It's our 101st posting - and it's going to be a BIG one

Hey all-

Well, I mentioned in the last post how Chris and I ended up at several shows together last week - this is the second of those shows.

But before I get to that, I stopped off on my way to that show, and caught War On Women playing at the Fillmore. If you have not seen War On Women, you are missing out. This was the first time, after several failed attempts in the past, I'd seen them - and they were great. It's always tough being the opening act, especially at a venue the size of the Fillmore, but I watched them take the stage and manage to turn more than a few heads. I suspect they gained a few more fans that night. They are a great combination of tight music coupled with a dynamic front person in Shawna Potter. Brooks, Nancy, Evan & Sue lay down a really solid punk foundation as Shawna plants a vocal boot in your ass. I highly recommend picking up their (very good) 10" record "Improvised Weapons", available from Exotic Fever Records. Rumor has it there is a new record in the works as well. My pics are here.

From there, I grabbed Brooks (from War On Women), and we drove down to DC9 where he was performing with J Robbins as part of the first night of DC9's 10th anniversary party. This was one fantastic line-up, featuring Title Tracks, Des Ark, J Robbins, & Regents.

Chris was already there, and I managed to get there in time to catch Title Tracks, who I've seen a bunch of times, and I will continue to see as often as  possible as they are great and they never disappoint. You can find both of their LPs at Ernest Jennings Records, and their debut 7" at Dischord. They're also playing a show at the Black Cat in March 17th, and I highly recommend you go see them. Chris's pics

- Pete's pics

Next up was Des Ark. This is one of those bands (well, it's Aimee Argote, in this case accompanied by Taylor Holenbeck) that I had heard a lot about - but had never seen. She/they were fantastic. Really great moody songs with great atmospheric guitar playing and effects. I never heard a Rickenbacker sound like that, and I really enjoyed it. I picked up her record "WXDU V.3" and have enjoyed that as well. You can find that over at Lovitt Records.
Chris's pics - Pete's pics

After that was the mighty J Robbins who was accompanied by the aforementioned Brooks Harlan. J is known for his work in Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels, and most recently Office of Future Plans. This time was one of those occasions where he plays an acoustic set in which he draws from his impressive catalog. Brooks played keys and baritone guitar while singing backing vocals for J, which provided the wonderful layering that J is known for. This was the first time Chris had seen this arrangement, but the second for me. Despite what J will say about himself, he is a top-notch performer, and he proved it again on this night.
Chris's pics  - Pete's pics

Last up for the evening was Regents, which provided a hard left turn from the fairly mellow sets provided by Des Ark and J. Regents is a high energy, full on assault of the aural senses. Plus, I am convinced that anytime you put Jason Hamacher behind the drum kit, you're gonna have a good time. This was the first DC show for Regents in over a year, and it seemed they wanted to make up for it as they wasted no time attacking their instruments and working up a sweat. Drew Ringo wowed the crowd with both his biting vocals and stellar calf muscles. Eric Jernigan and Dave NeSmith (despite battling a cold) both left it on the stage, while Hamacher attacked his drums like they had just punched his mom. So, yeah, they were good. You can pick up their record "Antietam After Party" over at Lovitt Records as well.
Chris's pics  - Pete's pics

Till next time - see you in the pit.

Pete & Chris