Starting October 11, a whole pile of indie buzz bands will pass through DC clubs for the second annual District’s Awake! Music Festival — DAM!Fest for short. Founder Eric Boucher has been busting his hump on behalf of the DC music scene for years, starting with his BigYawn.net music site, and last year he and clubowner Bryan Deily decided to create their own multi-day hoedown. The 2006 festival was pretty good, but this year DAM!Fest really hits its stride, with bands from all over the map, especially the vital Brooklyn scene.

At press time, we’re looking at four days, five venues, nine shows and 29 bands. Herewith, On Tap’s guide to digging on DAM!Fest now, so in a few years you can talk about how cool it was before it got all giant and commercial.

Visit www.damfestival.org for details about tickets, weekend passes, and last-minute schedule changes. Trivia: No fewer than four of these bands are fronted by twins! Try to spot ‘em.


THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 AT THE ROCK’N’ROLL HOTEL
DIRTY ON PURPOSE [Brooklyn]: Shoegazey and surprisingly pretty guitar pop.
THE BIG SLEEP [Brooklyn]: Heavy sludge-metal guitar in the service of psychedelic tendencies.
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS [Brooklyn]: The “loudest band in New York” blasts out dark, intensely felt originals.
SLARAFFENLAND [Copenhagen, Denmark]: Experimental rock, full of caesurae, time shifts, endless loops, and riffs on guitar, horns, drums and electronics.
VIA AUDIO [Boston]: Accomplished indie rock championed by Jim Eno (Spoon) and Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie).

THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 AT DC9
FOREIGN ISLANDS [Brooklyn]: Tight as hell, yet out of control, these boys crank out feedback, synth and handclaps with pure punk energy.
SO MANY DYNAMOS [St. Louis]: Frantic, joyous, jumpable noise, with staccato narrations sometimes reminiscent of Q & Not U and sometimes the Beastie Boys.
DRUNKEN SUFIS [DC]: Young, angry, political hardcore.
MAHI MAHI [Providence]: Hard-driving, drums’n’synth dance noise.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 AT THE RED & THE BLACK
SOUTHEAST ENGINE [Athens, Ohio]: Smart, contemplative blend of Americana feelings and an indie-rock motor, often enlivened with a nice touch of Hammond organ.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 12 AT THE ROCK’N’ROLL HOTEL
DRAGONS OF ZYNTH [Cleveland]: Strange mix of psych, Zeppelinesque guitar, and hair-metal-meets-hip hop vocals.
THE TEETH [Philadelphia]: Fresh-sounding, quirky DIY, with narrative tunes a bit like early Kinks.
THE BEANSTALK LIBRARY [DC]: Pleasing local power pop, bolstered with piano and trumpet.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 12 AT THE RED & THE BLACK
HALLELUJAH THE HILLS [Boston]: Giant band with trumpet, cello, and synthesizer, elevating their pop songs into something grand.
CASPER & THE COOKIES [Athens, Georgia]: Sweet, educated, sometimes dreamy pop with a delicate balance of innocence and irony.
KRIS RACER [Chicago]: A nerdy nice guy with an electric guitar and some pretty good nice, nerdy songs.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 AT THE 6TH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE
STELLASTAR* [Brooklyn]: Enjoyable channelers of ‘80s New Wave, complete with Cure-like guitar, Clash-like drums and Shawn Christensen’s booming, echoing voice.
PELA [Brooklyn]: “Working class,” guitar-powered indie rock, heartfelt and direct.
EXIT CLOV [DC]: A local favorite, the Clov has staked out a unique turf with folk violin, prog keys, straight rock guitar, and cynical lyrics sung in ethereal harmony.
SANAWON [Chicago]: Gentle duo with Jenny Choi on guitar, keys and vocals and Philip Stone on drums making quiet girly-indie.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 AT DC9
SPOUSE [Northampton, Mass]: José Ayerve’s rotating ensemble, making well-crafted indie  tunes.
THESE UNITED STATES [DC]: Leaders of the Federal Reserve Collective, These U.S. make highly original, country-tinged songs that range from the mournful to the irresistibly peppy.
GREENLAND [DC]: Rocked out, powerful, poetic tales of fraught emotion.
THE SILENT YEARS [Detroit]: Sincere, often dreamy indie pop.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 AT THE ROCK’N’ROLL HOTEL
CRAIG WEDREN [Manhattan]: Former Shudder to Think frontman performs his good-natured solo work.
iLiKETRAiNS [Leeds, UK]: Haunting, slow-building tales of death and history, often accompanied by illustrative films.
METROPOLITAN [DC]: Youthful, eclectic indie pop.
TIME OF ORCHIDS [Brooklyn]: Chewed-up post-rock: avant-garde, difficult, but worthwhile.

MONDAY OCTOBER 15 AT THE 9:30 CLUB
CAT POWER & THE DIRTY DELTA BLUES BAND: The big anchor show. Your DAM!Fest pass can get you in to hear Chan Marshall’s slow, beautiful threads of sadness, but only if you get there early enough. If you don’t dare miss it, better buy a separate ticket.