>> Detroit garage rockers Gore Gore Girls are at DC9 with two local acts: the Highballers and the Droptops. 9 p.m., $10. >> Don't miss our full preview of the Stones Throw concert tonight at Black Cat. 8 p.m., $20. >> Looking to crash one of those well-monied D.C. holiday parties for free food and drinks? Via BrightestYoungThings, a handy list. >> Thievery Corporation's Rob Garza's latest side-project, Dust Galaxy, will be at the musician's......

>> Sen. John McCain probably wishes he didn't sing "bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boy's "Barbara Ann" at a meeting with supporters. Or at least he wishes it wasn't captured on YouTube. [via Reason's Hit & Run] >> Local groups continue to schedule memorials to the victims of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech. You can find a good list of Washington-area events here. [NBC4] >> Tickets for both Wilco and the......

> >UPDATE: As a commenter notes, The Dismemberment Plan tickets for the second show, Friday, April 27 are on sale NOW. Go, friends, go! > > Best birthday present ever? Hmmm. Submitted for your approval: How about booking the Thievery Corporation? To play the birthday boy's living room? Well played, ma'am. Well played. [The Upstate Life] > > Why isn't Butterstick playing in the snow like his parents? Maybe it's because he doesn't want to......

>> Breaking news from the DCist News Desk Sofa: Anna Nicole Smith has died in Florida. Smith was reportedly found in unconscious in her Hollywood, Fla. hotel room and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Looking back, it's hard to remember all that made Smith a tabloid celeb but we're sure we'll be seeing a Law & Order "ripped from the headlines" reminding us soon. [CNN.com] >> Never let it be said D.C. artists don't......

Sorry for the late arrival of this week's agenda, but you see, I work in Tysons Corner and I was stuck in traffic. Now on to our picks! TUESDAY >> If you don't think there is such a thing as hardcore klezmer music, Gogol Bordello are in town to prove you wrong. These Eastern European transplants to New York serve up Slavic ska, polka punk, and lots of other funky fusions, but those were the......

We get a lot of CDs here at DCist, and at least 90 percent of them are nothing more than DJ mix tapes. So it was a bit of a pleasant surprise when Beau Tand’s self-titled debut album arrived and we heard what sounded like David Bowie crooning about French model and actress Francoise Hardy over programmed beats. Sure it’s more 1980s Bowie than Ziggy Stardust, and that might be enough to drive some listeners......

Thunderball may define their music in press releases as “cinematic, dub-laden compositions full of intrigue,” but their newest album on D.C.’s Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label, Cinescope, is a mess – a disorderly combination of too many benders while watching Rat Pack films and “Shaft in Africa” with some forgettable guest vocal tracks. The album doesn’t start out so cluttered, however. Openers “The Road to Benares” and “Electric Shaka” (with suitably electric vocals by Afrika......

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;......

A few weeks ago, we told you about the cumulating evidence that Virgin Mobile will be bringing its popular European music festival, V Fest, to the states. The formal announcement has been made: The creators of England's phenomenally successful Virgin Festival will be announcing the debut of the American version. The Virgin Festival By Virgin Mobile will be held at Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes, in Baltimore, Maryland on September 23, 2006.......

MONDAY >> "It" band of the month Arctic Monkeys are headlining a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club with Delaware’s eccentric pop ensemble http://www.crackerbox.net/audio/spintoband/">Spinto Band. Fear not, though. NPR.org is webcasting the show starting at 8:30 p.m. as part of its ever growing and always impressive concert series. So gather around the laptop with the kids, and listen to the latest "greatest U.K. rock band of all time" play in our very own backyard. >>......

After a somewhat chaotic anti-war march that clogged downtown streets for hours today, the free Operation Ceasefire concert at the Washington Monument is underway. If you hurry you may still be able to catch The Evens, Ted Leo, Head Roc, Thievery Corporation, Pure Belly Dance, The Bouncing Souls, and Le Tigre before the show ends at 1 a.m. Feel free to send us your photos if you attended either event today. We took the......

What a weekend to be in Washington. No doubt we'll be seeing a whole lot of you around the Mall for one event or another this weekend. DCist would like to take this opportunity to recommend sunscreen with a high SPF. We just can't have all our readers looking like lobsters come Monday morning. Not a sexy look. FRIDAY: >> The D.C. music scene says farewell to Q and Not U tonight at Black Cat.......

Thievery Corporation, one of the District's most eclectic musical outfits, takes to the stage this weekend as part of Operation Ceasefire, an anti-war musical event featuring the likes of the Bouncing Souls, Joan Baez, Le Tigre, The Coup, Head Roc, Ted Leo + The Pharmacists, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and others. In anticipation of the show, which may well match the last time we ran into Thievery Corporation, DCist was able to exchange......

A day late, but no tickets short. The 9:30 Club finally released its grip on a slew of sought after tickets yesterday (no, not Death Cab). Spit shine your credit card and get yours before they’re gone. >> Run – don’t walk – for indie rock. The Decemberists’ Picaresque has been one of the most talked about albums of 2005, and they’re bringing their tales of pirate ships and barrow boys to the 9:30......

For those out there who hate Thievery Corporation and Ted Leo but love freedom, the Pentagon is offering an alternative to Operation Ceasefire. None other than country music legend Clint Black will headline a concert in support of the military and Sept. 11 victims on the four-year anniversary of the attacks. The concert, named "America Supports You," will follow up the Department of Defense’s two-mile Freedom Walk from the Pentagon to Arlington National Cemetery to......

Remember how Live 8 eradicated starvation and poverty in Africa? Well, our boys and girls overseas better start packing up their gear, because the anti-war movement has an impending activism concert of its own. As part of a large anti-war mobilization in DC between September 23rd – 26th, “Operation Ceasefire” will bring several music acts to the mall, including Thievery Corporation, Le Tigre, Anti-Flag, Bouncing Souls, and Head Roc, most likely with more to be......

Review from DCist contributor Jake Wolman. You can see more photos from last night's show here Last night, DCist attended the first of three consecutive sold-out Thievery Corporation shows at the 9:30 club. Thievery Corporation, who got their start here in D.C., is the brainchild of Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, the owners of the Eighteenth Street Lounge (and label), DJs who've long been known for their exotic remixes and sophisticated international style. They......

(From DCist contributor Amanda Mattos) To play in D.C. this week, you apparently have to have played at Bonnaroo, been involved with a movie star, or started your career here. MONDAY: >>After a 2004 tour with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and countless appearances on mix CDs burned in dorm rooms, Ben Harper (at right) alights the 9:30 Club with friend and cohort, Tom Freund. The two recorded the album Pleasure & Pain together in......

Last one, we swear! Just a quick reminder that the first-ever DCist concert, featuring Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, is on tonight. Where: Black Cat, Backstage; 1811 14th St. NW, between S and T sts. (Nearest metrorail station, 13th and U sts NW/Green Line/U Street-African American Civil War Memorial-Cardozo station; or take the 52,53,54 buses on 14th Street from the McPherson Square station on the Orange and Blue lines.) When: 9 p.m. How Much? $7,......

What, you thought we could go a week without reminding you of our rapidly approaching concert next Thursday evening at the Black Cat backstage? Hah! That's funny. Nope, here we are, telling you again: Unbuckled, featuring great local bands Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, will be June 30 at 9 p.m., and it's guaranteed to be loads of fun. There'll be live music, DCist staff running all over, and now, prizes! At the concert we'll......

MONDAY: >> Hit up Fort Reno to catch performances by Partyline, teenage popsters Lemonface (at right), and Five Four. Things get started at 7:15 p.m. TUESDAY: >> The Bluestate DJs bring their patented mix of pop, indie and all-around danceable tunes to Saint-Ex. Bonus: it'll be a celebration of DCist Kyle's birthday! 9 p.m., free. >> Italian-Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini, who's written tunes for Kylie Minogue and Thievery Corporation, comes to Iota. 8:30 p.m., $10.......

Don't let the cold keep you in -- there are some interesting shows going on this week. MONDAY: >> Turing Machine bring their aggressive punk-rock instrumentals to the Black Cat. You might recognize a couple of their members as having been in D.C.-area artrock band Pitchblende. 9 p.m., $7. TUESDAY: >> No Second Troy (pictured at right in a photo from their site), who were lauded as one of the "12 most notable [unsigned] artists......