Area rapper Ace Cosgrove is one of many acts playing the All Things Go festival on Saturday at Yards Park.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4
Ash, Dot Dash @ Rock and Roll Hotel. 7 P.M. $22.50. All ages, accessible venue.
Ash never struck it big but has always had a cult following. The band released its career defining album, 1977, 20 years ago and is playing the full record on the current tour. Released at the height of Britpop, the album gained much love overseas but made just a small dent here. The recording holds up, especially the five singles including, “Girl From Mars” and “Kung-Fu”, both tracks that have never left an Ash set list.
9:30 Club: Warpaint, Facial. 7 P.M. $25. All ages accessible venue.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5
Taking Back Sunday, You Blew It!, Mammoth Indigo @ 9:30 Club. 7 P.M. Sold Out. All ages accessible venue.
Taking Back Sunday never went away. Though its popularity has waned, the band still continues to put out records and sell out mid-sized venues like 9:30 Club. TBS’s latest, Tidal Wave, follows 2014’s Happiness Is, and while it doesn’t change the band’s emo sound, it is a strong follow-up. TBS might be second-wave emo heroes, but their opener You Blew It are new emo pioneers. The band is set to release its third album, Abendrot, this November, and based on the early single, “Autotheology”, the band is expanding their sound to include meditative tracks reminiscent of Pedro the Lion.
DC9: Tall Heights and Frances Cone. 8:30 P.M. $12. All ages, inaccessible venue.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6
How To Dress Well, Ex Reyes, Swan Lingo @ U Street Music Hall. 7 P.M. $20. All ages, accessible venue.
Tom Krell started How To Dress Well as a lo-fi, Bandcamp project that was eerie and haunting. As the years have gone by, the witch-house sounds and reverb have faded, leaving Krell to stand on his own without tricks. How To Dress Well’s evolution is complete with Care , an album that uses outside producers like Jack Antonoff and Mixpak Records’ head, Dre Skull. Krell’s voice is the centerpiece and remains untouched by effects, naked as he is on the cover. The album is spotty, and some of the lyrics are questionable, but the record is listenable and has its moments. Care is confessional and sounds closer to what a How To Dress Well concert sounds like then any of Krell’s previous records.
Whitney and Hoops @ DC9. 8:30 P.M. Sold Out. All ages, inaccessible venue.
Whitney is a duo made up of ex-Smith Westerns members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich. The two roommates formed the band when Smith Westerns broke up, and played shows through 2015 featuring a revolving door of musician friends. This year, the band released its debut album, Light Upon the Lake,, one of the best albums of the year. The album is a mix of indie rock, folk, and soul that is perfect for road trips and parties. While Julien Ehrlich’s voice may be a deterrent to some, we find it sweet and it gels well with the band’s music.
Eagle Bank Arena: Chance the Rapper. 6:30 P.M $32.50-45.50. All ages accessible venue.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7
Classixx, Neon Indian, Alex Frankel @ 9:30 Club. 8 P.M. $30. All ages, accessible venue.
Classixx started as a DJ duo but has evolved into a live band. The group has now released two full lengths of original material, featuring a wide range of singers including Active Child, Nancy Whang, and opener Alex Frankel of Holy Ghost. The group released Faraway Reach this year, a perfect summer record invoking the beach and warm weather hang outs. The band’s style is less room-filler EDM, and more disco with touches of French House. This tour is stacked with the inclusion of Neon Indian, which released the brilliant Vega Itnl. Night School last year. Neon Indian, like Classixx has grown as a live artist and now is an act not to miss.
Comet Ping Pong: NOTS, The World, Hot Head. 10 P.M. $12. All ages, accessible venue.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8
All Things Go Fall Classic 2016: Empire of the Sun, Passion Pit, Sylvan Esso, Christine & the Queens, Bishop Briggs, Pop Etc, Sofi Tukker, Ace Cosgrove @ Yards Park. 12 P.M. $75 in advance, $99 day of. All ages, accessible venue.
Festivals do not come around the D.C. area as much as a city like New York, but All Things Go has been bringing its Fall Classic to town for the past couple of years and the District is better for it. This year’s lineup features up and comers like Sofi Tukker along with heavyweights like Passion Pit and Empire of the Sun. Highlights include the amazing Sylvan Esso, a band that is prepping a new album due next year, and French pop act Christine and The Queens. One good thing about the festival is that no bands overlap so you don’t have to choose between any of the acts. The weather is calling for rain, but let’s hope it stays away.
9:30 Club: The Faint, Gang of Four, Pictureplane. 6 P.M. $25. All ages accessible venue.
Black Cat: Crystal Castles, Guidance. 8 P.M. Sold-Out. All ages, accessible venue.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9
Jenny Hval and Olga Bell @ DC9. 8:30 P.M. $12. All ages, inaccessible venue.
Jenny Hval is known to push buttons. The Norwegian artist makes warped pop music that addresses a variety of subjects, but the underlying theme is the experiences of women in these times. Her latest offering, Blood Bitch, coming a little over a year from her last album, Apocalypse Girl, continues her meditations on “soft dick rock,” but takes on subjects like vampires and the power of blood. Hval’s live show is an experience, more performance art then concert, and like her music, it invokes thought.
