Editor’s Note: The Picks are a little lean this week, not because there isn’t a ton of fun stuff to do but because we’re operating on an “it’s one of the last Fridays of the summer” frame of mind and can’t muster the energy for more. Please tell us what you’re up to this weekend in the comments, for the benefit of the group.
FRIDAY:
We’ll be down at the ongoing opening festivities for Joe Englert’s latest H Street nightlife offering, the ambitious Rock and Roll Hotel. Just to clarify, it’s not really a hotel per se, rather a large live music venue with a small twist: they’ve got a few rentable “suites” for groups looking for a more private place to party. Tonight’s line-up is another of those Gypsy Eyes Records Showcases, featuring the always excellent Shortstack, plus Brandon Butler, Revival, These United States, Vandaveer, and John Bustine. Awesomely, we hear the singer for These United States works for Richard Florida — leave it to the author of Rise of the Creative Class to insist on hiring research assistants who love to rock out in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods.
SATURDAY:
It’ll be a tough choice in Shaw this night as hardworking locals with heavy bluzz, Middle Distance Runner, take over the Velvet Lounge with Nunchucks and Black Tie Review, while just down the street the Godfather of Go-Go, the one and only Chuck Brown, is celebrating his birthday at 9:30 Club. We’d say try to hit both, but the timings don’t seem to work out quite right. Chuck Brown (with The Wickedest Band Alive) tickets are $25, and the show kicks off at 9 p.m., presumably the same time things get started at Velvet, though details, as per usual, are scant because the bar simply refuses to provide crucial details like prices and set times on their site. We’ve been patient, Velvet Lounge. It’s high time finally to fix up your Web site.
SUNDAY:
If you’ve never seen Lawrence of Arabia, well then shame on you. The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center has been showing what is arguably the greatest film of all time every Sunday at 7 p.m. since July 30, but you now only have two more chances to catch it before they end its run. And frankly, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Peter O’Toole’s sparkling blue eyes when they deliver lines like “I cannot fiddle, but I can make a great state of a small city.” Heck yeah. The film will be presented, thank goodness, with a 15 minute intermission.
