12 May, 2008

I'm Going to See Thievery Corporation!

I’m Going to See Thievery Corporation!

YES!! My SueSue was able to score tix for the Outernational Tour with Thievery Corp. and TV on the Radio at the end of June at Merriweather Post Pavillion. I am so stoked about this event. If you’ve heard Thievery Corp. before than you may understand my excitement. For those who don’t now it is difficult to sum the band up. It’s a type of group that is larger than the sum of its parts, and there are many parts. Latin roots, hip-hop, reggae, dub, Brazillian, Persian, Indian classical with two of DC’s finest at the helm taking care of programming and mixing.
Thievery Corporation's lyrics are highly influenced by current political events. Tracks such as "Amerimacka" and "Revolution Solution" from their album The Cosmic Game and Richest Man in Babylon from the album of the same title reveal the group's opposition to current political events and most notably initiatives taken by the current Bush administration. (yes I ripped off Wikkipedia).
In September 2005, the group participated in the Operation Ceasefire concert, with the objective of ending the war in Iraq.
This Operation Ceasefire was were I first heard Thievery. Ya see, my buddy, Matt, back in MI told me one day over the phone, “Dude, if ya wanna hear something new and refreshing check out Thievery Corporation. They’re in your part of the country and up your alley.” Well, he was right. Matt usually has a good ear for music so I kept the name in mind. I had one song on the Garden State Sndtk which was cool but that was all I’ve ever heard.
So When I heard that TC was gonna be playing for free on the mall in DC as part of a 12 hour concert to protest the war in Iraq I decided to run down and volunteer with the event. What a good idea. I got to hang out all day, listen to some cool bands (This was the first time I heard Steve Earl, the Coup, Bouncing Souls, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists). I also met CodePink but there’s nothing worth mentioning there other than overhyped feminists who can’t take the pressure of not being able to find duct tape when they need it. Oh and Jello Biafra hosted it which was pretty cool as well.
When darkness fell there was a big white noise screen on the jumbo tron and a Guerilla News Network video came on recapping the moments leading up to the Iraqi war and all big players in the administration going over mantras: WMD, We will be liberators, Warming sign in the form of a mushroom cloud, yellow cake, etc. It was really eerie considering you could look over the jumbo tron and see the Capitol all lit up in the background. And there I was, right in the garden of Babylon, the power center of the known universe, waiting with goosebumps to see what would come next. And then they came on….

2 comments:

The Baltimore Babe said...

Are you referring to the 6/28 concert at Merriweather? I am dying to see them! Have you been to the club that they own?

Unknown said...

Yea, at MPP. Outdoor shows are pretty rad. I've never been to Merriweather though. Is it nice? But really, who cares? If we judged the shows we went to by their venue we'd probably not go back to many of them.