The AP is reporting a that a group of students have filed a class action lawsuit against Vienna, Va.-based Envision EMI, after they claim the company failed to deliver on promises of special access to President Obama’s inauguration in January. The students each paid thousands of dollars for a trip to the inauguration, only to be disappointed: “…the lawsuit says once the students got to Washington, they had no tickets for the inauguration or parade….
The however many million people visiting D.C. this week did not disappoint, filling a whole episode’s worth of overheards. They came from far and wide, and their statements were sometimes funny or poignant, and other times made us think of what esteemed journalist Kent Brockman once said: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, democracy simply doesn’t work.” Overheard of the Week: At Sticky Fingers bakery in Columbia Heights on Monday: Employee…
The Art of Change was the sort of anti-ball to all the hoopla at the nearby Washington Convention Center. Trying to gain entry through the barriers, closed roads, volunteers and police was just as convoluted and difficult, but it had little else in common with the other balls. Barack Obama only made appearances in the artwork. Celebrity appearances were nil. And the dress code was the funkier the better… but preferably non-flammable. The Art of…
Last night’s first ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center ended up being billed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee as the hottest ticket of all of the ten official Inaugural Balls, and from a vantage point in the middle of the packed ballroom, it was easy to see why. The sheer number of hugely famous stars gathered to perform at the ball, which was broadcast live on ABC, gave the event the feel…
Photo by M.V. Jantzen Things were clearly a bit disorganized by the time my friends and I got to the John A. Wilson Building for the D.C. Council-hosted 51st State Ball. We didn’t run into the security mess City Desk reported, but there was no signage or schedule posted anywhere, so a lot of people were milling around—it was just not clear where things were happening inside city hall. Events were split up on…
The Detroit Free Press kinda buries the lede in this posting about the announced entertainment line-up for the Youth Ball, one of the 10 official balls happening on Tuesday. In addition to Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy, Kanye West has been named a confirmed performer. Sources close to Kanye tell DCist that his decision to travel to D.C. and perform at the Youth Ball was made at the last minute. We had heard…
You have friends in town who came specifically to celebrate the Inauguration, and they want to go out and do something festive. You don’t want to pay $375 to go to some stuffy dinner and dancing gala hosted by the senior citizens of the state of Florida or whatever, but you’re willing to spend a little more than you usually do on a night out. Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have the hook-up to…
Does this young lady have a ticket? Bruce Springsteen and Sasha Obama become instant BFFs at an Obama rally in Cleveland, Nov. 2, 2008. Looking back at the lineup of musicians who played George W. Bush’s 2001 Inauguration, it’s as if the event’s organizers were trying to lower America’s expectations for its 43rd president right out of the gate. Ricky Martin. Brooks and Dunn. Jon Secada. Wayne Newton. And—seriously—Andrew Lloyd Webber. But that was…
Mike DeBonis at City Desk received a note over the transom with details about the Mayor’s on-again inaugural concert, and now it’s confirmed. The Mayor is hosting an early party (doors at 7 p.m.) at the 9:30 Club on Sunday night featuring Fall Out Boy, T.I., and Young Jeezy. DCist told you Wednesday that the Mayor’s office was not hosting the D.C. Armory inaugural bash that the Washington Post’s David Nakumara slugged in December….
