TUESDAY: To many people, the massively popular Kailash Kher and Kailasa make world music. But to millions of Indians, the Sufi-informed combination of Kher's soaring vocals and the techo-tinged sounds of Kailasa (brothers Naresh and Paresh Kamath) is simply modern folk with pop twists. Their first international CD, "Yatra (Nomadic Souls)," is what brings them to the U.S., but you can bet the place will be packed with Indians shouting requests for Kher's numerous Bollywood classics.
After the jump: Listen to all of "Yatra (Nomadic Souls)."
» Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW; Tue., Nov. 10, $25-$45; 800-551-7328. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)
Continue Reading "Sufi-ce to Sing: Kailash Kher and Kailasa" »
ONGOING: China isn't just about thousands of perfectly choreographed dancers celebrating the Olympics. It has punk culture too, and it's beautifully captured in "Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground," a show of photographs at Govinda Gallery.
Check out the visual evidence of the rebellious kids of China. It looks like American punk, but it hasn't been taken over by Hot Topic. Yet.
» Govinda Gallery, 1227 34th St. NW; through Nov. 28, free; 202-333-1180.
Photo courtesy Matthew Niederhauser
ONGOING: Sure, you could go see the big William T. Wiley retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Or you could see his new solo show, "Trust Us for Just Us," at a tiny gallery in Dupont Circle. Which sounds better as your Facebook status? Yeah, that's what we thought too.
The show closes Nov. 14, so you'd better hurry.
» Marsha Mateyka Gallery, 2012 R St. NW; through Nov. 14, free; 202-328-0088. (Dupont Circle)
Photo courtesy Marsha Mateyka Gallery
WEDNESDAY: Blind Pilot navigate a folk-pop territory that is less grandiose than that of Fleet Foxes and less potentially annoying than Conor Oberst. The band's stripped-down "3 Rounds and a Sound" CD is Iron & Wine-esque porch-sitting music, but it's not for warm summer days: Blind Pilot is perfect for the fall, when the darkness comes early and there's a wistful chill in the air.
After the Jump: Download three free MP3s after the jump and watch five performance videos from Blind Pilot.
» RELATED: Read our interview with show openers The Low Anthem
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; with The Low Anthem, Mimicking Birds, Wed., Nov. 11, 8 p.m., $15; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Jay Blakesberg
MONDAY: It's not really clear why a bunch of people from National Public Radio (including host Jacki Lyden, pictured) are talking about photography ... but they are. Maybe mankind has learned to transmit photos through the radio, and nobody told us.
A panel of photographers and NPR journalists will speak about digital storytelling as part of a Fotoweek DC event. To attend, RSVP to pictureshow@npr.org.
» National Geographic, Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St. NW; Mon., Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m., free; 202-857-7700. (Dupont Circle)
Photo by Bill O'Leary
MONDAY: Singer-songwriter Lenka has said her music is a mixture of the Beatles, Burt Bacharach and Bjork. Like the first two she shares a good ear for bouncy melodies, but Lenka and Bjork are alike only in that they both evoke pixies. But the Australian singer has a voice as cute as her face (that is, very), and her sweet 2008 debut, "Lenka," spawned the ultra-catchy pop song "The Show," which Old Navy used in a major campaign.
After the jump: See the video for "The Show" and several other songs.
» Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE; with Colin Smith, Danni Rosner, Mon., Nov. 9, 7 p.m., $15; 202-388-7625.
Photo courtesy Big Hassle
GEORGETOWN RESIDENT Walker Lamond wasn't yet a parent when he launched his blog, 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son (Rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com) a couple years ago. But his pearls of fatherly advice — "There is never an excuse for stealing someone's cab," "Don't date the bartender"— found an instant following. Now, the father of two has compiled a selection of his charming snippets into a book, "Rules for My Unborn Son" ($15, St. Martin's Griffin).
» EXPRESS: The book was born from your blog, but how did the blog start?
» LAMOND: The whole thing began as a personal project of sorts, long before I was even online. I was just trying to keep track of all the things my dad had taught me growing up. It was as simple as that. I compiled them on the back of bar napkins and in a notebook, and then one day, decided to put them online. It grew from there.
Continue Reading "Filmmaker, Author, Dapper Dad: Walker Lamond" »
THURSDAY: Variously described as a "romantic urban wastrel poet," "both relaxed and full of life" and the "ghost of Springsteen and Seger," guitarist and singer Kurt Vile has steadily built a loyal following over the last 12 years via relentless touring.
Although his first name, subject matter and use of reverb may remind you of another tortured songwriter, the comparisons end there. The folk-y electric guitar and quiet vocals are all his.
He arrives in town this week in support of his critically acclaimed new album, "Childish Prodigy" — and he's backed by a new band, the Violators.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Thu., Nov. 5, 8:30 p.m., $10; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Kurt Vile/Sarah McKay
THURSDAY: You'd think Al Gore would be sick of Washington by now. Or maybe that Washington might be sick of him.
It appears that neither is true, though, since he'll be speaking at Lisner Auditorium tonight about his new book, "Our Choice," which details what his own press releases describe as his "years of experience as a student, policymaker, author, filmmaker, entrepreneur and activist to comprehensively describe the real solutions to global warming." Maybe he's counting on the District's college students to take up the torch of responsibility for saving the planet. Good luck with that, Mr. Vice President.
» George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW; Thu., Nov. 5, 7 p.m., $10; 202-994-6800. (Foggy Bottom)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images
MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING to be said for suburban boredom and displacement.
Growing up in Falls Church, Thao Nguyen never saw live bands at any D.C. clubs and wasn't part of any local music scene. So she couldn't help but become introspective when she began composing songs as a teenager in the solitude of her bedroom.
Isolation served her well. Nguyen's deeply personal songs such as "Bag of Hammers" and "Swimming Pools" found an almost instant audience when she formed Thao With the Get Down Stay Down. The group just released its second full-length CD, "Know Better Learn Faster," and will play at the Black Cat on Friday.
"For the most part, I stuck around at home," says the 25-year-old singer-songwriter by phone during a tour stop in Minnesota. "I'm sure there were things going on, but I led a very uneventful, insulated life, and I didn't really go out to see much live music. As far as going into [the District], I tried to go to blues clubs sometimes, but I was very underage."
Nguyen did, however, get to frequent the open-mic nights held at coffeehouses in her area. That's where she cut her musical teeth and got to test out new songs and develop her somber vocal style.
Continue Reading "The Thao of Introspection: Thao With the Get Down Stay Down" »
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