Some bands can learn a lot from the Super Furry Animals. You could enlist an army of keyboards or even one of the guys from Sebadoh to improve your live performance, but sometimes all it takes is getting the audience to wiggle their fingers above their heads and howl to have a good time. Last night at the 9:30 Club, the Furries managed to coax the audience into this bizarre display not once, but twice. more ›

If you consider yourself a fan of The Fiery Furnaces, chances are, you’re the type of person who appreciates a good surprise. Though the siblings Friedberger debuted in 2003 with Gallowbird’s Bark, a fairly straightforward (if surprisingly literate) take on bluesy garage rock, things quickly took a turn for the weird. The band returned only a year later with the 76-minute Blueberry Boat, a delightfully overstuffed homage to the rock operas of the Who that crammed squelchy Moog lines, blues riffs, church organs and Broadway melodies into miniature epics about lost dogs, pirates and misplaced lockets. While the album’s sudden twists and turns felt like aural overload on first listen, many fans and critics found the makings of a masterwork in the record’s labyrinthine assembly and spiraling narratives. As if to prove that they are capable of producing great pop songs as well (on the rare occasion that they feel like it), the band followed with the terrific singles-collecting EP in 2005. more ›

>> Tickets are still available for Fiery Furnaces, dios and Orphan tonight at Black Cat. $15, 8 p.m. >> Check out our full preview of RAMP, performing a free show tonight at Bossa Bistro and Lounge, 9 p.m. >> DCist favorites Robbers on High Street come to Iota tonight promising to play songs from their upcoming disc, "Grand Animals." Expect another solid, fun show, along with two Chicago bands, The Redwalls and Baby Teeth.... more ›

The early part of the week is looking a little light for shows, but after the Fourth things really get rolling through Sunday night. MONDAY >> After coming down with a case of "David Letterman throat" last week, Morrissey was forced to reschedule three shows, including his gig at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Right now it looks like NYC's loss is our gain, as we just recieved an email from the staff at Wolf... more ›

If Thursday's show at the Red and the Black was any indication, this year's 6 Points Music Festival looks to be a good one. The local fest, in its fourth year but only its second with a wider reach, aims to someday be a D.C. version of South by Southwest and helped its cause by bringing a diverse indie bill to H Street NE. The show began with Brooklyn's The Lisps, followed by Chicago's Scotland... more ›

By DCist contributor Graham Hough-Cornwell The pseudo sub-genre of schizo-pop that the Fiery Furnaces made well-publicized if not so much well-liked culminated – at least for this reviewer – with Architecture in Helsinki’s second full-length album, In Case We Die. To call the two groups similar perhaps isn’t fair; their most basic common aesthetic is a lack of one in particular. But for my money, Architecture are the more playful of the two, their shouts... more ›

Who would you consider a hip stylist in D.C.? Maybe it’s someone booked solid for months, whose salon offers a menu of primping options and feels like a visit to Zen. For others, it’s someone under the radar who transforms you from your-cooler-than-average self into Eleanor Friedburger from Fiery Furnaces or retro-Reese as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. more ›

FRIDAY: more ›

We successfully sailed the ocean blue and are back with this week's shortened music picks. TUESDAY >> It's an early show/late show kind of night at the 9:30 Club (directions from DCist Maps). Come by at 6 p.m. to catch Anna Nalick, the songstress TV networks love to dramatize commercials with, for $15. Pound a Red Bull and stay for the late show as Blues Traveler gets all your harmonica lovin' ya yas out. $25,... more ›

FRIDAY: >> DCist is pleased to offer $5 off Forum Theatre & Dance's performances of UpShot by Ami Dayan (a scene from the play is at left). It's already received several positive notices, and director Shirley Serotsky has let us know that anyone who shows up at the box office with a print-out of this post can purchase a ticket for $13 (normally $18). This deal is good for the entire run of the play,... more ›

A few local blogs have recently pointed us toward what we think is the greatest idea for parents since the Diaper Genie was invented: Rock-N-Romp, a family-friendly series of concerts in Silver Spring backyard featuring fantastic local bands. The season runs May through October, one Saturday afternoon a month. Shows are free for the little tykes, a mere $4 donation is requested for adults, and you can view the schedule here. E-mail the enterprising Debbie for more information. more ›

Were you out at any number of the great concerts this weekend? Unfortunately, bad planning and unlucky timing kept us from attending a show, but you can see a review and pictures of the Fiery Furnaces over at shesbitter.com; descriptions of the Bloc Party show at Dumbek and A Lot of Nothingness; and Bags over at the 9:30 Club Forum had a lot of glowing things to say about OK Go. TUESDAY: >> Not a... more ›

Yes, yes, we know -- we're late this week with the musical agenda. We were checking out the beautiful city of one of our sister blogs, but now we're back and ready with the shows of the week. WEDNESDAY: >> California band Eagles of Death Metal (a side-project of the frontman for Queens of the Stone Age) play the Black Cat with local group The Whips (whose mp3s you can listen to here). And a... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›