Going Out - Black Cat Club

Image from the wonderful DC Blog - BrightestYoungThings

Black Cat Club - Black Lips/Box Elders/Vermillions

After living in the District for almost four months, we finally made it out to a "show" (which I still call a "concert" although that makes me sound 50 years old). We specifically went to see one of our favorite bands, Black Lips. We saw them a couple of years ago in Chicago, and I actually caught a couple of minutes of their show at the now defunct Downtown Records back in Lafayette. They are easily the most fun band I've ever seen, so I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

The other bonus is that we got to check out one of DC's most famous rock venues, the Black Cat Club. It's a nice multistory venue in the 14th/U Street Corridor.

Observations

• We went to the show with a few of Purdue friends.
• It was tough finding a place to eat and have a few beers before hand. Turns out everyone wants to go out for dinner and drinks on the first Friday with really, really nice weather.
• This was an all ages show. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too old.
• We scored some nice chairs on an elevated plat form in the back, but I went right up front for part of the show. Standing next to a stack of amps, I did in fact feel too old.
• One of the guy's in our group is from the DC area, and he pointed out that the Straight Edge culture is still very much a part of the DC rock community. It was amazing how many giant X's we saw.
• Box Elders were the surprise of the night. At times they sounded too much like the headliner, possibly, but I always think the world needs more Beach Boysesque pop bands.
• Black Lips were a lot of fun, but not as crazy as one would expect. They did play a new song from their album that's in the works and all of the fan favorites.
• As soon as the show was over, I started looking forward to my next Black Lips show.
• Kathryn and I spent an hour walking around after the show because she got confused about the difference between Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme. We did however get to see DuPont Circle in all of it's dance club glory. Not really for us though.