Hot tickets: Crystal Castles, Scissor Sisters, Tears for Fears

Crystal Castles hit the 9:30 Club on Aug. 20 (Courtesy of Crystal Castles)

Boy-girl electronic duos seem to be all the rage these days. But before Sleigh Bells burst into the collective consciousness with sing-songy pop over heavy production, Canadian import Crystal Castles was deftly fusing layers of thick beats and female pop vocals to much acclaim. Of course, they could also just as quickly shift gears to screechy electro-punk with songs including "Doe Deer." They'll be bringing both to the 9:30 Club on Aug. 20 as part of the HARD Summer Tour, which also features Rusko, Sinden, Destructo and others. Tickets are $35 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday through Ticketfly.

More on-sale dates after the jump

Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. through Ticketfly for these shows at the 9:30 Club:
• Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Aug. 13 ($25).
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Teenage Bottlerocket and the Flatliners, Aug. 21 ($25).
• Baby Loves Disco, Aug. 22 early show ($20).
• The English Beat,Bad Manners and Chris Murray, Aug. 22 ($25).
• Tears for Fears and Wainwright Aug. 23 ($45).
• Matisyahu Aug. 25 ($35).

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster for Scissor Sisters and Sammy Jo at DAR Constitution Hall, Aug. 23 ($40).

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon through Ticketmaster for these shows at the Birchmere:
• Lizz Wright, Sept. 14 ($35).
• Hal Ketchum and Johnny Hiland, Sept. 15 ($29.50).
• Tony Clifton, Oct. 1-2 ($39.50).
• Paula Cole, Oct. 3 ($29.50).
• Victor Wooten and J.D. Blair, Oct. 13 ($35).
• Martin Sexton, Oct. 17 ($35).
• Nick Lowe and His Band, Oct. 18 ($35).

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster for How Sweet the Sound, Sept. 18 at Verizon Center ($5-$7).

--Amy Orndorff and Brandon Weigel