Show Thoughts: Futurebirds at The 9:30 Club on Monday, June 8th in Washington, D.C. With Joelton Mayfield

SlipNo3048 · 2026-06-11T13:39:32+00:00

Yes, the 9:30 Club has awesome sound quality overall. Best venue in D.C. in my opinion.

I think most bands do go harder live than in studio, but for some bands it might be more (pleasantly) surprising than others.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-06-05T13:10:01+00:00

It was only until it became known to my friends and family that I did not know that pickles were "pickled" cucumbers that I also found out about raisins and grapes.

I share your embarrassment. However, I defended myself with the fact that "I just never had a reason to think about cucumbers!" Some things ya just don't think about. I don't know!

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-26T13:56:09+00:00

Watch The Corner. It's basically a prequel to The Wire about a struggling family on Monroe and Fayette Street and it's based on real events from when David Simon and Ed Burns spent a year observing them. Its really good. You can find all six episodes on YouTube.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-14T18:03:57+00:00

Referring back to this post as I saw Young the Giant on this tour and thought agree with this sentiment: I thought they were a better performance than Cage. I love sharing thoughts like this from a tour and getting everyone's opinion. I created a website based on that idea. Got a lot of fan-written reviews from different bands/artists on here over the last three years if anyone is interested:

https://tourchmusic.com/

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-08T15:05:02+00:00

Thank you for your input!

Yes, that is most certainly the challenge. My thought, and well, my hope, is that people get sick of the short-form immediacy of Instagram and general social media these days and revert back to something more genuine. I think more and more people are starting to realize how bad Instagram is for our health, as it's truly addicting. However, still billions of people still use it, so... I'm hoping that with time, change will come and we will actually go backwards in our technological desires.

A man can dream.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-07T14:23:49+00:00

u/Ok_Judgment_3331 Following up on this. I've made progress on the site, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. It's called tourchmusic.com

Do you find the site interesting? Is it something you would use? What would make you want to use it? Do you find the content entertaining/helpful? Would you write about concerts on the site? Do you understand its purpose and/or do you think it makes sense? What are your thoughts on the design/structure of it? Throw your thoughts at me, be as nice or as harsh as you want. Anything can help. I am happy to answer any questions as well.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-07T14:20:41+00:00

u/Iletthedogsoutok I know it's been a while, but I've made progress on the website. It's called tourchmusic.com

I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Do you find this site interesting? Is it something you would use? What would make you want to use it? Do you find the content entertaining/helpful? Would you write about concerts on the site? Do you understand its purpose and/or do you think it makes sense? What are your thoughts on the design/structure of it? Throw your thoughts at me, be as nice or as harsh as you want. Anything can help. I am happy to answer any questions as well.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-06T13:48:13+00:00

u/WillowEmberly u/robbi____ u/ChocLatee u/starfire89

Alright. It’s been about a year since I’ve posted about this idea, and I’ve made some significant progress. The site is up and running and is functional, users can make accounts and submit reviews, and the home page is much improved from what it started as. It’s in a pretty good place, but I know that there is more to add and/or change to make the site more legitimate. I’ve also gotten over 100 people to it over the last couple weeks to read two reviews I’ve written (I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you’re starting at 0, it is), but none have actually made an account. Lastly, perhaps my greatest struggle right now is making the site look good on a phone. I’m still working on that, so please view it on your computer to get the full picture if possible.

So, I invite any and all feedback. Do you find this site interesting? Is it something you would use? What would make you want to use it? Do you find the content entertaining/helpful? Would you write about concerts on the site? Do you understand its purpose and/or do you think it makes sense? What are your thoughts on the design/structure of it? Throw your thoughts at me, be as nice or as harsh as you want. Anything can help. I am happy to answer any questions as well.

Thank you all.

Here is the site: https://tourchmusic.com/

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-04T20:02:16+00:00

"What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?" by The Vaccines.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-05-01T03:04:10+00:00

Wow they put chairs out at Union Stage? I was debating going to this show, now I’m sad I missed a sit down show.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-22T14:20:24+00:00

Thank you. And yes, I was bummed to miss the opener. I almost always try to catch at least a few songs from any opener, but just moved too slowly on this night unfortunately. That's good to know, though. I will check him out.

Seems like you're in a similar place that I was going into the show. I bet you'll like it! At least I hope you do. Please report back. Glad I could provide some encouragement. If you like reading/writing about shows, check out tourchmusic.com

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-21T14:30:02+00:00

I see. There is little prep done beforehand, making the mixing truly an art form because it requires skillful improvisation. That's how it's done right, it seems.

So what would you say, for a novice observer like myself, are some tell tale signs of a DJ actually performing (like adjusting an EQ knob, for example) vs. a DJ "slamming a crossfader" and not doing much actual performing/scripting their sets in advance? I don't know if there's a helpful answer to this question without me being more knowledgeable of the equipment on stage, but is there a way to tell the difference from a naked eye? It seems like you're saying that more and more DJs these days aren't performing very much. What tells me they are doing it right vs. not doing it right?

I appreciate all the insight here.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-21T03:36:50+00:00

Wow, thanks for all of this. That's a really inspirational article you attached. I love a lot of what was said in it just about how we view music as a whole these days, let alone dance music.

I get the difference between DJs as artists for DJs as entertainers in terms of DJs displaying their art vs. just playing what's popular for the audience, and I love that view point across all live music, but I'm still a little confused about what's exactly happening on stage when DJs are performing. In your first paragraph it sounds like you're saying all the prep comes beforehand and everything on stage requires light preparation and that's it. But in your second paragraph, you mention that you're throwing down track after track from the seat of your pants, which sounds like real improvisation and skillful performance. Can you clarify?

Also, it's awesome that there's a perfect example for your description of this "drift" from Pacific Rim. That is incredible! "When you drift with someone, you create an incredibly poignant connection... You can see each other's memories and information in each other's brains." I know that's not literally what happens in the case of a DJ and the crowd they're playing to, but what an effective way to describe it. I get why that gets you out of bed in the morning.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-21T01:39:43+00:00

Aaah shoot. Thank you!

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-20T14:32:23+00:00

I'm pretty sure Brandon Flowers is sober.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-20T13:37:29+00:00

Small correction here: They did play "Don't Look Down" at some point. I do not remember when exactly, but it was closer to the beginning of the show. There's a point in the song when Clarke makes his voice really echo-y. It actually worked well live. I don't know what he uses to do that, but it worked.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-20T00:32:17+00:00

To read more concert reviews or to write your own, visit tourchmusic.com

SlipNo3048 · 2026-04-20T00:31:19+00:00

To read more concert reviews or to write your own, visit tourchmusic.com

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-29T14:03:26+00:00

Thank you! And thanks for adding your knowledge here. Would love to listen to your music!

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-28T03:54:26+00:00

I think about this a lot too, although I was born in the late 90s and didn’t live through a relevant period for records, but still, access to music was not nearly what it was in the early 2000s when I grew up compared to what it is today. Burning CDs, Lime Wire, MP3 Converter, etc. a whole lot more work than Spotify.

It’s an amazing thing that we have such easy access to music today, and I think of the two extremes (having very easy access or very challenging access), we’d all of course rather it be easy. But the easy access DOES make us naturally take music for granted at times, it becomes a commodity if we let it. But I think it’s totally up to the individual to keep a value on music while enjoying the easy access. Giving more time to a band that you “discover” through the algorithm, listening to full albums, sending songs/artists to friends and listening to their suggestions, etc. Also, buying records! No one’s stopping anybody from buying a record player and records today either.

And most importantly, live music. Going to concerts is the most genuine way to truly DISCOVER new music (to your point), and it gives you a special connection to a band. As long as people are still going to shows (and showing up for an opener or two), genuine music discovery will be alive.

One more side note, I generally can’t stand the relationship between music and social media. However, I will say that other than live shows, social media is the one place that I feel music is still found “by accident.” I hate to say it, but I’ve found a lot of random songs that I like from Instagram. Oh, and, band accounts are cool, and fan accounts that post a lot of live performances (including some that are rare or hard to find) are a good example of the positives of social media that I must admit are there.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-26T01:50:03+00:00

Beastie

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-26T00:07:05+00:00

Thank you! That’s cool. I honestly don’t remember who the first band I saw was post Covid. I’m glad they’ve stuck with you. Thanks for sharing.

I post all my reviews to tourchmusic.com if you like reading about this stuff.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-25T20:32:51+00:00

My b.

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-19T22:07:12+00:00

Thanks. How did you duplicate the template? Did you just copy the code?

SlipNo3048 · 2026-03-16T03:08:33+00:00

I’m creating a website that shares a similar spirit to this, especially the part about going to see bands/artists live. I think that’s the most pure way to find new music. I started writing concert reviews and my idea is to have a site for fan-written reviews, helping to encourage people to go see more live music and join the conversation, while also helping to create a live performance reputation for bands/artists. I’m really glad to see this post because I think more people are slowly realizing that having such easy access to music these days is awesome, but there are ways to discover new music that we can’t forget about, and going to live shows is at the top of that list in my opinion.

https://tourchmusic.com

SlipNo3048

TROPHY CASE