Your Week In The Scene: 10/31-11/3

45 Adapters Current Band Members. Image Courtesy of Jammi York

By Jackson Russell

Welcome to the first annual edition of “Your Week in the Scene,” The Catholic University of America’s number one source for all things D.C. underground music and culture! In this week’s first issue, I’ll introduce YOU, the reader, to what “Your Week in the Scene,” is all about and start with some SPOOKY music recommendations and shows for this Halloween weekend.

SO, WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?

This is not just your average music review column; this is a community in written format. For a long time, the underground music scene in Washington, D.C. has been isolated from the CUA community. Bands in D.C. rarely promote or play to people here at CUA, and as a result, many of us here barely know about the thriving group of young artists performing day in and out within stepping stones of our campus. That leads many of us scrummaging around Instagram pages and insider message groups just to get a sense of what is happening in our community.

That’s where “Your Week in the Scene” comes in. We curate the best selection of local music and arts from all walks of life just for you while prioritizing events and releases by artists from and visiting within D.C. proper who may not get the attention otherwise. 

Though we at “Your Week in the Scene” (or YWS for short) love all genres of music, our highlights will specialize in various forms of outsider and unrepresented sounds not covered by your average music or alternative magazine. Musically, this includes a variety of punk, alternative rock, electronic, metal, and everything in between. Of course, as YWS grows, so will the amount of “you”s in YOU, and we will likely expand our weekly selections to include what you, as readers, would like to hear about involving local music.

Now, enough explaining to do. Let’s get to the music!

RELEASE OF THE WEEK: “Everything is Normal” by Catscan!

Image Courtesy of Catscan

The longtime quirky rockers have finally returned after a year of working on their sound and production, and this single, released on October 25 of this year, shows it. With their combination of geeky vocals, sickly sweet chord progressions, synths, and a wide range of instrumental influences, Catscan!’s “Everything is Normal” is a bubbly and catchy two-minute romp of a song. However, don’t get too hung up on the music itself: the lyrics might end up giving a different feeling than what the happy-go-lucky vibes may give. Fans of bands like They Might Be Giants or Ween will certainly enjoy this release.

Check out “Everything is Normal” on Bandcamp, and be on the lookout for their new album coming soon.

SHOW OF THE WEEK: 45 Adapters and Collaps come to McLean on November 3rd

Image Courtesy of 45 Adapters

Yes, we know this is a far show, and a long one at that, but the lineup of bands in such an amount of time will be worth your time and money.

You have 45 Adapters, a group of great Oi rockers from Brooklyn known for their Ramones-style punk rock, coupled by their sing-along lyrics on living a radically working-class lifestyle, including “Fred Perry Fanatic,” “Patriots not Fools,” and “Coming up Empty.” Their most recent album, Unstoppable, shows a great development in their classic sound while still being fun and enjoyable. Be prepared to dance uncontrollably around in your Doc Martens during their set.

Then you have Collaps, coming from Herne, Germany. They are some loud punk rockers with wild energy. Expect to be completely bewildered by their set and maybe get the speed to run around with them.

Of course, you have many backing bands to keep you entertained. This includes D.C. hardcore locals like Balisong and Junkhead, longtime Oi rockers Shaved for Battle, and two up-and-coming metallic hardcore bands in Scorpion and Failure 2 Comply. Overall, it is a great lineup for people young and old, new to the scene and veterans alike. 

SHOWS TO ALSO CHECK OUT

As will be always, any other shows (or anything, really) we find cool will be listed here. Go check out all of them, or none of them, or just the ones you think you will like. We here at YWS are very non judgemental, as you can tell.

Since this is Halloween weekend, we decided to include a few more shows the day of Halloween, including a few parties. Hope you check ‘em out. 

October 31st

Halloween Party and Costume Contest: An Invitation, Diet Fame, Receipt, Celestia, Halica, Nude, and CULTLEADER.GLOBAL

VFW Post 8241, 1051 Spring Hill Rd, McLean, VA

7 p.m.; $10

Music Style: Electronic, Experimental, Punk.

TR/ST and Thoom

The Atlantis, 2047 9th St NW

6:30 p.m.; $25

Music Style: Dark Synthpop

November 1st

Touché Amore, Soul Glo, Portrayal of Guilt, and Soft Blue Simmer 

Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW

8 p.m.; $25 advance, $30 at the door.

Music Style: Emo Punk and Hardcore

Braxton Cook, and Elijah Jamal Balbed

Songbyrd Music House, 540 Penn St NE

7 p.m. doors open, show at 8 p.m.; $18 advance, $21 at the door

Music Style: Jazz

En Route (Kimia Hesabi & Erin Snedecor), with live calligraphy by Abdulrahman Naanseh

Rhizome DC, 6950 Maple St NW

7 p.m.: $10-25

Music Style: Post-Classical

Cheakaity with Rayonté, Aden Simone

Pie Shop, 1339 H St NE

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., Show at 8 p.m.; $15 advance, $20 day of show.

Music Style: Relaxed RnB.

November 2nd

Day of The Dead Celebration: Consumer Culture, Crystal Spiders, Dead Ringers, Book of the Wyrm, and Palladists

Atlas Brew Works, 2052 West Virginia Ave NE

7:30 p.m.; $20

Music Style: Punk, Alternative

The Mummies, Brower, and The Ar-Kaics

Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW

7 p.m.; $25 advance, $30 at the door.

Music Style: Garage Rock

Jackie and the Treehorns, Blood Family Reunion, and Gaspers

Galactic Panther, 1303 King St, Alexandria, VA

7 p.m.; $16 

Music Style: Alternative Rock

Night of The Livecoding Dead: Various Artists

Rhizome DC, 6950 Maple St NW

6 p.m.; $10-20

Music Style: Experimental Electronic

November 3rd

Nailed Shut MA, Colo, Out Sick, D.O.V.E.

Pie Shop, 1339 H St NE

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., Show at 8 p.m.; $12 advance, $15 at the door

Music style: Hardcore, Punk.

The Go! Team, La Sécurité

Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW

7:30 p.m.; $27 advance, $30 at the door.

Music Style: Quirky Alt Rock, New Wave.

Dumb Lucky, Massie, Color Rot, Flo Petite.

DC9 Nightclub, 1940 9th St NW

8 p.m.; $15

Music Style: Power Pop, Alternative Rock

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. See you next week!