FRIDAY: >> Two shows for DAM! Fest tonight, with events at Rock and Roll Hotel and the Red and the Black. The former includes an appearance by recent Three Stars subject the Beanstalk Library, plus The Exit, Dragons of Zynth and The Teeth. Stick around for the free afterparty, We Fought the Hej, a combo of two of our favorite DJ nights, Hej Hej and We Fought the Big One. >> Don't forget to check......

>> 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......

Today is National Coming Out Day, a day when gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are encouraged to be open about who they are. The annual observance began on October 11, 1988, exactly one year after the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. (The first one was held October 14, 1979.) While there aren't usually major events to commemorate the day, there are a couple of local events that coincide with......

There are more ways to take in our local arts scene than strolling the quiet museums on a Saturday afternoon or gulping some free wine at a gallery reception. Checking out events and lectures around the city is a great way to get exposed to not only the current exhibitions, but new ideas and theories you might not come upon while browsing the canvases by yourself. >> Patrick Swayze probably won't be there to perform,......

FRIDAY: The DAM! Festival doesn't start until next weekend, but the organizers rightfully want you to be psyched for it to start already. They're hosting a Kickoff Party tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel, with Exit Clov, The Dance Party, Dirty on Purpose (pictured), and DJ Geologist (who we interviewed earlier this week). $9 gets you in the door. >> Reel Affirmations, the D.C. area's Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered film festival, wraps......

Written by DCist Contributor Christopher Durocher In commemoration of National Coming Out Day it’s time to set the record, er, straight. It’s time to admit what every gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered person already knows – mainstream, gay-themed cinema is, at best, a mixed bag. But don’t despair. Beginning October 12, the Reel Affirmations International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is going to show D.C. that there is more to queer cinema than gay......

That sudden, crisp feeling in the air can only mean one thing: the doldrums of one of the worst summer movie seasons in history are mercifully over. DCist suggests you celebrate fall by checking out a few of the many, many sharp looking film festivals starting this week. >> The gimmick is fairly straight forward -- Filmmaking teams from cities all over the country compete to see who can make the best film, from script......

We have to admit it: we're a sucker for the Sox. And we'll be staying in tonight with a bottle or four of beer to watch the game. But if baseball's not your bag, there are plenty of events to keep you occupied this rainy fall evening: It's the sixth anniversary of Mothertonuge, a spoken poetry event, and they're having a happy birthday at the Black Cat. 8:30 p.m., $7. The first of the monthly......

Film enthusiasts depressed over the end of the APA film festival last week can take heart, as one busy week remains in another festival. Washington D.C.'s Fourteenth International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Reel Affirmations 14 ends this Saturday, and dozens of of screenings of GLBT films are scheduled this week at the Jewish Community Center Theater and the Lincoln Theater. DCist thinks Brother to Brother, a film scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday sounds particularly......