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Hot Concert Locations

Posted by: | June 19, 2009 | No Comment |

By Dylan Hares, Broadside Staff Writer

As a new student at George Mason University, you’ll find yourself making lots of new friends through all of your classes, living areas and organizations that you decide to join. 

With any luck, these friends will have similar interests as you. Hopefully, they will also love the same music that you do—and what better way to have fun with your new friends than by going to a concert?

First, you’ve got Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA. Just shy of an hour from Mason (with traffic), Nissan will have all of your big, popular acts like Nickelback, No Doubt, 311 and Motley Crue and it will have them in abundance. 

Nissan Pavilion offers pretty cheap tickets for the lawn section. A fun place to hang out with friends for a few hours, listen to good music and watch the fans  interact, but be warned, the lawn offers a grassy, dirt area that can have you slipping and sliding when it rains. Unfortunately, Nissan only runs in the summer up until September, but when Spring comes, there will be plenty of concerts to check out at the outdoor venue. 

Mason’s own Patriot Center can be an awesome opportunity to see all kinds of shows and events like comedy, music and sports. t-pain

Not only do Mason students have the chance for discount tickets, but it’s literally a ten minute walk from the Johnson Center. 

If sports are your thing, the Patriot Center is also where the basketball teams play their games in the fall. Be sure to take advantage of your free and discounted tickets for most events and free passes to Mason home basketball games. 

The Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. is an indoor venue which will be your best bet for big acts during the year as well as national league sports. By planning a trip to Washintgon, D.C., you and your friends can enjoy an entire day of non-stop fun. The Metro is easy to get to using the CUE Bus or the Mason-to-Metro. Once on the orange line, just make one switch to the red line at Metro Center, then get off at Gallery Place/Chinatown and you’ll be right under the Verizon Center. 

The 9:30 Club located on V Street NW, will provide you with the Nightclub scene and the big venue feel by having huge, well-known bands packing lots of people into a little space. 

The venue has hosted acts like the Plain White T’s, Better than Ezra, Sonic Youth and Pete Yorn, and is a must-see venue for any music lover.

Unexpectedly, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Consitution Hall hosts, among other events, concerts. This huge venue with a capacity of 3,000, is just five blocks from the George Washington University campus on D Street. This historic venue has recently become a stomping ground for such artists as Death Cab for Cutie, Frank Ferdinand, Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional and the Roots.

The State Theater in Falls Church, accessible by the Metro, hosts a variety of bands from Melodime to Live Wire to Hanson. 

This relatively small venue ensures a good view of the stage from any area. You are sure to have a good time when you’re listening to good music with good friends.

H.R.-57, a D.C. jazz club on 14th Street hosts live jazz musicians every night. If you want to play some jazz, the club has live jam sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights in which anyone can join and on any instrument. This club offers soul food and great musical entertainment for a manageable price.

For a higher end jazz and blues club in D.C., check out Blues Alley. This famous jazz club has hosted such musicians as Dizzie Gillespie. Tickets are pricey and a purchase from Blues Alley’s New Orleans and creole-influenced menu is required.

For those more interested in operas, plays and symphony recitals, look into Wolf Trap. This large outdoor venue offers summer concerts that range in price from around $20 to around $60.

No matter your musical taste, the area have a lot to offer. So get out there and start listening!

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By Emily Sharrer, Broadside Editor in Chief

Whenever I hear “Buy U a Drank” by T-Pain it takes me back to beach week 2007, the end of high school and the beginning of my new life at George Mason University. Between classes, my new found freedom and adjusting to life without my friends back home, the one thing that always got me through even the worst parts of the year was the music. While in 2007, my musical line-up might have included a little more James Blunt than I’d like to admit, I created a playlist for you; some picks to get you through all the frustrating and fun times that freshman year brings. Hopefully my personal playlist will help you create your own that will allow you to listen and reminisce about all the memories of your first year at Mason.


          Getting Ready for a Night Out



       “Know Your Enemy”- Rage Against the Machine


               “Deceptacon”- Le Tigre


                 “Rockstar”-N.E.R.D


                “Tonight, Tonight”- Smashing Pumpkins


 “Motherlover”- Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake


ipod

                Party Playlist


“Juicy”- Notorious B.I.G.


“I’m on a Boat”- The Lonely Island


“Get ‘Em High”- Kanye West


“MMMBop”-Hanson


“Don’t Trust Me”- 3OH!3


“Respect my Conglomerate”- Busta Rhymes

“Birthday Sex”- Jeremiah

‘Day ‘n’ Nite”- Kid Cuddi

“Regulate”- Warren G


Unwind


Anything by Bon Iver (I suggest “Skinny Love” or “Stacks”)


“Rusted Wheel”- Silversun Pickups


“Something in the Way”- Nirvana


“Slip Sliding Away”- Paul Simon


“Never Going Back Again”- Fleetwood Mac


“Instant Karma”- John Lennon


First Freshman Love


“I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”- Ida Maria



“Untouched”- The Veronicas


“For the Longest Time”- Billy Joel 

“Love Rollercoaster”- Red Hot Chili Peppers


“Let’s Make Out”- Does it Offend You, Yeah?


“Damn, I Wish I was Your Lover”- Sophie B. Hawkins




Bad Break-up


“Before the Worst”- The Script


“The Good Fight”- Dashboard Confessional

“You Oughta Know”- Alanis Morrissette


“Fuck the Pain Away”- Peaches


“96 Tears”- ? and the Mysterians

“Kiss Off”- The Violent Femmes


“Untouchable Face”- Ani Difranco



“Rootless Tree”- Damien Rice


“Gone, Gone Gone”- John Ralston


‘Burn”- Usher

“Different Drum”- Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponys




Homesickness


“Mother and Child Reunion”- Paul Simon


“Clocks”- Coldplay

“Still the Same”- Bob Seger 

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Local Music Venues

Posted by: | June 19, 2009 | 1 Comment |

By Dylan Hares, Broadside Staff Writer

ipod2One of the best parts about being a Mason student, as you’ll quickly learn, is our proximity to Washington, D.C. and other nearby cities that serve as hotbeds for local music.

The best way to kill a lazy Saturday or a Friday night is to head into town and dip your fingers into the local scene—a surefire way to discover bands that you like. Then, of course when they make it big you have the distinct pleasure of saying “I was a fan of them before they were famous.”

For you metal-heads out there, Jaxx Concert Hall and Nightclub is likely going to be your haven and favorite hang-out spot. Featuring hordes of northern Virginia’s local metal bands, you’re always sure to find something to bang your head to at Jaxx, which has hosted acts such as Veruca Salt, Kill Switch Engage and Buckcherry. 

While it looks like a seedy hole-in-the-wall at first glance, Jaxx can be a great place to hang out. Also, if you have your own band, Jaxx routinely has local music nights with slots which always need to be filled. Word of warning—a lot of the bands are hit-or-miss and the staff can be kind of rude.

Jammin’ Java in Vienna is a more laid-back version of Jaxx, catering to acoustic and alternative-loving concert-goers. Jammin’ Java features live music seven nights a week and has welcomed artists such as Citizen Cope, Paramore and Ingrid Michaelson, according to the venue’s website.

Black Cat, located in Washington, D.C. off the U St./Cardozo stop, is a great arena for local and up-and-coming acts. Black Cat features live music almost every night of the week  in two different concert rooms and if you watch the schedule close enough, you might be able to find some larger acts that occasionally grace the Black Cat stages.

In the City of Fairfax, Firehouse Grill is one of the best places to go to catch local music–plus getting there is free if you ride the CUE Bus. The Firehouse Grill also features open mic nights every Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

You don’t have to go off campus to satisfy your craving for local music, however. On Mason’s Fairfax campus is our own Every Freakin’ Friday (EFF) put on by the activity-organizing, student-run body known as Program Board. When is it? You guessed it: every Friday. 

Normally situated in the Johnson Center Atrium, EFF will bring you local music, comedy and other miscellaneous entertainment for your Friday night enjoyment. Plus, they always have free pizza, just be sure to get there early.

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Top 10 College Movies

Posted by: | June 19, 2009 | No Comment |

By Ross Bonaime, Broadside Staff Writer

10. Orange County
When Shaun (Colin Hanks) accidentally has the wrong transcripts sent to his school of choice, Stanford University, he must fix the error by any means possible. His girlfriend and brother (Jack Black) help Shaun get to his dream college while Shaun realizes that there are more important things than getting into your first pick.
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