Live From The 9:30 Club

The Gossip has built its reputation around its live performances. The post-punk trio, based in Olympia, Wash., mixes incendiary guitar noise with funk bass lines and adrenaline-infused rhythms, while frontwoman Beth Ditto thrashes onstage, sometimes stripping down to her underwear. Fans can experience this sonic jolt firsthand in this full concert by The Gossip, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

The alternately dreamy and experimental pop group from Hoboken, N.J., celebrates its 25th anniversary with a brand-new album and a full concert, originally webcast live on NPR Music Sept. 17. The performance, featuring music from the new Popular Songs and old favorites, was recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Hear singer, songwriter and guitarist M. Ward in a full concert, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Ward is currently on tour in support of his latest album, Hold Time. One of the year's strongest releases, the disc features a mix of country-flavored pop songs, with finger-picked guitars, upright bass and shuffling rhythms, all tied together by Ward's achy voice.

The 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., will be ground zero for a blistering assault of explosive riff-rock, courtesy of The Dead Weather, in a full concert webcast live on NPR Music Tuesday. The newly formed band is a supergroup featuring members of The White Stripes and The Kills.

Sonic Youth's latest album, The Eternal, is among the band's finest, with a fuzzy, tightly orchestrated mix of psych-punk rock and noisy jams. The band showcased the album in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club.

After a relentless tour in support of the 2005 album Live It Out, the members of Metric scattered to work on their own projects. Four years later, the Canadian group is back with its fourth studio disc, Fantasies. The album is the centerpiece of a full concert by the band, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Deacon has built his reputation on live shows: comically unpredictable messes of frenetic dancing, audience participation and theatrics, all powered by the Baltimore resident's wildly addictive electro-freak-pop. Hear Deacon and his band give a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

When the enigmatic rock group Animal Collective released Merriweather Post Pavilion in January, it became an early frontrunner for 2009's best record. Hear the band perform a full concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., recorded live on May 11.

Emerging out of the sound of spring peepers, Neko Case stepped onto the 9:30 Club stage set in something out of a nature cartoon. Behind them videos of cyclones and airplanes were projected on a screen. But the attention was clearly on Case, her stunning voice, as well as her solid backing band. Okkervil River's Will Sheff opened.

The music of Mates of State has always been playfully innocent and unabashedly upbeat. But on their latest CD, Re-Arrange Us, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel show that they've grown a little older and wiser, with their richest and most reflective collection of songs to date. Hear a full concert by the band, webcast live on NPR.org from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Also on the bill: Florida-based co-headliner Black Kids.

Bird is a gangly, classically trained violinist who mixes jazz, folk and quirky art-pop with whistled melodies. Along the way, he's attracted the kind of screaming crowds normally reserved for pop stars. Hear what hype is all about when NPR Music webcasts Bird's entire concert from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., tonight, Feb. 3. The live stream will begin online at approximately 8 p.m. ET, with an opening performance by Loney Dear.

Best known as the prolific and gifted frontman for the country-rock band Bright Eyes, Oberst ventured out on his own this summer. He released his first solo album in more than a decade: an eponymous sketchbook of introspective folk and rock, steeped in Americana. The new collection of songs are the centerpiece of a full concert by Oberst and his backing group, The Mystic Valley Band, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

The Athens, Ga., band Of Montreal, led by frenetic frontman Kevin Barnes, has built a reputation on meticulously crafted, synth-driven psych-pop, with flamboyant production and gleeful sonic flourishes. Of Montreal brought this musical spectacle to Washington, D.C., for a full concert, webcast live at NPR.org.

Just when it seemed to be permanently defunct, the British space-rock group Spiritualized returned with its first album since 2003, Songs in A&E. The band is touring in support of the disc, and lands at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club on July 25 for a live concert, webcast on NPR.org.

The Ting Tings' infectious dance rhythms (and a coveted spot in an iPod commercial) have made the English pop duo one of the year's most exciting and hyped new bands. Hear the duo, featuring drummer Jules De Martino and guitarist-singer Katie White, recorded live in concert, from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club.

The Raconteurs just want to have fun. Loud and brash with an arsenal of infectious riffs, the quartet plays with swagger, a wry sense of humor and one, singular message: Let's rock. Hear The Raconteurs in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club.

Best known for scoring the endearing soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine, the Denver-based band DeVotchKa makes bittersweet songs with whistled melodies and sorrowful tales of the brokenhearted. Now on tour for its latest CD, A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa gave a full concert at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club, originally webcast live on NPR. May 16.

Hear the legendary rock artist recorded live, in a full concert from Asbury Park's Paramount Theatre in New Jersey. Lou Reed performed for more than a hour and a half, featuring work from throughout his catalog, including "Sweet Jane" from The Velvet Underground, more recent work like "Guardian Angel" from The Raven and a new song called "Power of the Heart."

Opening with "Hi-Speed Soul" from its 2002 album Let Go, Nada Surf performed for a sold-out crowd in a live concert webcast for NPR.org. A wistful pop song that ponders the meaning of reality, "Hi-Speed Soul" set the tone for an evening of inspired, thoughtful rock as the New York trio shared old favorites and showcased work from its latest album, Lucky.

With his ironic wordplay, deadpan delivery, and spiky guitar hooks, Malkmus helped make his former group Pavement one of the most influential rock acts of the '90s. Hear Malkmus and his backing band The Jicks, recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.

In more than a decade of making music, Wilco has weathered a tumultuous label change, infighting and lineup changes, drug addiction, and depression. But it's also emerged as one of the most innovative, influential, and widely revered bands making music today. Hear the group perform a full concert, webcast live on NPR.org from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club on Wednesday, Feb. 27. John Doe will open the show.

With the release of Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady solidified its place among the best rock bands in the U.S. With classic riffs and literate storytelling, it's been dubbed the thinking man's bar band. Hear The Hold Steady recorded live in concert with Art Brut, from Washington, D.C.

Broken Social Scene is one of the most accomplished bands in indie-rock. Its dozen-plus members have made some of the best albums of recent years, either in side projects (Metric, Stars) or solo (Emily Haines, Feist.) Hear the band recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.

When Nickel Creek began as a bluegrass trio in 1989, its pre-teen members stunned audiences with their remarkable musical gifts. Since then, their sound has evolved into progressive acoustic music, but they're calling it quits. Hear Nickel Creek recorded live in concert in one of the band's final performances.