MONDAY >> The Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theatre in the James Madison Building kicks off 5 weeks worth of free Monday night rock and pop films with a rare showing of the 1966 documentary, The Big T.N.T. Show. David “Man from Uncle” McCallum hosts Ray Charles, Petula Clark, the Lovin’ Spoonful, Bo Diddley, Joan Baez, the Ronettes, Roger Miller, the Byrds, Donovan, the Seeds, the Modern Folk Quartet, and Ike and Tina Turner taped…

By DCist contributor Valerie Paschall The members of Syracuse chamber pop act Ra Ra Riot are no strangers to high profile performances. In fact, it was their impressive showings at the two music industry behemoth festivals, CMJ and SXSW, which put them on the map as a band to watch. They have since opened for Bow Wow Wow, Art Brut and actually came through D.C. last month with Tokyo Police Club. They should be well-prepared…

When last we spoke with We Are Scientists, it was October of last year. Their debut album, which already had a few singles in the UK charts, wouldn’t be released in the US until the following January. Since then the band have taken the UK by storm, touring with the likes of Art Brut, Maximo Park and the Arctic Monkeys. Overall, it’s been quite a year for the New York based trio, or so we…

Sometimes in the relentless assault of the commenters in a thread on a DCist music review, the complaint is made that the reviewer takes too many words to try to prove how much they know about the band. Well, we’re going to try to preempt that here. Going to see the Art Brut show at the Black Cat on Tuesday night, I’ll be the first to admit: I knew zero about the band, its history,…

MONDAY >> New York’s Teenage Prayers offer up a sound that leans heavily on the best kind of influences — from Solomon Burke to The Kinks — to the Red and the Black tonight. Should be just the right kind of band for this intimate venue. $8. TUESDAY >> The last time Art Brut came to town, DCist Kyle said, “I honestly can’t remember the last time I had so much fun at a rock…

Buckle up, music fans. The next few months are set to be a wild ride, with an almost embarassing number of bands coming through town that have been described at one time or another as “teh awesome.” Because there are so many to talk about, we’ll save the somewhat descriptive quips that usually accompany these posts and just give it to you list style. And — might we add — nicely done, Black Cat. SEPTEMBER…

FRIDAY: >> Here at DCist we like to pimp scrappy locals and industrious indies who are charging hard against the establishment. When it comes to stand-up comedy however, sometimes we have to make an exception. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t support up-and-coming local comedic talent. You should. But we’d be the first to admit that there’s something particularly distasteful about amateur stand-up done badly — when a comic punts on stage, you just have…

Good afternoon, boys and girls. We’ve been talking about the Six Points Music Festival for some time now, and it’s finally upon us. Consider it your duty to take advantage of this festival in your own back yard, and pick from one of the many showcases of local talent going on this week. We’ll pick out a few of our favorites, but any show on the roster would be worthwhile. MONDAY >> You may have…

Tour News So, you’re bummed that Arctic Monkeys tickets sold out. So are we. Nobody’s gonna have any idea how we look on the dance floor, and we find that upsetting. But we’re picking ourselves up and dusting ourselves off, because one monolith of an indie tour, two much anticipated bands and a couple other cool shows are coming to a venue nearby. The big tour announcement of the week goes to the power-bill of…