The Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) is presenting an exciting double bill of adventurous piano-based jazz this Sunday at Lisner Auditorium. Performing will be The Bad Plus (pictured right) and pianist Jason Moran (pictured below), two acts who consistently refuse to be limited by traditional notions of what a jazz performance should or should not be. Moran and The Bad Plus have played together on the same bill before and, unsurprisingly, their common outside-the-box approach... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Odds are good that you'll be able to happily dance the night away at Rock and Roll Hotel, no matter what kind of music you're in the mood for. Downstairs you've got Party Bros., a tongue-in-cheek tribute to party music by DJs Gavin Holland and Chris Burns, featuring tunes ranging from Black Sabbath to Taylor Dayne, 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., while upstairs is a free funk and soul session from Moneytown, also... more ›

If former Pink Floyd brainchild Roger Waters and Black Sabbath guitarist Tommy Iommi were to contribute to a joint musical project, the result would sound a lot like Tool. Alternatingly heavy and haunting, Tool has mastered the art of being a metal band without falling into the usual traps associated with the genre. While their music chugs along like many of their metal contemporaries, it often bucks convention by employing complex rhythms, odd structures, stark dynamic shifts, and soothing vocal melodies. Moreover, the band has remained mysterious and above the usual musical fray, releasing only five studio albums in 15 years, only rarely granting interviews, and featuring lyrics, artwork, and videos so cyptic that philosophical debates exist as to their meaning and purpose. more ›

Sommer Mathis contributed to these picks FRIDAY: >> DCist likes to stay up late on Sundays and watch Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry". We enjoy the variety of viewpoints it always includes, and really truly, at least one poet each episode knocks our socks right off our collective feet. DCist also likes to stay up late and watch "The Cosby Show" on Nick at Nite. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy, like we... more ›