#113 at Huong Que

Thanks to another DCist post, after work last night I went to Falls Church's Eden Center, the mecca of the Vietnamese community, to a restaurant called Four Sisters (Houng Que). Had the #113, grilled beef wrapped in grape leaves. You would take these morsels and wrap them up in rice paper with vermicelle, mint, and vegetables, and then dip them in a sweet sauce I jazzed up with hot sauce.

Tapes 'N Tapes, Figurines, and Cold War Kids at Fletcher's

Went back to Fletcher's last night to see the Tapes 'N Tapes show. This time a good turnout, but I still don't like the interstitial music. Seemed to me like the sound guy played Weezer and the Pixies' greatest hits cause this was an "alternative" crowd.
First up was Cold War Kids. They were really great- a helluva lot of energy and yelling reminded me of early Modest Mouse. Their drummer and bassist were tight- using a lot of staccato playing to dramatic effect, and all the guys on stage were all over the place- dancing the mashed potato and swinging around.
Second band, The Figurines were not as good. I had previewed their new album at the record store and was unimpressed, and live, this was obvious. They seemed to lack any charisma, and the music was very derivative of garage rockers from Scandinavia like The Hives, Datsuns, etc. The crowd was still hopping after the openers, but seemed to die down in the set - the people into the band seemed to be 3 dorky guys and the bands' girlfriends.
Tapes 'N Tapes were really great, too. They've been getting a lot of internet buzz recently, and I think it's just deserved. These guys play good songs that rock. I especially liked watching the drummer who looked like a little kid with big glasses.

Lengua Tacos at Tortilleria and Tacos, Baltimore

Since this blog is called Kushi Tan, thought I'd post a pic of my favorite taco, the lengua, or "tongue", taco at Tortilleria and Tacos on Eastern Ave. Simple joint- simple food - tacos and soup, both served with warm fresh corn tortillas. Yum.

CocoRosie w/ Spleen and Nomi at Vox Populi

Went with my cousin to see CocoRosie, Spleen, and Nomi at the Vox Populi in Philadelphia. It was on the 4th floor of a building near Chinatown in the back section of an art gallery- reminded me of Floristree but with no couches. Big turnout.
Opening was Nomi, who describes herself as "a union between Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA on beats and Sade on vocals". She was accompanied by a gentleman on theremin who looked like Klaus Nomi oddly enough. Spleen and Sierra Casady came out to accompany her for some songs. It was alright. I think Nomi wasn't always a woman though.
Following was a French hip hop group led by a guy named Spleen. Spleen was accompanied by a guitarist and a human beatbox who was really good. The beatbox managed to create multiple tone with his nose and throat. I liked Spleen's rap when he mixed it with a scat style, but he was a little too Wyclef when he was on his guitar singing slow songs to seduce the girls.

I last saw CocoRosie at the 1st Unitarian Chruch, but this venue was more intimate. We managed to get right up front, so I was lucky to get such good pictures.
It was funny, since the band uses a projector for images, before they went on, the stage crew set up a light stage left. I was sitting when this happened, but when I stood up, I pretty much blocked the whole light, casting my giant shadow over the stage.
CocoRosie sounded great in this smaller venue. Sierra Casady, who is classically trained, came out in an Indian headress and a creepy mask singing operatically. Her sister, Bianca, sported a drawn on moustache.
Spleen and his human beatbox played in the band, and Nomi came out to sing backup with them for a few songs. Bianca even got all hot and heavy dancing with Spleen onstage. Possibly due to my giant shadow, I wished the band played less in the dark though. They also need to update their projector reel. Still loved seeing them again, especially so close up.

Excepter, WZT Hearts, Daniel Higgs, Pit Er Pat, and Lichens at Floristree Space

Caught 5 bands last night at my favorite Floristree Space in Baltimore. Man, these marathon shows are tiring. I didn't get home until 2am. Lichens started things. This is a side project of TV on the Radio's Rob Lowe. He did a lot of effects pedals distortion of his voice and guitar - very ambient.



This gradually blended into the next act, Pit Er Pat from Chicago. There sound was very nice and poppy with female vocals accompanied by electronics and a little dub-noise instrumentals. I really enjoyed them.

Third performing was Daniel Higgs from the band Lungfish. He played acoustic guitar and jews harp with a lot of distortion and feedback, and his voice was rough and smoky. I liked this, but I was starting to feel the length of the show by this time.




Fourth up was locals WZT Hearts, with Floristree Space resident Jason Urick. They combined electronic sounds with a drum kit- really nice and driving. I liked their energy.









Finally, headliners, Excepter hit the stage at about 1am. They sounded great- really cool electronics. For some reason the singer reminded me of Leon Redbone- the hat?!?

Gelato from The Bent Spoon, Princeton, NJ

Over the weekend, I was up in Princeton and had some gelato at The Bent Spoon. My flavors in front were strawberry mint lemonade and bartlett blue ginger. Delicious. My cousin and fellow foodie said that the gelato here was better than Capogiro's, a joint in Philly that gets a lot more press. The prices were better here as well $2.75 for this would be about $4.25 in Philly.

The Walkmen with Mazarin and The Cobbs at the Theatre for the Living Arts

I was in Philly last night at the Theatre for the Living Arts on South St. to see the Walkmen play in support of their latest record, A Hundred Miles Off. Nice venue, not very crowded, but the Philly crowd was a little sedate. Opening was a duo, The Cobbs. They both played guitar, and were accompanied by a dvd of the drummer who was projected behind them, a nice touch. I liked them some- a lot of energy, reminded me some of FIlm School the night before, but their songs seemed to sound the same by the end of the set.
Next up was Mazarin, a Philly band. Their music is psychedelic tinged rock- I liked them a lot- good songs and loud. I didn't realize that their song "Another One Goes By" is covered by the Walkmen on the new album. I liked their version better possibly.
Mazarin - "Another One Goes By"

The Walkmen have been one of my favorite bands to see live since I saw them at the Casbah in San Diego a few years ago. I love how intense the lead singer is on stage- reminding me of punk rock. His screaming on "The Rat" is amazing, and I wonder how his voice holds up for a show. The first two times I saw them, they opened with this song and he finished the show with no problems.
My cousin also reminded me how most lead singers nowadays are very effeminate and she said she liked how Hamilton Leithauser had a manly presence. I have only heard the new record a couple times, but the new songs were great live. For "Louisiana", they invited two young ladies to play trumpet onstage. These guys remain one of my favorite new bands out there now. Great show.

Download their 9:30 Club show at the NPR site.

Philly Cheesesteak

Before the Walkmen show in Philly last night, went to the famous Jim's Steaks (since 1937) for a delicious cheesesteak hoagie. I loved how the line cook was rude and insisted the passive whiteys to speak up and be clear when ordering. Mine was a cheesesteak with cheese whiz, mushrooms, onions, and hot peppers- surprisingly not greasy or oily at all. The whiz is the best part.

Film School with Margot & the Nuclear So and So's at Fletcher's

First off, Fletcher's has the worst interlude music ever.
My first time at this venue, I went to see SF's Film School, a psychedelic-noise-pop band that reminded me some of the Cure and My Bloody Valentine. Despite the small gathering, these guys were really intense and played a nice set of their songs. No frills and good music.
It turned out more people were there to see openers, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, bad name. Very emo-pop band that reminded me of Bright Eyes but with an 8 member band including the lead "emo" guy, requisite pretty girl, a trumpeter, a cellist, 2 percussionists, and 2 guitarists. Breaking no new ground, but alright to see.

The "Bosnian Burger" at Cosmopolitan Cafe

As I happened to be in Alexandria, VA, and inspired by recent posts in DCist and Suburban Tasteland, I grabbed lunch at the Cosmopolitan Cafe, a Bosnian carryout place. I ate ordered the pljeskavica, a burger of sorts, enormous with spiced ground beef, onion, and sour cream on a homemade bun. Delicious. Cockta, a Slovenian soda reminded me of Dr. Pepper. I need to return to try more items, but truly a delicious burger.

Found Vs. Postsecret

Tonight, local indie bookstore, Atomic Books, hosted, at the Golden West Cafe, a night with the creators of Found Magazine and Post Secret. A great turnout- very Bo-bo- people in garden clogs, Patagonia, linen, and a distubing number of open-toed shoes for a cold spring evening.
First up, Atomic's Benn introduced Davy Rothbart to the stage. I had no idea the picture of the psyched trophy bowlers in the first Found book was found here in Baltimore. Awesome.
Frank Warren of Post Secret shared some of his postcards: some were funny or dirty whereas others were sad or inspirational. I should check out his book. He started the project as an exhibit and handed out self addressed and stamped blank postcards to people for them to send him their secrets, and this grew into something larger. He now gets hundreds of secrets a day, and blogs them weekly.
Davy Rothbart then presented various items from Found which were really funny, and then his brother Pete came up and sang a couple of songs including my fav "The Booty Don't Stop"!

"Get In On It!"

So Baltimore's new slogan is pretty bad- get in on what? The Sun paper says this catchphrase cost the city half a million dollars. Nice. The rejects are pretty bad as well:

"The City You Savor"
"Breeze Into Baltimore"
"All City, No Hurry"
"Enjoy The Pace"

My pick would have been "Bawlmor, Hon!"