Catchup

Okay so I've been to a few places of note, and some that were painfully boring.

BLACK CAT
Awesome venue- it's upstairs, but on the ground floor is a bar area, which seemed pretty cool.

So, I went there to see some band I've never heard of but some of their music sounded vaguely familiar. It was fun, but I'm not sure if I'd go see them again, but I will definitely be back at the Cat. I heard about Black Cat before from some coworkers and already had some apprehensions on going there. They told me the place would be filled with the textbook teenage rebels who hate their parents, die their hair green, and act as obnoxious as possible in public to receive the attention they don't get at home- ahhhhhh high school. Uh... actually, I did witness a few of those pubescent miscreants, but they were surprisingly calm, enjoying the show. The crowd was interesting, a mixture of twenty-somethings to fifty-somethings sipping beers, hanging out at the bar. One thing that did bother me though was no one was really dancing! That, of course, is not the fault of Black Cat but of these strange crowds who seem to frequent the last few shows I've been to... just too terrified to shake their groove thang. I mean, it's not going to kill you to loosen up at a concert! Ugh, I need to go to a dance party like stat. I'm feeling stifled.
Also, Black Cat reminded me of Iona's room from Pretty In Pink, very retro. The floors were black and white checkered and there was intimate seating in the back, which I almost didn't notice at first, but was a pleasant surprise. I really need to update like right after I go to these places or else it just seems rushed and not to mention uninspired, I'm digging quite a hole for myself but I don't remember much else haha. I'll be back there though... eventually...argh.

CIRCA
Weird place. I mean, I didn't hate it, but it's definitely not a place to frequent on the weekends. Well, it was nice because I was hanging out with cool people, but it's not a place I would suggest for a crazy night out, or a place to chill and soak in the atmosphere. There were too many people and the music was too loud for it to be a spot to unwind. Though, there is a drink that will ef you up guaranteed. It's deceptively called Sweet Tea, but contains lots of vodka. It's so good you can't taste a trace of alcohol. Delicious. Also, I must commend the place for having their own drink creations like the organic pomegranate martini which sounds absolutely delectable. However, I am not a fan of really sweet drinks and their raspberry ice tea contains more sugar than should be allowable in any drink anywhere ever. I almost went into shock after one sip.

Common Wealth Gastropub
LAME. I don't even know where to begin. It may not have helped that the place was almost empty or that you could barely hear the music playing, but I was not impressed. It was a saturday night and no one was there! Some sports channel was on and I was more interested in that than the happenings in the bar. I don't even like sports. I don't even remember what sport I was watching. Not fun.


In other newssss

I am working a whole lot as I have mentioned in my last entry and have been staying in DC quite a bit more often than I suspected. I love it. DC is the shit. Apartment hunting today. Wish me luck!!

=)

I'm out.

My b

How mortifying. I haven't updated in a week. I have no excuse except, I started my new job and it's eating up my hours like a fat kid eats... well anything. Bad analogy, my apologies. Hey that rhymed! ANYWAY, a lot of things are happening in my life right now, good things... I guess. I'm happy...still... somehow, and I am not trying to figure out why I'm simply enjoying it. Anyway, I have not given up on reviewing cool, fun spots in DC, on the contrary, I have been visiting quite a few "popping joints" and have come to many conclusions about DC's night life or as I like to affectionately call it, social disarray. I have pieced together that it's a jumble of so many different ideologies, pseudo-intellectuals, douche bags, dreamers, avid believers, and mostly people just looking for some kind of complexity in their menial lives. However, that seems to be universal not something exclusive to DC, and I don't mean for that last part to sound as harsh as it does.
DC social life is a roller-coaster ride of personalities, which I guess is any social scene really, but underneath this seemingly normal social disarray is something unique to this place. There is something that separates it from other cities, and I'm not sure if I know exactly what it is, but I do know politics is certainly something never to be forgotten in this city. No matter how hard I try to avoid politics, I can't. How stupid of me to try avoiding the very thing this place is built on... right? I'm an idiot, an idealistic fool. So, no matter which way I turn, which bar, club, or venue I enter, politics will always be there. Standing slyly in the corner of the room, eyes rolling over each individual seductively as it blows out a puff of its American Spirit and decides into which conversation they'll interject their wiles. That whore. Anyway...

Maybe I'll update tomorrow with a few of the places I've been. Neglecting to write is not something I want to get used to doing, after all I wanted to be a bard in high school. Did you like that? How strange that last comment was, yeah that's me alright. haha... sigh.

Is it me or is there an heir of cockiness in this entry? I better go knock myself down a few pegs. It's apple's fault. Ever since I got my iPhone I've felt like this insane bad ass and it's even affecting my writing. AHHHHH!!!

Going to Circa tonight...hmmmmmm

Sonya Renee @ Busboys and Poets

Stepping into those back doors of busboys is like entering a new frontier. Reminiscent of speakeasies you see in movies, a room packed with people, a tiny stage with modest lighting. Nervous performers announced by a boisterous host as they saunter up to the stage, some questioning their decision to put their name on the performance list. Spoken Word/ Open Mic, people unfolding themselves onstage through various forms of verbal artistry. That night there was a strange vibe in the audience. I'm not sure if it was the gloomy weather earlier in the day or a severe lack of energy, but the audience just did not seem to be receptive. That is until Miz Sonya Renee got up to perform. She immediately started her set with a call and response. The audience instantly woke up, screaming loudly at her insistence. Her first poem she wrote years ago, she confessed, it hadn't been performed for anyone but us lucky people of B&P. It was my favorite one she performed that night. A poem steeped in the harsh reality of a growing problem in America, the mass depletion of self-esteem in women. She warned women against allowing themselves to settle for men who treated them unfairly, to have faith in themselves enough to not need a man. The way she wove the story, taking the audience on an emotional roller-coaster through her thoughts and opinions, halting at one idea, expanding, and continuing on until at the end your mind was spinning and your heart was pounding. Every poem she performed was like that. A beautiful, tumultuous landscape of self-awareness and self-evaluation, coupled with words that cradled you then dropped you abruptly, bringing you back to reality. Her words dripped with a sad knowing that pulled you into the moment, her moment. It was beautiful. If ever you get an opportunity to see her... GO! And come to busboys and poets Tuesday nights at 9:30 to catch the next Sonya Renee. There is some true talent in the DC area.

What A Reaction!

So remember how I posted that missed connections thingy? I got a few replies, one appreciating my sense of humor, the other a senseless mean-spirited critique on the event. It goes as follows...

You're not his soul-mate you were just sitting there with zero awareness. And he ran into you like a door runs into a door-stopper.
Love is free flowing. Stop being attracted to alpha males at the club!!

P.S. How big are you!? You broke his fall ! lol

1. Who is this guy?
2. Why did he feel he needed to respond with such negativity?
3. Alpha males at the club? Obviously, this guy has some issues that no amount of deprecating emails can cure.
4. It looks like we got a whiner on our hands

His email is peacepoetry, but there was nothing peaceful or poetic about that response! I don't understand how you could be mean to someone without knowing ANYTHING about them. Doesn't make sense to me. And so what if I was a big girl? What an asshole. People with issues should be banned from the internet.


I went to bus boys and poets again last night and witnessed an awesome performance by this world renowned spoken-word artist, Sonya Renee. I have to write about that experience in more detail later. Wouldn't you know it. Time crunch- AGAIN.

Until next time.

The Drunken Stumbler @ Red Derby

A night to remember. The Drunken Stumbler.
Last night I went out with some people to this awesome little spot called Red Derby in DC. The atmosphere was really chill. Motown music was playing in the background, and the nice chalkboard list of beers was a pleasant alternative to disgustingly sticky drink menus (or no menus at all) that tend to populate bars. There are a nice amount of board games available for customers to play. We chose

which was a fine choice, but I suck at it. So after a few games of all of us losing respectively except for "the jenga master" (he was annoyingly good), we decided instead to play with the blocks. All of us were intently concentrating on our own little creations when it happened. I was hit.
A man who had been sitting at the bar earlier was apparently pounding back beers like a beast and when he got up those beers came and bit him in the ass, making him stumble all the way over to my table where he fell on me. I was stunned as I felt his weight push my body towards the table. I was hurled forward onto the table and let out the most awkward screech EVER. His friends and the bar tender came and got him off of me and immediately asked if I was okay. I laughed. Yeah, I mean, it was funny. Or maybe I'm just really awkward. What else could I do? They looked at me relieved and his friends apologized profusely. The Drunken Stumbler also manager to slur an apology before making his way outside. All I could think about was that scream I made. I wish I could describe it, or better yet gotten it recorded. It was like a delayed reaction, I almost didn't scream at all. It was after the impact I bellowed that ear splitting noise. Hilarious. Sigh. I guess you had to be there.
So the bar tender came over to us, again very apologetically and gave us some beers on the house. At least I got some free beer out of it, right?!
I also made a craigslist ad in missed connections in hopes of contacting what might have been my soul mate.

I started my job today at Ford's Theatre. It's cool there, I think I'm actually pretty excited about it!

Also, I somehow got roped into making a poster for Urban for one of our contests. Shit. I dunno how that happened!
But Urban is having a sick sale for a few weeks so I have to try and not buy everything I can get my hands on.

I'm out.

Mind Your Manners!

So working in retail can be incredibly stressful at times, as some of you may know. Sometimes you feel like hurling hangers at unsuspecting shoppers, or screaming obscenities at annoying little children tearing through shirts you just folded because their parents are too self involved or indifferent, but instead you bottle up all of those aggressive urges behind a forced smile. When someone asks you a dumb question like, "Do you have a shirt with blue in it? There were sleeves. It was online," you want to shake them and ask them, "In what remote part of your tiny mind did you believe that was even the slightest bit helpful to me? That's like seriously asking me to look for a needle in a haystack," then walking away yell, "DUMBASS!"No. Instead you and the customer stand for a good twenty minutes trying to figure out wtf it is they want.

Today was my first real interaction with a crazy. A true crazy. I was working in the fitting room and letting a girl into an empty room. Her mom pushes past me to go in after her daughter and I politely tell her there is only one person to a fitting room. At this point the crazy comes out. She looks at me with seething eyes, her face gnarled into an impatient scowl, "No, I'm going to go in there and help my daughter get dressed." My immediate reaction was to throw my hands in the air as if I was a robber in one of those silent films and was just caught by the police, and simply mouth "Okayyy." So, I did that. Mind you, her daughter had reached- no, exceeded the age appropriate for parental supervision when trying on clothing. The crazy huffed and went in chuckling in disbelief. I laughed. It was ridiculous. That amount of energy should have never gone into that situation. What a waste- on little ol me! I didn't give a shit if she wanted to go in with her daughter, it was store policy. And when they were done in the fitting room, I could tell she was making it a point to not speak to me, so I asked her daughter how everything went and she was really sweet. I wished the both of them a pleasant afternoon- the crazy did not respond, and they left. That woman was a piece of work. Who knows what happened to her to make her react the way she did. Sad.

Work was pleasant enough, minus getting out at almost midnight. No fun-filled Saturday night for meeeee. wooooo. updating my blog. i'm so hip.

ugh.

I'm out.

Jammin Your Java with As Tall As Lions

Since moving up here, I popped my Jammin Java cherry. It's a small venue in Vienna, perfect for that coffee-house like vibe some artist embody, and apparently for some crazy partying. I have yet to experience the latter, maybe tonight?

Anyway, on this particular night As Tall As Lions was headlining, a band steeped in heartfelt lyrical melodies, sweet subtle nuances, and surprising power. Their songs reverberate with you long after the record is off, something that is absent in a lot of bands right now. They took the stage after a band I can't remember the name of, immediately the audience began fidgeting, moving closer to the stage, buzzing with anticipation. Then they began playing. There were a few songs I was looking forward to hearing, but their entire turned out to be really good. Minus a few sound issues, the entire set was awesome. The second song they played, Ghost of York, was one of my favorites off of their self-titled album, and I was quickly partial to the live version. There was one song that entire night, though, that stuck with me the most- Stab City. The instrumental beginning of the song lulls you and Dan Nigo's voice meshes into the music, a fluid infusion of human expression and soft electronica. Then his voice breaks away from the fluidity creating this shock, a perturbation in the lullaby, making the song poignant and powerful. It was beautifully done. The energy of the entire band was contagious, especially the bassist, Julio Tavarez. He was really in every song, feeling the music. No silly persona, but someone who genuinely enjoyed the music he was playing. Their new live band addition Duncan Tootill on trumpet was also uninhibited, sweet notes echoing through brass. Robb Parr on the keys, head bobbing intuitively to the music. The drummer, Cliff Sarcona, was poised yet out of control, banging energetically in every song. The guitarist, Saen Fitzgerald stoically poised, subtly moving to the music. How people in the audience could contain their composure is an anomaly. These guys really know how to put on a show and play some killer music. It also doesn't hurt that they're just great people, living their dream. Two of the band members actually have a side project called Apres Vous, a novel concept- improvisational performance, sounds awesome.
As Tall As Lions is a band you should definitely check out. But don't take my word for it. Here's a taste.