Walking into DC9 on Friday night was like walking into a time portal where all the best parts of the ’70s collected and condensed into the cozy little second story stage for one last time. Gracing the stage was Ezra Mae and the Gypsy Moon, a local psych rock outfit who brought their potent mix of indie-psych-blues to fill the small venue. An auditory and visual delight, lead singer Sandy crooned in her smoky tenor and coaxed matching sultry sounds from her guitar, while wearing the most amazing blue upholstery paisley dress over velvet tights. Her right hand woman also wore a matching red upholstery dress with puffy sleeves and red tights – the visual was awesome and the music was even better. Moving their way through a cover of James Browns’ “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”, and their originals “Summer Skies”, “Bad Company”, and finishing with “Hitchhikers by the Sea” the foursome blew the crowd away with their mix of sultry and smokey mixed with a joyfulness and stage presence that made for great viewing and dancing. Five stars.
And now we take a quick break from the music to report the best sights seen during the intermission. A man, who I really want to be my best friend now, pulled out his kindle and started reading (what better way to use a fifteen minute break than to catch up on your book? I was so jealous I hadn’t brought mine too.) And another guy had a bottle drop from his back pocket. I turned around thinking that he had maybe snuck some booze into the show. Nope! He’d brought his own bottle of bbq sauce. I felt like maybe he knew something I didn’t about the venue. Or life in general.
And now back to the music! Chappo took to the stage. And continuing with our theme of amazing ’70s style, lead singer Alex Chappo was sporting another upholstery item in a floral yellow blazer that complimented his flowing blond curls perfectly. Swinging and swaggering his way around the stage, he called out to the audience with a sense of joy, and not just a little bit of mischief, “Come a little closer, what’re we getting ourselves into tonight??” And looking like he might not have been to sure himself what he was getting us all into, finishing it of with a “whoo!” and a wink. He looked honestly delighted. Playing songs from their new album “DO IT” coming out in late February, the group continued the psych-rock vibe that started the night. Chappo explained to the crowd, “the new album’s called DO IT because we just want you to do it! You decide what it is! Ball’s in your court!” My DO IT is going to be seeing both of these bands again.