New artwork from the Hsu sisters of Exit Clov is on display at DCAC under the name "imoM." This year’s Wall Mountables at the DC Arts Center holds some true surprises. At first glance, this annual fundraising show looks like round two of Artomatic—with less walking, fewer bands, and of course, much less space. Stick around awhile though, and you start to appreciate the wealth of talent hanging side-by-side salon-style: some new faces, some......

FRIDAY: >> Bay Area songstress Goapele’s (pictured) musical background is almost as diverse as her ethnic background. Born to a South African political exile father and a mother whose parents survived the Holocaust, she studied at the Berklee College of Music and later would form musical partnerships with the likes of hip-hop acts like the Hieroglyphics crew and E-40. However her 2005 release, Change It All, established her as especially talented when it comes to......

Monday >> It’s Saint Lucy’s Day! Hej Hej, the DJ night dedicated to Scandinavian pop and rock, is getting festive for this start of the Christmas season with drink specials and holiday hits in addition to their regular fare. Pop into Café St.-Ex in your finest crown of candles, and you might even get a free drink. 10 p.m., FREE. >> Le Loup are also celebrating tonight, in a homecoming of sorts for the local......

Good Morning, Washington. In an apparent attempt to rule the D.C. media landscape through terror and intimidation, the Washington Post has published the scariest local news story we've ever read this morning: apparently, these disgusting-looking creatures called camel crickets are infesting area basements due to the lack of moisture in the ground thanks to the region's rather serious drought. Described as "a mix between a spider and a cricket" and accompanied by disturbing photographic......

Editor's note: The DAM! Fest concludes tonight with Cat Power at 9:30 Club. One of our critics headed out to the Historic Sixth and I Synagogue on Saturday and her thoughts on the show are below. Let us know which DAM! shows you caught and what you thought of them in the comments. Exit Clov: What can we say about Exit Clov that we haven't already said? The overwhelming beauty and austerity of the Sixth......

Ragged Glory plays tonight at the Velvet Lounge. Can’t afford to pay $100 for a cheap seat at Neil Young’s upcoming DAR stop in November? You’re in luck. During our last chat with Ryan Walker from The Beanstalk Library, we found out he also put together a Neil Young cover band a few years back. They call themselves Ragged Glory, and the lineup plays something like a who’s who of up-and-coming local bands: Brian Kent......

MONDAY >> At the ripe young age of 24, Patrick Wolf has already achieved a lot: three albums of brooding electronica and orchestral pop, modeling campaigns for Burberry, headlines in the British tabloids and at least one on-stage altercation that found the lupine violinist attacking his strung-out drummer with a cymbal. Drama notwithstanding, Wolf's latest, the surprisingly upbeat The Magic Position, is undoubtedly one of this year's best. Come see what all the fuss is......

FRIDAY: >> Starting tonight, George Mason Stadium plays host to the region's annual D.C . College Cup. The soccer teams of George Washington, American, Howard, and George Mason will square off in two rounds of games. Though the tournament is conspicuously missing national powerhouses UMD and UVA, the event will still showcase some of the best young talent around. GW and AU kick off tonight's slate (5:00 p.m.), with Howard and GMU rounding the night......

When the advance promo single from The Beanstalk Library landed in our hands in the midst of that blinding heat wave in early August, it seemed perfectly timed. The one-two punch of “Elephantitis”, a rushing, gushing power-popper, and “Fake It”, with its requisite jangle and harmonies, was the perfect antidote to midsummer malaise. Now the proper full-length, America at Night, is finally out, and the band’s finally got the album they’ve been working on since......

MONDAY >> Three Stars alums The Chance and J. Forté + the Secret Pop Band, D.C.'s favorite lofi power-poppers, are playing a great double-bill (bothThree Stars veterans) at the Black Cat Backstage. 9 p.m. $6. TUESDAY >> Yet another revival of West Side Story comes to Wolf Trap and stays there until Sunday. Apparently it's the 50th anniversary. 8 p.m. with matinée shows at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. $18-68. WEDNESDAY >> The Rock......

There are a lot of things we love about this photo. The halo of light around the singer's head, the slight graininess and soft focus, the ghostly effects of the spotlight and the flare, that particular and otherworldly shade of green. But the detail that may have completely sold us on Flickr user flickr-rickr's concert capture is that guy front and center completely lost in the music. There's someone who definitely got his money's......

A track on a couple soundtracks, buzz spewing from the URLs of a few hundred bloggers, some decent press in Spin – used to be that was enough to get you a record label deal. The Eames Era may not have found the going so easy, but after a wonderful little set at Iota on Monday night, they seem poised for a bigger breakthrough. The band’s basically four dudes – two guitars, bass, drums –......

>> There's a lot going on tonight in our Weekly Music Agenda, but we'd especially recommend making the trip to Iota for Exit Clov's show with The Eames Era, who play easily digestible indie-pop without being annoying about it. Also The Beanstalk Library. 8:30 p.m. $10. >> Tickets are still available to see Skinny Puppy at the 9:30 Club tonight. It could be just like when you used to hang out with your older......

MONDAY >> DC9 scoured the globe for tonight's lineup. The Comas hail from Brooklyn and Chapel Hill and specialize in the darker shades of psychadelic rock. The Veils are here all the way from New Zealand, with some "if you like The White Stripes, you'll love The Veils"-style blues-inspired rock. Locals Zulu Pearls round out the lineup with solid, basic, indie rock. We're incapable of hearing their name without thinking of "Zuzu's petals" from It's......

When was the last time you went to see a band play for the first time and knew you were witnessing something special? Le Loup is barely out of the gate yet, but they're making major waves and for good reason. The seven piece band is producing something so infectious, so engaging, and so very of-the-moment, it's not hard to see why Hardly Art, a label started by some folks from the revered Sub Pop,......

Saturday at the Black Cat: Jukebox the Ghost EP release party, Exit Clov, Le Loup. $10, 9 p.m. Of the three local bands on the triple bill Saturday night at the Black Cat, Exit Clov seem to be everyone’s favorite local group. Le Loup seem to be the new kids getting the rave reviews and big turnouts. But with their first “real” release, GW-kids and Three Stars alums Jukebox the Ghost officially throw their hat......

FRIDAY: >> At 11 a.m. today or noon tomorrow, grab the kids and a box or twelve of tissues and head down to the National Archives for a screening of An American Tail. Part of their celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, they're sharing the story of Fivel and his cheese-paved streets with the next generation. We can only assume they'll watch it over and over like we did, each time hoping Fivel doesn't go......

MONDAY >> Swedish indie popsters Peter Bjorn and John will play a sold out show at the 9:30 Club, accompanied by the "triple keyboard action" of Brooklyn's Au Revoir Simone. Honestly, if they promised triple "keytar" action, we would sell our souls for tickets. >> The Alphabetical Order and Summerbirds in the Cellar bring on the rock at DC9. $8 TUESDAY >> Embarrassing secret #12. An ex-girlfriend once dragged us to a Third Eye Blind......

MONDAY >> Anthony Pirog's (one of our recent Three Stars artists) many music outlets are coming together tonight at Iota. Head to Arlington's cozy club to hear rock music from The Bang. With Le Loup. $10, 8:30 p.m. >> Mark Mallman, Twin Cities veteran and spastic-rock-showman-turned-synth-pop-afficianado, plays DC9 with fellow Minneapolis rockers the Honeydogs in one of the week's best bargains. 8 bucks gets you a whole lot of rock and probably some ringing eardrums......

When we last caught up with Jukebox the Ghost, we left hoping we'd hear from them again. Soon. Their unpretentious but knowing mix of staples from the pop-rock canon -- think Billy Joel gone quirky with a bunch of proto-new wavers as backing band -- is addictive, and they proved they had the tunes to back it up. Unfortunately, Jukebox were still a kick-ass live show without too much in the way of quality recording......

FRIDAY: >> You don't need us to tell you any more about local heavyweights Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, or Greenland. But tonight is Ferree's first time headlining at Black Cat's mainstage, so don't forget to show up and lend your support. 9 p.m., $10. SATURDAY: >> Guitarist Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will spin a DJ set at the Rock and Roll Hotel. $10 after 10 p.m., free before. >>......

MONDAY >> Memphis has quite a reputation of producing some our country’s greatest musicians. Head over to DC9 tonight to see if glam rockers Esque can keep up the tradition with Study In Her and Dawn of Man. $8. >> Son of Nun is a high school teacher from Baltimore who’s using his music to change the world. His single “Fight Back” was chosen to be included on the second volume of the Peace Not......

One last list of picks from local arists as we look back on the year that was 2006. Today's final installment comes courtesy of W. Ellington Felton, Jukebox The Ghost, The Fake Accents, Telograph and the DCist Music Staff. W. Ellington Felton 1. Thom Yorke, Eraser This is an electronic record minus the noise that a lot of the others out there have. I can listen to this straight through. This is the perfect cd......

To create his new record, Secret Pop, former Ape House frontman J. Forte took three years of home-recording in his apartment, playing most of the instruments and using a digital recorder that captured everything from his music to background noise like muted voices on the television. The result? A charming lo-fi record that plays off the synth-like stylings of Ape House, but in a darker and more subdued manner. Lyrical subjects from the always-popular alcohol......

There is nothing slow and steady about Middle Distance Runner. The local pop rockers have had quite an accelerated year of achievement and attention with the release of their debut album Plane In Flames back in June. It was a very promising record from a group of guys who have been playing together for a while but just recently started taking their work more seriously. And as a result, they have produced a collection of......

In 1946, the Third Programme launched in Great Britain blasting classical music to the masses. Sixty years later, it has re-emerged, not as a station on the BBC, but as one of D.C.’s newest purveyors of trippy Brit pop. It is very appropriate that this band, who only recently formed at the beginning of the year, chose a name with such experienced undertones. With but several months under their belts working together, Simon, Fidel,......

Call us slightly obsessed. Yesterday we responded to a recent Pitchfork news piece in which +/- (Plus Minus) lists Ben’s Chili Bowl as one of their favorite hangouts whenever they are performing in D.C., with recommendations of some of our preferred local eateries. We thought even more about the subject and came up with a better idea. Who would be better at recommending pre- and post-show hangouts than local musicians? So we e-mailed a few......

FRIDAY: The DAM! Festival doesn't start until next weekend, but the organizers rightfully want you to be psyched for it to start already. They're hosting a Kickoff Party tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel, with Exit Clov, The Dance Party, Dirty on Purpose (pictured), and DJ Geologist (who we interviewed earlier this week). $9 gets you in the door. >> Reel Affirmations, the D.C. area's Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered film festival, wraps......

By DCist contributor Abby Lavin On any given night, most bars in D.C. would be more fun if you got to pick the music, right? But to convince a bar to let you play iPod-commando (unless it’s Café Saint-Ex on iPod Jukebox night), you’d have to have some serious indie-rock street-cred. You’d practically have to be a member of experimental rock demigods Animal Collective. Fancy that! A member of Animal Collective (Geologist) is going to......

Exit Clov’s Respond Respond pulls off a difficult feat in music: creating an entertaining mixture of art, politics and rock and then wrapping it up in a neat little six-song package. Considering how popular the band has become since they formed in 2003, however, this review only re-enforces what everybody has been saying all along. Yes, they are really that good. With the latest EP, sisters Emily and Susan Hsu, who provide vocals along with......