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I thought I would give everyone a break from my "All Elbow, all the time" coverage late last week before I wrote up the review from their show on Sunday night at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue. Simply put, the show was phenomenal.

Guy and Co. worked their way through a hand-picked set of tunes that played up the band's sonic strengths in a venue unlike any other. Although we did a get a few stompers ("Leaders of the Free World," "Grounds For Divorce"), the band mainly stuck top their mid-paced material like "Mirrorball" and "The Stops," letting the songs expand and contract as necessary. The audience, seated in pews, sat in wonder and gave the band no fewer than three standing ovations. "Newborn" earned one of them, and rightfully so, even if the end bit didn't melt anyone's face off like I had hoped. Elbow saved the best for the last song of the night, as they played a truly memorable version of "Scattered Black & Whites", one of my favorite Elbow songs and one of the songs I requested from Guy when I did my DCist interview earlier in the week. That's what I call BEST.

Last night The Future Ms. Leaf (formerly known as Ms. Smith) and I went to see Dolly Parton at the Patriot Center, which was ultimately a bit disappointing. Mostly because the show was a concert for people that don't go to concerts. Everyone sitting in our section was twice our age. Seriously. It was more like a dinner theater show without the meal. Dolly talked for what seemed like forever in between songs, so the pacing was a bit hit-or-miss.

Oh, and the show STARTED at 7:30. Started. It took us forever to find parking and to be honest I wasn't in that much of a hurry, because, who starts a show at seven freaking thirty? So apparently we missed "Jolene." (Argh!) But Dolly's voice was fantastic, and she did tell some good jokes. I just wished she had played more tunes.

It was a beautiful night last at RFK. The stadium smelled like freshly cut grass and i got to give my new 40D a run for its money as United took on the Columbus Crew. D.C. gave up two first half goals and never really challenged in the second half, losing 2-1.

I forgot to tape the match and see if I made it onto ESPN2.

I was very anxious to try out the 40D in a sports setting, as that is mostly why I upgraded from my 30D. It was definitely worth it. Focus is much more accurate and the better frames per second really came in handy. I got many more keepers than usual, hence the 35 photos above. Enjoy them while I go back outside on the balcony and enjoy the beautiful weather today.

More United:
DCist recap by Matt.
Behind the Badge recap.
DCenters recap.
Soccer Insider recap.

So as I said before, I went in to the 9:30 Club last night with an open but still slightly pessimistic mind about seeing (and enjoying) Okkervil River and The New Pornographers. After a quick bite during our first ever visit to Nellie's Sports Bar (First impression: Thumbs up!) Ms. Smith and I got there fairly early and secured a spot dead center, about three people back.

Unlike when I saw them in 2005, Okkervil River really impressed me. I have a hard time listening to their recorded work (it's soo S L O W), but it's much easier to connect to the band and lead singer Will Sheff in a live setting. We he gets those far away eyes and his voice cracks on the high notes, you're there with him. I feel disconnected to him listening to the CD. They started out strong and faded in the middle of the set with some slowies before picking it up again at the end. They sounded great even though you could tell they weren't used to playing venues so big. When Sheff was pitching back and forth on the stage it looked like he kept expecting to bump into another band member, but he hadn't accounted for the extra few feet of space everyone had. My only complaint was they didn't play the two songs of theirs I really like, "No Key, No Plan" and "Last Love Song For Now," but that's nitpicking. So yeah, I finally "get" Okkervil River.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for The New Pornographers, even with Neko Case in tow. I tried, I really did, but all of their songs have the same tempo and feel really samey to me. This group should be right in my wheelhouse, but I just don't get it. I will say that the harmonies between A.C. Newman and Neko sounded brilliant, I just couldn't hear any hooks in the tunes. To make matters worse, there really is no "show" to speak of with this band. Neko just stood there and stared at the floor when she wasn't singing. Newman did little more stand behind the mic or walk back to the drum kit with his back turned to the crowd. And he had his eyes closed the entire time he was on stage. We left after 7 or 8 songs and headed down the street for a beer.

[mp3] Okkervil River | Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
[mp3] Okkervil River | The President is Dead

[mp3] The New Pornographers | Myriad Harbour
[mp3] The New Pornographers | My Rights Versus Yours

Ms. Smith and I made our first trip to Nationals Stadium yesterday. We had hoped the weather would warm up a bit but no such luck. After shivering through seven slightly soggy innings, we decided to call it a day. Here are my impressions of the newest MLB ballpark.

The Good:
1) The food and beer options are much, much better than they were at RFK. I drank Pilsner Urquell and Blue Moon, but they had Peroni, Red Stripe and a bunch of other good beers as well.
2) Lots of room to wander around a see the game from different vantage points. You can basically walk all around the ground level and watch the game as you stand behind the seats. Pretty nice. The outfield has a plenty of space to walk around and there are some picnic tables along the first base side.
3) The standing room only spots in the outfield (where this photo was taken). A nice place to drink your beer and eat your food.
4) The Nat Express. I decided we would try the "park at RFK and take the bus over" route to the stadium and it couldn't have been easier. Took us under 20 minutes each way. As long as you're not in a hurry, this is the way to go.
5) Merch prices are apparently negotiable. Ms. Smith was freezing her ass off, so I bought her a hoodie for just $30, almost half of the $55 price tag. Thanks talkative merch-seller dude!

The Bad:
1) Lines for food were still pretty bad. Hopefully this will improve as the concessions people get used to everything.
2) There are still some bad sight lines in the outfield. You can't see what's happening below you if you sit up high on the first base side.
3) Ticket prices. Jeebus. If I am reading this right, there are no cheap seats in the outfield! Apparently the Nats don't believe in bleacher seats. Shame.
4) The team still sucks.

Overall, I liked the stadium, although it has too much concrete to have any sort of vibe or personality. It's kind of like a junior version of Comerica Park in Detroit. I'll definitely go back to see a few games this year, but I can't see me buying a ticket plan any time soon.

Check out some more photos on Flickr.

Being a glutton for punishment a good rock show, I ventured down to the Black Cat on Friday night to take in a triple bill of The Dodos, The Big Sleep and Les Savy Fav. I actually wasn't in the mood to go out when the time came, but I went anyways, thinking that a good killer show might do me some good.

First up were current interweb darlings The Dodos. I am not ashamed to say I had all but convinced myself I would hate them before even getting to the show. All the lavish praise from SXSW will do that to me. But the band won me over by putting on a very intense set that had everyone in attendance pushing up against the stage so they could see the seated duo. The drummer only plays toms and uses the rim for his cymbal. He duct taped a tambourine to his shoe to act as a hi-hat. The guitarist totally shredded his acoustic guitar and used his array of pedals to create all sorts of loops that ran under the bands songs, which were made up of all sorts of weird time signatures. It was enthralling. Add me to the interweb cognoscenti that are singing this group's praises. They are the goods.

And as good as The Dodos were, The Big Sleep were better. I had listened to their latest CD, Sleep Forever, quite a bit in the last few weeks. It has this ...Trail of Dead meets Mogwai vibe that I really like. They used their own lighting system, powering up some spotlights you would hang in your garage to set a dark and sinister mood that was perfect for their propulsive, post-rock stylings. Their album has a few clunkers on it, but they wisely stuck to their guns during the live show, focusing on their more urgent, up-tempo, rocking numbers. Their set was for me, the best of the night. I can't wait to see them again.

[mp3] The Big Sleep | Bad Blood
[mp3] The Big Sleep | Pinkies (highly recommended)

I had never seen Les Savy Fav before Friday but their reputation preceded them. Front-man Tim Harrington might just be the funniest person in indie-rock. As for their live show, lets just say I was unprepared for the chaos that ensued. A good time indeed.

Full photo set after the jump.

A somewhat smallish but vocal crowd braved the rain and generally crappy conditions last night to see Robbers on High Street and D.C.'s own The City Veins put on a great show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Sincere thanks to everyone that came out.

Last night was my first time seeing both bands and I walked away very impressed. The City Veins played a smattering of new tunes from their forthcoming EP, as well as a few old favorites, to great fanfare. Robbers were super tight, incredibly so, and their melodies and harmonies sound even better in the live arena than they do on disc. They turned in a great set and made it look easy. For the last song of the night, they played a fierce cover of New Edition's "Cool It Now" that brought down the house. But that's easy for me to say because I heart New Edition.

Can't wait to see both of these bands again real soon. I'll have more photos from this show up over the weekend.

Quite the weekend. Kite Festival, Cherry Blossoms, fighting the tourist crowds, catching Stephen Malkmus and John Vanderslice at the 9:30 Club, watching Kansas run the same play all game against Davidson and almost blow it. I picked them to win the whole thing, but I think now, if they do win, it will be in spite of Bill Self.

...to see my photos from last nights Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige show in Baltimore. This is the second time I've shot Jay-Z for Pitchfork and this time was completely different. Last time it was a small club and I got three songs. This time was an arena scale show and we had just one song to shoot both Jay and Mary. Surprisingly I got a nice set of photos in the short time we were alloted to shoot. And to top it all off, my trip up there and back was fairly painless. Bonus!

Head over to Pitchfork to see the full photo set.

...that Ra Ra Riot put on such an amazing live show? I caught them at the Black Cat last night opening for The Cribs and I was totally blown away. I didn't know anything about them going into the show other than the unfortunate passing of their drummer. But I walked out a fan. A very lazy comparison would be Reckoning -era R.E.M. with cello and violin. In other words...BEST.

They were on stage when I got to the venue and I really liked the first song I heard. By the fourth or fifth I was dancing along so much I was having a hard time taking photos. Good stuff! They are on tour through April so go check them out. I can't recommend them highly enough.

On the way home as I was listening to the EP I bought, I thought to myself "these guys would be perfect playing with someone like Jukebox the Ghost or Sam Champion." Then I checked my email upon returning home and I saw a show from last November at the Rock n Roll Hotel with that very lineup! Argh. Whenever I tell you I am ahead of the curve on something, be sure to point me to this post.

As for The Cribs...Yawn. Too much shouting with nothing to say, but they did do a nice cover of "Bastards of the Young."

Last night D.C. United played their first home game of the 2008 season at RFK Stadium as part of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Their opponent: Jamaica's Harbor View Football Club.
The result: a 5-nil win for United, who advance to the Champions Cup semis in April.
Peep the recap at DCist.
I love shooting MLS. There's nothing better. It's only been four months since I shot MLS Cup at RFK, but it seemed like an eternity.

Highlights from last night:
Fred's weird pacifier/cradle rocking goal celebration (apparently his wife is expecting)...

...and Santino Quaranta's act of contrition towards the Barra Brava and Screaming Eagles, the D.C. United supporters clubs. Tino is a former United player and local product that had lost form due to a series of injuries. He was subsequently traded away and made some not so friendly gestures to the Barra and Eagles while playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. This was not taken kindly. He's fallen on hard times and signed a contract with United during the off season to get his career back on track. He played great last night and it looks like he is on the road to forgiveness.