We caught them last Thursday at Clarendon Grill where they dominated the bar, offering a few new surprises that we hadn’t seen at previous shows. While opening with tracks off their two LPs and full length 2003 critically acclaimed album, A Beautiful Mess, (e.g “Anthem”, “Everything's Alright”), they played a significantly longer set including covers such as Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” and The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” In one of the highlights of the night, bassist Matt Waller stepped up to the mic and impressed us with his vocal talent. The band will hopefully take advantage of this more often in future shows and albums. DC101 predicted good things for the band back in 2002, and DCist expects even greater things to come very soon. more ›

TUESDAY >> Not too much going on this Tuesday, but the one-hit-wonder who can thank American Idol for his claim to fame, will be at 9:30 Club tonight with Holly Brook and Mozella. For $20 a ticket it might make more sense to just go buy Daniel Powter's single “Bad Day” on iTunes and save yourself the other 19 bucks and a headache from the mob of screeching AI fans guaranteed to be in attendance.... more ›

What do Bruce Springsteen, Incubus’ Brandon Boyd, and Green Day’s Billie Joe have in common? Nothing really, aside from the fact that their names all starting with a “B” and that each of the lead singers that performed last night at Clarendon Grill could be mistaken for one of them vocally. Local bands often pattern themselves after major artists until they make a name for themselves. Last night’s show offered the chance to see these bands try to do just that, with one ultimately standing out from the rest, as they used their musical mind control to send Arlington into a Shane Hines “Trance.” more ›

This is for all of those musicians out there. You've only got a few more days to get your submission in for the third annual Six Points Music Festival, showcasing live music at venues throughout the D.C. area April 6 - 8. Get those tracks loaded onto MySpace, pony up your $5, and enter for your chance to play at this very cool festival. Participating venues include DC9, Iota, Jammin' Java, Rock N Roll Hotel, Staccato Lounge, The State Theater, Strathmore, Velvet Lounge, Whitlow's, Clarendon Grill, Galaxy Hut and more. You've got until this Sunday (January 15) to send in your submissions. For more information, visit www.sixpointsmusicfestival.com. more ›

(From DCist contributor Amadie Hart) Clarendon, a historic shopping hub in Arlington County that was devastated by the construction associated with the construction of Metro's Orange Line in the 1970s, has undergone a wholesale transformation in the last decade. Small storefront retail and ethnic restaurants have been giving way to larger, chain developments. In recent years, stores such as Crate and Barrel, The Pottery Barn, the Container Store, and Williams Sonoma, and restaurants such as the Cheesecake Factory and Baja Fresh are attracting larger crowds of shoppers and diners. However, a couple of new openings in Clarendon are continuing the retail and restaurant explosion in Arlington's Orange Line corridor with a decidedly more "local" flavor. more ›