NOSTALGIC FOR New Orleans?
Well, you could go there, but gas is pricy and the Subdudes are right here in Virginia.
This band epitomizes Louisiana swamp-rock, with its folky bayou sound and lyrics that evoke all that is good and Southern. You can see one of their past performances (this one at Wolf Trap) here.
» Birchmere Music Hall, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 7:30 p.m., $25; 703-549-7500.
IF YOU CONSIDER Shakespeare too easy, if you sneer at those lowbrow lovers of Moliere, you might be a Congreve fan.
You also might not have very many friends.
William Congreve's play "The Way of the World" is the epitome of Restoration comedy — dense, wordy, festooned with ruffles and, if you can wade through the culture shock, often hilarious.
It's set in a society in which class reigns supreme. Sound familiar, Washingtonians?
» Shakespeare Theatre, 610 F St. NW; 7:30 p.m., $23.50-$55.50; 202-547-1122. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Scott Suchman
ANDRAE ALEXANDER HAS the voice, the instrumentals, the look (if I do say so myself) and he's a business man.
The R&B singer can croon his way into any heart, and when he's done, he can tell you about being the CEO of his own company, Protective Rain Productions L.L.C.
Tonight we're expecting almost exclusively the former, but as far as an affordable, mid-week show at Blues Alley, this performer is top notch.
» Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 8 & 10 p.m., $20; 202-337-4141.
Photo courtesy of Andrae Alexander
FOR THE PAST 19 years, the films of Latin America (and now, Spain and Portugal, too) have been bundled together and screened — that's right folks, we're in the midst of the Latin American Film Festival!
Running through Oct. 7, the festival features over 30 films, all showing at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring. Tonight's elections are "60 Miles East" and "Cochochi." The former is a heart-wrenching tale of Dominicans that set out in search of a better life on small, fragile boats. The latter is a Mexican coming-of-age tale about two brothers and, it would seem, a horse? Whatever the plot details, it won awards at both the Toronto and Miami International Film Festivals.
For a complete list of films, click here.
» AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring; through Oct. 7, various times, various prices; 301-495-6720. (Silver Spring)
Photo courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
IF YOU WANT a classic act and you want a lot of it, the Allman Brothers Band is sure to please. When it performs live, there's no holding back — it'll play everything in the arsenal.
The band was the principle creator of the genre we call "Southern rock," and you're guaranteed to hear hits such as "Ramblin' Man" and "Midnight Rider." And though masterful guitarist Duane Allman died in 1971, his brother Gregg is still at the helm of a group with a distinct, classic point of view.
» Merriweather Post Pavillion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pwy., Columbia, Md.; 4:30 p.m., $45-$75; 800-551-7328.
Photo by Dave Martin
BEN'S CHILI BOWL has seen it all. From the days when U Street was a "Black Broadway" until now, as it is being aggressively gentrified.
Opened by West Indian immigrant Mahaboob Ben Ali and his wife, Virginia Ali, in 1958, the hot dog and chili (and cheese. mmm) shop is now overseen by their sons, Nizam and Kamal Ali.
Nizam recently paired up with local writer and historian Tracey Gold Bennett to document "The Bowl's" importance in D.C. and its community in a book, "Ben's Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington D.C. Landmark."
Tonight the pair is at another U Street area destination — Busboys and Poets — to discuss the work and sign copies. A chili-cheese half-smoke post- or pre-book talk is a must.
» Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m., free; 202- 387-7638. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Marvin Joseph for The Washington Post
HOW DO YOU take your awkwardly vanilla name and turn it into something red hot?
Throw an article on the front maybe? Adopt its equivalent en Espanol?
Here's an example:
There once was an electronics musician named John MacLean. As an artist, however, he's known as "The Juan Maclean." Muuuch better.
Oh, also, he makes music that I can tell you a little about. After a stint as a guitarist, Maclean tried his hand at experimenting with modern electronic mixing equipment. The experiment went well for him, in that it produced a mellow, truly enjoyable brand of house that you can listen to without glow sticks or excess gyration.
Catch him at the Black Cat tonight with Edie Sedgwick and The Brunettes.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $13; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Tim Soter
IT'S HARD OUT there for a band that has that one awesome song that everyone knows, loves and wants to sing whilst intoxicated.
In Rusted Root's case, that song is "Send Me On My Way."
If you're not too busy rocking out after clicking on that link, let me say that you should probably give Rusted Root's other stuff a chance. Their Afro-pop sensibility makes for some very interesting tunes, like "Bad Son" and "Ecstatic Drums." Sure, it's probably impossible for them to ever surpass the standard they set with that glorious, singable "Sendmeonmahway," but they deserve to be heard anyway.
Check them out at the 9:30 Club with Pete and J.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 7 p.m., $15; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo courtesy of PolyGram
IT'S FINALLY OCTOBER, and that means it's time for beer. Really, anytime is time for beer, but now you can wave your arms wildly and learn ridiculous German compound words that take weeks to say and also grow an impractical beard. "An Octobeard!" one of my silliest friends called his before we shaved it off in the night as part of a prank, which may sound mean but believe me we were doing him a favor. As I recall, there was beer involved in that decision as well.
Anyway, there will be Oktoberfest celebrations all over the city this month, but one of my favorites is at Pizzeria Paradiso and Birreria Paradiso, which will have German-inspired food (and pumpkin beers!) available for the next two weeks. This is one of the few places in D.C. where the beer AND the food are uniformly excellent, so you'll be safe in their hand.
» Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M St. NW and 2029 P St. NW; through Oct. 4; 202-337-1245. (Dupont Circle)
Image courtesy Pizzeria Paradiso
SOMETIMES, LIVING in Washington, you just want to show off how smart you are. It worked so well in undergrad at Brown, and maybe even getting your masters at University of Michigan, and now you never get the chance to show off your knowledge except to the other people in your office, and you get the feeling that they might be tired of your anecdotes about Woodrow Wilson because they keep locking you in the closet and forgetting about you until Monday morning.
Fado, the Irish pub in Chinatown, holds trivia nights every Monday — drink the $4 Harp and Bass and chow down while showing off your quiz bowl chops.
D.C. is filled with trivia nights, but Fado's is the only one I know of where you can eat curry fries. It's also one of the harder trivia nights, so winning here will really mean something when you tell the office Tuesday morning.
» Fado, 808 7th St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., free; 202-789-0066. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The Washington Post
Addison Road