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Live Review: Garbage @ The Anthem — 9/17/25

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Garbage
Garbage performs live at The Anthem in DC on Sept. 17, 2025. (Photo by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography)

Garbage at the Anthem: A Cathedral of Noise
Words and Photos by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography

The Anthem was already buzzing before Garbage took the stage Wednesday night, 9/17/2025 on their Happy Endings tour. There’s something about seeing a band with this much history in a venue like The Anthem — you feel the weight of the years, the soundtracks to your younger self, but also the thrill that maybe, just maybe, they’re going to rip the paint off the walls again like it’s 1995. That’s the gamble when you walk into a show like this. Are they still dangerous, still relevant, or is it nostalgia running the show?

Live Review: The Pogues w/ Softplay @ Terminal 5 — 9/16/25

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The Pogues
The Pogues perform live at Terminal 5 in New York City on Sept. 16, 2025. (Photo by James Todd Miller)

After 30 years, I finally got to see the great Pogues again, and they were pretty much the way I remembered them in the early 1990s when I saw them play in Germany — fully energized, playing non-stop Irish music with a twist of folk music and punk reverberation.

The Pogues indeed were sensational in their recent concert at New York City’s Terminal 5. After losing Shane MacGowan in 2023, who was the lead vocalist for The Pogues over the course of many decades, the band are back on tour and sounded sensational in celebration of 40-years of the album Rum Sodomy & the Lash.

Live Review: 10cc w/ Cole Larravide @ The Birchmere — 9/14/25

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10cc
10cc performs live at The Bichmere on Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by James Todd Miller)

If classic rock and roll hits you in the heart, and you still want to catch one of the greatest bands of the era, then you simply should try to catch a 10cc show while they are still touring and have so many original artists left in the group. At the band’s recent show at The Birchmere, 1970s-era members included Graham Gouldman on bass, Rick Finn on lead guitars, and Paul Burgess on drums — alongside Keith Hayman on keyboards and Andy Park on lead vocals.

Snapshots: Dummy w/ Flowers for the Dead and Instant Success @ Songbyrd Music House — 9/14/25

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Dummy
Dummy performs live at Songbyrd Music House on Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Nalinee Darmrong)

Dummy’s recent concert at Songbyrd Music House in DC felt like more than a live show — it was a statement. The band delivered a tightly wound performance blending shimmering guitars, motorik rhythms, and ambient textures that burrowed under the skin.

Nalinee Darmong was there to photograph the show!

Live Review: Wolf Alice @ 9:30 Club — 9/13/25

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Wolf Alice
Ellie Rowsell fronts Wolf Alice live at 9:30 Club on Sept. 13, 2025. (Photo by Micaela Cerball)

Wolf Alice and the Band’s Fans: A Love Story
Words by Steph Perkins
Photos by Micaela Cerball

(Editor’s Note: We updated this review with more photos on Sept. 20!)

It’s not unusual to see a packed early show at the 9:30 Club, but the excitement was palpable for Wolf Alice to take the stage for their second sold-out show last weekend. While waiting for the main act, I could hear people around me swapping their hopes for the setlist and others wondering if they were going to hear the same set as the night before.

Live Review: Bruce Dickinson @ The Fillmore Silver Spring — 9/14/25

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Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson performs live at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography)

Bruce Dickinson Brings Fire and Fury to The Fillmore Silver Spring
Words and photos by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography

Bruce Dickinson doesn’t so much walk onto a stage as he materializes. One second, the lights are dim, a hum of anticipation filling the room, and the next you’ve got one of heavy metal’s greatest frontmen striding out like he owns every square inch of air in the building. At The Fillmore Silver Spring, the man who’s spent decades screaming at stadium rafters with Iron Maiden brought his solo tour to a more intimate setting, and the result was something between a theatrical sermon, a hard rock séance, and an old-fashioned, fists-in-the-air metal gig.

Live Review: Finn Wolfhard w/ The Slaps @ The Atlantis — 9/14/25

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Finn Wolfhard
Finn Wolfhard rocks a sold-out Atlantis on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by David LaMason)

“The kids are alright,” I hear myself saying as I stand surrounded by by screaming concert goers recently at the sold-out Finn Wolfhard show at The Atlantis.  

There’s something to be said for the recent spate of albums being released that have a ’90s indie rock-inspired feel. And I, for one, am here for it. From artists like Wet Leg and Momma to Slow Pulp there is a revival of sorts in the jangly, distorted rock that draws its inspiration from the Pavements and Guided by Voices of the past. 

Snapshots: Apocalyptica @ Nevermore Hall — 9/13/25

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Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica performs live at Nevermore Hall on Sept. 13, 2025. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)

Apocalyptica recently stormed into Nevermore Hall with the kind of grandeur that makes you forget you’re watching cellists. But then, the Finnish outfit fused classical precision with metal ferocity, summoning towering dynamics from their bows and strings, to cover the tunes of Metallica, and so maybe we should expect the unexpected!

Katherine Gaines went to Nevermore Hall to photograph the show!

Live Review: Jeff Rosenstock and PUP @ The Anthem — 9/12/25

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Jeff Rosenstock
Jeff Rosenstock (Photo by Matt Price)

Roughly 10 years after the ill-fated tour that led to PUP’s blockbuster record The Dream Is Over, the Toronto punk foursome reunited once again with longtime friend and collaborator Jeff Rosenstock on the A CATACLYSMIC RAPTURE OF FRIENDSHIPNESS Tour. On a quasi-balmy evening, amidst a backdrop of illegal gestapo snatchings and self-fellating authoritarian propaganda, the rabble rousing troubadours descended upon The Anthem in southwest DC, determined to bring diversion and dissent to a community in dire need of it.

Preview: Iggy Pop w/ The Molotovs @ The Anthem, 9/29/25

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Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop (Photo by Harmony Korine)

In the mid-2000s, Swedish electronica band Teddybears had been kicking around a bit when they got swept along in the New Rave sound emanating from England. They dusted off a song they previously reported, titled “Punkrocker,” and enlisted perhaps the biggest punk rocker of all time to give it new life with fresh vocals.

Oh, that punk rocker was none other than Iggy Pop, who surfaced the song in live performances for the first time this summer, inspired by its inclusion by James Gunn in the soundtrack for the 2025 Superman film.

Maybe we in DC can hear Iggy sing the song as well? Because he’s performing live at The Anthem on Monday, Sept. 29!