Things to Do

Music Picks: The Zombies, O.A.R., Real Estate

The live shows you shouldn’t miss over the next seven days.

Catch fraternity favorite O.A.R. at Merriweather on Friday. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user Matthew Straubmuller.

Thursday, August 9

One of Britain’s second wave of attackers during their ’60s invasion,
the Zombies
are like the Beatles’ less popular cousins. They proved they could write a hit with
“Time of the Season.” They’ll play that and some of their other Beach Boys-esque tunes
at the Howard.

8 PM at the Howard Theatre, $45.

Il Divo didn’t necessarily make opera cool, but they did make it popular, taking old standbys
such as “Hallelujah” and “Amazing Grace” and turning them into 26 million CD sales
worldwide.

8 PM at Wolf Trap, $30 to $55.

Friday, August 10

Is it just me or is every band that ever existed in the ’60s coming through Washington
this summer? The
Steve Miller Band, who wrote “Fly Like an Eagle” (as made famous by
Space Jam), are the latest. The joker, smoker,
midnight toker, etc. play at Wolf
Trap.

8 PM at Wolf Trap, $30 to $45.

Rockville’s
O.A.R. are coming through for their annual
summer pavilion show. Though the jam band have
been popular on the summer circuit for years, they finally
found radio success with
“Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” in 2008. Get ready for their
18-minute rendition
of “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker,” which is always a crowd
pleaser.

5:30 PM at Merriweather, $35 to $45.

Saturday, August 11

Linkin Park have somehow defied all odds—though they’ve become a nu-metal punchline, they still
manage to play the country’s largest pavilions, headline festivals, and put out rereleases
of their old material with impunity. Fred Durst should be so lucky. Relive your angsty
middle school days at Jiffy Lube Live.

8 PM at Jiffy Lube Live, $40 to $105.

Illinois-based
Planes Mistaken for Stars became one of the most popular hardcore bands in the country during the early 2000s
because they occasionally did something other than scream into the microphone. They
broke up in 2008, but are out for a reunion tour. Come to Red Palace ready to slamdance
and sing your heart out.

7 PM at Red Palace, $12.

Sunday, August 12

When
Kenny Chesney and
Tim McGraw announced they were hitting the road earlier this year, it instantly became the biggest
country tour of the past couple of years. The expansive “Brothers in the Sun” tour
has sold out multiple dates in a lot of cities, and now it’s Washington’s turn. A
few years ago, McGraw would have definitely headlined, but these days it’s Chesney
who sits on country music’s throne.

4:30 PM at FedEx Field, $50 to $300.

Featuring members of It band
Titus Andronicus, who have become popular with their eight-minute punk screeds about the Civil War,

Real Estate has Titus’s quirkiness without the
edge—expect straightforward but catchy indie
rock.

7 PM at 9:30 Club, $20.

Monday, August 13

It seems impossible that a band with songs about Quidditch, potions class, and defeating
Lord Voldemort could be anything more than a sideshow, but
Harry & the Potters, founded by brothers
Joe and Paul DeGeorge, have been making a go of it for ten years.
They all but invented the “wizard rock” genre, and even though
they haven’t released
a new CD in six years, they still bring out lots of muggles
each time they play.

7 PM at Black Cat, $15.

Tuesday, August 14

Welsh performer
Marina & the Diamonds bridges the gap
between being a quirky, Regina Spektor-esque singer-songwriter and
being a more indie-rock version of Madonna who writes poppy
dance songs. She’s toured
with Katy Perry and Coldplay, and now has her very own sold-out
9:30 Club show.

7 PM at 9:30 Club, sold out.

Wednesday, August 15

On her own,
Chrisette Michele has a Grammy and lots of
soulful R&B songs, but she’s best known for her collaborations
with Drake and Rick Ross on “Aston Martin Music” and Jay-Z on
“Lost
One.”

8 PM at the Howard, $59.50 to $65.