photos and brief words: Mike Danko
additional photos by Dakota Fine
additional words by Andrew Bucket
Typefighter
If you were going to the show expecting to hear all the familiar songs by Typefighter you might have found yourself a little disappointed – at first. Half way through the first song I caught myself thinking “Is this even Typefighter???“. It sure as hell was. With only one spot on the setlist for a song from their EP one can only guess that they might be a little worn out from playing older tunes. Hopefully Ryan and the gang will come back one day with just a few more songs from I Want To See Your Game.
Loose Lips
Of all the times I have gone to see Loose Lips I would say they sounded the best on this night at Rock’n'Roll Hotel. While the place isn’t really known to have the best sound, I think they pulled it off well. And if the sound wasn’t good enough the visuals on the right side of the stage provided by Les Claypool drew a lot of people’s attention. Leave the guy alone. He does what he wants and he does it well.
Bucket sez:
I’ve paid to see one show at the Rock and Roll Hotel in my entire life. Otherwise, I’ve only played there once and was never invited back. I assured them that Tracy Chapman was really coming and we needed +7 on our guestlist for her entourage. Dicks.
In any case, I paid for a show last week at the Hotel, and it was Lightfoot, a new band led by the former singer of Voxpop, Jessica L. Dye. They played the opening set that night, to probably 70 people.
The thing was, for three nights in a row I woke up in the clothes I went out in, and every morning there was a flyer for this show in at least one of my pockets. Being superstitious in nature, I can’t ignore recurrances like that–so I took a chance and went out to this thing.
What’s especially interesting about them is their pop-infused melancholy. There’s a searching and sadness to it, but it’s spring like and wistful. Something about acoustic guitar on rhythm–giving it that thick chug, and the lead of a semi-hollow body through a warm Fender tube amp…well, its cheerfully sad. It’s a triumphant sadness really. Also, Dye is a tremendous vocalist. Probably one of the best, earnest local singers I’ve heard. They remind me of Tanya Donnelly’s band Belly (the first album Star).
Following Lightfoot was local dream-pop-folk-etc band Typefighter. With ukes abounding, they definitely delivered their quilty, jangly glocken-spiel that takes one skipping through a field of lavendar, into the barn where father has poured mugs of cider, off to the pumpkin patch to bed the farmers daughter, into the hilly brush to carve our names into an old oak, and under the bridge to skip a stone. That kind of thing. It’s all really charming and they are accomplished players indeed.
So, I dunno. Not a bad night. Now you know that you just need to trick me into believing there’s forces of the universe drawing me to your show at the hotel.
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whenever someone says that a band “killed it” or tweets that a band is currently “killing it” i usually interpret that to mean “i dont know how to listen to music and so im playing with my phone instead”
Please retire this dumb phrase asap. Thanks for your attention.
ah si?! que bueno. que dice?
Jess’s vagina is contoured like sand dunes. What’s so hard in accepting the fact that a sweet manicured man like me could hook up with a Geddy Lee impersonator like Jess? I mean, I’ve slept with Geddy Lee, and he was way way better, let me assure you. I suppose you hipsters are mouthbreathers anyway;it’s difficult to convince you of even the most tautological of formulations. In my pre-Joycean days, by which I mean in the days I was laconic and the days before I contracted syphilis, I would simply hold out an open palm in front of the collective face of hipsters (because you are like the Chinese, you look alike anyway) and ask that you read between the lines. But no, I will go out in a fit of Ophulsian whimsy; that is to say, I think most of you are pitiful excuses for human beings, and should be reminded of that fact diurnally. Since this perfunctory matter is beyond my ability, as on my good days I can only be three people, I have hired a team of Laotian midgets to harass you hipsters into submission, forcing you to admit the false pretenses which you wave around on your chest in the fashion of a war hero. My friends, I speak the truth, though it may be harsh, do not turn your ears away from me, for there is still time to save yourselves by throwing yourselves into a pit of naughty stewardesses who will whisper sweet everythings into your ear, or by joining a group of feral businessman who work out of a treehouse off of the Pennsylvania turnpike. If that doesn’t suit you, I strongly recommend chugging battery acid, or attempting to be the first person to die from an overdose of Surge cola. Thank you for listening, and I bid you adieu.
P.S. You will remember this day as the day the war began. And those now in England abed, shall consider themselves accursed when one speaks of the lucky few, those happy few, who fought with us upon Holocaust Remembrance Day!
Or my name isn’t John Candy. Which it isn’t.
pedro – this one, and “face melt” or any variation thereof.
Pedro just killed it.
Sent from my iPhone.
Jess and her crooked nose smells like rancid stank fish sauce. John, I think you need to gargle. Thrice.
Really? Where’s the comment moderation when it’s really needed…
Nah, naive knave, that musk which you call rancid I call poetry. It is an elusive smell, like seeing a the now extinct (thanks to yours truly) Carpathian Wisent mate with its cousin, the Caucasian Wisent. :Begins maniacal laughter, pours chocolate syrup all over himself: Ms. Morrison, I’m ready for my close-up!!!
Some of y’all are bitter, bitter people. Seriously.
NC-C: The DC music scene is not a clique. It’s not a cult. It’s a small scene that has been struggling with its identity since the last great crop of post-punk bands dissolved in the first half of the decade. Nobody’s shutting anybody out. The bands all get along and try to be supportive of one another for the most part because most of the city’s population is transient and doesn’t really give a shit about the local scene. The only real way to get shut out is to act like a douchebag and talk a lot of shit.
More to the point, it’s easy to criticize, but what the fuck are you doing to make the DC music scene better (other than bitching about it on the internet)? Start a label, open a venue, build a website to rival BYT (and not just a Blogspot blog that only your mom reads), put on shows, do something. Or just shut up and accept that we have it pretty good here compared to a lot of places.
hahahahaha!
I’m laughing pretty hard, because these comments about Lightfoot are clearly and obviously fake comments from Jess’ friends or her. Read that shit, it’s laying it on a bit too thick with the positive comments, omg they are so fake. I’d like to add that she looks like a witch if you ask me with putty on her nose.
Good talk, Russ.
This show was great. that first act was a total hottie too. if she’s reading this gimme a shout. lets do dinner and see where it goes.
All the bands were good. I really like the first girl’s voice a lot, esp. because I want to be a singer but I can’t because I suck. She was marvelous.
also, if anyone knows anything about the DC scene, Jess books for clubs, as do many of her friends, who also write for/take pics for this site, among other wannabe-hipster DC folk. One big clique/cult. it’s depressing…unless you’re in it and have friends who comment and lie to your face about how great you are. Then it fuckin’ ROCKS.
i have long given up on these comments
And so did I, Svets. What a fuss about nothing.
I give you people gold, and I get nothing. NOTHING! Many infant Welsh Corgi’s shall be executed for your transgressions.
Hey guys, I’m looking to start a fight club. Anyone want to meet me in Dupont Circle with a vat of seal fat? I’ll be the one dressed like Donna Summer.
do you guys know how cool andrew bucket is????? he definitely isn’t going to say all of these “nice things” b/c Jess begged him to do it.
I am convinced that all of these absurd, negative comments are from Patrick and his friends. Let it go……..
additional words by Andrew Bucket
Bucket sez:
I’ve paid to see one show at the Rock and Roll Hotel in my entire life. Otherwise, I’ve only played there once and was never invited back. I assured them that Tracy Chapman was really coming and we needed +7 on our guestlist for her entourage. Dicks.
In any case, I paid for a show last week at the Hotel, and it was Lightfoot, a new band led by the former singer of Voxpop, Jessica L. Dye. They played the opening set that night, to probably 70 people.
The thing was, for three nights in a row I woke up in the clothes I went out in, and every morning there was a flyer for this show in at least one of my pockets. Being superstitious in nature, I can’t ignore recurrances like that–so I took a chance and went out to this thing.
What’s especially interesting about them is their pop-infused melancholy. There’s a searching and sadness to it, but it’s spring like and wistful. Something about acoustic guitar on rhythm–giving it that thick chug, and the lead of a semi-hollow body through a warm Fender tube amp…well, its cheerfully sad. It’s a triumphant sadness really. Also, Dye is a tremendous vocalist. Probably one of the best, earnest local singers I’ve heard. They remind me of Tanya Donnelly’s band Belly (the first album Star).
LOL! Lightfoot was underwhelming, boring and was a waste of opener space. All these comments are fake, either Jess’ friends or herself. Trust me. Just another boring dumbshit waste of time band.
No Lightfoot review? I heard Jess killed it.
From the first time I heard Jess sing (with voxpop) I was a fan. Gorgeous voice, talented writer and she couldn’t be a sweeter person. Super excited about her latest incarnation, Lightfoot. When’s the next show???
ummm… voxwho?
I am connected to at least one person per band that played that night – Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend the show b/c I had Thanksgiving plans in the midwest to attend to.
I am happy to see that Loose Lips is getting such great responses! Donny is a card. Also, Typefighter (have not heard the newer stuff yet) is a band to keep your eye on.
The drummer from the instrumental band (name escapes me right now) is a bad ass.
Then we come to Jess…..well, she is just 100% awesomeness. I would rather see her on her own anyways…her voice is great and doesn’t need Vox Pop to prove that for her.
apparently it is being added in
Oh nice!
Loose Lips rule!!
i have to concur, basically with everything that’s been said. loose lips were awesome, typefighter knows how to play a goddamn show, and Jess was magnetic. Electric, even, in the sense that everyone in the room was stuck on her from the moment she took the stage.
Jess’s voice comes out possibly (wait is it possible?) more beautiful than her and her presence on stage. Love it!
I missed this but I heard that Jess did very well.
great job Jess!
let me know the next time you’re playing again in town too!
Lightfoot was so good, I joined the band.
“triumphant sadness” is such a good phrase. and so apt. the show was awesome.
you bet your ass i’ll be at DC9 for the next show, even if i have to ditch work early. all eyes were on the stage — it was like a religious experience.
Her fucked up crooked ass witch-like nose!
I sense padding. Seriously, more comments than Pixies? Shit I couldn’t even get a single comment on the Devendra show (which was packed) even to tell me I suck at reviews and they should fire me from my unpaid job.
Seriously I too was there and thought the opening act was a sleeper. Generally their whole set was not tight and they played with apprehension as if they had just formed earlier that day. With all this glowing praise for the worst of the three acts, I have to agree with Russ. Who’s jobbing this website? You should be ashamed.
Gene, thank you! The fact the this now has 5 x more comments makes me think jess sat around all day concocting these words of praises herself and/or asking her friends to post. Jesus christ people, you cannot be THAT stupid. All those comments are completely bogus ESPECIALLY if you actually new what her band sounded like. It’s pure crap.
This band as with all the other bands that performed that night were nothing special.
The end. Oh, and I want my lost hour and a half back.
I look like Geddy Lee.
Jess is the Sarah Palin of the indie world. I would also fuck Sarah Palin. Sometimes when you see Sarah talking, don’t you just want to give her a pill that gives her herpes, and have it break out all over her body when she is breastfeeding her stupid, retarded little boy? I know I do. Because herpes hates retards, and amputees. Anyway, I’d still fuck him.
Hey have you heard about Jess’s new album? It’s going to be pre-Cambrian, post-Rococo, Indochinese, anti-A Capella, Callisto, Steve Buscemi, tropical chortle-core. Kinda cliche, I know, but what can you expect from someone whose nose is that big? Seriously, who does she think she is, Leslie “My Vagina is too hip for Kevin Drew” Feist?
I wouldn’t that thing. But the Chinese looking guys, yeah.
Jess’ set was just decent, but her whole marketing is bull. She basically hijacked Voxpop’s website and turned it into her own thing. Real classy.
That and all the fake comments above.
Typefighter rocked as usual and I was glad to finally see Loose Lips.
the fact that this now has 5x more comments that the PIXIES recap kills me
Jess is the best! I’ve been a giant fan since I saw her in VoxPop last February. She has a lovely voice and awesome bangs. All the haters can suck it.
Speaking for myself, nobody sent me here. I wasn’t at the show, I’ve only met Jess twice, briefly, and I read the review mainly because I’m friends with Loose Lips. But I’ll note that if somebody writes on their Facebook/Twitter/whatever “Cool review here, post comments”, (and I have no idea whether or not that happened, but let’s say it did) I fail to see the problem with that.
I once had sex with Jess. Her pussy was poppin like the mystery flavor of airheads.
Jess is a tiny girl with a heart so big that it’s only exceeded by the timbre and emotional coloring of her voice. More soulful than Janis Joplin; more confessional and resonant than Joni Mitchell; more revolutionary and less black than Paul Robeson. The superlative gems that we can come up with in describing Jess are so numerous we could string them together and sell enough necklaces to pay for lobbying against the world-wide sale of necklaces forever, thus making her commodities inconceivably rarer than they already are, like a locket of Amelia Earnhardt’s pubes strung around a Jewish lesbian unicorn’s neck.
The Maida Vale, criminally omitted, also played the shit out of this show and they were pure post rock instrumental awesomeness!
Jess is a rising star. Took a lot for her to perform that night and I have to say, she did not disappoint.
Jess was amazing! Seriously, I’ve never seen a club fill up like that for the opening band.
Sorry I missed this. Looks cool. Eager to hear about Jess’s set, too.
As a side note, I’m not sure I agree that the Hotel isn’t known for the best sound. I’d say their sound is usually on par with any other decent-sized DC venue, with a few occasional exceptions.
@ Nate
Thanks for the eagerness!
Also, I typically really enjoy the sound at RNRH. Not to mention, Rob the sound guy is a sweetheart and very attentive. Props to him for his hard work!
Bought Lightfoot’s tee-shirt. Can’t wait for the next show. I’ll be there grinning like a retard on a field trip to the zoo.
“visuals on the right side of the stage provided by Les Claypool”
wait..what?
she well may be a real firecracker. You never know. What a tempest in a puddle, anyway.
you may want to space your posts if you’re gonna post as one person… it may seem more realistic that you’re two people?
11:09 and 11:17
good job! you’re taking my advice! you may want to space them out over several hours, and not talk trash to yourself over a span of three hours, a few minutes apart. Kind of hypocritical to say someone is padding a comment section then doing the same thing. Quite pathetic either way.
Jess, stop sitting at your computer crafting all these. You look like a loser doing this. Really. You suck. Your band is a joke. And even if your friends did write those comments, they were totally exaggerating, because again, you suck.
lightfoot outdrew the other bands and no review? boo.
your band is better than any other DC band, right?
Wait, hijacked? It looks like there are two additional banner ads for Lightfoot but the Voxpop MySpace page remains unchanged. But I’m just a fake commenter.
Hi, I’m friends with Jess and was the guy who asked where the Lightfoot review was originally because I really did hear that she killed it. She never asked me to do it. She also pulled 70+ people in the opening slot on a Saturday. All of those things are facts, so back on up.
And if Jess’s friends are here to support her, what of it? Isn’t that what friends are for?
The only thing really sad about this comment thread is that all the negative comments are coming from anonymous posters who are, I’m guessing, all the same poster for the most part. It’s a shame to see a usually supportive music scene show such an ugly side.
And of course this has more comments than the Pixies show. It’s a lineup of great local bands with strong followings, most of who’s friends and fans frequent this website.
Sad. Anyway, good for Jess for doing so well with her project so far. This silly thread can’t take that away.
To the poster that posted from 11:47pm to 2:54am as different “users”. Talking to yourself is pretty lame. I just ran into this gallery and think it’s hilarious. I hope the one guy posting as multiple people is in high school still or else this is really, really sad.
Thank you Donny for mentioning Maida Vale! We were ghosts in the night apparently! I thought it was a great fun night all around, so hmph!
I have to laugh b/c
a.) it appears that A LOT of Vox Pop (Patrick) fans are obviously hating on Jess.
and
b.) was Vox Pop ever really that big locally?!?
This thread is a joke…
Jess and the bill she rode in on was great.
VoxPopIsDead….
They all suck so hard. Jess having her friends post all these comments is pretty lame of her. Having just read all the “favoring” comments, I am leaning towards the thought that Jess wrote all these herself. It’s like, come the fuck on, man! “Her voice is so great”, “Best band around”, “I’ve never seen an opener do better than the actual bands playing” “A riot almost started” crap is just not believable, people. These praises are so fucking fake.
And, I was there at the show to see looselips. There was NO RIOT. Her voice and sound was nothing special.
Yes, I agree, she looks like a witch.
Don’t you think I look like Geddy Lee dressed as a witch? Please someone sing me “Limelight” while I chug some anti-freeze!
what about the voice of geddy lee
how did it get so high?
i wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?
(i know him and he does!)
This is hilarious. Svet – give us the truth!
for someone who’s STILL trying to call out Jess for writing everything here… you’re the only one posting negative comments under different aliases. succcccccccccccccccck it! haha, get a life. posting at 3am talking trash about someone, and talking to yourself online? get a life…
haha, I bet she puts up those comments from “fans” up on her myspace page as positive press.
I came for the review of Typefighter, but this is just hilarious
I am in love with Jess. And even though I read all this stuff I don’t really have an opinion. I mean, I came after they played but I had the opportunity to talk to Jess (in Spanish, which is always great) for a couple of minutes.
Seriously, i don’t know why you people are hating so much. I mean, if that’s your modus operandi fine but don’t be just fucking trolling around.
All these bands are pretty lame. End of story. DC really needs to up their musical game.
peeps, here’s the deal… I went to the show… Jess has a strong voice. She did “kill” “Sea of Love.” Absolutely. Her own songs, however, are less memorable. I’m not saying they are bad, they’re just there. She does a fine job at marketing. She has an eye for fashion and design. She’s a player in the “culture of cute” — ie birds and cupcakes and kisses– which is currently in vogue and distracting hipsters from significant protest (ok, off-soapbox).
It’s misguided to think that 70+ “fans” came out to see her show… 3 other bands were on the bill… people come early… they want a good value.
The band that IS worth crushing about… Typefighter!! Absolutely uplifting… jesus christ… every goddamn song sounds uplifting… they all sound the same, but goddamn, they’re all great… and the lyrics are intuitive… I was singing even though I had never heard the songs!! The lyrics aren’t necessarily predictable… just intuitive. I woild def go to see them again!
Anyway, that’s the real deal on Jess… I’m not a hater… but I’m not a lover yet… I mean, I AM a lover… and if anyone out there wants me to prove it, I will…
i could tell you first hand that jess was padding the comments–who comments on a non-existent review? a bit harsh, russ, since she’s a first-timer and all, but even getting a gig up on the stage is more about connections, less about talent. great voice, though it doesn’t seem authentic, nor does the songwriting…like someone trying to be deep and a little cliche. typefighter rocks and is original, and loos lips is meh, but again, this city is about connections…way to use ‘em, I guess, but there are far more talented acts out there not getting face time.
I second uhhh’s comment. The opening band packed the house, rocked out and nearly caused a riot and no review? What, did you get to RNRH late Mike?
hey russ, ur names russ. ouch.
jess steals the show again, just like she always did with vox pop. it’s nice to see her with a new project where she can really show off her singing and song writing talent. so glad she is finally getting recognition for her efforts and her own vision.
she’s also hot as hell and oh so stylish
Lightfoot. Awesome.
Fantastic show! Lightfoot’s debut was natural and warm. Her voice is sweet but complex with tangible emotion–it harks back to the road-bound female singer-songwriters of years past. We’re very eager to hear more from this talented new artist.
“All these assholes on the internet are calling us names because of this stupid fucking movie.”
“That’s what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously.”
Were any of you even there?
Loose Lips stole the show. Easy.