FRIDAY: >> We caught Echo and the Bunnymen in Lancaster, PA back in May, the night before HFStival, and it was one of the best shows we’ve seen all year. It’s too bad singer Ian MacCulloch’s voice didn’t hold up the next day at M&T Bank Stadium. But we’re willing to let the band off the hook for that, provided they play a great show tonight at the Black Cat. Recent European setlists have mixed…

FRIDAY: >> If your faux pas have lately been spiraling out of control, head over tout suite to Politics & Prose. This evening at 7 p.m. Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, will be talking about “Miss Manner’s Guide to Excruciatingly Exact Behavior,” her newly updated book about modern-day etiquette. >> The Dulles Expo Center gets busy today with the weekend-long Sugarloaf Craft Festival. You can buy everything from well-engineered teddy bears to wood art. Check…

It’s officially official: The HFStival, which we mentioned earlier was rumored to be taking place on May 14 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, is on. And you know what? We think the line up is pretty sweet (certainly the best in several years, at least): Foo Fighters Coldplay Billy Idol New York Dolls Garbage Interpol Good Charlotte Social Distortion Echo and the Bunnymen Sum 41 The Bravery They Might Be Giants Louis XIV Unwritten…

This past January, local radio was turned upside down when, without warning, venerated alternative rock station WHFS was switched into all Spanish salsa, all the time. Though it was widely agreed that WHFS had been on a downward descent — playing more numetal than interesting independent music — its loss was still strongly felt in the radio community. Since then, those yearning for an HFS fix could turn to AOL, where the channel has been…