Puppets. Off-color humor. Off-color humor involving puppets. What could go wrong? Well, plenty, if BurleyQ is any indication. This exhaustingly awful entrant into the Capital Fringe Festival may appear to have a wacky, whimsical premise, but instead is the kind of show where you find yourself digging your nails into the knee of your theatergoing companion, eagerly waiting for the 50 minutes to pass. Think painfully bad jokes, laughably poor production value, frequently off-key singing,…

The curtain over the Warehouse Arts Complex that we’ve watched being pulled down by enormous tax hikes and aggressive developers around the new Convention Center is, sadly, finally scheduled to fall, at least in part. City Desk reports today that the Warehouse Next Door, site of off-the-wall, sometimes experimental music events, as well as the Bar & Cafe will close for good on July 30. The venue takes its usual summer break over August, and…

MONDAY >> The wait is over! We’ve been anxiously awaiting the start of Fort Reno’s season, and the day has finally arrived. Head up to the park and hear one of DCist’s favorite local outfits, Deleted Scenes, along with Mass Movement of the Moth and The Boom Orangutangs. >> It’s movie night at Galaxy Hut, and tonight the theme is 80s Surf Films. Get your Point Break on and drink an Alagash or twelve. It…

Monday >> It’s been a few years since Strange and Beautiful brought English singer/songwriter Aqualung into the spotlight with his radio friendly sensitivity, but now he’s back touring to promote his latest release, Memory Man. He’ll be headlining the 9:30 Club with opener Sara Bareilles. $20. >> Three Stars favorites The Deleted Scenes will be out at the Warehouse Next Door tonight as part of a four band line-up including Pash, The Love Story, and…

Many of you have probably heard guitarist Anthony Pirog at various bars and restaurants around the DC area, and some of you might not have even realized it. Whether playing with local jazz artists at Utopia or Tryst, as an experimental duo with celloist Janel Leppin at Bossa, or with his vintage rock band The Bang at the Velvet Lounge, Anthony’s prolific guitar work seems to find its way into just about every club and…

Funniest thing — we met Dave from Monopoli at Warehouse Next Door on Friday evening and he told us a story about a Boston band called Two Man Advantage who wear Bruins jerseys and random bits of hockey gear for their shows. Try as we may’ve, we couldn’t convince Dave that Monopoli should follow suit in a local equivalent, and when he sees the Caps new uniforms, he’s definitely not going to go for…

FRIDAY: >>Do you like Hall and Oates and Haddaway? Who doesn’t? The Black Cat is hosting Crap, a dance night of bad music on purpose. We advise loosening your Macarena muscles and preparing your ears for “singers” like Don Johnson, Eddie Murphy, and Bruce Willis. 10 pm, free. SATURDAY: >>There are more art openings than we can shake a sculpture at today, so check out our Arts Agenda for a rundown. >>Anything called “Underwear Party”…

Normally we leave covering the Brooklyn bands to our sister (or is it mother?) site, Gothamist, but The Shondes jumped out at us with their self-described combination of “classical music, feminist punk, and layered harmonies and traditional Jewish melodies.” Not a lot of bands can claim that. You might think the name The Shondes is a play on The Shondells, who briefly saved the future careers of Tiffany and Billy Idol when they recorded “I…

Named after an NES joystick, The Advantage tore apart the Warehouse Next Door on monday. The foursome from California plays instrumental Nintendo covers, but somehow aren’t gimmicky. With no keyboards or electronics, the two guitarists, bassist, and maniacal drummer have to be blisteringly fast and precise – hitting the turbo button as video gamers might say. A good portion of the crowd seemed to leave after local openers Durga Temple and French Toast, and they…

You know you are in for a night of indie rock when there is a line around the block of young adults in various colors and designs of vans and chucks, a multitude of black rimmed glasses, more than one kid who needs a shower, and a number of people who look as though they have yet to hit puberty. And this is great, fine really, unless this block and a half of people are…