ScHoolboy Q plays 9:30 Club on Thursday.
Tuesday
Beach House, The Chamanas @ 9:30 Club 7 P.M. Sold-Out. All ages, accessible venue.
Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House released not one, but two new records last year, Depression Cherry, and the surprise follow-up, Thank Your Lucky Stars. Both were distinct records showcasing the duo’s strong songwriting and attention to detail. The band is now 12 years and six albums into its career, and each new Beach House album enhances its signature sound. Though Beach House toured last year, it did not play D.C., so last night and tonight’s sold-out shows may be the last time the band comes around for a bit. Craigslist is your friend.
Modest Mouse, Brand New @ Merriweather Post Pavilion 7 P.M. $40.00 – $55.00. All ages, accessible venue.
A Modest Mouse and Brand New tour looks weird on paper, but both bands received mainstream success within a year of each other, with Brand New releasing Deja Entendu in 2003 and Modest Mouse putting out Good News for People Who Love Bad News in 2004. Modest Mouse went quiet this decade, but broke its silence with last year’s Strangers To Ourselves. Brand New has yet to release the follow-up to 2009’s Daisy, but has been releasing new tracks with the promise of a new full length sometime soon. This is a co-headlining tour, and tonight’s show is Modest Mouse’s turn to close the show. Brand New fans shouldn’t fret, without an opening act, both bands get ample time to rip through their excellent tunes.
>>Lincoln Theatre: John Carpenter: Live Retrospective 6:30 P.M $55.00 – $75.00 All ages, accessible venue.
Wednesday
>>DC9: Young Rapids, Spaceface, Paperhaus 8 P.M. $12. All ages, inaccessible venue.
Thursday
ScHoolboy Q @ 9:30 Club 7 P.M. $35 – $39. All ages, accessible venue.
Top Dawg Entertainment’s biggest star may be Kendrick Lamar, but TDE’s secret weapon has and will always be ScHoolboy Q. While Q gets enough love from critics to avoid being labeled underrated, he has yet to reach the commercial heights of Lamar. With his latest and best album, Blank Face LP, Q’s hard partying ways are at a high. Unlike Lamar’s more social conscious rap, Q is conscious of himself, rapping about dealing drugs, doing drugs, and hard street stories not unlike one of the album’s guests, Vince Staples. While ScHoolboy Q’s 2014 album Oxymoron was under-cooked, Blank Face LP is a marked improvement and one of the year’s best rap records.
>>Fort Reno: The Luau Cinders, Psychic Subcreatures, The Rememberables. 7 P.M. Free. All ages, accessible venue.
>>Black Cat: Wussy, Dot Dash 7:30 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue
Friday
Hey Mercedes, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Prawn @ Black Cat 8 P.M. $16. All ages, accessible venue.
Chicago emo band Braid is one of the forbears of the emo movement. Hey Mercedes is the band that formed in the ashes of Braid’s break-up, and is a better band with better songs. Started by Braid co-vocalist Bob Nana, along with his bandmates Todd Bell and Damon Atkinson, Hey Mercedes released two full lengths in 2001 and 2003 on the Vagrant label during emo’s heyday. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the band’s best record, Everynight Fire Works, which is being reissued on Top Shelf records—home to both of the band’s openers, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and Prawn. While the later two bands are part of the burgeoning emo revival, it is nice to see former bands getting in on the fun as well.
>>Comet Ping Pong: The Stents, The Fuss, The Jennifers 10 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue.
Saturday
>>DAR Constitution Hall: Monica, Melanie Fiona, Avant 7 P.M. $25- $150. All ages, accessible venue.
>>Comet Ping Pong: The Seth Bogart Show, Prearie Sol 10 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue.
Sunday
Gwen Stefani, Eve @ Jiffy Lube Live 7 P.M $19.98 – $85. All ages, accessible venue.
It has been fifteen years since Eve and Gwen dropped “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”, and twelve years since the release of their hit “Rich Girl”. Now the two are reuniting for an arena tour. Gwen Stefani is supporting her third solo record, This Is What The Truth Feels Like, a slightly undercooked batch of songs referencing both her divorce from Bush front man Gavin Rossdale and her new love, The Voice co-host Blake Shelton. While many thought the release might shed some light on the singer’s turbulent life, it instead consists of fine enough pop songs that don’t quite match anything from her 2004 debut solo record. Eve, on the other hand, has been quite quiet since she last shook her “Tambourine.” Her last album, Lip-Lock, debuted to no fanfare in 2013 and sold just eight thousand copies in the first week of release. With all of the ’90’s nostalgia going on, it’s a perfect time for Eve to return to spotlight.
>>DC9: The Gotobeds, Birth (Defects), and Bested 8 P.M. $12. All ages, inaccessible venue.
