Every Halloween, Velvet Lounge knows how to throw down.  This year they'll bring back the legendary Latino punk band The Zeros, who once upon a time played "Beat Your Heart Out" 8 times in a row in San Francisco, then called it a night.  This Halloween they are joined by DC's The Shirks, Beasts of No Nation, and Maybe Baby.  Beasts have risen fast in the DC hardcore scene since their first show barely two months ago.  But with an incredible line-up consisting of members from notable acts Darkest Hour, Trial by Fire, the Explosion, and Majority Rule, it was inevitable.  They'll have a 7" out in a few weeks so we'll check in with them again.  Right now, Maybe Baby's S/T EP is available through Windian Records, and after this show, they're hitting the road for a cross country tour. So get dressed up- it's the Legendary Velvet Lounge Halloween Bash!

Baltimore's Future Islands returned from a tour abroad last week, having completed some awesome firsts: first show in Greece, and their first show in Spain.   They've already embarked on a stateside tour with a record release show coming up at the Black Cat on November 4 (w/ Romantic States). The new 7" split (out on Friends Records) features a new Future Islands song "The Ink Well", written and recorded this summer, with life-long friends Lonnie Walker on the flip (and in the 11/4 line-up).  Earlier this month, Thrill Jockey Records released Undressed, an acoustic EP of their earlier recordings.  Check it out here.

I saw True Womanhood at NYC's Cake Shop during CMJ and they were absolutely phenomenal. The sheer fact that they exist is incredible to me. I think of Chuck Klosterman’s review of Chinese Democracy but this actually matters because that album would have gotten made if Axl Rose had been sealed in Wax. They play dark, post-punk, Yeah Yeah Yeahs a little bit, a little bit Fugazi, a little bit Joy Division. But it is straight DIY – that’s the rub. These guys are playing some of the most progressive music I have heard in a long time and they are doing it out of the most culturally repressive cities in the world. They tell me later that they play shows in DC that get shut down reliably by 10:30 p.m. because the police cruise the interwebs and are fastidious about time ordinance. There will be a lot more to hear about them soon, I hope. To me, they have a winning combination: nerdy and enthusiastic frontman, cute and talented female bassist, obviously brainy dude behind the kit. - Dale W. Eisinger

If you’ve ever seen Bluebrain live, you’ll know that their aesthetic endeavors have the two brothers exploring and pushing both sonic boundaries and the visual landscape. When performing live, their haunting and multilayered electronic music, rich in deep tones and timbres, textured with interesting instrumentals and various string arrangements, and characterized by dynamic transitions in pace and rhythm, is often accompanied with strange and mystifying visual effects, making them just as much of a performance art act as it is a music show. So if you’re looking to be wholly stimulated this Saturday night, check out their interactive live performance at the recently opened venue Artisphere in Rosslyn. They’ll be teaming up with other artists like the revered Geologist (of Animal Collective) and a few super secret acts yet to be announced.  Make sure you're there to check out this interesting new gallery-meets-theater and watch as some serious musical brainpower assembles to produce plenty of killer tunes and dynamic art. Who knew dancing to electro music could be so intellectual.