It’s here, the end of January and the beginning of February, the most mis-spelled month. Some also associate February with mass-produced love and football, but let’s sack that commercial for now and head over to the Black Cat where dreams do come true. Catch a legend, an electronic trio, and the end of a beloved DC music label on 14th Street this weekend as the Cat is where it’s at.
Friday, 2/1: The Kid Congo Powers Hour with Alex Minoff, The Ar-Kaics and DJ sets from Baby Alcatraz and DJ Cocobuttons at the Black Cat | You may recognize Kid Congo Powers from our video interviews, but more than likely you’ll also know him from the Cramps, The Gun Club, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, or his DJ sets throughout the city. Wherever you know him from, it is to be understood that Brian Tristan—Kid Congo—is a legend.
*Before you click play, get on your 3D glasses to enjoy this ditty!
Signed to In The Red Records, Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds, released their last album, Gorilla Rose in 2011. Don’t miss your chance to see Kid Congo before he takes off on his European tour and start your February off right, on a Friday night.
Saturday, 2/2: FINAL Sockets Showcase at the Black Cat featuring Deleted Scenes, Hume, Imperial China and Buildings | In our interview with Sean Peoples of Sockets Records, we uncovered his deep love for the beloved label he started eight years ago. This love will be manifested into one night of music that is not to be missed. Coincidentally it will also be DC favorite, Hume’s, last performance.
Peoples stated, “Hume is on a journey to expand the idea of what they think is a pop song. It’s so far from what you think of a pop song, still using the same integral parts, but exploding them every minute.” A loss for the DC music skyline, but surely we’ll see more from both Peoples and members of Hume in the future.
Thankfully, not going anywhere any time soon, headliner and nationally successful DC band, Deleted Scenes, released their last album, Young People’s Church of the Air, in 2011. It is an album title taken from an old church hymnal book they found at the studio in Delaware where they recorded the record. Turns out Young People’s Church of the Air was a short-lived Christian religious sect in the 1930’s.
Unlike the religious sect, the four piece, Dan Scheuerman (guitar, vocals), Matt Dowling (bass, keyboards), and Dominic Campanaro (guitar, keyboards, samples) all met each other in grade school and recent addition Ricardo Lagomasino (on drums) is from the experimental jazz metal band Many Arms.
Deleted Scenes will be recording their third full length album this March with well-known producer, Brian McTear, who has worked with Sharon Van Etten, War on Drugs, and The National. Don’t delete these scenes from your Saturday night as they headline the showcase in their first performance of the year.
Saturday night will be a special night of bittersweet endings that will imprint treasured memories for all that attend. Get your tickets here before it sells out!
Sunday, 2/3: Gemini Club with Hits and Yip Deceiver at the Black Cat | Dan Brunelle, Tom Gavin, and Gordon Bramli, the Gemini Club trio from Chicago, will bring their indie electronic dance music to DC, making us all forget what could have been on Sunday night.
Gemini Club is not to be confused with a typical electronic band, and while they won’t come off as a traditional band onstage, they work hard to make their live show stand out. Brunelle and Bramli both man what they call rigs—stands adorned with all manner of controls and computers taking the place of guitars or stacks of keyboards. Not just a “press play” band, this Chicago trio is sure to open your eyes to a new way of experiencing electronic music in the intimate setting of the backstage.
Get out to the Black Cat DC, you music freaks, it’s the place to be this weekend!
