>> DAM! Fest kicks of with its first night of shows featuring a dozen different bands at three venues, including New York’s A Place to Bury Strangers (don’t miss our interview with the band) and Dirty on Purpose at the Rock and Roll Hotel, Vandaveer and Julie Ocean at the Red and The Black, and Foreign Islands at DC9, among many others. Check out our guide to the DAM! highlights. >> Two film festivals open…

Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers jumped from loudest band no one had ever heard of to the buzz on every music blog’s lips in the space of a couple of months. Credit may be largely due to a Pitchfork review of a record in such limited release that most folks probably couldn’t even get their hands on it at the time the review was posted. Their label quickly made more copies available, got the…

The 2nd year of the District’s Awake! Music Festival is making it’s grand sophomore entrance tomorrow night in clubs across town. News about the festival is traveling far and wide, with a sponsorship and podcast from everybody’s favorite online radio station, WOXY, an interview on the local news, and more. A few last minute changes have been made to the festival — namely the unfortunate cancellation of Cloud Cult’s set, and of the Rock &…

Monday >> It’s been quite a while since Czech avant-rockers Už Jsme Doma have toured the U.S. If you’ve never had the chance to see them live over the course of their 22-year career, tonight at the Black Cat backstage is your chance. The band has defied easy categorization with its loud, chaotic and proggy punk sound, but it matters little what you call it. It’s amazing stuff, and takes on an even more intense…