Producer/DJ Lindstrøm headlines at U Street Music Hall on Thursday.
Tuesday
Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas @ Verizon Center 7 P.M. $29.95-$79.95 All ages, accessible venue..
Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have a long history. Since both appearing in the Disney channel original movie Camp Rock, their friendship grew and they have toured together. At the same time, both artists have grown up and shed their squeaky clean pasts. Lovato released her “I’m an adult now” record last year with Confident, and Jonas has been right behind her with this year’s Last Year Was Complicated. In each, the artist is singing candidly about sex and dropping “f” bombs. Both albums are spotty but much better than anything they had done before. Lovato’s album is a by-the-numbers pop record but it includes the banger “Cool for the Summer”. Jonas shows some growing pains, but there are solid hits like “Closer”, a duet with Tove Lo, and the incredibly silly “Bacon”. Both artists have been performing for most of their lives so this is sure to be an expertly produced show.
>>Jiffy Lube Live: Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Of Mice & Men 6:30 P.M. $29-$59. All ages, accessible venue.
>>9:30 Club: Digible Planets, Camp Lo 7 P.M. Sold-Out. All ages, accessible venue.
>>Lincoln Theatre: Ryan Adams, Amanda Shires 6:30 P.M. Sold-Out. All ages, accessible venue.
Wednesday
>>U Street Music Hall: Club Cheval 9 P.M. $15-$25. 18+, accessible venue.
>>Lincoln Theatre: case/lang/veirs (Neko Case / k.d. lang / Laura Veirs), Andy Shauf 6:30 P.M. $59.00 – $79.00. All ages, accessible venue.
Thursday
Lindstrøm, Will Eastman, and Mr. Bonkerz @ U Street Music Hall 10 P.M. $15. 18+, accessible venue.
Lindstrøm is a master of space disco. Taking elements from italo disco and house, Lindstrøm produces sweeping epics that get people on the dance floor. In recent years he has been flexing his prog side to lesser returns, but his latest EP Windings, is a return to form and damn if it isn’t one of the best EPs of the year. Much of the praise is for the first track “Closing Shot” which should be the last song any DJ plays this year. The eight minute track is built upon rise and fall, starting small but then building and building to the four minute mark where the synth lines converge, and it is pure bliss. The EP’s remaining two songs are just as solid. “Algorytime” starts much like “Closing Shot”, but is way funkier, and “Foehn”, another eight minute track blends the first two tracks together but slows the tempo down ever so slightly. There is the possibility Lindstrøm won’t even hit the DJ both until midnight, but call out of work because he doesn’t come around much.
>>9:30 Club: Swans, Okkyung Lee 7 P.M. $35. All ages, accessible venue.
>>Black Cat: Tommy Stinson, Frankie Lee, Foster Carrots 7:30 $15. All ages, accessible venue.
Friday
Fifth Harmony, Jack & Jack @ Eagle Bank Arena 6 P.M. $19.95 – US $79.95. All ages, accessible venue.
Fifth Harmony are the only successful artists to come out of the American version of the X-Factor. Like another (British) X-Factor success story, One Direction, the group didn’t even win—they placed third. Unlike the winner of the season, Fifth Harmony have dominated the radio and have become one of the biggest selling girl groups since Destiny’s Child. The group have released two albums, last year’s Reflection and this year’s 7/27, both brimming with hits, including “Worth It” and this year’s song of the summer “Work From Home.” Sure they were made on a TV show, but Fifth Harmony are all talented and have powerful voices. Unlike some girl groups, there is no one stand out and all five members sing.
>>Comet Ping Pong: Des Demonas, Santics, and DJ Baby Alcatraz 10 P.M. $10. All ages, accessible venue.
Saturday
SOPHIE, Danny L Harle, ABSRDST, Nick Garcia @ A.I. 10 P.M. $25. 18+, accessibility unknown.
Pop music evolves and mutates, and the British collective PC Music has been turning conventional pop music on its head for the past couple of years. Leading the front are producer Danny L. Harle and PC Music-adjacent artist, SOPHIE. With dashes of Max Martin maximal-ism, video game sound tracks, Adderall, and J-Pop, Harle and SOPHIE create catchy tunes that make it easy to bounce around the club while drinking a QT (a fake soda, which became real, created by SOPHIE and PC Music founder A.G. Cook). Harle takes more of a pure pop approach to his tracks and has recently collaborated with Caroline Polachek of Chairlift and Carly Rae Jepsen. SOPHIE has been fast on the rise with the release of PRODUCT, a collection of his singles including “Lemonade”, a track used by McDonalds last year in their summer advertisements. This marks the first time either DJ has played so it is imperative to get tickets fast.
>>Black Cat: Run For Cover 2016 8 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue.
Sunday
>>Rock and Roll Hotel: Kill Lincoln, Be Like Max, Boardroom Heroes, Holophonics TX 6 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue.
>>Jiffy Lube Live: Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Kevin Gates, Jhene Aiko, Casey Veggies, DJ Drama7 P.M $26-$60.75. All ages, accessible venue.
