Okay, here is take two. Me trying to redeem that impotent excuse for a previous entry. This was a very busy weekend, for
a number of performance art-related reasons. The one that I implied already was the opportunity to check out the honorable
Ben Kweller in a free performance at the Kennedy Center. My friend Hannah and I saw him at the 9:30 club last year in what
was a good show in its own right. (photo to right by Steve Hopson)
Seeing him at the Kennedy Center
was almost a revelation. (If you have RealPlayer, you can watch the whole performance right here). The guy is one tiny step down from legitimate superstar status. By the time he returned to the stage for his encore "Penny
on the Train Track," (pulling off a fucking cartwheel, too, which probably hasn't been done by the likes of the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra on that stage) I couldn't shake the feeling that Ben Kweller is probably the closest thing this generation
has to a Paul McCartney. There is no one else out there who is dorky enough for the hipster set yet still hip enough for the
dorky set. I can't think of anyone whose appeal spans so many social strata, demographics, particularly that of age, while
still burning up radio and the pop charts. A few rows ahead of me sat a pair of old women who vigorously cheered on Kweller
amid the screams of hundreds upon hundreds of teenyboppers. I looked around and saw the twenty-something hipsters in reverence,
while clusters of frat-pack types danced in their chairs and sang along even before the crowd stood up once Kweller and his
rhythm section broke into "Sha Sha."
It never hit me why Kweller is such a smash now until seeing this show, which
he (somewhat sincerely) said was one of his favorite he's ever played. First and foremost, he seems like a genuinely cool
guy. He is pretty straightforward, wholesome, and actually (get this) gives a shit during his performances. Someone you'd
actually want to hang out with after the show. I couldn't say the same for just anyone whose CD is readily available at Starbucks.
Yes, even this event overcame the coffee juggernaut's shitstain for a few transcendent moments. This almost made me change
my mind about the concept of Starbucks selling CD's. Kweller has more resiliency and staying power than most any other pop
star today. He appeals to the kids because, to be perfectly honest, he doesn't look or sound a ton different than he did when
he was 15 and fronting Radish.
I vaguely remember seeing Radish as the musical guest on Letterman in 1997, when I first
started staying up late to watch it. By 2000, I remember reading about that "little band that couldn't" considering how Radish
were supposed to strike gold in that era of teenage bands like Hanson and Silverchair. Appropriately enough, Radish were at
the forefront of this crazy new Mp3 technology at the time their label were pushing them. They unraveled, Kweller retreated
to a town right near my hometown in Connecticut, strangely enough, to recuperate, then came back, out of nowhere in 2001 and
02 with a phenomenal power-pop album called Sha Sha. So, in a strange way to many people in my age group, it's like
we grew up with the guy. Except, he's the one with the major record deal and millions of screaming fans. From what I understand,
he's all over Adult Contemporary radio now, which I don't find the least bit surprising.
One thing particularly admirable
about him is that he'll go to any length to make the audience feel glad they came out. Last year at the Austin City Limits
festival, he went onstage with a life-threatening nosebleed and still played through most of the set. Don't believe me? (Warning,
not entirely SFW and not for the squeamish).
It
seems like no one really knows what caused the nose bleed. It may have just been an honest burst capillary, or it may have
been cocaine. Though, somehow if you snort enough coke to make your nose gush blood like that you're not going to play a set
outdoors in Austin. You're going to do something much less exerting, like die.
So, who knows if Kweller's albums will
continue to devolve like they have been since Sha Sha, but for now he's providing a valuable service to our culture.
Unlike many of the greatest bands in the world right now, he's bringing so many people with disparate tastes and sensibilities
together under one roof and one sound. What is music, anyway, other than something to enjoy at the end of the day?
See
John Cage put in his two cents, in one of the coolest things I've seen in some time. Sorry, I needed an excuse to tack this
on here. I'd never seen Cage on film before. He reminds me of Lyle Lovett and Peter Lorre. Strange. I also find the over the
top cigarette sponsorship hilarious.
I was in the process of writing an entry that not only apologized and thoroughly accounted for the absence of
activity on this site lately, but was also (I swear) very observant and quite intelligent about someone I saw perform today
and talking about why he's one step away from being this generation's Paul McCartney, but I didn't have the foresight to save
it before FireFox saw fit to say "Fuck You" and close down, eliminating the entry that I'm way too exhausted to
try and rewrite at this point. I hate computers. This entire entry was only three sentences, including this one.
8pm - Solly's
at the corner of 11th and U St, NW DC
$5, I think.
Saturday, August
9th LAUGHING LIZARD COMEDY SHOWCASE 10pm, 21+ 1324 King St, Alexandria Lineup
TBA! Stay tuned for updates.
Saturday, August 16
RIFIFI COMEDY SHOW
@
TBD. The location at 11th St has bitten the dust so my friend Jake is looking to find a new spot. Stay tuned.
Wednesday,
September 3
THE FAMILY HEMERLEIN @
THE PALACE
OF WONDERS
**DJ SET**
9 pm
I'll be helping out my friend Matt Hemerlein's family band's
variety show on the tail end, but definitely come out early. You don't want to miss this. Site.
1210 H St. NE, DC
Friday and Saturday, November 14 & 15.
ARLINGTON CINEMA & DRAFTHOUSE
w/ Paul F Tompkins!!
$18 or so. This was the
show rescheduled from 7/25-26. Hope you see you out! Sorry for any confusion. Website.
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA
Check out TDC on... Thanks to Josh! Sign the Guestbook! (It's been there for some time, but seriously, sign it).
Watch the video for Wes Mann's "If Only You Knew" right here! THROUGH THE WASH What happens to common appliances and gadgets mistakenly go through the wash and dry cycle? Do they come out alive?
Check out this handy site, with appearances from myself, Jake, and Aparna. Hosted by Chris and filmed my Joe "the man"
Deeley.
MUZAK!?
Listings coming soon. Once I have some damn time.
IF
YOU LIVE IN THE DC AREA, HAVE A SOUL, AND ENJOY GOOD LIVE COMEDY, I highly recommend these weekly/biweekly shows.
MONDAY 11TH ST. LOUNGE First and third mondays of every month. It's
intimate, friendly, and the servers upstairs are fine. Even an audience of 10 non-comics can whip the place into a frenzy.
Hosted by Lou Giglio, or Bart Voisin if he couldn't escape the calling. Oh Highland Dr, right across from the Clarendon
Grill.
SPY LOUNGE Eli "the man" Sairs and Tyler "da man" Richardson run this
open mic at a bizarrely posh but still fun place right in the heart of Adam's Morgan, on 18th St. Starts around 8pm.
CHIEF IKE'S MAMBO ROOM Run by the luminaries behind DCC4N. On Columbia Rd. right north of that intersection
in Adams-Morgan.
TUESDAY Nema is gone, but info about Takoma Station and the Library
(both in Northeast) coming soon.
Wiseacre's happens on this night, out in Tyson's.
WEDNESDAY Wiseacres will always be there, hopefully, out in Tyson's.
DR. DREMO'S IS DEAD. LONG LIVE DR. DREMO'S.
THURSDAY College Perk First and third Thursday of every month, this is probably
the most fun you'll have at an open mic in the area. Maybe because it's a college hangout with a liquor license. 9078
Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD
The TDC Archive of the Greatest Things Ever Said, Ever
"I'm gonna hire a fat
person to sit in the driver's seat whenever I'm not using the car. Maybe get a midget with ice in his mouth to blow
on the back of my neck while I'm driving." "If I ever won a source award, I would go onstage and speak
ebonics." "If you can be fat and do it, its not a sport." - Forest "Socrates"
Godwin
[Firth. It's pronounced Firth. Like the actor. Like our planet if it started with F.]
Welcome to the official TDC Productions website. Glad you could make it. Hope you enjoy yourself. If you want to check out
any recent postings, just check out the archive below the blog at the bottom of this page. If you've got anything to publish
here, send it right here.
TDC 1995-2005: A Decade of Missing the Point Completely
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