Seamus
@ Dupont Circle
Q:If your dog was a celebrity, who would it be?
A:"He's Seamus. He's a celebrity within himself."
SUNDAY: SQUEEEEEE!
Sorry. We didn't mean to do that. Every time the New Kids on the Block come to town, all the hormones of junior high come flooding back. You probably had a poster of at least one of these proto-Jonas Brothers hanging up in your seventh-grade locker. They sold more than 80 million albums in the '80s and early '90s. Take that Joe, Nick and Kevin.
Just off of their New Kids on the Block Cruise that embarked last month, everyone's favorite man band (40 is the new 30, right?) will be back in town with old hits like, "Hangin' Tough" and "Step By Step." You'll be able to hear new music like, "2 In The Morning" and "Single" from their latest album, "The Block."
Go on and indulge your inner 13-year-old. We won't judge.
» Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax; with Jabbawockeez, Sun., June 7, 7 p.m., $13-$78; 202-397-7328.
Written by Express' Nicole Ocran
Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
SATURDAY: The art of the impersonation had fallen into disrepute; it took modern comics, especially Frank Caliendo, right, to restore luster to the subgenre. The star of "Frank TV" comes to the Patriot Center on Saturday with Bill Engvall.
» Patriot Center, GMU, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax; Sat., May 9, 8 p.m., $49.50; 703-573-7328.
Written by Express' Arion Berger
THIS WEEKEND: Eat your heart out, Cirque du Soleil. There's a new cast of awe-inspiring air tumblers on the scene and we don't have to go to Vegas to see them. The National Acrobats of China put on a dazzling display of juggling, illusions and otherfeats that is guaranteed to make you wish you hadn't given up gymnastics when you were 8.
The group has won numerous awards and has toured extensively around the world. Hey, and it solves the age-old question: what do those 14-year-old Chinese gymnasts do after puberty hits?
Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Route 123 and Braddock Road; Fri. and Sat., April 17 and 18, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., $23-$46; 703-993-8888.
Written by Express' Brian Austin
Photo courtesy IAI Presentations Inc.
THIS WEEK: One of opera's most enduring tragedies — and that's saying a lot — "Tosca" remains as riveting as it was at its 1900 premiere in Rome. Puccini's tale of a headstrong singer's downward spiral, tugged along by her heart and the jealousies of men around her, comes to George Mason University's Center for the Arts in a Virginia opera production of lavish fidelity to the soul of the story.
» GMU, Center for the Arts, Braddock Road & Route 123, Fairfax; Fri., Feb. 13, 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., $44-$98; 888-945-2468.
Written by Arion Berger
FOUR WORDS: clowns running from bulls. Poor life choices, comic relief, and all the intensity you can cram into eight seconds, comes with the Professional Bull Riders to the Patriot Center on Saturday and Sunday. Cowboy hat not included.
» Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax; Sat. , Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m. & Sun., Jan. 25, 2:30 p.m., $20-$65; 800-551-7328.
Written by Express' Eric Anderson
WHEN RYAN ADAMS ISN'T busy blogging ("Cardinal Cave") or penning fiction ("Infinity Blues," due in April), he's in a rock band — a very good one. The Cardinals, Adams' backing band since 2005, though the lineup has shifted, seems to have finally harnessed Adams' multiple musical personalities.
With "Cardinology," the band's latest album, Adams and the Cardinals continue the trend they set on 2007's "Easy Tiger" — spacey jams, pedal-steel-tinged rockers and country-folk rockers.
IF THE WORD "ponies" sends your heart into flutters, then the three performances from the prancing white Lipizzaner Stallions might be just the recipe for a weekend of guilty pleasure. It's the third longest-running touring attraction in America and it's coming to the Patriot Center Friday and Saturday.
» Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax; Fri. and Sat., Nov. 21 and 22, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m; $24.50-$40, 703-993-3000.
Written by Express' Nathan Martin
THIS IS AN age when people are blogging their thoughts all over the Internet, spewing their sometimes profound and often self-indulgent observations at anyone who happens to click a link. This is the world that "quarterlife" intends to capture. The series covers a group of twenty-something artistic types maturing during the digital age.
RSVP to get in free to Friday's screening. Director/writer Marshall Herskovitz hosts.
»Johnson Cinema Center, George Mason, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax; Fri., 7:30 p.m., free, Sat., 4:30 p.m. $5; (703) 993-2787.
Photo courtesy NBC
MAYBE YOU'VE loved her forever, maybe you're just a diehard American Idol fan who rediscovered her a few weeks ago, but you know you want to see Dolly Parton when she comes to GMU on her "Backwoods Barbie" tour.
If you need an explanation of her music, you just need to go back to that rock you've been living under. Dolly is unapologetic about her freakishness, and that's undeniably awesome.
» Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax; Mon., 7:30 p.m., $46-$76; (703) 993-3000
Photo courtesy Dolly Records
YOU WON'T HAVE TO go far to look for a fight this weekend. Saturday night's Ultimate Warrior Challenge Invasion at the Patriot Center won't be the first Mixed Martial Arts event ever in the region, but it's being billed as the biggest for a sport that continues to grow in popularity. The man behind the 10-match spectacular is Marcello Foran, a native of Bowie, Md., who discussed Saturday's event at George Mason, the burgeoning sport's future and how the D.C. area may be a key to MMA's long term success.
» EXPRESS: Why did you decide to come to D.C. with this event?
» FORAN: One, the D.C. metropolitan region is an untapped landscape. Things are just getting legalized. MMA has been legalized in Virginia and D.C. and has passed through the Maryland house and senate — and now the governor just needs to sign it into law.
Even if I wasn't from here, there is a big fan base here. And being from here, it's exciting to be able to come back with something happening in history. And my brother [Marcus Foran], who was a national prep wrestling champion at DeMatha, is also on the card. We are bringing MMA in a big way to the area.
» EXPRESS: What makes this the biggest MMA event ever in the area?
» FORAN: The reason it's the biggest is the fighters on the card. They've never had fighters on this level, who are veterans of these events. There will be some of celebrity guests [including Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski), who are world champions of their sport. Nobody has done anything this big on any level in terms of fight card, event production and special celebrity guests.
» EXPRESS:There were about 2,500 people at the first MMA event at Patriot Center last year. What are your expectations for this?
» FORAN: I'm expecting about 5,000 — maybe more, you never know. It's interesting question. I'm waiting to find out the same thing. Knowing what we've done in markets not nearly as big as the D.C. market and basing expectations on where sport is and the big fan base in D.C., I feel 5,000 is a very reasonable number.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: Talking Mixed Martial Arts" »
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