>> “Japanese Action Comic Punk” band PEELANDER-Z hits DC9 tonight, along with Massachusetts power-poppers My So-Called Friend, Lights Resolve and up and coming locals The City Veins. $8. >> The Lisner Auditorium is hosting Malian traditional guitarist Vieux Farka Toure (son of the late great Ali Farka Toure) and Tinariwen, a band of musicians from the Sahara who meld North Malian guitar stylings with blues, middle–eastern, reggae and rock influences. 8 p.m., $15-$45. >>…

Meh-NAH-meh-nuh? Meh-NOH-meh-nuh? Meh-noh-MEE-nuh? A nonsense word, an inside joke, or derived from that fantastic old school Muppet Show sketch? Whatever it is, it’s not much of a telling name for a band with such a wide array of musical backgrounds and interests. Their debut I Am the Fun Blame Monster! was characteristically all-over-the-map in its creativity, but erred on the side of goofy and even a little obtuse. Then came Under an Hour, a score…

“If I do my job as an actor, you won’t notice that I’m South Asian or that I’m a woman, or even that I’m playing one of the most controversial political figures of all time. I’m portraying a person at a crossroads struggling with a difficult decision.” So says Zehra Fazal (pictured right) of her striking portrayal of Adolf Hitler in her self-produced, one-woman adaptation of Yukio Mishima’s play, My Friend Hitler, currently running at…

Yesterday, we told you about the Associated Press’ story that claimed Smithsonian officials altered a Museum of Natural History exhibit on climate change in order to make it less controversial. Subsequently, the Smithsonian issued a statement denouncing the AP report and the allegations made by Robert Sullivan, a former associate director at the National Museum of Natural History. The statement also claimed that the exhibit was not the subject of either internal or external political…

As if things couldn’t get any more rocky for the Smithsonian Institution, it is the subject of yet another controversy. The AP reports that an ex-Smithsonian official says the institution toned down an exhibit on the effects of climate change in the Arctic out of fear that the exhibit would draw the ire of Congress and the Bush administration. Among other things, the script, or official text, of last year’s exhibit was rewritten to…

DCist Jeff Beam contributed to this post. Drew McManus, who writes about the orchestra business at the ArtsJournal blog Adaptistration, has dubbed April Take a Friend to the Orchestra month. For the second year now, Drew has lined up names in the classical music world to write pieces on how ordinary people who love classical music can invite a friend who does not regularly go to hear live music to a concert. This year’s articles…

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it’s hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. >> A concert we are going to have to miss is the most interesting of the week, a program by the 21st Century Consort called Games…

Satomi Matsuzaki has been known to perform zipped up in a sleeping bag, or, in the band’s early years, in an orange bear costume. So it’s telling that the Deerhoof frontwoman took the stage last night in an all-black shirt, jeans, and boots ensemble. Could this be a confirmation of the reviewers’ buzz that the madcap noise-rock trio’s latest album, Friend Opportunity, was less oblique, more accessible, than past releases? It’s true that in recent…

Local blogger the Nabob has a modest proposal over at Pygmalion in a Blanket for all you kids out there grappling with the reality of the 10 p.m. curfew law (in case you’ve missed it, here’s a breakdown of all the new rules going into effect tonight). His solution? It’s the Nabob to the rescue: I’m officially offering my services as a grown up to anyone wanting to violate the curfew tonight. It’s not cheap,…

In its first weekend, the Capital Fringe Festival turned downtown D.C. into a moveable feast of performance, as show after show made its Fringe debut. As we enter Day Five of the festival, it’s now time to go get a second helping—a show you want to see again or a show your friends have told you is a must-see. Even still, a handful of shows will get their start today. At DCist, we’d love to…