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 are nine years old and enjoying some Jell-O Pudding Pops. So what do we think about “Cosby” alum Malcolm-Jamal Warner joining a group of modern poets such as Ainsley Burrows and Eddie Oliver for a free, live show? Nostalgia and a potential for awe. At the Carter Barron Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m.
>> Heading to a Nat’s game this weekend? Though we’ve found the Metro to be an entirely serviceable way of getting to the stadium, why not check out a new mode of transportation from Capitol Hill? The Ghost Bus will go back and forth between six area bars and RFK before and after home games. For tonight’s game, the bus will start its pickups around 6, and continue making the loop until 7:30 or so. For Saturday’s afternoon game, the bus will be looping between 12:15 and 1:45. More information can be found at the Post’s Entertainment Guide.
>> Kinski is one of those bands that should probably be best enjoyed under the influence of a hallucinogen — ambient instrumental tracks, distorted guitars, and a clear devotion to Black Sabbath. But DCist would never suggest that our readers take part in illegal activity. Just say no! But do get high on life and get thee to Warehouse Next Door at 9 p.m., with Ostinato and Kohoutek.
SATURDAY:
>> Perennial favorites of the -ist empire, Snowden, are playing the Black Cat this evening. If you head over that way, not only will you get to hear Snowden’s delicate melodies and sonic layers; you’ll be celebrating the 5-year anniversary of Bliss, one of the area’s premier indie dance parties. The event is all ages and will only run you $8; Bliss gets started at 9:30, and Snowden will go on at 10:30.
>> Longing for the days back in elementary school when they hosted a Renaissance Day and you could dress up in your favorite empire-waisted gown? Find yourself watching “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” just a little too often? Are you absent-mindedly adding an extra E to words like old, shop, and fair? Then this weekend was practically created for you, with the arrival of the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Anne Arundel County, Md. At the fair(e), set in a recreated 16th-century English village called “Revel Grove,” you can see live music, crafts, buy ale and enormous legs of roasted animals, and see jousting matches. This weekend is Children’s Weekend, so children 11 and under are admitted free. The price of admission otherwise is: $17 adults, $15 seniors, $8 ages 7-15.
SUNDAY:
>> If you’ve never heard of “Eragon,” you obviously don’t love dragons. It also means you’ve probably never heard of “Eldest,” the sequel to the fantasy-filled “Eragon,” which just did the unthinkable and knocked “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” off of the top sellers list at Amazon. Christopher Paolini, the 21 year-old wunderkind who self-published “Eragon,” will be at the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda at 1 p.m. to talk about “Eldest.” Free.
>> Nobody does cheesy plot lines and sensationalized violence quite like John Woo. In “The Killer,” Chow Yun Fat stars as an assassin who accidentally shoots a beautiful singer in the face, leaving her blind. And what does a hit-man do when he feels guilty and decides to try to make a new life for himself? Why, he has to slaughter a whole lot of people, of course! Do not watch this film for the story. Do watch it for some of the most lyrical and profane acts of bloodshed ever placed on celluloid. At the Freer Gallery, Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
