Author Archives: Rachel Lange

Danny Elfman has spent decades making gorgeous monsters. At the Fillmore Silver Spring on Monday night, the iconic musician and composer proved (again!) there are few artists alive who can navigate punk, new wave, industrial rock, and cinematic grandeur simultaneously the way he does. In Elfman’s care, it’s all part of the same twisted, weird universe. What an honor to be able to cover this for The Vinyl District.

The Fillmore was packed, and I’ll admit I was a bit surprised by that, especially on a Monday night. I feel dumb writing that now, because while Elfman plays the occasional festival (I had the pleasure of photographing him in 2024 at Sick New World in Las Vegas), this short, eleven-city tour is his first with a band since 1995. It’s no wonder the Fillmore was packed. So, this was hardly a Gen X nostalgia party, although there were plenty of people around who remembered Oingo Boingo the first time. Elfman devotees of all ages populated the Fillmore for what was an amazing and strange treat.

Elfman’s tour avoids turning him into a museum piece. Indeed, Elfman is working on a new album set for release this fall; his live shows incorporate both old and new material. The set moves through Oingo Boingo favorites, solo material, and newer songs, with “Sorry,” “Insects,” “Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself),” “Native Intelligence,” “Just Another Day,” “True,” “Sayonara,” “Happy,” and the wonderfully jagged “Upside Down,” establishing the evening’s manic momentum. A personal favorite was “The River of Life,” a banger I hope to hear again soon.

Then came the fun detour into Elfman’s cinematic imagination. Donning a Jack Skellington-inspired jacket (momentarily covering up what is now his signature bare and tattooed torso), “This Is Halloween” unfolded with the menace one would hope for. It made me smile to see how it delighted the entire audience. Elfman’s performance—punctuated by a Cheshire Cat grin—doesn’t feel like a composer presenting greatest hits from a podium, backed by an orchestra. This is a rock ’n’ roll band with a movie studio growing inside it.

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On Sunday night (Mother’s Day, as the crowd was often reminded), the Anthem played host to a lineup that felt like a living timeline of alternative rock when it welcomed Courtney Barnett on her Creature of Habit tour.

The evening featured dusty folk-rock, fuzzy ‘90s guitar crunch, and the observational indie rock that made Courtney Barnett one of the defining voices of modern guitar music. On the Creature of Habit tour, Barnett brings along Truman Sinclair and Momma. The show was like a celebration of how rock music continually reinvents itself without ever fully losing sight of its roots. Warm, loud, and human, the show succeeded not just because of Barnett but because every artist contributed a different chapter to the story.

Opening the night was singer-songwriter Truman Sinclair, whose early set shifted the feel of the Anthem’s large room into something more intimate. Armed with a harmonica and an easygoing stage presence, the Chicago native delivered songs that carried echoes of 1970s folk rock, but with influences from the 2000’s emo scene. Through songs like “Bloodline,” “Pale Horse,” and “Dust to Dust,” I could hear the influence of greats like Neil Young, particularly in the warmth of Sinclair’s vocals and the loose, rootsy guitar work.

The harmonica playing gave songs a warm texture, while the band’s relaxed chemistry made the set feel unforced and genuine. Rather than sounding like an imitation, though, Sinclair’s music felt like a continuation of the folk-rock tradition through a younger lens.

Sinclair’s set never tried to overwhelm the audience. Instead, through Sinclair’s charming nervous energy, it slowly pulled people inward, winning over the room through sincerity and atmosphere. Sinclair’s debut album is American Recordings.

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There was something straightforward and refreshingly honest about Bush’s stop at The Anthem on April 9. No overproduced theatrics and no bloat; it was just a welcome, straight-up rock show. Bush is known as one of the bands from the 1990s with staying power, and the The Land of Milk and Honey tour is in support of their latest album, 2025’s I Beat Loneliness. On this tour of the US, Bush is bringing along Mammoth and young upstarts James and the Cold Gun along for the ride.

The night kicked off promptly at 7:00 PM when James and the Cold Gun, from Wales, took the stage to a crowd that was still filing in. Led by James Joseph, the band wasted no time getting down to business. James and the Cold Gun have two albums—most of the set list was taken from 2025’s Face in the Mirror, but included a track from the band’s self-titled, 2023 LP. As an opener on a larger bill, James and the Cold Gun succeeded in grabbing attention and setting the tone for the night.

After a quick turnover, Mammoth took the stage. The ridiculously talented Wolfgang Van Halen and his band (Ronnie Ficaro, Jon Jourdan, Frank Sidoris, and Garrett Whitlock) dove right into “One of a Kind” from The End (2025). By now, Mammoth has three albums; their supporting slot setlist pulls from all of them. It included the Grammy-nominated “Distance,” which has become a signature song for Mammoth performances. It adds emotional weight to their gigs and is a quiet tribute to Van Halen’s legendary father.

Mammoth’s role in the lineup on this tour is clear: to bridge the gap between the scrappy hunger of the opener and the seasoned confidence of the headliner. Mammoth’s polished yet heavy sound and presence underscore that The Land of Milk and Honey tour isn’t a ’90s nostalgia package—it is a living, breathing, 21st-century rock show.

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Saturday night, Steel Panther stopped at the Fillmore Silver Spring as part of the comedic glam metal band’s Twenty Twenty $ex Tour. It showed Steel Panther doing what they do best: delivering an adults-only night of humor, top-shelf musicianship, and delightfully over-the-top parody. The DC suburbs got a show that struck a careful balance between comedy and tight musical performance.

Kicking off the warm spring night in Silver Spring were Nashville’s Cody Parks & The Dirty South. The country-metal outfit delivered a rowdy, no-frills set to the assembled crowd. It was like a shot of Jack Daniels before the slick LA glam of the headliner—a high-energy blend of outlaw country, Southern rock, and Tennessee attitude.

The band leans into themes of working-class pride and rural identity. Heck, they even have an EP called “Smothered & Covered” (2023), a reference to that beloved Southern institution, Waffle House. Cody Parks & The Dirty South don’t rely on elaborate stage production—just driving guitars, pounding drums, and a frontman in Parks who can work a room. In just thirty minutes, Cody Parks & The Dirty South managed to get the crowd engaged with their aural barroom brawl, setting up the tone for the rest of the night. The band’s latest EP is 2024’s “Country Metal, Vol. 1.”

From the moment Steel Panther took the stage at 9 PM, the Fillmore became a neon-lit throwback to the Sunset Strip’s most outrageous days. The LA-based band (frontman Michael Starr, guitarist Satchel, drummer Stix Zadinia, and bassist Spyder) kicked off the set with “Eyes of a Panther” and were joined by athletic dancers showing off their impressive abilities on poles flanking the stage.

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The night I was waiting for finally arrived—the Swedish metal circus is back in town! Swedish metal masters Avatar are touring the US again at last. On November 23, they stopped off at the Fillmore Silver Spring for the first time since 2023. They’re on tour in support of their latest album, Don’t Go In The Forest. Avatar continues to pick winners to bring along on tour; on this run, they have SpiritWorld and Alien Weaponry along for the ride.

It was a marathon night of metal, kicking off at 7:30 when SpiritWorld took the stage. Hailing from Las Vegas, SpiritWorld (Stu Folsom, Matt Schrum, Nick Brundy, and Preston Harper) describe their sound as “deathwestern”—it’s thrash metal with Western themes. The band all wear stylized stage clothes that underscore that theme, wearing suits with elaborate embroidery and sequins, cowboy hats, and boots.

The 30-minute set was a short list of long tunes; just four songs, split between 2022’s Deathwestern and 2025’s Helldorado. Helldorado has received praise for its cool and original concept, which mixes aggressive metal with Americana. SpiritWorld did its job as the night’s leadoff, priming the crowd at the Fillmore for a whole evening of metal, and getting the crowd surfing started in the process.

After a quick turnover, the house lights darkened, and Van Halen’s “Jump” filled the room. Once the song ended, drummer Henry de Jong appeared onstage, walked to his drums, and performed a short haka for the simmering crowd. Alien Weaponry hail from New Zealand and are of Māori ancestry. Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand (Aotearoa), known for their rich culture, traditions, and language. The haka is a ceremonial dance that conveys pride and respect.

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Any doubts about the “the end” of rock music were put to rest Tuesday night at the Fillmore Silver Spring, when Mammoth made a stop on their current tour, in support of the band’s latest album, The End, released in October. This third album finds Mammoth, minus “WVH” from the name, continuing to evolve. There is no question that Wolfgang Van Halen is making his own mark on music.

In tow on The End tour is Los Angeles-based Return to Dust. Getting the rock and roll party started early, Return to Dust (Matty Bielawski, Sebastian Gonzalez, London Hudson, and Graham Stanush) hit the still-assembling crowd with a blazing 25-minute set. Return to Dust is a very young band; the kickoff song was “Black Road,” the title track from their debut EP, released only in 2023. After releasing their only LP (so far), Return to Dust, in 2024, their second EP, “Speak Like the Dead,” was released in August.

The band’s sound is a throwback to ’90s rock—think Soundgarden and Alice in Chains—and provided a solid complement to the rest of the lineup. This band has a bright future and, like Mammoth, Return to Dust carries with them a relative of rock royalty. Drummer Hudson is the son of guitar legend Slash.

I made a comment to another photographer Tuesday night that the last time I covered Mammoth, they were supporting Alter Bridge (back in 2023). On this tour, Alter Bridge frontman and all-around rock god Myles Kennedy was supporting Mammoth, comfortably occupying the middle spot on the night’s bill.

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It is not often that one gets to witness a performance from a true musical legend in person. The mightiest ones grace us with their presence in arenas and stadiums, letting us near, but never too close. But sometimes in rare moments we get lucky, and a Metal God will come down from the mountain to walk among us mortals.

On a quiet Sunday night in the Washington, DC suburbs, the Fillmore Silver Spring was the setting for such a divine moment, when legendary Bruce Dickinson, frontman of metal giants Iron Maiden, made a stop on his Mandrake Project tour. The Mandrake Project is Dickinson’s seventh solo album, but it’s been nearly 20 years since his last release; this tour is indeed a blessing from the metal gods.

It was 9:00 pm, after a short DJ set, when the house lights of the Fillmore darkened and audio from The Invaders (a short lived, late 1960s sci-fi series) filled the room. One by one the band (Chris Declerq and Philip Naslund on guitars, Tanya O’Callaghan on bass, Dave Moreno on drums, and Maestro Mistheria on keyboards) took the stage, with Dickinson entering the stage last, welcomed by the adoring, roaring audience.

Dickinson at once hit the crowd with “Accident of Birth,” from the 1997 album of the same name. The sci-fi continued with “Abduction” from the 2005 album Tyranny of Souls. “Laughing in the Hiding Bush,” from 1994, was in the cleanup spot.

What hit me immediately was Dickinson’s energy. After decades in the metal world, at age 67, Dickinson moves on stage like the Tasmanian Devil, thrashing about and throwing hands while belting out songs. He sounds amazing and still hits all the notes. In the photo pit, I ran back and forth trying to keep up with his energy. It was tough!

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What a delight it is to have The Darkness roll through town. The veteran British rockers are touring to promote their latest album, Dreams on Toast, and brought their always fun party to Washington, DC’s Lincoln Theatre Sunday night.

Taking the Lincoln Theatre stage ahead of schedule, supporting artist Mark Daly brings classic rock sensibility with an Irish flair to the tour. Hailing from Cork, Ireland, Daly was discovered in Spain when music manager Brian Message attended a gig by Daly’s band, The Voodoos. Impressed by the band’s raw, hard rock sound, Daly and his crew were brought to London, where they recorded an EP. Since then, Daly has worked and toured with the likes of Geoff Tate, Ritchie Kotzen, and producer Brian Virtue.

On Sunday night in DC, Daly brought the fire during a quick set showcasing his songwriting. Several of the songs (such as “Better Off Alone” and “I Wanna Be More”) come from Devil’s Arms, released last year. Daly clearly shows that his keeping the spirit of classic rock alive, and the fans at the Lincoln Theatre showed that in 2025 there is still an audience for it. Daly expressed his appreciation for American audiences, pointing out his observation that they always show up to support the opening act. The crowd, who were mostly seated during the set, responded well to Daly and his band, and rewarded him with a standing ovation at the end.

Against a black backdrop with “The Darkness” emblazoned in red, The Darkness (Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain, and Rufus Taylor) strolled onto the darkened stage to the usual sounds of ABBA’s “Arrival” woven into the cheers of the band’s faithful, ready for a good time. They opened with “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” from Dreams on Toast, released in March. With several months to sit with the new material, the DC crowd already knew the words and sang along.

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After a long absence, Chevelle returned to Washington, DC Sunday night, making a stop on their 2025 summer tour at The Anthem. Touring to support their latest album, Bright as Blasphemy, they marked the official end of a long sweltering summer in the nation’s capital, bringing with them Dead Poet Society and Asking Alexandria.

While the DC Jazz Fest livened up the bright outdoor atmosphere of DC’s Wharf Sunday, LA’s Dead Poet Society kicked off the dark rock party indoors. Dead Poet Society (Jack Underkofler, Jack Collins, Dylan Brenner, and Will Goodroad) hyped up the still-gathering crowd with their powerful energy and an off-the-cuff style that has its roots in their early days, when they formed somewhat by accident back in Boston. The set was short but packed a punch. In thirty minutes, the quartet blasted the uninitiated in the crowd with its alt rock sound. Dead Poet Society’s latest album is 2024’s Fission, featuring the charting “Hurt.”

After a quick turnover on stage, Asking Alexandria continued the aural assault on the Anthem’s crowd. An English quartet, Asking Alexandria (the current lineup is James Cassells, Cameron Liddell, Sam Bettley, and Danny Warsnop) made a huge impression on the thickened crowd. The enthusiasm in the room built during the set and came to a head once vocalist Danny Worsnop started encouraging crowd surfing. From the back of The Anthem’s floor, I could watch crowd surfer after crowd surfer float to the stage. A circle pit then touched down like a joyful tornado—it felt like much needed catharsis.

The band then subdued the energy. While the others left the stage, Wornsop played “Someone, Somewhere” on an acoustic guitar as well as the beginning of “Moving On” before being rejoined by his bandmates. Asking Alexandria wrapped up with “The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel).” It was an excellent set from the metalcore outfit and succeeded in prepping the crowd for headliner Chevelle. Asking Alexandria’s latest album is 2023’s Where Do We Go from Here?

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After 30 years, psychedelic rock veterans The Dandy Warhols are still going strong. They are currently on tour in the US and made a stop at Washington, DC’s historic Howard Theatre Tuesday night.

Accompanying the Dandy Warhols on this tour are Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor. From Detroit, the trio (Sean Morrow, Eric Oppitz, and Rick Sawoscinski) carry the torch of psychedelic rock, with music even being featured on episodes of the Showtime series Shameless and in the film One Fast Move.

For 40 minutes, SOYSV played for the still-assembling, Tuesday night audience at the Howard Theatre. The chill crowd was taken along a cosmic journey of psychedelic melodies and fuzzy guitar riffs. The band performed in near darkness, with only some backlighting and video screens illuminating the trio.

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, The Dandy Warhols (currently Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Zia McCabe, Peter Holmström, and Brent DeBoer) orginally got together in 1994. They got a record deal after their very first show, and their debut album, Dandys Rule OK, was released in 1995. Of course, for the young folks in the audience, the name is a play on the pop artist Andy Warhol.

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On the heels of his latest release, 2024’s PowerNerd, Devin Townsend is in the middle of a North American tour. Before the tour blasted off in Nashville, the Canadian guitarist/singer announced he would be taking a sabbatical after this series of dates. Touring is a grind, and Townsend wants to attend to some other projects as well as family needs. With that knowledge, I happily had the honor of covering this date of the PowerNerd tour at the Fillmore Silver Spring last Saturday night. Progressive metal veterans Tesseract join Townsend on this tour, his last for the foreseeable future.

UK-based Tesseract (Daniel Tompkins, Acle Kahney, James Monteith, Amos Williams, and Jay Postones) got the night started with an awesome set, getting the crowd primed for Townsend. It was a long set for an opening act, nearly an entire hour, and seemed to thrill the Fillmore crowd, which was populated with many Tesseract fans. The knockout set leaned heavily on tracks from their latest album, 2023’s War of Being. The stage set up was simple but effective, utilizing backlighting to create a futuristic feel to their performance.

Founded in 2003, Tesseract is credited as a pioneer in progressive metal’s djent movement, which included genre giant Meshuggah. Early in the set, the frontman addressed the crowd, mentioning that Tesseract had also toured with Townsend 15 years prior. Previously unfamiliar with the band, I was impressed with the skill and maturity of the men. It’s clear Tesseract has earned its place in the progressive metal scene.

Devin Townsend has close to 30 albums under his belt over as many years, and, as mentioned at the outset, his latest album is PowerNerd. Considered a more straightforward album compared to others, the music was written in an eye-popping total of 11 days. It has also been described as “adorable”—not something one tends to read about metal albums. After seeing Townsend live for the first time Saturday night, I think I get it—live, he’s engaging and delightful. In the pit, I found myself grinning through those first three songs, rather than grimacing.

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The weekend wrapped up with a fun swirl of genres as darkwave Twin Tribes and partners, the post-punk Chameleons, ended their coheadlining Darker Skies tour at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Sunday night.

Kicking off the night was a 30-minute set by California’s Vandal Moon. Keeping with the dark theme of the tour, Vandal Moon warmed up the Fillmore crowd with its take on ’80s-inspired post-punk and darkwave sounds. The duo (Blake Voss and Jeremy Einsiedler) describe themselves as having the sound of “synthesizers, guitars, drum machines, vodka, and psychedelics.” Dark, but also very cool, the men commanded the fans on the floor with a set plucked from their 2020 album Black Kiss and 2023 EP “Satellite.”

Co-headliner Chameleons had the second slot on the bill Sunday night. For the uninitiated, Chameleons (or The Chameleons UK as sometimes referred to in North America) are an English band formed in 1981. In recent years the band has seen its audience grow and their 2024 EP “Where Are You?” has garnered some of the best reviews of the band’s 40-something year career. Chameleons are also gearing up for the release of Arctic Moon later in 2025, which will be their first studio full-length since 2001’s Why Call It Anything.

The current lineup is original members Vox (fka Mark Burgess) and Reg Smithies, along with Stephen Rice, Danny Ashberry, and Todd Demma. Together, the men are credited with reinvigorating the band and bringing them renewed relevance. After seeing the band absolutely tear up the Fillmore’s stage Sunday night, it’s easy to see why. It was a full hour of straight ahead, guitar driven English rock. Everyone’s heads were bobbing and even the goth kids in the audience who were clearly there to see Twin Tribes danced.

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Music fans in the Washington, DC area are always up for a good metal show. That’s what they got Friday night (4/4), when Swedish metalcore outfit Imminence stormed the Fillmore Silver Spring on the band’s Return of the Black tour. The trés international lineup on this tour includes France’s Landmvrks and Japan’s Jiluka.

It was pandemonium right out of the gate when Jiluka hit the stage at 7:30 PM. I’ll admit to being a bit unprepared for the energy from both the band and the already large crowd, despite being given a heads up from both security and a fellow photographer that things would be wild. The foursome took the stage to massive enthusiasm from the crowd and wasted no time serving up its self-proclaimed brand of electro-gothic metal. The band is led by Riko; her death metal vocals were the dark gothic icing on the band’s death metal cake.

While drummer Zyean pounded away at the back of the stage, Riko, along with guitarist Sena and bassist Boogie, towered over the Fillmore crowd on risers situated at the front of the stage while lit garishly. Jiluka’s music is dark, heavy, and brutal, a perfect accompaniment to the raging crowd surfing on the Fillmore’s floor. Jiluka smashed their way through five tracks, which included their newest release “Kvlt.”

Batting second on the tour is Landmvrks (pronounced “Landmarks”). This metalcore band (Florent Salfati, Rudy Purkart, Kevin D’Agostino, Nicholas Exposito, and Paul Cordebard) hail from Marseille, France, and is promoting their upcoming album, The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been, set for release late this month.

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