Who says the Washington Wizards didn’t improve over the offseason? Last night DCist made our first trip down to the Verizon Center this season and noticed plenty of changes; fancy new press credentials (now with marketing slogans!), shiny, new flat screen monitors in press row in section 104, that snazzy $50 million scoreboard that puts a whole new spin on the Kiss-Cam and a new red carpet themed video set to Kanye West’s “Bigger,…

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….

Republicans in Congress just haven’t been nice to the District lately — they delayed a vote on the voting rights bill by adding a rider to end D.C.’s handgun ban, and now they’re preventing a free concert from being held near the Capitol on July 7. The concert was to be part of Al Gore’s Live Earth series of concerts to raise environmental awareness and was to feature some combination of acts like the Police,…

Let’s take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell’s Beer,…

It’s usually pretty hard to get the crowds at the Black Cat to dance, but Philly/Florida mash-up DJ Diplo and two bands from Brazil, Bonde do Role and Cansei de Ser Sexy, did it pretty easily on Sunday. Openers Bonde do Role (which Google translates to something like “rolling tram,” though it might be slang) got the dancing started with their big bass, pretty obvious samples (AC/DC, Alice in Chains and “The Final Countdown”) and…

Yesterday the lineup for this year’s edition of the HFStival was announced and headlining the two day festival will be Kanye West and…Counting Crows? Kanye is a no brainer but the addition of Counting Crows, in a headlining slot no less, seems to be a curious one. The band hasn’t released an album of original material since 2002 and tends to have a fan base that skews much older than the Clear Channel approved…

In recent years, Virginia has aggressively billed itself as an East Coast alternative to the wine country destinations of California and the Pacific Northwest. And unsurprisingly, Virginia wineries have sprung up like magazine articles apologizing for Kanye West’s self-confidence. But with very few exceptions, the wines coming out of the Old Dominion generally either cost far more than they should (Chrysalis Vineyards’ passable viognier runs a hefty $29 per bottle, while Alban Vineyards’ excellent Central…

If your only exposure to a man named James Brown had been his highly choreographed performance last night at the 9:30 Club, you’d probably come away thinking that he was a richly talented, energetic soul musician in the prime of his life with an inexplicable penchant for frayed cherry red suits. And indeed, the legendary James Brown definitively proved that he’s a richly talented, energetic soul musician with an inexplicable penchant for frayed cherry red…

Before delving into the week’s picks, we want to point out a couple of hurricane benefits that are happening this week. This Thursday, come out and support musicians affected by hurricane Katrina. The State Theater in Falls Church hosts the Hell or High Water Benefit, featuring the legendary Chuck Brown. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, with all proceeds benefitting the MusiCares Katrina Fund. 7 p.m. If you’re feeling philanthropic as…

MONDAY: >> The definite must-see show this evening is sure to be Q and Not U’s performance at Fort Reno. As we reported earlier, the band is breaking up, and this concert will be one of their last. But if you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry too much – they’re playing shows at the Black Cat September 22 and 23. Tonight, the politically-charged hip hop group Son of Nun opens, and the music gets…