Yamomanem redux

In the spirit of Jazz Fest, going on this very minute in Nawlins.....

I posted months ago about a killer New Orleans-style jazz band I saw at the Wonderland Ballroom. Unfortunately I mispelled their name, which means that the guys in the band I chatted with could never find the pictures I took, since I just told 'em "hey, just google your band and you'll find 'em." I actually wrote down everyone's name and instrument as well as the band name to put with the pictures on this blog, but I think the Bride accidentally threw my little scrap of paper away.

Well, yesterday, Monty Montgomery managed to find this old post from months ago and left me a comment:

Hey man- someone sent me a link to your blog. The band is Yamomanem - Wonderland spells it wrong and we dont care. Stop by and see us again- thanks for the words.

His comment had a link to their MySpace page and I just realized that they played at Wonderland just two days ago and I missed it. And to top it off, the show was dedicated to Hear Mount Pleasant, the group that is trying to bring live music back to Mount Pleasant. For more on that, use the internets. I have no time today.


Go check out their MySpace page and check their show dates. I'll see you at Wonderland June 6.

Seven and a Sunny Day

Thank God for YouTube....I discovered a plethora of SDRE videos on YouTube last night, and thankfully, they have the first video SDRE ever made for mass viewing. I remember seeing this on 120 Minutes on MTV probably nearly a decade or more ago. Geez...is is that old?

"A new face, a soul reborn..."

A bit of a departure: "Skin" by VOL

This song just came on my iTunes at random a few minutes ago and I thought I'd share the lyrics with you. It's by far my favorite song by Bill Mallonee and Vigilantes of Love. It's about Vincent Van Gogh and so much more, but I'll let you figure all that out:

Now i'd seen him despondent
A few times as of late
Sometimes the answer that love gives
Is the hardest one to take
I know he was prone to paint
The voice of his own fear
So Vincent he picked up the blade
And he put it to his ear

Look at yourself in the mirror
You're all rumpled red stubbled and gaunt
You walk a dead end path in a dry corn field
And now this morose response
Your princess she don't wanna see you
No your princess she don't wanna hear
So Vincent he picked up the blade
And he put it to his ear

Now look if you're gonna come around here
And say those sort of things
You gotta take a few on the chin
You talking about love and all that stuff
You better bring your thickest skin
Sometimes you can't please everyone
Sometimes you can't please anyone at all
You sew your heart onto your sleeve
And wait for the ax to fall

You there with the paint box
You there with paper and pen
Me i got this blunt instrument
I'm gonna play on 'til the end
And you know you come with empty hands
Or you don't come at all
You deal your best hand out in the marketplace
And let the chips fall

The package it comes wrapped up
There is a lesson here
Vincent he picked up the blade
And he put it to his ear

Now look if you're gonna come around here
And say those sort of things
You gotta take a few on the chin
Yeah you're talking about sin and redemption
Well you better wear your thickest skin
Sometimes you can't please everyone
Sometimes you can't please anyone at all

Sew your heart onto your sleeve and wait for the ax to fall

Jeremy Enigk in D.C.

Jeremy Enigk 1, originally uploaded by whiteknuckled.

I have to remind myself to check venue listings each week to make sure I'm not missing a show that I should be seeing here in D.C. After two years spent living in Arkansas in a town so far off the live music radar map — unless you like crappy college-town cover bands or amateur bluegrass — I forget that nearly all the bands I like will make stops here in D.C., whether at the Verizon Center or at a tiny club on H Street.

Like where I saw Jeremy Enigk just two weeks ago. Just three months after playing D.C. (I missed it because I was still in "Arkansas mode" and didn't hear about it), Jeremy Enigk came back to support his newly-released solo album, World Waits.

The Rock and Roll Hotel is one of a handful of venues in the very happening H Street NE area that some call the Atlas District, though I'm not sure how all the locals feel about that. I should ask Elise from Frozen Tropics about that. Anyway, very cool place, first time I had beeen there. Reminded me of a bunch of the kinds of venues I hung out in high school going to various hardcore and punk rock shows. Except very clean and well-managed.

I went with my friend Taylor and it was a good show all around. Not only did he not play a single Sunny Day Real Estate song (not all that surprising), he didn't play a single Fire Theft song either, which was kind of suprising and a little bit disappointing, though all of his solo stuff is great.

We saw Copeland (from Atlanta) just a few days later, and I just found out that Explosions in the Sky are coming in March for $10! Sick of it All and Hatebreed are playing around Christmas, but we will be in Atlanta and it's $25 anyway.

Actual decent live music. One of the perks of being back in the city. Ahhhhh.....

Yamomanem

Just a few weeks ago, during our staff retreat, a few of us went out afterwards in Adams Morgan. I ended up getting David to go with me over to Wonderland, since he hadn't been there before. Just as we were getting ready to leave, we went inside to settle up, and heard a band playing upstairs. Turns out it was a New Orleans brass band cranking it out upstairs. David had spent lots of time in New Orleans lately, so we went up to check it out. I'm glad we did.

[band name spelling fixed!] Yamomanem (like, Yo mom and them) were playing some fantastic New Orleans jazz. So we stayed, hung out, took some photos, joined in on the tambourine and cowbell, and generally had a rollickin' good time.

I had been waiting to post these photos, because I had written down the names of all the members, but after coming back, the Bride managed to accidentally misplace the random receipt that i had scrawled it all down on in the dark. (I mean, how could she NOT know that little piece of trash lying on the bookshelf had important information on it, right? Doesn't everyone write down important information on receipts?

Anyway, so here are a few photos of Yamomanem. If you happen to hear of them playing nearby sometime, be sure to stop by, check 'em out, and fill up the tip jar. If any of the band members happen to stumble on this, help me save face and leave your name and instrument in the comments!

Bandleader and sousaphonist Monty Montgomery is at right.