This review written by DCist Contributor Matt Sedlar

Washington, D.C., you should be ashamed of yourself. The all-ages crowd at the 9:30 Club on Saturday night may have turned local boy Matt Pond against us, and it might take flowers and an apology to get him to come back. How did this all happen? Let's recap.

The evening began with a subdued performance by Australia's Youth Group, a four-piece rock outfit with a lot of shimmer but no shine. While singer/guitarist Toby Martin's vocals rarely varied from standard Brit-rock fare (see: James, Coldplay, etc.), the rhythm section consisting of Danny Allen on drums and Patrick Matthews on bass managed to keep things flowing nicely. One particularly funny aside: Martin seemed in awe that Ray Davies would be playing the same stage on Monday. One would have been hard-pressed to find anyone in the crowd old enough to know who Ray Davies is, much less be a fan of The Kinks. The band even played one song that suspiciously came close to ripping off the chorus of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." For a band named Youth Group, in which each member looked a bit over age 30, most of their references -- intentional or not -- must have flown over the audience's heads. Did we fail to mention that the tweens were out in full force?

Matt Pond PA then took the stage, with Pond proudly announcing that he was conceived in the District. Don't let the PA fool you, though -- the man even has a soft spot for the Redskins. Thankfully, the band brought some energy to what began as a quiet evening. However, cracks started to emerge in between the songs. Some expletive-laden comments from audience members brought about some funny and witty reactions from Pond, but after every song it appeared as if the heckling was wearing him down. By the time somebody suggested the band play "Freebird," Pond nearly cracked, sarcastically promising a 23-minute version after the next song. He still covered most of the incessant heckling nicely, such as turning down requests for a cover of "Champagne Supernova" only to play the main theme from "Brokeback Mountain" while confessing he was not a gay cowboy. The band was tight and never missed a beat -- even when Pond abandoned his guitar after breaking a string at the beginning of one song. The recent addition of Dana Feder on cello also served to expand the songs past the typical guitar/bass/drums configuration.

So why did people find it necessary to constantly harass the band during the awkward silence in between songs? Should Pond leave the District remembering it as the city whose music fans requested Slayer at his show? Seriously, folks. Pond deserves an apology and an explanation. Let the healing process begin.