Eric Brace (Mark Finkenstaedt for The Washington Post)

• Eric's Nightwatch columns • Nightwatch Live archive • Nightlife section • Entertainment Guide • Talk: Entertainment message boards • Subscribe to washingtonpost.com e-mail newsletters

Nightwatch -- Live
Hosted by Eric Brace
Washington Post Nightwatch columnist
Friday, Jan. 18, 2002; 1 p.m. EST

Where's the best karaoke joint? What's the best brewpub around? Who was that band that rocked at the Black Cat last week? For the answer to any going-out-in-Washington question, just ask Eric Brace -- our resident nightwatchman.

From backstage at the annual Wammies (Washington's own Grammy Awards) to karaoke at Galaxy Hut to swing dancing at the Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom, every week Post staff writer Eric Brace throws himself on the front lines of the bar-n'-music beat in the Washington area. A Washington resident for nearly 30 years, Brace started with the Style section in 1990, where he wrote live music reviews and filed longer feature stories on the likes of Fugazi, Jawbox, Pearl Jam, Stephane Grappelli and many others. Then he created the Nightwatch column, which appears every week in The Post's Weekend section and on washingtonpost.com's Bars and Clubs page. He also sings and plays guitar for the country-rock band Last Train Home.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

washingtonpost.com: Hang on, folks. Eric's having connection problems with his laptop.

Eric Brace: Hey everybody.. sorry I'm late.. I'm out on the road with a laptop and had some troubles getting online.
so, let's talk about nightlife!

Washington, D.C.: Hey Eric, I heard someone mention a club called Murali near Chinatown. Ever been there? What can you tell me about it?

Eric Brace: Murali is a nice lounge attached to the xxx hotel downtown. I forget which hotel, but it's nice that hotels are finally making an attempt to have lounges/bars/restaurants that stand alone and are fun to go to on their own terms. I haven't hung out there yet, but I've poked my head in and it looked pretty swank.

washington, dc: hi eric,

first of all, great great show at the bop and bowl (although alan was missed)--had to shlep out to falls church, wait over an hour to buy a beer, and didn't actually get to bowl because it was so crowded--and still had a total blast. so thanks for that.

here's my question... why is there no mention of d.c.'s thriving theatre scene in your column. i'm not referring to shows at the shakespeare theatre and kennedy center which already get plenty of coverage in the post but smaller companies that might be doing late night shows or shorter runs (cherry red productions, rorscharch theatre, numerous companies working out of dcac, etc.) which might not be getting attention and would probably appeal to your readers who are looking for cool stuff to do in dc. cherry red productions performs at metro cafe, and there is nearly always some event or other (live music or dj) after the plays, after attending a play at dcac you find yourself in the heart of adams morgan....i think theatre fits into the category of nightlife, as a jumping off point to a weekend night or a low key wednesday or thursday evening.

it is so hard for small companies to get press and attention in the post of any kind always helps, so, is there any chance of the nightwatch column paying attention to theatre in the district?

Eric Brace: Thanks for the Bop'n'Bowl comment.. we had a blast playing there, but I sure wish that the people who are behind the counter would realise that they can make a ton of money if they had one or two more people to sell beer!

As for theatre, I wrote about an early cherry red production at Metro a couple of years ago, mostly because it was putting on a show in a nightclub. Traditionally, my column has left theater alone, because there is a theater box every week in the weekend section, and it focuses at least as much on the smaller theater productions as on the big companies. You're right that the overlap of audiences between companies like Cherry Red/DCAC shows and live rock shows is probably pretty great, but I've considered my bailiwick to be mainly live music and nightclubs. Every now and then I deviate from that, but the possibilites for expansion are great: poetry reading, classical music concerts, evening gallery art openings, etc. I make no claim that my limited view of nightlife is all DC has to offer going-out-at-night-wise...
So haveing said all that.. I may explore the parameters a bit more this year.

Brookland Heights: I wanted to comment on your article on the blue room a couple weeks ago. I am a "frat boy" at a local college. I don't get roudy when I go out and I don't drink to much. I used to go to the Blue Room but now that I know I am not wanted, I will go no more. I am really tired of the comments about people wanting to find "frat boy" and "sorority girl" free bars. This is a college town. Get over it! Maybe I'll open a bar somewhere and make sure it is widely known I don't want guys in their forties skulking around.

-"frat" boy

Eric Brace: Hey now, don't get defensive. THe point is behavior, not labels. As I pointed out in my chat two weeks ago, I never said anything about frat boys. I talked about people who only want to get rowdy and kill kegs. If you enjoyed the Blue Room and they enjoyed you, why would you want to stop going there? I don't think that issue has anything to do with how many college kids are in washington. I don't think the Blue Room folks were talking about age either. They just want people who think that "chilling out' to downtempo/trance/electronic music is the way to spend an evening.
There are more collee kids in the DC area than at most well-known college towns: GU, GW, AU, Catholic, George Mason, Howard, NoVA, U Md, and many others. I've got no problem with people in fraternities and sororities. I've got problems with people getting stupid when they go out at night. I don't think the two are necessarily connected.
Keep going to blue room.. or don't. That's the beauty of it all. we have a choice.

Adams Morgan: Eric,

Thanks for the great tip on the local bands Golden and Canyon. I saw them at Iota a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed both of them. Saw them again at Decatur Blue last night (very cool vibe). They played pretty much the same sets but the songs are great and I didn't mind. Too bad neither band tours too much.

What other bands in the area would you suggest that are comparable to either one?

Eric Brace: Those are two pretty unique bands, and I'm glad you liked them. They're really two of the best bands anywhere, as far as I'm concerned.
As far as similar bands..
hmmm
One of the members of Golden is also in Trans Am, and while they're not similar, Trans Am is a world class band too.
On the more punk side of things, another member of Trans Am is in Pines of Nowhere, which is loud and angular in a particularly DC kind of way: Burning Airlines, Fugazi, Q and not U,....
Going down the rootsier road from Canyon, bands like Decatur, Carraway, Chester Stacey, June Star, Lee Wilhoit and Little Pink all have something to offer. /Don't miss a chance to hear Alice Despard sing also

bethesda, md: Eric, is 1pm now going to be your usual chat time instead of the traditional 3pm?

Eric Brace: It looks like these bi-weekly chats will indeed be taking place from now on from 1 to 2 instead of from 3 to 4, the thinking being that at 3 pm on fridays, ots of folks have bolted early. But all you 1 pm folks who are itching to get out of the office my take a moment to ponder nightlife before the day's over.
So be sure to tune in on Feb 1 at 1 pm

Cubeland, MD: What do you think about the 9.30 club getting noted as best live music venue in America this year? Good? Bad? What's the best venue you've been in either performing or as an observer? The Knitting Factory? Grand ol' Opry (just kidding?!)

Eric Brace: 9:30 club was nominated for Best Nightclub by the Pollstar magazine folks. The awards are handed out in early february, so we'll know soon if it won. Owner Seth Hurwitz was also nominated as Promoter of the Year. I say congrats to the 9:30. It is an absolutely world class club. We in DC are spoiled: we have amazing rooms like the 9:30 club, the Barns of Wolf Trap, the Birchmere (which is an amazing listening room, even if lots of people complain about not being able to dance or whatever...)
By the way, the 9:30 club topped all nightclubs in the country in concert attendence (measured in tickets sold), with 290,000-plus, according to Pollstar.
Best places ever.. hmmm Just played at The Famous Spiegeltent in Melbourne. It's a 1919 German circus tent that travels the world booking cool shows. It'll be in Edinborough this summer . Go!
I used to love the rat in Boston for what it was, likewise the OLD 9:30 club and d.c. space around here.
the Norva in Norfolk is great...I do like the Knitting Factory. Hmm pondering.

Petworth: The Saw Doctors are coming to town! I love this!

The bad news? They are playing at the Birchmere and at the Ram's Head. Now, while those are fine venues for many shows, they are NOT the best venues for the Docs. A rocky, poppy dance band that wants people to dance and sing along - and at the Birchmere you'll get pitched by the staff if you breathe too loudly (and the Ram's Head is not much more relaxed.)

Why aren't the 9:30 or the Black Cat booking these guys? (I've seen them at the Cat at least once, several years ago, and it was sold out.)

Eric Brace: Indeed they are coming next month. I've never seen them, though I like their CDs ok.. I hear from many many people what a great show they put on.
And they may not be best for the Birchmere, if you wanna get up and do a jig, but the Birch staff isn't that tyrannical. They'll ask you to keep it down, but I've never seen a person get thrown own!
As for why some acts end up at certain clubs, it's many things:
It could be that the Saw Doctor's booking agent called around and offered them to other clubs, but that on the date they were available, those clubs were already booked, but the Birhmere was open. More likely is that the Birchmere "talent buyer" is probably on good working terms with the Saw Doctors' booking agent, and they know the kind of deal they're going to get. As they grow, they may not be able to stay in the Birchmere (which holds 575 or so, max) and they might move to the 9:30 next time (which can hold more than 1100)

Arlington: Any chance that Smokeless will reopen? Is Mac still looking for a place? Any other similar blues venues possibly on the way?

Eric Brace: I haven't heard a thing from Mac. I know he was looking for a space downtown, but given the price of square foot in any kind of decent location, I don't see how he could do it.
Similar places for blues? Nothing on the horizon, though I do like the music bookings out at Bangkok Blues in Falls church. Lots of the usual DC blues suspects play there now, and the thai fod is really really good.

McLean, VA: Hi Eric-

Please name some local bands that do entirely
covers (or mostly covers) of Grateful Dead
songs. Any bars where these bands are regulars??

Many thnx!!

Eric Brace: The Ordinary Way is a good GDead spinoff band, as is Less Traveled. They're the biggest in the area. As for regular gigs...Fat Tuesdays in Fairfax books em a lot. Check their websites. some other jammy bands that are good but not really cover bands: Radio Mosaic, Railroad Earth

Arlington: Good to see DC is picking up on the cool hotel bar scene. The sky bar at the Mondrian in LA sets the precedent ( I think )

If you had to rank the top five hotel bars in DC for people in their late twenties, how would it go? If you can try to rank them based on versatility (ie good for dates, good for group, good for picking up people, and good for getting a little loopy).

THANKS!

Eric Brace: Mondrian rocks.. new york has a bunch of groovy ones.
DC doesn't really have the same hotel culture, so the hotel bars that are good aren't usually geared toward 20-somethings. The new ones Topaz and Rouge are trying to change that so they'd have to go at the top of the list, but other than that, the ones i like are Topaz's neighbor the Tabard Inn, Gabriel (attached to the Barcelo in Dupont.. amazing tapas happy hour, though its hours have changed recently) , the revolving circular lounge atop the Crystal City Hyatt (which should be the hippest spot in town, if the hotel's marketing dept would get on it.. it's always empty..)
Boy.. it's slim pickings. Anyone have some thoughts?

Washington, DC: Hi Eric.

Going on a first date tomorrow, looking for a good dinner place (he asked me to pick a place since he's from out of town). He'll likely pay, since he's putting forth a lot of effort to see me, but I always think it's best to choose something you can afford yourself so as not to be rude. I rarely pay more than $25 for dinner. Any ideas? Oh, and most any cuisine is palatable...I'm adventurous and he seems to be as well.

washingtonpost.com: This ought to be good ...

Eric Brace: Ben's Chili Bowl. Get a half-smoke with extra chili on it.
That'll keep it under $25.
Other than that.
How about a wine bar like Bardeo, next to Ardeo in Cleveland Park? Or the Arbor Bar (is that what it's called??) in Adams Morgan , kalorama and 18th? They'll keep you busy tasting wines and matching them with courses. Another option in that direction is the Evening Star in Del Ray/Alexandria. They've got a cool bar in the back room (and upstairs too) and it's a fun atmosphere.
Montmartre on capitol hill seems like it would be a good date place.
There's always Mimi's on P in Dupont. The servers are always jumping up to sing (it's the schtick) so if conversation's at a lull you can pretend to be paying attention to the floor show.

SW, DC: hey eric, what are the capacities of local venues here?

9.30 club
black cat (new one seems twice the size of the old one)
metro
birchmere
fletchers
ram's head

Eric Brace: 9:30 : 1100-plus
Black Cat: Official capacity is 550 according to fire marshall (for the upstairs room anly, i'm talking), but it looks like it COULD hold 800 or more.
Metro is about 150/175 though I suspet there's been nearly 200 in there a few times.
Birchmere is about 575 sitting down, in the Music Hall room.
650 or more in the Band Stand, when they have bands out there
Fletchers is about 150
and Ram's Head is arround 300, I think.. I may be wrong about that.

Eva fan, VA: Hi Eric -- I know you were also a fan of our late songbird Eva Cassidy -- did you see the rave review of her "Fields of Gold" single in the 1/16 issue of Billboard?

Ice skating champion Michelle Kwan is now skating to Eva's recording of this song. When the Olympics are televised, that'll be around six BILLION people hearing Eva and the Eva Cassidy Band (local musicians all). Spread the word at the Post, might be worth a mention.

Eric Brace: wow. I hadn't heard about Michelle Kwan's using the song. that's amazing. You can bet there'll be a little sidebar on TV about EVA.. I didn't see the rave of fields of gold in billboard. I'll go check it out.
thanks

arl: Birchmere story: I was at the Miller show on New Year's day. Florence Dorr (I think I've got her last name right) opened, she was great and cool. Members of her family had come from TN to see the show, they were sitting by my table, sharing a table with a couple that they didn't know. The other couple was thrilled when Florence came to the table to talk to her mom. Mom was obviously proud and happy to see her baby peform. The Millers come on, and Mom periodically still chats with her daugher(quietly, I couldn't hear her, I was five feet away); poor Mom gets shushed by the other woman at the table! With her daughter right there! On New Year's Day!

That is WRONG. Also at that show, some idiot behind me spent the second half of the Millers show trying to convince his "date" to leave early to avoid parking lot congestion. Jeez.

Eric Brace: I think it's spelled Dore.
You're right... those people could have given a little more leeway to proud parents. jeez.
On the other hand, the Millers are just about the best act in creation right now, and I can understand folks not wanting to miss a single nuance.
To the idiot who wanted to leave early: stay away.

Talkin' 'Bout Capacity: Why have the fire marshalls been cracking down on bars lately? Every weekend, they're in Adams Morgan, U Street, Georgetown raiding all the popular spots.

Eric Brace: I don't know, but it's getting me angry. It's really messing with the bars. Doesn't the city have better things to spend it's money on. I've been hearing from lots of club owners on this, and they say it's cyclical.

dc: Why do people at shows (like the Jayhawks last night) at the Birchmere feel like it's a contest to be the first to recognize the song the artist is playing, so they can yell out "Wooo hoo," and clap over the opening bars of the tune? This happened with literally every song but the four or so new ones. Does this happen in other cities, or just in DC where there's a high concentration of nerds trying to impress people about how cool they are?

OK, you've heard the cd's. We have, too, that's why we're here.

Also, I wasn't in a fraternity, what's "roudy"?

Eric Brace: now now don't make fun of people who make typos when they're typing fast.
As for the woowoo.. I think it's an unconcscious reaction for some folks who are just so DANG HAPPY to hear their favorites. I don't blame em... I don't DO it either, but I don't get mad at them that does.

Arlington VA: Yeah, the Kwan thing is GREAT for Eva, but don't Olympic rules prohibit anything but instrumental tracks during figure skating?

Eric Brace: hmmm Ignorant. Anyone?

20011: I want a new place. A good place that is not too crowded. That has food, and good drinks. That is convenient (That is, metro accesible and in town) That you can have a conversation in, but that also sometimes has live music. That has pleasant staff.

Boy, that's general. But I am a little bored, and I want new places to try. Ideas?

Eric Brace: have you tried Gua-Rapo in Arlingon, at the Courthouse metro? I know it's not IN TOWN, but it's cool...
good food good drinks.. it's the folks that run chi cha and gazuza. Nice.
Try the hotels we mentioned earlier: Rouge and Topaz. Great chef at both, and really fun custom cocktails.. swank decor.
Go report back.

DC: I read an article in another paper about someone who bootlegs concerts in the area. What are your thoughts and feelings about this?

Thanks.

Eric Brace: Live bootlegging doesn't bother me.. free downloading bugs me more

washingtonpost.com: I had to wait for 15-20 minutes to get into Bedrock Billiards last weekend. Bedrock! And all the tables weren't even full (we had reservations). We thought we'd skip out and go to Pharmacy, but figured if the Fire Marshalls were on 18th, that'd be even worse.

Eric Brace: I hate waiting to get in anywhere. I can't understand why fire code isn't based more on the reality of he physical space. grrrr.

DC: Why are you out on the road with a laptop? Going somewhere?

Eric Brace: On ASSIGNMENT! (nightlife at ski resorts.. don't hate me)

chunky girl: hi eric!

i was wondering how much you know about annapolis. i'm going to be moving to a great apartment in the historic section of the city. i'll be able to walk to all of the fun stuff, but everything there seems to be a brew pub. can you point me in the direction of anything more 'dc-like'?

thanks!

Eric Brace: annapolis has VERY strict sound laws. The clubs that are there don't get to be very rowdy. There's certainly nothing in historic downtown that's "clubby" in the way you're talking about. Annapolis is ripe for something.

Sterling: Eric, any new clubs in the DC area that spin house/downtempo/electronica?

Also, any new development of clubs in SE near buzz?

Eric Brace: new clubs? not that I know of.. still Red is cool.. Andalus DJs are good, Aroma on Thursdays, blue room on sundays,
And I hear the edge is still the edge... no word yet on the changes planned for that corner of the world.. I'll get on that and find out.

Washington, D.C.: Eric, I think in the last chat you mentioned that you bought your parents a satellite radio. How do they like it? How much of a market share do you think satellite radio will gain here, considering the sorry state of D.C. radio?

Eric Brace: I doubt XM and Sirius will ever conquer radio.. and market share will be hard to gauge. My folks like it, but the signal cuts in and out.. Lots of choice though. I definitely want to get it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's tired or commercial broadcast radio..

Eric Brace: That's it folks.. so thanks for checking in. Have a great long weekend. Tune into WPFW 89.3 now and then to hear their usual broadcasts of Martin Luther King Jrs speeches. Talk to you again on Friday Feb 1... bye!

20036: Hey, Eric... For the person going on a first date and looking for an affordable restaurant, washingtonpost.com has a list of the ones participating in Restaurant Week:

-a

washingtonpost.com: That link would be here.

Eric Brace: good point! save a buck or two

Eva fan in Va.: Regarding Michelle Kwan, it is true that in Olympic competition vocal music is not allowed. Michelle's "Fields of Gold" routine is her "exhibition" program. The figure skating exhibitions will be televised on February 22nd. Kwan has skated this program several times already -- it's gorgeous.

Eric Brace: thanks for clarifying

   |      |