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 noise? Do you like parties? If so, L.A.’s Mika Miko is the band for you. Catch them tonight at the Velvet Lounge with Japanther and Ingrid from Mass Movement of the Moth.
>> Three Stars and Unbuckled vets The Vita Ruins are starting a mini east coast tour tonight at Iota, with New York’s Jaguar Club. 8:30 p.m., $10
>> Minnie Driver, chanteuse? See for yourself tonight at the Birchmere in Alexandria. 7:30 pm., $20.
TUESDAY
>> What’s there to say about Wolf Parade that hasn’t already been said? Enough people are ga ga for that big Canadian sound that their show at the Black Cat has been sold out for a long, long time. But it’s August in D.C. — take your chances that people have wandered off to the beach and see about scoring a ticket.
>> Theremins, distortion, and building your band around a husband and wife duo? The Octopus Project seems to have followed several steps in the How To Make An Indie Band hand book. See if they’re following those rules well at the Rock & Roll Hotel with Stereo Total. 8 p.m., $13.
>> 89-year-old Virginia fiddler Speedy Tolliver and The New Old-Time String Band will be delivering classic American roots sounds for free at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
>> Local act Baby Killer Estelle brings together a young piano virtuoso, a blast beat-loving drummer and a screamo-fixated vocalist to create songs that land somewhere between free jazz, cabaret and hardcore. With Margaret Thrasher, Trump Card and a mysteriously unannounced solo act at the aptly named “Corpse Fortress” in Silver Spring. 8 p.m., $5.
WEDNESDAY
>>The summer’s a great time to trot out old-timers hitting the theater/state fair circuit. With August now waning, you’re running out of time to catch classic, but possibly past-their-prime acts like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. They bring their once-groundbreaking countrified rock to the Birchmere. With the Wrights. 7:30 p.m., $39.50.
>> You know your favorite local bands are really starting to grow wings when they embark on side projects. See how some of our favorite front men — Martin Royle of Washington Social Club, Mick Coogan of The Dance Party and Stephen Kilroy of Middle Distance Runner — fare as solo singer songwriters on the Black Cat’s back stage. $8, 9 p.m.
>> There’s no use in trying to hide your checkered past: DCist knows that you listened to Ska in high school. Now, you can either keep up the cooler-than-thou charade, or you can come out on Wednesday night and skank your ass off, for old times sake. Check out Last Martyrs of a Lost Cause with Beltway Alarms, the Ashwins and Ruckus at the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building. 6 p.m., $5.
