Sad news, music lovers: DC 101′s Festivus concert, originally scheduled for Wednesday, December 9, has been cancelled. Weezer (the headliner for the event) has cancelled all of their remaining tour dates for their new album, Raditude, after a tour bus accident this weekend. A bus carrying lead singer Rivers Cuomo, his family, and his assistants hit some black ice and tossed everyone around, but it sounds like they should make a full recovery. Get better soon, Rivers!

Two Rockettes from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show, which is coming to the Patriot Center and the Verizon Center this month, will be spreading some Christmas cheer around DC this Friday, December 4.

The leggy ladies will be playing tour guide on a double decker bus (Union Station, 11am), which is apparently similar to the NY sightseeing bus used in the actual show. They’re out-of-towners, though, so I just hope they know their stuff. Attention Rockettes: We Love DC is here to help. Call me.

After that, they will dash over to the National Christmas Tree for a quick photo op at 12pm, and then (my favorite part) handing out “Rockette Cupcakes” with Curbside Cupcakes from 1-2pm, so keep an eye out for them this Friday!

Some people may be inclined to warm up by a fire during the cold months, but if you’re like me, you prefer to get the feeling back in your hands and toes by dancing it out. Or at the very least, getting your mind blown by some amazing musicians (local and not) in the month of December. The Roots, Erin McKeown, and even some crazy kids who call themselves The Phenomenal Handclap Band will be gracing our city in the next 30 days, so let’s get to the preview!

Right at the beginning of the month, local musician Andy Zipf (and pfriends) will be celebrating the release of his new album, The Long Tail, at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse on Wednesday, December 2 ($10, $50 VIP).

Saturday, December 5 The Big Pink is coming to Black Cat ($13). I have to admit, their name didn’t immediately ring a bell with me, but I recognized their song “Dominoes” as soon as it started playing, and I bet that will happen to some of you, too. If you like Matt & Kim, mixed with a little bit of Kings of Leon, and topped off with a British accent, perhaps you should check these guys out.

‘”Raphael Saadiq @Sugarhill” ATL’
courtesy of ‘Dominick Brady’

Also on December 5, Young @ Heart will be performing at Iona Senior Services ($30-100). OK, so maybe the venue isn’t the coolest, but it’s a benefit concert for Iona, and you get to see people your grandparents’ age singing Coldplay and Radiohead. Seriously, it’s awesome.

Monday, December 7 Raphael Saadiq will be at the 9:30 Club ($35). I love his soulful, upbeat song “100 Yard Dash,” almost as much as I love those Buddy Holly glasses on him. He’s actually got a contest right now too, so you can enter to meet him and ask where he got them!

The Phenomenal Handclap Band is coming to the Rock and Roll Hotel on Saturday, December 12 ($10/12). Some of their stuff sounds like Tilly and the Wall or Ting Tings-ish, as in upbeat and danceable, but then they’ll pull out something like “Testimony” which sounds like straight-up 60s guitar grooving.

Erin McKeown has a new album out, and she’s coming to Iota on Thursday, December 17 to play some songs off of it for you ($18). The new stuff sounds less jazzy than her past albums, but all the sweetness and passion in her voice remains. I will still never forget seeing her at Birchmere and overhearing her proud parents comment on how much she’s come out of her shell since she was little. Absolutely adorable.

If you’re in the mood for a matinee, Bach 2 Rock is playing at the 9:30 Club on Sunday, December 20 at 11am ($5). They call themselves “America’s music school” and let students play what they like, have jam sessions, and have shows to encourage the kids to become seasoned performers. Sounds way cooler than marching band (no offense).

For something a little on the funky side, check out folk-rockin’ locals Kid Goat and Hot Coffee, Mississippi Monday, December 21 at Iota ($10). Hot Coffee apparently has a dance number about John Wilkes Booth and a light-up tambourine– how can you say no?

The Roots are doing a two-night show at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, December 29 and Thursday, December 30 ($45). Personally, I don’t care if they are Jimmy Fallon’s house band, I still think these guys are awesome, and they put on a great show.

January heads up: Thievery Corporation is coming to the 9:30 Club for FOUR NIGHTS IN A ROW (Jan 20-23)and they’re all almost sold out, so act fast if you want in on that. I went to see them last year for the first time, and I had an amazing time– so super fun.

Anything else you’re excited about in December that I missed? I know there are a few shows I didn’t include because they’re sold out (coughArcticMonkeyscough), but leave the rest in the comments!

I love Jonathan Safran Foer. With equal parts romantic love and wanting-to-be-him love (it’s real, look it up). He’s accomplished more in his short years (just a few more than me) that I ever will, and I accept that fact. And today, I found out that a) he’s originally from DC and b) he’s actual, in real life, coming to DC– tomorrow!

JSF will be at Sixth and I tomorrow at 7 to read and discuss his new book, Eating Animals. It’s his first non-fiction book, after Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, both of which are amazing. This new one tackles our food, and the moral decision not to eat animals, which he came to after his son was born. Excellent stuff.

Crumbs, the delicious NY cupcake shop, is expanding to DC! “The D.C. market was the next logical choice for our expansion,” said Jason Bauer, CRUMBS CEO and co-founder. “The CRUMBS brand has strong name recognition in the market and we decided to listen to our fans who have been asking us for many months to come to D.C.”

True, DC has lots of cupcake shops. But personally, I am stoked about the arrival of Crumbs in March 2010. Their cupcakes are huge, first of all, and they also come up with some creative flavors and decorations. Check out Orange You a Chocolate Lover– cute, right? Bring on the happy.

If you missed Cesar Millan, aka The Dog Whisperer, when he was in town a little while ago for a book signing, never fear–he’s coming back December 6! Not for another book signing, though. Oh, no. The Dog Whisperer is on tour.

I couldn’t make this up if I tried. It’s called The PowerPack Tour, and it’s coming to the George Mason Patriot Center on December 6 at 5:30 pm. “From Sheepdogs to Schnauzers, Poodles to Pomeranians, Cesar Millan will have audiences spellbound as he shares his amazing insights on dog psychology and how people can inadvertently play a role in their dog’s behavioral issues,” said tour producer Bill Silva. Tickets are $150.00, $75.00 and $39.50 plus applicable service charges at Ticketmaster or the Patriot Center box office.

Before his seminar, The Dog Whisperer is joining forces with the Washington Humane Society for a blanket and towel drive, which will be at the Patriot Center starting at 3:30pm December 6. The towels (any size or color, just no holes) go in the cages to keep the animals warm before they get adopted, which is awesome.

I don’t know what it is about food trucks/stands/vans that appear out of nowhere and then move on, but it makes me want to buy what they’re selling. DC’s latest roving food trend is the bright pink cupcake van called Curbside Cupcakes.

I just took advantage of them (oh yeah. It was good, too.) being at Union Station during lunch today and tried the red velvet cupcake. It was a little on the small side, but it was super moist and fluffy–exactly how I like my cupcakes. Plus, the people working in the van are ridiculously nice. Cupcake van FTW! If you want to track them down and try the cupcakes for yourself, check out their Twitter or Facebook.

I do love the dance parties, and another one has recently hit the scene: Beat Market, every Thursday at Rock and Roll Hotel. DJs Doc Rok and Cold Case become the duo “Stocks N BondZ” (hilarious) to spin hip hop, old school, breaks, and funk in the upstairs Hotel Bar. Best part: it’s free, plus rail drinks are $3 from 6-10pm!

As of tomorrow, if you’re under 18 and live in Howard County, MD, it’s illegal for you to step into an indoor tanning booth. The surprising thing about this little piece of news is that a) this is the first time it’s occurred to the board of health to do this b) they’re the first jurisdiction in the country to ban underage indoor tanning. Perhaps health officials have never visited my high school? There were so many girls walking around tinted a strange oompa-loompa orange, complete with those weird little goggle marks, you would be forgiven for thinking that you were actually in the chocolate factory. Time to embrace the pasty, kids. It’s really not so bad.

Middle Distance Runner, hailing from our very own District of Columbia, released their first[edit: second] full-length album a few weeks ago, so I decided to check it out. MDR has been touring like mad for quite some time, so by the time I listened to The Sun & Earth, I had already heard many of the songs before.

The thing is, I’ve gone to a lot of shows. And heard a lot of songs. But I have to say, these songs stick out in my mind because they are just so darn catchy. And what better test of an album than listening to it in your car and being unable to stop yourself from reaching over and cranking the CRAP out of that volume knob? I almost sprained my wrist, I tell you.

The album starts out with the title track, The Sun & Earth, which did not start out as my favorite, but quickly grew on me. The whole album has excellent sing-along potential, and The Sun & Earth totally wins in that category. Or maybe not.

Other standouts of the album are The Unbeliever, Round Here (which starts out slow but then changes things up around the minute and a half mark and rocks your face off), Brother John, and my personal favorite The Wrong Hole. Because 1) awesome title, 2) lead singer Stephen Kilroy’s falsetto=so full of win 3) sweet and melancholy lyrics, about a girl in love with someone else.

Overall, The Sun & Earth has great repeat listen potential, is upbeat, and I personally think that all the time they’ve taken to polish their songs has really paid off. There are some songs that I’m not a huge fan of: The Fury is possibly the least furious song I’ve ever heard, and Let Nothing In is too weirdly country for me, but two skips on an 11-track album isn’t bad at all.

If you’re a fan of The Bravery, The Strokes, or Kings of Leon, I would definitely recommend these guys. And if you like the album, you have to see them live–they put on a seriously awesome show.

There’s not much better than a good rock ‘n roll show, in my opinion. And yet, Young@Heart does us one better: they’re a chorus of delightful senior citizens who perform the pop and rock songs. I saw the documentary on these guys a few months ago, and I’m not afraid to admit that I bawled my freaking eyes out. Especially when they performed “Fix You,” right after the death of one of their members. Gets me every time.

Anyway, although the film has its sad moments, their live shows look absolutely awesome, and they’re stopping by DC for a performance at the Warner Theatre on December 5. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by emailing events@iona.org or calling 202-895-9416. Even better, the proceeds of the concert will go towards Iona Senior Services, a non-profit that helps senior citizens in DC.

As you may have heard, there’s no more standing in line for tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting anymore– this year, the lottery is where it’s at. The submission period starts tonight at 12:01 am and runs through Friday, November 6 at midnight, so get those typing fingers limbered up and your four leaf clovers/lucky gym socks/rabbit’s feet ready. Log in here to register tonight, and good luck! I hear it helps to have some good Christmas music queued up, too. They can feel your Christmas spirit through the application.

Kind of a light month music-wise in November, possibly due to the holiday. Also could be due to the fact that way more people are willing to venture out for a show when it’s nice outside than when it’s blistering cold, as November undoubtedly will be.  Most of the fun stuff seems to be clustered toward the beginning of the month, with a few excellent shows right around Thanksgiving, including Peter Bjorn and John, Queen Latifah, The Mountain Goats, and more– so let’s jump right in!

Right up front in November, the Verizon Center is hosting two HUGE names, but for very different audiences: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Monday, November 2 and Miley Cyrus the next day, Tuesday, November 3. I mean, I guess you can party in the USA and still be down with The Boss, right?

‘Peter Bjorn and John’
courtesy of ‘ddkkpp’

The most exciting band I’ve heard of lately, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, is coming to the Black Cat Friday, November 6 ($15). Lead singer Thao Nguyen’s got this sweet, saucy voice that works perfectly with the pop/rock stylings of the band. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?

Dar Williams is doing two nights of shows at the Birchmere, on November 6 and 7 ($35). I used to really dig her raw sound, and her lyrics are really honest and easy to relate to, but for whatever reason she’s kind of dropped off my radar. Still totally enjoyable, though.

Amazingly, the Saturday, November 7 Peter Bjorn and John show at the 9:30 Club is not sold out yet! I totally love these guys’ mellow yet funky sound. If you haven’t heard of them, I highly recommend “Young Folks.”

Sunday, November 8 at the Black Cat, Mae and Jenny Owen Youngs rock your socks off ($13 adv/$15 day of). Mae is a pretty pop-leaning rock band that I saw in college, and I have to say, it was a sweet show. They do an awesome job, and have quite a little following. Plus, Jenny Owen Youngs made an impression on me a few months ago and fellow author Katie’s been loving her too ever since.

‘Jenny Owen Youngs croons to the crowd’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

Monday, November 9 sweet, funky solo artist Lenka comes to the Rock and Roll Hotel ($15). This girl is seriously adorable, as evidenced by her homepage, and I hear she transforms the stage into “Lenkaland” on tour. What is that? Guess we’ll just have to find out!

Queen Latifah is coming to the 9:30 Club (say what?) for an early show on Sunday, November 22 ($35). Seriously, this woman is awesome. She broke down barriers in the rap world, won a couple of Grammys, acts, and is now a CoverGirl model and product developer. What can’t she do??

Wednesday, November 25 weird dude Devendra Banhart hits the 9:30 Club ($30). Did you know he used to date Natalie Portman? Even though he looks like one of the dirtiest New York hipsters you’ve ever seen? I also read that his 2002 album was mostly made of songs he left on people’s answering machines. I mean, all that said, there’s no denying that I dig his groove.

Friday, November 27 The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy will be at the 9:30 Club. Talk about misleading band names! It took me a little while to get into The Mountain Goats, because the lead singer’s voice does have a distinct resemblance to a goat. But once I embraced the slightly odd sound, I realized that their songs have hands down some of the best lyrics around. And Final Fantasy has nothing to do with the video game– it’s the stage name of a little Canadian dude named Owen Pallett whose songs such as “Horsetail Feathers,” which is truly amazing, are soaring old-school sounding numbers that sound like they belong in a musical.

Anything else I left out that you’re excited about in November? Leave it in the comments! (And yes, I know The Swell Season is coming but the show is sold out– so sad.)

When it comes to the H1N1 vaccine, the CDC doesn’t play favorites. Not even for the president. Sasha and Malia have been vaccinated, as they are in one of the priority groups (young people under 24), but el presidente and the first lady have to wait like everyone else until the vaccine is available for adults 25 and over. Fair, right? Although now I am imagining Obama, delirious from having been struck down by the piggy flu, shouting from his bed, “Reid! Keep the public option, Reid! Reeeeiiiidddd!”

The same-sex marriage debate rages on, as a DC council committee addresses the issue of whether these marriages are legal today. Protesters (many from Virginia and Maryland) made some noise yesterday in Freedom Plaza, demanding that the issue be put on a ballot so DC residents can vote on it. My question is, will that really solve anything? There will always be a group of people who will be unhappy no matter how the decision gets made, and what if putting it on the ballot means the kind of money and advertising influx that Prop 8 in California got? No, thanks.

Oh, yes– you read right. I went to see Hanson (and Hellogoodbye) on Tuesday. Confession time: I liked it. A lot. I mean, my music taste has come a long way in 11 years, but you never forget your first love. And man, that Taylor Hanson… sweet Tiger Beat, he’s still got it.

The boys of Hanson– Taylor, Isaac, and Zac– may all be all grown up (plus married and with kids, no less), but their music retains the same sweetness and light that made them famous back in the late ’90s. Just about every song featured their signature three-part harmony, and most of their lyrics are about pure, unadulterated love.

‘Hanson Use Your Sole Tour’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

Most of their show consisted of post-Middle of Nowhere material, but then, they’ve put out a fair amount of albums since their preteen years. Highlights of the night were “If Only,” “Where’s the Love,” “This Time Around,” “Penny and Me,” and of course, “MMMBop”, which was the second-to-last song of their set. Taylor introduced it by saying, “Thanks for singing along for more than a decade.” Not sure how I felt about that, as it made me feel kind of old, but then again, he’s the one who has to sing about daisies and roses and whatever else that song is about for like 12 years.

By far the best moment of their show was when Taylor announced after some acoustic numbers that they were handing the stage over to Zac (He’s the youngest, normally the drummer, and formally “the wild one”) for a song off their upcoming album. I have to say, Zac banging away at that piano and wailing “Use me up/Use me up/Because no one does” was the most honest I’ve heard any of the Hanson brothers sound, ever.

‘Crowd at the 9:30 Club’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

The crowd at the 9:30 Club that night was, not surprisingly, overwhelmingly female. They also seemed to be mostly over 21, judging from the lack of hand stamps and the one drunken skank who kept bumping into me as she danced and screamed. I thought many of them would be like me, going to see them for nostalgia’s sake, but that didn’t really seem to be the case. Hanson has a pretty hardcore group of rabid passionate fans who know all the words to every single song and get really enthusiastic at their live shows. The Washington Examiner reported that 14 girls camped out the night before just to make sure they were first in line to see them. Yeah.

I mean, I get it. I won’t even get into some of the reactions I got from my friends when I told them I was going to see Hanson. They weren’t just a band, they were an obsession. I’m not sure they will ever quite reach those MMMBop heights again, but they are trying to keep the flame going with plenty of touring and some new music in the meantime. And now, for your viewing pleasure, another picture of Taylor. Because he’s dreamy.

‘Taylor Hanson on piano’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

Miller wrote for the Washington Post’s column On Faith about the experience in June, and the hospital fired her five weeks later for supposedly sharing personal information about the patient. I read the article, and there is absolutely nothing shocking or even particularly revealing about what she says: Johns died in the arms of medical personnel from a shotgun wound. Is there something else going on here? Or is this as egregious of an infringement on free speech as it looks?

If you like cringe-worthy comedy a la The Office (times 10) or take delight in others’ misery, Mortified is coming back to DC this Wednesday. For the uninitiated, Mortified is basically people sharing their most embarrassing teenage diary entries, poems, love letters, and locker notes for the whole world to enjoy. You might have seen the book, which I cringed all the way through.

The live event is Wednesday, October 21 at 8pm for ages 21 and up only. You can buy your $10 advance tickets here, or pay $15 at the door (if it’s not sold out!). It’s at Town, which is at 2009 8th St NW (U Street Metro).

Tonight at DC9, local bands including The Moderate, Alex Gruenburg, and Frau Eva come together for a sweet $10 show to benefit Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment (SAFE). SAFE empowers survivors of domestic violence here in DC and helps them navigate the legal system and get out of their bad situations. So come out and support both the local music scene and a great organization tonight!

I think it’s funny that although I’ve never heard of Chris Hillman or even like his genre (“country rock”), I recognize his music. That is some powerful influence. He’s played in bands like The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Desert Rose Band, was officially inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, and now he’s coming to DC to talk to us about his prolific career.

The event is free to the public at the Library of Congress, at noon on Friday, October 16. If you work around the area (or take long lunch breaks), I would definitely recommend stopping by to see this guitar legend.