Loud Boyz play Saturday night at U St Music Hall. Photo by Michael Andrade
MONDAY
Saintseneca, LVL UP, and Dead Professional @ DC9. 8 p.m., $10/$12.
LVL UP’s sound takes the best parts of ’90’s indie rock and turns them into something fresh. The band’s recently released sophomore record Hoodwink’d is more fully formed than the band’s debut record and is certainly turning more heads in the scene. LVL UP is made up of three different songwriters but together they share a common sound and vision. The band pit emotional honesty against angular guitars making a kind of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain sound for 2014. — Rohan Mahadevan
TUESDAY
Ex By V, Space Chumpy, People’s Drug, Piss Crystal @ The Void. 6 p.m., $5-$10.
I have no idea if any of these bands are any good—I haven’t listened to them—but be sure to catch this showcase of contenders for The A.V. Club’s “Year in Band Names” list. UPDATE: I listened to them. They’re OK. Should be an interesting show. — Matt Cohen
WEDNESDAY
Antarctigo Vespucci, Hard Girls @ DC9. 8:30 p.m. $10.
I love the band Hard Girls. I love them because they combine some of my favorite things: punk rock, Guided By Voices, songs about space and science fiction. The members of Hard Girls also play in the band Classics of Love with Jesse Michaels from Operation Ivy, but that band doesn’t sound much like Hard Girls. Antarctigo Vespucci is kind of a punk rock supergroup. Er, superduo. Fake Problems’ Chris Farren and Bomb the Music Industry’s Jeff Rosenstock got together one winter to write and record a bunch of really catchy pop songs and, well, this is the result. But Hard Girls, man. That band. Punk, Guided By Voices, space. What’s not to love? —Matt Cohen
>> U St Music Hall: Animal Collective Residency DJ Set (feat. Avey Tare, Geologist, Deakin, and Nightbird). 10 p.m., $10.
>> The Lincoln Theatre: Lucinda Williams. 6:30 p.m., $40.
THURSDAY
Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Ron Holloway @ The Hamilton. 6:30 p.m., $15
Free your mind and the rest will follow….The Booty Band oozes a thick funk vibe and always gets the job done! A regular staple on the festival circuit, Asheville, N.C.’s Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band is known for a memorable and high energy party with the look, feel and antics you would expect from a proper funk band. Mary Frances “Mama Funk” pushes the band into deep territory on keyboards, keytar and vocals, with a funk-soul-hiphop fusion sound the end result. The Booty Band is one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the Asheville music scene. —Andy Cerutti
>> 9:30 Club: Stars, Hey Rosetta! 7 p.m., $25.
>> U St Music Hall: GEMS, Tei Shi, VÉRITÉ, and Flash Frequency DJing. 8 p.m., $12/$15.
FRIDAY
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Mini Mansion, Jack and Eliza @ 9:30 Club. 8 p.m., $16.
When Detroit-based musicians Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zottnever first started collaborating on Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (no relation to the NASCAR driver), they never expected the project to gain much of a following. Fast forward five years and the duo is in the midst of an incredible meteoric rise, captivating listeners with their charismatic synth-pop and thoughtful songwriting. For infectious pop music and a band known for their spirited, somewhat bizarre live shows, catch Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. —Dalton Vogler
SATURDAY
Deceased, Lifetime Shitlist, The Day of the Beast and Metanium @ The Pinch 8 p.m., $10
This Saturday, Columbia Heights is where the metal is and it’s not to be missed. Virginia metal giants Deceased bring their distinctive fusion of death and thrash metal back to their home turf. Stirring up the pit since 1984, Deceased is heavier than ever and showing no signs of slowing down. Beer, black t-shirts, leather, and sweat will be in abundance at this celebration of all that is heavy. Supporting Deceased are Baltimore’s brutal Lifetime Shitlist, the blackened thrash of The Day of the Beast from Virginia Beach, and D.C.’s Latino metal hombres, Metanium. —Jon Pacella
>> U St Music Hall: Loud Boyz, Hound, Genocide Pact. 7 p.m., $15.
