Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Monday >> The Starlingtons may not seem like your typical Black Cat band, but they are breaking the boundaries of traditional country/bluegrass. Tonight they’ll be on the back stage with Portland Oregon’s Casey Neill and his own folk/punk rock fusion. 9 p.m., $7. >> In the mood to try something new? Chicago’s post-punk New Harbour has been around for a few years now, but just moved to the District. They’re playing their first show tonight......

Michael Jantz is our hero. The Cleveland bred folk/indie-rocker moved into the District a few years ago after leaving his mark on the Midwest to save us from our end-of-the-week doldrums. Sunday evenings can be somewhat of a downer, but Jantz has found a way to take back the night…as a weekly host and feature artist at Wonderland Ballroom. He draws talent from both inside the District and beyond, and headlines these intimate shows with......

By DCist Contributor Mehan Jayasuriya Much like the similarly canonized Robert Johnson, Brian Wilson is an American icon for whom mythology has contributed as much to his legend of being a "musical genius" as his accomplishments have. The five years spent in a bedroom, the lost (and eventually found) masterpiece Smile, the strange, drug-induced happenings at an L.A. mansion in the 1960s and a long history of mental illness add up to something that......

If your parents have a record collection, or you've ever read a countdown list, or if you've seen Almost Famous, or if you've generally got a sense of rock history, you know that The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is one of the most important, critically acclaimed, and talked about albums in music history. The album's landmark 40th anniversary recently rolled around. In commemoration, the album has been re-released, featuring original and remastered versions of the......

MONDAY: >>Lucinda Williams brings her raspy voice to the D.C. tonight. Her Tom Petty-inspired brand of roots rock can be heard on her latest album, Live At The Fillmore. Or you can catch the real thing tonight at the 9:30 Club. $35, 7:30. >>Grab your Coke, gel your hair, and spend the evening with the man who made teenagers and soccer moms wear out their voting fingers in 2003. Clay Aiken at Wolf Trap, $25......

Because we like to keep you in the know, here's an updated list of upcoming shows, through middle of October or so (if we've missed anything, please let us know!). A couple of DCist-ers will be in attendance at the Thrills show tomorrow night at the Black Cat, so come on out! 9/17: Lungfish, Black Cat 9/18: The Thrills, Black Cat 9/23: The Walkmen, 9:30 Club 9/24: Fiery Furnaces, Black Cat 9/25: Travis Morrison, Galaxy......

DCist usually laments the state of shows here in the nation’s capital. Often passed over for the bigger markets of Philadelphia or New York, the D.C. never seems to get a fair shake when it comes to the concerts that all the cool kids wanna go to. It’s so unfair! We have some great musical venues; when are we going to get a steady influx of good live bands? Well, it seems the times, they......