This morning at 5:30 a.m. Washington Post Radio (WTWP) debuted on 1500 AM and 107.7 FM, two frequencies that had belonged to WTOP, the area’s all news juggernaut. Both stations are owned by Bonneville, based out of Utah. Here is the WTOP article on the new station.

The frequency switch was made possible when Bonneville dropped Z-104 and moved classical station WGMS from 103.5 to 104.1. WTOP switched to 103.5 and until this morning retained the previous frequencies of 107.7, 1500, and 820.

DCRTV.com’s Dave Hughes had some initial observations:

Good-sounding station. Lots of news and talk. Solid journalism. Sounds like what you’d get if you took what public radio talkers WAMU or WETA-FM do and throw in a bit more local content, some ads, and lots and lots of plugs for the Washington Post. If I was 88.5 or 90.9 I’d be a bit worried.

Also, WTWP is the new radio home of the Nationals, which will be a major improvement over last year’s Z-104/WFED debacle. Now if only Peter Angelo$ didn’t extort own the Nats TV rights, we might be able to watch the team rather than just listen to them…

Last night, I took it upon myself to check out the new watering hole on Georgia Avenue at Petworth that folks are talking about: Temperance Hall.

With a swank old-school decor (velvet wallpaper!) and a damn fine drink selection (good beers and rye), the atmosphere was first rate. The service however, was slower than molasses. Luckily Manager Dan here had the great idea to jump out and help the newbie & slammed server get back to speed.

While we waited for our drinks, a pool challenge was thrown down. I was game till cash came out. It seems there’s a hustler or two at the lone pool table in the back and I’m way too Scratch Fats to compete for a Jackson.

Darpino will be pleased to note that the music selection was first rate and eclectic. Not sure if it was jukebox or owner selected, but a good night is when I sing Prince’s Little Red Corvette on my walk home.

The Editors at the 930 Club tonight – holy hell that was a damn fine show!

It was obvious right away in The Editors’ energy level that they wanted to make a good first impression on their first ever DC audience. And boy howdy did they! That was definitely a top 10 of the year worthy performance. The Editors totally commanded the 930 Club’s sound system and audience. By the end of their set the entire house was jumping, clapping, and dancing. It was incredible to watch this super tight band convert an audience that was mainly there for another band. The power and emotion of the band swept over the crowd through the first few numbers and then swallowed the audience whole when they played ‘Camera’ the emotional high point of the night. Once they had the crowd in their hands, the band then dove into some songs of true majesty and force.

Vocalist Tom Smith is an amazing young front man, besides his perfect voice he was all full of herky-jerky spastics and guitar poses. It was as if Smith’s wiry frame was struggling to contain the awesome soul of an ancient rock god. This is a man full of passion for his lyrics and the crowd responded to him in kind. Smith’s presence brought to mind Damon Albarn wooing a 25,000 strong, rain-soaked crowd at the Field Day Festival back in 2004. This kid is a natural.

(more…)

I couldn’t make this kind of stuff up. Apparently Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) circumvented security at her office building, as people who are elected to the Congress frequently do, except she wasn’t wearing her insignia as a member of Congress, and as a result the Capitol Police pursued her down the hallway. When the officer caught up to Rep McKinney, McKinney assaulted the officer, punching him in the chest. No word on whether charges will be filed, but I’d bet this will be the tempest in the teapot for the day. Just look, Wonkette’s all over it like white on rice.

I had a meeting out in Tyson’s this evening off Route 7 in McLean. On my way back – about 10:30 or so, traffic stopped right before the 66 East entrance in front of Whole Foods and I thought, “seriously, this time of night there’s traffic to get on 66?”

Well, it turns out there was a huge accident and some of the lights were out so all I could see was a huge truck facing the wrong way on the wrong side of the road, an ABC7 news truck, about 30 people outside watching, and tons of police cars. As I was being rerouted (they had to close the road) through a nearby neighborhood, I caught something on the ground and was trying to figure out what it was when I realized it was most likely a covered body. So sad when things like that happen – maybe because I was in a really close call accident just six months ago, but I look at that and it’s super sad, and I think about how much worse my situation could have been.

Is Metroblogging DC’s RSS feed not enough for you? Well, then, welcome the new All Cities Feed which will give you all of Metroblogging in one easy to read RSS feed for your syndication pleasure. With 44 cities circling the globe, you can pick up a lot on the world in just one place. Give it a go.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the 17th HFStival will take place at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on May 27-28.

To accommodate the popular festival, Merriweather is expanding its typical 20,000-person capacity to 27,500 each day. The pavilion stage will act as the main stage, and stages will also be added in the parking lot and in Symphony Woods, which surrounds the venue, said Geller.

The music festival, which was started by WHFS when the station was in the D.C. market, had previously been rumored to be scheduled on May 20.

This is the third trip to the Baltimore area for HFStival where it will presumably remain following WHFS’s departure from the D.C. market last year. The last time HFStival was in Baltimore, it drew 53,000 to M&T Bank Stadium. The year’s lineup has yet to be announced, but one radio executive suggested it would include “some artists that you might have seen at the Grammys.”

Well it seems like Fat Tuesday has finally arrived for DC’s endless Mardis Gras at everyone’s favorite drink til you puke, flash your boobs, date-rape club – Lulu’s.

This Friday will be the last party ever at Lulu’s Club Mardis Gras after the sudden announcement that they will be shutting down due to loss of water supply (what an odd reason). Apparently the closing of Blackie’s Steakhouse and the ensuing construction there will remove the water pipes that connect to Lulu’s.

With the loss of Lulu’s, frat-boys across town are probably wondering where they will find their future hook-ups, but before the closing there will be one last hurrah for them to try to finally score that blumpkin. The madness ends this Friday at a $20 – 8 to 3 – open bar party.

In a move that just makes me scratch my head, best new brit band, The Editors are opening tonight for NY’s Stellastarr*, who are mediocre at best.

I’ve been dying to see The Editors play the 930 Club for awhile. Their album The Back Room is a near masterpiece full of love lost lyrics and featuring amazing guitar playing showing influences that range from Joy Division to Echo to U2. Why they are playing second fiddle to Stellastarr* makes little sense to me (must be the asterix).

But hey, at least we get to see them play right? And early word out of Austin’s SXSW Festival is that The Editors put on one of the best sets of the whole dang week down there.

The Editors opening for Stellastarr*
@ The 930 Club
$15

(The Editors go on at 8:30)

PS- There is a also an after-party hosted by Electro-Tease at DC9 starting conviniently right after the show. Go figure.

We’re getting reports that MPD officers are giving out jaywalking tickets downtown today so please be careful while you’re out and about elsewhere in the city, as DC is clearly wasting its resources downtown, which means that you may find yourself mugged while a cop is giving out a ticket for walking improperly.