Everybody's favorite Portland-based literary music makers, The Decemberists, have had to cancel their Long And Short Of It tour, just two dates in. One of the band members has been ill, and as it turns out, hadn't gotten as well as they'd hoped in time to tour. That includes the expansive four-night residency they'd scheduled at the 9:30 Club for this weekend. If you'd already bought tickets, you can get a refund at your......

FRIDAY: >> Do the right thing and head to 9:30 Club for a show hosted by the strange gathering of the likes of Gypsy Eyes Records, The Federal Reserve and haberdasherie Propper Topper for a benefit for the DC Public Library Foundation. Kitty Hawk, Vandaveer, Revival, These United States and many more make up the crowded bill. 7:30 p.m., $20. >> The Brunettes (pictured right) perform sickly sweet but addictive pop duets, and they'll be......

Monday >> It’s been a few years since Strange and Beautiful brought English singer/songwriter Aqualung into the spotlight with his radio friendly sensitivity, but now he’s back touring to promote his latest release, Memory Man. He’ll be headlining the 9:30 Club with opener Sara Bareilles. $20. >> Three Stars favorites The Deleted Scenes will be out at the Warehouse Next Door tonight as part of a four band line-up including Pash, The Love Story, and......

FRIDAY: >> From the amount of Evites and mass emails running around inviting folks to giant group outings to see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, we're guessing that's what a lot of you are doing tonight. As of now, only the 5:15 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. showings at Gallery Place still have tickets available, but the Loews Georgetown has plenty more options. Jagshemash! >> Paging John Hodgman! Director......

Editor's Note: The Picks are a little lean this week, not because there isn't a ton of fun stuff to do but because we're operating on an "it's one of the last Fridays of the summer" frame of mind and can't muster the energy for more. Please tell us what you're up to this weekend in the comments, for the benefit of the group. FRIDAY: We'll be down at the ongoing opening festivities for Joe......

When we last heard, the crew from Gypsy Eyes Records were in the metaphorical maternity ward resting comfortably with great things ahead of them. Those great things kick off this weekend in grand fashion, and you’re all invited to join the festivities. The upstart local music collective has put together an exciting two day concert series they’ve christened as the Forever Festival and the first incarnation is almost upon us all. On Friday, head to......

FRIDAY: >> After a superb D.C. debut last year in the back room, Pleaseeasaur is returning to theBlack Cat tonight, this time on the mainstage, opening for San Diego's Pinback. J.P. Hasson and his invisible sidekick Thomas Hurley III are apparently taking a break this month from recording a new Comedy Central-sponsored album to perform a number of valuable pubilc service announcements. Did you know, for example, that "Cobras are Totally Cool?" Or, for that......

Over the past several years, the dynamics of music marketing and promotion -- both locally and nationally -- have drastically shifted under the tectonic changes in the old school music industry and its marketing institutions. Corporate radio playlists by the likes of Clear Channel have done away with diversity on the airwaves, while the once-novel MTV is hardly an option to sort through new music. Today’s music connoisseurs often resort to digital downloading both legal......