Weekly Music Agenda
Leonard Cohen
>> Awwwwwww yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah, Maryland! Who's ready for some poetic introspection? I said, WHO'S READY FOR SOME POETIC INTROSPECTION! Seventy-four-year-old songwriter's songwriter Leonard Cohen ain't exactly the sort of cat you imagine headlining a summer shed show, and indeed his Merriweather gig is kind of an outlier on the itinerary of a tour schedule -- his first in about a decade and a half -- that mostly has him playing theaters. Cohen has been upfront about returning to the road at this late date because he needs money: His former business manager stole most of Cohen's savings while he was meditating at a Los Angeles monastery for the last few years of the 20th century. But he's still one of the greatest songwriters who ever held a pen, and his just-released Live in London album, recorded last summer, offers persuasive evidence that his performing mojo remains undimmed. $40-$250, 7:30 p.m.
>> And speaking of Merriweather Post Pavillion, have y'alls heard of this band Animal Collective? Yeah, they're a big deal. Malnourished indie kids and bloated rock critics agree: The album they named after Columbia, MD's finest concert venue is an early contender for best-of-'09 status. They're at the 9:30 Club, meanwhile, though the show sold out before it even officially went on sale. Good luck.
>> Montreal's Winter Gloves share a bill in between two local acts, Club Scout and A Born Idler at DC9. Doors 8:30, bands 9 p.m. $8.
TUESDAY
>> Fresh from a punishing set at Coachella last month, Atlanta headbangers Mastodon bring their newly accessible brand of brainy Ragna-rok to the 9:30. 6:30 doors, $20.
>> There's a great bill at the Black Cat tonight. The Damned released what's generally agreed to be the first punk record, "New Rose," in 1976, and were the first group signed to Stiff Records, who'd bring us the likes of Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello not much later. They've remained active in the decades since. Riverside, CA rock-and-soul barn-burners The Bellrays open, and veteran punk rockers Electric Frankenstein makes three. 8 p.m., $20.
>> If you love the Drive-By Truckers, give Alabama's Patterson Hood-endorsed Dexateens a shot. They're at the Rock and Roll Hotel with Nashville's The Features and Murfreesboro, TN's Those Darlins. 8:30 show, $12.
WEDNESDAY
>> The Pacific Northwest comes to Northwest. The Thermals are at the Black Cat with two other Portland bands, The Shaky Hands and Point Juncture. 8 p.m., $13.
>> DC9 is promoting Atzia's headlining set with this Time Out New York blurb: "With her exaggerated enunciation and elongated vowels, Azita often sounds as if the words forced through her lips originated at another source…as in demonic possession. Her piano playing is physical and idiosyncratic as well. Add a two-drink minimum, and voilà! Instant cult hero." Is that meant to be complimentary? Discuss. With Wreckmeister Harmonies. 9 p.m., $10.
>> Something Else: Up the Red Line at Strathmore, the D.C.-based Balkan women's choir Slaveya presents a program of "East European a cappella folk music. The songs reflect village life: the harvest, war heroes, matchmaking, love and flirtation, birth and death, and are traditionally sung at work or while participating in community festivities and seasonal celebrations." 7:30 p.m., $15.
THURSDAY
>> Former jarhead Jamey Johnson wrote "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," but he also wrote That Lonesome Song -- a gloriously despondent country album -- and just like that, one of the best self-releases of 2007 became one of the strongest big-label releases of 2008. He's at the Birchmere tonight for a stand-up show in the bandstand. 7:30 p.m., $22.50.
>> Guitarist Tim George, late of The Black & White Jacksons, comes recommended by DCist Music Editrix Amanda. He's at The Red and the Black tonight with his latest project, Dizzy Spells. With Wild Fictions and Michigan's The Wildfire. 9 p.m., $6.
>> The Shins must be about due for a follow-up to their (early) 2007 Wincing the Night Away, no? They're at the 9:30 tonight for an early show. 6:30 doors, sold out.
>> Fresh from a stint opening up for Springsteen-disciples-of-the-month The Gaslight Anthem, Good Old War are at the Rock and Roll Hotel . With Straylight Run and Lovedrug. 8:30, $12.
Southern Culture on the Skids
>> Well, it sure won't be boring: Southern Culture on the Skids bring their gonzo take on countrypolitan to the 9:30, with those wrestling-masked Los Straightjackets opening. (Those masks are available for purchase, BTW.) 8 p.m. doors, $20.
>> In "Betty Jean," The Soul of John Black (nee John Bigham) has penned a sultry tune about the soul songstress Betty Davis (second wife of jazz genius Miles Davis.) He'll bring his self-described "country funk" to the State Theatre in Falls Church, in support of his third album, Black John. 9 p.m., $15.
>> NYC's Goes Cube is at The Red and the Black. Promiseth the Los Angeles Times: "You'll need a bit of time to recover from this one — perhaps book a cell in a monastery for quality silence. This is as loud as loud gets (Mogwai, take heed). Brooklyn's latest bellow is a powerful volley for avant-punk...the energy is utterly captured. This is a band that has not forgotten the great mid-'90s Swedish group Refused, which took hard-core to a totally different compositional level." 9 p.m., $8.
SATURDAY
>> The usual: There's Right Round, the '80s Alt-Pop Dance Night with D.J. L'il E, at the Black Cat Backstage. 9:30 p.m., $6.
>> The usual, cont.: BLOWOFF, feat. Bob Mould and Richard Morei on the turntables, at the 9:30 Club. 11:30 p.m. doors, $12.
>> But before that, Twin Cities hip-hop duo Atmosphere has an early(ish) show at the 9:30. 7 p.m. doors, $25.
>> Local heroes and Unbuckled vets Middle Distance Runner are at the Rock and Roll Hotel. With Boston's Pretty & Nice, homeboys Loose Lips, and the Illadelph's Drink Up, Buttercup. 9 p.m., $10.
SUNDAY
>> There's no shortage of long-lived artists trying out new financial models to earn a living from their music these days, but singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is, to the best of our current knowledge, the only one go straight-up pledge drive: After her last two record labels folded, she set up a web site soliciting donations to finance her next album. There was a hierarchy of swag: A $25 donation got you an advance copy of the disc; $5,000 would fetch you a private concert at your house. Anyway, she managed to raise $85,000 this way, hired megaproducer Don Was to man the boards, and the album, California Years, came out last month. Its final track, "The Donor Song," is exactly what you think it is. If she plays it at IOTA tonight, maybe you'll hear your name. Three Stars alumnus Justin Trawick opens. 8 p.m., $15.
>> Electro-wizard Dan Deacon headlines the 9:30. With Future Islands and Teeth Mountain. 8 p.m. doors, $12.