#dc scene

One of the best things to happen to me as a teenager was being introduced to the DC scene. I was invited into the scene by my high school boyfriend a couple of years after this footage was shot, and I missed the opportunity to see The Make-Up, but I think this video really encapsulates the things I loved the most about the scene.

This show was at the Black Cat, where I spent many Saturday nights between 2002 and 2004. One of the best things about the DC scene was that most shows were all-ages. You were ID’d at the door, and if you weren’t 21, the tops of your hands were either stamped or given the traditional big black Sharpie X that went on to symbolize the Straight Edge movement. 

There was something really cool about being at an all-ages show, and something really special about being there specifically FOR the music as a teenager. The combination of the accessibility of these shows as an underage teen with the DIY punk ethos that permeated the scene was really empowering to me, a teenager who spent a long time feeling alienated from her peers and like she didn’t belong. When I was at these shows with my friends, I felt like I did belong to something. 

I think the best thing about this footage of The Make-Up is that it really showcases the energy these shows had. The bands were accessible to their fans - Ian Svenonius is being physically supported by the crowd, for god’s sake. I always came away from these shows feeling like I was a part of something bigger, and like I could do anything I wanted. There was a whole thriving art and music scene just underneath the surface of DC’s staid, government-oriented persona, and anyone could be part of it. 

It took me a long time to apply that DIY ethos to my life. I found this video on a Tuesday morning before going to work. I watched it three times and felt that old feeling like anything was possible. I remembered what it felt like to feel a part of that. And it made me want to go out and try to be a part of something else. 

Didn’t snag a ticket to this weekend’s Sweetlife Food and Music Festival? No problem. Fans can watch a live stream of the entire concert on The Washington Post’s Style Blog beginning at 12:00 pm on Saturday April 28.

The line-up plucks a lot of big names from various genres. Among the highlights: EDM star Avicii , rap phenom Kid Cudi, soft-rock royals the Shins , recent chart-toppers fun., breakout Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky and more than a dozen others.