The Black Squirrel Bar Washington D.C. - The Black Squirrel Bar Washington D.C.

See the Russian Singing Grannies

blacksquirrel — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:58:42 +0000

Come see the captivating event known as EUROVISION on Saturday May 26th on the second floor of the Black Squirrel, starting at 2 p.m. The EUROVISION finale will be shown on the large screen, and the Belgian beer tap lines will be flowing. Doors open at 2 p.m., with the beginning of the broadcast from Baku, Azerbaijan. Come cheer your favorite country as you enjoy delicious beers and food. Wondering what all this EUROVISION craziness is about? EUROVISION is a song contest in which European countries showcase their country’s best talent with over-the-top performances. EUROVISION has been a staple of the European climate for more than 50 years. Previous winners include ABBA and Celine Dion. The winners are democratically selected by the participating countries. If you feel no pre-existing sympathies to a certain country, you can choose your favorite country in advance by visiting the Eurovision website to preview the performances (http://www.eurovision.tv/page/baku-2012). Or just show up and make your decision as the show unfolds. Our money is on the singing grannies from Russia. See you May 26th. Dress and flags from your favorite European countries are encouraged. By Tracy Jill Doty

Songwriters and Poets 2012 Series

blacksquirrel — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:35:13 +0000

The Songwriters and Poets 2012 Series kicks off in the tap room of the Black Squirrel on Tuesday (May 22), starting at 7 p.m. The Fredericksburg, Va.-based Parlor Soldiers headline the opening night, their gig slated to open at 10 p.m., following performances by Emmett Williams, Dan Wolff and Harris Face at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. The intention of Songwriters and Poets is to become an annual six-week event that showcases the talents of independent musical and spoken-word artists from the region. Much like the highly vaunted SXSW in Austin Texas, it is the goal of this program to develop and expand into a multi-venue event that will attract an audience not only of listeners and tastemakers, but also industry professionals scouting for emerging talent. From conceptualization in mid-April to outreach and response, the process has gathered a significant amount of steam; the talent promises to raise a special awareness of the musical and poetic culture that exists below the radar of big productions and everyday club scenes in Washington, D.C. Each of the artists has demonstrated a dedication that transcends the ordinary and represents diversity in genres from Americana to folk, blues, jazz, pop, experimental and voice. Each headline performer has achieved a certain level of accomplishment defined by their sacrifices, performances and the support of their audiences. http://www.theparlorsoldiers.bandcamp.com/ http://www.emmettwilliams.com/ http://www.danwolffmusic.com/ http://www.reverbnation.com/harrisface#!

They’re Nervous, Excited and Multi-Talented

blacksquirrel — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:56:12 +0000

(http://www.nervousbutexcited.com/index.php) Nervous but Excited will be appearing in the tap room of the Black Squirrel on Monday, May 21, starting at 9 p.m. This Michigan-based, pleasantly aggressive folk duo brings a full band to the summer stage. The core of Nervous but Excited is an incredibly unique harmony built upon songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver. Road warriors to the core since 2005, they have landed on stages with Ani Difranco, Iron and Wine and Utah Phillips. Backed by an arrangement of guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass, cello and percussion, their live show will bounce you through a variety of emotions and genres, always keeping you guessing what is next. You might cry, you definitely will laugh, and they hope you will leave feeling that your heart has grown just a little larger.

A Toast to Breakfast in the Evening

blacksquirrel — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:23:49 +0000

Two ultra-special beers will be tapped on Friday (May 11), starting at 5 p.m. on the main floor of the Black Squirrel. The bourbon-barrel-aged Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout, a big and dark and scary beverage brewed with plenty of dark malts and roast barley from 2011, is the only keg in the city. The limited-release Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout is brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, plus cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Never mind the time, Chef Gene Sohn plans to pair a breakfast platter with the two beers, which includes two eggs, bacon, homemade sausage, French toast, home fries and cappuccino stout sauce.

Boyce to Open the Show Saturday Night

blacksquirrel — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:47:44 +0000

(http://www.mistyboyce.com) Misty Boyce will open for Nick Africano at the Black Squirrel on Saturday (May 5), starting at 9 p.m. Boyce began her career as the keyboardist for The Naked Brothers Band, appearing with the group on “The View” and “Today Show.” She also accompanied Tim Williams on tour, performing at SXSW and Sundance Film Festival. After studying jazz piano at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Boyce moved to New York to pursue her own sound, where she met Patrick Ermlich and Eshy Gazit at Modern Vintage Recordings. With influences ranging from Tori Amos to Radiohead to Miles Davis, Boyce writes all her music. ”I think there is something otherworldly about writing,” she says. “A line or a melody will come out and later I’ll read it or hear it and think, ‘This is healing me and I wrote it.’”

Baseball, Art, Love and ‘The Butterfly Bull’

blacksquirrel — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:08:15 +0000

( http://www.nickafricano.net ) Singer/songwriter Nick Africano will release “The Butterfly Bull” at the Black Squirrel this Saturday (May 5), starting at 9 p.m. The album is a story about collaborations and the exploration of contradictions. About baseball and art. Love and loss. Dark yet hopeful. And it’s a story about Africano’s ability to pair the best elements of folk and soul with superb storytelling and raw passion. The album’s roots date back to more than seven years ago; the direct result of ideas Africano developed while studying the poetry of Federico Garía Lorca, and later composing “The Poetics of Contradiction,” his college thesis paper. The ideas behind the album further materialized five years later, when, knowing Africano’s passion for all things Spanish, his friend Peter returned from a trip to Spain with the perfect gift: a journal with a drawing of “el toro mariposa” (the butterfly bull) by painter Francisco de Goya on the cover. “That little gift resulted in my best work to date,” Africano says. He began by writing one word at a time on its pages. That quickly led to more lyrics, all thematically inspired by the drawing of the bull with butterfly wings. To better understand “The Butterfly Bull,” you need to know Africano. He was born seven weeks early in Watseka, Ill., and lived on an incubator for a short while. He’s still always early. And strong-willed. A standout high school baseball player, he was sidelined by a stress fracture in his vertebrae at age 17. With only a 15 percent chance of a complete recovery, he disciplined himself to wear a solid plastic back brace 23 hours a day, every day for ten months. During that time, he couldn’t run or do what he loved most: swing a bat every day after school. Since he could no longer physically perform on that stage – the ball field – he found solace in another form, returning to an instrument that he had only begun to toy with: the guitar. He spent hours strumming the same chords on the front porch of his Normal, Ill., home, which later became his sanctuary and classroom for teaching himself guitar. It was there that he wrote his first song. He continued to write throughout his time at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., but it was his mother’s death from breast cancer the week of his graduation that solidified his path as a musician. “She was my truest hero and best friend, and her death moved me to work as hard as I could to live my dreams,” he says. “I like to think these little songs honor her life in some way.” After her funeral, her colleagues at Bloomington High School and many of her friends from church – all of whom knew of Africano’s plans to record — collected money to help him begin recording. “I was blown away by their generosity and try to always remember that my recording career started as a gift, and that helps me remember to try to give back as much as I can,” he says. Africano’s move to New York City in July, 2008 helped further push his work, as did the band featured in “The Butterfly Bull:” Matt Basile (bass) and Adam Christgau (drums) and Boyce (vocals, keyboards).

Where’s Waldo? Why, Right Here This 420

blacksquirrel — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:58:51 +0000

Welcome to the dank tank this 420. Get your freak clique down to the main floor of the Black Squirrel this Friday (April 20) to take on two silencers: a righteous hop bomb by the friendlies at Lagunitas named Waldo Special Ale in homage to the Waldo brothers, who started the 420 craze in Marin County. This marks the first time Waldo has been out of California, so let’s show him a good time. We’re tapping Waldo at 4:20 p.m. Plus, we’ll have bottles of the classic and hard-to-find SweetWater 420. Got the munchies? We have you covered: Hemp Brownies Harold and Kumar Sliders Dorito Buenos Nachos.

Band Poised to Leave a Big Wake in Tap Room

blacksquirrel — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:14:16 +0000

Big Wake is set to appear in the Tap Room of the Black Squirrel this Thursday (April 19), starting at 8 p.m. The four-man band combines earnest lyricism with dynamic melodies to create a sound that shakes the soul. The Jersey City, N.J., group transcends musical genres, allowing it to reach an audience in a provocative manner. “We’re very much looking forward to this Thursday in D.C.,” says guitarist Gerry Rosenthal, who describes his group’s sound as a mix of high energy/Indie jam rock. “Hopefully, we’ll get a big turnout and light the place up.”

Christmas Ale to Wash Away Friday the 13th

blacksquirrel — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:08:57 +0000

Here’s to Christmas Ale, the Great Lakes antidote to Jason Voorhees, the hockey-mask-wearing slasher who has littered big and small screens alike with lots of blood and gore on Friday the 13th the last 32 years. The Black Squirrel trots out Christmas Ale this Friday (April 13), starting at 5 p.m., to blunt the mindless evil of this ubiquitous movie character.

Flow Tribes Exclamation Point on St. Pats Day

blacksquirrel — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:41:49 +0000

Straight out of New Orleans and into your earholes, Flow Tribe returns to the Black Squirrel on Saturday, March 17, looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a big way. Flow Tribe comes at you with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer, creating “backbone-cracking music” and a soul-shaking mixture of styles and sounds guaranteed to drive you wild. These are six seasoned performers who have shared the stage with the likes of Trombone Shorty, Juvenile and BIll Summers, to name a few. Theirs is a relentlessly touring band that plays major venues and festivals around the country, bringing with them a heat and passion best described as “bizarrely irresistible.” After forming in the summer in 2004, Flow Tribe started to come together and live shows soon followed. Following the dual adversities of Hurricane Katrina and drummer Russel Olschner’s deployment to Iraq, the Tribe regrouped in 2006 to growing popularity and local acclaim. In 2009, Flow Tribe was selected by Gambit Weekly as the No. 3 Best New Local Band. Constant touring throughout the Southeast earned Flow Tribe the reputation as one of the hardest-working bands with the most high-energy live show. From New Orleans to the slopes of Colorado and everywhere in between, Flow Tribe brings the funk each and every time