I’ll just come right out and say it; I am deeply ignorant of football. Hailing from football-maddened Texas, it seems impossible that the nuances of the game remain so utterly lost on me. But then again, I don’t even remember the Alamo. I’m using this chance to let everyone know I will not be in attendance at this weekend’s game, so I won’t spoil anyone’s spectator experience with my irritatingly basic questions about tackling or “downs.” My ignorance, on this topic, remains blissful.
For those of you who share my disinterest in homecoming festivities and are similarly avoidant of preparing for midterms, the greater Washington metro area provides us with many outlets for our procrastination.
The acoustics of McDonough clearly aren’t improving, barring a major structural overhaul. So skip campus (and the Train, Vertical Horizon and Sister Hazel show) and instead head over to the 9:30 Club and listen to Canada’s best export since wood and maple syrup, Vancouver Island rockers Hot Hot Heat.
Energetic and irreverent, these angsty indie upstarts released their first full-length, Make Up the Breakdown in 2002. The combination of these canucks’ chaotic vocals and unabashed use of organ (especially on “Bandages”) is evocative of the cheesy gothic sensibilities of an episode of the Addams Family. Appearing with D.C. natives The French Kicks, this line up promises to please.
If you need more distraction from lingering homecoming revelry, Julian Casablancas and company will perform at the UMBC fieldhouse Sunday night. Though the Strokes’ sophomore effort, Room on Fire, won’t be released until Oct. 28, the album was leaked onto the Internet last week. A quick listen confirms this record is no sophomore slump.
After two solid years on the road, Casablancas threw himself into songwriting. “I didn’t want a vacation … For me, working on music is not a chore,” a chubbier (but still adorable) Casablancas told Q Magazine in a recent interview.
Fresh from long break and at a more suitable venue, this concert promises to be more energetic than the Strokes rather road-weary appearance last January at the ever-dowdy DAR Constitution Hall.
The homecoming game will Sat. at 2 p.m. be on Harbin Field. 9:30 Club is located at 815 V St. N.W. UMBC Fieldhouse is located at 1000 Hilltop Circle Balt., MD.
