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 the schedules for two film festivals running this weekend: The D.C. Labor FilmFest and Reel Affirmations 17.
SATURDAY:
>> The Small Press Expo, the excellent annual festival of cartoon and comic arts, will dominate Bethesda this weekend. Don’t miss Hollywoodland and Alias the Cat author Kim Deitch at noon. Visit the web site for full festival schedule and ticket info.
>> The surging Chicago Fire visit the Robert. F Kennedy Memorial on Saturday night as DC United continue to chase the Supporter’s Shield as the best finisher in the MLS regular season. United can claim the first seed in the Eastern Conference with a single draw from their remaining games, while a two wins from three games is enough to clinch the Shield outright. RFK will also be sporting a new and improved playing surface — no infield lines! no awkward patches! international-style permanent goals! — that’s getting rave reviews from the squad’s resident blogger/center back Bobby Boswell (who’s actually suspended for the game). One of your last chances to see the Red and Black at home this regular season, with the finale next Saturday vs. Columbus.
>> It’s another three-show night for DAM! Fest, with shows at DC9, the Rock and Roll Hotel, and the 6th & I Historic Synagogue. Shudder to Think’s Craig Wedren at R&R Hotel is our top pick, but don’t miss out performances from past Three Stars subjects Metropolitan and past Unbuckled bands like These United States and Pela.
>> Phillipa Hughes’ sceney art gatherings benefit her emerging artist program, The Pink Line Project, but more to the point, they’re sufficiently full of cool kids and oddities to make them nearly always worth stopping by just to take it all in. She’s teaming up with Project 4 this weekend for LUSTER, a Saturday night party celebrating “decadence” featuring the works of 13 artists presented inside the Lee Jensen Brake Shop at 1333 14th Street NW. $10 gets you in to the DJ’d party, or choose the Sunday mimosa brunch from noon to 5 p.m.
SUNDAY:
>> Just as AC/DC once joked that they’ve released the same album 14 times, Bad Religion‘s consistent stream of political punk rock hasn’t changed much since they started in the business 25 years ago. And though their most recent stint on the Warped Tour put them in front of an audience who wasn’t even born when the band released 1982’s “How Could Hell Be Any Worse?,” singer Greg Graffin and company’s tight and focused sets put many of their younger contemporaries to shame. If that isn’t enough to convince you to go, guitarist Brian Baker, formerly of Minor Threat, is a D.C. hardcore pioneer. They’ll be at 9:30 Club, with the support of Gallows and The Briggs. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and tickets run $23.
Graham Hough-Cornwell and Martin Austermuhle contributed.
