The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

These United States perform at The Black Cat in Washington DC.
November 22, 2008.
Nikon D300. Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. EXIF.

Thanks to The DCist and Black Plastic Bag, two possibilities were ahead of me on Saturday night. Even though I have only lived in DC for a little more than a week, I’ve already found several blogs to monitor. While neither inspires a “Sharat+Brooklyn Vegan” type relationship (my heart still belongs to Line Out), both provide timely information about hip happenings around The District. Shows were going down at The Black Cat and The Red & the Black. Since I saw Starfucker last month at the latter, I chose to attend the former.
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The Fleet Foxes @ The Moore Theatre. Seattle, Washington.
October 19, 2008.

On Sunday night the Fleet Foxes played a homecoming concert at The Moore Theatre in Seattle. Their MySpace page had this date on the tour listed as “The Moore (scared).” The five scraggly members of the Fleet Foxes had little to fear; all 1400 or so seats seemed to be filled with friends and family. Lead singer Robin Pecknold even announced that all his elementary school teachers were in attendance. Although not as ambitious as Justice trying to play the Garden, expecting the humble Fleet Foxes to fill a venue like The Moore is no modest feat. The fact that the box office had a “SOLD OUT” sign plastered on its window Sunday night is a testament to the love Seattle has for these guys. The flawless, seventy-five minute set that ensued did more than entertain; it transformed the vast Moore into a cozy, intimate room. There might have been 1399 other people at the show, but it felt like it was just me and a few dudes with beards playing guitar and singing. (continue reading…)

United State of Electronica. CHBP Main Stage.
Capitol Hill Block Party. July 25, 2008.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 200mm.
Aperture Priority. 1/125 sec @ f/5.6. ISO 400.

Two months ago it was not raining in Seattle. Another one of Seattle’s delightful cliches happened to be center stage: music. The annual Capitol Hill Block Party took over the intersection of Pike & Broadway during the last weekend in July. I, with camera in hand, hit the two day festival with Sharat (among others). In addition to a great lineup, the weekend was sufficiently stocked with hipsters, hipster altercations (the now infamous Peter-chair incident), Girl Talk nonsense, and PBR.