Photo by Kyle Tucker
FRIDAY
MUSIC: Paint Branch, the duo comprised of former Q and Not U members Chris Richards and John Davis, released their first album, I Wanna Live, in January to great acclaim. Backed tonight by a full band, they headline at Comet Ping Pong (5037 Connecticut Avenue NW), topping a lineup that also includes Shana Falana and Art Sorority for Girls. At 10 p.m. $10
MORE MUSIC: Or, if you’d rather not haul ass up to Chevy Chase (though you should), local art-rockers Heavy Breathing play an EP release show at The Black Cat (1811 14th Street NW). More Humans and Pittsburgh’s Old Head open. 9 p.m. $10
VARIETY: Tilted Torch and DC Shorts team up this Friday and Saturday for Pasties and Popcorn, a combination of “short flicks, stripping chicks, and sideshow tricks.” If you like sexy short films, burlesque acts, and “amazing feats of courage” head over to VisArts Rockville (155 Gibbs Street, Rockville) tonight and tomorrow. 8:30-11 p.m. $15.
SATURDAY
DOGS AND BEER: Weekends in D.C. are a perfect time—well, the only time—to visit the city’s production breweries, but on Saturday, there will be more than just growler fills going on at DC Brau Brewing Company (3178 Bladensburg Road NE). City Dogs Rescue, a canine rescue service, will be raising money and showing off some of its pooches available for adoption. Donate $30, and DC Brau will fill up your growler gratis. Oh, and the event is called “Growlers and Howlers.” That’s cute. Noon to 4 p.m.
CRAWFISH: Pearl Dive Oyster Palace’s (1612 14th Street NW) last crawfish boiles of the season get cooked up on Saturday. Come out for crawfish, cornbread, peel-and-eat shrimp, sausage, pies, and Abita beer. Seatings at noon and 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $55 all you can eat and drink.
FOLKLIFE: The Heveder Hungarian Folk Ensemble, which plays Hungarian, Romanian, and Roma folk music from the villages of Transylvania and Hungary, performs at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage (2700 F Street NW). Accompanying the traditional ensemble are house musician István Papp, known as “Gázsa,” as well as Moldavian flute player Zoltán Juhász and his daughter, singer and gardon player Réka Juhász. The performance is part of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which this year is highlighting Hungarian culture. 6 p.m. Free.
FILM: David Lynch followed up his landmark Eraserhead with 1980’s The Elephant Man, a film that masterfully bridges his dreamlike vision with old-fashioned social melodrama. In Victorian England, John Merrick (John Hurt) was born with a disfigurement that caused him great physical and emotional pain. He came under the care of Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins). Where does caring end and exploitation begin? Themes of compassion and exploitation recur in Lynch’s work again and again, and in The Elephant Man, Lynch evokes and transcends the look of classic cinema. That gorgeous look is thanks to cinematographer Freddie Francis, who photographed Jack Clayton’s The Innocents and went on to direct his own exploitation movies like Trog. Shown as part of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award tribute to Mel Brooks, who produced the film after championing Eraserhead as a great comedy. The AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring) is showing an archival 35-millimeter print, so don’t miss this chance to see the kind of rich tonal range that you can only get from light passing through celluloid. At 2:40 p.m. Tickets $11.50. (Pat Padua)
SUNDAY
MUSIC: You guys, Deafheaven may have put out the album of the year. The shoegazey metal band’s latest, Sunbather, is the kind of metal/hardcore album that even people who don’t like metal or hardcore can get behind (and people who do like that stuff can really get behind). It’s got a certain cinematic quality to it, and a particular urgency that demands repeated listens, as loud as your speakers can get. I have no doubt that their show at Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H Street NE) with openers Marriages and Curse will be intense, spirited, and loud as all hell. 7 p.m. $12 (Matt Cohen)
CHARITABLE GLUTTONY: Poste (555 Eighth Street NW) will be hosting a charity burger battle on Sunday afternoon from 3:30-6:30 p.m.. Sample burgers from the 10 competing chefs, including The Source’s Scott Drewno, Granville Moore’s Teddy Folkman, Proof and Estadio’s Haidar Karoum, and Birch and Barley’s Kyle Bailey. Tickets are $75 for all you can eat and drink. Proceeds benefit local youth non-profit Brainfood. (Alicia Mazzara)
FOOD & DRINK: Mate (3101 K Street NW) hosts a ceviche and pisco party, featuring eight ceviche dishes served alongside cocktails made with Portón, a new brand of pisco. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. $75.
For more stuff to do this weekend, check Popcorn & Candy, the Weekly Music Agenda, and This Week in Jazz.
