After weeks of speculation and much too much time spent obsessively reloading the 9:30 Club Forum, Post Rock and even the Baltimore Buisiness Journal, we finally have confirmation. There will be a Virgin Mobile Festival this year. Now we just need to know the where, the when, the who and the how much. With that in mind let’s take a look at the latest internet chatter: The Where: With Pimlico ownership Magna Entertainment Corp….

Though it’s an open question as to whether D.C.’s rock scene has sacrificed quality for quantity, there is no denying a time when there were not that many places for a rock band to play in this city. “During college, the music scene was a bit struggling, especially in the Georgetown area,” says The Bravery’s guitarist and Georgetown University alum Michael Zakarin, “but I was at the Black Cat or the 9:30 every weekend. It’s…

By DCist contributor Abby Lavin Darlings of Oklahoma City’s glam rock scene (yes, apparently there is one), The Stock Market Crash have earned comparisons to David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, and The Strokes. As much as we love those acts, being so ripe for comparison can be a red flag that the band is a rip-off. We showed up at TSMC’s show at DC9 last night looking to find out what sets them apart from, say,…

Brit-rock leanings are nothing new these days. Every gig-hungry band with an amp seems to be able to put a few three minute wonders together. But it takes musicianship and an imagination to turn of-the-now genre adherence into an actual good band. Luckily, Telograph has both. We’d love to write them off as a band that’s squeaking by on the merit of their lead singer’s good looks and detached charisma, but fortunately Telograph brought more…

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;…

(Review and interview by DCist contributor Justin Kielsgard) Tegan and Sara are water bubbling in a pot. Blending tender, sometimes raucous harmonies with pop and punk sensibility, these 20-something twin sisters from Canada are not simply the fresh-faced darlings of the indie scene, but seasoned rock musicians (having toured with Ryan Adams, Hot Hot Heat and The Killers). In a Monday night performance at the 9:30 Club in support of their latest release, “So Jealous”…

(Review and photo by DCist contributor Ryan Avent)For the critically minded, a play of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm is sure, at first blush, to scream comparisons to the other dance-floor rock bands of the moment, most notably the overproduced and omnipresent juggernauts The Bravery and The Killers. As everyone from NME to Pitchfork has instructed us, however, BP is not there for the critically minded; it’s there to knock your socks off, and even…

TUESDAY: >> The Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop does solo post-rock at the Black Cat. $12. Local singer Brandon Butler (formerly of Canyon) opens. WEDNESDAY: >> Get a huge dose of hipsterness when The Killers (at right) play Merriweather Post Pavilion. Bands-of-the-moment Keane, Louis XIV, Regina Spektor, and Maximo Park all open. Lawn tickets at $25 are still available at Ticketmaster. >> If you don’t feel like making the trek out to Merriweather, you can…

Just under two hours ago, venerable alternative radio flagship station WHFS, 99.1 on your FM dial, was taken off the air and replaced by “El Sol” which will play “a mixture of Salsa, Merengue and Bachata, targeting adults 25-54.” Ack! The move took many area radio listeners by surprise. Billboard Radio Monitor called the format change “a shocking move.” “We have made clear our desire to expand into this burgeoning market and believe this move…

This weekend is just chock full of good stuff to do! The weather is shaping up nicely (with a chance of a storm on Saturday) so get out there. FRIDAY: Free Polyphonic Spree outdoor concert at the South Plaza Stage of the Kennedy Center. Starts at 6 p.m., but as there’s sure to be a crowd of people, we recommend getting out there a bit earlier. The galleries of Dupont Circle are hosting an extended-hours…