Weekly Music Agenda
Monday
>> The hordes will flock to DAR Constitution Hall this Monday night to mark the return of Death Cab to D.C. with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. They recently added a second, Tuesday night show, but feel free to take your pick, as tickets are still available for both days. $34, 8 p.m.
>> It’s black Monday in the district, as the nominal antithesis of the White Stripes, The Black Keys, complete another 2-day set at the 9:30 Club with fellow blues rockers The Black Angels. In case you can't make it out, both shows are also being streamed live through NPR. $20.
Tuesday
>> It's election day! It only makes sense that after you hit up the polls, you stop by the Black Cat to wait for the results to come in with indie retro rockers The Elected. The show starts at 8 p.m. with openers Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, and Whispertown 2000. $12, 8 p.m.
>> The frenetic fiddler is back, as Rhode Island’s rock/reggae/punk sensation Zox check into the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight with Tally Hall and Sean Gaiser, frontman of D.C.'s own Kenin.
Wednesday
>> Tonight you can catch D.C.-based The Alphabetical Order, who in an interview with us last summer, promised one of their live shows would be filled with “painfully awkward sexually-charged double entendres.” So basically, like every other night of most of our lives. At the Rock and Roll Hotel, opening for Say Hi to Your Mom, with Metal Hearts and Frida Hyvonen.
Thursday
>> The Capitol Years are one of a host of bands – Dr. Dog, The Teeth, to name a few – leading a mini British Invasion revival in the City of Brotherly Love. While they’ve refined their recorded output since the garage-heavy Jewelry Store EP – their latest, Dance Away the Terror, is more pop than power – their live show is a different story. Like that band in college that practiced for a month before their first show only to get way too drunk and throw the plans out the window, the Years in concert are a good mix of spirit-over-skill basement heroes and astute revivalist craftsmen. Here’s betting their show’s more of the former – but definitely worth checking out. Rock and Roll Hotel, with City Goats and National Eye.
>> Tired of Trigun and Sailor Moon in 2-D? Have we got a band for you. Their genre: "Japanese Action Comic Punk". Their names are colors. They've got helmets and sequin costumes. Peelander-Z could easily be the coolest thing ever or the worst thing ever, and there's only one way to find out. $8 at DC9. Local talent Let's French opens.
>> In a perfect world, Thursday's bill at the 9:30 Club would be reversed, and Pretty Girls Make Graves would be touring with the support of She Wants Revenge. Then again, in a perfect world, Bad Religion wouldn't have had to open for Blink 182 a few years back, and, for that matter, Britney Spears would probably be the opening act for a burlesque show in the swamps outside Baton Rouge. Still, She Wants Revenge do a convincing enough Joy Division tribute show to merit a listen, just be sure to show up early enough to catch PGMG's always excellent live act. Monsters Are Waiting kick things off. $25, 7 p.m.
Friday
>> Tonight, The Red and the Black welcomes local pop rockers the Deleted Scenes (***), with a more traditional sound as well as three bands from other parts of the country who possess a more experimental edge. Check out Person, Except After Sea, and some “pop music in the year 2020” from Georgia’s Elevado. $8.
Saturday
>> What is vaudeville-steam punk? We promise that after you experience D.C.-based The Cassettes at Iota, it won’t matter what category of music they fall into, just that you will be a fan. Sample their goods this Thursday night at a FREE acoustic set at Crooked Beat Records, 7:30 p.m., before their full length performance on Saturday with Kitty Hawk and Jakuta and Carl. $11, 9:30 p.m.
>> Cleveland’s Michael Jantz made quite a name for himself in the Midwest as the city's best male singer/songwriter of 2004 from the Cleveland Free Times Magazine before moving to D.C. He’s opened for many big name bands including Oasis and Beck, and can usually be spotted with his guitar for intimate acoustic sessions at Wonderland. Tonight, you’ll find Michael at Politics and Prose's Modern Times Café. 8 p.m.
Sunday
>> Looking for a way to benefit mankind and stay warm at the same time? This Sunday, descend into the funkified grotto of Bohemian Caverns for People's Paradise, an Afrobeat dance party featuring performances from Ethiopian hip-hop act Burntface, D.C.'s own L'Afrique ensemble, and more. The event will benefit Biribelle a nonprofit group that does community outreach work in West Africa. For $10 presale tickets, call (240) 671-5733. Tickets are $15 at the door. 9 p.m.
Chris Snyder, Ian Buckwalter, Graham Cornwell, and Salima Appiah-Kubi contributed to this week's Agenda.
Photos in order of appearance from Myspace.com/TheBlackAngels (by Courtney Chavanell), Myspace.com/TheCapitolYears, and Myspace.com/TheCassettes.