We think it’s often worth reminding you (and ourselves) from whence we came. Washington, DC to be exact, just about five years ago. And, a while back it was novel to think that we could take the DC model and report from a handful of cities and continents—all things being local, of course.
So with that, we expanded our focus and coverage to New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Cleveland, Seattle, Memphis, Nashville, even the UK (and more!) and have reported daily on local goings on, the regional music scenes, and that indie, brick and mortar culture that enlivens us.
But ah, DC…you’re in our veins.
This week we thought we’d throw a little party for our home base and get you guys out to see some of our (and probably your) favorite bands—on us and our partners here at home. We’ve hand-picked a bunch of shows we’ll have tickets for every day, all week—the majority of which are unannounced and tickets aren’t even on sale just yet—by way of saying thank you to the city, scene, and people that supported TVD from the outset.
With that, San Francisco’s Grass Widow pays a visit to DC’s Comet Ping Pong tomorrow night (6/12) and we’ve got a pair of tickets for a band we’re pretty high on around here. In fact, just last week our in-house Lester Bangs, Joseph Neff, wrote:
Those with an unscratchable itch for stripped-down yet pop-savvy post-punk should give San Francisco’s Grass Widow a try. Their latest record Internal Logic hits upon many of that sub-genre’s best elements, all without being the slightest bit overbearing about the whole endeavor.
Thankfully Grass Widow comes from a proudly DIY place. One listen to the angular, post-punk derived sound of those first two records and it’s clear that Hannah Lew, Lillian Marling, and Raven Mahon march to the beat of their own drummer. This isn’t to imply the band don’t give off the vibes of precedent; upon first hearing them I heard the shaping influence of the UK’s unbeatable Rough Trade warriors The Raincoats filtered perhaps through some of the righteous ‘90s rocking of Washington DC’s underappreciated Slant 6.
But one of the most pleasant extra-musical aspects of Grass Widow’s recent development is how they have retained a deep sense of that DIY spirit by releasing Internal Logic on their own HLR label. It’s not only reflective of the band’s sense of scale and their preference for artistic control over fleeting notoriety, but it’s also indicative of a recent spike in artists electing to not just remain with indies, but in many cases taking the initiative to actually coordinate the release of their own product, a trend that I can wholeheartedly cheer.
Again, Grass Widow is scaled differently than The Raincoats…being a band whose best qualities grow with time well spent. All their records are worth owning, but Internal Logic is the most fully formed to date, and its running-time posits that more is to come.
Grass Widow plays Comet tomorrow night, so we’re going to make it easy for you to enter. Simply tell us in the comments why we should send you to catch them live, and the smartest of the bunch wins the tickets. We’ll choose our winner at noon, tomorrow 6/12.
