For the second week in a row, the dog days of August plague Jazz Land. Next week, we’ll be telling you all about the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, but until then, enjoy your holiday and check out these cool shows. >> Tonight, local bassist Keith Wesby brings his quintet of fine local talent to Twins Jazz. Call the club at (202) 234-0072 for showtime and cover information. >> Puerto Rican native Jose Negroni brings is…

Happy Father’s Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one’s for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network. It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by…

While the District begs and pleads for anything approaching voting representation in the House of Representatives, Puerto Rico might be moving ahead in its own quest to finally define itself and its relationship to the U.S. According to an article published today in The Politico, legislation is being considered in the House that would allow Puerto Rico to hold a binding referendum on whether or not to become a full-fledged state. Sponsored by Rep. Jose…

What’s so special about doro wat — the chicken stew served by just about every Ethiopian restaurant around here? For us, it’s the stew’s heady sauce of red hot pepper and peppery ginger, blended with a dozen other spices, heated and working in harmony, and pounded into a paste called Berberé. It lingers on the tongue. Iit doesn’t seem very hot until after you swallow, when a pleasant slow burn slides all the way down….

Last night, Cordero alternated between brooding, Latin ballads and alt-country punk for a handful of people backstage at the Black Cat. Cordero’s charismatic, hybrid sound could have converted skeptics into fans, particularly those who gravitate toward the genres that include Calexico and X’s side project, the Knitters. Unfortunately for the band and the audience, walking into the Black Cat backstage was like a psych class experiment. Since there were maybe fifteen people there for the…

Thanks to a tip from a reader, today we extend our feelings of sympathy to the Puerto Rican people. We recently discovered that on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court quietly decided not to hear a case involving whether or not Puerto Rican residents should be able to vote in U.S. presidential elections. While District residents were granted that right in 1961 with the endorsement of the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, we can still sympathize…

One of the joys of Spring Training is supposed to be taking a break from the icy darkness of wherever you’re from to head south and dream of the warm summer nights that must be around the corner if baseball’s begun. This winter, of course, we’ve all been able to keep our tans, and the kids never had to quit their stickballing in the alley, but it’s still pretty exciting to think that it’s nearly…