If you consider yourself a fan of The Fiery Furnaces, chances are, you’re the type of person who appreciates a good surprise. Though the siblings Friedberger debuted in 2003 with Gallowbird’s Bark, a fairly straightforward (if surprisingly literate) take on bluesy garage rock, things quickly took a turn for the weird. The band returned only a year later with the 76-minute Blueberry Boat, a delightfully overstuffed homage to the rock operas of the Who that crammed squelchy Moog lines, blues riffs, church organs and Broadway melodies into miniature epics about lost dogs, pirates and misplaced lockets. While the album’s sudden twists and turns felt like aural overload on first listen, many fans and critics found the makings of a masterwork in the record’s labyrinthine assembly and spiraling narratives. As if to prove that they are capable of producing great pop songs as well (on the rare occasion that they feel like it), the band followed with the terrific singles-collecting EP in 2005. more ›

The early part of the week is looking a little light for shows, but after the Fourth things really get rolling through Sunday night. MONDAY >> After coming down with a case of "David Letterman throat" last week, Morrissey was forced to reschedule three shows, including his gig at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Right now it looks like NYC's loss is our gain, as we just recieved an email from the staff at Wolf... more ›

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FRIDAY: >> DCist is pleased to offer $5 off Forum Theatre & Dance's performances of UpShot by Ami Dayan (a scene from the play is at left). It's already received several positive notices, and director Shirley Serotsky has let us know that anyone who shows up at the box office with a print-out of this post can purchase a ticket for $13 (normally $18). This deal is good for the entire run of the play,... more ›

Yes, yes, we know -- we're late this week with the musical agenda. We were checking out the beautiful city of one of our sister blogs, but now we're back and ready with the shows of the week. WEDNESDAY: >> California band Eagles of Death Metal (a side-project of the frontman for Queens of the Stone Age) play the Black Cat with local group The Whips (whose mp3s you can listen to here). And a... more ›