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It’s difficult to describe one of the most enchanting and memorable live music performances that I’ve ever seen. The entire night’s experience seemed to reside somewhere beyond the confines of the stage and audience, filled with emotional highs and surreal moments that constantly floated in and out of the space between dream and reality.

OK, time for the quick and dirty review. Jónsi (y’own-zee), playing the first of two nights to a mesmerized and sold out 9:30 Club, wooed those in attendance with an hour and a half set that was more like an ancient Icelandic opera than a rock show. Arriving just in time to see him take the stage, we managed to snag a pretty decent view towards the back of the main floor before moving up to the balcony for the second half of the set. (Oh and if you you’re wondering, Jónsi is the lead singer of Sigur Rós – “cig-er roce”. Iceland, baby. Who knew?) For the past few months I’ve been listening to his debut solo album, Go, with an almost trance-like devotion to each track and I had high hopes that his live show would live up to my expectations. And it did.

Dressed in his usually unusual garb, an eagle-like amalgamation of feathers and streamers, face paint and sculpted hair resembling a bird of prey, Jónsi performs with an incredibly channeled energy. The fairly gaunt, one-eyed siren very much resembles the characters that his music evokes during his mythological-like set. His performance is accented by an evolving projection set against a backdrop of trees with a running animation full of forest creatures, ranging from owls to elk to bears. The images often focus on a tale of changing seasons, birth and decay; through the course of one song, we follow a lone tree as it blooms and offers sanctuary to other animals, suffers through the slow pain of autumn and, finally, its heart wrenching battle to persevere through the harsh storms of winter. (Believe it or not, I forged a pretty tight bond with this tree over the course of 5 or 6 minutes).

Jónsi played his entire record and the pace was completely natural. His songs are balanced equally between slow, moving ballads and riotous, uplifting tracks that would be perfect for any number of heroic film soundtracks. The entire mood of the evening was like the most epic bedtime lullaby you’ve never had the chance to hear. An 11 out of 10 show if there ever was one.

Pirates have taken over the District! From the War of 1812 to the crack wars of the 1990s, DC has been caught in the middle of an historical power struggle between external forces seeking to raid and pillage this fair city and its denizens’ own inability to right the ship of progress. And until those corsairs in Congress allow for complete autonomy and a vote in their hallowed halls, the residents of the District will continue to live a shackled life with no sign of treasure in sight. Avast, me hearties! Softcore Laundry believes it’s time to stand up for our rights and set this schooner on a course for freedom.

Purchase this kickass shirt in our Etsy Shop

Etsy recently composed a list of Lennon-inspired items for sale and our ‘War Is Over’ t-shirt was included. We love it and we hope he would have, too.

Happy Birthday, John.

I attend a lot of shows. A LOT. My enthusiasm for live music is only constrained by my need for a few hours of sleep and a little money left in my bank account at the end of the month to buy beer. And living in Shaw provides ample opportunities to see great DJs and bands pretty much every night of the week. Over the past month, I’ve been fortunate enough to see LCD Soundsystem, !!!, No Age, Holy Fuck, Pavement, Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian, Designer Drugs, Starfucker, The Octopus Project, The Temper Trap, Jimmy Eat World, Thievery Corporation, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Yeasayer, Matt & Kim, Chromeo…I think that’s it?

Sick. Granted, a lot of those were knocked out in one amazing day at Virgin Mobile FreeFest but it’s still been one hell of a summer in DC. And with the next couple months of shows shaping up to be FUCKING AWESOME, I’ve decided to jot down a few words and pictures after each show to share my love of audio with all our friends.

But don’t worry – the Softcore Laundry blog won’t turn into some kind of overzealous, self-glorifying ode to my personal obsessions. We’re still in the business of making t-shirts. And coming soon, HOODIES! Giggity.

Last night I saw The Octopus Project and Starfucker at DC9. If you’ve never had the chance to see one of your favorite bands in a venue smaller than most people’s apartments, I suggest you check out their calendar. DC9 is owned by the same team that runs Rock N Roll Hotel and The Red & The Black so they always manage to book awesome bands. But enough with the fucking history lesson.

I arrived around 9:45 thinking that I’d catch the end of The Octopus Project’s set but they ended up going until about 10:30. They bring a ton of energy and have some pretty, er, interesting shit playing on a projection screen behind them. I’ve never been a huge fan of experimental instrumental electronic music but I was amazed by their sound. The lead singer plays a theremin, which is basically just an L-shaped antenna that makes tones when you wave your hand in front of it. Pretty cool but I was over it after about 3 songs.

Starfucker, formed in 2007 in Portland, has been on my hit list for about a year now. Just four dudes who each play a couple different instruments. I really dig the random loops and voice samples they mix on a turntable, which generally plays untouched throughout each song. And they bring a ton of energy! Even though it was a Wednesday, the packed crowd was bouncing the entire time. I always thought they’d be much more mellow live based on listening to their album. But these guys could easily rock out at a much larger venue. They finished off a great hour-long set with a huge blowout of Isabella of Castile, much to the satisfaction of two girls in the front row who had been begging for it the entire night. So glad I went (even though I was by myself which is perfectly acceptable and don’t let anyone tell you different). Rock.

This Saturday, October 2nd is the 7th annual, Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair. It’s is an exhibition and sale of handmade alternative arts and crafts from independent artists presented by the Washington City Paper. The fair is all-day, outdoors, free to attend, and will offer goods for sale, food, entertainment, and prizes.

Unfortunately, we missed the boat to exhibit this year. But we’ll definitely be there checking out all the awesome handmade goodness. We hope to see you there.

More about Crafty Bastards

They say mo’ money, mo’ problems. But if you’ve been living on the African continent over the past 200 years, you’d gladly accept the tradeoff. After European imperialism effectively wiped out the economic and political potential for generations of Africans, the continent has struggled with one crisis after another. Human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, war, dictatorships, famine, illiteracy. These are only some of the gifts left behind by colonizing nations hungry for resources at any expense. And today, as the Industrialized world continues to take a metaphorical dump on Africa, internal strife threatens to leave its people behind for another 200 years. This graphic tshirt from Softcore Laundry is our way of saying that Africa deserves to be free. Free from thugs. Free from disease. From Lagos to Nairobi, Khartoum to Kinshasa. Free Africa.

Purchase this kickass shirt in our Etsy Shop

Softcore Laundry’s Brendan Flynn recently put his stamp on Metrucurean.com with five of his favorite DC treats. Get all the goodness.