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Event Details: January Music Roundup - :

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Praise Jesus that the winter live music “dead zone” will eventually be winding down. After this (and every) fall’s flurry of high profile tours we are generally left to sit on our thumbs until the Spring shows start (Rumor has it that Animal Collective is coming back.) Luckily, things are far from bad this January. Just as it’s not nearly as cold outside as it could be, DC’s venues are not as barren of decent music as they could be. Below the fold check out my humble opinion of upcoming local concert highlights.

I’d normally include a mixtape here, but Playlist.com is giving me a lot of trouble.

1/7:

-Imperial China: First-ever Ask A Straight Guy interviewee Brian Porter brings his noise rock band back to town. In fact, the Mount Pleasant natives never actually left. (Black Cat)

1/8:

-Franz Nicolay: People like The Hold Steady, right? Would those same people be excited to see their frontman play solo at the Black Cat backstage? (Black Cat)

1/9:

-Femi Kuti: Nigerian afrobeat artist with heavy Vampire Weekend influences. Just kidding. But he is surprising ripped. Who knew? (9:30 Club)

1/11:

-Police and Thieves: Local hardcore band favored by the much-missed TNG Robert. (Black Cat)

1/12:

-Illinois: With no relation to Sufjan or my home state, these Pennsylvania natives mix twang and psychedelic in a most un-Midwestern way. (DC9)

1/14:

-City and Colour: In the right hands, any acoustic guitar can transform your local rock venue into a Starbucks. (Black Cat.)

1/15:

-Metallica: Why am I even posting this? Any Metallica fan worth their haircut has had these tickets for months. (Verizon Center)

1/16:

-The Fray: They know how to save a life. But can they save a failing medical drama? (930)

1/17:

-Adele: The once real-bodied English singer seems to have chased too much pavement, as she was looking close to waifish when I saw her in Austin. As long as it hasn’t affected her voice I’m fine. (9:30)

-The Raveonettes: I can’t improve on my description of them from the interview I did last year, which I compared them to Lou Reed fucking Ronnie Spector and keeping the baby. Highly recommended. (Black Cat)

1/19:

-Frightened Rabbit: Scottish band which teeters dangerously between emotional, affecting rock and sounding like Adam Duritz. Keep your balance, boys! (Rock and Roll Hotel.)

-Big Shoulders Ball: Like Obama, Chicago meets DC in this Windy City-stocked Inaugural Celebration. Andrew Bird, Tortoise and several others could make it worth the steep price tag. (Black Cat, $50)

1/22:

-The Virgins: Scummy, swaggering guitar band. Little known fact: (Ostensibly) straight frontman Donald Cumming stars in criminally unseen gay horror movie Bugcrush. You get to see his ass. (Rock and Roll Hotel.)

1/24:

-Yo! Majesty: Christian, Lesbian hip-hop duo. Please, please don’t miss this. Or forget to check out our interview with them from last year. Recommended. (Black Cat.)

1/25:

-Reel Big Fish: Ska is alive and well and playing in DC. Here’s hoping their show…sells out! (930)

1/27 – 29:

-Thievery Corporation: The sound of K Street, local boys (and Marvin owners) grace us with a triptych. (930)

1/29:

-Dancing with The Stars: Though Lance Bass is in it, I’m only including this here because it’s literally the last thing I ever want to see. (Verizon Center.)

FEBRUARY:

2/2:

-The Pretenders: Any band that makes it through the 80s unscathed deserves our respect. That is doubly true when Chrissie Hynde is involved. (930)

2/3:

-Andrew Bird: Back again for a solo show, the master of violin, whistling and eccentricity will show you how to a man can sound like a theremin. (930 Club)

-Antony and the Johnsons: Goddamnit, why are these shows on the same night? The ambiguous Englishman with the haunting voice comes Hercules and Love Affair stint for his own tour. Reccomended. (6th and I Synagogue.)

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