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.

Humans generally find the Nine Inch Nails and Barber pieces to be calming, with their slow tempos and descending pitches, like sighs. The Tool and Metallica songs, in contrast, tend to make people feel excited, as a result of their faster tempos and machine-gun bursts of
notes.

The monkeys, however, barely responded to any of the pieces, though they did seem to calm down and relax a bit while listening to Metallica and Tool.

“I don’t have a good explanation for that,” says Snowdon. “They are usually very active animals, and their movement got minimal after they heard those two pieces.”

The practical upshot? Monkey keepers may want to play heavy metal rather than classical music to calm their colonies. However, they’d do even better if they played “monkey music” — pieces composed specifically for tamarins by study co-author David Teie, a University of Maryland cello instructor and member of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Teie mimicked the contours of tamarin calls and wrote songs that had a muchbigger effect on the animals’ behavior than human music did. One piece, with a slowly rising whistle-like melody, caused the monkeys to groom one another and engage in other leisurely, social activities. Another, with short, staccato notes, sent the animals into a frenzy of anxious behavior including scent marking and head shaking.

• 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.

Saturday

• Old Bridge Festival w/ Future Islands, BLDGS, Laughing Man, Hume, etc. 1256 Old Bridge Rd., Amissville, Va. $10.
• Xavier Rudd, Jeremy Fisher. 9:30 club. $20. All ages.
• The Ruins, 12.0. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Gato Barbieri. Birchmere. $45.
• Run For Cover! Fort Reno Benefit Show. Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• Sean Walsh & the National Reserve, David Schultz & the Skyline, Carlos I’m Pregnant. Comet Ping Pong.
• The U-Liners perform “Happy Birthday Jerry Garcia Tribute.” IOTA Club and Café. $12. +21.
• So Damn Thirsty, Pain!, The Buried, One Slack Mind, Disclosure, Anchors Aweigh. Jaxx. $10/$12. All ages.
• Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa, Queensryche, Bigelf, Scale the Summit. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $30–$45.
• The Veils, Foreign Born, Faces on Film. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12. All ages.
• Keelhaul, The Wayward, Jefferson Plane Crash, Within The Lich Gate, Athens. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• NSO: “Broadway ROCKS!” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20-$48.
• DJ Will Eastman. Cafe Saint Ex.

Sunday

• Jazmine Sullivan. 9:30 club. $20. All ages.
• Blues Jam w/ the Idle Americans, Todd Tongdee w/ special guest Ted Lewand. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Midian, Reni Lane. DC9. $8. +18.
• Kashgar, Leyna. Velvet Lounge. $7. +21.
• Daryl Hall & John Oates. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $25–$42.
• DJ Eskimo. Cafe Saint Ex.

M. Ward photo by Wendy Peyton, via MySpace.

• 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.

Saturday

• Trouble Funk 30th Anniversary Reunion Tribute to Dyke, w/ The Art of Junk, Da Mixx Band. 9:30 club. $20. All ages.
• Andy Paxon Band, Rose Between Thorns. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women. Birchmere. $25.
• Extra Golden, Black & Tan Fantasy Band. Black Cat. $12. All ages.
• Bluebrain, Alfonso Bravo. Comet Ping Pong. All ages.
• Buster Brown & the Get Down. Dogfishhead Alehouse. Call for price.
• 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. Marvin Gaye Park. Call for prices.
• Pants Velour, The Escape Artist, Reemstarr, Flex Matthews. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• The Mighty Heard, Baad Ingrish, Ndelible. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Satisfaction: A Tribute to The Rolling Stones. The State Theatre. $16.
• Nunchucks, 7 Door Sedan, We The They, DJ sets by Kingpin Soundsystem. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• National Symphony Orchestra: “The Music of John Williams.” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20–$75.

Sunday

• Eric Weinberg & the Morrison Brothers. Birchmere. $35.
• Crystal Stilts, The Ladybug Transistor, Cotton Candy. Black Cat Backstage. $10. All ages.
• So Many Dynamos, Cast Spells, Detox Retox. DC9. $8. +18.
• Born Empty, Deville. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dan Friel. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15. All ages.
• Sugarplums, Microwave Background. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• Gordon Lightfoot. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $22–$40.

Photo of Michael O’Neill, of The Ladybug Transistor, via MySpace.

• 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)

Saturday

• 40th Annual Smoke-In: Human Rights (HR of the Bad Brains), See-I, Christos, Telesma, The Package, The Omsteaders, J.B. Bevereley and The Wayward Drifters, and DJ Bedroom. 23rd and Constitution Avenue NW. Free.
• National Symphony Orchestra: “A Capitol Fourth.” US Capitol, West Lawn. Free.
• DJ Regal, Fort Knox Five, All Good Funk Alliance. Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• Independence Day Noon:30 Release Party w/ The Laughing Man, Achtung Panda, Ghost Light, DJ Natty Boom. Velvet Lounge. $3-$8. +21.
• DJ Dk. Cafe Saint Ex.
• NoiseHouse, BLOODSHOT, HeeBeeGeeBees, Jeremy Steinhaus, Machines of Living Death, Anil Rock, Copper Rose & Bone, Julie O., Fat Roberta, Princess of Controversy, C.O.M.P., Mother Courage, The Very Small, Mambo Sauce, Zip The Uncanny, Vmasta & Cortez, Glasgow Tunnel, The FiF. Artomatic.

Sunday

• Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Jay Reatard, TV Smith. Black Cat. $12. All ages.
• The Scare, Energy, Fallen From The Sky, Ante Up, Debaser. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• St. Croix Virgin Islands Reggae Tour 2009 w/ Batch, Ras Attitude, Empress Ima, Jah Empress. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12. +21.
• Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Only Men Aloud! Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Triple Staccs, Mzery Loves Company, Mary Battiata & LITTLE PINK, RC Rex & the Progressionals, SAW Showcase, Seth Barna, House of Echo, Rob Wolcott, Dark Electric Showcase II, Sesshin No-Fi, Sarah Fridrich. Artomatic.

“A Capitol Fourth” 2007 photo by boboroshi, Creative Commons Attribution License.

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.

• 9:30 Club: Dan Deacon & Ensemble, Future Islands, Teeth Mountain. $12.
• Bangkok Blues: Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Call for price.
• Birchmere: Moya Brennan, Ashley Davis. $29.50.
• DC9: MC Chris, Whole Wheat Bread, I Am the Dream. $12 in advance, $14 day of show.
• Galaxy Hut: Prabir & the Substitutes.
• IOTA Club & Cafe: Jill Sobule, Justin Trawick. $15.
• Jaxx: Kreator with Exodus, Belphegor, Warbringer, Epicurean. $22–$25.
• Kennedy Center Concert Hall: Master Chorale of Washington: “Carmina Burana.” $25–$80.
• Kennedy Center Millennium Stage: German Academic All Star Jazz Ensemble. Free.
• Kennedy Center Opera House: Washington National Opera: Wagner’s “Siegfried.” $45–$300.
• Lyric Opera House: Etta James and the Roots Band. Call for price.
• Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium: Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival: Albert Cummings, Zac Harmon, The Nighthawks featuring Hubert Sumlin, Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, Shemekia Copeland, Blood Sweat & Tears, Jonny Lang. $45-$115.
• The Red & the Black: The Dig, All the Kings. $6.
• Rock & Roll Hotel: Ben Lee, Low vs. Diamond, Dawes. $16.
• Sonar: Lift Me Up Tour featuring Kate Voegele (on the club stage). Call for price.
• Sonar: The Ting Tings. Call for price.
• The Talking Head: Liechtenstein. Call for price.

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?

• 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.

Saturday

• The Screws, American Speedway, Supreme Commander. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Mix-Taint: DJ’s from Mixtape are on the decks. DC9. $5. +21.
• Homo/Sonic dance party with My Dear Disco. Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• The Dance Party, Ra Ra Rasputin, The Known Unknowns, The Roosevelt. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• The Birdman. Cafe Saint Ex. Free. +21.
• Donvonte McCoy Quartet, DJs Will Griffin and Sean Haney, Special Guest DJ Carlton Wilson. 18th Street Lounge. Free. +21.
• Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University (Students perform). Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free. All ages.

Sunday

• John Joseph (lead singer of the Cro-Mags) spoken word: “I Got Your Back.” Black Cat. $10. All ages.
• WMD, The Method. DC9. $10 (Portion of the door donated to DC Vote). +21.
• Cute Is What We Aim For, Meg and Dia, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Anarbor. 9:30 club. $16. All ages.
• Teedo, The Vicious Martinis, Stripmall Ballads. Velvet Lounge. $7. +21.
• DJ Sam “The Man” Burns, DJ Thomas Blondet. 18th Street Lounge. Free. +21.
• Kuku and Christylez Bacon. Bohemian Caverns. $10. All ages.
• NSO Youth Orchestra Day (High school students perform w/ NSO). Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free. All ages.

• 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.

Saturday

• Shemekia Copeland. The Barns at Wolf Trap. $20.
• ELEW (Eric Lewis). HR-57. $20. All ages.
• Valentines Day Bash with The Ambitions, The Electrocutions. Black Cat. $8. All ages.
• Andrea Parkins, Susan Alcorn, Janel and Anthony. Velvet Lounge. $10. +18.
• Rodney Atkins, The Lost Trailers. 9:30 club. $35. All ages.
• Sharkey. Cafe Saint Ex. Free. +21.

Sunday

• The Next Big Thing, feat. +20 local alterna-punk bands. 9:30 club, DC9. $15. All ages.
• Matt Jones, Bama. Velvet Lounge. $7. +21.
• The 23rd Annual Wammies. The State Theater. $35. All ages.
• DJ Sam “The Man” Burns, DJ Thomas Blondet. 18th Street Lounge. Free. +21.
• Jerry “The Iceman” Butler. Blues Alley. $43. All ages.
• NSO Young Soloists. Kennedy Center. Free.