Mae at the Black Sunday, November 8

Norfolk, Va.’s Mae has made either some of the most noble or suicidal career decisions of any rock band in recent history. Take their label relations, for example: Originally signed with Christian label Tooth & Nail, Mae moved up to the big leagues with Capitol for all of one record and then abandoned ship. Why? Because singer Dave Elkins loves Jesus so much that he opted to start his own label with the intent of giving away almost all of his money. Somehow–perhaps its due to the band’s stranglehold on ambiguously Christian emo—Mae has managed to do exactly that, having sponsored numerous Habitat for Humanity builds without pawning Elkins’ trademark Gibson Firebird guitar. If you groove on the spirit of giving, or just love tight proggy powerpop, you can check out Mae confident that the proceeds from your ticket will be going to the least contentious of charities, and that you’ll be supporting a genuinely indie outfit.

MAE PERFORMS AT 8 P.M. WITH HOTSPUR AND JENNY OWEN YOUNGS AT THE BLACK CAT, 1811 14TH ST. NW. $13-$15. (202) 667-4490