FRIDAY >> The legendary Patti Smith is at the 9:30 Club tonight, and tickets are incredibly still available for $25. Doors at 9, show at 10 p.m. >> The idea of attending a lighting display, particularly after Christmas, might sound a bit cheesy. But the Garden of Lights in Wheaton might just change your mind. The designer tours the county gardens each year for inspiration for his display; this year, it invokes the four seasons.......

>> The Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance isn't anywhere nearly as embarrassing as Riverdance and its ilk -- think real jigs without the terrible music and costumes. Accompanied tonight on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage by traditional Irish musicians Billy McCominskey, Zan McLeon and Jim Eagan. Free, 6 p.m. >> Three Stars alums The Beanstalk Library are playing the Black Cat's backstage, with John Wayne Hero. 9 p.m., $8. >> It's a little......

>> The Muppet Christmas Carol isn't nearly as awesome as A Muppet Family Christmas, but for those of you looking for a little fluffy holiday cheer this evening, the AFI Silver Theater is offering a screening of the musical adaptation of the Dickens classic at 5:10 p.m. >> Hop in the way back machine and set the dial to 1992: The Lemonheads are at the Black Cat tonight. With Racoon and The New Rivals.......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: The Third Man The AFI continues to please with yet another showing of an absolute must-see classic. Last week it was The 400 Blows, and this week it's three showings of Carol Reed's gripping British noir, The Third Man. Based on a story and a screenplay by Graham Greene, the movie is a study in......

>> Canada's The Most Serene Republic bring their large and melodic sound to The Rock and Roll Hotel tonight, with Bellflur and Watch Man Walk. $10, 8:30 p.m. >> Married Charlottesville rockers Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule will share the stage out at Jammin' Java tonight, touring in support of their latest releases, Sproule’s Keep Your Silver Shined and Curreri’s The Velvet Rut. 8 p.m., $10. >> Rescheduled from last week, Judith Jones, cookbook......

>> The silent film version of the original Chicago will be presented with live musical accompaniment at the AFI Silver Theater. 7 p.m. >> New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will be at Politics and Prose to read from The Rest is Noise, a history of the 20th century through its music. 7 p.m. >> Brooklyn's Black Dice are at the Rock and Roll Hotel with Ecstatic Sunshine, Baltimore's Ponytail and The Methamphetamines. 8......

FRIDAY: >> It’s been over six years since he last had a properly released album, but crooner Bilal (left) has still managed to catch people’s attention with some of his latest material. Too bad it was illegally leaked and now his label is threatening never to let the refined product see the light of day. Regardless, his Black Cat performance should be noteworthy. 9 p.m., $22. >> We’ve told you about Deleted Scenes many times......

It looks like I.M.P., the Montgomery County-based company that runs the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion, hasn't given up on opening a Silver Spring music hall. In September, we wrote that concert producer and venue owner Live Nation had signed a non-binding letter of intent to put a Fillmore music hall in the old J.C. Penney store at Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road in Silver Spring, across from the AFI Silver Theater. Both the......

>> The Shakespeare Theatre Company has started a special program, called 20/10, that offers people aged 35 and under discounted tickets for their performances. The program launches tonight, with a special performance of Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine where all of the tickets will be $10 for the under 35 crowd, and they're promising a DJ, drink specials and door prizes for those who take advantage. Call the box office at (202) 547-1122 for details. >>......

>> We interviewed former Grandaddy member Jim Fairchild earlier today, so be sure to check out his show tonight at Black Cat under the moniker All Smiles. Fairchild opens for David Bazan, formerly the driving force behind Pedro the Lion, will open along with Lavender Diamond. 8 p.m., $12. >> Palace of Wonders is hosting a special Day of the Dead performance of Philadelphia's The Squidling Brothers' Clown Centrick Sideshow, a vaudeville and burlesque......

FRIDAY: >> It's raining, and you've got some serious partying to do tomorrow night, so we'd recommend taking in a movie and saving your strength. Don't miss our movie picks for the weekend here, including special Halloween screenings of Nosferatu at the AFI Silver Theater. Also of note tonight, The American City Diner screens Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho at 8:30 p.m. >> If you’re more in the mood for getting your eardrums absolutely destroyed, Japanese metal......

>> British chanteuse Holly Golightly is at DC9 tonight, with Texans The Brokeoffs and local bluegrass act The Starlingtons. $12 at the door. >> MotherTongue, the monthly women's spoken word event held at Black Cat, celebrates its 9th anniversary tonight in the Backstage. $8, 9 p.m. >> You're running out of chances to catch the new documentary about the abortion debate, Lake of Fire, at the AFI Silver Theater. 6:45 p.m. tonight, and then......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Lake of Fire Michael Moore may have grabbed all the press where high profile documentaries are concerned, but it's Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire that is being quietly talked about as the most powerful documentary of the year. Which is remarkable considering its subject is one of the most talked about and analyzed issues on......

>> DAM! Fest kicks of with its first night of shows featuring a dozen different bands at three venues, including New York's A Place to Bury Strangers (don't miss our interview with the band) and Dirty on Purpose at the Rock and Roll Hotel, Vandaveer and Julie Ocean at the Red and The Black, and Foreign Islands at DC9, among many others. Check out our guide to the DAM! highlights. >> Two film festivals open......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: D.C. Labor FilmFest Strictly speaking, the D.C. Labor FilmFest isn't a repertory festival, but with over half of their programming falling into that category, plus a dedicated retrospective to the great Ken Loach, we'll go ahead and shoehorn it into the category this week. The festival is put on by the Washington Metro Council of......

>> Seattle's Minus the Bear's latest release, Planet of Ice, finds the group continuing to delve into complex and progressive compositions while engaging in a brooding atmosphere that has added a new and intriguing element to their always fascinating sound. They'll be at the Black Cat with Subtle and ELA. 8 p.m., $15 advance, $17 at the door. >> Pulitzer Prize-winning author for Empire Falls, Richard Russo will be at Politics and Prose to......

>> In case you missed our full interview with Josh Ritter this morning, check it out before heading over to see the singer/songwriter at 9:30 club, with Old School Freight Train. $20 tickets are still available, doors 7:30 p.m. >> Renowned poet Simon Armitage is at Olsson's in Old Town for a free reading of his latest translation of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". 7 p.m., read all about it in our preview.......

>> DC9's hosting a Dubstep party featuring DJs Beatcarnival and Gavin Holland. Get your bass-heavy electro-dance Thursday groove thing on for $8. >> Novelist Porochista Khakpour to discuss her debut, Sons and Other Flammable Objects, at The Modernist Society's event at Bourbon in Adams Morgan. Free drinks from 8 to 9 p.m., then questions from the audience until 10 p.m. >> Tickets are still available to the opening night of the DC Asian Pacific American......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Into the Wild Annandale native Chris McCandless had just graduated from Emory University in 1990 when he donated his substantial life's savings to charity and set out on the road under the name of "Alexander Supertramp." His highly publicized disappearance ended two years later when his body was found in the Alaskan wilderness, and the......

We noted awhile ago that the owners of the Birchmere had been in talks to open another venue in Silver Spring — while that has fallen by the wayside, it looks like Live Nation will be moving in instead. The Clear Channel spinoff, which produces concerts and owns music venues around the country, including Nissan Pavilion, various Fillmores, and the House of Blues chain, signed a letter of intent to build in an old J.C.......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: The Great Punch-Out: A Hard Hitting Week of Boxing at the Pickford Theater Those of you with an interest in the pugilistic arts may want to camp out at the Library of Congress next week. The library is doing a series of boxing features, shorts, and classic fights that lasts all week long. There's a......

>> Jazz fans won't want to miss guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel at Blues Alley tonight, feauturing saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Ben Street and drummer Rodney Green. Sets are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets available here. $25 + $10 food/drink minimum. >> Tickets are still available for Woolly Mammoth's production of The Unmentionables, about which our critic said that it "points Fat Albert’s giant index finger at the audience in a......

>> Should you expect crappy service at the Black Cat tonight, when they're advertising a party celebrating their 14th anniversary tonight as an event where staffers "will be hanging out?" Maybe. But it's a free night of noisy rock bands, and you know the guys and gals who pour your drinks night in and night out deserve some appreciation. Backstage, 8 p.m. >> Def Jux artist Aesop Rock has been redefining hip-hop since the......

Classical music has come back from summer vacation, and that means you actually have a choice of concerts this week. Most importantly, many of the city's leading groups are opening the season with glittering events. Look for reviews next week. >> Washington National Opera is opening its fall season with one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Puccini's La Bohème (September 15 to 30). For all its audience-pleasing qualities, this opera is a......

>> The Washington Irish R.F.C. had some early success with their attempt to bring a more laidback pub trivia night to Solly's on U Street, so they're back with another four weeks of trivia on Wednesdays starting promptly at 8:30 p.m. -- get there early, as even though they've only done two of these before, it's been packed every time. Prizes range from $25 gift cards to fancy bottles of wine, and between rounds......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: Lawrence of Arabia David Lean's epic telling of the story of T.E. Lawrence's time in the Middle East, and leadership of the WWI Arab Revolt is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in cinema. The......

>> The Velvet Lounge hosts Three Stars alums and excellent understated rockers New Rock Church of Fire, with Mas y Mas and The Domesticated. 9 p.m. >> Home of those brilliant Saturday afternoon cheapo Miller High Life countdown specials, epic Jell-O wrestling contests and the surprising winner of any Best Vegan Brunch contest in the city, everyone probably has a different reason for their soft spot for Asylum. Whatever yours is, stop by tonight......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: Stranger Than Paradise "You go to some place new and everything just looks the same," says Eddie, one of the two hipster-slacker protagonists of Jim Jarmusch's wickedly funny second feature. Press materials made a big deal of the origin of the film, pointedly calling it "A New American Film by a New American Director." There's......

>> Sigh. It's the last night of Fort Reno, which means summer is officially ending soon. Hopefully it'll dry out in time to make this a great final concert -- scheduled to play are drag-rocker Edie Sedgwick, Sentai, and the adorable Eyeball Skeleton, a Maryland band featuring brothers age 8 and 10 (plus their dad) who are known to sing the lyric "eyeball skeleton" over and over again in what sound almost like fake......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Foreign: Ballad of a Soldier The AFI's great Janus Films retrospective continues, and there is probably no title on the schedule this writer is more eager to see on the big screen. Grigori Chukhrai's 1959 classic takes a simple concept — the tale of a Russian soldier making his way home to see his mother during......