- Pitchfork
- OnTap
- The Hill
- DCist
- The Washington Post
- The Washington Post Express
- NBC 4 (DC)
- The GW Hatchet
- The Blogosphere
2007
We've been a little overwhelmed with other logistics to keep up with the last few weeks' press, but we've been keeping a quick informal tally on our Twitter feed.
OnTap : 10.07
Four Play: Special DAM! Fest Edition
written by Joel Sparks
Starting October 11, a whole pile of indie buzz bands will pass through DC clubs for the second annual District’s Awake! Music Festival — DAM!Fest for short. Founder Eric Boucher has been busting his hump on behalf of the DC music scene for years, starting with his BigYawn.net music site, and last year he and clubowner Bryan Deily decided to create their own multi-day hoedown. The 2006 festival was pretty good, but this year DAM!Fest really hits its stride, with bands from all over the map, especially the vital Brooklyn scene. For an extra twist, there’s the DAM!Fest Rock’n’Roll Lottery: a bunch of local musicians, mashed up into small, random assortments, thus forming new mutant bands never before seen. The fresh bands will have about a week to crank out some original songs for performance at a special lottery show.
See damfestival.org for details about tickets, weekend passes, and last-minute schedule changes. Trivia: No fewer than four of these bands are fronted by twins! Try to spot ‘em.
The Music Slut : 09.27.07
DAM!Fest Returns to DC on October 11
written by m
Following last year's much-celebrated, first annual, DAM!Fest, the organizers have lined up an even more fabulous line-up for this year's festivities in and around The District Of Columbia. Commencing on October 11 and ending on October 15, DAM!Fest will take over all of the following venues: DC9, The Historic Synagogue, Rock & Roll Hotel, The Red & The Black and 9:30 Club. View a partial list of entertainers below. Follow this link to DAM!Fest's official site for full band repertoire, complete schedule and pass information.
Pitchfork : 09.25.07
Cat Power, A Place to Bury Strangers Play DAM! Fest
written by Dave Maher
"U-S-A! U-S-A!" This is the chant attendees of the upcoming District's Awake! Music Festival must scream before every performing band's set, according to the rules listed on www.okayyougotuswejustmadethatup.com/butseriously.
Nonetheless, since the fest takes place across various venues in beautiful Washington, District de Columbia from October 11-15, it couldn't hurt, right? When in Rome, etc.
As for the recipients of those cheers, here's a helping of them: Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues, A Place to Bury Strangers, Craig Wedren, Cloud Cult, Stellastarr*, iLiKETRAiNS, Dirty on Purpose, Hallelujah the Hills, Slaraffenland, the Big Sleep, the Teeth, So Many Dynamos, Foreign Islands, Dragons of Zynth, Via Audio, Casper and the Cookies, Southeast Engine, and the ubiquitous TBA.
DCist : 08.23.07
District's Awake! Music Festival Ready for Year 2
written by Amanda Mattos
Last year, the DAM! Festival made an impressive debut in our fair city. As the festival gears up for its second year, they've got even more up their sleeve, including performances from indie heavyweights like Cat Power and Cloud Cult, and local favorites like The Beanstalk Library and These United States. The festival is happening this fall, from October 11 through 15.
Founded and organized by BigYawn.net's Eric Boucher, this year's goal was to go "bigger and better." In addition to the smaller venues like Rock & Roll Hotel and DC9 that the festival favored last year, they've brought in sponsorships by Live Nation and The Digital Freedom Campaign, and expanded to bigger venues, including the 9:30 Club and the Historic Synagogue at 6th and I Sts. We know some people have a tendency to recoil when they hear the words "Live Nation," but fear not — Boucher is still dedicated to highlighting the lesser known bands that make the festival special.
[....] We're looking forward to another great year. Though Boucher doesn't like comparisons, last year's was pretty damn impressive, and even if they do no more than match it, 2007's DAM! Festival should be pretty great.
2006
Pitchfork : 9.25.06
Animal Collective's Geologist, Bishop Allen Play DAM!
Plus Bound Stems, Dirty on Purpose, Early Day Miners : written by Laura Pearson
In support of the DC music scene, the inaugural District's Awake! Music Festival will showcase a variety of national "buzz bands" and notable hometown acts (that aren't Fugazi) for three days of live music in our nation's capital.
The city-wide extravaganza takes place from October 26 through 28 and features artists such as Longwave, Travis Morrison, Geologist (of Animal Collective), Cloud Cult, Dirty on Purpose, Bishop Allen, Early Day Miners, Bound Stems, Decibully, Hopewell, the Oranges Band, and more. Organized by musicians, artists, promoters, writers, web-publishers, venue owners, and entrepreneurs, the DAM! event is similar to San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and Pop Montreal in its goal, politically speaking, which is to increase the city's visibility on the national music radar.
Of the DAM! Festival, President Bush commented, "I like damn music. So long as it brings about freedom and liberty."
(OK, kidding. But W does have his jams.)
OnTap : 10.06
WAKE UP!
The District's Awake! Music Festival prepares to launch : written by Chris Connelly
Eric Boucher is familiar with the seemingly endless complaints surrounding Washington DC’s music scene. As the founder of local webzine BigYawn.net, he’s heard them all: there aren’t enough venues; there aren’t enough good bands; touring bands don’t stop in the District enough; crowds are unreceptive to new music. “There’s a lot of complaints about [the DC music scene],” Boucher acknowledges. “But the only way to change that is to do something positive.”
Enter Boucher’s latest endeavor: the District’s Awake! Music Festival (DAM Fest). Modeled after some of the bigger indie music festivals like San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival or the Pop Montreal Festival, the DAM Fest aims to expose DC residents to local, regional and national acts that they may have yet to hear, all the while injecting local musicians alongside their nationally recognized peers. “We want to try and have different stuff and mix out of town bands with locals,” Boucher explains. “There is a lot of good music out there that nobody ever hears. [The DAM Fest] is by DC music fans for DC music fans.”
Indeed, a look at the lineup reveals a wide range of talent and genres. From the larger name acts like DJ Spooky to indie-blog darlings Bishop Allen and Longwave to local favorites like Travis Morrison and Laura Burhenn, the DAM Fest has booked close to 40 acts to appear during its two-week time window. The vast majority of shows take place between October 26 and October 28 at four clubs in the city: DC9, the Red and the Black, the Velvet Lounge and the newly opened Rock and Roll Hotel. Three of these clubs are owned in part by Bryan Deily, who is also aiding in organizing the festival.
Boucher admits that he initially had bigger plans for the DAM Fest, with hopes of including larger venues such as the Black Cat or 9:30 Club. These plans didn’t pan out for this inaugural year, due in part to a lack of funding, limited time in planning and failed negotiations with the venues. But Boucher holds out hope for future installments. “We tried to bite off a bit more than we can handle,” Boucher explains. “With an added six months of planning, I really feel confident that we’ll be at the 9:30 Club next year.”
Undoubtedly, any new endeavor will invite fresh criticism about DC music alongside any praise that the DAM Fest gathers. It’s a fact that Boucher is prepared for, though a bit annoyed with. “I know full well there is going to be a backlash,” Boucher says. “But at least at the end of the day, the people who are working the festival are trying to do something different.
The Hill : 10.11.06
New kind of music festival to rock D.C.
written by Cameron Joseph
Washington, D.C. is known as a historic city for music. From the golden days of Duke Ellington through the indie scene’s heyday of Dischord Records and Fugazi in the ’80s and early ’90s, the walls of the clubs and bars of D.C. are long used to echoing greatness.
Recently, though, the D.C. scene has fallen into disrepair – the echoes have faded. Despite a glut of talented local acts, the scene has suffered from disunity.
Eric Boucher was sick of the D.C. music scene’s fragmentation. A founder of bigyawn.net, a D.C.-based music website, Boucher felt that despite the large amount of talented local bands, the scene as a whole suffered from a lack of cohesiveness.
Part of the problem, as he saw it, was the lack of a true D.C. music festival. Tired of just griping about it, Boucher and a few friends decided to do something. “It seemed that this year, more than other years, there’ve been a lot of festivals throughout the country, and there’s been nothing here. I was like, ‘I’ve booked shows in D.C., I know people who own venues. I have some [musical] relationships going, so why not do this?’” Boucher said. He began recruiting bands, lining up venues and chatting up the event.
DCist : 10.17.06
DAM, Baby
written by Salima Appiah-Kubi
By day Eric Boucher is a typical DC office drone but by night he is a music impresario. The audiophile’s passion manifested itself first in the music site BigYawn.net (a site I occasionally contribute music reviews to) and now is the force behind the District's Awake Music Festival (DAM Fest). The event features more than 40 bands on four stages over three days (not counting the pre and post parties). As this is DC, there is a charitable side as well. Instrument and monetary donations will be present at every venue, benefiting CHIME, a local organization dedicating to supporting music in area schools. DCist caught Boucher during a rare, spare moment and talked with him about the upcoming event.
DCist : 10.19.06
DCist Interview: Animal Collective's Geologist
written by Abby Lavin
On any given night, most bars in D.C. would be more fun if you got to pick the music, right? But to convince a bar to let you play iPod-commando (unless it’s Café Saint-Ex on iPod Jukebox night), you’d have to have some serious indie-rock street-cred. You’d practically have to be a member of experimental rock demigods Animal Collective.
Fancy that! A member of Animal Collective (Geologist) is going to be treating attendees to the sounds of his mp3 player at Rock and Roll Hotel’s DAM! Fest pre-party this Friday, along with live performances from Dirty on Purpose, The Dance Party (***), and Exit Clov (whose new album we reviewed earlier this week). DCist sat down with Geologist (sans scary headgear) to discuss Animal Collective and the fine art of iPod DJing.
DCist : 10.20.06
DAM!Fest Interview: Carol Bui
written by Ian Buckwalter
Over the past few years, Carol Bui has been working hard building a following for her inventive and emotive post-punk. After a summer spent in the studio recording the follow-up to her highly praised debut, This is How I Recover, Bui's show at next week's DAM!Fest kicks off three weeks of touring that will take her as far west as Madison, Wisconsin. Bui's reputation for excellent live shows precedes her, and material from the new album promises to be an eclectic offering. Her band, including Len Bias drummer Mark Raymond, bassist Ian Wright (who will be replaced on tour by Bui's former bandmate in punk outfit Princessed, Meagan Perkins) and cellist Jenny Petrow, will join her at The Red and The Black on Friday, October 28, along with Decibully and Laura Burhenn.
DCist : 10.23.06
Just Another DAM! Interview: De Novo Dahl
written by Jason Linkins
From Nashville by way of Murfreesboro come De Novo Dahl, restless and inventive popsters who garnered attention when their debut album, Cats and Kittens, hit the shelves in 2005. With a single CD failing to offer enough space to their creative ambitions, Cats and Kittens ended up being a double album—one disc of the original songs, paired with a second on which those songs were remixed, reconstructed, and reimagined.
The results: pure enjoyment. Even at their most experimental, the band simply has a tuneful knack for pleasing the ear. And on tour, they don’t rest, either. Following their sense of whimsy and their desire to make every show a unique spectacle, De Novo Dahl typically takes the stage as costumed madcaps, bringing an additional kinetic kick to their performance.
DCist : 10.25.06
Just Another DAM! Interview: Bishop Allen
written by Jason Linkins
Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen began this year by embarking on a decidedly outside-the-box strategy—rather than pursue the typical method of writing, recording and marketing an album, they decided to spend the entire year writing songs, and releasing the fruits of their labors each month in the form of quickly assembled EP’s. The year-long series, each EP named after the month of its release, would be available by mail order from their website. Even without great songs, the tactic was sure to get noticed, and sure enough, attention to the project soon came from all the usual outposts on the interwebs.
But the good news is that Bishop Allen has got the songs—fantastic songs, in fact. Songs with a genuine sense of occasion. Songs where gorgeous melodies tease themselves out of simple arrangements that eschew pop gloss for a hearty immediacy. Songs that aren’t merely glibly clever or poetically profound—rather, they conjure a fully portable worldview: where orphaned musical instruments tug on the heartstrings, folk heroes emerge to rally the drunk tank, and the lights above the city at night serve as an excuse for the homebound traveler to take whoever’s nearest in their arms and dance.
DCist : 10.25.06
DAM!Fest: Listen Up
We've talked about the lineup, interviewd the organizer, and even talked to a couple bands. Now we want to give you the chance to hear what's coming our way with some MP3 previews of a few DAM Fest bands. The music staff got together, divied up the lineup, gathered some files together and is now serving up brief breakdowns of a few bands D.C. will play host to this weekend. If you've got some insight on any of these bands, let us know.
DCist : 10.26.06
DAM!Fest: Listen Up Again
Continuing what we started yesterday, here's a little glimpse into some of this weekend's DAM Fest bands. Plan your schedule with the help of these handy dandy sample tracks and pertinent info from our crack music staff.
DCist : 10.26.06
DCist: Hopewell
written by Kyle Gustafson
Hopewell is a five piece hailing from New York City perhaps best known by the company they keep. Lead singer Jason Russo formerly played bass for space-rock pioneers Mercury Rev. Hopewell's acclaimed album "Hopewell & the Birds of Appetite" was produced by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and Sleater-Kinney) and Bill Racine (Rouge Wave, Phantom Planet). They've played shows all over the world with tour mates like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, British Sea Power and former RIDE frontman Mark Gardener, and even recorded their own Peel Session. Russo and drummer Jay Green took time out of their busy tour schedule to answer some of DCist's questions via email before their gig Friday at the Rock n' Roll Hotel with Falcons, Longwave and Travis Morrison as part of the DAM!fest. We don't really know why Jay Green felt the need to yell all of his answers ... maybe he's just a loud talker.
DCist : 10.27.06
DJ Spooky, The Gray Kid, and Person @ Rock'n'Roll Hotel
written by Abby Lavin
... If Person’s milquetoast performance left listeners a little bleary-eyed, the Gray Kid’s larger-than-life persona was the perfect antidote. Watching the Gray Kid perform is kind of like watching those scenes in Ghost where Patrick Swayze speaks through the body of Whoopi Goldberg: a guy with a hipster-geek haircut is mysteriously possessed by the spirit of hiphop, and the result is dynamite. ...
... The highlight of the evening was the mind-bogglingly talented DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid. After more than a decade of triphop innovation, Spooky had nothing to prove to the audience last night, but managed to knock everyone’s socks off anyway. ...
DCist : 10.30.06
DAM! Revisited: Bellflur, Oranges Band, Soft Complex, and Cold War Kids
written by Graham Hough-Cornwell
... Despite a scathing Pitchfork send up, Cold War Kids put on a hell of a live show (as we've noted in the past). Their energy onstage is unrivaled, as the band jumps about, moving all over the place and almost knocking into one another. When watching them perform, we can't help but think we're seeing something unique. ...
The Washington Post : 10.19.06
Nightlife Agenda
written by Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz
The DAM Festival arrives in Washington next weekend -- check out our podcast for a preview of the three-day, 45-band-and-DJ gathering -- but the kickoff party is tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel. We've actually mentioned this show on two different podcasts: Fritz enjoys the oft jangly, occasionally atmospheric indie rock of Dirty on Purpose, who make the most of contrasting boy-and-girl vocals, while Rhome is taken with the twin melody lines of local synth-pop-rockers Exit Clov, who -- surprise! -- feature identical twins on lead vocals. The Dance Party opens this interesting bill, and DJ Geologist, from the avant-everything Animal Collective, gives audience members a taste of his iPod between sets.
The Washington Post : 10.19.06
Going Out Gurus
written by David Malitz
Every autumn, music fans in the D.C. area are likely to feel a twinge of jealousy when the lineup for New York's annual CMJ Music Marathon is announced. And it probably happens again in the spring when South by Southwest descends on Austin. And it may also happen around Noise Pop Festival (San Francisco) or Pop Montreal (we'll let you figure out where that one takes place) time. While D.C. has its share of smaller festivals that appeal to niche audiences -- the recent Sonic Circuits and All Our Power being two excellent examples -- it has long lacked a major multi-venue festival that can compete with any of those mentioned above. That may change with the innaugural District Awake Music Festival -- or DAM Fest -- which will lure nearly 50 bands and DJs to four different clubs around town from October 26-28.
The Washington Post : 10.22.06
Can't Miss
written by Justin Rude
1. [concerts] Lots of people complain about the D.C. music scene. Eric Boucher, the man behind local music blog http://www.bigyawn.net/ , decided to do something about it. In an effort to both broaden the community and showcase the talent here, he organized the District's Awake! Music Festival. Acts including Longwave, Travis Morrison, Cloud Cult, Dirty on Purpose, Bishop Allen, Early Day Miners, Decibully and Sharkey will perform at four venues: DC9, the Velvet Lounge, the Rock & Roll Hotel and the Red & the Black.
Thursday-Saturday. $8-$15. For a complete schedule, see http://www.damfestival.org/ .
The Washington Post : 10.27.06
New Festival Aiming to Be Next Big Thing
written by Fritz Hahn
Like many Washington music fans, Eric Boucher has wished the city could have a huge music festival, such as the annual CMJ Music Marathon, which kicks off next week in New York, or South by Southwest, which attracts more than 1,000 bands to Austin every March.
The District has been host to some smaller gatherings, including the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival and the alternative-rock-centric Six Points Music Festival, but nothing that caught Boucher's fancy. This summer proved to be the last straw. "There were big festivals all over, in places like Cincinnati and Champaign-Urbana [Ill.]," Boucher says dismissively. "And I thought, 'Why on Earth do we not have a festival, especially given the history of the music scene in D.C.?' " He could have just griped about it with a post on Big Yawn, the music-centered webzine he has run since December 2003. Instead, he decided to take action.
NBC 4 (DC) : 10.20.06
D.C. Clubs Host Inaugural Music Festival
Organizers Plan Weekend Filled With Music
The District’s Awake Music Festival (DAM Fest) aims to expose District residents to unfamiliar local and national acts. The inaugural two-week festival will include over 40 acts playing at four clubs. The majority of shows will take place over three days between Oct. 26 and Oct. 28.
The Washington Post Express : 10.26.06
D.C. Rock City
written by Arion Berger
NEW YORK HAS CMJ. Austin has South by Southwest. D.C. has ... no music festival whatsoever. Every night there's great music to be found around town, but we don't have a music festival that showcases D.C.-area bands as well as guests from other cities and countries.
Some locals wanted to do something about this. Eric Boucher of bigyawn.net teamed up with Exit Clov singers Emily and Susan Hsu, and, in various capacities, Chris Johnson, Uday Ram and David Sangria to come up with a plan.
The GW Hatchet : 10.26.06
Damn: DAM! Festival brings music spotlight to DC
written by Andrew Siddons
If you came up with a really cool costume this year, but you still don't have any plans to show it off this weekend, worry not. The District's Awake! Music Festival debuts this weekend. No, it's not a costume party. But you should still wear a costume, because hey, it's Halloween.
The first ever DAM! Fest is made up of handful of concerts taking place this weekend at venues throughout the district. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, you'll be able to watch sets at Velvet Lounge, DC9, the Red & the Black, and Rock & Roll Hotel (unfortunately, shows at those first three are 21+…sorry kids).
The Blogosphere
DCiever: ... This festival has been meticulously and brilliantly curated ...
The Upstate Life: ... Could we be in for our very first music venue-hopping night of the year? ...
Things That Make Jeff's Head Explode: ... Something to get excited about if you like the indie rock: the all-new, all-sexy District's Awake! Music Festival. ...
Metro Distortion: ... This should be great for the city, the bands, and the venues. ...
Hippo Crusades: ... It should be fun...and loud. ...
More Cowbell: Everyone knows that the best cure for a hangover is another night of liberal imbibing of alcohol. This clearly was the logic behind last night’s DAM! Festival hangover party at DC9. After all, after an intense weekend of shows, why not have just one more? ...