On any given night of the week in the DMV there are myriad options for live music, which is why we’ve started the segment DC LIVE to call out our picks. On the short list is UK’s Wild Beasts, who will be performing at Black Cat with Porcelain Raft November 11. Wild Beasts, who take their name from fauvism — the early 20th-century art movement have carved out an impressive space in the indie landscape in the last ten years they’ve been around, releasing their fifth LP Boy King this August. Check out their recent single “Woebegone Wanderers II” below and be sure to head out to the show this Friday.
Next on our list of upcoming show recs is Sam Evian, who will be playing at Songbyrd with SAD13 November 18. The solo moniker of Sam Owens, the frontman of Brooklyn indie rockers Celestial Shore, released his debut album on Saddle Creek this September. His track “I Need A Man” is a reference to the Serge Gainsbourg record Histoire de Melody Nelson.
Frustrated with all of the violence and political turmoil brewing in his home state of North Carolina, Owens relayed to Stereogum: “With all of that going on and ‘Melody Nelson’ in my head, I latched onto Gainsbourg the provocateur and made my voice a twisted version of his story. I imagined part of me was Melody, the naive teenager in Serge’s strange story of love and innocence lost. ‘I need a man I can trust.‘ It’s more of a conversation starter…is there such a thing? My hope is that people in my community and abroad will start to look out for each other more, and take more action in preventing abuse and violence.”
The politically-informed track is a compelling listen, owing to Owen’s delicate falsetto and dreamy guitar work.
Finally, Californian rhyme queen and much buzzed about artist K.Flay will be playing at Rock & Roll Hotel November 20. This August, K.Flay, otherwise known as Kristine Flaherty released her new EP Crush Me, which builds off her hip-hop background and showcases her flare for angsty punk. On lead single “Blood In The Cut,” Flay spins emotional devastation into something celebratory through breakbeats and buzzy guitars, peppered with confessional quips like ‘reading through your messages / my favorite way to die.‘ Listen below and come out for K.Flay’s rousing live show later this month.
poetry in an empty coke can 