Endangered Species

Okay DC, everyone is taking this whole listening to music with your arms-crossed thing a little to far. I know, I know, you take your music really seriously and visibly showing that you are enjoying yourself is verboten in front of your cool friends. But seriously, there are some really good indie DJ nights in this town that are in dire straits because people are too damn lazy to take out their I-pod ear-buds to go drink while listening to some seriously good tuned being spun by some very good DJ’s.

Case in point. The Marx Cafe:

Former home of “Taking a Piss” – a great indie DJ night and the monthly “We Fought the Big One” – a terrific post-punk/shoegazer DJ night. Apparently the owner of Marx Cafe hasn’t been seeing the dollar signs in supporting the DC Indie scene, mainly because no one from that scene is willing to put down their PSP’s long enough to go have a beer in a cozy setting with good music.

Marx Cafe kicked out “Taking a Piss” to replace it with a Salsa night. Making the sum total of Friday nights at Marx – 3 Salsa friday’s and 1 indie friday.

Tomorrow night stands a good chance of being the final “We Fought the Big One.” The owner of Marx is already dangling a figurative giant tostito over the DJ’s heads just waiting to dip it into yet another (sigh) Salsa night. He’s threatening to replace them unless they can stir up a crowd tomorrow.

So this is a klaxon alarm, a signal flare, a smoke signal to all of the DC scene who like quality post-punk and shoegazer rarities. Get off your butts and get down to the Marx Cafe Friday night and save this wrongfully endangered night!

In the words of the late great Reagan Say No To Drugs Campaign – “You know you want to. It’ll make you feeeel goood.”

“We Fought the Big One” w/DJ’s Trickster and Five-Year-Plan
at Marx Cafe 3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW
No cover – great tunes all night – Belgian and other fine beers.

Originally published on August 4, 2005.

Luckily these nights managed to survive these lean years.