Earthquake Damage to DC Attractions
08/27/11 12:24 Filed in: Attractions | Event
Gargoyle tour cancelled this weekend.
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Virginia and the East coast caused considerable damage to the Washington National Cathedral, and some damage to other DC monuments and attractions. At the cathedral, several pinnacles have broken off, the central tower was damaged, and an angel sculpture fell. The cathedral has been closed, and the gargoyle tour scheduled for this Sunday (previously reported in this blog) has been cancelled. For more information on the damage at the cathedral, click here. At the Washington Monument, a crack was found at it’s defining pinnacle, causing it to be closed indefinitely.
Gargoyle Tour on Sunday
The gargoyles and grotesques decorating the Washington National Cathedral are unusual for including pop culture and eccentric figures, like Darth Vader, and a protesting hippy. On select Sundays from April through October, they offer slideshow and walking tours of the figures that highlight the incredible artistry and imagination of the stone carvers that created them. Bring binoculars to better find and view the gargoyles and their strictly decorative cousins the grotesques, as they can be pretty far away. The tour can be a bit like a treasure hunt in an outdoor sculpture gallery. The next tour takes place this Sunday, August 21 at 2pm. Cost and other information available at the Gargoyle Tour web page.
Difficult music concert Friday
Another night of “difficult music” from Sonic Circuits tomorrow, Aug 19 with experimentalists Eli Keszler (Providence), Benjamin Nelson (Boston), Ben Miller (NYC), Berührung (DC), David Pate (FL), and Yolt (NYC).
Benjamin Nelson
Benjamin Nelson is a Boston based electronic musician. Performed primarily on modular synthesizer, Nelson's music is focused on reduction and detail, using long forms and slow development, gradually revealing inner rhythmic oscillations and shifting overtones. While informed by many classic minimalist traditions, Nelson seeks to overcome the sterile and anti-emotional trapping often associated with such music. Benjamin Nelson is also a co-curator of the Non-Event concert series. www.weakintheknees.net
Eli Keszler
Eli Keszler is an artist/composer/multi instrumentalist based in Providence Rhode Island. He creates installations using mechanical structures with microcontrollers, motors and acoustic materials. He combines these with integrated and intuitive visual designs that stand alone, as well as work as part of his live performances. He performs solo and composes for groups with them, using the installations in combination with his percussion, bowed crotales, guitar and invented instruments (using strings and motors). All of this creating his sound that is hard to pinpoint, balancing naturally beating harmonics, intense acoustic sustain, incredible density and fast, free rhythm. He also runs the label R.E.L records. His latest release Oxtirn is available now from ESP-DISK'.
Ben Miller
Using saxophones as source material, Miller sets up a wall of dense, varying frequencies through feedback and incidental improvisation. A slow-moving sonic interaction between instrument and device occurs by combining tape deck abuse, arcane electronics, malfunctioning analog synthesis and fkt-up drum loops. In the mid-70's, Miller played alto sax in the art-punk band Destroy All Monsters (featuring Cary Loren, Niagara, the late Ron Asheton from The Stooges and Michael Davis from The MC5). Miller is composer and conductor for The Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra; NYC's first full-on saxophone orchestra.
benmiller.info/Others.html
Berührung
Berührung is an unstable experiment that joins Zach Mason, Gary Rouzer, sharp kitchen utensils, ungrounded electronics, contact mics and itchy toys. Will Zach wrap the audience in Slinkys? Will Gary peel carrots? Come and find out as Berührung explores the overlap of academic process and visceral sound.
David Pate
David Pate was born in 1954 and grew up in Clearwater Florida in the 1960's. As a result of the many musical influences of that era, including Hendrix, Coltrane, Zappa, Sam Rivers and Ian Anderson, Pate's solo saxophone performances display a strange eclectic mix. After receiving an undergraduate degree in Tampa, Pate moved to New York City in 1979. He pursued graduate work at The Manhattan School of Music where he studied saxophone with Joe Allard. A participant in "loft" scene in the 80's, Pate performed with Ned Rothenberg, Larry Polansky and in many new music festivals, as well as many solo performances. Upon relocating back to Florida in the 90's, he became a member of SHIM, an improvised music ensemble and performed with guest artists Eugene Chadbourne, LaDonna Smith, Davey Williams and others. He is a member of Sam Rivers Rivbea Orcheatra, and Bogus Pomp, a Zappa tribute band. He is the director of jazz studies at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, a school for the arts in St Petersburg.
Yolt
Brooklyn based improv trio of Nathaniel Morgan-alto sax, Weston Minissali - synth and David Grollman on snare.
Friday, August 19, 8:30PM
$8.00 all ages - Students w/school ID: $5.00
Pyramid Atlantic
8230 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD (map)
http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/
Free parking (limited spaces!) in gated lot outside
INFO: http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/
Benjamin Nelson
Benjamin Nelson is a Boston based electronic musician. Performed primarily on modular synthesizer, Nelson's music is focused on reduction and detail, using long forms and slow development, gradually revealing inner rhythmic oscillations and shifting overtones. While informed by many classic minimalist traditions, Nelson seeks to overcome the sterile and anti-emotional trapping often associated with such music. Benjamin Nelson is also a co-curator of the Non-Event concert series. www.weakintheknees.net
Eli Keszler
Eli Keszler is an artist/composer/multi instrumentalist based in Providence Rhode Island. He creates installations using mechanical structures with microcontrollers, motors and acoustic materials. He combines these with integrated and intuitive visual designs that stand alone, as well as work as part of his live performances. He performs solo and composes for groups with them, using the installations in combination with his percussion, bowed crotales, guitar and invented instruments (using strings and motors). All of this creating his sound that is hard to pinpoint, balancing naturally beating harmonics, intense acoustic sustain, incredible density and fast, free rhythm. He also runs the label R.E.L records. His latest release Oxtirn is available now from ESP-DISK'.
Ben Miller
Using saxophones as source material, Miller sets up a wall of dense, varying frequencies through feedback and incidental improvisation. A slow-moving sonic interaction between instrument and device occurs by combining tape deck abuse, arcane electronics, malfunctioning analog synthesis and fkt-up drum loops. In the mid-70's, Miller played alto sax in the art-punk band Destroy All Monsters (featuring Cary Loren, Niagara, the late Ron Asheton from The Stooges and Michael Davis from The MC5). Miller is composer and conductor for The Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra; NYC's first full-on saxophone orchestra.
benmiller.info/Others.html
Berührung
Berührung is an unstable experiment that joins Zach Mason, Gary Rouzer, sharp kitchen utensils, ungrounded electronics, contact mics and itchy toys. Will Zach wrap the audience in Slinkys? Will Gary peel carrots? Come and find out as Berührung explores the overlap of academic process and visceral sound.
David Pate
David Pate was born in 1954 and grew up in Clearwater Florida in the 1960's. As a result of the many musical influences of that era, including Hendrix, Coltrane, Zappa, Sam Rivers and Ian Anderson, Pate's solo saxophone performances display a strange eclectic mix. After receiving an undergraduate degree in Tampa, Pate moved to New York City in 1979. He pursued graduate work at The Manhattan School of Music where he studied saxophone with Joe Allard. A participant in "loft" scene in the 80's, Pate performed with Ned Rothenberg, Larry Polansky and in many new music festivals, as well as many solo performances. Upon relocating back to Florida in the 90's, he became a member of SHIM, an improvised music ensemble and performed with guest artists Eugene Chadbourne, LaDonna Smith, Davey Williams and others. He is a member of Sam Rivers Rivbea Orcheatra, and Bogus Pomp, a Zappa tribute band. He is the director of jazz studies at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, a school for the arts in St Petersburg.
Yolt
Brooklyn based improv trio of Nathaniel Morgan-alto sax, Weston Minissali - synth and David Grollman on snare.
Friday, August 19, 8:30PM
$8.00 all ages - Students w/school ID: $5.00
Pyramid Atlantic
8230 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD (map)
http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/
Free parking (limited spaces!) in gated lot outside
INFO: http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/
World's Largest Fountain Pen Supershow This Weekend
08/11/11 14:19 Filed in: Event
Calling all “pen heads”! Get ready for the 20th annual DC Fountain Pen Supershow, to be held this weekend, August 13-14, at the Sheraton Premiere at Tyson’s Corner. Billed as the “Largest Pen Event in the World,” the show promises “the largest selection of vintage and modern writing instruments in the world,” with over 200 dealers and over 2000 collectors engaging in a frenzy of fountain pen buying, selling, trading, and testing. There will be educational seminars, open bottles of over 250 inks for demonstrations, and pen repair and maintenance available. Also, the Sailor Pen Company’s nib master Yukio Nagahara will be on hand to repair pen nibs and discuss his craft.
Traditional Thai Massage & Medicine Symposium This Weekend Thai Massage & Medicine Symposium This Weekend Thai Massage & Medicine Symposium this weekend!
08/11/11 11:03 Filed in: Event
The second annual Traditional Thai Massage & Medicine Symposium will be held this weekend, August 12-14, at the Thai Institute of Healing Arts in Arlington, VA. The event features presentations, master classes, and ceremonies about traditional Thai massage. One highlight will be the Wai Khru ceremony in which the teachers of the healing practice are honored. This year’s symposium celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Old Medicine Hospital — Thai Massage School Shivagakomarpaj, and features distinguished guest Master Ajahn Wasan Chaichakan, the director of that hospital and son of the inventor of “Northern Style” Thai massage. The Thai Institute is located at 1211 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201.
Freak-improv & electronic noise show on Tuesday
Sonic Circuits concert series continues on Tuesday, July 12, with a concert of freak-improv and electronic noise with MYO, Borborites, and San Francisco’s Travis Johns. This one goes down at Bella Cafe in DC.
MYO
www.myosound.com
Digicoustic wall of black anti-glitch from DC
BORBORITES
Collectivist improv freakform headjam from Fairfax, VA.
TRAVIS JOHNS
vauxflores.com travisjohns.bandcamp.com
Travis Johns is a composer and sound artist from San Francisco, Ca., currently living in San José, Costa Rica. Using a combination of processed field recordings, prepared guitar and homebuilt analog electronics, he attempts to weave textural tapestries of gestures, thoughts and experiences into a singular mass of infinite sonic possibilities, often nested somewhere between the stylistic footholds of free improvisation, dark ambient and harsh noise - sounding something like the distant swarming of well oiled mechanical bees woven with fissures of dark tones and noise rips.
Tuesday, July 12
Doors at 8:00pm, music shortly thereafter
$5.00 admission
Bella Cafe
900 Florida Avenue NW
Washington, DC
http://www.belladc.com
INFO: dc-soniccircuits.org
Marcatus Art Market on Sunday
The next installment of the open air art market Marcatus happens this Sunday, August 7, at the new waterfront Yards Park in SE, DC. This one features two stages of DJs playing fresh jams and one rock stage. Tents throughout the park will house crafters, artists, clothing designers, and food vendors representing local wares. Check link for full list of musicians and directions. Free event! 11am-6pm, Yards Park, 10 Water St SE Washington, DC.
Spy ESP: Mentalism and Magic at Spy Museum on Saturday
The ESP in Espionage: An Evening with Alain Nu, The Man Who Knows
Saturday, August 06, 2011
7:00pm $25.00
When the U.S. Government began their Star Gate program in the 1970s, they were focused on the possibility of using psychic channels to gather intelligence. Psychics, in a clinically controlled setting, were asked to perform “remote viewing”—attempting to sense targeted information about people, places and events. Reports of the program’s success run from the eerie to the off-base, but the intelligence world’s pursuit of the mind’s power has captured the imagination of DC homeboy Alain Nu. The Man Who Knows™, who has long been obsessed with the strange, the unknown, and unexplained. His exploration of the unusual has led him to the field of mentalism and developing his untold powers. Nu’s uncanny demonstrations blur the line between science and the mysteries of unexplained phenomena and have been featured in his own TLC Network television specials The Mysterious World of Alain Nu and his book Picture Your ESP! And now he is turning his ESPecially entertaining powers to the world of ESPionage. Join us for an evening with Nu inspired by Star Gate, the trickery of spies, and other top secret projects.
The International Spy Museum
800 F Street, NW — one block from the Gallery Place/China Town Metrorail Station
http://www.spymuseum.org/
Saturday, August 06, 2011
7:00pm $25.00
When the U.S. Government began their Star Gate program in the 1970s, they were focused on the possibility of using psychic channels to gather intelligence. Psychics, in a clinically controlled setting, were asked to perform “remote viewing”—attempting to sense targeted information about people, places and events. Reports of the program’s success run from the eerie to the off-base, but the intelligence world’s pursuit of the mind’s power has captured the imagination of DC homeboy Alain Nu. The Man Who Knows™, who has long been obsessed with the strange, the unknown, and unexplained. His exploration of the unusual has led him to the field of mentalism and developing his untold powers. Nu’s uncanny demonstrations blur the line between science and the mysteries of unexplained phenomena and have been featured in his own TLC Network television specials The Mysterious World of Alain Nu and his book Picture Your ESP! And now he is turning his ESPecially entertaining powers to the world of ESPionage. Join us for an evening with Nu inspired by Star Gate, the trickery of spies, and other top secret projects.
The International Spy Museum
800 F Street, NW — one block from the Gallery Place/China Town Metrorail Station
http://www.spymuseum.org/
Go-Go Art Show: Opening Friday
This Friday, July 5, an exhibit of Go-Go related photographs, posters and other memorabilia opens at Vivid Solutions Gallery in SE, DC, with a reception from 6-8 pm. The show “(Un)lock it: The Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket” features more than 30 photos by Thomas Sayers Ellis that capture the tight grooves of the Go-Go beat while they document old school bands and musicians like Chuck Brown, James “Funk” Thomas, Anthony “Little Benny” Harley, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot and Anwan “Big G” Glover. The show includes classic Globe concert posters, and a special “Roll Call Wall” with photographs of fans; visitors who recognize themselves in the pictures are welcome to take them home.
According to the artist’s statment, “The photographs are a documentation of the recent history of Go-Go, its vanishing folk culture, the onstage and off struggles to prevent itself from being evicted from the city in which it was born more than 30 years ago, the effects of gentrification on the community, and its contribution toward Home Rule.. Taken at band practices, band reunions, small local venues, block parties, private parties, weddings, funerals, political rallies and on the streets of D.C., these photographs (while celebrating Go-Go) also ask, Can Go-Go and Statehood for D.C. coexist?” The show runs through October 7, 2011 at Vivid Solutions, 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, WDC.
