Raleigh, North Carolina's Heads on Sticks came about as a side project of Birds of Avalon's bassist David Mueller. An established musician and producer in his own right, Mueller sought to explore the psychedelic sounds that have influenced him. "I wouldn't know where to start," said Mueller when asked to ascribe a genre to this project. Kindred spirits are hard to nail down, but upon listening it's difficult to not draw comparisons to fellow Raleigh natives Future Islands. Maybe it's something in the water? more ›

A final amount of $15 million was revealed Friday when the family of Ali Ahmed Mohammed, who was killed outside DC9 a year ago yesterday, filed their lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court. An original report suggested that the civil suit would ask for $10 million in damages for the "vigilante-style death" of Mohammed on October 15, 2010. Despite the DC medical examiner's finding that the death was a homicide, the actions of the DC9 employees were not deemed criminal and prosecutable. more ›

The family of the man who died outside DC9 nearly one year ago is planning on filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the club tomorrow. more ›

By the standards of conventional logic, fast music should beget fast movement from the listening crowd. Speed is certainly an integral factor in Liturgy's music: guitarists Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and Bernard Gann possessed fingers that moved at a dizzying pace for the entire set and drummer Greg Fox had the most wild and intense drumming DC9 had seen since Brian Chippendale. But unlike Lightning Bolt's overwhelming mosh pit, Liturgy's devastating set led the audience to more of a blissful state of jaw-dropping catatonia. more ›

About four months after Ali Ahmed Mohammed died outside its doors, DC9 will be returning to regular hours -- opening every night of the week, beginning tonight at 5 p.m. A return to daily operations was made possible when the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ruled to lift all restrictions on the bar this afternoon, specifically the requirement that club ownership pay for a reimbursable police detail whenever they were open. more ›

New year, new hearings in the DC9/Ali Ahmed Mohammed saga: TBD's Sommer Mathis and City Paper's Rend Smith were back tweeting about a hearing in front of the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board regarding the club's future this afternoon. According to both scribes, the Board voted to allow the club to rehire the five employees who were initially charged in the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed in October. The club will, however, have to continue to maintain a security detail after midnight every night it is open, though that restriction will be revisited at another meeting in February. more ›

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier made an appearance on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt this morning for her regular meeting with the newsman to chat about goings-on with the D.C. police department. About three-quarters of the way through the hour, the topic of Lanier's initial comments about the DC9 case -- in which a man was allegedly beaten to death by five employees of the nightclub -- came up. more ›

UPDATE: (4:18 p.m.):The U.S. Attorney's Office has released a statement regarding the medical examiner's report, stating that they "intend to carefully study these conclusions as part of our legal analysis of this tragic incident."

UPDATE (3:54 p.m.): The cause of Mohammed's death, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, was "Excited Delirium Associated With Arrhythmogenic Cardiac Anomalies, Alcohol Intoxication and Physical Exertion With Restraint."

TBD reports this afternoon that a source with the Ethiopian-American Cultural Center tells them that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the October 15 death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed outside DC9 a homicide. more ›

Good Morning, Washington. It's your last shopping weekend before Christmas: so get thee out to local stores and markets and buy your last-minute gifts. I'll certainly be heading out to Eastern Market for some shopping and to see a Tommy Claus tomorrow. more ›

Sommer Mathis reports that the public will have to wait a little bit longer to learn what precisely caused Ali Ahmed Mohammed to die near the DC9 nightclub on October 15. more ›

A quick peek at DC9's website this afternoon reveals that the club is indeed planning to be open on December 15, the first day it will be allowed to conduct business since being shut down after the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed on October 15. more ›

Based on reports from a hearing held this afternoon, DC9 -- thanks in part to a large security upgrade -- has been deemed to have resolved a "threat of imminent danger," clearing the way for the club to reopen. DC9 will be permitted to reopen as early as December 15 provided it meets certain conditions, such as providing employees with security training and ensuring DC9 co-owner Joe Englert doesn't employ the five men initially charged in the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed at any of his D.C. establishments until at least January 19. more ›

UPDATE: It appears that the club intended to call the incident a "tragic" death, according to a version of the email newsletter which was sent out after the version we received. We just got in touch with Steve Lambert, the booking manager at the Hotel, who confirmed the typo and told us that he couldn't believe that he made the error. "Everything about this situation is so sensitive," Lambert said. "This was something I knew I had to spell check and read a few times before I sent it." more ›

During a hearing this morning, the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board unanimously denied a motion for reconsideration to reopen DC9. The board appears to have had concerns about reopening the club while the results of the medical examiner's report were still pending. Certainly a frustrating day for supporters of the club -- another ABRA hearing, scheduled for December 1, will reportedly revisit the motion. Five employees of the club had been arrested for allegedly beating Ali Ahmed Mohammed to death after an altercation on October 15, but those charges were dropped, perhaps temporarily, on November 5. more ›

If you're someone who likes to keep a close eye on the dealings of the District, today is a big day. Two important hearings -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon -- are on deck, both of which many a DCist reader will probably want to keep an eye on. more ›

Some confusion on DC9's Facebook page is leading some to think that they are reopening tonight. They are not - if you look closely you can see they are writing about the opening of Red Palace, the merger of the Red and the Black and the Palace of Wonders on H Street NE (which is also owned by DC9 owner Joe Englert) hence the promotion of the place on DC9's Facebook page. more ›

The Washington City Paper and TBD are both reporting this afternoon that the U.S. Attorney's Office has dropped all charges against the five DC9 employees arrested in connection with the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed on October 15. It is still possible that the charges could be reinstated if the autopsy report from the medical examiner's office determines that Mohammed's death was a homicide. more ›

When counsel representing DC9 appeared in front of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Monday, it was probably the biggest update to date in the investigation of the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed. There were several bits and pieces of news to emerge from the hearing: the suspension of the club's liquor license was extended for at least another 30 days, the five club employees involved in the investigation have either resigned or been "let go," and there will be another hearing on December 1. But the one thing that was clear from the hearing was that the control board -- and everyone else -- is still waiting on the medical examiner's report to really move things forward. more ›

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier is live on The Kojo Nnamdi Show right this second, and the discussion got off to a hot start, with talk about last Friday's incident in which a man was allegedly beaten to death by five employees of the DC9 nightclub. "With an ongoing investigation, there's very little I can say," Lanier said, in an apparent backtrack of her comments the day after the crime, in which she called the incident an act of brutal vigilante justice. more ›

In an interview with Jim Graham after presumptive Mayor-elect Vince Gray's Ward 1 town hall, the councilmember expanded upon his statements at yesterday's vigil for Ali Ahmed Mohammed, indicating that not only had witnesses backed the claim that the five suspects had beaten Mohammed after he threw a brick through the club's front window, but that some of the suspects were saying as much themselves. more ›

Some not-so-surprising news: NBCWashington.com is reporting this afternoon that DC9 has had its liquor license suspended. The bar will now need to state its case for reinstatement in front of the District's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration -- no date has been set for that hearing as of yet. The club had already moved or canceled all of the events scheduled at the club through the first of November. In related news: a candlelight vigil, organized by friends of Ali Ahmed Mohammed, has been planned for this evening at the corner of 9th and U Streets NW. The vigil will take place at 6 p.m. more ›

According to reports from D.C. Superior Court this morning, all five DC9 employees who were arrested in connection with Friday morning's death outside the club have been charged with one count of aggravated assault. D.C. Superior Court Judge Frederick H. Weisberg ordered that club co-owner Bill Spieler, Darryl Carter, Evan Preller and Arthur Zaloga all be released under "heightened supervision." The fifth arrested employee, Reginald Phillips, has not yet been released; the court is still decided whether he is eligible for the additional supervision, which involves electronic monitoring. A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for November 11. It's worth noting that the official cause of death has not yet been released, and the assault charges could change based on that ruling. more ›

What a rollercoaster: the Washington Post is now reporting that the D.C. Medical Examiner's Office has said that the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed near DC9 early this morning has not been ruled a homicide. Not many more details are available at this time, but this news certainly would go a long way in explaining why this afternoon's arraignment was postponed. more ›

TBD is reporting that D.C. police have said that murder charges against the five DC9 employees, including co-owner Bill Spieler, who allegedly beat and killed a man outside of the club early Friday morning, might change. An arraignment in the case was originally scheduled to take place this afternoon, but has been postponed until tomorrow at 11 a.m. This apparently means that the five employees who were placed under arrest will spend the night in custody. more ›

Alright, it's time to hit the reset button on what we know so far about the incident during which a man died near DC9 last night. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier addressed the media a short time ago and said that DC9 Owner Bill Spieler and four other employees of the club will be charged with second-degree murder. Lanier also said that she would invoke the police emergency powers and shut down the club today, though she wouldn't say for how long. Lanier identified the man who died as 27-year-old Ali Ahmed Mohammed of Silver Spring. According to Lanier, Muhammed attempted to get into the bar after closing time last night; after he was rebuffed, he returned with a brick and threw it through the front window of the club. Lanier said that club employees then "chased him down the block, tackled him and assaulted him severely." more ›

Developments are coming in fast, but NBCWashington.com is on top of the most recent one -- according to an email sent out by Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), five DC9 employees have been arrested for beating a man to death early this morning after he threw a brick through the bar's window. As we speculated, police are considering using their emergency powers to close down the bar for 96 hours, as they have done in other cases. more ›

News of another option for rooftop imbibing in D.C. is always welcome. So obviously, we were excited when perennial DCist event venue DC9 held the soft opening for its new roof deck last night. The official grand opening party (with DJ) is tonight at 9 p.m. -- but we swung by last night to take an early peek. more ›

Read a little about Bellflur, and comparisons will stretch from Salvador Dali paintings to Andy Warhol's parties with the Velvet Underground to Radiohead and Sigur Ros. But the homegrown alt-rock band isn't out to draw the craziest correlations possible. Bellflur is just on the hunt for endlessly fascinating textures and layers, creating images with their music however they can. DCist recently caught up with guitarist Patrick Edwards and violinist Dana Liebelson to chat about the band's June release Asleep.Asleep ahead of their show this evening at DC9. more ›

Trying to decipher the Lightning Bolt setlist from Wednesday night's DC9 show would be nearly impossible for all but their most dedicated fans. We know they played "Colossus" from last year's Earthly Delights, because we heard Chippendale say as much during between-song banter, but I'm amazed that the crowd even figured out that much. Even hearing Chippendale say, "can I get more kick drum in my monitor?" sounded like some distorted order coming directly from Satan's mouth due to the heavy vocoding on the microphone attached to his mouth. (To boot, the device was hidden under a mask that resembled a robber's ski mask, if it was made of your grandmother's old curtains.) more ›

It would be hard to find accurate statistics on the number of guitar bands currently gigging in any one region, let alone across the country. Not the kind of stuff you find on the census. I'm not even sure I could hazard a guess, though, like most of the crowd at DC9 Wednesday night, I imagine myself as a pretty big aficionado of guitar pop and its many branches. Let's say the District of Columbia has 20 all by itself — can you imagine how many there are nationwide? The number's gotta be huge, so what sets apart the bad from the good and the good from the great? What packs the club in the middle of the work week for Surfer Blood, a bunch of barely-twenty-somethings from West Palm Beach with only a single recorded LP to call their own? more ›