Friday

• Jakob Dylan, Three Legs, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Mimicking Birds. 9:30 Club. $25.
• Lucy Kaplansky. Wolf Trap. $20.
• Gist, Gary B. & the Notions, The Courtesy Line. The Red & The Black. $8.
• Eilen Jewell, Little Pink. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.
• The Blue Line, Poor But Sexy, The Very Small. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.
• Buckshot Blues. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• The Last Monarchs, Nick Coward and the Last Battle, Bobby Lee and the Sympathizers. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.
• The Tallest Man on Earth, Nurses. Black Cat mainstage. $12.
• Mavis Staples. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $38.
• Oranges Band, Doug Gillard Electric, The Andalusians. Comet Ping Pong. $8.
• Cannibal Corpse, Skeletonwitch, Diabolic, Lecherous Nocturne, C.O.B.C. Jaxx. $24.50 in advance, $28 day of.
• Dragonette, Think About Life. DC9. $8. 18+.

Saturday

• Patti LuPone. Strathmore. $25-$85.
• Buskin & Batteau. Wolf Trap. $22.
• The Protomen, The Prigs. The Red & The Black. $8.
• The Walkaways, The Kate Moran Band, Stella Schindler. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.
• Amanda Blank, Ninjasonik, DJ Jackie-O. Rock and Roll Hotel. $16.
• Outliers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Quasi, Let's Wrestle. Black Cat mainstage. $12.
• The Nields, Trina Hamlin. Jammin Java. $15.
• In Alcatraz 1962, Lakeview, Behold the Flood, Discover Her Remains, Kendal Burke, Viliska, This Murder Means More, Anubis, Vile Infection, Failing the Fallen. Jaxx. $10 in advance, $12 day of.
• Charlie Wilson, Chuck Brown. DAR Constitution Hall. $45-$65.

Sunday

• Tim Be Told, Omar of Crash Boom Bang. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.
• Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust. Black Anvil. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12.
• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Magical Beautiful. Black Cat backstage. $10.
• The Clark Sisters. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Anais Mitchell and the Hadestown Orchestra, Michael Chorney Sextet. Jammin Java. $15.
• The RLC Explosion, Gomorrah, Zero Shift, Streaking on Seneca, Radamanthys, The Bourbon Devils, Failing the Fallen, Silence the Blind, The 6th Degree, Touching Elbows, Histrionic Witch. Jaxx. $8 in advance, $10 day of.
• Dosh, White Hinterland, Andrew Black and Malari Moore. DC9. $10 in advance, $12 day of. 18+.

Friday

• Martin Sexton, Ryan Montbleau Band. 9:30 Club. $25.
• Jamie McLean Band. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.
• Livingston Taylor. Wolf Trap. $22.
• Horsehead, Hiding Places, Deutschmarks. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.
• Laura Tsaggaris, James Maddock. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.
• Pissed Jeans, Cloak/Dagger, The Wayward. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10 in advance, $12 at door.
• Rhododendron Road. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Little Bigheart & the Wilderbeast, Sean K. Preston, East Coast Caravan. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.
• Shortstack, Birds of Avalon, Suns of Guns. Black Cat mainstage. $12.

Saturday

• Jedi Mind Tricks, Mr. Lif. 9:30 Club. $17.
• DeLeon, The Torches. The Red & The Black. $10. 21+.
• RPM, Brad Sanzerbacher and the Purveyors. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.
• Beltway Rockers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Alvin Risk, TightenUp!/McWorm, City Rain. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.
• The Remnant Concert Choir of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Strotter Inst., Pilesar, Blue Sausage Infant. Comet Ping Pong. $8.
• Jason Reeves, Chelsea Lee. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.
• Crash Boom Bang, Conditions, Life on Repeat, Rescue the Hero, Escape the Armada. Jaxx. $10 in advance, $12 day of.
• Francis and the Lights, Ryan Holladay. DC9. $10.

Sunday

• Kidz in the Hall, 88-Keys, Izza Kizza, Donnis, Tabi Bonney. 9:30 Club. $20.
• National Philharmonic. Strathmore. $29-$79.
• Blankus Larry. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.
• The Apples in Stereo, Generationals, Laminated Cat. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15.
• Jazz Jam. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Greg Ginn and the Texas Corrugators, CSC Funkband. Velvet Lounge. $10. 18+.
• The Styrenes. Velvet Lounge. $10. 18+.
• Richard Smallwood & Vision. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Heks Orkest, The Fordists. Black Cat backstage. $10.
• Jammin' 4 Haiti. Jammin Java. $8.
• Roman Candle, Paper Bird, Tao Seeger Band. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 at door.
• With the Black Kid, Awaiting the Aftermath, Siren to the Skies, I Am Imagination, Out Forever, Counting Out Loud, Legions Prevail, Vitality, The Grue. Jaxx. $10 in advance, $12 day of.
• Unwed Sailor, Common Loon. DC9. $8 in advance, $10 day of. 18+.

Ryan Montbleau Band photo by Chris Paul, via MySpace.

Friday

• Nada Surf, Dawn Landes and the Hounds. 9:30 Club. $20.

• E.M. Spencer. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Christine Lavin. Wolf Trap. $20.

• The Bang, Chute. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Justin Trawick Group, Jason Masi Band, Rene Moffatt, Jamie Marie. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Midnight Sun, Nunchucks, Downtown Harvest, Blackbells. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Big Tow. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Bellflur, Drop Electric, Club Scout. Velvet Lounge. $8. 18+.

• Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun, Austin de Lone. Jammin Java. $20.

• Mountain Ridge Jazz Orchestra. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free

• Meow Vs. Meow, Delfields, Gary B & the Notions. Comet Ping Pong. $8.

Saturday

• Jonathan Edwards. Wolf Trap. $24.

• The Royal We, Black Dog Prowl, The Killer Balloons. The Red & The Black. $8.

• The U-Liners. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15.

• Rattler, New Rock Church Of Fire, Shokkher, DJ Stereo Faith. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Waverly Milor and The Hall Brothers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Kids, Jackie O, Starks and Nacey, Lil El'. Velvet Lounge. $5. 21+.

• Willie Nile. Jammin Java. $20.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$85.

• Cyberstrike, Envy's Eye, We Have the Summer, Tiik with G.U.T.S, The Blackshire, Li[n]es, La Coterie, The Cliched. Jaxx. $8 in advance, $10 day of.

Sunday

• Sezen Aksu. Strathmore. $60-$120.

• Shapiro, The Winter Sounds, Achtung PandaFr. The Red & The Black. $8.

• In Alcatraz 1962, Life After Hours, Kodiak, A Gentleman Calling, Villiska. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• Midlake, John Grant. Black Cat mainstage. $13 in advance, $15 day of.

• Anders Lundegård. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.

• Past Lives (Ex-Blood Brothers), Snack Truck. DC9. $8. 18+.

Nada Surf photo by Lionel Flusin, via MySpace.

Friday

• Kinoeye, Maximillion Dunbar, Protect-U, Steve Summers. The Cherch. $5 donation.

• Vladimir Feltsman. Strathmore. $27-$77.

• Ravenous, FOX Japan, Caustic Casanova. The Red & The Black. $8.

• Justin Jones, Down Dexter, Peter Bradley Adams. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Shearwater, Wye Oak, Hospital Ships. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12.

• Next Door Ellen. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Imperial China, Cephalopods, Lo Moda, Busses. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• The Hint, Struan Shields, Ever Since Beginnings. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• The Washington Chorus. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $15-$60.

• Moody Blues. DAR Constitution Hall. $48-$68.

Saturday

• Harper Blynn, Drink Up Buttercup. DC9. $12.

• The Dan Band. 9:30 Club. $25.

• National Philharmonic: Brahms' Requiem. Strathmore. $29-$79.

• John Eaton. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Killola, Sick of Sarah, Outernational. The Red & The Black. $8.

• Jupiter One, Heypenny, Kyle Andrews. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• WOODS, Real Estate, Surf City. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12.

• Deb Felz. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Ol Scratch, Cough, Nitroseed, Hollow Leg. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Cary Pierce (Jackopierce). Jammin Java. $20.

• John and Susie Beatty Competition for Classical Guitar. Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. Free.

• Death Row Reunion, One Slack Mind, Acid Queen, Make Like Murder. Jaxx. $17 in advance, $20 day of.

• Japanese Choral Society of Washington. Cherry Blossom Festival. Free.

Sunday

• A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Phil and the Osophers, Faux Slang. DC9. $10. 18+.

• Shemekia Copeland. Wolf Trap. $22.

• Benyaro, Chris Merritt. The Red & The Black. $6.

• Mr. Gnome. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• The Escape Artist, Thought and Memory, Pilot Cloud. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Army of Me (acoustic), Colleen McCarron, Audra Mae. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$85.

• Judge Smith. Cherry Blossom Festival. Free.

Imperial China photo by Abby Bysshe, via MySpace.

Friday

• Salt-N-Pepa. DAR Constitution Hall. $41.50-$70.

• Bellmer Dolls, Monozid, Bootblacks, We Fought The Big One (DJs). The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Tom McBride and the Whig Party. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• Perpetual Groove, Future, Poor Man's Lobster. 9:30 Club. $14.

• Junior League Band, The David Wax Museum, Lightfoot. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Stacy Brooks. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Antares. Wolf Trap. $35.

• Nunchucks, The Trillions (Ex Prabir), The Blue Line. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Steve Forbert. Jammin Java. $20.

• Black Lips, Box Elders, The Vermilions. Black Cat mainstage. $13 in advance, $15 day of.

• The Average White Band. Birchmere. $35.

• Kix, ZO2, Baby Jayne. Jaxx. $27 in advance, $30 day of. 21+.

• The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. Free.

Saturday

• Chris Allen. Comet Ping Pong. $8.

• Velvet, Brave, Pseudostate. The Red & The Black. $8.

• Dead Heart Bloom, Aaron Thompson. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Anvil, Misstallica. 9:30 Club. $20.

• Bio Ritmo, Funk Ark, Dende & Hahahaes. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Tha' Buds. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Jeri Sager. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Kingsley Flood, Threadbare Orchestra, Tall Tall Trees. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Fruit Bats, Blue Giant, The Singleman Affair. Black Cat mainstage. $12.

• Bonjour, Ganesh!, Milk Machine, Big Chimney. DC9. $8. 18+.

Sunday

• National Philharmonic: All Brahms. Strathmore. $29-$79.

• One For The Team, The Prisms. The Red & The Black. $6. 21+.

• David Ford. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• An Evening with Al Petteway and Amy White. Jammin Java. $20.

• Magik Markers, Buildings. Black Cat backstage. $10.

• David Wilcox, Patty Larkin. Birchmere. $35.

• Taking Saturn, A Sound of Thunder, Dance Party Hazard, Misanthrope, The Trouble With Satellites, Upon Disfigurement, Ashes of the Massacre, Radical Element, Silver Cyanide, Deep Down, Seven Days Past, All Out Chaos, The Shadow over Innsmouth, Vile Infection, Bound and Beaten, Once We Were Kids. Jaxx. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

• Barefoot Truth, Color School, Clifton Williams and the Blue Jams Band. DC9. $8. 18+.

Friday

• Al Green. DAR Constitution Hall. $70.

• Balkan Beat Box, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew. 9:30 Club. $20.

• Mambo Sauce. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Greg Brown, Justin Wilber. Wolf Trap. $30.

• The American Space Cadets, American Speedway, Sin 4 Sin. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Matthew Ryan, Garrison Starr. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15.

• RAMZY, The Method, Bad Rabbits. Rock & Roll Hotel. $10.

• The Big Cheese. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Sing Swan Song, Kuan. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Tyrone Wells, Tony Lucca, Roy Jay. Jammin Java. $15-$22.

• Suckers, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Laughing Man. Black Cat mainstage. $12.

• KC Jazz Club: An Evening with Delfeayo Marsalis. Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery. $25.

• Ghost Town, High Off Life. Jaxx. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

Saturday

• STS9, Two Fresh. 9:30 Club. $22.50-$40.

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Cirque de la Symphonie. Strathmore. $30-$90.

• King Giant, The Resurrection Sorrow, Crimson Electric. The Red and the Black. $8. 21+.

• Rustbuckit, X-MC. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Here We Go Magic, April Smith & Great Picture, Show, Glass Ghost. Rock & Roll Hotel. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

• Crimestoppers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• The Sounds of Kaleidoscope, Kohoutek, Gondola, Inzinzac. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Girlyman. Jammin Java. $18.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$80.

• W.A.S.P., Rain, Hate the Toy, After Therapy. Jaxx. $24.99 in advance, $28 day of. 21+.

Sunday

• Signature Sings: 2000-2004: Ladies Choice: Priscilla Cuellar, Lauren Williams, Bligh Voth, Bayla Whitten. Strathmore. $28.

• The Very Best, Ninjasonik, Tabi Bonney. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15.

• Wolf's Blues Jam: Hot Rods and Old Gas, Hot Roddess Lisa Lim. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Kind Nugget, Blvd. B, Tarica June, A.I. Love You. Velvet Lounge. $7. 21+.

• An Evening with Red Molly. Jammin Java. $15.

• The American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.

• Cyberstrike, Spectral Vision, Envy's Eye, We Have the Summer, Tiik with G.U.T.S., The Blackshire, Li[n]es, La Coterie, The Cliched, Borderline. Jaxx. $8 in advance, $10 day of.

• Foreign Born, Free Energy, Clovers. DC9. $12. 18+.

Garrison Starr photo by Jeremy Cowart, via MySpace.

Friday

• Educated Consumers. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Big Bang TV, Bridges and Powerlines, The Jet Age. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Taylor Carson, Peter Mulvey. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Rogue Wave, Avi Buffalo. 9:30 Club. $15.

• Sondre Lerche, JBM. Rock and Roll Hotel. $20.

• Stacy Brooks. Bangbok Blues. Call for price.

• Jon Carroll. Wolf Trap. $22.

• Bellman Barker, The Vermillions, The Armchairs. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Chase Coy, Struan Shields. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• The Vita Ruins, Ra Ra Rasputin, Cobra Collective. Black Cat mainstage. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

• Leon Redbone, Brian Wendell Morton. Birchmere. $35.

• Hammerfall, Powerglove, Division, Pariah, Blood Corps. Jaxx. $27.50 in advance, $30 day of, $60 VIP.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$85.

Saturday

• Aunt Martha, The Last Monarchs, Zach Peterson. The Red & The Black. $6. 21+.

• Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express. IOTA Club & Cafe. $18.

• N2N. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Celtic Crossroads. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Navi, The New Retro, Watusi. Velvet Lounge. $10.

• Bowling for Soup, The Dollyrots, Pessimist Parade. Black Cat mainstage. $13 in advance, $15 day of.

• David Bromberg & The Angel Band. Birchmere. $35.

• Cleveland Institute of Music. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.

Sunday

• GoGirlsDC: Mindy Miller, Nila Kay, Carmen Calhoun, Annie Sidley & Mojo Nation. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Jonny Grave, Brian Franke, Ted Garber, Michael Yugo. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• Wolf's Blues Jam: Hot Rods and Old Gas, Hot Roddess Lisa Lim. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Old Crow, East of the Wall, Goes Cube, Eat People. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Billy Woodward and The Senders, The Woodshedders, Chester River Runoff. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• Justin Townes Earle, Joe Pug. Birchmere. $22.50.

• Otep, Bury Your Dead, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Destrophy, No Stars Over California, Every One Dies, Salvation Through Struggle. Jaxx. $20 in advance, $23 day of.

• Justin Trawick, Rene Moffatt, Tiffany Thompson, Steph Modder, Ryan Walker, Victoria Vox, Joy Ike, Dan Fisk, Nathan Robinson. DC9. $8. 18+.

Rogue Wave photo by Sterling Andrews, via MySpace.

Friday

• State Radio, Big D and the Kids Table. 9:30 Club. $20.

• Justin Trawick. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Christian Tetzlaff Trio. Wolf Trap. $35.

• Powder Kegs, The Torches. The Red & The Black. $8.

• Juniper Lane, Melodime. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• US Royalty, Phil Ade, Poor But Sexy. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12.

• Curbfeelers. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Screen Vinyl Image, Last Tide, Dead Leaf Echo, Ceremony. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Mid-Atlantic Band Battle: Commodore Koko, B-Film Extras, Dub City Renegades, Elements of Addiction, HeLo, Redshift. Jammin Java. $10.

• Laura Tsaggaris, Paul Michel, Bellman Barker. Black Cat mainstage. $10.

• KC Jazz Club: Jonathan Batiste Quintet. Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery. $15.

• Boys Will Be Boys, Escape the Armada, We Have the Summer, Tomorrow's Ours, Rosy Likes Red, What A Night. Jaxx. $6 in advance, $10 day of (or $8 with flyer.)

Saturday

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven & Mozart with a Twist. Strathmore. $25-$80.

• Eric Brace & Last Train Home, Peter Cooper. Wolf Trap. $18.

• Honor By August, The Influence, Jones Street Station. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• V.P.R., Wake Up Cold, Stout, Common Enemy, Tsuchigumo. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Rival Tribe. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• T-Model Ford, The Shirks. Velvet Lounge. $12. 18+.

• Wild Beasts, Still Life Still. Black Cat mainstage. $13.

• KC Jazz Club: Carl Allen-Rodney Whitaker Project. Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery. $25.

• Nouveau Riche. DC9. Free before 10 p.m., $8 after. 21+.

• Seasons After, Bitter, Seelow Hights, Ethereal Genocide. Jaxx. $10.

Sunday

• Gretel. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• School of Rock: Best of Season Show. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Wolfs Blues Jam: Hot Rods and Old Gas, Hot Roddess Lisa Lim. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• lowercaseletters, mgl. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Beth Rinaldo, Scott Holland & Friends, The Honey Dewdrops. Jammin Java. $8.

• Off With Their Heads, The Scare, Tiny Bombs. Black Cat backstage. $10.

• Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $45.

• Electronic Saviors Benefit Concert – Industrial Music to Cure Cancer: Jim Semonik, DJ Kangal, DJ Blue Vampire, DJ Noir, Cyber Strukture, Xuberx, Sonik Foundry, Boole, Interface, Deviant UK, I:Scintilla, Ego Likeness, Terrorfakt. Jaxx. $15 in advance, $20 day of.

Justin Trawick photo by Thomas Van Veen Photography, via MySpace.

Friday

• Incwell. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Hotspur, No Second Troy, Margot MacDonald Band, Boys Will Be Boys. 9:30 Club. $15.

• Bo Bice. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Yell County, The Courtesans, The Secret Pop Band. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• New Rock Church of Fire, Greenland, Drunk Tigers. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• Sweet Interference, Tripp, Hot Coffee Mississippi. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Two Car Living Room. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Reboot – The DC Hip Hop Takeover: Reemstarr, DTMD, Beatmakers Surock, Dunc, Maverick, Eurok. Velvet Lounge. $5. 21+.

• The Bigger Lights, Sing Me Insomnia, Action Item. Jammin Java. $13.

• Los Amigos Invisibles, Thunderball, DJ Afro. Black Cat mainstage. $23 in advance, $25 day of.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$85.

• V.V.Brown. DC9. $8. 18+.

Saturday

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Itzhak Perlman. Strathmore. $30-$125.

• Nouvelle Vague, Clare and the Reasons. 9:30 Club. $25.

• 4th Haiti Relief Benefit Concert for Red Cross Relief Effort. IOTA Club & Cafe. Donations based.

• John Eaton. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Ravenous, Daddy Lion, Arden. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• CP Blues. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• La Snacks, Typefighter, The Ionosphere Club, Transmography. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Middle East MicFest Tour 2010: Mack Jones, Scottie Flippen, Jah I Witness, Kaze aka 4letters, K Beta, F.A.T., Faraz. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

• Mission of Burma, Office of Future Plans. Black Cat mainstage. $15.

• The Devil Music Ensemble. Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. Free.

• Walter Beasley. Birchmere. $37.50.

• Franz Nicolay, Romania. DC9. $8. 18+.

Sunday

• Editors, The Antlers, The Dig. 9:30 Club. $20.

• Skeletonwitch, Iron Age, Howl. The Red & The Black. $12. 21+.

• Adrian Hardkor Krygowski, Molly Hagen, Twins of Gazelle. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• Elementary, Deville, Where Winston Stood, Power Pirate. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10.

• Animal Genital. Velvet Lounge. Free. 21+.

• Alternative Takes: An Acoustic Evening with The Verve Pipe. Jammin Java. $17 in advance, $20 day of.

• Lookbook, Frau Eva. Black Cat backstage. $8.

• Creole. Kennedy Center Millenium Stage. Free.

• The Manhattans, Gerald Alston, Blue Lovett. Birchmere. $45.

• Battle of the Bands: Azazel the Fallen, All of This, Sextacy, Electronic Hope, Evereaux, Hover Craft, Suffer No Guilt, March Til Morning, New Retro, Love at Hindsight. Jaxx. $8 in advance, $10 day of.

• Leslie & the Ly's, Christopher the Conquered, Shock Diamond. DC9. $10. 18+.

Hotspur photo by Jane Mallen, via MySpace.

Correction Appended

For a moment, on the first night he worked the door at the Velvet Lounge, Andrew Bucket thought he was staring death in the face. Her name was Allison Wolfe.

"I was excited to meet her, let alone work the show at all," he says of the Partyline singer, who helped found the riot-grrrl movement in the early ’90s as a member of Bratmobile. "At that point in time, it was 2007, the Lounge was under different management, and they were doing door polling"—a fairly common practice by which venues ask patrons what act they’ve come to see and sometimes use that data to determine payouts at the end of the night. "Allison saw me making the sheet and flipped out."

"Fuck that," she told him. "All the bands are getting paid tonight or we are not doing this." And so at the end of the night, Partyline, which had assembled the show, took the evening’s percentage and distributed it evenly among the three bands.

The Velvet Lounge no longer polls at shows, and Bucket, now the club’s booker, is a passionate opponent of the practice. "It connotes a disinterest in the band," he says. "It really just assumes that the bands don’t know each other, that they’re not willing to cooperate. It puts this competitive edge to the whole thing. It’s bogus."

Local bands have few options these days: DIY spaces like 611 Florida, Kansas House, and DC Mini Gallery have shuttered; the Black Cat books many more touring acts than local ones. That leaves the Velvet Lounge, Comet Ping Pong, and the three spaces in D.C. that poll at the door: DC9, the Red and the Black, and Rock & Roll Hotel.

"We are absolutely not looking to fuck the bands out of the money—if they are pulling in the numbers," says Steve Lambert, who books and partially owns those three venues. "That doesn’t work for anybody."

He says his venues use door polling mostly for his records—so that the next time he’s considering placing a band on a bill, he’ll have an idea of how many people they can draw. He says he mostly polls shows with only local and small-scale touring bands—if a band is on the road, he’ll usually throw it some extra money. Sometimes, he’ll hand bands their percentage—in the case of his venues, 80 percent of the door after an overhead cost is met—at the end of the night and let them divide it themselves. But in other cases, he feels that paying bands based on their draw incentivizes marketing. "I do not believe people should be paid on who they are," he says. "Thievery Corporation gets paid a lot of money because they can draw 5,000 people."

"I’ve always used this system in different markets. It’s a practice that’s done throughout the country," says Lambert, who used to book small- and medium-sized venues in Lansing, Mich. "There are people who aren’t fans of it, but people who aren’t fans of it are people who don’t draw."

Last week, an Arts Desk post by the D.C. rapper Head-Roc titled "Venues ‘Polling’ Practice Is Some Bullshit" attracted 40 comments. "It is a fundamentally flawed system and it doesn’t take into consideration a number of variables," wrote one commenter. "Polling is the fairest way to tell who has the bigger fan base," wrote another.

Dante Ferrando, who owns the Black Cat and drummed in the post-hardcore band Gray Matter in the ’80s and early ’90s, doesn’t like polling. "If you put a band on a bill, if they didn’t draw, they still played, they still came to the club. It’s usually the out-of-town band," he says. "To me, the whole process makes it a little more of a club vs. the band kind of feel."

Opponents of door polling offer several arguments: First, it encourages bands to compete when they should be working together to promote a show; as a result, a music scene’s sense of  community suffers. Second, while venues and bands should share the responsibility of marketing, ultimately, whoever curated the show—the booker—owns its success ("If we don’t get a good turnout, that’s on me," Bucket says). Last, polling isn’t necessarily accurate. For one, patrons may be there to see several bands, or none in particular, or the person on the door might get things wrong. "The door guy’s got a lot to do, and it’s hard to do it fair," Ferrando says.

But Lambert says that venues are doing their jobs by providing space and marketing acts through their Web sites, in advertisements, and through social media. "So we should take the loss for them not drawing?" he says. "Most of the time we recoup the loss [of promoting and running a show], and most of the time the bands get paid."

By Mike Stuto’s estimation, the practice emerged in New York in the early ’90s in smaller rock clubs, and eventually spaces that booked small and medium-sized national acts, like the Mercury Lounge, followed suit. His East Village club, Brownies, which he converted into a bar in 2002, sometimes used door polling, usually for bills of bands whose members didn’t know one another. "We started doing it because bands were demanding it," he says. By basing the system on empirical data, he says, he avoided disputes over who deserved the most money. He says the polls generally struck him as fair; when bands took issue with their accuracy, they were usually "grasping at straws."

Jaxx Nightclub in Springfield, Va., doesn’t door-poll, but it does ask the area bands that play its Localpalooza showcases about six times a year—mostly metal bands whose members are between about 16 and 20 years old—to sell their own tickets. Owner Jay Nedry then pays bands based on how many tickets they’ve sold. He says it’s instructive to them, even if it can be demoralizing. "It’s a good kick in the ass," he says. "It makes people understand it isn’t free."

While Lambert says "no one has ever bitched about it from a band," some local groups say they’re uncomfortable with polling. "For a band starting out, it can kind of suck," says
Dan Scheuerman of Deleted Scenes, "It’s kind of degrading, I guess." Because "it’s already so hard to make a dime as a musician," says Rob Pierangeli of Casper Bangs, "maybe you shouldn’t scrutinize over who gets paid how much."

J. Sequential of Screen Vinyl Image says bands that dislike polling should simply avoid venues that do it; his band usually contacts groups with which it’s playing beforehand and agrees to split the pot. Because three D.C. venues poll, "I think what happens is a natural divide is created in the city," he writes in an e-mail. "There are bands who are looking to get the bigger shows and get paid more and get more exposure, and I believe they will run with the other bands who are after the same thing. But there are bands who just don’t want to deal with that type of noise and just want to play shows and hook their friends up who are on tour and at least get them some gas money without having to clear $250 at the door."

Aaron Estes, who sings and plays guitar in Bellman Barker, takes the opposite view. "Most bands at the polling level (including mine) aren’t really making any money anyway, so I don’t really care," he writes in an e-mail. "The money from a show might help pay some tolls or cover gas, but it’s never going to cover the expense of missing work until you’re playing bigger venues to a bigger fan base, and at that point, no one is going to be polling the door."

Correction | Feb. 17, 2010: Due to an editing error by Managing Editor Andrew Beaujon, the article incorrectly stated that the Black Cat books many more touring acts than local ones. According to the club’s booker, Vicki Savoula, between 50 and 60 percent of bands that play the Black Cat are local.