At the Green Apple Festival yesterday on the National Mall, fans of the Roots got American Idol runner-up/beatbox extraordinaire Blake Lewis instead. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman got boos and jeers from the crowd before being ushered off the stage by Chevy Chase. And though everyone present got very, very wet, it’s probably fair to say that few at the environmental festival got what they came for.
After an electrical storm during jam band Umphrey’s McGee’s set put the festival on hold as the crowd took shelter in nearby museums, the environmental festival was called for good. Headlining bands the Roots and Gov’t Mule did not perform and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who was scheduled to speak, was nowhere to be seen.The D.C. event was one of eight across the country aimed at raising awareness about global warming and encouraging people to call their congressperson on Earth Day with concerns about climate change. Like many activist concerts, the event was a strange marriage of musicians, policy wonks, and celebrities, matching bands like O.A.R. and Mambo Sauce with speakers like actor Edward Norton, and climate scientist James Hansen.
The weather may have put a stop to the concert, but it didn’t deter the crowd from celebrating 4/20. Attendees were openly smoking marijuana, fumes drifting across the Mall, and cheered loudly when several of the musicians made references to the holiday. As Marc Roberge, the lead singer of O.A.R., put it, “It smells like California in D.C.”
As much as I love their music, it wasn’t The New Pornographers who brought me to this show. It was the enigmatic pull of Okkervil River and their lead singer, Will Sheff, that drew me to the 9:30 Club last Monday. But twenty minutes before they was scheduled to go on stage, the club was barely a third full. I wasn’t expecting this, especially for a show sold-out long in advance, and a man standing in front of me recalled being offered over $100 for a $13 ticket when Okkervil River played at the Rock n’ Roll Hotel in September. It seemed clear that the majority of the audience was there for The New Pornographers, as the club filled up during the beginning of Okkervil River’s set.
Watching Will Sheff strutt about the stage, I couldn’t help but think of James Brown (admittedly a strange comparison for a white kid from New Hampshire). I recently saw a video of the first time that James Brown collapsed on stage and someone came out from the wings to drape a cape on him and escort him offstage. Before Brown had made it off, he threw off the cape and gave an encore to the now-hysterical audience. There were several songs during which Sheff collapsed to the ground as he played the last few chords on his guitar. A few seconds later, he would rise and rip and roar through the next song. Was it purely for show? Likely, but that doesn’t make it any less effective, just as Brown sent audiences into a tizzy with that cape routine until his very last show.
After Okkervil River’s set, The New Pornographers took the stage. I knew before that Destroyer (aka Dan Bejar) would be absent, gearing up for his own tour in support of his new album, but when The New Pornos took the stage, there was worse news; Neko Case had fallen ill and would not be performing.
So on this night, it was really The A.C. Newman Pornographers that were performing. They were far from bad, but they just seemed to be lacking something. While the absences were strongly felt, the band still managed to make the most of A.C. Newman’s birthday and played a very strong set list with songs from Challengers, their latest album, and older hits like “The Slow Descent into Alcoholism” and “Testament To Youth In Verse.”
By the end of their set, and the two subsequent encores, it was easy to see why they were the headliners. The power-pop ballads, which they do so well, even had me dancing (a sight to be seen, I promise). But as note-perfect as their hooks were, I would still prefer the messy, enthusiastic, and infectious rendition of “Westfall” that closed the Okkervil River set any day of the week.
The U.S. Attorney’s office of the District of Columbia dropped all charges against Philip Cooney (MSB ‘10) relating to an assault that occurred last fall which attracted controversy on and off campus.
Cooney was charged with bias-related assault by the Metropolitan Police Department last September, but the U.S. Attorney reported that “subsequent investigation raised doubts as to … whether based upon available evidence we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant in this case was the person who actually committed the assault.”
“Philip was always completely innocent of the charges against him and the dismissal of the case has vindicated him entirely,” Danny Onorato, Cooney’s lawyer, wrote in a statement. “To know Philip Cooney is to know a young man of exemplary character who was wrongfully accused in this case.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office has indicated that they continue to consider the assault, in which a male Georgetown student was beaten by an assailant who shouted anti-gay slurs, a criminal act. Cooney was originally implicated in the assault through a Facebook.com profile and, later, a police photo line-up. During the pre-trial period, the prosecuting Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Mary Dobbie and Joseph Spurber, determined that they would not be able to firmly establish that Cooney was present at the time of the assault.
Neither Cooney nor the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office were available for comment. It is not clear at this time if any investigation into the assault will continue.
For the Voice’s comprehensive coverage of the case, click here. Check this blog and Thursday’s edition for more information on the dropped charges.
Sorry for the lack of posting, friends, it’s time for our staff elections and as we transition it’s a little unclear who exactly is responsible for what. However, I wanted to spread the word about an unfortunate accident that has befallen an unexpected Georgetown icon: Altagracia, who swipes all and sundry into Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall, lost her home in a fire. The Georgetown Solidarity Committee is organizing a fundraiser and food drive to lend her a hand in getting her life back together. If you can help out, please do. Our best wishes go out to Altagracia and her family.
Here is Solidarity’s e-mail:
Hi all!
On Wednesday night, Altagracia, a cafeteria worker and friendly Leo’s card swiper, lost everything and her home in a house fire. Altagracia and her three children are currently living in a hotel, and are facing difficulties getting insurance money to compensate for the fire’s damage. Leo’s workers asked if students could take up a collection in support of Altagracia; while she’s not in need of clothes, she and her family are in desperate need of canned food and, most importantly, any financial donation students, family, and profs’ can make!
On Monday, GSC’s hosting a fund-raising drive in red square and needs your help! We’ll be flyering to ask for food donations and also asking students to donate money to Altagracia via our Paypal account found at this address: georgetownsolidarity.org/altagracia
As an active social justice group, here’s what you can do to co-sponsor the drive: In addition to donating food and money, you can volunteer to help table/flyer in red square on Monday. We also need folks to forward the email to their listserves, friendship networks, and family — every cent can make a difference in helping Altagracia through this tough time.
Would your group be interested in helping raise money and goods for the famous card swiping star Altagracia? Let us know what your group can do to help! Please reply as soon as possible, as we plan to deliver the money to Altagracia on Wednesday.
We’re celebrators here at the Voice. We celebrate D.C., we celebrate warm weather when it rolls around and we celebrate all things beautiful. And we’ve mixed all three of those ingredients into our first-ever issue-length celebration of all things spring fashion. With special thanks to some local boutiques, follow the link and check out this season’s essentials for both women and men, and look forward to seeing the hard copy on campus tomorrow.
Mike Stew[art] astutely pointed out that it’s probably a good thing that Chris Wright doesn’t know the fight song. More time learning the fight song = less time working on the break-away lay-up or outside shot that, along with Austin Freeman and Greg “the Doctrine” Monroe”, will be key to Georgetown’s success in upcoming years. We also learn from the video that, though Wright’s proven to be a snazzy dresser, he’s not much of a dancer.
Less than a week before Cabaret’s opening night, Shira Hecht brings us inside the Mask & Bauble sausage factory after watching weeks of rehearsal and production.
Mo’ money, mo’ problems: Juliana Brint brings us some mild controversy as GUSA works on doling out the $310,000 that we pay in Student Activity Funds.
Phil Perry locates former Hoya basketball player Keny Izzo. Izzo hasn’t given up the dream yet: he’s playing pro-ball in “The Hidden Treasure of the Yucatan Peninsula.”
We are still in need of your photos for yearbook!We especially need photos of classes, class trips, tabling in Red Square, men’s basketball, track-and-field, protests, drinking, outdoor activities, St. Patty’s Day, and diversity.Submit at images.jostens.com, Login ID 1141028, Password ydb2008.Please identify people in the caption box!
(emphasis mine)
Who knew an intangible quality like diversity could be captured by a photograph? I’m not sure exactly what the staff of Ye Domesday Booke has in mind, but this was the first thing that popped into my head.
A copy-editor must have lost their job, or at least their dignity, over this blooper. We’ve had a few mistakes like this over the years at the Voice, but then again, our circulation of 8,000 invites a little less scrutiny than the million-plus print subscribers of the Times. Luckily for the Times, the error was caught before the New York edition was printed. Still, a mistake like this has got to make people not living at the center of the universe wonder if bying a subscription is even worth it these days.
We’re celebrators here at the Voice. We celebrate D.C., we celebrate warm weather when it rolls around and we celebrate all things beautiful. And we’ve mixed all three of those ingredients into our 
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