Weekend Picks: GWAR, Southern Belles, Big Something, Lady God, The Machine

This weekend is all about New Year's Eve. I've never been a huge "go out on NYE" fan., All the prices are doubled. There are a bunch of people out who get drunk twice a year (St. Pat's Day being the other) and use it as an excuse to get obnoxious. There are cops all over the place but you can't get a cab or Uber because so many other people don't want to drive (which I guess is a good thing). But when I do go out on NYE, it's to see a band. Bands usually pull out all the stops and give a little something extra for the occasion.

GWAR has always been a band that knows excess even on a normal night, let alone NYE, so who knows what they'll do at The National Thursday night. Tix are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 7:30 with openers Kepone, Occultist, and Rocket Queen. Here's GWAR's "Penguin Attack". As always, this is not for the faint of heart or ear.



If you are looking for something a tad mellower on NYE, head to The Camel for the first of two shows with The Southern Belles. NYE has Jackass Flats opening. Doors open at 8. It's $25 in advance, $30 to get in. If you want to go NYE, get your tickets soon. They're going fast. New Year's Day has The Big Payback: James Brown Tribute opening. Tix for that one are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. I'm sure there will be some mixing and matching with members of all the bands which should lead to some special musical moments. Also, this will be the last show for Belles drummer Raphael Katchinoff. He'll be joining The Congress in the new year. The band, not the DC institution. Though he couldn't do much worse in DC and we know he'd be a strong advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Here's the Belles in the rain at Mantrabash in September. Not the best camera shot, but the sound is good and you get a good glimpse of Raph's chops.



If you like your punk pop rock n' roll with a side of tacos and champagne, En Su Boca has the NYE for you! It's FREE to get in (a rarity on NYE). Doors open at 10 and the music starts at 11 with Lady God and Cherry Pits.

The Machine (Pink Floyd tribute band) turns on at The National on Friday. They'll be performing the "Wish You Were Here" album in it's entirety, along with other Floyd faves. Tix are $15 - $20 in advance, $18 - $23 at the door. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 and no opener is listed. Here's The Machine doing "One Slip" from "Momentary Lapse of Reason":



Jam band Big Something is at The Broadberry on Saturday night. Doors open at 9:30, show starts at 10 with Shack Band opening. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Big Something is a nominee for Sirius XM's Jam On channel's Best New Jam Band of 2015. Here they are this past July:



Gladys Night & the Pips member, William Guest, died at the age of 74 this week so let's do one from them. The Pips had the moves!



And, of course, heavy metal/hard rock pioneer, Lemmy Kilmister, of Motorhead and Hawkwind, passed away yesterday at the age of 70. Here's their classic, "Ace of Spades":



And let's do "Overkill" too:


Have a Happy 2016! It's gotta be better than 2015....

Tony Jordan