Photo by oberlep27

HAPPY HOUR: The least lame option for Fat Tuesday-style shenanigans tonight looks to be the Red Derby‘s 2nd annual Mardi Gras party. The unassuming neighborhood bar is promising a zydeco soundtrack for the evening, $2 hurricanes, plus a healthy assortment of masks and beads on hand.

MUSIC: If you’re looking for a Mardi Gras themed show, look no further than the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, where New Orleans style jazz and funk band Yamomanem are set to perform for free. 6 p.m.

It seems like all the post-rock ’90s Chicago scene bands are out touring again in the past year or so. Tortoise is no exception, and the band even has an actual new record that sounds pretty good. Plenty of tickets are still available for their show tonight at the Black Cat. Disappears open. 8 p.m., $15.

Or if lo-fi garage rock is more your thing, you’d be making a mistake to miss The Beets, Beach Fossils, and Christmas Island at the Velvet Lounge. 9 p.m., $8.

MOVIE: The Washington Psychotronic Film Society is serving up a screening of something called Zombie vs Mardi Gras, which we feel probably doesn’t need a lot of further explanation. 8 p.m., $2 suggested donation at the Warehouse Theater.