all words and photos: Bradley Portnoy
"Watching brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay perform, you can tell that Bluebrain isn't their first band. Joined by a fairly large crowd (for a concert that required traveling out into the suburban semi-wasteland that is Bethesda), they put on the kind of show that you expect from seasoned performers. The situation wasn't the best: the audience was seated (!?) in a venue with literally no signage - I wandered backstage before I found the door to the theater. And the opening acts consisted of: (1) poetry that was probably great to read but terrible to have read at you in a slumber-inducing monotone that was clearly coached by Mr. Rogers; and (2) an introduction that wouldn't. fucking. end.
Once Bluebrain took the stage, however, they settled in behind brilliant azure podiums and began to play through the material from their forthcoming debut album, weaving the tracks together and enveloping the audience in the kind of aural experience that made me send this text to a friend: "these guys are going to be so fucking famous." And: they had some pretty awesome video to back their tracks. Bottom line: it was a free show, and I'd totally have paid for it. My text message stands. Go see Bluebrain."
Previously in Live DC:
- 2/13: LiveDC: George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic @ 930 Club
- 2/13: LiveDC: Veronica Falls/ Brilliant Colors @ Black Cat
- 2/13: LIVE DC: Steve Aoki/ Datsik/ Alvin Risk @ Fillmore
- 2/13: LiveDC: The Darkness @ 930 Club
- 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
- 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
- 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
God loves a cheerful giver.
Bluebrain was awesome, but it bums me out how dismissive this review is of the format of the show and the authors that read there. Part of what made the night so special was unique setting and the mixture of music and lit. I hope Story/Stereo has a long life ahead!
This review is so stupid! It seems like the writer has never been to a book reading before and only came as a Bluebrain fan.
I enjoyed the writers and I bought a book.
I came to Story/Stereo as a Beauty Pill fan. I learned about it from their myspace. The speech was from CHAD CLARK! Hello?
I did not know Bluebrain before and I loved their music and the video. I agree with B. I hope Story/Stereo has a long life ahead!
Bradley, let me guess, you're what, 19?
There's is nothing about this event and this concept that I don't love. I really hope they continue to do more of them. Thank you Chad Clarke and the Writers Center!
Matt Byars of The Caribbean co-curates this series with Chad.