Photo by a loves dcFRIDAY:
>> Up and coming Nashville band Paper Route offer careful, layered indie rock, with some electronic sampling and harmonious vocals that are a lot softer than the music they’re accompanying. They’re at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight for an early show, doors are at 5 p.m. $13/$15. Stick around for the late show, featuring go-go giants Mambo Sauce and The Echo Boom. Doors for the second show are at 10:30, $10.
>> Tonight marks the start of the DNA Test Fest, a noise festival hosted by the College Park radio station WMUC. You can get a one day pass for $10, or both days for $15. Acts include True Womanhood, Screen Vinyl Image, Pygmy Shrews, Unholy Two and many more. Doors are at 7 p.m. at the Velvet Lounge.
>> You may still be able to score tickets to see Kings of Leon and The Walkmen at the Patriot Center tonight. Click through for details.
>> The “Black Light Special” party returns to Selam (1524 U Street NW) with DJ Underdog spinning Afro-soul, Afro-beat, and other good music during his strictly vinyl set. $1, 10 p.m.
SATURDAY:
>> If for some reason you enjoy getting up earlier on Saturdays than you do on work days, some people have organized an “Aerobics Dance Party” in Dupont Circle, starting at 7 a.m. “Come dressed in your best spandex,” reads the announcement, for a “roving street party.” Free coffee for those who show up.
>> The annual Big Band Jam is in full effect this weekend. The Sylvan Theater on the Monument Grounds will host a full day of concerts, culminating with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra at 5 p.m.. A full schedule is available here.
>> Don’t miss our film picks of the week, including our suggestions for what to see this weekend at Filmfest DC. Takeshi Kitano’s new film, Achilles and the Tortoise, screens at 9:30 p.m. at the Regal Gallery Place.
>> Plenty of art openings this weekend to choose from in this week’s Arts Agenda. Tonight, Pyramid Atlantic hosts a one-night art exhibition featuring the work of Tom Block, benefiting Amnesty International USA. The evening will showcase new work by Block and former Amnesty International “prisoner of conscience” General Jose Gallardo of Mexico, who was the subject of one of Block’s paintings; Block and Gallardo will meet for the first time at the event. 6 p.m. And don’t forget to look at our CraftWeek DC picks.
>> Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins is at the 9:30 Club for a solo show. D.C.’s own Justin Jones is doing the opening honors. Doors at 6:30 p.m. for an early show. $20.
>> Bowerbirds, BELL and birdlips are all at the Rock and Roll Hotel. $10, 8:30 p.m.
>> The late show at 9:30 Club will feature ?uestlove, taking a break from his weekday job drumming with The Roots and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. $15, 11 p.m.
SUNDAY:
>> Learn more about the District today at 1 p.m. at Politics and Prose with Mark Ozer, who will be appearing to promote his book, Washington, D.C.: Politics and Place: The Historical Geography of the District of Columbia.
>> The baryton is a mostly extinct instrument, something like a cello with a set of resonating strings. If you want to hear what it sounds like played really well, the Geringas Baryton Trio is in town this weekend to a couple of free concerts. One is at the National Gallery of Art this evening at 6:30 p.m.
