By DCist contributor Valerie Paschall The members of Syracuse chamber pop act Ra Ra Riot are no strangers to high profile performances. In fact, it was their impressive showings at the two music industry behemoth festivals, CMJ and SXSW, which put them on the map as a band to watch. They have since opened for Bow Wow Wow, Art Brut and actually came through D.C. last month with Tokyo Police Club. They should be well-prepared......

>> Those little snow flurries you see outside your office window are just the warm-up for the arctic temperatures that await us tonight. Remember your long johns tomorrow morning, when temps will be in the teens and "strong northerly winds will create frigid wind chills." Oh, weatherman. You sweet talker. [ABC 7] >> Hey China, over here! You need 18 baby panda names, do you? We've got all the panda-naming experience you need right here.......

FRIDAY: >> Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em. Landmark R&B radio station WPGC celebrates 19 years of playing 18 jams in a row with a concert at the Verizon Center that features LL Cool J, MC Hammer, Chuck Brown, EU, Naughty By Nature, Bow Wow, MC Hammer and Lisa Lisa. Apparently Cult Jam had previous commitments. $45 - $70, 7 p.m. (Kyle Gustafson) >> You may have missed La Didone last weekend, but if you......

MONDAY: >> Watch a cartoon (and, according to reader comments, hipsters) come to life. Adding further cred to the notion that pop music is respectable as long as it's from another country, the wildly popular duo Puffy AmiYumi bring their unforgettable show to the 9:30 Club tonight, with opener Adam Richman. 6 p.m., $20 TUESDAY: >> Because we love A Smokey Mountain Christmas, because the original version is always better, and because there's nothing cooler......

It's been a good summer. For DCist it has, anyway, filled with cheetah cubs and buttersticks, Nats games and Borf sightings, and lots of sweaty, booze-soaked cookouts. But fall is coming, people, and it's time to put the flip-flops aside, say goodbye to the interns, and fill out your autumn dance card. DCist humbly offers the following suggestions. Oh, they grow up so fast. One day they're lil, playing hoops and making MTV videos, the......