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SUNDAY
The No Neck Blues Band (NNCK) plays very rarely, and when it does, the performances are mostly for free in public places in New York City. Perhaps because of the relative scarcity of their shows, the band’s players spend the rest of their time in various side groups. Most of these projects, like NNCK, are improv-oriented outfits that explore the spacey outer reaches of sound. Then there’s the Suntanama: Though this band shares in the relaxed feel that runs through NNCK’s music, it doesn’t manage to create any of the magical, otherworldly musical floating that makes NNCK so inviting. Instead the Suntanama plays music that’s closer to what’s commonly called blues, suggesting at best Harvest-era Neil Young and at worst a more accomplished, slightly less irritating, unplugged Pearl Jam. The Suntanama plays with John Bustine & the Fifths at 9:30 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $5. (202) 667-7960. (Jacob Long)