Few musical experiences are as energizing as seeing a hot Latin jazz band live in concert. The combination of infectious rhythms with a strong improvisational component puts both the head and feet in that happy place. Few groups have struck this balance as well and as long as Poncho Sanchez & his band. The veteran conguero is the consummate road warrior, having toured for nearly 40 years. Psychedelic Blues, the bandleader's most recent studio release -- his 24th -- received a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album, proving Sanchez's artistic vitality. more ›

What does a hippie look like in 2010? While the answer potentially lies in the tie-dyed audience of a Phish show, based on last night’s show, hippies in 2010 look an awful lot like Broken Social Scene. Sure, they wear jeans and blazers, but they do things like name their latest album Forgiveness Rock Record and ride bicycles around the stage before their encores. more ›

The best spoofs laugh with their subjects, not at them. Zucker, Abrahams, & Zucker obviously had a great love for the campy pleasures of disaster movies and the unintended humor of Zero Hour! when they made Airplane!, and Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's adoration of zombie cinema is apparent in every frame of Shaun of the Dead. In that same vein comes Patrick Barlow's stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's popular 1935 thriller, which is as reverential to the source material — and to Hitch himself — as it is completely silly. more ›

A New Year's Eve concert to be hosted in D.C. by 30 Rock and SNL veteran comedian Tracy Morgan has been canceled, Live Nation spokesperson Robert Muller confirmed today. Tickets went on sale in October for the event, billed as the "New Year's Eve Countdown with Tracy Morgan," which was to have been held at the Warner Theatre. Live Nation promised more details on the cancellation later today, so we'll be sure to update with any details on how ticket holders may get refunds, etc., when we know more. more ›

For the longest time, I saw no need to replace the caricature that popped up in my head whenever I thought (infrequently) of Morrissey with actual, first-hand observation. I’d come late to the Smiths party; like,15 years after the group broke up, and I’d never continued my investigations on into Morrissey’s by-all-accounts worthy solo output. The admittedly cartoonish impression I had of the man — a fey, Wilde-quoting, self-declared celibate animal rights activist whose misanthropic take on humanity makes Elvis Costello seem like Bobby McFerrin — was enough. Years of Refusal, indeed. more ›

On February 28, 1978, Elvis Costello was 23 years old and convinced of his own magnificence. His second album — but crucially, his first with the Attractions, the three musicians with whom he'd make his most celebrated records — the furious, paranoid, Aftermath-styled This Year's Model, would be released the following week, and would top the Village Voice and Rolling Stone critics' polls at year's end. At the close of his first U.S. tour, only two months earlier, he'd been thrown out of 30 Rock for aborting his Saturday Night Live performance of "Less than Zero" mid-song to play the broadcast-industry indictment "Radio Radio" instead, a stunt that got him banned from SNL for 11 years. (He was invited back decades later to recreate the moment with the Beastie Boys.) more ›

Even before our scatterbrained, ADHD world began over-prescribing Ritalin, we giggled at Steven Wright's one-liners on SNL during the ‘80s. If you're like us, maybe you even stayed up late into the night listening to albums like I Have a Pony. His brand of comedy, as something of an intellectual punster, appealed to us as kids just as much as it does today. Jokes like, "I was walking in the woods all by myself. A... more ›

When the posters for the Washington Ballet's production of The Nutcracker hit the streets, accented with cartoon caricatures of George Washington, it was hard not to be skeptical. Would the Capitol dome become a prominent set piece? Would little children running around be designed to symbolize Congress? The possibilities were endless. But the skepticism is unwarranted: Choreographer Septime Webre's production, featuring everything from 19th century carousels to 20th century cherry blossoms, is wonderfully done -... more ›

MONDAY >>Two turntables and a…slide rule? If you thought nerdcore hip-hop was isolated to Weird Al’s latest hit, you were wrong. Two of the genre’s best known artists, Optimus Rhyme and MC Frontalot, bring in tha geekiness to The Red & The Black tonight. What better way to gear up for the new Transformers movie than by listening to someone rap about it? $8 >>School’s in after summer, and Alice Cooper is taking a break... more ›

Sure, with Free Night of Theater on the horizon, it may be hard to justify shelling out for a ticket to a stage show, but trust us — with all the intriguing offerings that local companies have in store, you'll want to see more than one show this month. Previously at the Fringe Festival, Round House Silver Spring presents Bushwa: A Modern Ubu, about an intellectually-challenged king. Hmm. Wonder what it's like to have your... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Get in line early tonight at the Rorschach Theatre in Columbia Heights for a special Pay-What-You-Can performance of their revival of Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day. Set in Berlin in the 1930's, Bright Room is one of Kushner's (Angels in America, Homebody/Kabul) earlier plays, but by no means his least accomplished. If younger District residents aren't able to connect easily with Zillah, who is consumed by a hatred for Ronald Reagan,... more ›

DCist theater critic Missy Frederick contributed to this report. Signature Theatre's production of Urinetown took top honors at last night's Helen Hayes Awards, D.C.'s local theater awards ceremony, taking home 8 prizes including director of a musical (Joe Calarco), choreographer (Karma Camp), four different acting awards (Will Gartshore is pictured right accepting his award for lead actor in a musical, which he shared in a tie with Michael McElroy from Big River), and outstanding resident... more ›

Sure, there probably aren’t too many office pools going around wagering on whether Scott Bradley will take Tony Cisek in the set design category. But lack of watercooler chatter aside, tonight is an important night for the D.C. theater community. more ›

Cheaters...women's sex lives...Salman Rushdie...during March in the D.C. theater world, looks like anything goes; even Anything Goes. Starting off the month is George Bernard Shaw's Fanny's First Play, produced by Washington Stage Guild (March 2). This "comedy within a comedy" should prove witty enough, as Shaw always has a way with words. Speaking of renowned male authors, Haroun And The Sea Of Stories, a Salman Rushdie D.C. premiere, begins at the H Street playhouse this... more ›

This week in music, love is in the air and reality TV invades the District. MONDAY >> Kick off your week with the GZA and the RZA as the Wu Tang Clan works the 9:30 Club tonight, Shaolin style. If you weren’t able to get tickets to the earlier sold out show, a second later set has been added as part of the ODB Tribute Tour for $50 a ticket. First show -- 7 p.m.... more ›

, the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical which made Patti LuPone a star and lent Madonna some credibility, is making a brief appearance at the Warner Theatre in D.C. this week, and it tries to figure out how to categorize the most famous first lady in South America. This production's verdict on its anti-heroine, however, is rather apparent – Eva Peron was certainly no angel, and her hold on the Argentine people was as chilling as it was magnetic. more ›

A disappointed reader tipped us off that The Washington Ballet has announced that tonight's performance of The Nutcracker has been cancelled due to what the company is calling a dancer strike. more ›

Though most local theaters are wrapping up their 2005 seasons come December, the Christmas season’s also a great time for national tours to empty the pockets of those hunting for gifts for their Broadway babies. While new regional pickings are sparse this month, if you’ve got a craving for a large-scale musical, this is your time of year. more ›

FRIDAY: >> Something tells us heading out to see a concert put on by a man who, due to a struggle with Hepatitis C, thought he might never be able to go on tour again will be an awfully positive, life-affirming experiece. And who couldn't use a little of that? The Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra (he's pictured at right) is at 9:30 Club, with Lenny Kaye & Jon Dee Graham. $25, 8 p.m. >> Film Festivals!... more ›

The nominations for the Helen Hayes Awards were announced last night, despite the cancellation of the traditional reception at the Canadian Embassy. As today's Post notes, the nominations had their share of surprises. Not surprising, especially to veterans of the D.C. theater scene, was the dominance of the Kennedy Center (17 nominations), Signature Theatre (15 nominations) and the Shakespeare Theatre (14 nominations). With pockets significantly deeper than smaller theater companies, large theaters can spend significant... more ›

If you can make it through the 4-5 inches of snow that are sure to shut down our fair city this weekend, we've got some picks to round out your weekend of snowball fights and hot chocolate. FRIDAY: >> Velvet Lounge celebrates its sixth birthday this weekend with a Friday lineup of Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, The Small Shouts (featuring Olivia from Washington Social Club), Debutants, and Greenline. >> On-the-rise female rapper Jean Grae... more ›