FRIDAY: >> Friends ‘o DCist Middle Distance Runner have had quite a ride since playing our special Unbuckled/Anniversary concert last September. Despite a few bumps on the road, they’ve gone from little band that could to having their first headlining slot at 9:30 club tonight. We’ll say we knew them when. With The Dance Party. 10 p.m., $10. >> Akron/Family impressed the pants off of critics in 2005 with their self-titled neo-folk stylings. They’ll be…

Think nonfiction is a dish best served on celluloid? Then you’ll want to take note of a number of unique opportunities to catch these screenings of new documentary films in the area. Two Good Bets Tonight: The National Geographic Live! film series, in association with the DC Environmental Film Festival, is hosting a special screening of A Life Among Whales, winner of the 2006 Earthwatch Institute Film Award. The film, directed by Bill Haney, chronicles…

Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 30s. We first reported on this missile battery, placed in Bethesda, in early March. The Post also had a short article. It continues to attract attention, this time as a news brief in the newsletter of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which tells their members to be “extremely vigilant” near the launcher. Mercury Spills, Who Pays? Classes at Cardozo High School have been relocated…