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TUESDAY
Sometimes constant change can be its own status quo. Witness D.C.-based instrumental duo Orthrelm: Over the course of seven months last year, the avant-metal act released three discs of nonimprovisational guitar-and-drum duets containing nary a lick of repetition. Amazingly, the band’s got even less in the way of riff recurrence than those late-period Coltrane records you never listen to. As a result, guitarist Mick Barr and drummer Josh Blair’s recordings are jawdropping chops-wise, but they all pretty much sound the same. Throw on a blindfold and you won’t be able to tell one Trey Azagthoth-fast blurt from the next. But perhaps Orthrelm’s restless spirit has finally led to a true sea change: According to Dusted magazine, the duo’s October CMJ Music Marathon set featured actual song-part duplication. Savor the paradox when Orthrelm plays with Wikkid and Ducks Only at 9 p.m. at the Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th St. NW. $6. (202) 783-3933. (Brent Burton)