• eNVee, Stacy Brooks. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Leo Kottke. Birchmere. $35.
• Bill Callahan (Smog), Lights. Black Cat. $15. All ages.
• An Evening w/ Lynda Carter (Fri.-Sat.). Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $45–$75.
• Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (Part of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival). Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Apostle of Hustle, Black and Tan Fantasy Band, DJ Yellow Fever. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10/$12. All ages.
• Whale Etouffee New Orleans Band. 8 p.m. Saint’s Bourbon Street Grill. 1812 Hamlin Street, N.E. (202) 269-2150.
• Chuck Brown. The State Theatre. $25.
• Marlon Jordan (part of the Duke Ellington Jazz Fest; Fri.-Sat.). Twins Jazz. $15.
• Velodrome feat. Hotchacha. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band w/ the Canadian Ceremonial Guard Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• Women's Pride Concert & Party w/ Meshell Ndegeocello, Melissa Ferrick. 9:30 club. $30.
• Gipsy Kings (Fri.-Sat.). Wolf Trap. $25-$42.

Saturday

• Beltway Rockers, Ruthi & the Tracers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys. Birchmere. $35.
• Joe Lally, Glorytellers. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.
• I Saw a Ghost, The Kindness of Strangers, A Sense of Urgency, Evayllia, From This Point On, When Day Breaks, This Is Our Fight, Shadow Calls. Jaxx. $10/$12.
• Thad Wilson Orchestra (Part of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival). Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• National Philharmonic Choral Masterworks: Rachmaninoff Vespers. Music Center at Strathmore. $39–$79.
• Meat Puppets, Retribution Gospel Choir. Rock and Roll Hotel. $16. All ages.
• Sonny Landreth. The State Theatre. $20.
• CTC, Lisa Lim Band, Omega Band. Velvet Lounge. +21.
• Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. Verizon Center. $68–$158.
• Cowboy Mouth, Chris Barron. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
• DJ Stereofaith. DC9. $8. +21.

Sunday

• Blues Jam w/ the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Sunset Rubdown, Witchies, Elfin Saddle. Black Cat. $13/$15. All ages.
• McLean Symphony: “Sounds & Sights of America.” George Mason University Center For Performing Arts. $15.
• Silver Pines, Silent Land Time Machine, Space Tigers. Velvet Lounge. $7. +21.
• The Ultimate Doo-Wop Show. Wolf Trap. $22–$40.

Apostle of Hustle photo via MySpace.

I'm not anti-noise by any means. I have those requisite Sonic Youth albums; I've seen shows at 611 Florida; hell, I used to have my CD player/alarm clock set so that I woke up to Lightning Bolt's Wonderful Rainbow. But The Drones' stage set last night wasn't noise in the "experimental" sense, or even the "confrontational" sense. It may have been "passionate," at least on the distributing end, but the passion wasn't terribly contagious. No, it was noise for noise's sake, just another layer to the arrangement that didn't have any purpose other than to fill out the sound. I'm not sure why, since some of the songs weren't too bad by themselves (the last one, whose title I know not, was actually pretty good).

But while I start in again to bashing myself for getting old, I'll also point out that Built to Spill kicked ass playing Perfect From Now On, and though the BTS-loving friend who accompanied me will surely disagree, the Meat Puppets stole the show.