I've been anticipating this day for a little more than a month now, since the District first caught word that this year's D.C Record Fair was being set for Valentine's Day at one of D.C premiere live music venues, The Black Cat. I really didn't know what to expect going in because this is my first record fair, though I'm not necessarily new to the record collecting scene. I've always been an avid audiophile, but only started building a vinyl collection in 2007. As of right now, my stockpile stands at about 300 records, but I'm only beginning to build the foundation of a respectable collection. At this point in my vinyl journey, I'm not generally hunting for the ultra-rare pressings, foreign imports, unreleased b-sides, mono recordings, or even singles. Instead, I've been starting out building a solid base of older records that I actually enjoy listening to repeatedly and that I think would sound great on vinyl. Flipping through my crates you'd find a lot of Bob Dylan studio albums, some Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Yes, David Bowie, Rush, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, and Fleetwood Mac. I just like to have physical copies of records that are considered legendary, so I started working from there and have branched out here and there. I have a smattering of newer indie records from bands like Interpol and the Decemberists, as well as lesser known records of well-know artists, like "Flowers" from the Rolling Stones, "After Bathing at Baxter's" by Jefferson Airplane, and "Walls and Bridges" by John Lennon.
As I walked upstairs to the main floor of the Black Cat, I honestly felt like I had fell down the rabbit hole. It took my eyes a minute or two to adjust to the low lighting after coming out of the bright sunshine, so I just stumbled around the open spaces of the floor until I could make sense of everything. I was just in awe of everything that surrounded me. I saw bins upon bins of records in every direction and I didn't know where to begin. I went over the bar to partake in a complimentary cup of water while I gathered myself. I watched as the DJ on stage bobbed his head to the soul record that he blasted throughout the hall and took in the general layout of the floor. As I finished my water, I gave my arms a good stretch (I knew they'd get a work-out) and approached an empty bin. Time for the foraging to begin.I've got to say, as music as I consider myself a music aficionado, I think that just about anyone's confidence in their musical knowledge could be shaken by the vast array of genres and artists represented at the DC Record Fair. Not only that, but some of the vendors seem like musical gurus, the way that they describe what to expect on a certain record or the histories of bands that I have never even heard of in my many years of musical exploration. It all adds to the experience, but it definitely puts the music world in perspective. You're not going to find any Britney Spears or Jonas Brothers records amongst these stacks. Hell, it was tough enough to find Dylan and Neil Young records among the vast representation. As I flipped through crate after crate I just couldn't comprehend the sheer amount of music that was housed within the walls of the Black Cat and how much of that music I may have never heard a single note of. If I were in a position where I was flush with funds, I definitely would have picked up a couple records from artists I'd never heard before but that the vendors recommended based on the tastes that illustrated by the records I pulled out of the bins, but unfortunately, this is not the case at present.
All told there was probably a couple hundred people in the music hall atone time, and during my 4 and 1/2 hour stay at the record fair, I felt like I saw a lot of the same people over and over again. There were probably about 400 committed shoppers there, with a few other hundred people that seemed to trickle in and out of the hall. While this made for a very crowded record browsing space, shoppers seemed to develop an unwritten code of conduct while browsing through the seemingly endless rows of bins, which was just as amusing as it was relieving.Now to get to the white whale part of this adventure. For those of you who might not be familiar with this analogous term, it used by vinyl collectors, or I guess maybe collectors in general, to describe a particular item that has seemed to elude the collector, much like the white whale eluded Captain Ahab in the literary classic, Moby Dick. I never really thought that I had a white whale, but I was wrong. I know I said at the beginning of the post that I don't necessarily look for rare records because I'm not really in that stage of building my collection yet. Well, there is one exception to that rule. I've always wanted an original pressing of my favorite Bob Dylan record, "Blonde on Blonde." I think that the main reason that I wanted a 1st pressing of this record is because I want to know that I am holding one of the original records that was pressed for the initial release. I don't necessarily need this to be the case for all my records, but I always thought it would be satisfying to have this be the case for my favorite record by my favorite artist. While combing through thousands upon thousands of record, I stumbled upon it today and I think my heart actually stopped for a few seconds. Here's a quote from the Wikipedia article about the album:
"The original inside gatefold featured a photograph of the Italian Tunisian-born actress Claudia Cardinale that was used without her permission. Some critics at the time questioned if the photo was of Dylan himself in drag. From 1968 onward, Cardinale's photo was removed from all American pressings of the album, making copies of the record sleeve featuring the actress a collector's item."This original pressing has the photograph mentioned, so you can imagine my excitement.
All in all, this was an incredible adventure into the depths of D.C's music collection community and the world of music in general. Here's a list of the records that I picked up:- Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Everyone Knows This is Nowhere
- David Bowie - Hunky Dory
- Bob Dylan - Planet Waves
- Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline
- Bob Dylan - Original pressing of Blonde on Blonde
The following is the list of DJ's that spun vinyl at the event:
Kid Congo Powers
Geologist (of Animal Collective)
Eric Hilton (of Thievery Corporation)
Rob Pierangeli (of Casper Bangs)
Ryan Holladay (of Bluebrain)
Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat, the Evens)
