Weekly Music Agenda
MONDAY
>>As previously reported, Henry Rollins is sold out at the Birchmere. Check out our interview with him here. And then take your chances with the scalpers.
>>Are The Who really The Who without Keith Moon and John Entwhistle? Endless Wire came out a full two years ago to mixed reviews, but according to most reports Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend soldier on admirably with a replacement rhythm section (including Ringo's son Zack Starkey on drums). Oh, and what's that song about "meeting the new boss, same as the old boss" and "not getting fooled again"? Seems an appropriate a time as any. Verizon Center. $55-205, pretty good deal on Craigs List here, 8 p.m.
TUESDAY
>>Can we assume that Deerhunter, despite their Vietnam-film-referencing name, are probably not voting for John McCain? I feel safe in that assumption. But a better question -- Dayton, Ohio's Times New Viking may hail from a battleground state, but are they real Americans? In a perfect world, spazzy pop tunes recorded with little to no fidelity would be enough to pass a citizenship test. Celebrate or commiserate with them and Knyfe Hyts at the Black Cat. $13/15, 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
>> Though they've mellowed a bit in recent years, Chicago four-piece Pelican is still very much a metal band--or at least they were the last time we caught them at the Black Cat. If heavy, downtuned guitars, spiraling solos and 20-minute plus epics sound like your cup of tea, you'll want to be sure not to miss the band's return to the Cat on Wednesday night, with Kayo Dot and former Cave-In frontman Stephen Brodsky. $12, 8 p.m.
>>Since the '90s Otis Taylor has been playing blues guitar in ways that rarely resemble the genre's stereotypical 12 bar format. Now on his latest cd "Recapturing the Banjo," he and some fellow black musicians show that instrument's African and African-American roots. He and his band will be at Blues Alley for two shows.
>>More Swedes are coming. Fredrik, the Swedish indie-folk-pop off shoot of electro-poppers LK will be at DC9 tonight.
THURSDAY
>>British blues doesn't die, it just stays the same. But Holly Golightly's been trafficking in a pretty entertaining version of it for nigh on fifteen years now, splashing in good doses of rockabilly and punk and pallin' around with the likes of Billy Childish and the White Stripes along the way. She's playing the Iota Club in Arlington with her band, The Broke Offs, in support of their latest effort, Dirt Don't Hurt. $15, Doors at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY
>>The lovely Nicole Atkins & The Sea return DC, this time to the Rock and Roll Hotel with their promising folk-pop LP Neptune City in tow. Joining them are Brooklyn psych-gospel purveyors Salt and Samovar. $12, Doors at 8:30 p.m.
>>There was a time when I confused Dar and Keller Williams. This was before I had either a) listened to their music or b) seen pictures of them. Dar Williams -- the female folky singer-songwriter -- kicks off a two night stand at the Birchmere in the pleasant Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. She's touring with Lucy Wainwright Roche, who is definitely related to the other singing Wainwrights you may be familiar with. Tickets only $35, Doors 7:30 p.m. both nights.
>>Despite the reservations some/many may have about "jam" these days, the Dark Star Orchestra -- the group of Grateful Dead acolytes who faithfully replicate their heroes' actual setlists -- have been going strong for quite a while and moved well beyond novelty. They start a two night stand at the 9:30 Club on Friday, appearing with bluegrass group Hot Buttered Rum. $26, Doors 7 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday.>>Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler, and Jon Cleary do not sound alike, but all three pianists are clearly rooted in the New Orleans musical tradition. The trio will be bringing their "Keys to New Orleans" tour to the Kennedy Center.
>>Now that Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli have found each other -- or at least made their musical relationship a formal one -- plenty of us are probably wondering what the hell took so long. The former Screaming Trees and Afghan Whigs frontmen got together for a moody piece of alt. rock under the Gutter Twins moniker -- Saturnalia, from earlier this year -- that echoed Dulli's Twilight Singers work and may just end up on a few best-of-2008 lists. Check it out for yourself on Friday at the Black Cat. With After Hours. $20, Doors 9 p.m.
>>The extraordinarily wide variety of musical options on Friday continues with Baltimore electro-pop-artist/screwball Dan Deacon at the Hirschhorn Museum as part of their After Hours series. Advance tickets are sold out, but some should still be available at the door for $12. 8 p.m. - Midnight.
SATURDAY
>>The Black Cat Backstage features the regular Kicks! dance night with DJs Kim and Sara. If their last setlist is any indication -- holy crap, this is not to be missed. FREE, 9:30 p.m.
>>Is it rock? Is it jazz? Is it jazz-rock? Post-rock? Post-jazz? Wait, there's such a thing as "post-jazz"? However you define it, it's The Sea and Cake, fresh on the heels of a lauded new LP, Car Alarm. With Death Vessel at the Black Cat. $15, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
>>You can't stop the Reverend Horton Heat, you can only hope to contain him. These guys seem to perpetually tour, and the road-wise veteran freak-country weirdos hit the 9:30 Club Sunday and they're throwing in Nashville Pussy and Austin's Reckless Kelly to boot. $25, Doors at 7 p.m.
>>Nashville Pussy not really your thing? How about British Sixties light folk-pop duo Chad and Jeremy, together again, at the Barns at Wolf Trap? You probably know them from their breezy, nostalgic hit "Summer Song" or perhaps their debut single, "Yesterday's Gone"? Tickets weren't available at the moment, but should be soon.
>>NYC-based Cuban salsa violinist Alfredo De La Fe join up with locals Joe Falero &
the Latin Jazz All Stars for an evening of classic Caribbean dance music and improvised sounds at the Juste Lounge in Bethesda.
Times New Viking photo from Matador Records.
Chad & Jeremy photo from band website.
Steve Kiviat and Mehan Jayasuriya contributed to this Weekly Music Agenda.