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WEDNESDAY
Thanks to the long fingers of technology and ever-decreasing windows of relevance, today’s rockers are in some cases growing older with far more grace than their futureshocked, canon-complacent ancestors. Take Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub. Now in its 16th band-year (approximately middle-aged in human years), TF is sturdier than ever. The group still operates as a democracy of three sovereign songwriters—curly-topped, gum-chewing bassist Gerard Love alongside ale-toned Norman Blake and hoarse melancholist Raymond McGinley on guitars. The jangly, bright harmonies of the group’s youth have mellowed into corduroy chords and swelling choirs. The new album, Man-Made, is a complex stout, its sweetness metered out in room-temperature draughts, benefiting from Tortoise’s John McEntire—well-calibrated ears and all—being at the helm. Too long accused of sleeping with shelf-worn Byrds records and dog-eared Big Star tablature under their pillows, the Fannies have finally left the nest. Teenage Fanclub plays with the Rosebuds Wednesday, July 20, at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $15. (202) 397-7328. (Bernardo Rondeau)