Photo of Lady Lamb the Beekeeper by Shervin Lainez.
MONDAY
Aly Spaltro has possibly the worst moniker of all time in Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, but her songs are the sort of heartbreakingly haunting fare that will appeal to fans of Scout Niblett and Sharon Van Etten. Plus, Spaltro has press photos where she’s wearing a David Bowie shirt. She’ll be at the Black Cat tonight with Xenia Rubinos and Healing Power. But seriously, Aly, change the name. 8 p.m. Tickets $12
>> DC9: Anti-Flag (20th Anniversary Tour), This Is Hell, Hostage Calm, Worship This! First of two nights. Tickets $18, $25 for both nights.
TUESDAY
We’ve touched on the fact that we don’t see D.C. acts on large festival bills terribly often, so it was exciting to see that local hardcore act Coke Bust (featuring members of Magrudergrind) is one of two local acts to play this year’s Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, NC. They play local shows pretty regularly, but they don’t regularly headline at the Black Cat, so if you’ve never seen them, tonight is as good a night as any. Blockhead, Misled Youth and Vile Faith round up that bill. 8 p.m. Tickets $10
>> Velvet Lounge: We Were Pirates, Ola Podrida. 9 p.m. Tickets $8/10.
WEDNESDAY
Lorelei is one of those great bands that would always impress at Slumberland retrospective celebrations but recently proved that their dissonant and feedback-drenched heavy riffing still had viability in the current rock and roll climate with the release of Enterprising Sidewalks. They’ll be playing the Black Cat with Talk It, an exciting jangly instrumental act of Teen Beat veterans. 8 p.m. Tickets $10.
>> U Street Music Hall: oOoOO, Rush Midnight, Cavale. 9 p.m. Tickets $10.
>> Velvet Lounge: Pree, Adron, AG/LG, Wei Zhognle. 9 p.m. Tickets $8/10.
THURSDAY
Low-key Athens act Futurebirds have become a more notable name due to their delightful harmonies that sound a little folky but a lot more psychedelic. Floating Action and Justin Jones open the show at the 9:30 Club. 7 p.m. Tickets $20
>> Black Cat: Coliseum, Red Hare, Give. 8 p.m. Tickets $12
>> The Hamilton: Seryn, Nathan Reich. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $17 in advance, $19 day of show.
>> U Street Music Hall: Shit Robot, Protect-U (DJ set). 10 p.m. Tickets $10.
FRIDAY
The uninitiated to Boysetsfire might take look at that name and think “hardcore emo.” The hardcore part is correct and thankfully there’s no whining to be found in the frenetic and catchy guitar riffs that they’ve taken twenty years to perfect. They’ll be headlining a very full bill at Rock and Roll Hotel that includes No Trigger, Pentimento, Light Years and Makers. 8 p.m. Tickets $15.
>> Velvet Lounge: Fire and The Wheel, Brenda, Andrew Grossman, Lindsey Deming. 9 p.m. Tickets $8.
SATURDAY
Shockingly, there are still tickets available for JEFF the Brotherhood‘s show at Rock and Roll Hotel. The gritty southern garage-rock duo seems to have mightily expanded their fan base within the past year or two. Good for them. Their opening act is Hunters, who are worth checking out if you missed their set opening for Bleached at DC9 a few weeks back. 8 p.m. Tickets $15.
Didn’t stay up exceedingly late on a Sunday night two years back to catch Aussie punks Total Control in Baltimore? You’re not alone but you’re also in luck. The band whose fuzzy and wild songs sound like a rougher and more aggressive Wire will make it to the Black Cat tonight. UV Race and Parquet Courts open the show. 9 p.m. Tickets $13
>> Iota: Cobra Collective. 9 p.m. Tickets $10.
>> Black Whiskey: Heavy Breathing. 8 p.m. Tickets $10.
SUNDAY
As far as big R&B/pop acts go, Kelly Rowland and The-Dream are two of the more underrated names. Although Kelly Rowland didn’t rise to the level of stardom as her Destiny’s Child cohort Beyonce, she’s got three albums of her own material which includes some formidable high-octane dance numbers. Similarly, more people know the songs The-Dream wrote for other people as “Single Ladies” and “Umbrella” are more ubiquitous than his own music, but his fourth album, the cleverly titled IV Play, will be coming out next week. See the songs before they go on sale when these two hit The Fillmore. 8 p.m. Tickets $35.
>> Velvet Lounge: Gum Yummy and Friends. 9 p.m. Tickets $8/10.
