Beach Goers Shouldn't Throw Rocks at Glasnost Houses ?

Sitting with the ants on my counter this morning after fleeing the mosquitoes out in the garden, I can't help but think about the show coming up at IOTA this Thursday. It's a double bill featuring the Atomic Mosquitos and Igor and Red Elvises. Think Black Lagoon Surf Instrumental meets Siberian L.A. Lounge Pop Punk.  Or to put it more simply-East Coast meets West. (Bethany Beach meets Moscow?)

Did we mention there'll be a theremin?

Pretend It's Saturday

Don't want the weekend to be over? It doesn't have to be.  Drew Gibson's at IOTA tonight along with a really good selection of draft beers. Be different. Have something to talk about at the office tomorrow besides sports.

DC Band In DC

Check out indie-native type music from the Nighttime Adventure Society this Saturday night at the Black Cat. And here's a link to front woman Laura Zax's song about the town she grew up in- you guessed it- Washington DC.

The Heat Is On

It's getting deep, deep into summer here in DC now.  Time for the politicians to scamper home and run for office, and time for the real denizens of the District to get down to the dog days. Never mind that the ice sheets of  Greenland  are melting according to the crazy cats at NASA. Never mind that DC has had it's hottest summers two years running, and I'm not even counting 2012.

What matters is that we persevere in keeping cool even if it means creeping out of the AC cave we call home to go out and enjoy the end product of a blazing day: the sultry evening.
The Blackberry Belles have a show opening up for the Royal Bangs down at the The Red Palace this Friday. I can't describe their music, but some might say a thrashy, trashy meld of Sonics, Seeds, Doors and Black Keys- they sound like a rock band your parents wouldn't want you to listening to during the 60s which is why you should go.

Rock Show Hits Quarry Saturday

I really shouldn't be writing about this show because people are going to go anyway. Why?
Three reasons off the top of my head: Two really good bands, a bourbon list you don't have enough time to read, much less drink your way through, and all the ambiance that a dive bar from the 1930s can cough up. Oh, and a room full of musicians and fans all yelling hello, dancing even though there's hardly any room, and cruising for left over tater tots.

Hot Town

Little Red and the Renegades always put on a fun show especially on a hot night when you can pretend you are somewhere cooler like New Orleans. According to my friend Kiki, this year Washington has been hotter than New Orleans almost every day in July so far which makes me question pretty much everything.

Falls Church Imaginary Beach Time

The bad news? There's no actual beach here.

The good news? There's no Bay Bridge traffic, there is live music, and if you close your eyes the cars on Washington Street can sound like waves. (Ok,  if you hold a shell up to your ear, they do.)

Best Deal in Town

My friend Olivia chilling at Fort Reno

Food trucks, frisbees, trees and music. No one is too old or too young to hang at Fort Reno. This Monday's bands include Nox, Alma and Cigarbox Planetarium. Never heard of 'em? That's why these concerts exist: to give DC bands air play- back to Nature style. Concerts include free sunsets and no cover.

Music Here and There

I was at a back yard party with a live band recently, and I sat next to a man who was lamenting the lack of music in the DC area. (Boy, did he pick the wrong seat!) He was immediately supplied with a DC ROCKS lecture and quite possibly a card. But it is true- music might be harder to find if you are of a certain age that grew up with newspapers in the hand and no internet. Or then again maybe you just aren't looking in the right place.

This Friday King Soul is playing at a venue I was unaware of-  Seventh Street Landing. It's a relatively new waterside park in Southwest DC where you can find farmer's markets, art markets and live music, too. Set times run from 6-8:30 p.m.
Then on  Saturday The Loggers are reconvening at Parker's in Bethesda. Go up and talk to those guys, and you'll learn a lot about what small town Bethesda used to be like, and if you remember Bethesda in the Sixties and Seventies, you'll be hearing familiar tunes.

Or if you prefer a slightly more urban venue, psychedelia garage style Blankus Larry and friends will be squirreled away in the back of Comet Ping Pong on Connecticut Avenue. 10 p.m. Saturday.

One thing that hasn't changed with the internet is rock posters. An art form in itself.

Not the Fighting Kind Of Nunchucks

Sometimes I actually know a band that's playing at Fort Reno and this Thursday is one of those shows. The Nunchucks rocked when I saw them open for the last Slickees Boys' show at 9:30 Club sometime back, and here's your chance to see them for free. You can bring the dog. Or the kids.  Concerts start at 7 and are over by 9:30 star time.

History Repeatedly Repeating

It's the name of a band, but it should be the name of the show this Sunday when The Black Sparks meet John Stabb's latest project History Repeated at the Black Cat. John's band Government Issue was a force to be reckoned with back in the day, and the boys of Black Sparks might not be old enough to drive a car, but they're pulling no punches. Truly an all ages event.