breakthrough album White Ladder. Gray also threw in a few covers in to mix things up and get the crowd up and dancing. While they were mostly shrouded in shadows, Gray’s backing band was top shelf—tight and highly skilled, they worked to keep the crowd on its feet.

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The Fillmore Silver Spring hosted a night of hair metal and laughs as Steel Panther made a stop on their Feel the Steel 15th anniversary tour. It was a fun weeknight gig, and the venue was packed with fans ready to let their hair down and let loose for a night. 

Maryland’s very own Stone Horses are support on this tour. The band kicked off the festivities with an energetic performance showcasing their raw take on classic rock sounds, influenced by giants like Led Zeppelin and Robert Johnson. Led by vocalist John Allen, Stone Horses (with drummer John Heiser, guitarist Teddy Merrill, and bassist Dylan Howes) got the crowd amped with songs like “Reckless Ways,” “Free,” and even a cover of a Black Keys song (“I Got Mine”). The set was a tight thirty minutes but packed a punch for the home state crowd.

For the uninitiated, Steel Panther is a “comedic” glam metal band, hailing from Los Angeles. The band (vocalist Michael Starr, guitarist Satchel, drummer Stix Zadinia, and bassist Spyder) provide their fans with an often hilarious parody of the 1980s glam metal experience. The songs are debauched and profane and defenestrate any idea of political correctness, all in the name of some naughty, tongue in cheek fun. I found myself laughing quite a bit. So did everyone else.

This tour commemorates the 15th anniversary of the release of Steel Panther’s first album, Feel the Steel. That album introduced the world to songs like “Asian Hooker,” “Community Property,” and “Eatin Ain’t Cheatin’,” all of which were in the set Thursday night. You can use your imagination to figure out what those songs are about. Steel Panther look like the prototypical glam metal band, too—with neon, big hair, spandex, a dash of leopard print, and wind machines. It’s a hoot.

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Japan’s Babymetal sold out The Anthem in Washington, DC last Friday night, demonstrating once again that the DC area loves to headbang.

From the second The Anthem’s house lights go dark, and Babymetal’s logo is projected onto the nearly bare stage, the room belongs to the three young women. Founded in 2010, Babymetal’s is credited with creating kawaii metal (or “cute metal”), a genre that features a mix of pop-ish vocals and thrash/metal musicianship. Leading on vocals, Su-metal is joined by Moametal and newest member Momometal in intricate and impressive choreography.

The show’s opened with “BABYMETAL DEATH,” from 2014’s Babymetal. Live in 2024, the song serves to introduce the mythology of the band and get the crowd hyped. According to Babymetal lore, “A Long Time Ago in a Heavy Metal Galaxy Far Far Away…” the Fox God (the “spirit of heavy metal”) chose three metal spirits and summoned them to the metalverse. Those three metal spirits marched onto the stage in sync and got the choreography started, backed by the Kami Band. It was like a heavy metal pep rally and the sellout crowd ate it up.

The setlist pulled from across the trio’s four LP discography; based on the enthusiastic crowd reactions, Babymetal know what the fans want to hear and deliver on that. The women appear to barely break a sweat during their hour and change set, which included “Karate,” “PA YA YA,” and “Gimme Chocolate.” The set also included “Time Wave,” from the band’s latest album, The Other One, released in 2023. It’s a concept album based on a journey through alternate realities; Su-metal described the album as an attempt to move beyond old, stereotypical beliefs about Babymetal.

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Black Metal pioneer King Diamond stopped by the Fillmore Silver Spring Monday night (10/28), a stop on the Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920 tour. The production featured a stage set that just barely fit into the confines of the Fillmore. It was fitting for the spooky and over the top shows King Diamond is known for and just what the Washington, DC suburbs needed the week of Halloween.

This tour nailed the selections of support acts. Kicking off the night was Night Demon (vocalist/bassist Jarvis Leatherby, guitarist Armand John Anthony, and drummer Brian Wilson). Formed in 2011, and hailing from Ventura, California, the trio represents a resurgence in old school heavy metal. The men got the crowd amped up early in the night with riff heavy songs and a skilled performance that made me very glad I got to the venue early. The 30-minute setlist borrowed from across the band’s discography, and included a few selections from their latest release, concept album Outsider.

This band is fantastic, especially for those of us who like an old school, no fuss, no muss sound to our metal. Given how much Night Demon apparently tours, I’m kicking myself for not knowing about them until now. Better late than never. If you’re curious about this band, 2017’s Darkness Remains is a good place to start—it features a fun cover of the Queen classic “We Will Rock You.” Or just start from banger Outsider and work your way backward. Can you tell I’m a fan now?

In the metal world, it is commonly known that thrash metal originated in San Francisco back in the 1980’s (Metallica being among the most well-known of those early bands). The East Coast made its own contributions to the early days of thrash. One of those bands was New Jersey’s own Overkill. Lucky for all of us, Overkill is still around in 2024, and occupied the middle slot on the night’s bill, continuing the tour’s theme of old school metal.

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When one covers a gig, the evening begins at a venue’s box office, where the ticket and photo pass are picked up and any other important information is relayed. Wednesday night at the Fillmore Silver Spring, when I arrived to cover Till Lindemann on his current headlining tour, this additional information came in the form of signage posted at the box office, and the doors to the venue. It said, “Please be advised that this performance will involve exposure to certain foods containing the following ingredients, and potential allergens…” and listed the usual roundup, including shellfish. It was a reminder of what I already knew to be true—this show would be a visceral and wholly bonkers experience.

While Till Lindemann is most well-known as the front man for legendary German industrial metal band Rammstein, over the last decade or so, he’s also taken on solo work. In 2013, he paired up with Swedish multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren to form Lindemann; when Tägtgren departed, Lindemann became a solo project. His latest solo album is Zunge, released last year.

I’m a Rammstein fan, so I looked forward to seeing this enigmatic frontman in the confines of a club, as opposed to the football stadiums where I caught the band a few times on their last US tour. I’ll get straight to the point. In 2024, humanity, with endless access to media and images from all dark corners of the planet, can be a tough crowd to shock. At the same time, we (ok some of us) work to make sure our fellow human beings feel comfortable and safe on the ride we all share through space. Till Lindemann defenestrates the idea of comfort, doing his best to provoke and shock his audience. He’s great at it. The music is good too.

At 9PM on the nose, Lindemann took the stage in a red uniform that was one part military, one part Berlin bondage club. Accompanied by his backing band—guitarists Jes Paige and Emily Ruvidich, bassist Danny Lohner, keyboardist Constance Day, and drummer Joe Letz—Lindemann launched into “Zunge,” from the latest album.

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Thursday night the Fillmore Silver Spring transformed into a cathedral of power metal. Germany’s Powerwolf made a stop on their North American tour in the Washington, DC suburb, the band’s first ever show at the Fillmore. The faithful gathered for metal worship.

The night got started a whole 20 minutes earlier than expected. I was still going through security when the openers, Canadian power metal outfit Unleash the Archers, took the stage at 7:40PM. We scrambled to get to the photo pit but made it in time. Always get to the venue early!

Founded in 2007 in British Columbia, Unleash the Archers have gone through some personnel changes over the years. The current lineup is comprised of cofounders Brittney Hayes (vocals) and Scott Buchanan (drums), along with Grant Truesdell (guitar), Andrew Kingsley (guitar), and Nick Miller (bass). The band’s latest album is Phantoma, released in May.

Unleash the Archers performed for an entire 50 minutes, which is unusual for an opening band at a club show. Nonetheless, the crowd was into it. Many of the fans at the Fillmore had never seen or heard of the band until Thursday night (Hayes asked the crowd!); they responded with their wholehearted support. Indeed, what I found striking about the entire show was the amiable vibe bouncing back and forth between the bands and the crowd.

So the fans at the Fillmore might not have been entirely familiar wish Unleash the Archers, but that didn’t stop them from chanting “HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT!” several times through the set. The band responded with smiles and a lot of animation. They looked like they were having a wonderful time on stage while they ripped through songs like “Abyss,” “Gods in Decay,” and “The Matriarch.” Unleash the Archers wrapped up their successful set with a cover of Stan Rogers’ anthemic “Northwest Passage.” Everyone sang along.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band made a triumphant return to Washington, DC Saturday night, performing at Nationals Park to a massive, elated crowd. This was one of several postponed dates originally scheduled for 2023 but put off so Springsteen could attend to health issues. DC was glad to have him back.

Nats Park was crammed to capacity with fans, and it was an amazing night. Having a few drinks and yell-singing “Thunder Road” with 40,000 or so strangers was just the experience I needed. Hell, from the looks of it, it’s what we all needed.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band need no opening act. For one thing, they have a back catalog to die for and there is just too much to get to, and it seems like they really could play all night if allowed. Besides that, who would dare open for Springsteen?

It was showtime at about 7:40PM. Bruce and the gang took the stage one by one to massive cheers, with the stadium erupting when the Boss himself appeared. The set kicked off with “Seeds,” a song Springsteen has played live a billion times, even though it’s never had an official release.

From there it was three full hours—29 songs—of rock and roll glory. With a discography like Springsteen’s, three hours of material is merely the tip of the iceberg. There’s lots of room to mix up a setlist while keeping enough of the hits in there to keep everyone happy.

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Washington, DC’s Anthem hosted a night of swaggering rock and roll, when The Struts blew through town last Thursday, a stop on the band’s Pretty Vicious tour. The night got started with an explosive and raucous set by rocker Barns Courtney. From the very moment he and his equally glam band took the stage, it was delightful chaos—and hard to know where to look!

Courtney hails from England and has released two albums—2017’s The Attractions of Youth and 2019’s 404—along with a few EPs. His next album is Supernatural and is slated for release in September. The 45-minute set pulled from his entire catalog, leaning on both his earliest work (songs like “Fire,” Glitter & Gold,” and “Kicks”) and most recent (“Supernatural,” “Young in America,” and “National Treasure”).

Courtney is a man who can’t be contained—he was at times engaging with the audience or letting the microphone dangle from his mouth while he grinned at the crowd. Stopping to dance with the guitarist, a man who has the looks of ’70s Jimmy Page and endowed with the back bending abilities of KK Downing circa 1982. It was hard to look away. Courtney’s ability to command both stage and audience is impressive. The crowd ate it all up and responded to Courtney as if he were the headliner.

It seems Courtney has a family connection to Washington, DC—he has a brother who (as of last fall, at least) attends Georgetown University. Hopefully DC will be treated to another show by Barns Courtney soon.

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