Bishop Allen are like a 40 degree day. They are the neighborhood bar that isn't necessarily your scene, but sure is close to your house. They are that kid your friend always invites to parties who doesn't seem to add much to a situation, but doesn't take away anything either. Bishop Allen are just totally fine. No more, no less. You'd never be moved to say anything necessarily bad about the band or their performance Friday night at the Black Cat. But you'd never be moved to say much else, either. more ›

FRIDAY: >> Odds are good that you'll be able to happily dance the night away at Rock and Roll Hotel, no matter what kind of music you're in the mood for. Downstairs you've got Party Bros., a tongue-in-cheek tribute to party music by DJs Gavin Holland and Chris Burns, featuring tunes ranging from Black Sabbath to Taylor Dayne, 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., while upstairs is a free funk and soul session from Moneytown, also... more ›

Over in what they refer to as the “Atlas District” – known more commonly by the rest of Western civilization as H Street NE – the Rock and Roll Hotel is slowly coming into its own as a venue. They have a diverse array of solid lineups checking in over the next month or so, and last night they hosted one of their better ones, an evening of music from local act Junior League and... more ›

MONDAY >> Don't be fooled by the picture. That isn't Trent Reznor and his ever-changing group of touring musicians. It's Greg Dulli's pals and labelmates Afterhours, and they'll be playing DC9 with Cedars. Expect tons of sex, drugs, rock and roll and Italian accents. Bravissimo! $8, 8 p.m. TUESDAY >> Hailing from Derry/Donegal on the northwest coast of Ireland, Claire Sproule has been playing guitar and writing songs since she was 14. She lists Tom... more ›

-era U2 and all energy, I knew I was witnessing something special. I bought their EP on iTunes soon after and it became regular listening for me during my morning commute. So when we started brainstorming the line up for Thursday's Unbuckled, they were at the top of my list. Luckily for all of us, they said yes. Lead guitarist Nate Martinez answered some questions for us in advance of the gig. more ›

Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen began this year by embarking on a decidedly outside-the-box strategy—rather than pursue the typical method of writing, recording and marketing an album, they decided to spend the entire year writing songs, and releasing the fruits of their labors each month in the form of quickly assembled EP’s. The year-long series, each EP named after the month of its release, would be available by mail order from their website. Even without great songs,... more ›

As a rather fervent concert goer, I've been watching my October Outlook calendar with alternating excitement and dread as my concert calendar gets more and more crowded. This all came to a head yesterday as I started putting in the DAMfest schedule and noticed a whole bunch of scheduling conflicts in the making. Area indie rock fans are going to have some tough choices to make the last full week of October. Thursday, Oct.... more ›