Photo by dcJohn

MUSIC: French/German pop outfit Stereo Total will be joined by Baltimore’s Karmella’s Game tonight in the Black Cat‘s backstage. This one will probably sell out at some point, so get there early. $12, 9 p.m.

MOVIE: FilmFestDC kicks off tonight with a screening of Yojiro Takita’s Departures, followed by an opening gala hosted by, yes seriously, Arch Campbell. Tickets are $45, call (800) 955-5566 for last minute availability. The festival itself continues through April 26.

MUSIC: Velvet Lounge has The Bang, The Differents, Teletextile, and Fan-Tan. 9 p.m., $8.

READING: Alan Beattie is the world trade editor of The Financial Times, and he has a new book he’s peddling tonight at Politics and Prose: False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World. If you’re as obsessed with figuring out how we got ourselves into this economic mess as we are, this should made for an interesting discussion. 7 p.m.

MUSIC: In the mood for some throwback dance hits? Camp Lo is in town and working as hard as ever. They’ll be at Liv tonight, with the Sound of the City band. $15 in advance, 8:30 p.m.