FRIDAY:

>> Three Stars and Unbuckled alums Le Loup return to the Black Cat mainstage. With the Ruby Suns and Bellman Barker. $10, 9 p.m.

>> Alt-country crooner Tift Merritt is at the Birchmere. $25, 7:30 p.m.

>> Civilian Art Projects, which many of you visited for this year’s DCist Exposed, hosts an opening of two intriguing exhibitions. The front room will hold craigslist, co-curated by Civilian’s Jayme McLellan and Andrea Pollan of Curator’s Office, and featuring the craigslist-inspired work of artist team Joseph Dumbacher & John Dumbacher, as well as Jason Horowitz and Jason Zimmerman. The artists’ work interacts with the community website in varied and fascinating ways, and explores questions of identity in an increasingly global and anonymous world. Additionally, in Civilian’s project space, the photography of Kate MacDonnell is featured in 100 ways to kneel and kiss the ground. The artist describes her often surreal imagery as “a celebration of the ordinary, of a calm or soothing or just familiar place that does not have the velocity or multiplicity of the outside world.” Take in the imagery at the opening on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m.

>> A Black Cat Backstage regular, DJ Dredd will be hosting “Close 2 the Edge” along with fellow turntable specialist, DJ Stylus. Expect golden era hip-hop and other quality tunes. $6, 9 p.m.

>> Jonathan Steele, an acclaimed reporter for the Guardian, will be at Politics and Prose to talk about how Iraq has been an unwinnable war from day one — the argument in his book, Defeat . 7 p.m.

>> The AFI Silver Theatre begins its Robert Mitchum Retrospective tonight, which will run through May 5. Check out film noir classic Out of the Past at 9:30 p.m.

SATURDAY:

>> The National Park Service will distribute free tickets for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll beginning at 7:30 a.m. this morning (a smaller allotment of tickets will be available beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 24). The tickets, which are timed for entrance, will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion (southwest corner of 15th and E Streets). A maximum of five tickets will be issued per person, and you have to have at least one child with you and no more than 2 adults per group when you go. The Easter Egg Roll itself happens on Monday, March 24, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the South Lawn of the White House.

>> Transformer gallery opens Hatnim Lee Photographs, which coincides with the launch of her new book and “reflect[s] a visual diary of places she has visited, people she has met, and the experiences she had – how she lived her life – from … September 2006 through December 2007.” Lee’s beautiful, vivid and often curious photos have been featured on the National Geographic Channel and in a variety of magazines, including Teen, Jane and DC Modern Luxury. The opening runs from 7 to 9 p.m.

>> Avant-garde saxophonist Steve Lehman combines solo saxophone with electronic textures at The Velvet Lounge. Lehman is a critical darling, having been named a Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine’s 2006 and 2007 International Critic’s Poll. D.C. Improviser’s Collective opens. 10 p.m. $10.

>> When it comes to danceble funk, Amp Fiddler and Tortured Soul are hard to beat. Check out our full preview of this show over here. They’ll be joined at the 9:30 Club by Baltimore’s Fertile Ground. $20, 9 p.m.

>> The Mountain Goats show is sold-out, but we’d venture a guess that a few tickets will be floating around outside just before the show opens at the Black Cat. With the Moaners. 9 p.m.

SUNDAY:

>> Two time Wammie nominee for Best Instrumentalist, keyboardist Will Rast brings his latest project, Funk Ark, to Bohemian Caverns for 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. sets. Also be sure to look out for Rast’s feature next week in the latest installment of DCist’s Three Stars series. $10

>> If you’re of a certain age, you can probably remember the first time Del The Funkyhomosapien hit your television screen. After 15 years, the Hieroglyphics crew member hasn’t lost that appeal. He’ll be at the 9:30 Club with, among others, Chip Fu of Fu-Schnickens. $20, 7:30 p.m.

>> San Diego singer/songwriter Gary Jules had already been performing professionally for more than a decade when his cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” showed up on the soundtrack of the cult film Donnie Darko and became a U.K. hit, reinvigorating his career. And now that his “Falling Awake” has been featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, he never need worry again. Let Gary sing your hurt away at Iota. With Los Angeles folk-rocker AM and Mando Saenz. $12, 8:30 p.m.

Photo by staceyviera

The listed events were chosen by the editors of DCist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.