Photo by Andrew Turner
FRIDAY
BURLESQUE: Red Palace, the rock club and freak show on H Street NE, is closing in a few days. (For further reading, here’s why we think that stinks.) But no sense in going out somberly. GiGis Holliday’s “Ladies Night Out” burlesque series is staging one final show full of drinks and flesh before Red Palace (1212 H Street NE) locks the doors for good. Begins 9 p.m. Tickets $12.
ZOO LIGHTS: Only four days remain to take in the National Zoo’s annual display of holiday light displays. The lights are pretty, also, you get to be in the zoo at night! Free.
LAX IS LIFE: Once upon a time, Jewish guys from the New York area thought they could rap. Unfortunately, now it’s 2012 and that void has been filled by Hoodie Allen, né Stephen Markowitz, whose rhymes are about as enjoyable as drinking a jug of cheap vodka while watching a Hamilton-Colgate lacrosse match. “No Interruption” is a tolerable track; hell, it’s almost infectious. Anyway, Hoodie plays tonight at The Fillmore (8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring) at 8 p.m. Wear your K-Swiss. Tickets $20.
SATURDAY
TRUFFLE HUNTERS: Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca (1100 New York Avenue NW) chef Nick Stefanelli is cooking up a tasting menu of dishes featuring super-fancy black truffles at a not-so-exorbitant price. For $60 per person, diners can feast on truffle foccica, truffle antipasti and truffle pasta. Wine pairings an additional $40. Begins 5:30 p.m. Call (202) 216-9550 for reservations.
END TIMES: Did we mention Red Palace is closing? Because it is. On its third-to-last night in existence, the venue (1212 H Street NE) plays host to Paperhaus, Mittenfields and Dance for the Dying. Begins 8:30 p.m. Tickets $10.
MARTHA: OK, even if you have an odd affection for Van Halen‘s version of “Dancing in the Street”—and admit it, it is the best track on Diver Down—David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen’s spacey cover has got nothing on Martha and the Vandellas’ original. Martha Reeves and her backup singers play the Howard Theatre (620 T Street NW) at 8 p.m. Tickets $30-35.
SUNDAY
PARTY: Some us have to work on New Year’s Eve, which blows. So the Black Cat (1811 14th Street NW) is graciously hosting an all-night happy hour for folks who can’t start drinking early on the actual occasion. Better to show up to work hungover on Monday morning than arrive at a party that night while still sober. Begins 8 p.m.
MUSIC: The bad news: The Evens’ success with their new album, The Odds, likely means that Fugazi really is done for good. The good news: The Evens, made up of Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina, are pretty darn good. The better news: You can see them play at the Wilson Center (3047 15th Street NW) as a fundraiser for the Next Step Public Charter School. Begins 7 p.m. Suggested donation $5.
BEAT DALLAS: Tickets for the ‘Skins game against the Dallas Cowboys begin on StubHub at prices we’d rather not list, so more likely you’re watching this one on television. If the ‘Skins win, they’re the NFC East champions for the first time in 13 years. Kickoff at 8:20-ish p.m., or whenever Faith Hill’s awful sin against Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You” concludes. On NBC.
