You may have noticed a suspicious absence yesterday, this being the last week of the month and Tuesday being the usual Three Stars kick off day. Sadly, this month we’re a star short, at no fault of the D.C. music community, but more at the fault of my car that wouldn’t start when I was to travel from the burbs and into the city last Thursday to see The Daybreak Line. So this month we bring you Two Stars, Three Stars’ anemic cousin in from out of town to tell you all about Deleted Scenes today and Alec Gross and the Districts tomorrow. Oh, and go check out The Daybreak Line when you get chance. Update: Which you’ll have this Saturday night at Galaxy Hut, with a special guest vocalist, who happens to be married to our very own Jason Linkins.

“Local band.” It’s one of those combinations of terms that usually softens up our critical senses. Like “school play” or “free beer.” It’s a qualification that makes us tend to go a little easier, allow a little benefit with our doubt. You may not stop in your tracks if you heard that band on the radio, but for a band from your stomping grounds, well, they deserve some credit. That distinction makes it all the more special when you discover a band, locally, that you’d appreciate and praise no matter their geographical derivation. See where I’m going with this? Deleted Scenes is a great band. Not a great local band, but a great band in general.

The band took the stage at DC9 on Monday night after an impressive and all-heart performance from Parachute Musical. There’s a lot of love between these two bands, so between that and the EP that had been impressing me for a few weeks, my expectations of Deleted Scenes were growing steadily. The opening bars were a bit rough, but things picked up without much delay, and the show did not disappoint.