 David Berman of the Silver Jews |
MONDAY
>> The U.K.’s latest Britpop export, the Kooks, are sure to please folks left longing for the halcyon days of the Blur/Pulp rivalry. Their Monday night headlining gig at the 9:30 Club is sold out, but maybe if you’re lucky, you can show up early and buy an extra ticket off of one of the hundreds of lovestruck adolescent girls sure to be in attendance. With Illinois, sold out, 7 p.m.
>> Drum machines, horror movie organs and drugged-out psychedelic rock usually don’t evoke the wild west…that is, unless the band in question is Spindrift. A member of the same California psych scene that the Brian Jonestown Massacre calls home, Spindrift dove headfirst into the cowboy aesthetic after moving out to L.A. from Delaware and never looked back. At the Velvet Lounge with Flying Eyes and Sugarcane Crawl, $8, 9:30 p.m.
>> Our own Valerie Paschall once said that, “…atmospheric seems like the best adjective to describe a band whose xylophone samples and syncopated cymbal beats give a rather clear visual of a waterfall, all from the comfort of a local concert venue.” If that sounds like your idea of post-tropical storm Hanna fun, be sure to pack your raincoat and galoshes for local sons Bellflur (***) at the Black Cat’s Backstage with Mr. Gnome. $8, 9 p.m.
TUESDAY
>> Locals Brandon Butler and the Moderate are at the Black Cat, $8, 9 p.m.
>> How far would you travel to see an alternative rock icon like Juliana Hatfield play in a relatively small club? 50 miles? 100 miles? Well on Tuesday night, not only will Hatfield be playing in such a club, she’ll also only be a short Metro ride away. Catch her at Iota in Arlington with appropriately-named local act Spoils of NW. $15, 8:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
>> Dismissed as a Pavement side-project, all but forgotten after years spent in the wilderness, reunited only to have an electrical fire nearly destroy their new album… it’s been a long, hard road for David Berman and his Silver Jews (pictured, above). Yet, nearly 20 years after first forming the band, Berman has found himself recognized as one of the brightest, most incisive contemporary songwriters in indie rock. This last fact probably helped Berman muster up the courage to tour for the first time in 2006 and since then, he’s made a habit of it. At the Black Cat with Monotonix, $13, 8 p.m.
>> Loudon Wainwright III might not have been a great father (a fact which was chronicled on his daughter Martha Wainwright’s charmingly-titled 2004 EP Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole) but he seems to have effortlessly produced two musical prodigies regardless. Come see the youngest Wainwright, Martha, take on folk, country and chanson at the 9:30 Club with Freedy Johnston and Elysian Fields. $15, 7 p.m.
