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…

MONDAY Daniel Gottlieb will be reading from Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lesson on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life, which are much happier than his Letters to Comcast: Seriously, When The Hell Are You Guys Going to Have My Internet Hooked Up Because It’s Been Three Weeks For The Love of All that is Holy. Barnes & Noble, 4801 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda., at 7 p.m. TUESDAY Given the manifest inattention to the…

(Editor’s Note: DCist would like to welcome Chris Kelly to our Sports staff. He will be assisting in our coverage of the Nationals with a weekly column each Monday.) Call ’em “The Comeback Kids”, “The One-Run Wonders”, “The Cardiac Kids”; doesn’t matter. Call ’em whatever you want, but your first place Washington Nationals extended their 10-game winning streak yesterday with yet another 1-run victory (8 out of their last 13 wins have been by 1…

DCist has been an REM fan since they were young and impressionable, so it’s almost impossible for us to be objective about Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills. Last night’s show at DAR Constitution Hall was a fun, lively and politically charged concert that hinged more on lead singer Michael Stipe’s personality then the music. The band tore through a mix of old and new songs, sticking with their political activist theme for the…

This weekend is just chock full of good stuff to do! The weather is shaping up nicely (with a chance of a storm on Saturday) so get out there. FRIDAY: Free Polyphonic Spree outdoor concert at the South Plaza Stage of the Kennedy Center. Starts at 6 p.m., but as there’s sure to be a crowd of people, we recommend getting out there a bit earlier. The galleries of Dupont Circle are hosting an extended-hours…