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W E D N E S D A Y

I first heard the Samples three years ago in a dorm room at American University. My friend John listened to them 24-7 and was able to convince me to join him in Sample worship once in a while. The Boulder-based band offered tunes that flowed clean like a mountain stream, pleasing-as-punch pop songs derived from the same bleached-white upbeat island rhythms that got the Police started a decade and a half earlier. Outpost, the band’s newest album, contains more rolling melodies, although it does lob in a few retreads. Still, the Samples’ Rocky Mountain reggae blend may be just the thing for a sweltering summer evening in the District. If you see John, tell him I say hello. With the Why Store at 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow at the Bayou, 3135 K St. NW. $15. (202) 333-2897. (Eric Friedman)