You would be hard pressed to find a power-pop band as well received and respected as The New Pornographers. The indie rock “super-group” graced the 9:30 Club yesterday on the first night of their sold out 2-day run in D.C. They arrived in full force with everyone’s favorite indie personalities: including Carl Newman (a.k.a. A.C. Newman), Neko Case, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and Kathryn Calder (Immaculate Machine). more ›

Yesterday, when putting together our daily "About Tonight" feature, I scanned several recent concert reviews, looking for signs about whether or not enigmatic singer Neko Case would be performing with the New Pornographers at the 9:30 Club. It was a question anyone with tickets to last night's show (or tonight's), including myself, was asking, because Case, often busy with her solo career, has been known to skip out on New Pornographers tours before. Dan Bejar, off touring with his own band, Destroyer, was already confirmed not to be on this tour, but Case was supposed to be making the journey this time around. more ›

We don't understand why Benjy Ferree is not a big star. The Three Stars alum plays roosty indie gems and has great stage presence — he's a funny and engaging and a strong performer. He's toured with Spoon and The New Pornographers and is signed to Domino Records (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc). And his band is basically a D.C. supergroup, with Laura Harris of The Aquarium, Amy Domingues and Jonah Takagi from Garland of Hours, and Drew Mills from Blood Feather. And the new disc, Leaving the Nest, is great. But he doesn't seem to get much notice. more ›

FRIDAY: >> It’s been over six years since he last had a properly released album, but crooner Bilal (left) has still managed to catch people’s attention with some of his latest material. Too bad it was illegally leaked and now his label is threatening never to let the refined product see the light of day. Regardless, his Black Cat performance should be noteworthy. 9 p.m., $22. >> We’ve told you about Deleted Scenes many times... more ›

We've been waiting for the official V Fest details for a little while now. We'd gotten hints that the September 23 affair at Pimlico would include The Raconteurs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Who, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and more. All of those: confirmed. Here's the full lineup: Bands The Red Hot Chili Peppers; The Who; The Killers; Flaming Lips; The Raconteurs; Gnarls Barkley; Scissor Sisters; Keane; Thievery Corporation; Clap Your Hands Say Yeah;... more ›

Today we bring you the second half of our coverage of The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian at the 9:30 Club. Yesterday Jason reviewed Carl Newman and his half-staffed band; today Hemal shares her take on the surprisingly energetic Scottish crowd-pleasers Belle and Sebastian. more ›

For the past two days, Washington DC’s 9:30 club has played host to two of indie rock’s most well regarded bands—The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian. While you’d never mistake one band for the other, the common traits of both acts on this nominally co-headliner tour are their highly inventive songwriting and dextrous musical arrangements. Over the past two days, fans of both bands came out in force, but it was clear after two days that the Belle and Sebastian partisans caught the better end of the deal. Hampered by an illness to a critical band member, the New Pornographers struggled to match the high-flying pyrotechnics of their most recent studio album, Twin Cinema. DCist came out to cover the show on its second night. This brief review of the New Pornographers’ truncated and star-crossed performance will be followed tomorrow with a review of Belle and Sebastian’s appearance. more ›

While most of the DC indieverse was at the 9:30 Club last night seeing johnny-come-lately's The New Pornographers and Belle & Sebastian, us grizzled music veterans took our ears and admiration over to the Black Cat to catch the "semi-legendary" Wedding Present play their second D.C. gig in les than a year. While their setlist at this gig was less hit heavy than the last go 'round, David Gedge and company didn't dissapoint. The... more ›

This week's agenda was written in part by DCist contributor Matt Sedlar. MONDAY >> Sure, we mentioned it in last week's agenda. And in the weekend picks. But a co-headlining tour of Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers is a pretty big deal. The DCist contingent will be there tonight, and hopefully we'll find out the answers to those burning questions -- whose fans will make for a better crowd? Which band has a... more ›

On Saturday DCist headed to the 9:30 club to catch the New Pornographers, who are touring in support of their excellent third album, Twin Cinema. The sold-out club seemed even more tightly packed with bodies than usual, all of them anxious to hear the band's tightly constructed pop.

The 9:30 club's recent price "adjustment" led us to spend more time than normal at our favorite pre-show watering hole. So by the time we made it into the packed club, Destroyer had nearly finished their set (we completely missed Immaculate Machine).

To be honest, we mostly know Dan Bejar's band from name-checks in articles about the New Pornographers. But the few Destroyer songs we heard were a pleasant surprise. This DCist has always found Bejar's percussive, nasal vocals to be the low point of most New Pornographers releases. But Destroyer's sound was more melodic and Bejar's singing less grating than his NP work had led us to expect.

The New Pornographers took the stage around 11:30, launching into Twin Cinema's title track. Their sound was tight and precise, particularly considering the seven band members that were contributing to it (a slightly unsteady-looking Bejar only joined the band for two songs). Our drum-playing companion thought that Kurt Dahle's kit was somewhat anemic relative to what's heard on the albums. It's true that there was more emphasis on stick-twirling than we would usually consider to be a good sign, but a propulsive bass drum kept songs like "Electric Version" surging forward.

The setlist drew fairly evenly from the band's three albums, providing a nice mix that managed to include almost all of the requests shouted from the crowd. But like the rest of the performance, this accomodation wasn't spontaneous. Frontman Carl Newman made it clear that the setlist was, well, set. We can't fault him for ignoring the sort of dopes who scream for "Freebird," but a little more ingenuity within the songs themselves would have been nice. Instead, the arrangements mirrored those on the album — which was a bit surprising considering that the band has been playing some of them for six years.

Maybe that was their author's doing. As the New Pornographers' history has unfolded, it seems like the dominant theme has been Carl Newman's increasing assertion of himself as the creative force behind what was initially billed as an indie rock supercollaboration of equal partners. You only have to read the band's bio to see that Newman has essentially claimed ownership of the group. That doesn't just result in egomaniacal press; it also means less prominent vocal parts for the rest of the band's singers. It's true that Newman is responsible for the band's impeccable pop clockwork, but let's face it — The Slow Wonder was just okay. There are reasons people come to a New Pornographers show that have nothing to do with Newman's songwriting.

Which brings us to Neko Case. Ah, Neko. It's not just that she was voted the sexiest woman in indie rock (in fact, she looked a little haggard on Saturday night). It's that voice. The one that can be described as "belting" even when it's a whisper; the one with a slight bend, like she's got a vocoder hidden in her throat; the one that nails every note. The rest of the band performed good but basically unremarkable renditions of the albums' arrangements. It was only the songs prominently featuring Case that stood out. "The Bleeding Heart Show" and "Mass Romantic" were particularly good.

The band began to get a bit sloppy near the end of their short first set, playing a messy version of "Sing Me Spanish Techno" and beginning their first encore in a somewhat disjointed fashion. But by the start of the second encore they had returned to form. The twentieth and final song was "Letter From An Occupant." With Case on vocals, the band in sync and that urgent melody ringing through the club, it was hard to wish for anything more.

FRIDAY: more ›

Today will be positively depressing - cloudy with patchy drizzle with highs in the low 60s. What do you have planned for the weekend? Dropping by the New Pornographers (or the Foo Fighters)? Stopping by the D.C. Flickr group's Georgetown show? We'll have our full picks later today. Preparations for 'Millions More': Area officials are preparing for crowds for this weekend's Millions More Movement, an anniversary commemoration of the Million Man March. A number of... 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 ›

>> Everybody loves a bargain. Sign up for the 9:30 Club e-mail list and catch all the fun of two shows this weekend for half the price. Let The Force be with you on Friday night with Jedi Mind Tricks, or get your crush-worthy lead singer fix with Will Hoge, Army of Me and friends-of-DCist Bicycle Thieves on Saturday. >> Canadian indie rock: it's so hot right now. The New Pornographers have been luring... more ›