Last night I caught a terrific triple-bill at the Rock and Roll Hotel. (Who by the way have recently installed a new, wider stage and a totally sick new sound system that makes RNR a venue to die for).

First up was Young Widows a noise-rock trio in the tradition of Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and Big Black. Imagine any one of those bands with a Fugazi-esque shared vocal set-up and you are pretty close to what the Young Widows sound like. Young Widows brought the fury last night, demonstrating a straight-forward, passionate racket that felt vital and necessary in the face of today’s genre-crossing indie climate. It was great to see this new band shred through a set of angst-shouted vocals set to noisey rhythmic rock, minus any pretention or posing. After their admirable set I am now praying for them to come back around on a tour with These Arms Are Snakes (man that would rule).

Ultra-heavy beat, hip-hop duo Dalek were up next. I’ve seen Dalek about five times over the last eight years. I’ve always considered these guys to be the perfect fusion of Hip-Hop and Digital Hardcore, but Digital Hardcore is a genre long-dead so I don’t really know how to describe them in a way that makes current sense. Dalek are much more than a relic of the late 90’s though, putting on suprising sets everytime they come to DC. Last night I was shocked to see that the duo had expanded into a quartet (adding an a live guitar player and a second DJ-type guy). Hip-hop alone is not a descriptor that does these guys justice. Sure the lead singer is one of the best MCs going, but the music to which he raps is such an intense wall of noise and beats that they really drift into controlled noise territory. The addition of the live guitarist took last night’s set to a whole new level. Adding a thrash/shoegazer element to Dalek’s traditonal noise barrage was a stroke of genius and put Dalek on top for best set of the night.

That isn’t to say headliners Russian Circles were slacking, not in the slightest. Falling somewhere between Post-Rock and Metal, Russian Circles tore into a set that for the most part abandoned their quiet-loud formula in favor of laying down some seriously epic head-bangers. I often consider Post-rock/metal shows to be art installations because of the way they inhabit an enviroment and make it their own (unlike any other genre except maybe traditional noise: ie. Whitehouse). Last night Russian Circles didn’t inhabit the RNR Hotel so much as they reenacted the World War II tank battle at Kursk with guitars and drums. It was a power performance that set heads banging and fists pumping, and left ears ringing (for what feels like will be days).

Last year was so damn busy that I only got to attend a fraction of my usual ridiculous concert quota. Added to that I saw more bands outside of the area than ever before (as my love affairs with the Chicago music scene and the Coachella festival continues). That said I did see some damn fine shows in DC last year. Plus it is nice to know at least a few people missed my list.

So back by popular demand here is an abbreviated list of the best live sets that I had the pleasure of enjoying in and around DC in 2007.

5. Stiff Little Fingers @ The Black Cat : Celebrating the band’s 30th anniversary the Irish punk godfathers treated DC to a reunion of the surviving original members and a blistering beginning-to-end run through of their classic debut, Inflammable Material. For the rest of the set they ripped through most of their second album, played a tribute to Joe Strummer, and introduced us to a politically-charged new song ‘The Liars Club’. The performance proved the timelessness of SLF’s music, energy, and heart (a fact reflected by the huge age range in the passionate, sing-along crowd).

4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The 930 Club : These guys have made my year-end lists twice before (once at the top). While I think their 2004 Recher Theater set is the gold standard – they never cease to amaze me each time they come to town. Every one of their shows gives us seemingly vital rearrangments of their material and the Spring ‘07 show was the most endurance-testing, rock-n-roll display I’ve seen them put on yet. Riding in high off their latest album, Baby 81, the band tore through an amazingly powerful set, and then returned for an encore that was as long as the concert-proper. It was a die-hard BRMC fan’s dream come true as the two-and-a-half hour set included what seemed like their entire catalog. Playing way past the 930 Club’s usual closedown, BRMC treated DC to a late-night marathon that reminded us all of rock-n-roll’s rule-breaking, ass-kicking origins.

3. The Stooges @ 930 Club : Speaking of ass-kicking origins. Iggy and the Stooges graced DC with their troglodyte presence last year with a performance that not only showed what an A-list front-man Iggy Pop is and always will be, but also erased the footnote unimportance of their new album by focusing on brain-melting renditions of their classic catalog. Running through most of Funhouse in its entirety with more passion, energy, and insanity than most younger bands ever bother to muster, the Stooges cut through decades of punk cynicism like an adrenalin shot directly into the genre’s beating heart. The show got the crowd going crazy like I haven’t seen in DC since the Super-Bowl of Hardcore days. It was a madhouse crowd responding to the madman on stage performing an anything-goes set of music. Demonstrated best by the final song of the night, an amped-up repeat performance of ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ that made the night’s earlier rendition seem ancient by comparision. The Stooges live show builds like a storm-surge, performing 35-year old music that never sounds the same twice and always – always – feels so impressive in the moment that you can’t imagine there ever being anything that can top it.

2. The Good, The Bad, and The Queen @ The 930 Club : This performance by Damon Albarn’s unlikely super-group was the epitome of cool, grace, and wonderful musicianship. They decorated the 930 Club in such a way as to teleport the crowd to an alternate-universe London; the setting for Albarn’s sometimes gloomy, sometimes glib homeland narrative. Seeing former-Clash bassist Paul Simonon alone would probably have made my top 10 list for the sheer fan-boy aspect. But it is the combination of all of GBQ’s disparate elements working together so beautifully that places the show so highly. This show left me in jaw-dropped awe that what I had just witnessed really had taken place live right before my eyes. The Good, The Bad, and The Queen concert was a very rare treat that I am very happy to have attended. (Read my original review here).

1. Isis @ The 930 Club : Here I am almost nine months after this concert and I am still at a loss for words to describe how amazing it was. To put its greatness in context I could maybe approach it like this. I saw more post-rock/post-metal acts in 2007 than in any other year. I caught all the genre heavies as they came through, many of whom have made my list in year’s past. And every one of them put on an incredible show (Jesu, Mono, Red Sparrowes, EITS, etc) but none of them come close to touching this level of perfection and enjoyment. Isis have always been a great live band but the combination of their new material and the forensic precision of the 930 Club sound-system made for a fantastic musical journey that had to be experienced to come close to understanding. It was the stuff of legends and I’ll be babbling about it like some mad acolyte for years to come.

Here are the 2006, 2005, and 2004 lists.

Music moves us in ways trains cannot. Thump thumping ear-buds drown out clickety-clacks while swooshing doors vomit suited lemmings onto poles of indifference. Garbled voices warn tourons of doors closing, babies squeal, children nag, the homeless hum. The sub-audible spillover of a thousand I-pods floats through the throng, passing well-toned legs so smooth, between jacketed shoulders brushing together slightly. The sound that isn’t. Unnoticed songs mingle silently, quietly fucking, to conceive – in static-charged air – new music: hybrid mixes that no one seems to hear. Save me.

So I now have the unpleasant job of reporting that New Model Army’s highly anticipated return to Rock And Roll Hotel this Saturday has been cancelled. Refunds are available at your point of purchase. NMA vow to return to US shores for an invasion in the Spring.

In the meantime Rock And Roll Hotel has arranged a great stop-gap line-up for Saturday night that includes DC punks Supreme Commander, Black & White Jacksons, and the ever eclectic & instantly danceable Washington Social Club. Doors are at 830 – $10 cover.

Also upstairs that night my monthly DJ night – Room 429 – will be rocking for free as scheduled.

It should all make for a great night at the Hotel – hope to see you there – and New Model Army when they return this Spring!

This Saturday my favorite DC rock and roll hang-out celebrates its one-year anniversary with a band/DJ/beer bash hosted by the notorious Andrew WK.

Not only is this the one year anniversary of the RNR Hotel but I think this birthday party should also be a celebration of the Atlas District revival. Afterall RNR is one of the first joints to put the “life” back into nightlife down there.

So if you’re already an RNR regular or just RNR-curious I suggest heading down to the club tomorrow night to wish this awesome establishment many successful years to come!

I’ve been following MUSE for many years and have caught them live about seven times before Thursday’s show at the Patriot Center. While I’m not the biggest fan of their latest album, the rest of their discography absolutely blows me away and it was awesome to see this band I love finally filling an arena as they properly deserve too.

If the “Absolution” tour was the pinnacle of MUSE performing musically then this current tour is the first full realization of their showmanship. While the setlist wasn’t as tight in the past, nor the renditions of some of their older tunes, the stage show and theatrics that accompanied the new material was like the second coming of Ziggy Stardust. It was obvious from the get go that MUSE have crafted the live show of their dreams now that they have the resources of an American fanbase behind them. The stage was decked out in space station chic, three massive monitors pumping out awesome visuals, a stellar light-show, the largest choreographed steam cannons I’ve ever seen, and of course the trademark gigantic confetti blob monsters bouncing over the crowd. The visual show was matched by Bellamy’s near-operatic vocals and unique power-pop persona. The music was pure power with the drums and bass rivalling Bellamy’s virtuoso guitar playing to create a rafter shaking racket.

The moment that it all really came together for me as a career-long MUSE fan though was a simple one. For years and years I’ve watched Bellamy play with his trusty shiny, silver guitar. He’s been dragging that thing all over the world forever and it looks like it’s seen better days beause of it. But during last night’s show, the largest scale MUSE show I’ve seen yet, he used the silver guitar to awesome effect. It was right after the steam cannons erupted for the first time when Bellamy comes wading through the fog shooting a huge beam of light from his chest. Of course it was a powerful spotlight beamed directly at his trusty reflective guitar and it sent a ray of light out over the crowd that was pure pop magic. It was an awesome MUSE geek moment that evoked a huge grin from me matched only by Bellamy’s own as the power-pop master realized his arena stage performance dreams.

Do you think they’ll be talking this one up on the pundit circuit on Sunday? Hmmm? Just maybe. I think the conversation should be “What’s next for our esteemed representatives?”

Might I suggest a Taiwan-style cage-match?