|
|
|
Chuck Brown is the Godfather of Go-Go, but that's often shortened to just "the Godfather." In his 50 years of playing music, Brown has covered just about every musical style under the sun, and singlehandedly created go-go, the sound of Washington. This week, Eric Brace gets a history lesson.
Wednesday, June 21
When Maceo Parker blew the sax for James Brown (something he did for years
and years), it was in the service of the groove. Rhythm was everything in
that band, and Parker's notes were more percussion beats than melodic lines.
As a marquee act, headlining a band under his own name, Parker's been able
to stretch out, showing what a tunesmith he is. That's not to say he's given
up on the funk. Not at all. He's just combined it all into an R&B workout,
as much for humming along to as for shaking your backside to. He's at Wolf
Trap Wednesday as part of the Jazz & Blues Festival, along with
Susan Tedeschi, a talented blues guitarist and singer, who's gotten a lot of
ink lately and actually lives up to the hype. Go early and beat traffic,
take a picnic, sit on the lawn and boogie under the stars.
Atop the Embassy Row Hilton at Dupont Circle, there's one of the city's
cool nightlife secrets: Lights. That's the name of the rooftop bar, which,
despite being only on the ninth floor, has one of the loveliest views of
Washington. Lights stands for the city lights you see all around you, for
the little Christmas lights that line the railings, for the candles on the
tables and the neon that lines the bars. It's open from 6 to midnight
seven nights a week and there's live music (jazz and Caribbean, mostly) on
Thursdays. If you need another excuse to check it out, head up the
elevator on Wednesday for the "Roof Top Gala" sponsored by the
Cultural Center for Singles.
If that's not your thing, swing by another
night.
Friday, June 23
The restoration of the historic Lincoln Theatre brought a great performance
venue back to life, helping return some vitality to U Street NW. Sadly, it
remains under-used, with few live acts of any note landing on its
stage. Friday and Saturday, there's a great reason to go
admire the space: Dave Chappelle, the local-comedian-gone-big-time, will be
taping his own HBO special at the Lincoln. The Duke Ellington high school grad is
only 26 years old and he's already had hilarious parts in "The Nutty
Professor," "Half-Baked," "Con Air" and a few other Hollywood mega movies. But as
a stand-up comedian, Chappelle really shines. These will be great nights of
comedy.
Saturday, June 24
Another of Washington's best nightlife secrets is the Carter Barron
Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park, near the tennis courts at 16th and Kennedy.
I call it a secret and give directions because so many people give me a
blank look when I tell them to check out Carter Barron. "Where's that?" they
ask. "What's that?" Lordy lord. It's a great outdoor amphitheater
that's run by the National Park Service and brings in a nice mix of live
music every summer. One of my favorite musical memories was seeing Tito
Puente and Celia Cruz there more than 20 years ago, and watching the whole
crowd of nearly 3,000 people salsa-ing in the aisles. The Post sponsors a
free Shakespeare play there every summer ("Merchant of Venice" is ongoing
right now), and four nights of free local music (June 30, July 7, 14 and
21), but the regular bookings there are worth checking out as well. For a
night under the open sky, surrounded by trees filled with lightning bugs
(or fireflies, whatever you call them), try Carter Barron on for size
Saturday for the summer's first concert, a "Doo Wop Night"
featuring the Legendary Orioles (D.C.'s finest), the Shirelles and the
original Drifters.
Sunday, June 25
I wrote about him in my column a few weeks ago, but in case you weren't
paying attention, Alain Nu is a magician of the highest order. To watch him
is to throw out all the rules of physics. Time and space are malleable in
Nu's deft hands. He does close-up card tricks, he does larger scale stage
tricks; but it's truly magical magic, not just some hokey stunts. Every
Sunday at Madam's Organ, the charismatic Nu wanders from table to
table, bending spoons, making time stand still, reading your mind, finding
your ring (that you thought was on your finger) attached to his key chain.
He also performs on the stage during the club's open-mike segment. Either way,
Nu is a prodigious prestidigitator.
Tuesday, June 27
Another night of music in the open air takes place Tuesday on the beautiful grounds of Strathmore Hall. A lovely mansion in Rockville, Strathmore Hall was recently approved as the site of a
huge new concert hall, to be built over the next few years. Meanwhile,
there's a little gazebo out on the lawn in front of the manor that's the
site of a summer outdoor concert series. Tuesday it's Bruce Ewan, a local
harmonica ace who's one of the few players on the scene who tackles the
chromatic harp (the one with the little button on the side that gives you
access to way more notes than does a standard blues harmonica). He performs
infrequently in the area with his band the Solid Senders, prefering to tour
abroad (he's nearly a star in Brazil, Argentina and Spain). At this show at 7 he'll be performing with Brazilian guitarist Big Gilson; together
they'll tackle the blues, jazz and bossa nova.
Read Eric Brace's Nightwatch column every Friday in the Washington Post Weekend section.
|
|
• 
