Friday

How much fun is it watching a rock band stare at its feet on stage? I mean, come on, I know it’s hard to play those chords without checking your guitar, but at least show us you care. Great bands usually have great moves attached. The first time I saw Fugazi, I was blown away not just by the music but by the grown men flailing like a gospel choir—and, for all I could tell, speaking in tongues. Like Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto and Ian MacKaye, Q and Not U’s Chris Richards and Harris Klahr virtually stare each other down waiting to see what’s next in the set. Musically, the Qs have range. Richards’ voice is mmmmmm tasty: It shines even when the band is at its grittiest. Bassist Matt Borlik has developed the kind of common sense a bassist needs to maneuver between simplicity and sophistication. Drummer John Davis is playing his second instrument—his first being guitar, when he was with Corm and the Elusive—so well that he puts many full-time drummers to shame. Klahr and Richards play perfectly off one another—a skill that can only be cultivated among finer musicians. For those kids who would have loved to catch Minor Threat or Rites of Spring in the punk-rock glory days, here’s your chance to say, “Yeah, I saw Q and Not U back when they could still play indoors.” With the Promise Ring and Burning Airlines at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26, at the Black Cat. $8. (202) 667-7960. (Mike Kanin)