The NIGHTCLUB 9:30 – 815 V ST. N.W. Washington DC just announced two WILCO shows for Feb 23rd and 24th. Tix just went on sale at 10am. I got me some. I hear they put on an awsome show.

It isn’t news to anyone that Infinity is a low down bunch of slimy bastards, but it seems that the demise of WHFS left a lot to be desired, even by their standards.

According to my sources, the station manager only found out about the changeover twelve hours before it happened, and most of the sales staff and talent found out about an hour before the switch was flipped and HFS became El Zol.

If you are a fan of The Junkies in the morning (in my humble opinion, the most godawful radio morning program since the ill-fated morning team at the classic rock station I listened to in Sacramento in the early 90s) it seems they’re working on a deal to take them back from whence they came to WJFK.

More details as I get them.

WHFS signed off the air today at noon. The station has been sold off by Infinity to a Spanish Broadcasting company and will redebut at El Zol 99.1 in the Tropical format.

This is the end of an Era right here. HFS started back in the late 60s as an alt-rock station and really helped redefine the genre of alternative music in the 1990s. Their HFStival was frequently a big part of my summers here, going to see two of them in 2000 and 2002, the year Eminem headlined and nearly caused a riot.

Worst thing about it is that no one saw it coming. My friends in the music industry are trying to gather up some details, and we hope to post them here soon.

It sounds like WHFS has turned into a spanish-language music station. Indeed, a trip to www.whfs.com turns up this. Here’s a news story from Billboard. I enjoyed listening to Loveline on WHFS, even if I didn’t listen to the station that much otherwise. And HFS has brought a lot of kick-ass concerts to the DC-Baltimore area. So, what now? Will a new station spring up to fill the void Infinity left by pulling the plug on WHFS? Will college radio stations like UMD’s WMUC improve their signal strengths and attract new listeners? And will there now be a dearth of concerts in the area?

That said, may El Zol do a good job in providing radio to the many under-served spanish-speaking residents of greater DC.

There’s all sorts of drama surrounding this inauguration. For one, the feds are saying that DC should cover the over $17 million cost for the inauguration. Never mind that traditionally the city is given “a separate payment for inaugural security”.

Not only will the district take a hit financially, but we will also be forced to deal with protests, street closures, metro station closures and security enough to make us think we live in a police state. All this, while people like Tiffany have to make it to work.

But, of course, what we really want to know is what the president and his family be wearing.

For the record, in case Evil or anyone else is interested…

I do not, in fact, get Inauguration Day off, as you assumed I would. My office is squarely in the “red zone,” which is the four-block radius on either side of Pennsylvania Avenue that will be cut off from automobile and metro traffic, and have severe restrictions on pedestrian traffic. The building will be closed down- I will not be able to get in even if I could get there. And yet, I do not get the day off. Why? Because we are a staffing agency and will have clients and talent who also will not be getting the day off. Also, our corporate HQ is in Atlanta, run by people who don’t quite understand what it means to live here. (In fact, one of the bigwigs is going to be visiting that week and wants to be taken around on client visits on Inauguration Day.) My entire office is decamping to assorted other local offices to try and limp along as best we can.

How is everyone else coping with inaugural disruptions?

The Scissor Sisters, an awesome new band that’s a mix of Bowie, early Elton John, and Prince is playing at the 9:30 Club tomorrow night. I love their new album! Alas, the concert is sold out tomorrow, and this little fan didn’t get a ticket in time, so I’ll have to stand out in the cold and hustle people for xtra tickets. If you did get one on time . . . won’t you tell me how?

As part of the security measures on Metro, some Metro Police are using behavioral profiling techniques as they patrol subway stations, including, “The officers are targeting people who avoid eye contact,”

Hi. This is reality, calling for the Metro Police? Most people avoid eye contact on the Metro. Especially when you’re squeezed in so tight that you can definitely tell that the girl in cute boots hasn’t showered, and the dude with the Rolex put too much shoe polish on. Eye contact is such a no-no in Metro etiquette. As for the loitering thing, if you guys actually ran trains on a reasonable schedule, we wouldn’t have to wait thirty minutes for an Orange Line train on Sunday, or for three trains to go by during rush hour at Pentagon…

The Washington Post is reporting that Virginia is considering removing the exemption. Honestly, I think this is one of the reasons that I’d really buy a hybrid vehicle, to get around the HOV-3 requirement on 395 and the restrictions on 66. The exemption is scheduled to expire in 2006, but had previously thought to be easily renewed by the state.

Next week, Jan. 10th-16th, is restaurant week in D.C. This is when you can actually afford dinner at DC Coast or Bistro Bis. Restaurant week is a really great occurrence in the D.C. area. For a reasonable price, you get a 3-course lunch or dinner at some of D.C.’s best dining establishments. Here’s the list of participating restaurants:

http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/

Also, this month’s Washingtonian features the 100 best restaurants of the D.C. area. I was sad to see that Bobby Van’s got kicked out of the top 100 (*sniff).