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Friday, June 1
Friday and Saturday nights, it's local heroes Dismemberment Plan at the Black Cat; and if
you've never seen the Plan's gutsy, smart indie rock, you should mosey down to either of these shows. Go on Friday, and you'll be doing your
bit to help a D.C. institution soldier
on. That night's show (with opener the Apes) is a
benefit for the Fort Reno concerts – Northwest Washington's long-running outdoor series. Those shows, which are always free, happen twice a week in a field between Alice Deal Jr. High and Woodrow
Wilson High, starting June 21. (I have a soft spot for the concerts because
I went to Wilson and saw some of my first live rock shows under the stars of
Fort Reno.) If you have plans on Friday, Saturday's show will feature openers Crack Torch and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists.
Friday's a killer night for DJs in D.C. Over at Buzz (at Nation) it's DJ Judge Jules. He's mammoth. He's on BBC Radio, where he breaks club hits and helps make stars. He's in Ibiza. He has residencies at internationally renowned clubs Gatecrasher and Golden. And
now he'll be at Buzz.
Over at Sanctuary (at Vicki's) Friday, it's a birthday bash for one of
Washington's best spinners, Sanctuary resident deejay Sam "the Man" Burns. Helping him celebrate is R&B/disco/house singer Colonel
Abrams, whose hits include "I'm Not Gonna Let You" and "Music Is the Answer." It goes till 4 a.m. so swing by when you're done with everything else.
Saturday, June 2
My mom grew up in Mexico but only recently have I begun to pay attention to
the well-worn vinyl that
sits on the shelf where the vinyl-that-will-never-be-thrown-away sits. Some
of the best
is by Trio Los Panchos, an international Latin group of the '40s, '50s, '60s
and '70s. TLP enjoyed huge hits with tunes
like "Sin Ti," "Besame Mucho" and "La Hiedra," some of the most evocative pop music
I've ever heard. I've bought a couple of TLP collections on CD to get my
jones without messing with
my mom's records. All this to say that on Saturday, you've got a chance to
hear a former member of
Trio Los Panchos when 84-year-old Johnny Albino comes to town.
Albino grew up in Puerto Rico, but made his musical mark
in New York in the '40s with his Trio San Juan, before joining Trio Los
Panchos for 10 years, from 1958 to 1968. His lead singing is a bit tremulous these
days, but his passion is intact, and you can see Albino and the Trio San
Juan on Saturday,
courtesy of the Smithsonian Associates, at the Voice of America Hall.
Dismemberment Plan at Black Cat (see Friday listing).
Sunday, June 3
Usually the Swamp Romp out at Wolf Trap comes and goes without me paying it
much mind. But two things
happened recently to make this festival of Louisiana music jump onto my
radar. One was the death of zydeco great Boozoo Chavis, which made me get out some
Boozoo records and crank 'em up.
The other was that I finally spent a little time down in Louisiana last
month, had the best time
and discovered some real music. I caught the Bluerunners in a little bar in
New Orleans and they blew my
mind with their bar band zydeco, played with precision and rock-and-roll
passion. And I heard Lil' Band O' Gold
in Lafayette. Both those
bands got me all fired up,
so of course I'm psyched that they're both on the schedule for the daylong
Swamp Romp, which begins at 2 p.m.
The whole thing has turned into an homage to Chavis, who was booked to perform the festival but will be represented by his band the
Magic Sounds. Other bands on the bill include Steve Riley, the Wild Magnolias
and C.C. Adcock. Laissez les bon temps etc, etc.
Tuesday, June 5
During my recent swing through Louisiana, there was one band everyone was
talking about: Los Hombres Calientes. "People forget that New Orleans is a
Caribbean city," said my pal Derek Huston, sax player for the Iguanas, a
fine N.O. combo. "The Hombres make people remember that." On Tuesday Los
Hombres Calientes play at Blues Alley and show that, indeed,
they are the Hot Men. Bandleaders Irvin Mayfield (trumpet) and Bill
Summers (percussion and vocals) played with tons of jazz and Latin greats
before pulling this band together. There will be seven members onstage
Tuesday, and the band
is stunning live. It's Afro-Cuban music before it turned into salsa. It's
the real deal, and impossible to categorize. Caliente. Nuff said.
Read Eric Brace's Nightwatch column every Friday in The Washington Post Weekend section.
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