Juniper Lane @ Iota

Once again, I was blown away by Juniper Lane's talent, execution, energy and stage presence. They have such a positive energy and rapport with each other it is always enjoyable to witness them perform live. The very colorful Reni Lane (no relation haha) opened for them to a full house, as Iota was packed tonight due to the band's popularity with both the indie crowd and more mainstream alternative/rock audiences.

Lead singer Vivion Smith plays the role of siren with her mesmerizing voice and hypnotizing eye contact with the audience. Her beauty and talent have the entire crowd wrapped around her keyboard playing fingers. Drummer Eddie Pasa showed us that he is equally talented on vocals as he is keeping the beat.

Juniper Lane this Friday at Iota

The very talented and catchy Juniper Lane is coming to Iota this Friday night.

The last time they visited Clarendon I was very glad I made it out and was mesmerized by Vivion Smith's striking vocals and smooth keyboarding. Looking forward to this show!

Juniper Lane "plays polished, radio-ready rock with all the right nods to U2 and Coldplay... this is definitely music to hear on the radio... the total package." - WashingtonPost.com

Lost Dog Cafe's new location

Lost Dog Cafe opened up a second location on Columbia Pike seven weeks ago. Located in a brand new mixed use building across from Arlington Cinema Drafthouse, it provides the same great menu as the first branch did but with a new and inviting atmosphere.

Lost Dog is both a chain of three restuarants (two Lost Dogs and one Stray Cat) and an animal rescue foundation. The restaurant features a huge menu of specialty sandwiches, fries, pizzas and "dog collar" onion rings. Everyone enjoys the wall-to-wall dog themed murals and the friendly wait staff.

Make sure to remember to get a very rich milkshake for carryout after your meal!

Katie Herzig @ Iota

Talented and personable Katie Herzig opened for Hoots And Helmouth tonight at Iota. I arrived to late to see Katie perform, but was still lucky enough to chat with her and grab a copy of her new album Apple Tree.

The last time I caught her performance was when she sang and in the super-talented Ten Out Of Tenn in December. That Christmas themed show was awesome, especially with Katie's rendition of her hit Hologram. She will be back in town on Oct 7 at the 9:30 club.

Construction stalled on 2900 10th St.?

There is still a vacant lot where Sala Thai and CVS once stood at 2900 10th Street. The two retailers where moved out to make room for a four story condo/town house development called "Garfield Park".

I'm not sure if those plans have changed, but it doesn't appear any work is being done past tearing down the previous building. Their site garfieldparkcondos.com is now a spam placeholder.

It's odd walking past and noticing the same checkered floor of Sala Thai now exposed and bare without walls.

Arlington is #2 in the US for meeting rich singles

WTOP recently did an a report on Money Magazine's "Best places for rich and single." Our hometown is at the top of the list!

"If you think smart is sexy, you'll love Arlington, where scientific geniuses and government types dominate"

Here is the top ten places in the nation for singles looking for a date with money:

1. Hermosa Beach, Calif.
2. Arlington, Va.
3. Coronado, Calif.
4. Edgewater, N.J.
5. Santa Clara, Calif.
6. Edwards, Colo.
7. Oak Park, Ill.
8. Herndon, Va.
9. Irvine, Calif.
10. Arlington, Mass.

The rest of the list is here.

Telograph @ Iota

Tonight was a great night at Iota. Cobra Collective was good, but missing something.

Telograph electrified the room with crisp rhythm and charisma. Their indie rock sound was solid and satisfying, and they attracted a score of ladies close to the stage who invaded the band's personal space with cameras and dancing.

All cover charges for the night went towards raising money for a local walkaton for breast cancer.

Falls Church Standoff Update

The recent local drama of a man shooting his ex-girlfriend in Falls Church did not end peacefully today:

John T. Valentini, 44, who police believe shot his ex-girlfriend on Tuesday night in his Pimmit Hills neighborhood in the Falls Church area, died at 4:12 a.m. today at Inova Fairfax Hospital, police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said.

The man died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after more than a day of police standoff in the residential neighborhood.

Thanks to DCFemella for the heads up!

DC Blogger Meetup @ Madams Organ

I was lucky enough to attend the DC Bloggers at their second meetup tonight in Adams Morgan. I was able to chat with blogging veterans like Shevonne, Mike and Yali as well as fresh faced comedian Leon.

Talking to about a dozen well connected and experienced local bloggers was fun and helpful. It was interesting to see the diversity of attendees and how people where using social networks, Twitter, etc in different ways to reach their respective audiences.

I recommended joining networks like FriendFeed and Meetup to prevent missing out in local events like this one.

Attendies:
A Glenn -- http://jenesaisrein.blogspot.com &
http://aureliaglenn.wordpress.com
Dave Newman -- http://groovysoup.com
Margie Newman -- http://flackrabbit.com
Kier Duros -- http://www.durosia.com/
Kathleen Canedo -- http://brutalism.net
Mike Licht -- http://NotionsCapital.com
Pat Thibodeau -- http://DCBlogs.com
Yali Friedman -- http://biotechblog.com
Joe Logon -- www.joelogon.com/blog
Shevonne -- http://freeagentwriter.com
Marie -- http://blog.mermedia.com
Leon -- http://www.ListenToLeon.net
Jade -- http://jadxia.livejournal.com

Hostage Situation in Falls Church

According to a witness I talked to, a man on Fisher Ave in Falls Church shot a woman at point blank range on the street corner last night. The man then entered a home and police have been surrounding the location since.

Police have the area blocked off and are waiting, hoping for a peaceful ending. Apparently there are other people inside the home along with the shooter, so this is technically a hostage situation.

Fisher Ave is still closed, so its a good idea to avoid that area on your commute home.

This is the second shooting this month a normally very safe Northern Virginia suburban area, as it reminds me of the Mac store robbery recently.