Goodbye Iota

Such a sad day to acknowledge that my favorite live music venue of all time Iota Club and Café will be closing for good on Sept 30 2017. As reported in detail by ArlNow, the owners have decided to pack it up after their lease ends as the building is being remodeled and ending Iota's unique place in Arlington culture for 23 years. Their final lineup so far is Last Train Home on the 28th and 29th.

While nothing can replace Iota, similar spots like Galaxy Hut down the street and Gypsy Sally's in Georgetown will continue to host bands that would have played here.

I have such fond memories of this place and all the wonderful people I've met there, like Justin Trawick, Derek Evry, Alex Parez, Margot MacDonald and Rae Williamson just to name a few. ArlNow has an extensive list of performances that have graced Iota's small stage. Here is a quick list of my favorite shows at the quirky place that kept Clarendon strange:

My first recorded Iota night almost 10 years ago with the fun local band Boxcar Collision.

Matthew Good's oddly quiet show in 2008

The super catchy pop punk Exit Clov bursting with style and cow bells







My first show with Juniper Lane and witnessing Vivion Smith's killer vocals

Ending 2008 on an amazing festive night with Ten Out of Tenn. Might have been the best concert experience ever.

That time Tristan Prettyman sold out her show and the first time I saw a line down the block for Iota. Luckily she came back in 2011.

Reni Lane!!!

Katie Herzig's Hologram song live along with Butterfly Boucher in the same night.

Juniper Lane and Margot MacDonald on the same night in 2012!

The week everything was free at Iota in 2014

Luckily for us the Nine Songwriter Series frequently visited Iota

Derek Evry is awesome. Middle Distance Runner is awesome. And both in the same night!

The unforgettable night with Invisible Witches debuting in summer of 2014.

When Boston based Air Traffic Controller dropped by and forever got their song Hurry Hurry stuck in my head.

Justin Trawick's birthday show in 2015. This is the most musically talented and active guy here.

Boxcar Collision and Haiti Concert @ Iota

To no one's surprise the the Haiti benefit concert tonight at Iota was packed to capacity. With more than a dozen local bands participating in this charity event to raise money for the Red Cross, Iota was definately the best place in Clarendon to spend this chilly Friday night in.

I was ablepush myself into the crowd to see my local favorite band Boxcar Collision on stage. Ashlee Wilcox was keeping the standing-room-only entertained with her talented guitar playing and vox.

A great night for a great cause! Thanks to all the other bands that came out to put on this memorable show.

Iota Haiti relief charity concert this Friday

Iota is hosting a great benefit concert this Friday to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief. An incredible amount of local talent is scheduled to play, including one of my local favorites Boxcar Collision. The charity concert starts at 8pm and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief effort.

Click here to donate online to the Haiti Relief fund.

Other bands set to perform for this charity event include:

• Iota natives Brother Shamus
• Helo
• Tom McBride
• Taylor Carson
• THE WALKAWAYS
• Derek Evry from Idea Track
• Rene Moffatt
• Zelos
• Boxcar Collision
• Sean Gaiser and Jarrett Nicolay of Vaco
• Bobby and Tiffany Thompson
• Danni Rosner
• No Second Troy

Memphis 59 @ Galaxy Hut tonight

Memphis 59 is playing at the Galaxy Hut tonight at 9pm with a great Los Angeles-based songwriter named Adam Marsland and his Chaos Band.

Chris Zogby, formally from Boxcar Collision fame, is Memphis 59's drummer.

It should interesting to see how the tiny Galaxy Hut contains the mix of rock/powerpop/indie soul tonight.

Boxcar Collision @ Iota

The local indie rock/powerpop Boxcar Collision played a great set at Iota tonight after a six month hiatus. They went on at 10:30 after glam/electronica 23 Rainy Days warmed up the stage.

I'm a fan of their self titled CD, especially with the clean and catchy Boxful and La La For tracks.

As always, Ashlee Wilcox vocals are impressive and I enjoyed her and Tom's rapport on stage. Vince played a mean bass line, such as in Drama Queen, that I'm very jealous of.

Follow them on Twitter or stalk their blog, because I'm looking forward to more local shows.

Boxcar Collision returning to Iota

Local indie/powerpop band Boxcar Collision is officially back on stage after a six month hiatus!

Ashlee Wilcox is returning as the talented and friendly vocalist, along with Tom on guitar and Bing strumming a fretless bass. A new drummer will be added to the group at the Iota show.

Looking forward to hearing them again at the August 14th show in Clarendon. I'm also loving the robot in their show poster.

Boxcar Collision is back?

Rumored to be gone for good, Boxcar Collision is scheduled to make a comeback at Iota on August 14th!

There last show was at the Red and the Black in February, and my sources told me it would probably be their last show together.

If true, I'm looking forward for their return to Iota in two weeks!

Boxcar Collision @ The Red And The Black

Open Mic @ IOTA

Wednesday night is here again and that means no cover at IOTA for open mic night. Can't wait until Friday when Boxcar Collision makes another appearance there. BTW they are now scheduled to go on stage at 9:45pm.

Lucky Day is debuting their new album and also performing with Boxcar. With mega-hottie Victoria Patchen on stage there is no excuse to miss this Friday's lineup.

Boxcar Collision @ Iota

Just happened to walk into Iota on Friday and was very happy to find Boxcar Collision playing. I think I had heard of this DC-native indie band, but couldn't remembering hearing their music.

I really enjoyed their style and am looking forward to their next show. Lead singer Ashlee Vox's vocals were very impressive, as was the huge sparkling rock on her finger. I'm surprised she was able to play that old Fender so well with it weighing down her hand.

The Washington Post gave them a good review recently, and I also would give them very positive marks. They seem like a nice low-key local band with a big sound that I'm hoping to hear again.

Boxcar Collision on MySpace

Boxcar Collision on GarageBand

and on iPower