>> A singer-songwriter showcase featuring Martin Royle of Washington Social Club, Mick Coogan of The Dance Party and Stephen Kilroy of Middle Distance Runner is being billed by MDR as "Steve, Martin tonight at the Black Cat!" Which is technically true, though we're guessing the show will be a little more earnest guitar playing and a little less Wild and Crazy Guy. Black Cat's back stage. $8, 9 p.m.

>> Redskins CB Carlos Rogers is hosting a welcome-back party for Fred Smoot tonight at MCCXXIII. You probably remember what happened the last time the Redskins held a party for one of their team members. We're sure you recall the last party that prominently featured Fred Smoot. Even though Taylor is two years wiser and we're pretty sure that the Odyssey is booked tonight, we're not going to rule out a strong possibility of mayhem. If you care to take part in the madness, head to eVIPlist.com, or SouthSideSity for a free pass.

>> Writing a book about your high school is such a sad, young writer cliché it's even made fun of in the middle-of-the-road Adam Brody coming of age film In the Land of Women. But writer Alec Klein cares not -- and offers up a hardnosed look at his alma mater, New York City's Stuyvesant High School, one of the nation's most academically competitive high schools and apparently a petri dish of stressed out, super-smart teens on the edge of sanity. Sounds just interesting enough to make Klein's choice of subject acceptable. He'll be at Politics and Prose at 7 p.m. for a reading.

Matt Bourque contributed. Photo by Peter*Martin