Talking about ticket sales has a way of riling up the commentariat around here, but since we're two days past the band's pre-sale, and one day past IMP's pre-sale, and we're in the official window of every old seat in the house is on sale, we'd like to kindly let you know that tickets to see Arcade Fire and Spoon at Merriweather on August 6 are still available as of the time we're pushing this post live. In the event that you somehow didn't notice that everyone's favorite indie rock band is touring this year (!!!) in support of a new album (!!!), we thought you might like to know. Just a little Friday PSA from your friendly DCist music staff. more ›

Last night's show at the 9:30 Club was just one more piece of evidence to prove that Spoon may be the best touring band in America right now. Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Rob Pope and Eric Harvey played 23 career-spanning songs with an emphasis on the last two albums (well, 22 and one cover of a song by The Damned), and adeptly showed the crowd just what divides the men from the boys in the indie rock game. 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 ›

MONDAY >> You cannot avoid Toots Hibbert on TV these days. Well actually, it is just that Nissan car commercial with the Clash's version of Toots & the Maytals' "Pressure Drop." The guy who penned that song, "Reggae Got Soul," and numerous other R&B flavored Jamaican numbers is at the 930 Club with the latest version of the Maytals. Hot D.C. go-go combo Mambo Sauce were just added as openers. $26 >> If solo indie... more ›

Spoon front man and friend of DCist Britt Daniel has left us another update regarding their upcoming performances in the area. Yes, that's right, we said "performances." Plural. As he hinted at in his last comment, the band is keeping their 10/23 date at the 9:30 Club with The Ponys following the 10/22 gig with The Shins at Merriweather. Here's what Britt had to say:

Hi again. We did finally figure out a way to do a smaller show in DC: Spoon and the Ponys will be playing the 9:30 club on Tuesday Oct 23rd, the day after the Shins / Merriweather show. For those who bought tickets to either of the original 9:30 shows, admittance is guaranteed and is free. After that, admittance is free on a first-come basis to anyone who has a Merriweather ticket. The details get a bit thick, so I'll just fw what I've been told. Thanks, Britt

There was quite a bit of discontent going on in the comments section over our post yesterday regarding Spoon's canceled 9:30 Club shows. Imagine our surprise when the band's front man, Britt Daniel, graciously added his voice to the discussion to let us know what happened. Hi guys I first heard about this situation last week while we were traveling in Europe. There was some misunderstanding on my part from the beginning...I was told that... more ›

We've gotten a couple emails wondering about the strange things afoot with the two scheduled Spoon shows at the 9:30 Club in October. In case you haven't heard the somewhat confusing story, Spoon booked two nights (October 22 and 23) at the 9:30 Club, and tickets went on sale August 9. Sometime last week, tickets mysteriously stopped being sold, without explanation. Then this past weekend, people who'd already purchased tickets received the following email:... more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,... more ›

At this weekend's Virgin Festival, we snagged a few spare moments with Spoon's songwriter and front man, Britt Daniel, and drummer Jim Eno. The Austin-based quartet has been one of indie rock's most beloved for more than a decade. They recently released their sixth album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, to warm reviews pretty much everywhere (you can hear the whole album on their label's site here). After enjoying their set, I headed back... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

Just two days left in our V Fest ticket giveaway video contest. Make your best entry that includes some form of a song by a V Fest artist, load it to YouTube, tag it with "DCist," and send an email to amanda (at) dcist (dot) com with the link and your contact information to put your hat in the ring. All entries must come in by 5 p.m. this Sunday night. Don't miss your... more ›

Ahhh, summer music festivals. As any music blog reader could tell you, as soon as the ground starts to thaw, they're all the indie kids can talk about. Last year we were all lathered up about getting a mega-fest of our very own (or at least, within reasonable stomping-ground distance). Several DCists embarked upon Pimlico and were pleased to report that the festival was wonderfully organized, accomodating, really well done and... that it just plain rocked. more ›

With the revival of classic cookbooks propelled by the releases of The Silver Spoon and Julie and Julia -- the blog-turned-book in which Julie Powell writes on cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- it’s worth noting the death of chef and cookbook writer Edna Lewis, 89. Lewis didn't just compile recipes. Having authored The Taste of Country Cooking, she's largely credited with explaining and showcasing Southern cooking to... more ›

, and you can catch them Sunday night at Iota in Arlington with openers King of France. Doors are at 8:30 and tickets are $11. In advance of the show, lead singer Ben Trokan was nice enough to answer some of our questions via email. more ›

We hope you had a good weekend Washington. This photo was taken by DCist's Kyle Gustafson at The Futureheads' show at the 9:30 Club on Saturday. Read our review of that show and Spoon's performance on Friday. In the meantime, here's what you may have missed on DCist over the past few days. -- Current newspapers to wed Voice of the Hill. -- Have you ever wondered what it's like to prod a poodle with... more ›

The sold-out Spoon show at the 9:30 Club on Friday night has been a long time coming for the Austin-based band. Spoon has a storied history of being the next big thing, to being dropped by their label, to flying for a while under the radar, and to finally building huge buzz based on their past two CDs, Kill The Moonlight and the recently-released Gimme Fiction. Since their D.C. show had sold out weeks before, it seems like one can safely assume that Spoon and their intricate, well-crafted pop music have retaken the throne as "the next big thing." Or perhaps they've already arrived. more ›

D.C. locals Monopoli are probably the envy of their musical peers, as they’ve earned a surprising amount of buzz and a loyal group of fans after only a year together. We’d heard a lot of things about the four-piece band; on paper they sound excellent, having been described as everything from polished indie rock a la Spoon to a post-shoegaze act not unlike Coldplay. more ›