FRIDAY:
>> Even though Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is an obvious choice for the movie-going crowd this weekend, the Avalon Theatre — just north of the Potter madness at the Uptown — is showing Talk to Me, the new biopic on the life of famed Washington, D.C., talk-show host and activist Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr. 5:50 and 8:30 p.m.
>> Unbuckled alumni The Vita Ruins celebrate the release of their debut CD by giving away copies to anyone who comes to their performance tonight at the Black Cat. Show starts at 9 p.m., the band opens for Metropolitan and City-State.
>> Nigerian star Femi Kuti brings his jazzy afrobeat to the 9:30 Club today. Sure to be a good show from the son of the legendary Fela Kuti. $25.
SATURDAY:
>> Music gets major summer festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, but comedy sort of gets shafted. Washington Improv Theatre‘s answer to that is Improvapalooza this Saturday night between 7 p.m. and midnight, where back-to-back shows will include everything from a CSPAN-esque morning talk show to a “Truth or Dare”-style girly slumber party. WIT promises an easy, breezy “block party” ambiance, which means a BYOB policy for audience members. $10 at the door; The Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW.
>> Mos Def takes a break from acting to get back to his beats and rhymes tonight at 9:30 Club. Early show, 7 p.m., $30. Meanwhile, J. Kyle Manzay’s The Actor’s Rap! will be at the Studio Theatre at the exact same time as part of the Hip Hop Theater Festival, a comedy about a group of actors who are frustrated by the all the “rappers turned actors” who keep stealing their roles. Coincidence? The free show is first-come, first-serve.
>> Austin’s St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) stops by the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight to promote her debut album, Marry Me. The multi-instrumentalist used to play with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. $12, 9:30 p.m.
>> If you’re looking for Bastille Day shenanigans, consider heading to Adams Morgan’s L’Enfant for its second annual “French Maid Relay”, the cafe’s own version Les Halles’ traditional Waiters’ Race. Open to men and women, the contest begins at 8 p.m., but get there early and enjoy food and drink specials and a DJ spinning French music. There’s$5 cover after 5 p.m.
SUNDAY:
>> The 12th Annual Made in Hong Kong Film Festival returns to the Freer Gallery. After a 17-year break from filmmaker and marking his first trip to the U.S., legendary director Patrick Tam will be screening his new film, After This Our Exile, with an in-person appearance at 2 p.m. in the Meyer Auditorium.
