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TUESDAY
Owen Ashworth named his one-man act Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, but as far as lonely guys go, he’s not in bad shape. His no-frills songs are populated with plenty of other people, and those folks are only slightly out of reach. Sometimes it’s simply Ashworth’s fault: “I wish we could kiss the same as before/But I don’t have it in me anymore,” he sings huskily on “It Wasn’t the Same Somehow.” The Casio itself, however, may be the loneliest of all. Ashworth prefers to destroy any sense of electronic crispness that might render the songs campy or cute. As a result, his beats and chords maintain the distance of an objective observer, a sidekick ordered not to meddle in the boss’s relationships. On Twinkle Echo, Casiotone’s third disc, the net effect is delicate detachment: The hope for true love isn’t a scourgeit’s just a reason for a long drive. Feel the pain when Casiotone plays with the Rapture and El Guapo at 8:30 p.m. on the Black Cat’s Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. $14. (202) 667-7960. (Joe Warminsky)