Shankar and Her Many Strings Stun Lisner

BY WILLIAM BEALS

Sitar player Anoushkar Shankar performed Friday evening for a sold-out crowd at Lisner Auditorium.  The nearly two hour performance was highlighted by passionate performances by Shankar and her supporting band.

The performance included five other backing artists, who provided percussions, vocals, cello and piano.  The concert was to promote Shankar’s seventh studio album, “Traces of You”, her first album release since her 2011 Grammy nominated album, “Traveler.”

The concert began with a standing ovation and ended with cheers for an encore. The artists were happy to oblige. 

Shankar began training on the sitar with her father as a child. Consisting of a couple sessions per week, practice began at the age of ten. Shankar gave her first public performance at the age of 13 at Siri Fort in New Delhi. By the age of14, she was accompanying her father at concerts around the world. She signed her first record contract with Angel Records at the age of 16.

Anoushka Shankar is the daughter of famed sitar player Ravi Shankar, who gained international fame in the 1960s, and taught George Harrison of “The Beatles.”  Anoushka Shankar is also the half sister of singer songwriter Norah Jones.

Club Schenley Looks to Change Tune on School Spirit

On an early spring day in Washington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” emanated from a set of cheap Logitech speakers placed strategically along a set of third floor window screens.

“You are now listening to Club Schenley,” an automated female voice announced after the song ended. “We are taking song requests through Twitter and we’ll be back with more music.”

The George Washington University’s Schenley Hall, located at 2121 H St. N.W., lies directly in the heart of the school’s urban campus. Two weeks ago, sophomores Pranav Sethuraman, Saager Enjeti and Peter Finn transformed their third floor dorm room into a disc jockey’s booth so they could share their sounds with the people around them.

The trio’s room is now known as “Club Schenley,” and different styles of music radiate from the third floor window screens weekdays between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“We love playing our music, especially during nice days when there are people outside,” Enjeti said. “(Along H Street) You have the food trucks, Kogan Plaza, and a lot of foot traffic, which means we get more listeners.”

The group behind Club Schenley even created Twitter and Facebook pages where listeners can request songs, post comments, and interact with the DJs behind the eclectic sounds. Collectively, the sites have amassed over 100 followers. But the group never thought Club Schenley would be such a sensation.

“Originally, we wanted to play a raunchy song just once, just so we could see the reactions of

GW Student to Play Rock and Roll Hotel (video)

Is And Of The, a band led by GW student Drew Bandos, will perform at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight at 9:00 pm. Click here for more info and watch the video below.

Monday Concert Preview

The much-hyped Wavves & Best Coast double-headlining tour hits the 9:30 club on Monday. The indie scene's current "it" couple of Nathan Williams and Bethany Cosentino have been playing dates together through January fresh off the release of their split "Summer Is Forever" EP.

The two bands received media attention for their respective summer 2010 releases.

Concertgoers can expect to hear bright, beach-pop guitar riffs with plenty of "ooh" and "ahh" girl-group style harmonies from Best Coast, while Wavves brings a high -energy, snotty punk delivery and shout-along choruses to the stage.

Opening act No Joy also contributed a song to the "Summer Is Forever" EP. The track, called "Hawaii," is roughly a two-minute buzz saw of swirling lo-fi guitars, distortion and reverb-laden vocals that fades into a lengthy feedback-heavy outro.

Doors open at 6:30 Monday night. Tickets are still available for $20.

-Joseph Rabinowitz

DC Music Legend Nominated for Grammy

For anyone with any knowledge about DC pop culture and history, Chuck Brown is an instantly recognizable name. The self-anointed "Godfather of Go-Go" created the DC staple, Go Go music, which has influences from jazz, blues, soul, and African rhythms. After over four decades of creating a unique sound, that major recording artists have sampled over and over again, the 74 year old has finally been nationally recognized.

He has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals for the song "Love," a collaboration with Jill Scott and Marcus Miller. He has difficult competition with Chris Brown & Tank for "Take My Time," Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin for "You've Got A Friend," John Legend & The Roots for "Shine" and Sade for "Soldier Of Love." To celebrate, Mr. Brown was signing autographs in NW DC earlier today.

Tune in to support the DC legend at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Feb. 13 next year.

Bob Dylan Plays Smith Center

Folk legend Bob Dylan performed in front of a sold-out Smith Center this Saturday night. The set list included songs from throughout his extensive recording history, including 1965’s Highway 61 Revisited up to Modern Times, the musician’s 2006 effort.

Admirers of all ages filled the crowd. The backstage entrance was packed with fans trying to send the folk icon bouquets and other gifts. One excited fan screamed, “I’ll give anybody here $1,000 cash to get me a handshake with Bob Dylan.”

At 69 years old, Dylan can still put on a show. The veteran performer rifled through 16 songs, including a two song encore, in under two hours, playing harmonica, guitar and keyboard.

His gravelly voice lends itself well to the blues. He sounds like a man with his share of stories, and it adds to the Dylan mystique. Classics like “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” received different arrangements, while others such as “Just Like A Woman” remained pretty faithful to the recorded version.

The audience shouted along to the chorus of a rousing rendition of show closer “Like A Rolling Stone.” After his set, Dylan took a few moments to salute the audience, hands pointed in the air, as they gave him a jubilant sendoff.

-Joseph Rabinowitz

Georgetown Hosts a Music Summit

The Future of Music Policy Summit is currently taking place at Georgetown University. The three-day event started Sunday and goes through Tuesday October 5th. The summit includes presentations from artists and others in the music business, such as Damian Kulash, the front man of OK Go, and Tim Westergren of Pandora.Facebook, Google and YouTube Music will also be sending representatives.

Tonight, there will be all-ages benefit concert at the Black Cat night club on 14th Street. Damian Kulash, Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy, and Jonny 5 of Flobots will perform, among others.

Students may register for the entire conference here: http://futureofmusic.org/events/future-music-policy-summit-2010. The price is 20 dollars. This could be a great opportunity for GW students thinking of trying to make their way in the music market when, or even before, they graduate.

FreeFest Hits Merriweather

Music fans flocked to Virgin Mobile's FreeFest this Saturday for a day of free music, rides and more. The festival took place at Merriweather Post Pavillion and its surrounding grounds in Columbia, MD. Participating acts included Pavement, M.I.A., Joan Jett, Jimmy Eat World, LCD Soundsystem and Ludacris.

Concerts were split up among three stages: the Pavilion Stage, West Stage and the Dance Forest. The Pavilion featured covered seating as well as a lawn for guests to lay out and enjoy the sun. Matt and Kim played a danceable, high-energy set incorporating short versions of classic pop songs in between their own synth-heavy jams. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros brought a classic Woodstock vibe to the Pavilion during their soulful, folk-rock performance. The West Stage was completely outdoors and standing room only. Bands including The Temper Trap, Yeasayer and Thievery Corporation played their sets in front of packed crowds despite the midday heat. The outdoor stage of the Dance Forest highlighted electronic bands like Neon Indian, Chromeo and Modeselektor in a tree-covered area strung with lights.

Tickets went on sale July 24th at 10 a.m. in several different price packages. The free general admission tickets sold out within the day. In return for free admission, Virgin asked its guests to make a donation to fight homelessness.

-Joseph Rabinowitz

A Sunny Day Shines On A Rainy Night

Gails of wind and pouring rain could not stop devoted music fans from packing DC9 for shoegazers A Sunny Day in Glasgow Sunday night. The six piece band from Philadelphia (no, they're not from Scotland) sparkled as they performed songs from their critically
acclaimed 2009 effort "Ashes Grammar."

They played an incredible set, selecting some of the best tracks from the 63 minute album, opening with two of their most popular songs, "The White Witch" and "Failure," moving into "Nitetime Rainbows," also the title track of a seven song EP released earlier this month. The songs sounded even better live than on the album, due largely in part to talented new vocalists Jen Goma and Annie Fredrickson, who replaced former singers Lauren and Robin Daniels.

There was so much going on at any given point onstage it was almost overwhelming, whether it was guitarist Josh Meakim blazing out a solo, Goma and Fredrickson singing intricate harmonies or Ben Daniels playing a number of different instruments, including an electric mandolin on one number.

Fredrickson took time between songs to talk to the audience. "Since we're in DC, I just want to say it's awesome that healthcare passed," she said to a roar of applause. "Well, it could be better, but it's good."

The set wasn't without some surprises. Mixed in with the ethereal, dreamy songs of "Ashes Grammar" were two heavier compositions. Drummer Adam Herndon pounded his crash cymbals and kickdrum while Ryan Newmyer turned his steady bass strumming up in the mix, laying down a menacing rhythmic foundation for Daniels and Meakim to fill out with layers of distorted chords. All the while, Goma and Fredrickson maintained their sweet, melodic vocals with Meakim adding vocoder harmonies. The energy in the room instantly morphed from a euphoric daze to a rock frenzy that was nothing short of spectacular.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow mingled with the ecstatic crowd following the set and thanked fans profusely as they made their way back into the wet DC night craving more.

-Joseph Rabinowitz

Great New Music At DC9

California quartet and recent Sub Pop signees Dum Dum Girls played a show with London lo-fi trio Male Bonding last night at DC9. Dum Dum girls combine classic 60s girl-group harmonies and songwriting with garage punk edge and surf rock guitar, fitting perfectly into the new wave of beach inspired, lo-fi rock music coming out of the indie scene. The group started as a solo recording project by lead singer and songwriter, Dee Dee, in Los Angeles. Later experimentation with different lineups led to the final group of three more female musicians.

The Girls played older material mixed with a few tracks off their new LP “I Will Be” due out March 30. Despite suffering from a bad sore throat, Dee Dee fought through the set, still managing to belt out a short-but -sweet show in her deep, gentle croon. The Girls sounded great, bringing the Phil Spector Wall of Sound-like harmonies of “I Will Be” to life in heels, striped leggings and short, black dresses.

Male Bonding took the stage next, rifling through a furious set of punk-inspired garage rock. “More bass in the space!” yelled one excited fan against the stage. Singer and bassist Kevin Hendrick cranked up his amplifier and yelled back, “More bass in your face London! I mean DC!” Male Bonding will release their debut LP, “Nothing Hurts,” May 11 on Sub Pop. You can also hear them on a newly released Paradise Vendors Inc 12” compilation of lo-fi bands in the UK garage rock scene.

DC9 is the perfect venue for smaller acts. The small upper floor puts fans right up close with the performers for an intimate concert experience. The sound is great and tickets are usually $15 or less, even as low as $7. The nightclub has frequent 18+ shows and features two bars for 21+ guests. It’s located at 1940 9th Street NW, just down the street from the 9:30 Club and only a few blocks from the U Street Metro stop.

For more information about DC9 visit www.dcnine.com

-Joseph Rabinowitz

Footage of Justin Pierre’s WRGW Visit / Kogan Performance Hits Web

Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre alongside WRGW's Jill Plevinsky. Photograph from www.mydinosaurlife.com.

Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre stopped by WRGW Studios early last month. The footage of his trip, recorded and edited by his crew, was recently posted on his website http://www.mydinosaurlife.com

Check out a part of his interview with WRGW’s Jill Plevinsky and his performance in Kogan Plaza:

Margaret Atwood Launches her Newest Book with GW Students

Last Friday, the critically acclaimed novelist and poet Margaret Atwood introduced her newest science-fiction book, The Year Of The Flood, to the GW community. GW was the sixteenth stop on the book tour, which has travelled around the world and always uses local talent. Here in DC, the performances were by students from the university’s department of theatre and dance as well as the department of music.

Lisner Auditorium was packed with a diverse audience from the DC community. The night was a compilation of dramatic readings from the novel brought together with music. Atwood was the narrator and GW students were the musicians and actors. Atwood watched the students performing with a proud smile, nodding with every word and always applauding the loudest.



The Year of the Flood is a novel set in the undefined future focused on a group called the God’s Gardeners who attempt to reconcile religion, science, and nature. The story contains characters that are ‘strictly vegetarian unless they get really hungry,’ use ‘edible facial products’ and worship ‘St. Al Gore’ and ‘St David Suzuki.’ The writing is dark, intense, clever, and uncomfortably comical.  Atwood has authored over 40 books and is a two-time Booker prizewinner. When introducing the event she described herself as a “sinister but sweet old lady.” The Year of the Flood is genius and imaginative and a must-read.

Zune HD vs. iPod Touch, which is better?

By Dan Keylin

Take a short walk around campus and one thing you'll notice is that everyone is holding either a iPhone or iPod.  Apple is the king of MP3 players, and Microsoft is looking to change that.

The Zune HD was released today to a moderate level of fanfare, and I decided to get one.  I've also been a proud owner of an iPod touch, so I'llcompare and contrast the two devices:

[caption id="attachment_2466" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Zune HD is one slick device."][/caption]

The first thing you'll notice is that the Zune HD is smaller than the iPod touch, and about a hair thicker, but it also weighs only about half as much, and feels very well-built.  The OLED screen is stunning, and comparing a Zune HD and iPod touch side by side, you can tell the Zune HD has far better color contrast; the blacks on the Zune HD look deep black, while the blacks on the iPod Touch look dark gray and washed out.

The user interface on the Zune HD is also amazing.  The touch screen is just as responsive as the iPod touch, and menus have really smooth animations.

When you play a song, a background is a picture of the artist, and album art is in the middle of the screen.  If you are playing a song by a popular artist, there will actually be pictures and biographies of that artist that you can see as you play the song.  It's a great touch, and makes the now three year old iPod touch interface look dull in comparison.

"Contrary to the name, the screen resolution is NOT high-defintion."

Watching videos on the screen look great (although contrary to the name, the screen resolution is NOT high-defintion).  The picture viewing is basically the same as the iPod touch, including multi-touch so you can zoom in and out by pinching your fingers.  It seems the multi-touch on the Zune HD works just as good as multi-touch on the iPod touch, which was a pleasant surprise.

While the Zune HD no doubt beats the iPod touch in regards to screen quality and user interface, it also has several shortcomings.

For one, there is no massive application store for the Zune HD, at least not yet.  Microsoft is trying to have iPhone app developers port their applications to the Zune HD, but they aren't in the Zune marketplace yet, although there should be a somewhat expansive app library for the Zune HD by the holiday season.

Microsoft is going to have a lot of trouble catching up to Apple's App Store, so if applications are a deal breaker to you, the Zune HD may not be the device for you right now.

The iPod touch's internet browser, Safari, is also superior to the Zune's updated version of internet explorer, which froze several times on me.

[caption id="attachment_2465" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Comparing (from left to right) iPhone, Zune HD, iPod touch."][/caption]

Perhaps most important is that the Zune HD only works with a windows computer, so all those Mac users will have to use bootcamp or another program to run windows on their Macbook.  If you have a windows computer, Zune Software (Zune's version of iTunes) is really nice, and a new change of pace from iTunes.  Both iTunes and Zune Software have their strengths and weaknesses, with iTunes having a simpler UI with more in depth options, while Zune Software was a much better album artwork matcher (it got pictures for about 90% of my library compared to iTunes which only got about 60%).

Overall, both devices are on an even level.  The screen and user interface on the Zune HD are truly amazing, but it falters when it comes to its internet browser, lack of applications, and support for Macs.

If you have a Mac and don't know how to run Windows on it, you should probably stick with your iPod.  If you have a Windows computer the Zune HD is a bit more compelling option at this point if applications aren't a necessity for you.  Either way, you really can't go wrong.

Conservatory Week at the Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center will be featuring performances from some of the nation’s top music conservatories throughout the week on the Millennium Stage. The students participating in this concert series represent some of the best talent in the world and truly are the future of professional classical music.

Students from the Cleveland Institute of Music performed on Monday evening. Members of the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music will play on Tuesday. Wednesday will have the Curtis Institute presenting twin pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton. The University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance will perform on Thursday. Friday will feature the New England Conservatory. Finally, the Peabody Conservatory will conclude the week long event with their concert on Saturday.

While each performance is unique, all of the concerts will consist of soloists and small ensembles presenting classical works from a variety of time periods.

Due to increased interest, performances will be held in the Terrace Theater as opposed to the Millennium Stage. However, like every other Millennium Stage

performance, each concert is free and no tickets are required to attend. Performances begin at 6 pm and last approximately one hour. The Kennedy Center would also like to remind anyone ages 17 to 25 to sign up for the Attend discount program. Members can enjoy drastically discounted tickets for select performances throughout the year with many seats starting as low as ten dollars.

-Joe Lewis

Leonard Bernstein Remembered at Kennedy Center

Yesterday, Marin Alsop led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a rare performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass at the Kennedy Center. The cast of performers was over 200 and included soloists, choirs, and a marching band.

2008 marks what would have been Bernstein’s 90^th birthday. Concert series have been held across the United States to commemorate his work as one of the most pivotal and well known American composers and conductors.

George Washington alumna Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis originally commissioned the mass for the opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971.

While Bernstein’s mass was a special one time performance, the Kennedy Center is constantly hosting world class artists. Tickets for the remainder of the National Symphony Orchestra’s classical season are on sale and going fast. And don’t forget, free concerts are held every day at 6 pm on the Millennium Stage.

-Joe Lewis

Concert to Consider: Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and the True Loves

Last week, DC was graced with a visit by Eli 'Paperboy' Reed.  The 9:30 Club was converted to a dance party as the band's wails brought back the early days of soul and funk.  From his Beaver Cleaver hairdo, to Wilson Pickett-like sound, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed was definitely worth the trip.

Click here to listen to the full review:  Eli 'Paperboy' Reed

- Shawn Willis

Friday Night Live!

Hey you! You’d better come to the Mitchell Theater on Friday. Why? Because we’re hosting a monthly concert series with Program Board.

Tomorrow will be the first Friday Night Live of the semester with popular headliner, Jukebox the Ghost. Jukebox is a local DC band made up of GW grads. According to their Myspace, the band “writes a fresh breed of melodic pop tunes driven by fiery rock momentum” and is characterized by their “quirky lyrics and inventive songwriting.” Jukebox is currently touring in promotion of their new E.P.

Also appearing this Friday will be the South Carolina based group, The Winter Sounds and hailing from New York City, Porter Block.

The show will be held in the Mitchell Hall Theater (yes, it DOES exist) at 8pm and is now FREE! All ages are welcome to attend.

- Jason Levin