St. Vincent will perform with David Byrne at The Music Center at Strathmore on Sunday. Photo by Francis Chung.MONDAY
Madonna caps off a two-night stand at the Verizon Center, promising a mix of newer songs and older favorites, along with a visual spectacle as extravagant as the ticket prices. $48-$358. 8 p.m. (And remember, Metro will be open late!)
>> Black Cat: Twin Shadow, Niki and The Dove. Sold out. 8 p.m.
>> IOTA: Michelle Shocked, The Sweater Set. $28. 8 p.m.
TUESDAY
Best-known as the frontwoman for Stereolab, Laetitia Sadier has embarked on a burgeoning solo career since that band went on indefinite hiatus in 2009. On her second solo album, Silencio, the French vocalist and multi-instrumentalist continues to refine a distinctive aesthetic that she began to develop in her later work with Stereolab (and in her excellent side-project, Monade), couching strident Marxist political rhetoric in a velvety alto and lush lounge-pop grooves. Catch her at DC9 on Tuesday night, with Seattle’s Orca Team adding an opening set of post-punk surf-pop. $14. 8 p.m.
>> Black Cat: Antibalas, Danny Harris. $18 in advance / $20 day of show. 8 p.m.
>> Rock and Roll Hotel: Wild Nothing, DIIV, BLONDS. $15. 8 p.m.
>> Red Palace: Craft Spells, Sound of Rescue, Must Be The Holy Ghost. $10. 8:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Former Sleater-Kinney singer-guitarist Corin Tucker plays the Black Cat Backstage in support of Kill My Blues, the second album by her current four-piece, The Corin Tucker Band. James Canty’s Ideal Forms open. $13 in advance / $15 day of show. 8 p.m.
>> U Street Music Hall: Zammuto, Lymbic Systym. $15. 7 p.m.
>> Rock and Roll Hotel: Frankie Rose, Lightfoot, Cigarette. $12. 8 p.m.
>> Fillmore Silver Spring: A$AP Rocky. $27.50. 8 p.m.
THURSDAY
English singer-songwriter Beth Orton arrives at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue touting her first new album in six years, the forthcoming Sugaring Season, which sets aside the electronic components of her signature “folktronica” sound in favor of more traditional acoustic stylings. American folk singer-songwriter Sam Amidon opens. $35. 7 p.m.
>> Howard Theatre: Mark Kozalek. $20 in advance / $24 day of show. 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
The Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music kicks off at the Atlas Performing Arts Center with sets by the David Behrman Ensemble, violinist/vocalist Mia Zabelka and multimedia artist Elise Passavant, percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and dancer Vanessa Skantze, guitar/cello improvisationists Janel & Anthony, and electroacoustic quartet DIKTAT. $40 / $30 students. 7 p.m.
>> 9:30 Club: The Afghan Whigs, School of Seven Bells. Sold out. 8 p.m.
>> Black Cat: Ra Ra Rasputin, Miyazaki, Misun, DJ Omari. $10 in advance / $12 day of show. 9 p.m.
Alice Glass of Crystal Castles surfs the crowd during a 2010 concert at the 9:30 Club. Photo by Francis Chung.SATURDAY
In advance of their forthcoming third LP, Toronto electro-punks Crystal Castles bring their explosive live show to the 9:30 Club for the weekend, offering fans plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with vocalist Alice Glass during her inevitable crowd-surfing forays. Arrive early to catch L.A. noise-rockers HEALTH, who collaborated with Crystal Castles on the 2007 single “Crimewave,” and recently reached a broader audience by composing the score for the video game Max Payne 3. Friday night sold out, (tickets available for Sunday). 8 p.m.
>> U Street Music Hall: Grimes, Elite Gymnastics, Myths. Sold out. 6 p.m.
>> Black Cat: Crocodiles, Punks on Mars. $15. 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
One of the year’s most highly-anticipated albums, David Byrne and St. Vincent’s recently-issued Love This Giant was largely a long-distance collaboration, with the influential Talking Heads frontman and the ascendant indie singer-guitarist trading ideas and audio files via email until their schedules permitted studio time in the NYC area. The pair will get together in person at The Music Center at Strathmore on Sunday night to showcase the fruits of their labors, sharing brassy, craftily-eccentric co-written songs like “Who” and “Weekend in the Dust” along with selections from their individual oeuvres. $55-125. 7 p.m.
>> 9:30 Club: Crystal Castles, HEALTH. $35. 7 p.m.
>> Atlas Performing Arts Center: Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music with Glenn Branca Ensemble, Isabelle Duthoit & Franz Hautzinger & Zsolt Sőrés, Alec Redfearn & The Eyesores, STYLUS!BLACK!FACTORY! $40 / $30 students. 7 p.m.
