Bubbly rockin' and rompin' for Fort Reno!

tilted Sarah Azzara, originally uploaded by workforidlehands.

The Fort Reno benefit was a smashing success thanks to the star power of Sarah Azzara, Federal City Five and Spoils of NW! It was truly incredible how many folks came to hang out, have fun, listen to excellent music and donate to such a worthy local cause. A huge thank you to you all!

I've decided to give up recapping these amazing musicians' sets because, well, I suck at it. Heh. But I think it goes without saying that I think they are all incredible, and encourage you to seek out their music, whether it be live or recorded.

Don't forget that the big Halloween Extravaganza end-of-season show is coming up on October 29th! Dress up and rock out with us!

Fort Reno Benefit!

Next Saturday September 10th at 3 pm come check out the excellent sounds of Federal City Five, Spoils of NW and Sarah Azzara. These great bands will be playing in support of the fabulous Fort Reno concert series, as we here at Rock-n-Romp hope to raise a bunch o' money to keep it alive and kicking! Come out for a fun, rockin' afternoon and donate whatever you can!

All hail the Air Guitar King!

All hail the Air Guitar King!, originally uploaded by workforidlehands.

Yesterday's Romp was so freakin' awesome, I don't know where to begin. Click the photo above to see the proof. Kids! With guitars and microphones! ONSTAGE! A Rock-n-Romp first, I do believe. The sno-cones and the sprinkler to run through to cool off put them in a rockin' mood!

The Bolophonics played an awesome set despite the sweaty conditions, and even played one of my favorite Smiths songs -- a band after my own heart! Then the excellent Gena Rowlands Band breezed in to play a fabulous set, then blew on out to finish packing! Alas, Bob leaves DC for LA today. His talent will be missed, but you can always buy his CD for your GRB fix. Seriously, BUY IT. Good, good stuff.

Finally, after hours of sweating and beer-drinking and sno-cone slurping (beer sno-cone, anyone?), Blame It On Debbie Lee took the stage in front of a packed yard. My friends The Blames (Bill, Kim, Mike and Mark) allowed me to front their band and rock out some cool kid songs. It was awesome. I think I say "awesome" too much, but I really can't think of a better word. The band rocked and the kids really dug it. What more could we want?
The kids won't be able to think of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" the same old, boring way again! Heh. Maybe this awesome band can be persuaded to rock-n-romp again? I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again to those who braved the heat! Hope to see you next month!

The crowd digs it.

The crowd digs it., originally uploaded by workforidlehands.

So I'm a little late with the photos this time. Sorry. Clicky on the photo and see lots of great shots of The Chance, The Porch Swingers, Chop Chop and all the Rompers who came out to the July Romp!

Feeling quite pleased...

Saturday's romp was fantastic! Three totally different bands + a packed yard full of adorable tots = a perfect show! I've become quite the booker, if I do say so myself. Heh.

The Chance started the show with an excellent set of guitar-driven rock, and having seen them play at their usual volume, I was quite surprised at how great they sounded with the amps turned down! Their killer drummer Viraj --whose drumming is usually quite explosive and LOUD -- also really helped with keeping the volume down, while still sounding awesome.

Next up were The Porch Swingers playing sweet acoustic bluegrass. Man, I love a fiddle player! Lovely voices and lovely music and an awesome rendition of "Jackson" made for a great set. I hear they've been keeping the folks down at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market entertained -- totally worth a trip down there, not to mention the delicious produce you're bound to pick up!

Finishing up the afternoon were indie-rock supergroup Chop Chop, made up of former members of Perfect Souvenir, Tuscadero, Velocity Girl, as well as current members of Spoils of NW and The High Signs! How can you go wrong with a lineup like that?? As could be expected, they rocked and ended the show on a high note.

Umm, I really suck at this show review thing, but I hope I'm getting across how much I enjoyed this romp. It was AWESOME. Thanks and smooches to The Chance, The Porch Swingers and Chop Chop! Go see them when you get the chance!

Carol Bui, Gist and Laura Burhenn play RnR

Nate digging the guitar stylings of Carol Bui.

Gist bringing the rock.

The lovely Laura Burhenn.

Tell me he's not damn cute in his Rock-n-Romp shirt and crazy shades and you'll be LYING!

Rockin' and rompin' in the sweltering heat ain't easy...

...but the rockstars that played yesterday were more than happy to sweat for the kids! It was a fantastic bubble-filled show with an excellent mix of music! Carol Bui is a guitar goddess, and I'm so glad we could have her open the show. And she kept saying how cute the kids were, so that's always a plus here at RnR. My friends Gist brought the rock, as usual, then went on to play another show last night -- now that's dedication! Laura Burhenn closed the show with some beautiful solo piano and lovely vocals -- a wonderful way to finish the day. Check these folks out when you can! They're all incredibly talented people, so GO!

Thanks again to all who came out and made it such an awesome time! Hope to see you at the next Romp -- July 9 with The Chance and The Porch Swingers.

RnR::Baltimore in the Baltimore City Paper!

Q&A with Tracey!

It's hard to see in the little photo, but those t-shirts sure look COOL, don't they?? heh. Come to the Romp Saturday and you can get one for yourself!

You think Charm City is ready to romp, hon?

It'd better be! Rock-n-Romp::Baltimore kicks off this Saturday May 21st! Check out the rockin' sounds of The Materials, kim++ and Sylvan Screen in a rompin' Lauraville backyard! The show starts at 3pm and you can get directions and more info if you email the lovely hostess Tracey at rocknromp@sweetney.com.

Tell your Baltimore friends! Tell your DC friends who aren't afraid of a little roadtrip for an awesome good time! I know I'm going to be there with all my boys in tow. Maybe I'll see you!

PaRtYLiNe plays RnR

Awesome.

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

We love women in bands! If they're tattooed, wear leopard prints and outlandish sunglasses, all the better!

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

Go Allison -- this party grrl can rock and romp with the best of them! I think the little darkhaired tot is taking notes.

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

Lemonface play RnR

Brendan has got some serious jazz-style chops!

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

Dana is our kind of grrl! She's cute and she rocks!

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

Don't be fooled by Richard's cute mug -- he knows how to rock out!

Rock photography by the talented Angel Venable.

Lemonface kicks off Rock-n-Romp 2005!

Okay, this lame photo was taken by me -- I couldn't even get the whole band in the frame! Thanks for coming to my rescue, Angel!

Rock-n-Romp season opener ROCKED!

Wow wow wow, what an awesome day it was! The weather gods must like me because it didn't start to thunder and rain until we we were packing it in -- whew! It was such a supremely awesome show with the adorable LEMONFACE gang kicking things off and playing a kick-butt set. We adults were in awe of their talent and showmanship -- when I was 14 I wouldn't be caught dead onstage! But these 2 guys and girl have mad rock skills and deserve to show them off! If you didn't get out to the Romp, you really should check them out some day. They've got a CD release coming up soon, so check their website for more info.

And what can I say about those PaRtYLiNe grrls? They rock and they're fun -- PERFECT for RnR! Everyone dug their energy and punk rock moxie, not to mention singer Allison Wolfe's highkicks! I love giving the kids a chance to see women rock out, and hope to have them back to play again. As I understand it, the grrls decided to cut their set short due to the umm... "adult" nature of some of the lyrics, so I'm looking forward to checking out the uncensored version of their show. You should check them out, too -- check their site for upcoming shows around town and get a babysitter!

So, WOW. Again, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to rock and romp with ya'll. Thanks to everyone who came out and everyone who helped out! You're the best. Hope to see you next month!