Most come to DC9 expecting – to some degree – a warts and all show that leaves a little to be desired. One thing you don’t tend to expect is the kind of polish that came from The Hatch last night. Formed at Washington University in St. Louis, relocated to L.A. to record and practice, they’re now calling New York home, hunkering down in an apartment/rehearsal space and starting a residency at Piano’s next month….

It’s DCist’s favorite time of the year, and we’re not talking about our office’s summer hours which begin next week. No, it’s the NBA off-season, baby! Stat and fantasy geeks everywhere get to OD on rumor and innuendo tomorrow night when the NBA holds their annual draft. This may be the deepest draft in recent memory, so expect to hear the phrase “tremendous upside” more than you heard that crappy Rob Thomas song last week…

We’ve been hearing quite a bit about efforts to fight hunger these days. First, Sir Bob Geldolf recently announced five concerts around the world to be held July 2, just days before the G8 summit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Geldolf organized the massive 1985 Live Aid concert to raise funds to send relief to people suffering from a famine in East Africa, this time around the concert is seeking political change: a commitment by the G8…