May 4, 2013: DC 101 Chili Cook-Off

Concert Details:

Bands: Beware of Darkness, Capital Cities, Silversun Pickups, AWOLNATION, Soundgarden

Location: Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

I've never had the opportunity to go to the DC101 Chili-Cook before, so I wasn't really certain what to expect from the show.  The first band that we heard was Beware of Darkness, but since we had just gotten there, I didn't really spend that much time paying attention as we were getting situated.

Roche introduced Capital Cities

Capital Cities

1. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince Cover)
2. Chartreuse
3. Kangaroo Court
4. Farrah Fawcett Hair
5. Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast
6. Center Stage
7. Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees cover)
8. I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo
9. Love Away
10. Safe and Sound
11. Holiday

Roche from DC101 came out to introduce Capital Cities.  They put on a thoroughly fun show especially for an event like this.  It's one thing to be able to play for a crowd that has bought tickets to just see you, but it is another to play at a festival with an early billing, and Capital Cities did a great job of it.  They are a fun ban for a festival because they are energetic and great to dance to, something needed for a band not as well known by the crowd.  Without a doubt a fun band to see live, and would be especially great at an outside summer show.

Elliot introducing Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups

1. Skin Graph
2. The Royal We
3. Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
4. Mean Spirits
5. The Pit
6. Panic Switch
7. Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)
8. Lazy Eye

The second band we watched Silversun Pickups was introduced by Elliot of Elliot in the Morning.  Silversun Pickups is a band that I have been interested in seeing for a while but it's never worked out.  I was really excited for their show and they were a great show, although they were not the best band of the day.  They had a great energy and was able to draw energy from and simultaneously provide energy to the crowd, which is something desperately needed in a festival.  They are well known enough that the crowd was able to follow a handful of their songs very closely.  Overall they were quite a fantastic show and I'd really like to see them again, preferably in a situation when they are the leading band.

 

Roche introducing AWOLNATION

1. Guilty Filthy Soul
2. People
3. Not Your Fault
4. Jump on My Shoulders
5. Thiskidsnotalright
6. Kill Your Heroes
7. Soul Wars
8. All I Need
9. Some Kind of Joke
10. Sail
11. Burn it Down

The third band we saw of the day was AWOLNATION.  I was expecting them to be a fairly enjoyable band who the crowd knew decently well.  Instead they were a wonderfully enjoyable band who the crowd knew intimately.  My only real complaint is that by encouraging crowd surfing, some of the time we were not able to completely pay attention to the band, and occasionally there were people who had no business crowd surfing, like a guy who weighed at least 250 to 300 pounds crowdsurfing.  They were a thoroughly exciting band who really knew how to control a crowd, especially during their big song Sail when the lead singer climbed up onto a surf board to crowdsurf.  AWOLNATION was a great band who I'd gladly see again, and who might be completely insane (in a good way) in a club setting, but they are a band you absolutely have to be standing during.

Soundgarden was the final band of the day and we barely stayed for five songs before leaving, so I'm not sure there is much else that needs to be said about their show.