The Adams Morgan Summer Concert Series showcases a wide variety of locals, and is back for 2012. It was kicked off last week with DC Americana-rock band Kid Goat  taking over the plaza of BB&T. This Saturday June 9, get there by 5 PM to check out the next act in this summer series, DC based post-punk Dot Dash (pic above.) Their album Spark Flame Ember Ash is now available, featuring the track "Learn How To Fly" as heard/seen below.

And over the next several Saturdays, stop by the plaza to check out: 6/16 the Black Sparks (previous DC Deli Band of the Month!), 6/23 Down Tyme, 6/30 Batuque, and 7/7 the Honeyguns (previous DC Deli Band of the Month!)

Saturday @ BB&T Bank Plaza, Corner of 18th St & Columbia Rd. 5-7 PM, FREE!

DC based indie rock band stereosleep dominated our last poll and were rightfully crowned Band of the Month. So we got a hold of Alexandre Jeanty (guitar), Billy Wood (drums), Bruce Fulton (bass), and Donny Ray (vocals/guitar) to find out more about what goes into the sound they’ve created. Here they tell us about Craigslist roots, headlining the Black Cat, and the power of a pen. Now onto the interview…

In support of DC’s Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie festival, the Black Cat will feature benefit shows on the first Friday of June, July, and August with bands that will be performing at the fest as well. This Friday June 1, check out these acts:

DC’s Surgery Dot Com are self-described pioneers of “experimental dork punk” who’ve got an EP Live Surgery available now that was recorded live at DC9 in February.

RVA’s Kid Is Qual consists of two bassists and a drummer who recently released their gritty rock EP Ladies Choice, and were selected to Alternative Press’s "Top 100 bands you need to know in 2012."

Charlottesville VA’s rockers Corsair (pic above by Brad Day), featuring members from the Black Sabbath tribute band Mass Sabbath, joins the bill as well who will showcase rock anthems featured on their debut S/T LP that came out late April.

And Arlington VA’s alt rock band Koshari will start off the gig with tracks from their extensive discography that’s been growing since 2001, including their latest LP Light in Dark Places.

Black Cat, Friday 6/1 Doors @9 PM $10.

It’s not surprising that Bethesda based punk band the Black Sparks dominated our last Band of the Month poll. Formed in 2006 by a couple of 8 year olds playing in the basement, these dudes were born to revive classic DC punk. Their fun nuggets* have the ability to scrape wallflowers away from the corners and onto the floor for some good-time floor punching. (*listen to "Mister Panther" from their 2010 EP S.T.Rawberries.) We wanted to find out more about this band that’s on the rise, so we got a hold of Jonah Antonelli (guitar,) Nathaniel Salfi (drums,) Sam Grove (guitar,) Andrew Salfi (vocals,) and Ray Brown (bass.) Here, they talk about playing with Titus Andronicus, the influence of Ian Mackaye, and the complexity of BYS (Bethesda Youth Shows.) Now onto the interview…

Check out the Black Sparks live June 16th as part of the Adams Morgan Summer Concert Series!  They’ve got sets at 5 & 6 PM in front of the BB&T on Columbia & 18th St NW. 

This Saturday 5/26, check out a local triple decker of rock at the Black Cat. DC based band of the Month nom’s Stereosleep (pictured above & heard below) are hitting the stage with their dose of indie rock, joined by previous DC BotM winners Black Dog Prowl unleashing their self-described sex rock sound, and VA’s "face-melting rock’n’roll"ers Fourmanchu.

Black Cat. Sat. 5/26. Doors at 9PM. $10

This Saturday 5/19, head down to the Rock & Roll Hotel to check out DC electro pop genius Outputmessage (opening for NY’s Class Actress and Penguin Prison.) Outputmessage is Bernard Farley, who worked on his master’s degree in Mathematics while killing it as an IDM producer. His first release came out on Ghostly International (one of the earliest artists on their label), and all other albums such as 2010’s Autonomous, the remixed version Autonmix, and 2011’s Game Over EP were released through his own record label Output Noise Records. Math nerds produce the best beats, the proof is below.

Rock & Roll Hotel, 5/19, Doors @8:30 $15

This Friday 5/18 at the Black Cat, new DC based duo Astra Via (featuring Olivia Mancini and Jarrett Nicolay of Virginia Coalition) will be releasing their debut EP. Check out the first single "Be Where You Are" from the EP, below.

Get to the Cat in time to catch more local support via DC folk group Vandaveer, and DC Americana rockers Beanstalk Library.

Black Cat, 5/18, Doors @9 PM, $12.

Nootropics is an album built like a glacier. Layers of chill slowly fall upon one another, blending into the last section, over and over, until collectively they form something striking. The latest effort of Baltimore-based band Lower Dens, Nootropics presents a similar atmosphere to another Baltimore-based band – Beach House. On the opening track, "Alphabet Song," vocalist Jana Hunter could easily be mistaken for Victoria Legrand. The album itself is a slow ride, tracks sliding into each other, swirling with drones and simple guitar work. According to Hunter, "Alphabet Song," "and singles "Brains" and "Propogation" exemplify the theme of the album, which is the both the betterment and deterioration of humanity through science and change. Nootropics captures that dichotomy by conveying a myriad of quiet emotions. – allison levin

This Friday 5/11, DC’s rockers Fear of Virginia will be hitting the Rock & Roll Hotel stage for their final performance. Formed in 2010, the crew have played nearly every club around the district to crowds feeding off their energy, one of the many attributes that crowned them a DC Deli Band of the Month in 2011. Via their press release, Bassist David Turner added, “We are pulling out all the stops for this show. I can promise this will be the most memorable concert in Washington D.C. for years to come. Basically if you don’t enjoy this show, you probably should move to Virginia.”

Friday 5/11 @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 9 PM, $10.

Monday 4/30 is gonna be a stellar night of indie noise as three amazing locals take to the Black Cat stage. The phenom DC quintet Mittenfields are back from a Texas tour with some new material on top of the unique 90’s indie meets noise pop sound they are known for off their EP The Fresh Sum. Joining the bill are Paperhaus, DC’s own meld of psychedelic/blues rockers who’ve turned their home studio into a sweet gig space known as The Paperhaus, which so happens to be the name of their EP released last Sept. And get there by doors open to check out Baltimorean pop alt. rockers Me and This Army (noms for Band of the Month!) who’ve got some new material up on Soundcloud following their 2011 EP release Souls.

It’s all happening at the Black Cat on Monday Apr. 30, doors @8 PM, $8.

DC’s indie rock trio Megaphone Barons recently set out on a guerilla shoot all over the Capital to create this video complete with pedicab performances, and sneaking past lobby security (full drum kit and all) to achieve high views of our city. All this for the epic track "Send Somebody Else" off their debut EP Menagerie which is available for free download off their website! To celebrate the release they are inviting you to join them in a bar crawl on May 11th. More details here…

(Directed by Emre Çilem and edited by Hamilton Riley.)