The Werks & Passafire at U Street Music Hall on 9/14/17

The FireWerks Tour featuring The Werks and Passafire made its stop in Washington, D.C., at the U Street Music Hall on Thursday, Sept. 14. Eager fans piled into the small venue early to catch Passafire hit the stage first. Passafire recently released their new album “Longshot” which is the first since their last studio album was released in 2013. While Passafire played some of their big hits, they mostly played songs from their new album – some of which were played live for the first time. On top of their own songs, they covered MGMT’s song “Kids.” Even though U Street Music Hall holds approximately 500 people, Passafire made the entire crowd move and sing along with every word.

The Werks, the multiple-genre jam band from Dayton, Ohio, closed the night with their unique and always-changing-set filled with amazing guitar riffs. They gave the crowd what they came for and then some. Their diehard fans danced along to the magnificent melodies and improvised riffs. Overall, the show was a terrific opportunity to see some popular festival acts in an intimate setting as well as getting to see some of the newer content played for the very first time.

You can catch the rest of The FireWerks Tour on the following dates:

Sept. 16 at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sept. 17 at Middle East Downstairs in Boston, Mass.

Sept. 20 at The Loft in Lansing, Mich.

Sept. 21 at The Magic Bag in Ferndale, Mich.

Sept. 22 at The Chubby Bear in Chicago, Ill.

Apocalyptica at Lincoln Theatre on 9/9/17

Finland’s Apocalyptica came to Washington, D.C. with their Plays Metallica by Four Cellos tour which they are doing to promote their remastered debut studio album which first came out in 1996. The orchestral rock band attracted metal and classical music fans alike to the historic D.C. theater to hear some of the biggest hits from the Metallica catalog transformed into classical music pieces. The four cellists started the show by silently walking on the stage and going directly into their cover of Enter Sandman and followed with a more up-tempo Master of Puppets which accompanied by the awesome lighting that flashed throughout the venue and made the crowd join in by singing the lyrics to the iconic metal song. They flawlessly transitioned into Metallica’s Harvester of Sorrow but by now three of the four cellists were standing and two of which were whipping their long hair as the crowd continued to sing along. The show proved that Apocalyptica still has it just as the band they covered does. If you happen to be along the path of the tour it is definitely worth the ticket price to see a unique live show of truly talented and trained musicians doing what they do best.

Set List:

Enter Sandman

Master of Puppets

Harvester of Sorrow

The Unforgiven

Sad but True

Creeping Death

Wherever I May Roam

Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Fade to Black

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Fight Fire With Fire

Until It Sleeps

Orion

Escape

Battery

Seek & Destroy

Bryson Tiller in Vienna, VA at Wolf Trap on 9/2/17

Bryson Tiller's Set It Off tour made it's stop in Vienna, VA at Wolf Trap on Saturday supported by H.E.R. and Metro Boomin. The show was added as a late addition to Wolf Trap's summer schedule and for good reason. H.E.R. kicked off the show followed by the BET 2016 Producer of The Year Metro Boomin.  Bryson Tiller took the stage to an excited crowd that was on their feet the second he stepped out. Bryson took time in his set to talk about his new experiences with touring and how these experiences have influenced him. He said while touring life was difficult and at times makes him want to quit, the fans make it all worth it. Bryson has shown that these types of shows thrive in this historic venue and was worth the stop as his tour winds down. You can catch Bryson Tiller on the rest of his tour at the locations and venues below:

September 6 – Lowell, MA @ Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell

September 7 – Mashantucket, CT @ The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino

September 8 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall

September 9 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall

September 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at the Mann Center

September 13 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach

September 14 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre

September 15 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom

September 16 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center

Dropkick Murphys and Rancid at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA on 8/2/17

Dropkick Murphys and Rancid’s From Boston to Berkeley tour made it’s stop in Pittsburgh, PA Wednesday night at Stage AE. The two legendary punk band played the sold out venue and it was packed full of liberty spikes and kilts as fans anxiously awaited the show to start.

Fans of all ages rushed to get the best spots in the general admission venue and the barricade was lined with fans that ranged from 11 year old kids to fans that grew up on the music. The show kicked off with an acoustic set by Jake Burns who is the front man for Stiff Little Fingers. His quick set was followed by The Bouncing Souls who fired the crowd up for Rancid to take the stage.

Once Rancid hit the stage the energy level took an obvious turn as the circle pits started and the bottles started flying. The pit was hammered by the crowd surfers as Rancid belted out their most popular songs which were accompanied by some from their new album Trouble Maker. Dropkick Murphys wrapped up the night with an insane set that had lead singer Al Barr climbing into the pit so he could sing with the help of the fans.

The show ended with a joint encore with Rancid and Dropkick Murphys covering the likes of The Crickets, Cock Sparrer, Johnny Cash, and The Ramones. Overall the show was incredible and if you are on the tour’s upcoming list of cities, this is one you will not want to miss. The chance to see these incredible acts on one stage is too good to pass up.

My Morning Jacket & Gary Clark Jr. at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on 7/14/17

In another impressive show for Merriweather Post Pavilion’s 50th anniversary, My Morning Jacket with special guest Gary Clark Jr., came to play for the dedicated fans that were ready to kick off the weekend despite the hot temperatures. Friday was a hazy summer day at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD but that didn’t stop the fans from piling in early so they didn’t miss the epic performance by Gary Clark Jr.

Gary Clark Jr., took the stage to a packed pit screaming for his impressive guitar riffs and solos. Clark showed why some people are referring to him as today’s Jimi Hendrix. The magnificent line up would seem like he would have been the headliner but My Morning Jacket wrapped up the night with an incredible 2 ½ hour set. The mix of beautiful lights with Jim James vocals and guitar playing brought the night to a perfect end which added another one in the books for the historic venue.