In many ways, the history of DC9 is intertwined with the history of DCist. Both were founded in 2004. DC9 hosted the shows in DCist’s (now dormant) Unbuckled concert series. We got excited about their roof deck. We reported every newsworthy item with baited breath during this fiasco. We mourned the loss of KT Robeson (and miss seeing her on the DC9 home page.)

We also attended a ton of concerts there. There have been so many good ones. Lightning Bolt‘s performance was so intense that people were hanging from the rafters. The Monotonix show was so insane that everyone went outside as they climbed a lamppost and continued to play. Six Organs of Admittance played his haunting guitar tunes, and everyone sat on the floor. Underrated Irish power-pop act Ash came back after a nine year absence, and started up a memorably loud and fervent sing-a-long. One of The Points’ more insane showings outside of Fight Club was upstairs and everyone left covered in other people’s beer. The first time D.C. saw the XX, the Dodos, the Vivian Girls and Japandroids was at DC9. Plus, H.R. from Bad Brains just might show up and play a surprise gig. That’s why it’s one of our favorite venues in D.C.

We talked to DC9 booker Steve Lambert about the shows over the past ten years that stand out in his mind and his hopes for the future.

Have you always done the booking at DC9?

I took it over somewhere around late 2006, early 2007. So, I’ve been there seven of the ten years that it’s been open. It was more of a local venue when I took it over, and I made it more of a national kind of thing.

Do you remember what your favorite shows have been?

Absolutely. There was a band from Israel that played here called Monotonix. That was one of my favorites. I book so many shows and so many bands that unfortunately there’s only a few that stand out. When someone like Monotonix plays here and they play on the bar and they take the entire packed crowd onto U Street and play on each other’s shoulders, that’s something that you remember. It’s hard to forget something like that. It was really cool when Converge played here. They hadn’t played in a place so small in a decade, probably.

The XX was really awesome when they played here. It was intimate, and it was cool to see them and whether they were the real deal or not and they’ll probably be around for awhile. That’s the thing with DC9. For someone like me who’s a music industry guy, you can really tell if a band will stand the test of time or not from the way that they play when they’re up close and personal. Frightened Rabbit played here. That’s a pretty good story. The show was almost cancelled. They played in front of zero people. I think there were less than five people that paid when they played DC9. It’s hard to believe that they’re playing for the bartender and their bandmates.

How did you end up putting together the bands that have played the anniversary shows?

It was some of my favorite local bands and my favorite people that play in the bands. And actually the shows that are happening this week were my first choice shows. It couldn’t have gone any better. Sunday’s show with Regents was great and that was the date that they could play. The next night we did Chain and the Gang, and I respect what Ian [Svenonius] does and all of the bands that he’s in. I really wanted to have his current act on it. Tuesday we did Justin Jones, who I’m a big fan of. He played his first show at DC9 and he’s a big local guy here. I wanted him to play.

Wednesday we did our DC9 Friends and Family Industry Party which was a shitshow. Thursday, again all these people that I’m friends with, they’ve played DC9 a bunch of times and my shows a bunch of times. Dead Meadow, again, perfect. I’m a big long time fan of theirs. They’re DC ex-pats. I asked them if they were available and they were. They got to route their tour around the anniversary. They’re on a full national tour right now on the East Coast. Luckily they cancelled their Boston show to make sure they could get here for the D.C. show.

The Apes, they had been wanting to play, and it was going to be the original lineup. It was the perfect storm. It just worked out. With Nouveau Riche, they were a huge, popular DC9 party for years. Although Steve and Andrew of the DJs now live in L.A., they didn’t hesitate and they flew back to do it. Everyone was immediate. There was no hesitation from any of the bands if they were or were not going to do it. A lot of these band members aren’t all living in D.C. but they all agreed and they all came out. I couldn’t be happier with the week. It’s been fun. It’s really shown the love of the venue.

Did you always know that you wanted to do a full week of shows?

For the ten year anniversary, I was going to do something big. It was either going to be a huge thing on one night or the other, or seven awesome shows. It really did work out perfectly. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. This wasn’t the fall back lineup; this was the lineup for the ten year anniversary. They had to be based in D.C. or ex-pats. They had to have a long history with me and at the venue. I wanted to bring all the bands that I enjoy and all the people that are friends with everybody so it worked out really well.

What would you like to see happen with DC9 in the future?

I think the ten year anniversary is big for any small, indie venue. Especially with the changing times in the music industry. You just never know. I want DC9 to pretty much keep doing what we’re doing. We’re not going to change anything. We’re going to be that venue where a lot of first time bands play here, and reaching the ten year mark is going to continue that even further. It gains this history and this legend of “Wow, these bands played here the first time they played D.C.” and that’s how I’m going to continue to book it.

I think it will still garner the same kind of following and popularity that it has for the next decade, and I think it will always be that way. DC9 has always been that small venue for those kind of shows. I want to continue to bring all those new bands. Most of the shows coming up in the next couple of weeks are sold out or going to be sold out. It shows the momentum of reaching ten years and the reputation of the venue being like, “I’ve gotta see this band here because next time it’s going to be on a bigger stage. I’m going to be 200 feet away instead of six feet away.”