When you grow up an obsessive musical theater fan, sometimes it can be a rude awakening when your artistic tastes mature. Appreciation for the best shows’ haunting melodies, clever wordplay, or epic spectacle remains; unconditional love for the shows heavy on the schmaltz factor can fade (suddenly Phantom of the Opera doesn’t seem like the world’s most enduring love story anymore). But for recovering musical theater lovers, enduring lifelong fans, or even skeptics of the…

We here at DCist realize that living in such an information-saturated age has its disadvantages. On one hand, there are about a million great things out there; on the other hand, how are you supposed to wade through the dreck of internet to find out about them or keep tabs? With that in mind, we present a list of great, upcoming shows on sale this week that we hope will allow you to plan your…

MONDAY: >> In one of the strongest bills of the summer, the Pixies and Bloc Party (at left) take the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Gates are open at 5:30 p.m. >> Local rockers Greenland and City-State hit DC9 with Richmond band Conshafter for $6. TUESDAY: >> Arlington punk quartet Four Letter Lies plays with local glam rockers Death By Sexy at the Black Cat. 9 p.m., $5. THURSDAY: >> Bloc Party, post sharing the…

The buzz at Arlington’s IOTA Club and Café on Saturday afternoon was palpable. A half hour before the doors opened for the big show, the line stretched down the block to Whitlow’s on Wilson. Was it a special Arcade Fire show? Nope. A closer look at the line revealed a number of attendees who were still many years from IOTA’s usual 21-and-over age limit. Ralph’s World had come to Arlington. IOTA’s regular weekend afternoon…

There’s a tiny bit of a lull this week in concerts before the end of February and the start of March absolutely slam us with great shows, but there are still a few good picks out there for the next seven days. MONDAY: >> Tonight, lo-fi spacey rockers Low take their show on the road to the Black Cat. We hear their new album, “The Great Destroyer,” was produced by Dave Fridmann, who’s worked with…

Now that the Arcade Fire afterglow is starting to wear off, we here at DCist have begun to think about other music. (No, and not just Interpol. Ok, perhaps a little.) The Washington Area Music Association’s annual awards show, the “Wammies,” is coming up, and they were nice enough to throw some free tickets in our direction. After all, nothing is more fun than attending an event co-sponsored by the 18th Street Lounge and the…