Friday, February 1, 2008

Friday

After "Going Through Changes" (which Spin.com said "could easily become the misunderstood puberty song of 2007") and spending much of last year on the road, Washington alt-rockers Army of Me land at the Rock and Roll Hotel, headlining an all-local bill with the Dance Party, Exit Clov and Good Night, States (202-388-7625). . . . Maureen McGovern returns to the Barns at Wolf Trap with a tribute to such classic '60s and '70s singer-songwriters as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Carole King and Paul Simon (877-965-3872).

There will be noise: Arsis, Exodus and a band with a great name, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, power up at Jaxx (703-569-5940). . . . Emily Ki n g's acclaimed debut album, "East Side Story," reveals multiple ingredients, including jazz, rock, hip-hop and soul, skillfully stirred by Washington producer Chucky Thompson. She's with Franklin Bridge at the Black Cat (202-667-7960).

London-to-Brooklyn transplant Kirsten Price has ferocious rock-and-soul pipes (think Joss Stone or Toni Childs with rougher edges and a mean steak -- a sound featured on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "The L Word"). Price brings her band to DC9 (202-483-5000).

They don't come much more independent, or feistier or loonier, than singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked. She has been issuing expanded versions of her major-label albums, including the gospel album that Mercury refused to release, "To Heaven U Ride." She's with Erin McKeown at the Barns at Wolf Trap (877-965-3872). . . . Duke Ellington School for the Arts grad Tony Terry made his mark on the R&B charts in the late '80s with "She's Fly." He has since split his energies among recording, film work and touring musicals; he'll focus on R&B at Blues Alley (202-337-4141).

-- Richard Harrington