Dr. Funkenstein. The Godfather of Funk. The cool ghoul with the funk transplant. Whatever name you know George Clinton by, when he and the massive collective that makes up Parliment Funkadelic come to town, especially to Washington, D.C., "One Nation Under a Groove" takes on a higher meaning. And on Tuesday, the 71-year-old Clinton and his ministers of funk took over the 930 Club stage to an audience ready to show him some major love. True, you wouldn't mistake the show for the Cap Center in the 1970s—the visually stunning Mothership(s) may have gone on to better (and worse) things, there was no flying bird, and the Godfather was sans dread locks and sporting a sharp suit. But it was still absolutely something to see. Chocolate City has long loved Clinton and P-Funk, and based on all of the dancing Tuesday night, this band will forever be good to the ear holes of Washington, D.C. Respect will always be paid.

Additional photos from the set can be seen here.

Wild Flag @ Black Cat

We covered a lot of music in pictures this year, but some truly stood out.

The show whose ticket needed to come with industrial-strength ear plugs...
Archers of Loaf at Black Cat (more photos here)

Dinosaur Jr. plays Bug at 930 Club (more photos here)

The coolest band reunion...
Dismemberment Plan at 930 Club (more photos here)

The show whose audience had the most members from other D.C. bands...
Office of Future Plans and Title Tracks at Fort Reno (more photos here)

John Davis at Luce Unplugged (more photos here)

Living legends who came to the area...
Bryan Ferry at Strathmore Music Center (more photos here)

Alejandro Escovedo at 930 Club (more photos here)

Show that resulted in the most bruises...
Marginal Man at Black Cat (more photos here)

2011 WCP Shows in Photos
Grant Hart In-Store @ Crooked Beat Records (Jan. 13)
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit @ 930 Club (Jan. 14)
Dismemberment Plan, Poor But Sexy, Batala @ 930 Club (Jan. 22)
Girl Talk @ 930 Club (Feb. 1)
Avett Brothers @ DAR Constitution Hall (Feb. 18)
Tommy Stinson, Mike Gent, Emily Roberts @ Iota (Feb. 17)
Jonathan Richman @ 930 Club (Feb. 26)
Middle Brother, Deer Tick, Dawes @ 930 Club (March 2)
SXSW 2011 @ Austin, TX (March 16-March 19)
Sebadoh @ Black Cat (March 2)
Mike Watt @ Black Cat Backstage (March 31)
The Black Angels @ 930 Club (April 3)
Wire, Weekend @ Black Cat (April 7)
Title Tracks CD Release Party @ Black Cat Backstage (April 20)
Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Malin & St Marks Social @ 930 Club (May 1)
Tame Impala, Yuck @ Black Cat (May 6)
Surfer Blood @ Rock and Roll Hotel (May 10)
Ted Leo, Drew O'Doherty @ Black Cat Backstage (May 14)
Neko Case, Y La Bamba @ Black Cat (May 13)
Sondre Lerche @ 930 Club (June 7)
Chris Mills @ DC9 (June 16)
Allo Darlin @ Black Cat Backstage (June 16)
The Feelies @ 930 Club (June 18)
Dinosaur Jr Plays Bug@ 930 Club (June 24)
Deleted Scenes @ Black Cat Backstage (July 16)
Title Tracks, Office of Future Plans @ Fort Reno (July 25)
Bon Iver @ 930 Club (Aug. 2)
Archers of Loaf @ Black Cat (Aug. 5)
Marginal Man Reunion @ Black Cat (Aug. 20)
Virgin FreeFest 2011 @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (Sept. 11)
Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Black Cat (Sept. 24)
Wilco @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (Sept. 25)
Bryan Ferry @ Strathmore Music Center (Oct. 3)
Jens Lekman @ Sixth & I Synagogue (Oct. 5)
Wild Flag @ Black Cat (Oct. 20)
St Vincent @ 930 Club (Nov. 1)
Blind Pilot @ 930 Club (Nov. 6)
John Davis @ Luce Center, Smithsonian Museum (Dec. 18)

Since November 2010, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, located in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has been one of the city's more intimate outlets for local musicians. Its monthly acoustic concert series,  Luce Unplugged, features an hour-long performance, accompanied by a discussion on an artwork chosen by the musician.

Yesterday the series featured Title Tracks frontman John Davis, who played an hour-long set of his own songs as well as covers from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Buck Owens, and John Denver. Toward the end of the set, Davis brought up Washington Post pop critic—and Davis' ex-Q and Not U bandmate—Chris Richards for a handful of songs. Between stories and songs that showcased the duo's pitch-perfect vocal harmonies, Davis and Richards announced they've been working on a bunch of new songs together (the count is currently at 16!), and hope to release something by mid-2012.

More photos from the set can be seen here.

On the 9:30 Club stage last night, the Portland, Ore. indie-folk outfit Blind Pilot showcased many generations of instruments, from banjo, to stand-up bass,  to squeeze-box. Luckily for the close-to-capacity crowd, the songs were pretty timeless, too.

Additional photos from the show can be seen here.

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, played to a sold-out 9:30 Club last night, pairing her ethereal voice with off-kilter indie-pop melodies full of sometimes-frantic beats and a bass sound so big it would have made Chuck D jealous. From the start of "Surgeon" to the finale of "Your Lips are Red," she had the crowd in the palm of her delicate hand.

Additional photos from the set can be seen here.

There was a moment last night, during Wild Flag's set at the Black Cat, when singer/guitarist Carrie Brownstein basically gave herself over fully to her band's musical frenzy. During "Racehorse," she fell to her knees as if in a trance, slapped her own face a couple of times, and writhed around on the stage, all while pulling chords from her guitar and taking the audience down a hypnotic path. Even the other band members were looking on in amazement. NPR streamed the sold out show last night; give a listen to it here.

You can see additional photos from the show here.

"You know when you have the same dream for 740 nights in a row?" When Swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman asked this question to a sold-out crowd at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue last night, he phrased it so sincerely that you almost re-examined whether you actually had. Out supporting his EP An Argument With Myself, Lekman told beautiful musical stories that were quaint and odd, but still somehow managed to speak to the human condition. Jonathan Richman would be proud.

See additional photos from the set here.

Roxy Music frontman and solo artist Bryan Ferry has long been regarded as one of the best-dressed musicians around. With his debonair attitude and that silken voice, Ferry has epitomized a certain crooner cool since the early '70s, when Roxy Music first came on the art-rock scene. Supporting his newest release, Olympia, Ferry stopped by the Strathmore Music Center last night on his first U.S. tour since 2002. Ferry may now be 66, but it's clear that his voice and his style will forever be considered classic.

See more photos from Ferry's set here.

Years ago, Cymbals Eat Guitars leader Joe D'Agostino took guitar lessons with Charles Bissell—The Wrens' guitarist, who for obvious reasons goes by the nickname Pedal Boy. Bissell later worked with Cymbals on early demos for the album Why There Are Mountains. So it wasn't surprising at all to see so many pedal decks scattered across the Black Cat stage Saturday night during Cymbals' set. What was the result? Glorious noise.

See more photos from the show here.

Wilco's setlist last night at Merriweather Post Pavilion had something for fans of every Wilco. Prefer cowpokey Wilco,  from immediately after the days of Uncle Tupelo? They played "Boxful of Letters" off of A.M. ("The record six of you bought," said frontman Jeff Tweedy.) The netherworldly sonics of the band's output from the last decade or so got their due, as did Wilco's new album, The Whole Love, which is out tomorrow.

The nicest part of the night came during the encore, when Tweedy, calling him "the original Jesus of Cool, my hero," brought out opener Nick Lowe for Lowe's "36 Inches High." "Pretty damn good for one rehearsal," said a grinning Tweedy afterward.

If you couldn't make it out last night, NPR is streaming the whole show.

More photos from the set can be seen here.