Pieces & Places: The Red Derby

(let's discuss the music I hear in district-area bars, coffee shops and other fine establishments)

First of all, I'm going to throw out a disclaimer. I just spent six hours at The Red Derby drinking for a great cause. This is my friend group's usual hang out for many reasons. There's an amazing rooftop, decent food, properly made drinks and the perfect CoHeights/ Petworth vibe. However, it's also a fantastic place because of all they do for charity. Today, if consuming drinks off of a certain beer list, all the proceeds went to Dash DC. It was the excuse we needed to meet up and get our day drinking on. 

Without further ado, it's time for the first round of "Overheard At":

Date: August 4, 2013.

Time: Around 3:30.

Vibe: Post-brunch, casual weekend drinking, enjoying the best DC summer weather we've had yet.
Drink of Choice: PBR. So much PBR.

The Playlist:
Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional - "my hopes are so high, that your kiss might kill me. So won't you kill me?"

Dramatic, much? I think this was the song that sold me on this blog series idea. The choice was the right amount of emo and flashback for the mid-twenties post-brunch crowd. While I was never into Dashboard myself, other members of my group were getting deep and nostalgic.

Swing, Swing by All American Rejects - "Days swiftly come and go. I'm dreaming of her. She's seeing other guys. Emotions they stir."
While Dashboard was everyone else's middle school flashback, this was mine. I don't even know what else to say.

Islands in the Sun by Weezer - "And it makes me feel so fine, I can't control my brain."
Honestly, if it ain't Buddy Holly, I'm going to tune out any Weezer that gets played.

Kids by MGMT - "A family of tree wanted, to be haunted."
Man, MGMT. This is my high school flashback. The only problem is, MGMT put out a grand total of three good songs. Kids is on the bottom of that list. Time to Pretend would have been more well-suited, as it really should be the CoHeights "hipster" anthem.

Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer - "Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight."
Me: "THIS IS THE GREATEST LOVE SONG EVER WRITTEN"
I don't think there's any other 90's song that gives us as many feelings as this one. The girl in this song seems to be on one really great date. From now on, it's going to serve as my dating litmus test. If you can't make the fireflies dance, you're out of my love life.

Polish Girl by Neon Indian - "never said, but nearly sung about a million different ways."
This played downstairs. I knew I knew this song, but I couldn't put a finger on it. I hid in the stairwell for about 30 seconds wanting to figure it out. I tagged it in my phone note as "some weird electronics song that I know but can't place. Doi doi doi doi doi doi". The best part is, I googled "sounds like M83" and found it. Yeah...

Verdict: Thanks, Red Derby for playing an elecletic mix of songs that somehow sounded right in a playlist together. It was the feel-good amount of nostalgia and feelings. Or, maybe, we were all a little tipsy off of $3 mimosas and PBRs.

Please consider a donation to Dash DC, a local nonprofit providing "relief to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, through emergency and long-term safe housing, and innovative homelessness prevention services." And, of course, stop by The Red Derby for an effortless time.