We don’t understand why Benjy Ferree is not a big star. The Three Stars alum plays roosty indie gems and has great stage presence — he’s a funny and engaging and a strong performer. He’s toured with Spoon and The New Pornographers and is signed to Domino Records (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc). And his band is basically a D.C. supergroup, with Laura Harris of The Aquarium, Amy Domingues and Jonah Takagi from Garland…

FRIDAY: >> Starting tonight, George Mason Stadium plays host to the region’s annual D.C . College Cup. The soccer teams of George Washington, American, Howard, and George Mason will square off in two rounds of games. Though the tournament is conspicuously missing national powerhouses UMD and UVA, the event will still showcase some of the best young talent around. GW and AU kick off tonight’s slate (5:00 p.m.), with Howard and GMU rounding the night…

By DCist contributor Valerie Paschall By the way, Virgin Fest starts tomorrow. Just to clarify, in case you missed the all the advertisements and press about the lineup full of buzz-worthy artists and a few artists that probably would’ve been a lot more fun to see in a previous decade. You guys got all that, right? It’s safe to say, Virgin Fest has likely gone under no one’s radar. But except to the most…

These boys from Baltimore are no bandwagon band. They’ve been around since 2001 and have established themselves as local post punk revivalists from the very beginning. As commercially successful Brit pop sensations like Franz Ferdinand began popping up across the Atlantic, Two If By Sea was making a name for themselves here at home. But home is more than just Baltimore, and they’ve set up a virtual DC residency, frequenting venues such as DC9 and…

Fall is truly here, heralded by the return of crisp (read: flipping cold) fall weather and return of coat check to the 9:30 club. Yet southern bands Jonezetta and Mute Math received a warm welcome from their overwhelmingly youthful audience at Thursday’s early show. The night’s opener was Mississippi’s Jonezetta, an energetic quartet who demonstrated affinity for the kick drum and fuzzy guitar. On their web site the band claims to be intelligent, danceable pop…

With all the hubbub surrounding Beck’s “secret” backstage show Monday night, there was some concern The Apples in Stereo show upstairs might get overlooked. To some extent it was, but let it be said that anyone who just went home to their couch and tried to stream the Decemberists on NPR through crappy laptop speakers missed out on a hell of a good night. The Archie Bronson Outfit went on first, their post-rock a pretty…

By DCist contributor Abby Lavin Darlings of Oklahoma City’s glam rock scene (yes, apparently there is one), The Stock Market Crash have earned comparisons to David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, and The Strokes. As much as we love those acts, being so ripe for comparison can be a red flag that the band is a rip-off. We showed up at TSMC’s show at DC9 last night looking to find out what sets them apart from, say,…

Benjy Ferree is a seasoned local musician of whom you may not yet know. While he regularly plays local gigs, you will surely never be met head on with advertisements promoting his next show unlike other bands in D.C. — his music already speaks loudly enough for him. Fans of Ferree’s music will attest to his robust voice and his ability to paint a warm emotional picture with his folk rock music and vivid lyrics…

The weeks starts out right when a sucker punch on the field lands Chicagoist in the middle of a Sox/Cubs throwdown and the fists continue to fly in the comments. Despite suburban resident Ms. Pinney’s best little try no books will be banned anytime soon and the El is really really gross. Houstonist is there to start compiling the punditry when when the guilty, guilty Enron verdict comes down. This guy seems to be able…

It’s not everyday that you’ll see droves of angst-ridden youth and adults marching down 17th St. in unison to DAR Constitution Hall. But last night’s lineup of two of the most esteemed bands in indie rock (with openers The Cribs) brought the masses to this seemingly odd choice of venue. Interestingly enough, while the tickets sold out almost immediately, there were plenty of empty seats and many scalpers outside before the show, frantically trying to…