Going Out Guide: Wednesday, April 14, 2010

By Going Out Guide
Wednesday, April 14, 2010; C09

TITUS ANDRONICUS

It takes some serious gumption to name your band after Shakespeare's bloodiest drama, but since "The Monitor" is an album loosely based on the country's bloodiest war, at least New Jersey's Titus Andronicus stays consistent. Even if you don't pick up on the sometimes-vague Civil War references, "The Monitor" has plenty to grab onto. And you really must grab, because frontman Patrick Sickels leads the group through breakneck pub rock/punk anthems that twist and turn, regularly zip past the five-minute mark and make you wish you had more than two fists to pump in the air. His vocals overflow with emotion as he screams and shouts every line as if it could be his last breath. As fiery as the songs sound on record, they really explode when played live.

Friday at 7:30 p.m. St. Stephen's Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. http://www.positiveforce.com. $8; $7 with can food donation.

BLACK TAMBOURINE CD RELEASE PARTY

In indie-music circles, Black Tambourine is the most influential D.C.-area band that you've never heard of, let alone seen live. Between 1989 and 1991, the indie-pop quartet released exactly two seven-inch singles, had three tracks featured on various compilations and played just a handful of shows. But the band's signature sound -- Pam Berry's ethereal melodies floating over a crashing wall of overdriven guitars and feedback -- is still cited by such groups as the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vivian Girls and other acclaimed up-and-comers who were just kids when Black Tambourine was active. Black Tambourine's complete recordings were recently reissued by Slumberland Records, and the official release party is at Marx Cafe. Band members Archie Moore and Brian Nelson -- who went on to find success in Velocity Girl after Black Tambourine's demise -- will spin their favorite records alongside DJ Pinstriped Rebel. CDs, vinyl albums and other items will be given away throughout the evening.

Friday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Marx Cafe, 3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW. http://www.marxcafemtp.com. Free.

JEDI MIND TRICKS

With young rappers jumping from soul samples to club-kid to emo-rock hybrid rap (not that there's anything wrong with that), you can still find a few groups that stick to the basics: pounding beats, rugged flows and a DJ furiously cutting it up during the chorus. Since 1996, Jedi Mind Tricks's motto has been "raw beats, raw rhymes." If Sean Price, Kool G. Rap and Killah Priest speak to you, this is your kind of rap music. Also featured is Mr. Lif, another hard-spitting veteran underground MC whose cerebral raps, social commentary and b-boy records overlap with Jedi Mind Tricks.

Saturday at 8 p.m. 9:30 club, 815 V St. NW. http://www.930.com. $17.

OSCAR D'LEÓN

Oscar D'León hails from Venezuela, but few singers channel the spirit of long-ago Cuban son singers as well as D'León, who is justifiably known as "El Sonero de Mundo" and "El Rey de Soneros" -- the son singer of the world and the king of the son singers. His career spans 30 years and dozens of albums, but to see D'León live is to understand why he still remains popular: The band is tight, D'León dances across the stage as he sings, smiling the entire time, and the room is wrapped in a feeling of joy and exuberance. Given the scale of the concerts he commands around the world, it's amazing to be able to see D'León and his band in the intimate confines of the Salsa Room, a nightclub on Columbia Pike. (Previous shows at the venue have been sellouts.) Get your tickets now. We're willing to bet they'll be long gone by the time the doors open.

Sunday at 9 p.m. Salsa Room, 2619 Columbia Pike, Arlington. 703-685-0790. http://www.primop.com. $35.

-- Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz

Theater: 'On the Verge'

There's more to writer-producer Eric Overmyer's body of work than such gritty television dramas as "Homicide: Life on the Street" or his new, critically acclaimed HBO series, "Treme." The characters in his fanciful play "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning," for example, wield words, not weapons, and Rep Stage is unveiling the adventure tale with a pay-what-you-can performance at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The production follows three daring women who time-travel to various places from 1888 to 1955, meeting a cast of nutty characters -- all played by actor Duane Boutté -- along the way. Fans of Tom Stoppard-style banter should get a kick out of the witty wordplay that unfolds, not to mention the spectacle of watching the Victorian ladies try to make sense of everything from Cool Whip to cream cheese.

Through May 2. Rep Stage at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 410-772-4900. http://www.repstage.org. $16-$30. Pay-what-you-can Wednesdays.

-- Stephanie Merry

Today's online tip:

Filmfest DC opens Thursday, bringing 11 days of indie flicks, documentaries and foreign films to area theaters and embassies. Wondering what to see?

We offer recommendations at http://www.goingoutguide.com.