Republicans in Congress just haven't been nice to the District lately -- they delayed a vote on the voting rights bill by adding a rider to end D.C.'s handgun ban, and now they're preventing a free concert from being held near the Capitol on July 7. The concert was to be part of Al Gore's Live Earth series of concerts to raise environmental awareness and was to feature some combination of acts like the Police,... more ›

The Washington Post reports today that Congress is set to vote on a landmark resolution to allow the likes of Snoop, Green Day, Kylie Minogue, and scores of other popular musicians to perform on the Capitol grounds for Live Earth, Al Gore's series of global-warming awareness concerts. Concurrent Resolution 17 was introduced in the Senate yesterday by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Live Earth, which is scheduled for July 7th,... 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 ›

In 2005, The Hold Steady were the right band, with the right album, at just the right time. In an indie marketplace dominated by the self-absorbed strains of emo nation and a never-ending supply of post-punk outfits pimping ‘80s nostalgia, The Hold Steady stood out with a record both decidedly Midwestern and defiantly unconcerned with anything pertaining to hipness. What Green Day’s American Idiot does in exploring the political landscape, that disc, Separation Sunday, does... more ›

So, the unofficial close of summer has come and gone in a spectacularly gorgeous weekend. Agree? But we all know that living in the District not only means our dog days linger longer than August, but also that the best of 2005 is yet to come, with fall weather making its slow and graceful entrance in the next few weeks. Our thoughts this past week have been preoccupied with the devastation in the Gulf Coast.... more ›

In last Sunday's Post Magazine, the newspaper's retiring rock critic David Segal described what he called the "great Live Concert moment." He wrote: It's about music, but it's also about an experience that's ephemeral and communal, that you share for a couple of hours with a bunch of strangers who, at some level, you feel like you know because they have the same idiotic glint in their eye when the lights come up. It's... more ›