Ever wonder what it's like to be a band out on tour? And by "band out on tour" we don't mean U2 or even Scott Stapp. We mean bands that load in themselves, play their show and then get in the van and drive all night to the next gig. D.C.'s own These United States is such a band. Criss-crossing the country, playing upwards of 100 shows a year with bands like Califone, Someone Still... more ›

Whenever a band from the South takes the stage – particularly at an indie rock club – conventional indie rock expectations should go out the window. Or, at least, a different type of wisdom seems to apply. Just like no one was terribly surprised when Isaac Brock sliced himself onstage, or when they found out that seeing Cat Power live can be an awkward experience, or that Jeff Tweedy will probably fire a current member of Wilco in the next six months, no one’s ever really shocked to see a Southern band playing loud and long, and stumbling drunk around the stage. In that regard, it was another loud, sloppy night from the South’s latest purveyors of road-tested rock, Memphis' Lucero. more ›

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Really, we should all be mad about Pink Mountaintops. Because they're Canadian. And they're doing down-and-dirty, makin'-it-behind-the-bleachers rock 'n roll, a genre that we should theoretically own, hands down. And worse than that, they're doing it well. I mean, as if Canada had not already asserted its indie rock dominance, now they come trouncing on home territory. Yet, it’s just really hard to be mad at a man with questionably short shorts and Jesus-hair crooning... more ›

FRIDAY: The Mozart Year is almost halfway over — the man's birthday was January 27 — but classical concert programming continues to celebrate it. Opera Lafayette gets in the game tonight and tomorrow (June 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m.) with a concert performance of Mozart's first important opera, Idomeneo, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. The vocal cast promises to be excellent, including an up-and-coming young singer named Millicent Scarlett, who... more ›

It's been a...weird week for D.C. music lovers. Fur flew over the dos and don'ts of ticket sale announcements. Strange things were afoot with venue booking. We all got twitterpated about Unbuckled. Before we move on to telling you about some things to look forward to, may we just say how much awesome Nethers brought to the Black Cat's back stage last night? This is a truly great band, D.C. or otherwise. They've got well written songs and match that to their synergistic live show. You simply can not take your eyes off of Nikki West when she sings, and the band is so in synch when they're playing instrumental portions, it almost looks choreographed. We wish them all the luck one little blog can muster as they set off on their seven week tour, hitting a few ist cities along the way. more ›