Things to Do

Music Picks: The Ting Tings, Raekwon, All-American Rejects

Our picks for the best in live music over the next seven days.

Catch All-American Rejects at 9:30 Club on Sunday. Photograph courtesy of the band’s website.

Thursday, April 12

Whether you call them Stacy or something else, the Ting Tings, England’s most popular electro-pop duo (which is a thing), will be at 9:30 Club tonight. They’ve got other songs besides “That’s Not My Name,” but that’s probably why you know them.

7 PM at 9:30 Club, sold out.

Arguably the most talented Wu-Tang member still making music, it’s been said that Raekwon makes music “not unlike a gangsta Iliad.” If you’re going to go for epic, you could do worse than getting compared to the person credited with starting Western literature. He’ll be at State Theatre tonight.

8 PM at State Theatre, $20.


Friday, April 13

The fact that Tim Fite is playing U Street Music Hall means the venue has fully committed to putting on live acts, not just sweaty dance nights. The singer-songwriter makes beautiful, sparse music no one could possibly construe as dancey.

7 PM at U Hall, $12.

The Howard Theatre reopened Monday and has wasted no time getting big names. Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the funkiest band this side of the ’70s, will headline there Friday. Robert’s guitar slides and solos have landed him a spot on Rolling Stone‘s list of top guitarists.

Doors at 10:30 at the Howard Theatre, $25 in advance, $30 day of.

Saturday, April 14

Calling it a concert is a bit of a stretch, but there’s definitely a huge music element to Dayglow, “the world’s largest paint party.” Wear a white shirt and get ready to get messy–RFK Stadium turns into a crazy rave dance party Saturday. Deejays Alesso and David Solano will spin, but you don’t really care about that.

7 PM at RFK Stadium, $65.

I told you about them last week, but if you missed Of Monsters and Men at Black Cat, see them this weekend at the Fillmore. The Icelandic folksters are almost definitely about to blow up, Mumford and Sons style. They’re playing for free on account of the Icelandic Association of Washington, DC, which is an organization you should consider joining if you are from Iceland and find yourself in DC. Free tickets are sold out, but some entrepreneurial spirits are selling tickets on StubHub for $5.

8 PM at the Fillmore, $5ish.

We’ll never let Mos Def change his name in our hearts, but the rapper now known as Yasiin Bey is making his second DC appearance in the last couple months at Howard Theatre. Word on the street is the show will be a tribute to Gil Scott-Heron.

10:30 PM at the Howard Theatre, $45.

Sunday, April 15

Last summer, Blues Traveler played at a law firm’s open-bar private party for several hundred very drunk people who were not Blues Traveler fans. Let’s hope they don’t get the same run around Sunday night at State Theatre. They’re coming out with a new CD in June, but if you’re going to the show, it’s the hook that’s bringing you back, which is a joke you will only get if you are a Blues Traveler fan or were alive in the ’90s.

6 PM at State Theatre, $35.

What follows is a true story: I once went to an All-American Rejects concert and had a surprisingly good time. The Oklahoma rockers have been pretty consistently decent over the years, and even though their fan base has never really shifted older than angsty 13-year olds, they still play old hits like “Swing, Swing” and “My Paper Heart,” so you can relive your middle school days if you want.

7 PM at 9:30 Club, $30.

Is the Howard killing it or what? They’ve lured the Roots from doing parody songs on Jimmy Fallon for a show of their own material Sunday. At this point, Questlove, Black Thought, and the gang only play a couple of their own shows a year, so don’t miss this one.

7 PM at the Howard Theatre, $55.

Monday, April 16

They’re only a couple months old, but Redline Graffiti have already wowed crowds with their handful of shows. Their official bio pretty much nails it: “Indie rock meets electronica. Synths when you want. Guitar when you want.” Sign me up.

7:30 PM at Velvet Lounge, $8.

Tuesday, April 17

With . . . Is a Real Boy, Max Bemis made the best album of his life, and arguably of the whole early 2000s pop punk/emo movement. Then he was put in a mental institution. Good for him, not as good for his band, Say Anything. Since then, the band have released three albums–they’ve all got their moments and none of them are outright terrible, but nothing will ever touch . . . Is a Real Boy.

7 PM at Black Cat, sold out.

Country legend Glen Campbell had a host of hits in the ’60s and hosted a variety show, back when he could say things like, “It’s all thanks to the magic of television” without making people think he was crazy. At 75, he’s still kicking–he’ll play hits like “Gentle on My Mind” and “Wichita Lineman” at the Birchmere. This is the “goodbye tour,” so cancel whatever you were going to do Tuesday.

7:30 PM at the Birchmere, $85.

Wednesday, April 18

Guster have been around since 1991 and have managed to neither get huge nor become irrelevant, which is a huge accomplishment. All these years later, they’re still as poppy and alt-rocky as ever.

8 PM at Lincoln Theatre, sold out.

Sam Adams (right?) falls somewhere below Mac Miller but above Chet Hanks in the young-white-boy-rapper pantheon. If you like annoying rich kids from Boston (shocker) who went to prep school, scream their own names a bunch, and try to be a cross between Justin Bieber and some generic rapper I can’t even place, see his show Wednesday, but unfriend me on Facebook.

8 PM at the Fillmore, $33.