Say you’re part of that very vocal contingent that is unmoved by, or else just plain hates, Under the Blacklight, the heavily Fleetwood Mac-ified new album from L.A. indie-twangers Rilo Kiley. Maybe you were afraid that the rapturous reception to Rabbit Fur Coat, frontwoman and chief songwriter Jenny Lewis’s solo disc from last year, would spell the end of the band. Or else that Blacklight — with its not-always-convincing depiction of sexual perversity in Los…

2001 was a good year for Radiohead clones. Muse released their second album, Origin of Symmetry, to the fanfare of British rock critics. Coldplay finally attained mainstream success in the United States. And Travis cemented their international popularity with the Nigel Godrich-produced The Invisible Band. Meanwhile, in Denton, Texas (about as far away from Oxford as you can get), five jazz students at the University of North Texas released an EP under the name Midlake….

Written by DCist contributor Valerie Paschall Fitting the Montreal six-piece The Besnard Lakes into the small Backstage at the Black Cat seemed like a stretch. Containing the dense sound of three guitars and keyboards in the small room without destroying onlookers’ eardrums looked like it would take a small feat of science. Yet, the true feat was that even in that small room for no more than 75 people, The Besnard Lakes effectively conveyed…

DCist took in three phenomenal bands on Monday night at the Black Cat. Midlake, Cold War Kids and the Sound Team played the backstage, much to our confusion, and they just may have put on the best show that little room has ever seen. First up was Midlake, a five piece from Denton, TX that embrace interactivity as much as they do fancy instruments. Midlake’s been around for a while, gaining fans and success in…

MONDAY: >> Didn’t grab tickets to the now-sold-out Dinosaur Jr. reunion show at the 9:30 Club? May we suggest craigslist or French Toast, The Chance, and Caution Curves at Fort Reno for free? The Fort Reno show starts at 7:15 p.m.; you can check out some French Toast songs here. >> The DC Hip Hop Theater Festival, a project of the DC Commission on the Arts, features national and international artists and goes on all…