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CONCERT: Rick Maguire (from Pile) / Tosser / Airhead DC

Wednesday March 9 * doors at 7, music at 730 * MASKS, VAX REQUIRED * TICKETS

Pile is an American indie rock band originally from Boston, Massachusetts now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Starting as the solo act of Rick Maguire in the late 2000s, Pile has been a collective since the release of Magic Isn't Real in 2010. To date, Pile has released seven full-length albums. In recent years the band has gained increasing popularity, becoming a prominent part of the Boston indie rock scene and frequently touring through both the US and Europe. While remaining outside of the mainstream, the band has been repeatedly recognized for captivating a particularly enthusiastic and dedicated fan base. While the band is known for its dynamic and bombastic live performances, Maguire recontextualizes the material by performing on his own, something he has continued to do throughout the project’s history. 2021 saw documentation of this aspect of Pile in Songs Known Together, Alone, a solo re-imagining of 15 songs across Pile’s catalog. In 2022, Maguire will be performing across US and Canada to support the release.

On Total Restraint, the debut album by D.C. quartet Tosser, lyrics like “Staring at a wall and I can see my breath / You see my mind’s a mess” and “Heal myself with another excuse / Can’t taste what I smell” seem to speak to the malaise and psychosomaticism of life in the time of coronavirus. Similarly, the band’s guitar-powered songs sound like audio attacks aimed at breaking down the walls of homebound claustrophobia. Yet Total Restraint was released about three weeks before the pandemic fully took hold in the U.S., making the album less predictive of what was to come and more descriptive of underlying issues that would soon be exposed and exacerbated by the virus. “Everything is in a different context now,” singer-guitarist Eric Zidar said. “A lot of the lyrics are about discomfort in your own mental capacity, whether or not that’s something you lay out there.” Added bassist Ryan Plummer, “A lot of people are able to avoid those things by being busy, and the pandemic forced them to address those things.” Total Restraint faces that uneasy sense of disconnection and discombobulation head on, as the band’s four members sync their energies to focus on one point of attack, or dissociate to make a broader one. With a punishing mix of blistering riffs and gut-rumbling rhythms, the album submerges the pop sensibilities of earlier releases under feedback that rings out, up and all around.” -Chris Kelly, Washington Post

Airhead DC is the music of Washington-area native Vishal Narang. In April 2021, Airhead DC released Fire Escape Corn, a pop/dance driven blend of drum machines, synths, and acoustic instrumentation under the metaphorical lyrics of delicate vocal melodies. Airhead DC's newest explorations retain those brewing pop sensibilities with samplers and guitar to float the listener to the ceiling.

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COVID Policy

In order to attend this INDOOR event at Rhizome, DC law now requires proof of full vaccination for all audience, staff, and performers.

Accepted forms of proof include:
1. A physical vaccination card that matches the patron's photo ID.
2. A photo of a vaccination card that matches the patron's photo ID.
3. Documentation of medical or religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine AND proof of a negative PCR or antigen test within the last 24 hours.

Masks are required inside the building at all times.

If you feel sick or have had recent exposure to covid, stay home.

BY PURCHASING TICKETS YOU ARE AGREEING TO ABIDE BY THIS POLICY.