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THURSDAY

Maybe cellist Matt Haimovitz shouldn’t have turned Jimi Hendrix’s arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” into his signature piece. After all, hip trans-classical combos have been doing Hendrix for years, beginning with the Kronos Quartet’s “Foxy Lady” and “Purple Haze,” a song also avant-garded by the Absolute Ensemble. But unlike those guys—or the late Tom Cora, who collaborated with the Ex—Haimovitz ventures into rock clubs solo, playing the work of such recent and contemporary composers as Lou Harrison, Osvaldo Golijov, and Steven Mackey (another Kronos-tested composer), as well as his own work. The 30-something Massachusetts cellist’s recent Anthem offers sounds that are stark, sprung, and dynamic, with fast and muscular passages contrasting with quiet, gently decaying tones. The latter may not work so well in most rock clubs, but at least at the Velvet Lounge the bar is downstairs and should keep the most egregious chatters away. Haimovitz plays at 9 p.m. at the Velvet Lounge, 915 U St. NW. $10. (202) 462-7625. (Mark Jenkins)