New Spring Gigs from the District to River City
I’ve got a nice bouquet of shows lined up for the DC Metro and Richmond areas this spring. Here are the gigs:
- March 15 @ Buzz Bakery. Mike Shade and I are continuing the tradition of playing once a month at this great local coffee house / cupcakery / songster-friendly lounge.
- March 24 @ Finn McCool’s. Cameron Snapp and I return for our second show at this authentic Irish Pub in the West End.
- April 1 @ Sabores Club Soda. I’ll be making noise for the first time at this Cleveland Park, DC venue by opening for Make Love & War.
- April 29 @ Sine. I’ll be playing for the first time at this Shockoe hot spot since guesting on mandolin with Broken Monday.
- April 30 @ Finn McCool’s. Third time’s a charm as Through The Wall plays a weekend gig in RVA for the first time since 2003.
- May 11 @ Vermilion. We were scheduled to play our second show here on March 31st, but I had forgotten about my tickets to see David Gray in Baltimore. Thankfully, bar manager Laura Secker was so kind to book us again in May.
- May 17 @ Buzz. Somehow I missed the mid-month Buzz show in April, but I won’t let it happen again
- May 26 @ The Light Horse. We’ll be making our debut at this new Alexandria, Virginia venue and sharing the bill with the talented, North Carolina-based Road Out of Here.
Hope to see you NOVA, DC, and RVA folks out in the crowd.
Vermilion is the new black
A few months ago I was asked by the talented songstress Laura Secker to play a show at Vermilion (where she also tends bar and books music). Around the same time, my old college bandmate/roommate Cameron Snapp contacted me about reviving our Through The Wall act and booking a few shows. Cameron had been laying low after spending a few years as lead axeman for Richmond-based Broken Monday, and was itching to perform again.
We booked the show for last Wednesday and put together a set of tunes from our 2003 album “Bookends,” and several new originals and covers. Cameron and I got a good warm-up set in at the Evening Star the previous week, and then did some long distance practicing to prep for the show. A few hours before the gig, we worked through some of the newer tunes and then packed up our gear for Old Town Alexandria.
We played for friendly patrons and friends for 2 hours, and recorded most of the show for kicks. We were pleased with the way the recording turned out, and decided to release one of those archaic compact disc’s worth of music as a giveaway at our shows.
Here’s a new live cut of our most popular song from Bookends, Proceed.
Grab a copy when we play The Camel on Wednesday, January 13th. We’ve got a few more winter shows lined up around Richmond and DC. Stay tuned to myspace.com/throughthewallva for updates.
Evening Star, how I’ve missed filling you with sound
This week I played the first show in several months at the Evening Star in Alexandria. Since 2006, I’ve probably performed there about 10 times, but this was definitely the most memorable.
It had been several uninspired months without a gig (and frankly a lack of direction) when Evan – bar manager – approached me about playing in November. I accepted without hesitation, and then did the math – if I set it for Nov. 30 there would be an opportunity to put on an unprecedented show with everyone I’ve played with since college.
After playing together for years, real life Richmond guitar hero Cameron Snapp and I finally formed Through The Wall back in 2003 and scored a weekly gig at Potters Pub. Angel-voiced Australian Richard Baker and I had a strong run of 100+ shows in the DC area with Coalition of the Willing 2006-08. And recently I’ve been playing with the multi-talented guitarist Mike Shade, and Cherry Blossom String Quartet violinist Erin Ryan. Richard had returned from Australia for vacation, Cameron was available to make the trip from Richmond, and Mike and Erin were game as well.
About 40 or so folks turned out in the upstairs No. 9 lounge. The show clocked in at 3 hours 10 minutes with no breaks. The most memorable part for me was the jamboree portion at the end of the show, when everyone joined forces on the stage and played 5 remarkably tight songs when considering we never rehearsed them together as a complete unit.
I should have some photos and videos to post soon. For now, thanks to Evan and Bailey at the Evening Star and to everyone who supported us until late into Monday evening.
Next up: Vermilion with Cameron Snapp @ 9:30pm Wednesday, December 9.
Red and Black Recap
Thanks again to Jamie Potter and Flo Anito for playing some delicious sets last Tuesday at the Red and the Black. And thanks also to Blair from the R&B for the kind words and the offer to play there again sometime soon. Finally, thanks to the fans who risked the stormy DC night and forked over $8 to listen to us play. I’d be nothing without you guys.
For those of you who missed it, here’s the set:
Shadows
King Street Blues
Scarecrow
Morning Sickness
Hallelujah, Mazel Tov
I Don’t Blame You
Shortcut
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
The Original Sin
Everything’s Changed
The Bends / Atlantic City
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Deep in the Night
The Road to The Red & The Black
So, if you haven’t already gotten the details via my interweb marketing prowess and robust grassroots network of bored, misguided fans, I’m playing at the Red & the Black in DC on June 10.
Booking the gig was refreshingly straight-forward – a stark contrast to my experience over the past few years booking gigs at places Nicole Atkins has never played. Fill out the web-based form, include a link to your demo, and suggest a few open dates. If Steve – oh yeah, we’re on first name basis – likes what you’re strumming, you’re in. Then the real work begins: booking “support” acts.
Let’s just get this straight – if anyone is in need of support at this stage, I am. But that’s OK, because when you frame it as an opportunity to “share the stage” at a major DC Rock Club, you don’t come across as that much of an asshole. So, long story short (ahem) I’ve been lucky enough to book Flo Anito and Jamie Potter to “share the stage” for the evening.
Flo and I played at a singer-songwriter showcase in Bethesda last year and had a blast – now she’s got a new album out. Jamie and I met at the world famous Iota open mic in Arlington and have become fast myspace friends – he was the featured act at Iota last night and rocked in only the way a dude with a harmonica and a clear love for Neil Young (two song teases in the set) can.
So, when all is said and done, all I need from you is to show up. Please. Steve wants at least 40 heads, and I’ve got enough dishes to wash in my own sink.
Good Times @ Clyde’s and Renewed Purpose
For those of you who caught it, last Friday’s Through The Wall reunion show at Clyde’s was a blast.
Cameron Snapp – most recently of Richmond rock tour de force Broken Monday – joined me for three full sets of songs largely rehearsed the afternoon of the show. But when you bring along a crowd of 15 solid, faithful, forgiving friends/girlfriends/wives, you could forget 1/3 of the chords in a three-chord song, and they’d still hoot and holler like you somehow pulled off the Rain Song in standard tuning.
In any event, the Saturday cram session seemed to pay off, I remembered most of the lyrics I wrote 5 years ago, and the crowd rocked on through the steamy Xandria night.
Getting the band back together, as it were, renewed my creative spirit and motivated me to get back out to Iota on Wednesday for THE BEST open mic in the DC area. I had the pleasure of warming up Justin Trawick and Mike Huckleberry who played some killer sets.
Think I’ll do it again next week…
Spring Fever, Drink Pink, Austin Grill…
Yes, Virginia, there is Springtime in the DC area – but it only lasts about two weeks. So while we can enjoy the cherry blossoms and temperatures that don’t make you jealous of this, why don’t you get started on some of those new year’s resolutions you’ve been putting off. Maybe some of you pledged to get out and see some more live music, do some good in the world, or lose that hibernation weight.
Well, two out of three ain’t terrible.
Join me Tuesday, March 25, as the Capital Society raises money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer at Drink Pink: Cocktails for a Cause.
Also, for those of you who missed it, here’s the recap from the Austin Grill show. It started out quiet, but things got going around midnight as I abandoned the set and played whatever those storming the stage wanted to hear:
Set 1
I Feel Alright
Heart of Gold
King Street Blues
What I Don’t Know About You
Morning Sickness
Raised by the Graves
Spirit in the Night
Jaime
New York, New York >
Up on Cripple Creek
Hole in the Wall >
Country Road > Free > Country Road
Set 2
Sunday Sound
I Don’t Blame You
Dead Flowers
Shortcut
The Way It Is
Hallelujah, Mazel Tov
Dear Sarah
Moving On
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Never Gonna Change
Proceed
Promised Land
Set 3
Scarecrow
Tangerine
Cupid > Sleepwalker
Fire Escapes
Please Don’t Ask Me to Smile
The Bends > Atlantic City
Waiting On The World To Change
Say It Ain’t So
Elderly Woman
Hide Your Love Away
Buzz Recap
I want to thank the good people at Buzz – Kevin and Kayla – for hosting the B.K. Pagels solo tour kickoff last night. According to Kevin, the crowd was great because they “didn’t head for the door.” I took that as a compliment. For those of you who didn’t have the privilege of being glued to your seats, here’s the setlist:
Buzz Setlist – 2/18/08
Set 1
Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
Heart of Gold
King Street Blues
What I Don’t Know About You
Morning Sickness
Good Friday
New York, New York >
Up on Cripple Creek
Hole in the Wall >
Country Road > Free > Country Road
Set 2
Sunday Sound
I Don’t Blame You
Dead Flowers
Shortcut >
I’ll Follow You Into the Dark
Hallelujah, Mazel Tov
Dear Sarah
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Never Gonna Change
Promised Land
Set 3
Scarecrow
Cupid > Sleepwalker
Fire Escapes
You Don’t Know How It Feels
If I Am a Stranger
Please Don’t Ask Me to Smile
The Bends > Atlantic City
The Original Sin (Cover Band’s Lament)
Everything’s Changed
Buzzing for some live tunage?
Fresh off my farewell show with Coalition Of The Willing (old band R.I.P.), join me for an evening of my solo stuffs at buzz in the Xandria.
Show starts at 8:30 and will run until 11. Bring friends and loved ones – what goes better with hot toddies, cupcakes and free wifi than some local, indie music?
You can never go home again…
Unless you’re talking TopGolf brother! I’ll be picking up the pieces this Thursday at the place where it all started. Well, it actually all started at a humble open mic at Tiffany Tavern, but TopGolf was the first place that booked the old band. And it was the place that kept having us back, week after mediocre week. Our infamous wall of sound was part of the house that TopGolf built, and we owe our friends on the range our thanks. As usual, show starts at 7 and goes until I get the craving for those delicious wings. Not as usual, I’ll have to eat those wings myself…
