Darrin “X” Frazier is still passionate about go-go. The musician has been involved with the official music of D.C., known for its percussion and call-and-response vocals, for a number of years in a variety of different roles: In the ’90s, he played keyboards with Rare Essence. In the early 2000s, he played with 911, and, from 2004 to 2014, he managed pioneering bouncebeat band TCB. Today, Frazier is a broadcast technician at Monumental Sports, where one aspect of his job involves booking the bands for the Wizards’ annual postgame go-go concert at Capital One Arena.
Behind the scenes, Frazier helps local artists apply for arts and humanities grants and is providing assistance with the forthcoming Go-Go Museum. Frazier is also working on another passion project: developing a series of online maps designed to track local historic and shuttered venues, as well as current businesses, that support go-go artists.
For the fall arts guide, Frazier shared when and where City Paper readers can find a go-go show most nights of the week.
A number of bands have weekly residencies at local venues. On Wednesdays, Frazier likes to visit Babylon Futbol Cafe in Falls Church to “see New Impressionz and to just hang out,” he says. “That’s the in-thing to do right now.” Last year, the band (melding traditional and bouncebeat go-go) released a live album named after the Northern Virginia venue, Babylon. Shows start at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Babylon Futbol Cafe, 3501 S Jefferson St., Falls Church. $20–$30.
Frazier also catches music midweek in Maryland: “I like to go to Urban Crab out in Forestville to see Original Facez on Wednesdays … I know those younger guys and that’s where I go to support them. It’s free, it’s a good atmosphere, and it’s in the middle of PG County. There’s a lot of potential for them to build a crowd there.” Shows start at 7 p.m. at the Urban Crab, 3310 Donnell Dr., Forestville. Free.
But it’s not all weekdays—shows continue Thursday through Sunday. “I will pop in to Throw Social [on] just to get a taste of the atmosphere,” says Frazier. “It’s go-go, but it’s more tourist-friendly go-go. It’s got good aesthetics.” Take Ova Band (aka TOB) play at 10 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Throw Social, 1401 Okie St. NE. $20–$30.
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Frazier also likes to go see TCB when they perform on Fridays at Power in Northeast. He has fond memories of when TCB were creating their bouncebeat sound. “I saw potential in TCB when they were young,” he says. “I remembered how fun it was when I was young. I didn’t want to kill their dreams and say this is a bunch of noise and you’re destroying go-go—like some of the older musicians I looked up to were telling me. I didn’t get mad and we proved them wrong.” Follow TCB to stay up to date on their shows at Power, 2335 Bladensburg Rd. NE.
Every couple of months Frazier catches his old crew Rare Essence on their late-night Saturday gigs at Aqua, the longtime venue dedicated to the genre. He notes, however, that Rare Essence often play their newer hip-hop and bouncebeat-inflected songs at these Aqua shows. For more of their old-school catalog, featuring veteran Rare Essence talker James Funk on the microphone, he recommends catching their shows at the Hamilton or the Howard Theatre. Rare Essence play at 10 p.m. every Saturday at Aqua, 1818 New York Ave. NE.
As for special fall programming, Frazier has two recommendations. It’s a bit of a jaunt from D.C., but Frazier’s excited to attend the Go-Go and Hip-Hop Festival taking place at the Charles County Fairgrounds in La Plata, Maryland, on Oct. 5. The fest boasts a large roster of well-known acts such as Backyard Band, Northeast Groovers with featured guest Killa Cal, Be’la Dona, and Sirius Company. Rapper Jeezy will also perform.
“The outside one-offs and the festivals I especially like,” says Frazier. “Getting BYB and NEG together is a rare thing. It’s good to get those two bands together on a show—this is one of them. The regular bookings at the clubs are always there but it’s good to have the variety and the [autumnal] outside weather.” The festival runs from 1 to 11 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Charles County Fairgrounds, 8440 Fairground Rd., La Plata, Maryland. $66.
“The other thing I am looking forward to is in November, what we call ’Lo-vember, because it’s Polo’s birthday month,” Frazier says, referring to TCB’s late vocalist, Reggie “Polo” Burwell, who tragically died from a brain aneurysm in 2013. Frazier says TCB will celebrate Burwell all month including with a special, yet-to-be-announced birthday gig.
Last but not least, Frazier is fired up about putting on another show after a Wizards game, but it hasn’t been scheduled yet. He’s got plenty of good memories from these shows. “We have a display case exhibit in the arena near the owner’s suite on the concourse and every time EU plays I remind percussionist Mo Hagans ‘there’s a picture of you there performing on your congas,’ and he goes and takes a picture of it every time he comes in the building.”
Check out more of our 2024 Fall Arts Guide here.