June 25, 2007

Venue: Bobby Fisher Memorial Building, 1644 North Capitol St. NW. An abandoned warehouse/art space style building in some state of disrepair.

Bands: Des Ark, Food for Animals, Problems

Cost: $5

Sound Quality: Remarkably high. A decent PA allowed for clear and audible vocals that were generally devoid of (unintended) ear-splitting feedback squeals. Both Food For Animals glitch-hop laptop beats and Des Ark’s Marshall stacks were surprisingly well served by the concrete room’s acoustics.

Inevitable Noise Complaint: At about 10 p.m.—one or two songs into Des Ark’s set—a neighbor from behind the Bobby Fisher building arrived to complain that the concert was too loud and that should the noise continue, he would phone the police. Des Ark songwriter Aimee Argote kept the show going by playing a few acoustic songs while guitarist Welch Canavan disappeared to help promoters negotiate with the aggrieved party. Eventually Welch returned and asked that the audience to re-position themselves in front of the wall nearest to the complainant’s house in order to provide more sound insulation.

Beverage of Choice: The proprietors of the Bobby Fisher Memorial building kindly asked that no drugs or booze be consumed at the show. So the timeless house-show 40 was not an option. Instead a nearby convenience store was plundered for Fla-Vor-Ice and Gatorade.

B.O. Strength: Given that the concert room had no windows and little ventilation things got pretty swampy. “You might think that I’ve been bathing, but I haven’t—because I’ve been standing here in front of you this whole time,” commented Food For Animals’ sweat-drenched MC Vulture Voltaire.