From political punk rockers to spoken-word virtuosos, here’s a sneak peak of some of the shows The Eagle will cover in the coming months.
Portlandia
Feb. 21 @ 9:30 Club
Two years ago, Fred Armisen was a comedian best known for his work on “SNL,” and Carrie Brownstein was a riot-grrrl veteran coming off her career as half of Sleater Kinney. Sure, Armisen and Brownstein may have run in the same circles of highbrow taste, but nobody expected the two artists to combine their “Stuff White People Like”-brand tastes to form the comedic duo that is “Portlandia.”
Armisen and Brownstein bring their sketch-comedy characters from their hit IFC show to the 9:30 club Feb. 21 for two sold-out shows. Fans can look forward to a night of Armisen and Brownstein discussing Portlandia’s comedy, singing a few songs and reprising many of the quirky comedy’s beloved characters live.
Brownstein is booked for the rest of spring with Wild Flag, also coming to D.C. in a few months, so catch her with Armisen for a night of the Pacific Northwest’s finest in-jokes.
Islands
Feb. 22 @ Black Cat
Canadian indie pop veterans Islands have been plugging away at their art since early 2005, when they burst onto the scene with their debut album “Return to the Sea.”
Interestingly enough, Islands’s debut album featured collaborations with members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade, two bands that rose to the top of the indiesphere. For Islands, unfortunately, widespread popularity hasn’t been in the cards, but that doesn’t mean their catchy brand of art pop is any less enjoyable.
After three more albums and some significant lineup shuffling, including vocalist Nick Thorburn’s Mister Heavenly side project, which included members of Man Man and Modest Mouse (and, for several live shows, Michael Cera on bass), Islands returns to the Black Cat on Tuesday in support of their fourth full-length album, “A Sleep & A Forgetting.”
Saul Williams
Feb. 23 @ Black Cat
From film festival champion to musical bard who’s collaborated with legends including Nas, Trent Reznor and Allen Ginsburg, classifying Saul Williams’ art as “genre-spanning” is a gross understatement.
Williams, who cut his teeth in NYC’s slam poetry scene while studying acting at NYU, rose from the city’s open mics to the silver screen as a writer and actor in the 1998 feature film “Slam,” which went on to win both the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Camera d’Or at Cannes.
While his first feature film was sweeping the world’s most prominent festivals, Williams was beginning to make music, fusing hip-hop with spoken word and collaborating with prominent rap artists and legendary poets alike, including touring with contemporary artists like Nine Inch Nails and the Mars Volta. With a resumé this impressive, Williams’ set at the Black Cat on Thursday is one not to miss.
Anti-Flag
March 7 @ Rock and Roll Hotel
Wedged in this spring’s lineup at the Rock and Roll Hotel between DJ nights and bedroom-pop shows are progressively-minded punk rockers Anti-Flag, playing on H Street on March 7.
The Pittsburgh quartet has been making punk rock with a serious liberal slant since 1988 and have played in support of protests all over the world.
This time around, Anti-Flag is touring the East Coast in support of their ninth studio album, “The General Strike,” supported by the Flatliners and Have Nots.
