Aug
06
Review — The Final Fort Reno Show of the Summer
Although weather wreaked havoc on the shows the week before, rain helf off last Thursday. Instead, the large crowd, some with incredibly well-behaved dogs, who came out for the final Fort Reno show of 2009 were treated to tropical breezes and an eclectic mix of music by Grendel Babies, Casper Bangs, and Title Tracks. The sign painted on the front of the stage coyly said “maybe next year,” but the Fort Reno website promises news about next year’s concert series. I’m certainly looking forward to it. A review of last week’s season finale follows after the jump. (more…)
On Monday evening I attended the third Fort Reno show of the summer. Fort Reno is one of those “real DC” experiences that anybody living in the area needs to at least check out. Part of what makes it great is that the bands seem to be chosen specifically because they would not normally be scheduled to play togehter. Does pretty much any club in the area offer a superior concert experience? Yeah, probably. However, they have an excellent sound system run by a professional engineer. The main difference is that the crowd is not necessarily there to see the bands as much as they are just there because it is the summer, so they have to go to Fort Reno A description of the experience and review of the entertaining shows by Batala, the Small Doses, and Cigarbox Planetarium follows after the jump. 
This Saturday, head out to the Alexandria Recreation Center to catch some great live music . . . for FREE! This year’s 
Free concerts at Fort Reno Park, near the American University campus, have been a staple of muggy DC summers for more than three decades. Beginning next week, there will be a show each Monday and Thursday evening through the end of July at 7:15. Fort Reno Park is near the AU-Tenleytown Metro. Fort Reno shows are still embued with the spirit of the DC straight-edge punk scene, though a variety of local bands will play. Dogs and kids are welcome; drugs and booze are not. Crowds can be large, with a wide range of ages represented, though most who come are teenagers who are very lucky to grow up in DC.
Every summer there are a lot of concerts that happen outside in communities. One of the places where there is one of these outside concert series is at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware a place that happens to be a very popular DC vacation spot. The Rehoboth Beach Bandstand will be holding concerts on the beach (FOR FREE!!!) on weekends throughout the summer. If you are visiting Rehoboth for the weekend, this is a must-go destination. Maybe you should check-out the schedule now and figure-out when you want to go to the beach based on when you there is a band playing that you want to see. Check-out the schedule after the jump.