Author Archives: Rachel Lange

Legendary trio Melvins stopped at Washington, DC’s Howard Theatre last Friday night, a date on their massive 40th anniversary “Twins of Evil” tour, a coheadlining tour with Boris.

Formed in Washington State in 1983, Melvins (currently Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and Stephen McDonald) are credited with merging the worlds of punk and heavy music, influencing the development of sludge metal and grunge. The “Twins of Evil” tour is not just a 40th anniversary tour for Melvins, but a showcase for their 1991 album Bullhead. This album is what is cited as a turning point for the band, the point at which Melvins became a true metal outfit with a more chugging sound and longer songs.

Melvins kicked off the coheadlining set Friday night to a packed and steamy house—one unfortunate fan succumbed to heat before the show even got started. The legends played all of Bullhead with a few additional tracks thrown in for good measure to the delight of the crowd. They were impressive over the course of their hour-long set.

Singer/guitarist Osborne’s voice and playing have stood the test of time and bassist McDonald hammed it up for the crowd. Coady Willis, filling in for Crover on tour, pounded away tirelessly on drums. Melvins played on stage with a backdrop of actress Agnes Moorehead in full Endora makeup (from the old TV show Betwitched) and vibrant, almost psychedelic, lighting—all pink and orange. It was a heady experience coupled with the sludgy metal. They ended with, of course, “Boris.”

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After more than 40 years, the legendary Duran Duran shows no signs of slowing down. Not even a little bit. They’ve been touring to promote Future Past, the icons’ 15th album, since last year, taking a quick break to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November. Last month, they announced Danse Macabre, to be released in October, just in time for Halloween. According to the press release, the new album is Duran Duran’s “soundtrack to their ultimate Halloween party…threading together new songs, themed covers, and newly reimagined versions of their own ‘spooky’ classics.” Sounds fun!

Last Wednesday night, the band once known as the Fab 5, which is now just four since the departure of guitarist Andy Taylor (Simon LeBon, Roger Taylor, John Taylor, and Nick Rhodes) graced Washington, DC with a stop on the Future Past tour. The all-ages crowd got treated to new material while also dancing to old favorites. The fans loved it all. I was thrilled to have the privilege of photographing one my first true musical love and still one of my all-time favorite bands.

Boy, does Duran Duran know how to make an entrance. Emerging from backstage, backlit by a video screen showing AI footage of the band dressed as astronauts, Duran Duran stood at the top of a staircase, peering out onto the screaming crowd, pausing for dramatic effect before scattering to take their respective places on stage. Two metal “curtains” that obscured the drum kit and keyboards then were lifted into the air and functioned as video screens for the night. Graphic art and video have a major presence on this run of the tour—it’s fitting given the band’s pioneering use of the music video in the 1980s.

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Five years, almost to the day, since the last time they appeared in the Washington, DC area, English indie/rock outfit Nothing But Thieves played to a very stoked, sold-out crowd on Tuesday night at The Fillmore Silver Spring. It was the very first date on the “Welcome to the DCC” US tour, and it possessed the air of a ship setting sail on a great adventure—all excitement and happiness. If the opening night is any indication, the “Welcome to the DCC” tour will be a huge success.

The Fillmore was already filled with fans when supporters Kid Kapichi took the stage at 8PM. Kid Kapichi (Ben Beetham, Jack Wilson, George Macdonald, and Eddie Lewis) come from England, in their case, Hastings, on the southeast coast. Known for their working-class voice, with a body of work that addresses racism, poverty, and mental health, Kid Kapichi cut their teeth on the Hastings music scene until they got a big break from Frank Carter, who invited them to play his birthday party then join him on tour.

The crowd at the Fillmore got a taste of this voice Tuesday night, with 30 minutes of working-class finger-flipping in songs like “5 days on (2 days off),” about monotonous day jobs, and “Working Man’s Town.” Vocalist Jack Wilson asked the crowd if everything in the States was outrageously expensive like it is back home. When the crowd roared in the affirmative, the band launched into “Rob the Supermarket.” Kid Kapichi’s latest album is Here’s What You Could Have Won.

Standing at the barrier between sets, I didn’t realize the Fillmore had become even more crowded until I looked over my shoulder at the urging of my pal on the security staff. We were packed in like sardines, and the crowd erupted when Nothing But Thieves took the stage. Nothing But Thieves formed in 2012 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in England. They are lead vocalist and guitarist Conor Mason, guitarist Joe Langridge-Brown, guitarist and keyboardist Dominic Craik, bassist Philip Blake, and drummer James Price. The band scored a top spot on the UK album chart with its latest album, Welcome to the DCC, a concept album that, according to the band, addresses “themes such as advertisement, unity, internet culture, the music industry, aging and politics, as well as escapism and change are highlighted by the alienation or privilege of a members only club.”

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On the heels of a sold-out performance at The Anthem in Washington, DC on August 9th, Queens of the Stone Age returned to kick DC’s ass in a second round on August 14th on the band’s The End is Nero tour. 

Hardcore punk outfit The Armed kicked off the night. They’re an interesting bunch. The band formed in Detroit back in 2009 as a “functionally anonymous” collective. The band omitted the names of its members from albums and would employ varying lineups when playing live, which fueled speculation about the band’s makeup. However, the band has recently come clean about itself, revealing its six current members: Kenny Szymanski, Randall Lee, Urian Hackney, Patrick Shiroishi, Cara Drolshagen, and Tony Wolski.

On The End is Nero tour, the connection to QOTSA is Troy Van Leeuwen, who produced The Armed’s newest album, Perfect Saviors, slated to be released at the end of August. Taking the stage at 7pm, The Armed blazed through the roughly half hour set—eight songs, split right in half between their 2021 release, Ultrapop, and Perfect Saviors. It was hard to know where to look as vocalist Tony Wolski’s tornadic presence fueled the punk rock energy.

After a quick turnover, Phantogram, took the stage. The “street beat, psych pop” duo of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Bartel and Josh Carter formed in 2007 in Greenwich, NY. The friends met as children and, around 2007, reunited and formed Phantogram. Over the course of seven songs, the crowd got acquainted with Phantogram’s swirling guitars, spacey keyboards, echoes, and airy vocals. The setlist was pulled from across the band’s discography but was weighted toward songs from Three and Voices, including bangers “Howling at the Moon” and “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore.”

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From July 10–12, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) presented NIVA ‘23, the leading conference for independent music and comedy venues, festivals, and the promotion industry. Members gathered in Washington, DC across venues around the city to meet and discuss topics of interest to independent venues, including industry diversity, mental health, safety, insurance, the economic impact of live entertainment, and the relationship between live entertainment and policy issues. On July 12, NIVA members also engaged with partners on Capitol Hill on issues relevant to the live entertainment industry during the first-ever Congressional fly-in on Capitol Hill before closing out the conference at a closing night party at the Black Cat.

NIVA is a relatively new organization, forming in April 2020, only three weeks into the pandemic shutdown. The immediate goal was to help save independent venues crippled by the effects of the global pandemic. It now represents independent music and comedy venues, festivals, performing arts centers, and promoters throughout the US. NIVA led efforts leading to the passage of the Save Our Stages Act, which secured $16 billion in federal relief funds, the largest amount allocated to the arts in U.S. history.

In 2023, NIVA’s formal mission is to “preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live venues, promoters, and festivals throughout the United States.” The first conference was held in Cleveland, Ohio last year. While about 500 attendees gathered in Cleveland, almost twice that number was expected in DC.

The festivities began Sunday night, at an opening night party at DC’s famed 9:30 Club and neighboring Atlantis, the city’s newest music venue, built as a replica of the original 9:30 Club on F Street in downtown DC. Attendees enjoyed food and drink while brass from See Tickets (the evening’s sponsor) and NIVA gave brief, informal opening remarks to the still-gathering crowd.

While eating, drinking, and networking went on at the 9:30 Club, Rudy Love the & the Encore and Elise Trouw were the opening night performers next door at The Atlantis, Washington, DC’s newest venue. Rudy Love & the Encore, hailing from Wichita, Kansas, are a collective made up band leader Love’s friends and family. For about an hour they energized the intimate crowd with their blend of R&B and soul.

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In December 2012, Rolling Stone ran an interview with Jimmy Page. Being a lifelong Led Zeppelin fan, and knowing that Page rarely gave interviews, I read it with excited interest. The article noted that Page kept up with current music; he mentioned that one of the bands he’d been listening to was Rival Sons.

Figuring Pagey was on to something, I immediately sought out the band’s music. Blown away by the loud, bold, rock and roll, Pressure and Time, Rival Sons’ 2011 album, entered my regular rotation. During the late summer of 2013, I traveled to Whitesburg, Kentucky to see the band for the first time; they played Summit City Lounge in the tiny Appalachian town as a nod to the local rabid fanbase. I made friends that night I have to this day.

Ten years later, I finally got to cover Rival Sons when they made a stop at the Fillmore Silver Spring on the Darkfighter tour last Tuesday night. The Record Company and Starcrawler provided support. The Fillmore shook with the sounds of true dirty rock and roll.

Starcrawler got the night started. From Los Angeles, Starcrawler (lead singer Arrow de Wilde, guitarist Henri Cash, bassist Tim Franco, and drummer Seth Carolina, pedal steel/guitar player Bill Cash) has already amassed a fanbase of big names, including Iggy Pop and Elton John. These musicians are young, charismatic, and play raw glam rock.

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Avatar brought their Swedish metal circus to the Fillmore Silver Spring last week, one of the last stops on the Dance Devil Dance tour. Joining Avatar was fellow Swedish death metal band Orbit Culture and Veil of Maya, from Chicago. It was a marathon night—the festivities started at 7:30 sharp and it was after 11:30 when the Fillmore emptied out. The crowd was left exhilarated and joyful after an incredible show. I expected nothing less.

Swedish melodic death metal outfit Orbit Culture (Niklas Karlsson, Frederik Lennartsson, Richard Hansson, and Christopher Wallerstedt) kicked the night off with an enjoyable set. The 30-minute set featured songs from the band’s newest album Nija such as “Open Eye,” “North Star of Nija,” and “The Shadowing.” The buzz among us photographers and our security pal, Keith, was that the band had a distinct Metallica sound to their music. Orbit Culture’s latest track is “Vultures of North,” released in August 2022, a brutal, thudding bit of violence I just added to my music library.

Chicago metalcore band Veil of Maya (Marc Okubo, Sam Applebaum, Danny Hauser, and Lukas Magyar) took the stage and promptly had us photographers dodging crowd surfers in the photo pit. Launching into the 2021 single “Viscera,” the band’s 12-song set showcased songs from across the band’s career. In particular, “Godhead,” “Red Fur,” and “Synthwave Vegan” are from Veil of Maya’s latest album, [m]other, released this year. That album is praised for Veil of Maya’s ability to evolve. It was an excellent set that prepped the crowd for the dark carnival to follow.

I first caught Avatar in 2019, when I covered them at the Anthem in Washington, DC; they were on tour as support for Babymetal. I had never heard of the band and had no idea what I was getting into when they took the stage. There have only been a few instances in my life where I felt like I’d been hit by lightning seeing a band for the first time; that night a bolt hit me square in the head. From that moment, I was hooked on the thundering metal made by the five men from Gothenburg, Sweden (Jonas Jarlsby, John Alfredsson, Johannes Eckerström, Tim Öhrström, and Henrik Sandelin).

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Industrial giants Ministry stopped off at the Fillmore in Silver Spring on May 3, supported by New Wave god Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly. This celebrated lineup wowed the DC-area crowd.

Starting promptly at 7pm, Canadian band Front Line Assembly, or FLA, kicked off Wednesday night’s gig with heavy dose of electro-industrial music. Specifically, Front Line Assembly is known for combining electro-industrial elements with electronic body music, or EBM. For the uninitiated, EBM has its roots in the European punk and industrial music worlds; it combines industrial music and synth-punk with some elements of dance music.

Led by Bill Leeb, Front Line Assembly started with 2010’s “I.E.D.” from the album Improvised.Electronic.Device. While FLA has 17 albums in its discography, from 1987 to 2021, the set list drew from albums released from the 1990s to 2013. I was surprised to hear my 1985 jam “Rock Me Amadeus” in the set, which made for a bit of fun nostalgia. The crowd-pleasing, 30-minute set was dark and atmospheric; as a photographer it was great fun to shoot.

It had been over a year since I’d last seen and covered electronic music pioneer Gary Numan; I reviewed his gig at Washington DC’s Lincoln Theatre in March 2022. At that time, I was super stoked to photograph one of my bucket list artists—at the Fillmore on May 3, I was so happy and excited to be able to do it again. Before the show started, I spent a lot of time telling the security staff and other photographers around me how good his set was going be. I was right.

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It was a very cold Saturday in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC but the Fillmore Silver Spring was cozy with the heat of a completely sold-out house for Alter Bridge’s date on the Pawns & Kings tour. Mammoth WVH continues along for the party, and for the first half of the US tour, Nashville’s Red has the opening slot.

As a known Alter Bridge fan, I was grateful and excited to cover them again, and looking forward to finally seeing a DC area show—they hadn’t played the Fillmore since February 2017. The last time I covered the band was in Oslo, Norway last November. Saturday, instead of a trans-Atlantic flight, I just took the S9 Metrobus up 16th Street to get to the show.

Frigid temperatures notwithstanding, the conditions were perfect for a great show—the devoted Alter Bridge fanbase filled the venue to the literal rafters and familiar and friendly photographers greeted me when I arrived at the entrance to the photo pit. My favorite Fillmore security guy was working that night too—we were looked after well.

At 7:30 sharp, the lights dimmed, and Red took the stage. On the Christian rock scene since 2002, Grammy-nominated Red (Michael Barnes, brothers Anthony Armstrong and Randy Armstrong, and Brian Medeiros) was unfamiliar to me prior to Saturday night. The high-kicking front man Barnes must have sensed that they were new to many people in the audience and asked the crowd who was seeing Red for the first time. Many hands, including my own, shot up. Nonetheless, the compact, just-under-25-minute set was an impressive introduction to the band’s body of hard rock (Red’s next album, Rated R, is set for release this spring), getting the energies of even wary agnostics like me amped for the rest of the show.

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In the early ’80s, a new form of heavy metal music emerged with the first wave of black metal bands. Characterized by a thrash or speed metal sound, the lyrics of black metal songs were defined by the use of anti-Christian and Satanic themes. The term “black metal” was coined by the English band Venom, with their 1982 album Black Metal, and the first wave of black metal bands came from Europe. Mercyful Fate, hailing from Denmark, was part of this first wave.

After a career spent influencing bands like Metallica and Slayer, Mercyful Fate went on hiatus in 1999 and, after regrouping a for a few performances, returned to performing on a more permanent basis in 2019. In October, Mercyful Fate kicked off their first official North American tour since 1999 and brought the black metal party to the Fillmore Silver Spring on Tuesday night.

The Fillmore was packed to the point of making me feel claustrophobic and was filled with fans who ranged from the (very) old school to kids with corpse paint. With beer flowing from the bars, it was carefully controlled chaos. At 9:20, the curtain dropped from the stage revealing an elaborate stage set, complete with an upside down cross. The band (comprised of founding guitarist Hank Shermann, drummer Bjarne T. Holm, guitarist Mike Wead, and bassist Becky Baldwin) took their positions on stage first.

King Diamond, in full makeup and a horned mask (he’s thought to be the first in metal to don corpse paint), then floated down a staircase and the crowd went wild. The performance lasted just over an hour with a set list of only eleven songs, with a large chunk coming from their 1983 album Melissa. It was a memorable and historic show, a fantastic performance by one of heavy metal’s greatest bands.

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Swedish metal legends Meshuggah, after having to postpone original tour dates, finally landed at the Fillmore Silver Spring Tuesday night, assaulting the stoked audience with their brand of extreme metal. Joining them on their US tour are Converge and Torche.

Three bands on the bill means the night got started early. Torche (Steve Brooks, Rick Smith, Jonathan Nuñez, and Eric Hernandez) set the tone for the crowd with their heavy, grinding sound—everyone in the still-assembling crowd was banging their heads in unison. Torche sounded great; sadly, this is to be their last tour. Earlier this year, singer-guitarist Brooks announced he’d be leaving after touring as support for Meshuggah this year. Later, it was confirmed that the band would be calling it quits entirely. Torche’s last album was 2019’s Admission.

Sandwiched in between acts was Converge (Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton, and Ben Koller). Formed in Massachusetts in 1990, Converge’s roots are in both hardcore punk and heavy metal, and they are considered one of the earliest and most influential metalcore bands. Vocalist Bannon paced the stage like an animal, barely pausing so we could get our shots, and swung the microphone cord around like a whip (I got knocked in the head a few times). The crowd responded with gusto and expressed thanks in the form of headbanging and crowd surfing.

Finally, Meshuggah. The anticipation in the crowd was palpable and rightfully so. Formed in 1987, Meshuggah is known for their innovative style and the band has been identified as among the most important bands in metal. They’ve even inspired a metal sub genre—djent—characterized by its complex rhythm patterns.

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Lake Street Dive sold out yet another venue when the band stopped by Washington, DC’s Anthem last Friday night, offering up a night of jazz and soul-inspired music to the happy and enthusiastic crowd.

Supporting Lake Street Dive on this tour is Washington state native Allen Stone. It’s not the first time Stone has treated Washington, DC to his old school funk and soul sounds; he’s headlined in town before, having most recently played the Lincoln Theatre last December and the 9:30 Club just before the pandemic shut everything down.

So the crowd was already happy to see him and eager to hear his gorgeous voice, often compared to Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. This was my first time seeing Stone; the voice stopped me dead in my tracks. Stone’s latest album, released in November 2021, is APART, featuring acoustic versions of fan favorites spanning his catalog. Friday night, Stone filled The Anthem with his sweet melodies and even sang his thanks to everyone present, from the crowd, to the bartenders, and even the venue’s custodians.

The Brooklyn-based, multi-genre band (Rachael Price, Bridget Kearney, Mike Calbrese, Akie Bermiss, and James Cornelison) packed much into their set—plenty of the setlist came from their 2021 release Obviously (“Hypotheticals,” “Hush Money,” and “Same Old News,” among others). In addition, the set was sprinkled with cover tunes—the Jackson 5’s “Want You Back” made an appearance, as did Carole King’s “So Far Away,” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Nick of Time.”

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The unofficial last week of summer kicked off with a treat for metal fans at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland. Swedish death metal legends At The Gates performed their 1995 album, Slaughter of the Soul, in its entirety and brought along Municipal Waste and Enforced for the ride.

Virginia-based Enforced took the stage at 8PM, assaulting the still assembling crowd with its thrash metal. Formed in Richmond in 2017, Enforced (Knox Colby, Will Wagstaff, Zack Monahan, Ethan Gensurowsky, and Alex Bishop) came together from the ashes of other hardcore and punk bands. Their latest album is Kill Grid, released last year, said to be a “nine-song cluster-bomb of thrashing death on apathetic times.” Vocalist Knox Colby marched back and forth across the stage like a beast, an animal roaring at the crowd. I can honestly say this was one of the most intense sets I’ve seen in recent years.

Virginia was represented yet again with Municipal Waste, who treated the Fillmore to a whopping nineteen song setlist, crammed into 45 minutes. The thrash outfit (Tony Foresta, Ryan Waste, Philip Hall, Dave Witte, and Nick Poulos), which formed in Richmond back in 2000, traffics in aggressive yet fun material. Labeled “party thrash” by the media, the band includes songs like “Beer Pressure” and “The Art of Partying” in their setlist, along with new tunes from their latest album, Electrified Brain, such as “Demoralizer” and “Electric Brain.”

The Monday night, first-day-of-school crowd had to be nudged a bit by vocalist Foresta to get the circle pit and crowd surfing going, but they got up to speed in short order. If you’re unfamiliar with Municipal Waste, it might be easy to write off their music based solely on the party hardy subject matter of their songs. That would be a mistake. Underneath that partying is heavy, hard driving, ass kicking musicianship. While Municipal Waste counts bands like Anthrax and Slayer as influences, I also picked up a heavy dose of Judas Priest in their sound; if you know me at all you know this is high praise on my part. Municipal Waste picked up a new fan in me Monday night; I’m sorry I forgot to buy a shirt!

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It’s been a busy year for Duran Duran. Last October, the legendary band (Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor) from Birmingham, England released their 15th album, Future Past, one that they say is a nod to their past while embracing their future. It makes sense. Duran Duran have always had an eye to the horizon; they were famously among the first to embrace the music video. That willingness to look ahead has contributed to their longevity as a band, but mostly they just make great music that stands the test of time.

But I digress. Back in June, the band performed at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration outside Buckingham Palace, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Last month, Duran Duran kicked off the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a headline performance in Birmingham. To top it all off, Duran Duran—one of my all-time favorite bands and my first true musical love—were announced as one of 2022’s inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That honor will be formally bestowed on them November 5th in Los Angeles.

Amidst all of that, the band found time for a tour to promote the newest album; the Future Past tour made a stop at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion Tuesday night. Duran Duran brought down the house with their mix of old and new. I expected nothing less.

As in the past, Nile Rodgers & Chic joined the tour as support. What a pleasure and a privilege it is to see Rodgers perform. The man’s career has been simply mind boggling—the record producer, composer and co-founder of Chic has contributed to records that have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide. He co-produced Duran Duran’s 1986 album Notorious, and remixed “The Reflex,” their biggest-selling single. Grammys? He’s got three of them. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? He was inducted in 2017. If you’ve ever liked a great pop/ funk/ disco/ soul song that was made at any point since the ’70s, chances are Nile Rodgers had a hand in the creation of it—the man’s abilities are just jaw dropping.

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