Weekly Music Agenda
MONDAY
>> Sriram already offered plenty of reasons why you should head to the 9:30 tonight for Bebel Gilberto. Don't forget, it's an early show -- doors are at 6 p.m. $35.
>> One part of the Black Cat's description of tonight's act, Cub Country, really caught our eye. Yeah yeah, the music stuff sounds cool. But "spare second bedroom"?!?! That is the stuff of fantasies, right there. $8 on the backstage, with Velvet. 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
>> A dance night that features "everything from electro, indie, hip hop, punk & lo-fi to disco, new-wave, and international rainbow pop..." sounds just about right for the home-for-the-holidays, everybody-has-a-different-idea-of-what-a-fun-night-out-would-be kind of crowd. NOWHERE is free at the Rock and Roll Hotel, starting at 8 p.m., and even features drink specials (which we find always take the edge off those first few hours with the cousins you haven't seen since last year).
>> Also at the Hotel, experimental hip-hop duo Themselves helm a strong like-minded lineup, with eyedea & abilities and EDUCATED CONSUMERS. $12, show at 9 p.m.
>> Remember Matisyahu? Hasidic rap may not have caught on as a larger trend, but he's still around offering his hip-hop reggae stylings at the Sixth & I Synagogue. Sold out, doors at 7 p.m.
>> Philadelphia's Free Energy are about as happy go-lucky as you can find your way to with an electric guitar. With D.C.'s own Radio Fatale at DC9. $8/$10, 9 p.m. We're hard pressed to remember the last time two bands that were so completely and entirely incompatible shared a bill, but hey, sometimes these things work out.
THURSDAY
>> Play flag football, eat yourself sick, get a good spot on the couch and enjoy the company of your family, because there isn't a whole lot of music happening tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!
FRIDAY
>> The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy might be the perfect lineup to summarize the '00s, musically. On the one hand, lo-fi, literary folk rock. On the other, experimental violin jams that bring indie rock songs to a different place. 8 p.m., $20.
>> Locals Loose Lips offer a softer side of new wave. Think Interpol with a Fischer Price keyboard. They're headlining a fun night of D.C. bands, featuring the poppy folk sounds of typefighter and something a little darker from The Maeda Vale. At the Rock and Roll Hotel, $10, 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
>> Still need to get into the groove and work off some of that Thanksgiving weight? Good news: you don't have to worry about weather stretch pants will still zip up. Throw some on and head to The Red and the Black for Last Saturdays, their regular '80s dance night with DJ Doc Rok. No time or cost are listed, so we're assuming it's free.
>> CHOPTEETH! At the Black Cat! $15, 9 p.m. Because anytime is the right time for some afrofunk.