Photo by ellievanhoutte.FOOD & DRINK: Dale DeGroff, a.k.a King Cocktail, is in town this week to present “On the Town,” a history of cocktails and the evolution of bars from saloons and speak-easys to modern temples of mixology. While he speaks at the Passenger (1021 7th Street NW), the audience gets to try sample drinks. Win-win all around. (This event will probably sell out, so get tickets in advance.)
VARIETY SHOW: You, Me, Them, Everybody talks with cartoonist Bill McKay (Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders) and comedian Jimmy Meritt, and highlights a special set from Meredith Bragg and music from Ian Walters. The Looking Glass Lounge (3634 Georgia Avenue NW). 8:30 p.m. Free.
BOOKS: Choreographer Liz Lerman will discuss and sign her new book Hiking the Horizontal: Field Notes from a Choreographer, a reflection of Lerman’s “life-long exploration of dance as a vehicle for human insight and understanding of the world around us,” at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street NW). 6 p.m. Free.
TALK: Moby shows off his photography during the latest edition of National Geographic’s Music on…Photography series. 7:30 p.m. Call the Ticket Office at (202) 857-7700 to purchase tickets.
MUSIC: Dirty Beaches brings their dark yet irresitible low-fi to the Black Cat Backstage (1811 14th Street NW) tonight. Holy Mtn opens. 8:30 p.m. $10.
>> The Twilight Singers and Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s kick off a busy week at the 9:30 Club (815 V Street NW). Tickets: $20.
>> Singer-songwriter, guitarist and ukulele player Julia Nunes comes to the Red Palace (1212 H Street NE). 7 p.m. $12 advance / $14 doors.
OPEN MIC: Drew Anderson — also known as the “The Black Weird Al Yankovic” — drops by the “Nine on the Ninth” Open Mic Poetry night, a monthly poetry series that falls on every 9th day of the month at 9 p.m. and is hosted by Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street NW) Poet in Residence Derrick Weston Brown. $5.
OPERA: Placido Domingo’s performance in the role of Oreste in this month’s production of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride will be your last chance to see him on stage in Washington before he steps down as artistic director of the Washington National Opera. Tonight is one of the few remaining performances at the Kennedy Center Opera House (2700 F Street NW); be sure to check out the WNO’s Generation O program for reduced-price tickets.
Coming up this week…
TUESDAY: Rustico (827 Slaters Lane, Alexandria), the popular beer bar, is celebrating its fifth birthday this week. To celebrate, several of Rustico’s original bartenders, including ChurchKey beer director Greg Engert and manager-bartender Nahem Simon, will come back and do some pouring. All 30 of the restaurant’s drafts will be $5 from 5 p.m. until close.
WEDNESDAY: The National Building Museum’s (401 F Street NW) lecture series, DC Builds, will host panel discussion called “Build It and They Will Ride,” featuring a panel of individuals well-qualified to speak about bicycle and pedestrian projects. $12 for National Building Museum members, $20 for the public 6:30. Tickets still available.
THURSDAY: Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a collection of ten films chosen through the Sundance Institute’s Film Forward program, each screening simultaneously at various area venues, is on Thursday at 6 p.m. at 10 different venues. Of the ten on this year’s schedule, we’ve favorably covered four here at DCist, two (Freedom Riders and Afghan Star) at Silverdocs over the past two years, another when it opened locally in 2009 (Amreeka), and a fourth (Winter’s Bone) which made our top ten of 2010 list. Check out the complete schedule.
FRIDAY: Inside its Dome Theatre, Artisphere (1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington) will host a discussion and festival on Czech Puppetry. (Let’s hope, given the Friday the 13th occasion, they’re not like these puppets.) 7:30 pm, pay what you can.
