If you want to mellow out a monkey, play him some Metallica.

That’s the surprising result of a new study by Charles Snowdon, a
University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor. The researchers played clips of music— including Metallica’s
“Of Wolf and Man,” Nine Inch Nails’, “The Fragile,” Tool’s “The
Grudge,” and Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”—for cotton-top tamarins.

Read More “Study Finds Metal Soothes Monkeys” »

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

• Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra. Blues Alley. $25.
• L.A. Guns w/ Mis-Fit, Tilt, Sinner’s Trail, Bitter Pill. Jaxx. $18/$20. +21.
• Sheryl Crow, Ari Hest. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $30-$48.
• TheoryCast, ReVeL, Fight The Bear, Conshafter. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• DC Summer Extravaganza w/ Tittsworth, Nadastrom, Will Eastman, Bobby Jae & Ken Lazee, Dmerit. 9:30 club. $10. All ages.
• Canda, Bobbie Allen, Mila Levine, Michelle Murray, Treevibes, Lulu Fall, Vox Pop, Lux Operon, Peter S. Pinocci, Liberated Muse, Rob Wolcott. Artomatic. (For more info, see our Artomatic Manual)

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Saturday

• Dead Rock West. 8 X 10. $14–$17.
• The Bakerton Group, The Wino Band, King Giant, Earthride. 9:30 Club. $15. All ages.
• Sängerfest. The National Building Museum. $25.
• The Ruins, Farmdoubt. Bangkok Blues. $7.
• Bonnie Prince Billy, Ned Oldham. Birchmere. SOLD OUT!
• Juan Maclean, The Field. Black Cat. $13. All ages.
• Tommy Cecil (Bass). Blues Alley. $25.
• Hank Williams, Jr. Calvert Marine Museum. $45-$55.
• Buster Brown and The Get Down. Cowboy Café. Call for price.
• Ra Ra Rasputin, The Spiritual Machine, Loxsly. DC9. $8. +18.
• Pre Summer 70’s Bash: Music by Mr. Marcus Young Featuring Blaze’, Won Beast, Lady Alize on the 1 & 2. Gee’s Night Club & Bar. $20.
• Bliss FM, DJ Maf, RA the MC, Lyriciss, Nando McFlyy. Jammin’ Java. $10.
• Jukebox the Ghost, Jenny Owen Youngs, The Winter Sounds. Rock and Roll Hotel. $14. All ages.
• The Bangles. The State Theatre. $30.
• 2009 West Virginia Wine & Arts Festival: Rolling Coyotes, Arnold Smith, the Grape Stompers, Sam Felker, the Giants of Tiny Town, Treehouse. The Martinsburg Arts Center. $15.
• Nihlitia, Domino Team, Qualms, DJs Stereofaith & Neil. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Food Will Win the War, Frau Eva, Freelance Whales. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.

Sunday

• The National (Sun.-Mon.). 9:30 club. SOLD OUT!
• Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues.
• Elliott Yamin. Birchmere. $29.50. All ages.
• John Eaton (Piano). Blues Alley. $25.
• King Soul, Colonel Josh’s Honkey Tonk. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.
• 2009 West Virginia Wine & Arts Festival: Todd Coyle Band, Cam Miller Trio, Lisa Lafferty. The Martinsburg Arts Center. $15.
• Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The State Theatre. $13.
• Meeting of Important People, Lohio, March To The Arctic, Stripmall Ballads. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• Danny Greenwald, Caleb Stine. Velvet Lounge. $7. +18.
• NSO: Memorial Day Concert. U.S. Capitol Building. Free.

St. Vincent photo by Annabel Mehran, via MySpace.

For more info about upcoming shows — free, kid- and date-friendly, or otherwise — see our Summer Music Guide.

• Cricket Fusion Quartet. 1905. Call for price.
• Jonathan Coulton, Chelsea Lee. Birchmere. $29.50. All ages.
• Deleted Scenes, The XYZ Affair, Casper Bangs. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.
• Dick Morgan. Blues Alley. $25.
• Buster Brown and The Get Down. Cafe Martini. Call for price.
• Tally Hall, Malbec, Prabir & the Substitutes. DC9. $12. +18.
• Pree, Dead Heart Bloom, Tripp. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12. +21.
• NSO: “Nights at the Movies: A Night on the Red Carpet.” Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20–$65.
• Berklee College of Music: Liz Longley. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.
• Old Crow Medicine Show. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. $25.
• Toad the Wet Sprocket, Eddie From Ohio. National Harbor. $16.50-$35.
• The Jones, The Known Unknowns, The Very Small. Rock & Roll Hotel. $8. All ages.
• Maryland Deathfest Pre-fest show w/ Ghoul. Sonar. $10. All ages.
• Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Dead Rock West. The State Theatre. $15.
• Hopewell, The Flying Eyes, Bad Liquor Pond. The Talking Head. $10.
• Fight the Bear, The Blue Line, Imaginary Friends. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.

Photo of the XYZ Affair by Kyle Gustafson, via MySpace.

Sunday

• Dan Deacon & Ensemble, Future Islands, Teeth Mountain. 9:30 club. $12. All ages.
• The Dig, All The Kings. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• MC Chris, Whole Wheat Bread. DC9. $14. +18.
• Ben Lee, Low vs Diamond, Dawes. Rock and Roll Hotel. $16. All ages.
• NSO plays Mozart. Kennedy Center. $20-$80. All ages.
• German Academic All-Star Jazz Ensemble. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free. All ages.

Dan Deacon photo by Frank Hamilton, via MySpace.

Summer Music Guide picks after the jump.

Read More “Updated: Weekend Music Round-Up” »

City Paper’s Best of D.C. issue, which includes a healthy arts and entertainment section, hit the street today!

Since this is the paper’s second time putting together a Best of D.C. issue (since 1987), our staff chose to recognize both the best and the second-best our city has to offer. How clever are we?

Pick up a ginormous paper to read Erik Wemple on why the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra spanks the National Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Leitko on the region’s singing sadsacks, Michael J. West on the great Billy Taylor, and lots of other pieces on music, visual art, nightclubs, and more.

Also check out the readers poll: Scythian won in the Best Local Band category and Flex Mathews took the title Best Local Hip-Hop Artist. For those of you that didn’t vote and instead waited to see the results so you talk shit about ‘em, what say you of these picks? Yea? Nay? Abstain?

Friday

• The Blue Line, Jo Henley Band, Stella Schindler. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• No Second Troy, Olivia Mancini & the Terrible Two, Meredith Bragg. Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• Drive-By Truckers, Bloodkin. 9:30 club (Friday & Saturday). $25. All ages.
• EARLY SHOW: Ludo, Sing It Loud, This Providence, The Morning Light. $12. LATE SHOW: P.O.S., Doomtree, SIMS, Hand Over Fist, Plain Ole Bill. $14. Rock and Roll Hotel. All ages.
• Screen Vinyl Image, The Payola Reserve, SikSik Nation, Nerd Parade. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• DJ Will Eastman. Cafe Saint Ex. Free. +21.
• Donvonte McCoy Quartet, DJ Thomas Blondet. 18th Street Lounge. Free. +21.
• The Young Lions. Bohemian Caverns (Friday & Saturday). $20. All ages.
• The Ahn Trio. Strathmore. $18-$45. All ages.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Friday

• Imperial China, New Rock Church Of Fire, The Sentiment, A Born Idler. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All Ages.
• Julie Murphy Wells. The Barns at Wolf Trap. $20. All ages.
• Donald Harrison, John Lamkin Quartet. Bohemian Caverns, (Friday & Saturday). $25. All ages.
• Velodrome feat. Mas y Mas, DJ Ed Dudes, DJ Scott Bauer. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Holy Ghost! (DJ set), Mike Simonetti (Italians Do It Better), DJ Will Eastman. 9:30 club. $15. All ages.
• Candlewax Records presents Blake 9. Cafe Saint Ex. Free. +21.
• NSO Prelude. Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage. Free.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »