Weekly Music Agenda
Pree plays Fort Reno on Monday.
>> Folky balladeers and three stars alums Pree make tonight's Fort Reno show easy to recommend. Le Loup fans in particular should take note: while May Tabol's latest project occupies a different niche in the indie-folk spectrum, her songs are still some of the most distinctive you'll find in the District today. With North America and Stoney Lonesome, 7:15 p.m., Free.
>> While not a show, per se, music geeks will be well served by the Black Cat's latest movie night, especially those who count early punk rock among their primary interests. Tonight's double header features both the New York Dolls documentary All Dolled Up as well as a concert film of the seminal Dead Boys performing at CBGB in 1977. 9 p.m., Free.
TUESDAY
>> Though best known as a member of Canadian indie supergroup the New Pornographers, Dan Bejar has managed to build a considerable cult following for his primary creative outlet, the thorny, cerebral indie rock outfit Destroyer. They'll be playing the Black Cat with another act that's better known for its close ties to a giant of the indie rock world: Iran, featuring TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. $13, 8 p.m.
>> Pennsylvania indie-poppers Illinois are at DC9 tonight, along with the Builders and the Butchers and Kashgar. $10, 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
>> Without a shadow of a doubt, this week's hottest ticket is the Fleet Foxes double-header at the 9:30 Club. No surprises then that the bearded, Beach Boys-worshiping folk troupe has managed to sell out both the early and late shows. Those hoping to catch them have little choice but to turn to Craigslist. With Espers, 6:30 p.m./10:30 p.m.
Torche plays the Rock and Roll Hotel on Wednesday
>> Though often mentioned in the same breath as Eminem, Def Jux rapper Cage handily defeats the Detroit emcee in both the "shock value stemming from a horrendously screwed up childhood" and "quality of current output" departments. He's at DC9 with Yak Ballz and Educated Consumers, $10, 9 p.m.
>> Tonight, the Black Cat will be hosting a ladies-only intro to DJing, with the proceeds benefiting the District's hardest-rocking feminist summer camp, Girls Rock! DC. $5, 9 p.m.
THURSDAY
>> How good is M. Ward's fingerstyle guitar technique? Let's just say that if you walked into one of his shows blindfolded, you might erroneously assume that there are two guitarists onstage instead of one. See the She & Him and Monsters of Folk member at the 9:30 Club tonight with D.C.'s own Ian Svenonius' latest outfit, Chain and the Gang. $25, 7 p.m.
>> Given that they took part in the most storied installment of our Unbuckled concert series, it should go without saying that Brooklyn indie-pop act the XYZ Affair comes highly recommended. They're at DC9 with Poor but Sexy and Prabir and the Substitutes. $10, 9 p.m.
>> John Davis, we here at DCist aren't sure that we can deal with yet another messy breakup. First, you play drums for the best D.C. post-punk band in recent memory, Q and not U, only to have the band call it quits with potential left unfulfilled. Then you form the summery AM pop duo Georgie James, but break up the band just as you're on the cusp of something big. Is the third time--your latest vehicle, the feel-good pop act Title Tracks--really the charm? This delicate heart sure hopes so. Closing out this year's Fort Reno lineup with Casper Bangs and Grendel Babies. Free, 7:15 p.m.
FRIDAY
>> Fans of metalcore will want to check out instrumental axe-slingers Keelhaul at the Velvet Lounge. With The Wayward, Jefferson Plane Crash, Within the Lich Gate and Athens. $8, 10pm.
>> Yet another chance to catch folk troubadour M. Ward and Chain and the Gang at the 9:30 Club. $25, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
>> Drowned in Sound recently said that Veils lead singer Finn Andrews' live performance, "reminds us less of Brett Anderson or Nick Cave, and more of people’s accounts of watching Ian Curtis, at once uncomfortable and impossible to look away". Meanwhile, the LA Times' August Brown called the band's live show "probably the most moving, unsettling and unexpectedly haunting thing I've seen in rock music this year." See for yourself if the U.K. indie pop outfit lives up to the hype at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight. With Foreign Born and Faces on Film, $12, 8:30 p.m.
>> It's that time of year again: Run for Cover night at the Black Cat. This year's installment will find various permutations of D.C. artists joining forces to create a number of cover bands whose names leave little to the imagination: Blonde on Blonde, Five Imaginary Boys, Guided by Vices, Cherry Bombz and GG Top. As usual, proceeds will benefit a good cause--this year, it's Fort Reno. $10, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
>> Not a whole lot going on tonight. The Black Cat has a couch night with DJs A. Black and Mad Squirrel (free/8pm), DC9 has Midian* with Reni Lane ($8/9pm) and the 9:30 has R&B songstress Jazmine Sullivan ($25/7 p.m.).