While Friday night is generally a night reserved by many for dancing, drinking and partying, AC Newman provided a more balanced, pretty exhale of a set to help DC end their week.

You would be hard pressed to find a power-pop band as well received and respected as The New Pornographers. The indie rock “super-group” graced the 9:30 Club yesterday on the first night of their sold out 2-day run in D.C. They arrived in full force with everyone’s favorite indie personalities: including Carl Newman (a.k.a. A.C. Newman), Neko Case, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and Kathryn Calder (Immaculate Machine). As Carl Newman has mentioned in the past, Washington,…

Yesterday, when putting together our daily “About Tonight” feature, I scanned several recent concert reviews, looking for signs about whether or not enigmatic singer Neko Case would be performing with the New Pornographers at the 9:30 Club. It was a question anyone with tickets to last night’s show (or tonight’s), including myself, was asking, because Case, often busy with her solo career, has been known to skip out on New Pornographers tours before. Dan Bejar,…

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: >> It’s been over six years since he last had a properly released album, but crooner Bilal (left) has still managed to catch people’s attention with some of his latest material. Too bad it was illegally leaked and now his label is threatening never to let the refined product see the light of day. Regardless, his Black Cat performance should be noteworthy. 9 p.m., $22. >> We’ve told you about Deleted Scenes many times…

We’ve been waiting for the official V Fest details for a little while now. We’d gotten hints that the September 23 affair at Pimlico would include The Raconteurs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Who, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and more. All of those: confirmed. Here’s the full lineup: Bands The Red Hot Chili Peppers; The Who; The Killers; Flaming Lips; The Raconteurs; Gnarls Barkley; Scissor Sisters; Keane; Thievery Corporation; Clap Your Hands Say Yeah;…

Today we bring you the second half of our coverage of The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian at the 9:30 Club. Yesterday Jason reviewed Carl Newman and his half-staffed band; today Hemal shares her take on the surprisingly energetic Scottish crowd-pleasers Belle and Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch didn’t waste any time charming the proverbial pants off the crowd Monday night at the 9:30 club. The lead singer of the Glaswegian Belle and Sebastian bounded on…

For the past two days, Washington DC’s 9:30 club has played host to two of indie rock’s most well regarded bands—The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian. While you’d never mistake one band for the other, the common traits of both acts on this nominally co-headliner tour are their highly inventive songwriting and dextrous musical arrangements. Over the past two days, fans of both bands came out in force, but it was clear after two…

While most of the DC indieverse was at the 9:30 Club last night seeing johnny-come-lately’s The New Pornographers and Belle & Sebastian, us grizzled music veterans took our ears and admiration over to the Black Cat to catch the “semi-legendary” Wedding Present play their second D.C. gig in les than a year. While their setlist at this gig was less hit heavy than the last go ’round, David Gedge and company didn’t dissapoint. The…

This week’s agenda was written in part by DCist contributor Matt Sedlar. MONDAY >> Sure, we mentioned it in last week’s agenda. And in the weekend picks. But a co-headlining tour of Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers is a pretty big deal. The DCist contingent will be there tonight, and hopefully we’ll find out the answers to those burning questions — whose fans will make for a better crowd? Which band has a…