Friday

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lil Ronnie & the Grand Dukes. Birchmere. $25.
• Orquesta Ashe, Ocho de Bastos. Black Cat. $12/$15. All ages.
• Van Morrison. DAR Constitution Hall. $95-$350.
• Keith Secola & His Wild Band of Indians. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• O.A.R., Matt Nathanson. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $30–$38.
• The Start, Normandie, The Perfects, Skydivers. The Red & The Black. $10. +21.
• The Tennis System, Paperhaus, Loose Lips, No Dice. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• FFFever, Exactly, Smarts, Raccoon Fighter. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Wolf Trap Opera Company: “La Boheme.” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $10–$60.

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Turns out, this October holds yet another treat for fans of ghoul-centric jams. On Oct. 6, Anti- will release Dead Man’s Bones, the eponymous debut album of Oscar-nominated hottie Ryan Gosling and his BFF Zach Shields. (via P4K) On the album’s cover (above), Shields is on the left, Gosling the right, and the costumed Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir everywhere in between.

But based on the few tracks posted on the band’s MySpace, Dead Man’s Bones is less creepy-campy and more eerie-soulful.  If the Misfits and Count Chocula had a baby, and that baby developed a love for sacred harp music and southern gothic aesthetics, and formed a band, it would sound like Dead Man’s Bones.

Call me judgmental, but I didn’t expect songs titled “My Body’s a Zombie for You” and “Werewolf Heart,” or the shudderingly beautiful “In The Room Where You Sleep,” to come from the same guy who played the mushy sap in The Notebook. It’s a pleasant surprise. Videos after the jump. Read More “Dead Man’s Bones” »

The one-room Adamson Gallery looks and smells crisp, clean. Like fresh ink and paper, or new money. It’s 6:30 p.m., and I’ve just slipped in with a party of three after fumbling the keypad/intercom system downstairs. This group claims the corner next to the bar, in front of the windows and the binder explaining the exhibit.

I arrived on time, which of course means early, in hopes of interviewing Director Laurie Adamson or her husband, go-to printmaker David, before the place got too crowded. I turn down sparkling water, champagne, and mojitos, and instead do laps around the exhibit until they arrive at 7 p.m.

Laurie had responded to my request for an interview with her husband, David, the curator of Lou Reed’s photography show at the Adamson Gallery, with an invite to a private reception and the implication of face time with the founder of the Velvet Underground.

In retrospect, I should have stopped at the curator Q&A, because a little part of me died when I finally met my high school hero.

Read More “Falling Out of Love With Lou Reed” »

Punk leftovers-cum-merchandising powerhouse the Misfits have announced a fall tour, stopping at Jaxx Sunday, Oct. 25. It’s not quite Halloween, but close enough.

The Jersey-bred musclemen/metal punks emerged in 1977, developed a crude catalog of ’50s B-movie themes banged out and recorded with even less tact,  and, technically, disbanded by 1983 (when head howler Glenn Danzig left the group). But since 1996, a Frankenstein-ian composite of aging shredders and hangers-on have been keeping the monster alive. Founded by the incomparable Danzig and Jerry Only, Marky Ramone and Black Flag’s Dez Cadena were once part of the deciduous line-up.

Read More “Misfits @ Jaxx October 25″ »

Friday

• M. Ward, Chain & the Gang. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
• Deanna Bogart & Tom Principato Band. Birchmere. $25.
• Shortstack, Lorelei, The Moderate. Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• The Charm Offensive, Lanterns, Drunken Banshees, Free Electric State. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• The Method, Ramzy, The Frustrations, Justin Trawick. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Band Downrange. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• The Blue Planet Live w/ NSO. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20-$48.
• Deep Sang. Cafe Saint Ex.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Friday

• The Footprint in Hip Hop Tour: Method Man & Red Man, Ghostface Killah, Duo Live. 9:30 club. $35. All ages.
• Sophia Bass, Ruthi & the Tracers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials. Birchmere. $25.
• Head Automatica, Cubic Zirconia. Black Cat. $15. All ages.
• Carol Bui Butterflies, Impossible Hair, US. Comet Ping Pong. All ages.
• The Mass Shivers, The Alphabet, Hello Babies, Greenland, Wild Fictions. D.C. Mini Gallery. $5. All ages.
• Abigail Williams, Goatwhore,  Daath, Abysmal Dawn, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky, Fallen Martyr, Nightmare Ritual. Jaxx. $12/$15. All ages.
• The Winter Sounds, Go Home Robot, Achtung Panda. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Bob Dylan. Ripken Stadium. Call for price.
• Bonjour Ganesh!, Ghost Light, The Mean Ideas. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Project Natale (Fri. & Sat. shows). Twins Jazz. $15.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• Girl Loves Distortion, Trophy Wife, Three Lexington Arrows, Fangs Out. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• National Symphony Orchestra: “The Wizard of Oz.” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20–$48.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Friday

• An Evening w/ King Sunny Ade & his African Beats. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
• The Paulverizers, Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Oleta Adams. Birchmere. $39.50.
• Novalima, Pistolera. Black Cat. $18/$22. All ages.
• Lovvers, Small Doses, Cigarbox Planetarium. Comet Ping Pong. All ages.
• John Legend, India.Arie. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $36–$109.
• Hello Society, Marbin, Lucky Dub. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Stellastarr, Wild Light, The Postmarks. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12/$14. All ages.
• BLDGS, Screen Vinyl Image, Cobalt & the Hired Guns, The Water. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Danny Harris (Fatback DC): Mashed Potatoes. Cafe Saint Ex.
• Eastern Music Festival Piano Program. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Friday Nights Out Back w/ Chopteeth. Strathmore. $10.
• Aural Tapestry: An Evening w/ All Our Noise, feat. Seas, Typefighter, John & Paul Thornley (of US Royalty). Fort Fringe. $10. See Fringe & Purge for WCP’s take on the best and worst of CapFringe thus far.

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Let this Thursday’s Grand Duchy (Frank Black & wife Violet Clark) show at the Black Cat be a warm up for District Pixies fans. Via Spin and P4K (Emphatic/ecstatic bolding mine):

Frontman Frank Black tells SPIN.com that the Boston-born quartet will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking release, Doolittle, by playing the album in its entirety in Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, New York City, and “maybe Montreal” this fall.

This means a set list that for sure includes “Debaser,” “Hey,” and “Gouge Away.” Awesome. After the jump, some Grand Duchy and Pixies ca. Doolittle’s 1989 release.

Read More “Pixies Plan D.C. Stop in ‘Doolittle’ North American Tour” »

Friday

• The Dance Party, Ra Ra Rasputin, Tigercity, Casper Bangs. 9:30 club. $15. All ages.
• Deja Blue, Clarence “Bluesman” Turner. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Handsome Furs, Dri, The Cinnamon Band. Black Cat. $12. All ages.
• Lynne Fiddmont. Blues Alley. $25.
• Atheist, The Faceless, Psyopus, The Agonist, Gnostic, Condemn the Infected, A Bloodbath in Boston. Jaxx. $20/$23.
• Alex Brown Quartet (Fri. & Sat. show). Twins Jazz. $15.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• Video Games Live! Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20–$48.
• Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Chopteeth, DJ Thick. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15. All ages.
• Chance Gardner, Molehill, Gist. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

The mid Atlantic ain’t exactly synonymous with kick-ass music festivals, but Baltimore’s renegade art/music collective Wham City (most famous member: Dan Deacon) might be changing that. This Friday kicks off the fourth annual Whartscape, a three-day, weekend-long sonic smorgasbord of B-more’s best and brightest bands, and their friends from the rest of the States and beyond. Wye Oak, Lo Moda, Bad Brilliance, and 13 other bands play from noon to 5 p.m outside the Baltimore Museum of Art. For free.

More info and video from last year’s Whartscape after the jump.

Read More “Whartscape 2009: Free Kick-Off Show Friday” »