Like some poorly constructed M. Night Shyamalan film, something must be in the air killing off our favorite D.C. bands. The latest casualty is Telograph (***), who we've reviewed several times in the past. The band, which will be playing their farewell show at the 9:30 Club this Friday, wrote the following on their MySpace blog: Dear Friends, It is with a heavy heart that we announce this: Telograph has come to an end. We......

Good morning, Washington. Have a good Halloween? We have to admit, this year's midweek scheduling kind of put a damper on the holiday's opportunities for costumed revelry. It didn't stop us from eating a ridiculous amount of candy, though. Naturally, we feel that the children are to blame: if more kids had stopped by we wouldn't be stuck with this glut of chocolate and dearth of willpower. Perhaps this is why our childhood neighbors......

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 >> The City Veins are a strong local outfit that's been making their debut around town over the course of the past few months. They just formed in March and are already more mature and ready to bring the rock than a lot of bands with a lot more stage time. And hey, they have a blog! See what you're missing tonight at Solly's Tavern on U Street. 10 p.m. >> Do you......

Like a beach-side romance, several local bands are coming to an end this summer. The Sentiment (pictured), who we profiled in a Three Stars piece last summer, said farewell last night at Fort Reno. Let's French (***) are "being exiled" and are playing their last show on August 17 at the Black Cat. The Hard Tomorrows, who graced the stage of our second Unbuckled show, just called it quits last month. Say it ain't so!......

We're hoping that the eyes reading the site today are as bleary as all of ours are after a spectacular Wednesday night at DC9. We couldn't have asked for anything more from last night's superb, sweaty, sold out show. The crowd was spotted with familiar faces from local bands past and present, readers, music fans and even original DCist staffers who flew all the way across the country just for Unbuckled! (OK, Becca, we......

FRIDAY: >> Maybe you check in with DCist only occasionally to get a few tips on which concerts to see, but tend to stick to touring acts for the most part, and still haven't really exposed yourself to the local rock scene. If so, confess tonight and all your sins will be forgiven. Three of the best local bands are playing a show together on the Black Cat's main stage at 9 p.m. -- catch......

The currency of "rocking out," once a rock and roll staple, has been severely undervalued in recent years. There was a time when throwing yourself wildly around a stage, suffering endorphin-masked injury, and smearing your bloodied body with peanut butter wasn't a particularly noteworthy night. That was just Topeka, and those wounds would magically heal themselves to be reopened again by the time you got to Omaha. Somewhere along the line rock went and......

As we mentioned in the Morning Roundup today, there are plenty of ways to define the start of summer. For music lovers in the D.C. area however, once Fort Reno starts, you know the lazy days of fire fly catching and swimming pool splashing are officially upon us. We told you last week about the opening lineup for this summer's series on June 18, but we're happy to tell you now that the full......

Fort Reno, the long-running summer concert series that dates back to the days when Marion Barry wasn't dodging indictments, gives D.C.'s indie and punk faithful welcome respite from dark, dimly lit clubs, and everyone a chance to enjoy some great local bands during the long summer evenings. The stage has witnessed many amazing performances by a who's who of local luminaries including Fugazi, Q and not U, Ted Leo and Mary Timony, and was to......

The first thing we noticed when City-State's first full-length, Monument, arrived is that it looked very professional. Often with local bands the CDs look (and usually are) homemade. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just something that stuck out as a good sign. The CD cover has a picture of Vladimir Tatlin's unbuilt sculpture "Monument to the Third International," one of those things that pops up in architecture books from time to time, superimposed over......

We really enjoy giving away free stuff, and so apparently do your favorite local bands. That's why we got together with Cedars to arrange for an EP and ticket giveaway to their show tonight with Scotland's the Cinematics and Chicago's the Changes at the Rock and Roll Hotel! Who loves ya? DCist loves ya. We've been big fans of the band since way back in the days when they had a different name and played......

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......

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to......

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......

By day Eric Boucher is a typical DC office drone but by night he is a music impresario. The audiophile’s passion manifested itself first in the music site BigYawn.net (a site I occasionally contribute music reviews to) and now is the force behind the District's Awake Music Festival (DAM Fest). The event features more than 40 bands on four stages over three days (not counting the pre and post parties). As this is DC, there......

By now, you and your entire network of friends, acquaintances and enemies have made plans to meet at DC9 tonight to take in the glory that will be Unbuckled 4: DCist's Official 2nd Anniversary party. Right? Well, just in case you haven't been sold by our lineup alone (and don't forget to check out our reviews of Middle Distance Runner and The Vita Ruins), let us give you 5 more reasons that Unbuckled is the......

We can hardly believe it's been two whole years since DCist first began. Seems like it was just yesterday that Big Media Mike Grass was tantilizing us all with the possibility of Jessica Cutler's bare breast in honor of our official launch. Sigh. The innocence of youth -- those were indeed the days. So, what have we learned in our two years of life? To begin with, we've finally been potty trained, and now know......

Heat several thousand half-naked suburbanites and tattooed hipsters in a few D.C. city blocks. Slowly add two local bands until the overpriced Bud Light kicks in and the flashing ensues. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add remaining reemerging mainstream artists from the last decade and mash-up well. Then Smell My Face. Saturday marked the 2006 DC 101 Chili Cook-Off, sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation. And while I’m sure many kidneys were saved from......

It was quite a week for baseball here in the District. MLB finally granted the Nationals an owner, but the Lerner group will certainly have its work cut out for it. Emboldened by the culmination of their baseball dreams, some city officials might next try to bring home the Redskins. Owner or no, the battle to get Nats games televised continues. This week, we announced our next big musical event, and we bid farewell......

MONDAY >> Remember when rap-rock was cool? We try to repress the memories, but some bands just won’t let us forget. San Diego-based P.O.D. is one of those bands. If you’re feeling sentimental, they’ll be at the 9:30 Club, along with Pillar, The Chariot, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, as part of the Warriors Tour. It’s doubtful that “Warriors” is a slick reference to Walter Hill’s 1979 classic movie, but you never know.......

This week we reported that some police officers have been wrongfully enforcing the D.C. smoking ban in restaurants, found one of the area's best burgers in an unexpected place, recognized that maybe there may be too much junk food in local food banks and commended the Post for its four Pulitzer prizes. We checked out some local bands at the Black Cat, found unintentional hilarity over at WMATA's website, pondered express service on Metro......

DCist loves our indie rock, especially that of the D.C.-area variety. So when the Black Cat was good enough to book three local bands on Saturday, we were there, cameras in tow. Openers Georgie James played a great set for what was only their second local gig. Their performance with Joggers a few weeks back was uneven if not promising, so they have obviously been practicing since then. Saturday's performance was much more confident......

The idea of Six Points is interesting enough. There is a lot happening in the D.C. music scene, and not enough people take the time to check out local bands. However, the segment of the festival at the Velvet Lounge on Friday strangely tried to cram five of said local bands onto a stage with the task of holding the audience’s attention for five to six hours. Even stranger, why start the show at 9......

SXDC As much as we'd like to be, DCist isn't at SXSW right now. A couple of our ist-a-verse brethren made the trek to the oh-so-awesome music, film and interactive festival out in sunny Austin. What's even more exciting than that is that so did two D.C. musicians! We're beaming like proud parents as our very own Three Stars alum The Hint head to Texas. It's kind of like sending our kids off to college.......

It's that time again! For this month's Three Stars -- our monthly feature that highlights three local bands -- we'll start off today with The Hint, take a look at The Apparitions tomorrow, and finish things up on Thursday with Shortstack. The Hint Experiencing The Hint, is like tossing back that late night Jager shot just as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” streams through the bar sending a new wave of energy and passion through the......

This weekend is not only the last of January, but the last of the Chinese calendar year. We had some lewd jokes about fireworks and "The Year of the Rooster" prepared, but given that our last attempt at ethnic humor almost ended with us being chased out of D.C., we’ll play it safe this time and simply wish you all a Happy Lunar New Year. FRIDAY >>The key to a vibrant local music scene is......

Monday: Thank goodness for Iota, as most of the other clubs in the area are dark tonight. Head to Nearlington to see (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope's (pictured) brand of noise-pop, with Brandon Butler (ex-Canyon), and Mike Maloney. $10. Alternatively, make a holiday mix-tape. Tuesday: Deleted Scenes are one of a number of local bands to do the catchy, up-tempo, New York rock thing really well. See them Tuesday as they release their new album at......

This is the third entry in this week's Three Stars local music roundup. Check out Tuesday's piece on Death By Sexy and yesterday's take on Barakus. Today Jason Linkins spreads the news about Full Minute of Mercury. Pictures are from Full Minute of Mercury and Earlash, respectively. Full Minute of Mercury For many years, Washington’s most notable rock exports took the form of Dischordian austerity and the post-graduate sounds of the TeenBeat and Simple Machines......