If you’re searching for the perfect venue to debut your latest creative masterpiece, you’re in luck.
The Fishbowl, the student lounge located a 2145 G st., will be hosting an open mic night on Friday from 7 to 11 p.m. E-mail liveatthefishbowl@gmail.com if you want to perform.
Want to bare your soul on MTV? Become famous for living with strangers? Postpone your job search?
Well, here’s your chance: MTV is holding auditions for the next “Real World” cast Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Town Tavern. Roommate hopefuls should bring a photo ID and a recent picture, and be between the ages of 18-24.
Although the next “Real World” location has not yet been released, past seasons have been set in cities as diverse as Key West, Denver and New York. And don’t forget: “The Real World: D.C.” will premiere on Dec. 30.
Since we revamped them at the beginning of 2008, The Hatchet’s blogs have had you covered on all the breaking news, sports, and commentary you could handle. Where we’ve missed the boat, however, is in talking about the issues that have the biggest effect on the things you care about – student life.
To fill that gap, we’re happy to launch a new blog today called Beyond the Books. It’s designed to focus on exactly what it sounds like – what you do at GW outside of classes, internships and work. It’s what you read. What you do. What you live.
Our Life, Arts, and Web editors will be its main contributors, though others may chime in from to time. If there’s something you’d like to see on BTB – a recurring feature on fashion, a roundup of local government activity, whatever – go ahead and let us know in the comments.
Legendary rap group Public Enemy is slated to play at Lisner Auditorium Nov. 18, to raise funds for the Sasha Bruce House, a youth homeless shelter. Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now.
It’s only once a year that corsets are acceptable to wear as shirts and the embassies give you candy instead of visas. So, whether you’re pre-gaming, dancing the night away or doing the walk of shame in last night’s robot costume (including silver face-paint), put this Halloween-inspired playlist on repeat to keep you going strong, all weekend long.
1. “The Time Warp” – Rocky Horror Picture Show
2. “Rap-zilla”- Rappers Delight Club
3. “Don’t Fear The Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult
4. “Werewolves of London” – Warren Zevon
5. “Living in the Sky With Diamonds”- Cobra Starship
6. “Chillin’ (Feat. Lady Gaga)” – Wale
7. “The Monster Mash” – Bobby “Boris” Pickett
8. “Young Forever (Feat. Mr. Hudson)”- Jay-Z
9. “Psycho Killer” – Talking Heads
10. “Little Secrets”- Passion Pit
-compiled Amy Rhodin and Caroline Coppel.
It’s cold. It’s wet. Not even a tour of the new White House gardens would be enjoyable in this weather.
So how do you keep your visiting parents occupied during the dark, rainy weekend? Take them to any of the numerous student and professional performances happening on campus through Sunday. It’s a guarantee that you’ll be entertained and stay dry.
Acapellapalooza
Performers include the Troubadours, the Vibes, Sons of Pitch and the Sirens
The Marvin Center Grand Ballroom
Friday at 9 and 10:30 p.m.
The New Plays Festival
Presented by The Department of Theatre and Dance
The Marvin Center’s Betts Theatre
Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Foreigner
Presented by Fourteenth Grade Players
The Lisner Downstage
Friday and Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m.
Jon Stewart
Colonials Weekend 2009 headliner
The Smith Center
Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m.
Colonials Weekend Jazz Brunch
Sponsored by WRGW
Columbian Square in the Marvin Center
Sunday from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Lizzie Hay
University Yard transformed into a Cuban oasis during the first annual GW Cuban Music Festival, on Saturday. The event, hosted by Students for a Free Cuba, had entertainment and food to get students immersed in the rich culture of the tiny Caribbean island.
Rudy Mayor, president of Students for a Free Cuba, said that the group began planning the festival last spring. The event aimed to “educate the public about the political situation in Cuba” through the use of traditional Cuban culture, said Mayor.
Brittney Morrett, vice president of the student group, said that University Yard was the perfect location for the festival.
“We were looking to book spaces in D.C. that were family friendly and would provide a space for a cultural exchange,” she said.
Music played a big role during the event, with several groups making appearances throughout the day. The Spam Allstars, a Cuban jazz group, played a set, as well as rapper mikiflow. Other acts like Delexilio combined funk, rock and Latin musical styles to create a uniquely Cuban sound.
Mayor said the festival was a success, and hopes that it becomes a permanent fixture on the group’s events calendar.
Enjoy a classy – and cheap – evening out by taking advantage of the fifth annual Free Night of Theater. Shows around the city are offering free tickets on select nights until mid-November. Check out Free Theater Night 2009’s Web site for the schedule and details. Hurry – tickets are going fast!
Sophomore Alyssa Hart plays guitar Sunday at WRGW's student showcase. Photo by Kendra Poole.
This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Kendra Poole.
While GW’s music scene often takes a backseat to interest in politics or international affairs, WRGW’s first-ever student showcase this weekend proved that there is no shortage of talented musicians on campus.
Student musicians and listeners gathered in University Yard Sunday afternoon to celebrate WRGW’s 80th anniversary and kick off the radio station’s Octoberfest.
“[WRGW is] just trying to get as many people on campus as they can to come perform together, since there’s not really a venue for [student musicians],” said sophomore Alyssa Hart, who sang and played guitar and harmonica for the show.
Radio host and senior Greg Shapiro coordinated the event, hoping that it would promote both the station and student musicians.
“I figured [the showcase] would be a good time…as well as a good way to get kids out here to play music and see a different side of GW than you would normally see,” Shapiro said. Read more…
Recording a debut album while holding a full-time job is no easy feat, unless you’re GW-bred band Bottles/Cans.
Photo courtesy of Bottles/Cans
“We were surprised at how quickly we tracked the songs,” said drummer Brendan Polmer, who works for CNN and wrote for The Hatchet, in an interview. “The whole album took about two weeks to make.”
Bottles/Cans has been playing together since college, and both Polmer and bassist Zach Pentel said that recording an album had been the group’s eventual goal; it was just a matter of finding the place, and the money, to do it. Funding largely came from the band’s biggest gig to date: opening for N.E.R.D. at Emory University. The Bastille, part of the Inner Ear Studio in Arlington, proved to be the ideal spot to record.
Pentel, a graduate student, said that making the album was completely worth the hectic schedule.
“We’d been waiting for this for so long, we didn’t mind the personal sacrifices,” he said.
The album, “Only, Please”, is a mix of freshly written songs and old band favorites. Pentel said that the group aimed to capture the essence of their live shows, rather than make just another slickly produced album.
“We wanted it to sound live, like you put a mic in the middle of the room,” he said.
Tracks like “Dodge” and “Tabitha” embody the band’s loose-and-rowdy rock sound. Singer/guitarist Kevin Eskowitz (not present at the interview) tears into the vocals with refreshing intensity, and Pentel and Polmer provide a solid backing track for both songs. Pentel’s nimble bass line on “Tabitha” is particularly good.
For now, Bottles/Cans is focused on “conquering D.C.” and promoting “Only, Please.” The group is hosting an album release party on Aug. 6 at the Rock and Roll Hotel; they’ll be playing with Kill Lincoln, a “high energy” ska-punk band.
Still, the band isn’t planning a grand bid for stardom; they have jobs, after all.
“We have to hedge our bets a little,” Pentel said. “We’re trying to live in the now, but we’re starting new things and we all have lives. We have no aspirations to tour for Fall Out Boy or anything.”
“Only, Please” will be available on iTunes Aug. 10, but here are some sample tracks:
Building on the daily news that happens at GW, Beyond The Books covers the pulse of student life on campus.
Vol. 106
An Independent Student Newspaper
Serving The George Washington University Community Since 1904
