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16
FRIDAY
D.C.’s (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope know the history of psychedelic music: Those parentheses are surely there to distinguish the band from the Kaleidoscopes of the late ’60s—the U.S. band, the superior U.K. one, and, of course, that oft-overlooked Mexican group. Fronted by Damien Taylor, (TSO)K is so steeped in the tradition of fuzz rock that one half-expects to read footnotes under each of the songs on the band’s latest disc, Can and Do What They Will. But that’s not to say that the group isn’t original…or maybe it kind of is, but there are certainly worse things for a psych band to be than derivative. To their credit, these guys keep it fun and avoid the stilted academia of the Lilys (one of drummer Alex Hacker’s previous bands). The last track on Can and Do What They Will is a cacophonous,
Cromagnon-esque freakout—a pretty bold choice to cap off a five-song CD. (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope play with Hi-Soft at 9:30 p.m. on the Black Cat’s Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. $7. (202) 667-7960. (David Dunlap Jr.)