Monday

>> Milwaukee-based indie pop quartet Maritime will be bringing their brand of sweet melodies to the Rock and Roll Hotel accompanied by the Swervedriver-inspired rock of Kansas City's The Life and Times. We rarely get to make a Swervedriver reference, so enjoy it while you can. 8 p.m.

>> Drive-By Truckers' frontman Patterson Hood drops by the area for a show at the Birchmere in Alexandria. If you're not familiar with the live stylings of the Truckers, you can give their July 2006 show at the 9:30 Club a listen on NPR. Hood's solo album, Killers and Stars, was a spare and dusty acoustic affair with some excellent, if admittedly dark, songs like the Chan Marshall-baiting "Cat Power." 7:30 p.m., $17.50.

>> Local musical Virginian family The Veltz Family (formerly Cecilia the band), will be performing at Iota on Monday night. 8:30 p.m., $12.

Tuesday

>> Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin plays the Rock and Roll Hotel. Catch the Missouri band's quirky, pretty indie pop in NE. One of our favorites, "Oregon Girl," finds the relatively narrow sliver between The Shins and the Fountains of Wayne and mines it for all its worth. Surprisingly, RnR still had room on the marquee for a double bill: SSLYBY with The Changes. Doors at 9 p.m., $8.

>> Attention those who've avoided most rap for the last 5 years, those who gag at the word "bling," those who are still blasting De La Soul and Arrested Development, your time has arrived. Lupe Fiasco, the Chicago rapper notable for his Muslim faith and skateboarding takes D.C. this Tuesday. Intelligent as Common, a better lyricist than Kanye and more fun than Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco has gotten almost universal praise. Catch him before he pops up in a Gap commercial. 9:30 Club, 7:30 p.m., $20.

Wednesday

>> The Pernice Brothers come to town, bearing gifts of a fine new album, Live a Little. Joe Pernice, brother, and friends have resurrected his former band the Scud Mountain Boys’ staple “Grudgef***”, but their live set typically rocks a little harder than their lush, Beatles-inspired recordings. With Elvis Perkins. Doors at 9 p.m. $12.

>> IOTA's always interesting Open Mic Night features Three Stars alum Laura Tsaggaris. This weekly ritual has acquired a close knit community of performers that are way better than the cringe-inducing expectations most people associate with the words "open mic night." Don't be scared to participate though -- newbies are always welcome. 8 p.m., free.

Thursday

>>Baltimore favorites The Oranges Band near the final stretch of a national tour with a stop at The Red and The Black in NE. Rocking that nervy brand of pop with a post-punk sensibility, they were great last time out at the DAM! Fest, and are, in the words of the band, “looking to blow the doors off the joint.” Not to be missed. With The Fake Accents. Doors at 9 p.m., $8.

>> Stop the presses! An indie rock band from New York! All kidding aside, Robbers on High Street have been a quiet mainstay in the indie discussion since their emergence on the scene in 2002. They're visiting the Rock & Roll Hotel with locals Monopoli and Office, a four piece from Chicago whose dreamy sundrenched sound would have you swearing they were from SoCal. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Friday

>>The First Lady of Rock 'n' Roll, Wanda Jackson, graces the Black Cat with her presence. Back when she got her first record deal over 50 years ago, she was playing with the likes of little known rocker Elvis. It is said that she "brought a sense of glamour to the otherwise ultra-conservative country music business of the mid-50s." Well the Black Cat is anything but ultra-conservative, but it could always use a little dose of glamour. With opener The Lustre Kings. 9 p.m., $18 advance, $20 at the door.

>> Local staples Shwa continue their December residency at The Red & The Black this weekend. If you believe the words of Jeff Jones of On Tap Magazine, (which, I mean, who doesn't?), they'll be packing their set with "...hook-heavy, radio-ready songs that reflect elements of Travis and Coldplay but stand on their own merits." $8.

>> We saw The Sketches back in March at Jammin' Java, in one of the Bernardo brothers' last performances together on stage. Check out Charlie and his Freddie Mercury-esque falsetto this Friday night at Iota with openers Florez and Monopoli frontman Alfonso Velez. 9:30 p.m., $10.

Saturday

>> The Hall Monitors might sound like they could be an 80s cover band, but they're one of the most promising garage/R&B acts we've heard in a while. Rumor has it that the members met in a drunk tank, started banging out the Standells' "Dirty Water," and impressed their police officer Ginger Richards. Thinking she was the love child of Ginger Baker and Keith Richards, they asked her to join. That's one hell of a backstory. See for yourself at the Velvet Lounge, but leave your Nikon Smiletakers at home. 9 p.m.

>> We kind of think the idea behind Crack is not to know what the hell to expect. When you describe something as "a night of edgy and absurd performances and games as dealt to you by the producers of TAINT and hosted by the naughty Summer Camp," you're pretty much throwing pithy descriptive blurbing options out the window. Enjoy the third installment of Crack at DC9. $10.

Sunday

>> The Black Cat's backstage recently got some big time action with a surprise visit from Beck. The little room that could keeps that surprising tack with a $65 seated performance from Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary. If your mom goes, whatever you do, don't sneak out to the local night club using your fake ID. Your unsuspecting college-aged new love interest might call and blow your cover. 8 p.m.

>> Remember that scene in Empire Records where Ethan Embry's character eats the brownies with "extra sugar" and hallucinates that he's rocking out with GWAR and then gets devoured by that foam-rubber demon on stage? Well, now his fantasy can become your reality: the Richmond shock-rockers will be at the 9:30 Club this weekend along with The
Bloody Crackdown, Municipal Waste, and The Red Chord. Be sure to wear your least favorite outfit, because GWAR are well known to spray fake bodily fluids into the audience. Not for the faint of heart. 6 p.m., $18.

Graham Hough-Cornwell, Chris Snyder, Amanda Mattos, Elizabeth Eckert, Salima Appiah-Kubi, and Matthew Sedlar contributed.

Pictures from Patterson Hood website and Pernice Brothers MySpace page.