DCist music editor Amanda Mattos once said that the term ‘local band’ “usually softens up our critical senses.” As long as a band stays local, that is 100 percent correct. But once a band starts to blow up on a national level, the term ‘local show’ takes on a different connotation entirely. There is a certain expectation that the local shows have more energetic crowds, cooler guest appearances and better performances all around. As such,…

FRIDAY: >> The city’s free concert series follows MC Hammer with a rare appearance by salsa legend Willie Colon, 7-9 p.m. at Woodrow Wilson Center. >> President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his book, Broken Government, which examines “the institutional damage he believes the Republican Party has inflicted on the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government during the Bush administration.” 7 p.m. He’ll also be…

Consider this a warning. The Black Lips, Atlanta’s favorite juvenile delinquents, have the capability to turn any live show into a living, breathing OSHA health hazard. Even if managing to avoid the quartet’s spit, vomit, blood and urine, one should still expect to exit the club soaked in PBR. Admittedly, the antics, which have also included on-stage intra-band brawls and makeout sessions, could originally be attributed to both teenage drunkenness and lack of technical…