Brrrrrrrrrrrrr: Rock & Roll Hotel opened a roof deck—confoundingly, in November.

Charity Case: This week's social media-driven fundraising campaign, Give to the Max, raised more than $2 million, says the Post. A bunch of local arts groups participated in the initiative, which clogged your email box, RSS feed, and Twitter client for most of Wednesday (or at least mine!).

Total Recall: A new book of personal writings by Philip K. Dick—whom we can now claim as a pseudo-Washingtonian—is out this week, and Slate has an excerpt:

Today on Arts Desk: "Hide/Seek," one year later.

Despite the name, Sunday night's "Moombacon Massive" party at Rock & Roll Hotel isn't celebrating Dave Nada's bass-quaking microgenre moombahton. In balancing gluttony, absurdity, and gargantuan Baltimore club beats in an unlikely manner, it's possibly the most ridiculous event of D.C.'s Labor Day Weekend.

"Yeah, we're going to have a few catering trays filled with free bacon and fried chicken, and we're handing out free condoms, too" says organizer DJ Reed Rothchild, an irreverent culture blogger and veteran local selector. Rothchild's pecs are adorned with tattoos of bacon slices, and he's been known to toss bacon to excited revelers while DJing.

The lineup features top-tier specialists in Baltimore's frenetic, house-based, four-on-the-floor sound, like Unruly Records' Scottie B and King Tutt, as well as James Nasty and duo Uncle Jesse. Local names Denman C. Anderson, Keenan Orr, DJ Smudge, and Rothchild himself round out the lineup.

Rothchild sums up the event's appeal rather simply: "I'm turning 30, my blog is relaunching, club music can make a party come alive, we don't have to work the next day, and I love bacon! Those are all great reasons to be there."

TV Party DC, Head of Rothchild, One Love Massive & Steez Promo present Moombacon Massive at Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street NE. 21-plus. 9 p.m. to close. Free.

The band, which performs tonight at Rock & Roll Hotel, took the idea of infinity even farther during a session it shot this past May as part of its label 4AD's series of performance videos. Inspired by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and her "infinity rooms", the band redesigned the space of Angelic Studioes in England, turning it into a 20-square-feet enclosure of mirrors. This effect creates a sense of infinity, and in the video, it multiplies the group's reflection, creating an endless visual repetition and magnification of their surroundings. They also incorporated the use of prisms and light in the video, playing with refraction—when a wave changes direction due to speed.

About waves: Gang Gang Dance uses an explosive range of sine waves in its music video "MindKilla," directed by Shoji Goto of the Japanese experimental band Boredoms.  That video is just one of many collaborations between Gang Gang Dance and Boredoms. The groups first met on tour in Australia. "We vibed so well, and connected beyond music,"  says Gang Gang Dance's Brian Glasser DeGraw. Apparently: On August 8, 2008, at 8:08 p.m. EST, GGD conducted the Brooklyn performance of "Boardrums," an 88-minute long drum-off with 88 drummers. Three hours later, in California, Boredoms began their West Coast performance of the same ritual. A year later, the two bands played together on a cosmic Japanese cruise in the middle of the ocean during a solar eclipse.

On its own, Gang Gang Dance is no less trippy.  "The whole thing is a ritual," Glasser DeGraw says. "It's not just rock 'n' roll where we hang out and write riffs. We never discuss what we do. We get together, and we don't speak much, and that's how we tap into a spiritual stream of consciousness."

The band has invoked such themes for years. In a 2006 Identity Theory interview, DeGraw discussed how the death of bandmate Nathan Maddox—he was struck by lightning—pushed the band onward through some unconscious way. He also talked about the artwork from their album at the time, God's Money, on which the collaged face of Maddox stares posthumously outward in an intense and observant manner. "Those eyes are just staring at people and burning themselves into their subconscious," DeGraw said.

There's no visual eyeball motif on Eye Contact, but it penetrates just as powerfully as Maddox's captivating stare. The band performs with Bubbles tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel. $15.

The youthful exuberance and the huge guitar sound of Surfer Blood took over the main floor of the Rock & Roll Hotel last night. Lead singer John Paul Pitts did all he could to ensure there was no boundary between band and audience on what was his 24th birthday. He left the stage more than once to sing to crowd members, and let crowd members sing to him, while keeping the entire room rapt. Surfer Blood is a young band, but they already have that great combo of stage presence and strong tunes that sound as good live as they do on record.

(More photos from the set can be seen here.)

After seven years at the Black Cat, the quarterly Britpop dance party known as Razzmatazz—which packs the Black Cat’s Backstage with velvet-clad moppets bopping joyously to Pulp and Elastica—is moving to the Rock & Roll Hotel. It debuts at the H Street NE club Saturday night.

But what brought an end to the party's tenure on 14th Street NW? Amanda “ReddAJ” Carroll, who has been hosting Razzmatazz’s Britpop night quarterly with DJ William Alberque since 2004, says regulars had gotten so comfy that they were going to the bathroom in the restricted backstage area. Black Cat staff kicked fans out of the club two months in a row, telling Razzmatazz that drunk patrons were “causing trouble,” according to Carroll.

“Then, when I went to go backstage without a band hand stamp after closing [at Razzmatazz’s last show in March], the security guy thought I was a security breach and got upset at me,” Carroll says. “He just wigged out on me.  I don’t want to be yelled at, so I was like, ‘I’m kinda done.’”

But Black Cat booker Vicki Savoula said that’s not the whole story.

"What Amanda’s saying is not exactly accurate. We had a number of problems that night. But I don’t feel that it’s appropriate to shit-talk anybody in a public forum," Savoula says. She adds, "It’s my job to make sure that my club runs smoothly, particularly on weekends and especially with DJ nights."

So Savoula told Razzmatazz to take a break from Black Cat for at least six months.

Both sides insist there is no beef. Alberque and Carroll say the Black Cat is like family, and Savoula says that Razzmatazz’s niche music brought in solid numbers—usually 150 to 200 per night. In fact, Alberque is retaining his regular Confusion DJ night at the Black Cat, and there’s always a chance Razzmatazz will return at some point, he says.

Carroll and Alberque figured it was a good time to try out the Rock & Roll Hotel upstairs, which has the same 200-person capacity as Black Cat Backstage, but without the Black Cat's $5 cover charge. Show-goers in the club's 400-capacity main stage can freely bounce from concert to DJ night without having to open their wallets, meaning a potentially bigger audience for Razzmatazz.

The type of audience, however, is rarely guaranteed. Carroll and Alberque are crossing their fingers for a positive reaction from the club's house- and hip-hop-loving walk-in crowd. They also hope their longtime fans will make the leap to the new venue.

Booker Steve Lambert isn’t worried. “A Razzmatazz following will come, but there’s really no need. The crowd is already built in. People know there’s a DJ spinning some kind of dance music upstairs, so there’s always a line to get upstairs on Saturday nights,” he says. “If we had any more people, we couldn’t fit them in.”

But to be safe, he told Razzmatazz to play crowd-pleasers on their first night. “I told Amanda that Rock & Roll is a bit different from Black Cat. Like all the other DJs that play here, you’re gonna have to play to the crowd,” Lambert said, noting that the upstairs crowd is largely dependent on the type of band playing downstairs. Lambert describes that crowd as “all across the board,” from professional Capitol Hillers to indie rockers.

Lambert expects Razzmatazz to get enough people to jump around that he’s already booking them for the summer, and is considering them for sister venue DC9.

As for this Saturday, the Razzmatazz DJs will stick to the "Britpop 101" set with songs like James' "Laid," Blur's "Boys and Girls," and New Order's "Blue Monday." At the same time, they will stay true to their love of guitar songs from the mid-'90s Britpop era, as opposed to the “insanely dancey electropop, beat-matching route,” Alberque says. “We’re not going to be playing experimental indie Britpop on our first night—just incredibly happy songs that make people jump around.”

But after three years, neo-shoegazers Tennis System are leaving D.C. for L.A. to "to further ourselves as musicians," the band writes on its blog today. Sad! But we had some good times, such as...

...this One Track Mind, about Tennis System's song "Esoteric."

...this demo, of the song "Snowden," recorded during the Snowpocalypse.

...this Snow Day Session, where Tennis System's Matty Taylor collaborated with Ra Ra Rasputin's Patrick Kigongo on a cover of Spacemen 3's "Walking With Jesus."

...this show report from South by Southwest.

Anyway, the band has a goodbye show set for March 4 at Rock & Roll Hotel, and it'll double as a release party for a new single, "Hey, We Tried." If you know Tennis System, it's familiar—slurred, slow-mo vocals; harsh yet pretty noise—but it's also the rare shoegaze song that manages to gallop. You can buy a physical copy at the show. Listen:

Basically, it's Yelp for bands, a source of information about venues and booking (and an avenue, it claims, to connecting touring acts with show bookers). Lots of the information is band-submitted. Guess what? These bands have opinions!

Here's what they have to say about some D.C. venues:

The band Moonpie writes a stirring endorsement, but Anonymous has mixed feelings about Velvet Lounge:

Can be really good, but can also be really bad. One sound guy is great; the other is awful and can't even be bothered to stay upstairs and run the board after the first song in your set. Sometimes you get paid better than any other comparably sized club in DC, others the club steals money from the door. Not a bad option, but not my first choice either.

Cronos is no fan of DC9's neighborhood!

DC 9 is a decent small club, although the neighborhood is awful. Shows are usually pretty good, but I definitely recommend that bands keep an eye on their van. Theft happens!

Not so much love for Electric Maid! One anonymous commenter:

The booker is really nice and helpful, but I just don't think there's any good reason for an artist to play here. They don't serve alcohol, there are no deals for performers, and they try to make a bunch of money off each show, leaving little to no money for the performers. I had a show booked here a couple of months ago, but they ended up having to cancel all of their shows due to some problems with their neighbors and the police. I respect and appreciate what they're trying to do as a community space, but I wouldn't suggest performing here unless you're just trying to support the collective.

And another:

avoid. The booker told me they keep the first $200, then split the door after that. However, if they dont get at least $200 then the band has to pay the difference to the club. Then they told me id also have to provide the PA system myself. And no free beverages for the bands. oy vey.

The Red and the Black is now the larger Red Palace, but here's a pre-expansion opinion. From last September:

The pay out is not spectacular if you are looking to make some money but we really pushed the show and got a ton of people to come and we had a great time at the Red and the Black. The staff is super-friendly and even held onto some things I left there for a month until I could pick it up again. There is only a PA upstairs but its small room so a small guitar amp and a decent bass amp is all you need. Steve, the booking agent is great with communication and is very up front about everything. Not a bad place to check out if you're looking to play in DC, but do get bands that draw cause there is not a built in crowd.

I won't block-quote it, but there's some good sparring between anonymous bands and Asylum's booker. Also! Love for Black Cat and Rock & Roll Hotel. No comments for 9:30 Club, but I guess the level of band that would use a site like this wouldn't be playing 9:30 anyway. My roommates have hosted a couple of matinee shows in our living room, but luckily those bands—and our noise-sensitive neighbors!—don't seem to be users of Indie on the Move.

1. Touring drummer Zach Saginaw is a machine, and if School of Seven Bells is to remain a single-Deheza unit, he's essential to the live show: He's unfailingly in-the-pocket, but it never sounds as though he's simply playing along with the band's electronic underpinnings. He owns it all. The net effect is something Madchester-ish: The songs can go and go and go.

2. Curtis has all the tools of a rock star; Deheza doesn't always know what to do with her hands. She doesn't look uncomfortable, but it's possible that she'd rather be carrying a smaller percentage of the visuals. Still, the thing that made the band's sisterly harmonies so engrossing is that both sisters could sing. Take one away, and you still have one who hits every melody. Lots of bands don't have that. (And is it just me, or does she have a Susanna Hoffs thing goin' on?)

At the very least, the venue doesn't seem to want to tempt any ire: Even before the venue saw its liquor license suspended today, it canceled most of its shows through Nov. 3; others have moved to the 400-capacity Rock & Roll Hotel. The more comfortable fit would've been the new Red Palace, which has the same capacity as DC9, around 200. But the Red Palace also had to cancel its shows for the next few weeks because of licensing issues. That left some artists this past weekend, like the art-rock provocateurs Xiu Xiu, scrambling for a new venue (the group settled on a DIY space).

DC9, Red Palace, and Rock & Roll Hotel share some owners, and the group has to be hurting financially from the week's events. Another casualty? Newspaper ad revenues. The other side of Washington City Paper's building tells me that the usual half-page ad for DC9 has been pulled this week.

At the annual South by Southwest convention in Austin, Texas, there are a kabillion bands to see. I usually prepare  by listening to a torrent of band-submitted mp3s, which can tally anywhere from 800 to 1000 or more. Of those, I think I liked 75-100 bands last year. I think I only loved 10 enough to check out additional tracks. One of those was the L.A.-based Fitz and the Tantrums.

When I first discovered them, they all looked really handsome, dressed sharp, and played Stax-style blue-eyed soul—all good things.  But a crafty producer, studio tricks, and Photoshop can turn any William Hung into a Julio Iglesias—I was skeptical. It turned out that Fitz and the Tantrums were just as good live and were, hands down, one of the best things I saw over my four days in Austin.

Monday night at the Rock & Roll Hotel was a similarly great. Fitz & Co. went on almost two hours late because their plane was delayed, which isn't the best way to endear a band to an audience. But playing tracks from their recent full-length release, Pickin' Up the Pieces, as well as previewing one from their next release in progress, Fitz and the Tantrums generated so much dancing during their set that few in the crowd seemed to care about the delay or the time. Lead singer Michael "Fitz" Fitzpatrick and his female counterpart, Noelle Scaggs, were a modern-day Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, artfully playing off each other and the audience, and, well, they can  really sing. Musically, the band was tight and practiced, right down to the tambourine playing. They were enthusiastic and engaging, but it wasn't so overly affected that you felt like it was an act. It was thrilling to see six people as excited to play for the crowd as the crowd was to see them play.

I swear I'm not being paid by the band to write this piece, but I really can't say enough good things about them. Fitz and the Tantrums are a band whose set you don't leave to hit the bar, or go to the bathroom, or make a phone call-you're having too much fun dancing your ass off. How many times can you honestly say you've seen a band who makes that happen to every single person in an audience?

(You can see the rest of the photos from the show here.)