CITYPAPER Washington
housing: historic parking lots? 7
food: growing pains at equityeats 31
Free Volume 35, no. 16 WashingtonCityPaPer.Com aPril 17-23, 2015
cinema roll The Filmfest DC that nearly wasn’t promises to be one of the best.
16
©2015GooseIslandBeer Company,Chicago,IL.Enjoyresponsibly. GreatAmericanBeerFestival®Awards(Category:EnglishStyle IndiaPaleAle):2012Gold (IndiaPaleAle),2009Silver(IPA), 2007Silver(IndiaPaleAle),2004Silver(GooseIslandIndiaPale Ale),2001Bronze(IndiaPaleAle),2000Gold(GooseIslandIPA).
GREAT BEER STARTS WITH GREAT HOPS Hops from Idaho’s renowned Elk Mountain Farms give Goose IPA its bright citrus aromas and bold hop finish. Our full-flavored take on a traditional English IPA has won over beer lovers and beer critics, alike.
2 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
INSIDE
16 Cinema roll
Washington City Paper’s guide to the Filmfest DC that almost wasn’t.
4 Chatter DistriCt line
7 Housing Complex: Save historic parking lot? 10 City Desk: Where to rent a kayak in D.C. 12 Gear Prudence 13 Savage Love 14 Straight Dope 29 Buy D.C.
D.C. FeeD
31 Young & Hungry: EquityEats evolves, opens its “pop-up megaplex” 34 Grazer: Meet Maketto, the new Asian market from Toki Underground’s chef 34 The ‘Wiching Hour: Pitmasters Back Alley Barbecue’s Carolina Chopped Pork Shoulder Sandwich
arts
37 Go-Go-ing the Distance: In the digital age, how does D.C.’s sound get made? 39 Arts Desk: The world’s largest collection of handcrafted harmonica cases 39 One Track Mind: Anjahla’s reggae tribute to the women of Africa 40 Theater: Klimek on Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Uncle Vanya
42 Curtain Calls: Lapin on The Margins and Croghan on Lights Rise On Grace 44 Short Subjects: Olszewski on Black Souls and Gittell on Clouds of Sils Maria
City list
47 City Lights: Pro actors bring kids’ plays to life. 47 Music 52 Books 54 Galleries 58 Dance 58 Theater 60 Film
61 ClassiFieDs Diversions 61 Crossword 63 Dirt Farm
on the Cover
Illustration by Lauren Heneghan
“ ”
THERE WILL BE NO NEW PARKING! —PAGE 7
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 3
CHATTER
in which we bask and wallow in the thanks (and also the drinks).
You. Are. Welcome!
This was The week we basked in the praise and doled it out in turn. There were so many tweets (and Facebook posts and shouts in the street) about our annual Best of D.C. issue that they can’t all be captured here. I was called a hometown hero by my hair lady for my “Best Short Haircut” pick, but was also told that I should really, for God’s sake, fix my hair before allowing myself to be photographed. Noted. I failed to fix my hair before the gigantic Best of D.C. party, but no one gave a single shit because there was so much incredible food, drink, entertainment, and general carousing. How great was that gogo band? Did you try the Angels on Horseback? Did you make it home okay? When can we do it again? A whole year from now?! Fine. Can’t wait! Bang, Bang. There was plenty of talk about town that the Coupe had won the dubious distinction, among readers, of the “Best Restaurant to Bang in the Bathroom.” Actually we think it’s supposed to be “in which to bang” but, frankly, when you’re in the stage of life where you’re actually pondering which of the bathrooms in which you’ve had sex is the superlative, grammar is not on your radar. Upon reading the nomination, Marc Rubin’s mind went to a dark place. “I guess there’s worse things that could happen in a bathroom,” he wrote to us on our Facebook page. Are you talk-
subreddit as “Best Prince of Petworth Replacement.” After a link to Will’s laudits appeared on the page, a couple of complaints bounced around. MouthFartWankMotion (apt name, sir or madam) pondered Sommer’s subtlety: “Just want to get this straight, WCP is passive aggressively insulting this community in a ‘Best Of ’ listicle?” But MouthFartWankMotion later admitted having a laugh at it, and most redditors took it in stride. cyanocobalamin countered, “It isn’t passive aggressive, The City Paper flat out published what they think of /r/washingtondc, they just wrote it with a bit of humor/style. I happen to agree with them. [Editor’s note: Well, well, well.] FWIW, a steady diet of snark is a neon sign telling the world you don’t have the talent to make your life happy. That fits many people here.” And here, by implication? I like to think our staff is talented, but I won’t make any assumptions about personal happiness, though we were all pretty grinny about the unmitigated success of this issue. But MediocreJerk (location listed as “U Street Corridor”) put us in our place. “The CityPaper: Because you aren’t going to use your tablet as an umbrella.” Haha, that’s brilliant, MediocreJerk! Have you heard one of my favorite bon mots about how paper is no longer an advancing technology? NO?! Send me a telegram and I’ll have my farrier flash it back to you in morse code with his lantern. It’s —Emily Q. Hazzard really very clever.
ing about poop, Marc? Or is there something worse that I’m not thinking of? I actually want to know what’s worse. Wait, no I don’t! Kelly Gerald gets it. She also wrote to us on Facebook: “Ew.” I couldn’t agree more, Kelly.
Department of Corrections: In last week’s Best of D.C. issue, the pick “Best Place to Rub Shoulders With the Rich and Powerful” on CityCenterDC mistakenly referred to Daniel Boulud’s restaurant as DGBG. It is named DBGB.
Reddit Rum. Of course some Reddit users took umbrage at Will Sommer’s nomination of their Washington D.C.
Want to see your name in bold on this page? Send letters, gripes, clarification, or praise to mail@washingtoncitypaper.com.
puBliSHER: Amy Austin ManaGinG EDitoRS: emily q. hAzzArd, sArAh Anne hughes aRtS EDitoR: christinA cAuterucci FooD EDitoR: jessicA sidmAn City liGHtS EDitoR: cAroline jones StaFF WRitERS: will sommer, AAron wiener StaFF pHotoGRapHER: dArrow montgomery ContRiButinG WRitERS: john Anderson, mArtin Austermuhle, jonettA rose BArrAs, ericA Bruce, sophiA Bushong, Kriston cApps, riley croghAn, jeffry cudlin, sAdie dingfelder, mAtt dunn, sArAh godfrey, trey grAhAm, louis jAcoBson, steve KiviAt, chris KlimeK, ryAn little, christine mAcdonAld, dAve mcKennA, BoB mondello, mArcus j. moore, justin moyer, triciA olszewsKi, miKe pAArlBerg, tim regAn, reBeccA j. ritzel, Ally schweitzer, tAmmy tucK, joe wArminsKy, michAel j. west, BrAndon wu intERnS: jAmes constAnt, morgAn hines onlinE DEvElopER: zAch rAusnitz DiGital SalES ManaGER: sArA dicK BuSinESS DEvElopMEnt aSSoCiatE: Kevin provAnce SalES ManaGER: nicholAs diBlAsio SEnioR aCCount ExECutivES: melAnie BABB, joe hicKling, AliciA merritt aCCount ExECutivES: lindsAy BowermAn, chelseA estes, mArK KulKosKy MaRKEtinG anD pRoMotionS ManaGER: stephen BAll SalES EvEntS ManaGER: heAther mcAndrews SalES anD MaRKEtinG aSSoCiatE: chloe fedynA CREativE DiRECtoR: jAndos rothstein aRt DiRECtoR: lAuren heneghAn CREativE SERviCES ManaGER: BrAndon yAtes GRapHiC DESiGnER: lisA deloAch opERationS DiRECtoR: jeff Boswell SEnioR aD CooRDinatoR: jAne mArtinAche DiGital aD opS SpECialiSt: lori holtz inFoRMation tECHnoloGy DiRECtoR: jim gumm SoutHCoMM: CHiEF ExECutivE oFFiCER: chris ferrell intERiM CHiEF FinanCial oFFiCER: glynn riddle ContRollER: todd pAtton CHiEF MaRKEtinG oFFiCER: susAn torregrossA CREativE DiRECtoR: heAther pierce DiRECtoR oF ContEnt/onlinE DEvElopMEnt: pAtricK rAins CHiEF tECHnoloGy oFFiCER: mAtt locKe CHiEF opERation oFFiCER/GRoup puBliSHER: eric norwood DiRECtoR oF DiGital SalES anD MaRKEtinG: dAvid wAlKer loCal aDvERtiSinG: wAshington city pAper, (202) 332-2100, Ads@wAshingtoncitypAper.com vol. 35, no. 16, apRil 17-23, 2015 wAshington city pAper is puBlished every weeK And is locAted At 1400 eye st. nw, suite 900, wAshington, d.c. 20005. cAlendAr suBmissions Are welcomed; they must Be received 10 dAys Before puBlicAtion. u.s. suBscriptions Are AvAilABle for $250 per yeAr. issue will Arrive severAl dAys After puBlicAtion. BAcK issues of the pAst five weeKs Are AvAilABle At the office for $1 ($5 for older issues). BAcK issues Are AvAilABle By mAil for $5. mAKe checKs pAyABle to wAshington city pAper or cAll for more options. © 2015 All rights reserved. no pArt of this puBlicAtion mAy Be reproduced without the written permission of the editor.
4 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 5
PEPCO AND EXELON:
Empowering The District We are a diverse collection of nonprofit and business groups that represent and serve the people of the District of Columbia. We believe the proposed merger of Pepco and Exelon will benefit the District’s residents, communities, civic life and business environment. If approved, this merger will create savings that will be passed on in customers’ utility bills, saving families and businesses more of their hard-earned money every month. It means honoring and maintaining Pepco’s strong commitment to workforce-and supplier-diversity programs. It means more jobs for District workers. That’s good for families, local businesses, and the District’s workforce. It means millions of dollars more that could be used for programs such as bill credits, low-income assistance and energy efficiency programs through a $33.75 million Customer Investment Fund. It also means continued annual charitable contributions and local community support – exceeding Pepco’s 2013 level of $1.6 million for 10 years following the merger. And it means $168 million to $260 million in economic benefits to the District. That’s good for communities and those most in need. It also means enhanced reliability of our electric grid and additional resources to speed storm restoration. It means a commitment to sustainability and corporate citizenship. It means continued local presence and local leadership. And it means millions of dollars more invested in our local economy. That’s good for all of us.
WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSED PEPCO AND EXELON MERGER.
OF GREATER GREA W WASHINGT ON
LEARN MORE AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. VISI T WW W.PHITOMORROW.COM PA I D F O R BY E X E LO N S H A R E H O L D E R S
6 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
DISTRICTLINE Housing Complex
A Lot to Lose
Can a parking lot be an historic landmark? On Aug. 14, 1942, the Washington Star announced the arrival of a new D.C. retail landmark, a “tastefully designed pioneer in the fast growing movement to make adequate shopping facilities available to Washingtonians in suburban sections.” Garfinckel’s, which had already established itself as the city’s premier downtown department store, was following the move of people and dollars to the suburbs, opening its first outpost on the District’s margins. In its advertising, the store promised “all the charm of old Williamsburg set down at the edge of a dark, cool forest. It’s way above the average as suburban stores go.” The developer of the new store, the W.C. & A.N. Miller Development Co., had also been responsible, starting in the 1920s, for building much of the surrounding Spring Valley neighborhood. Just inside D.C.’s western boundary, Spring Valley did feel much like a suburb. It was spacious, it was new, and it was exclusive: Racial covenants prevented Spring Valley homeowners from selling their houses to blacks or Jews. Fast forward 73 years. Spring Valley is no longer new and the racial covenants are gone, but it’s still exclusive. It has the city’s lowest property and violent crime rates, as of 2011, and one of the wealthiest citizenries: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average household income, measured from 2007 to 2011, was $379,276. Though D.C. is a majority-black city, the neighborhood is still just 4 percent black. (Data on the neighborhood’s Jewish population isn’t available.) In a telltale sign of its remove from the city’s mainstream, it was also the only precinct where a majority of voters opposed last year’s ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. And developers are still seeking to add retail—on the same site, in fact, where the Miller company built the Garfinckel’s store. Last
fall, Miller sold the Spring Valley Shopping Center on Massachusetts Avenue NW, anchored by the Crate & Barrel that took over the old Garfinckel’s space, to the Washington Real Estate Investment Trust. WRIT, as it’s
parking lot is an historic landmark. Let’s be clear about this: The parking lot in question doesn’t have any architectural flourishes or embellishments that separate it from the city’s other surface parking lots. It’s
This parking lot is entirely ordinary, but neighbors want it designated “historic.”
washingtoncitypaper.com/ go/inequality
The shopping center that surrounds the parking lot received landmark designation in 1989, after four neighborhood groups nominated it for historic status. The question is whether that status also applies to the parking lot. Tom Smith thinks so. In a five-page letter to his constituents last month, the chair of Spring Valley’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission argues that the historic designation “makes clear that the adequacy of parking is also a factor in determining the property to be historic.” That’s not really clear at all. It’s a matter for the Historic Preservation Review Board to resolve when it takes up WRIT’s development application later this month. But it raises a more fundamental issue: Can a parking lot truly be an historic landmark? And more broadly: Should something that was once important to the city be protected in perpetuity even if the passage of time has rendered it obsolete?
D.C.’s foray into auto-oriented retail began in Cleveland Park in 1930, with the opening of the Park & Shop on Connecticut Avenue NW. There followed 13 more parking-intensive shopping centers in the District by 1941, and 35 in the region—the highest concentration of this trendy new retail form in America. That’s according to the 1989 testimony of Richard Longstreth, a George Washington University professor of architectural history who at the time was working on a book on the impact of cars on suburban retail development. Longstreth was speaking in favor of an historic designation for two such developments: the Spring Valley Shopping Center and a complex across the street that preceded it, the Massachusetts Avenue Parking Shops. “Shaped by the automobile, these shopping centers were uniquely American,” stated the landmark application for the Massachusetts Avenue complex. The same groups that sought the designation for the Spring Valley Shopping Center filed this application. “As an early example [of these shopping centers] with off-street parking provided by a forecourt, the Massachusetts Avenue Parking Shops was cited in national planning publications as a model and appears to have influenced subsequent projects elsewhere in the nation.” Darrow Montgomery
By Aaron Wiener
AlArming mAps of D.C.’s growing eConomiC DiviDe:
known, recently announced plans to erect a two-story building on a portion of the parking lot between Crate & Barrel and Capital One Bank, with ground-floor retail topped by offices or additional retail. Not so fast, said some neighbors: That
just a run-of-the-mill asphalt slab. No one’s claiming otherwise. But what some neighbors do claim is that because the parking lot was built at a time of car-focused retail development, it is an historic landmark.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 7
DISTRICTLINE The Spring Valley Shopping Center application didn’t have nearly the same emphasis on parking—which makes sense, given that its parking isn’t integrated into the complex’s design, as it is for the Massachusetts Avenue Parking Shops and the Cleveland Park Park & Shop. All three complexes are now landmarks. But it remains unclear whether the parking at the Spring Valley Shopping Center is protected. WRIT is convinced it isn’t. “Our understanding is really quite unequivocal,” says Paul Weinschenk, a WRIT managing director who heads the company’s retail division. “We’ve looked at this very carefully with the help of our law firm, which has an architectural historian on staff, an individual who’s extremely familiar with historic designations, who agrees with our conclusion. And that is that the parking lot itself is not a protected element of the landmark.” (Smith did not respond to requests for comment.) Should a parking lot ever be considered a landmark? It depends on what makes a space historic. Certainly parking was integral to the
District during the decades, in the middle of the last century, when the car began its dominance, suburbanization took off, and the city fell into decline. But if we preserved all the parking lots that were representative of that era, we’d still have a downtown dominated by surface parking. A similar preservation effort arose recently when the D.C. Council, seeking to stem the decline in the number of gas stations, passed a bill that bars gas-station owners from altering service at the stations or discontinuing their use without the approval of a Gas Station Advisory Board. In an editorial ripping the law, the Washington Post conceded that the bill’s authors were correct in stating that the number of gas stations has declined over the past 25 years—“not surprising,” the paper pointed out, “given that the District’s population and car registrations also fell, while auto-service chains such as Midas and Jiffy Lube emerged. The District has fewer corner bakeries and groceries than it used to, too. And don’t get us started about newsstands.”
The changes that the city has undergone ought to prompt a reconsideration, at HPRB and elsewhere, of some of the spaces that preservationists have long held sacred. The Connecticut Avenue Park & Shop surely holds an important place in the city’s history, but an even more important development came to Cleveland Park 51 years after the retail complex: a Metro station. Must the neighborhood forever maintain a parking lot directly behind a Metro entrance? Might the neighborhood not benefit more from a public space and additional retail? The Spring Valley Shopping Center lacks the benefit of Metro accessibility, but the owners of the property think the retail outfits will get by just fine without the parking spaces that will be lost. (Not so, according to whichever neighbor circulated a flyer last week warning, in all caps and underlined, that “THERE WILL BE NO NEW PARKING!”) Who are we to tell them they’re wrong? “Would we cut off our nose to spite our face in terms of parking?” asks Weinschenk. “No.
We’ve looked at that, and we think what we’re proposing will work.” Last week, the ANC passed a package of motions opposing WRIT’s plans and suggesting a few changes. Nan Wells, whose singlemember district includes the shopping center, says there were two basic concerns: the historic compatibility of the designs and the “severe” parking issues. These are standard and legitimate neighborhood concerns, and city officials should take them seriously as they weigh the development proposal. Zoning officials will need to rule on the loss of parking, and historic preservation officials will judge the appropriateness of the new development in its context. But let’s not confuse the two issues. Parking lots are as historic to the city as horsedrawn streetcars and telephone booths— which is to say, sometimes they should be CP consigned to history. Got a real-estate tip? Send suggestions to housingcomplex@washingtoncitypaper.com. Or call (202) 650-6928.
D.C.’s awesomest events calendar. GW LISNER PRESENTS
GILBERTO
GIL GILBERTOS SAMBA
APRIL 24 | 8PM
LILA
DOWNS
TICKETS ON SALE NOW Visit lisner.gwu.edu or call 202.994.6800 for more information or to purchase tickets. /GWLISNER
washingtoncitypaper.com
@GWLISNER
LISN_1415_6
8 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
MAY 1 | 8PM
washingtoncitypaper.com/ calendar
LAYC Career Academy PCS will receive bids until April 27, 2015 at 4 PM. LAYC Career Academy is advertising the opportunity to bid on the delivery of breakfast, lunch, and at risk supper meals to students enrolled at the school for the 2015-2016 school year with the possibility of four (4) one (1) year renewals. All meals must meet the USDA National School Lunch Program’s meal pattern requirements for breakfast, lunch, and at risk supper. Additional specifications outlined in the invitation for bid (IFB) such as: student data, days of service, meal quality, etc. may be obtained from: Jeremy Vera 3047 15th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 319-2228 | jeremy@laycca.org All bids not addressing all areas as outlined in the IFB will not be considered.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 9
DISTRICTLINE City Desk
tomorrow’s history today: This was the week we started arguing over D.C. cops’ body cam footage
Stroke On The Water
Though paddleboards have apparently become the watercraft of choice for D.C.’s aquatic enthusiasts (when did that happen?), nothing beats a kayak for exploring the city’s rivers. The weather is finally warming up, and local companies are beginning to rent out kayaks for trips along the Potomac and Anacostia. Here’s where to borrow a fiberglass vessel in D.C. for your own self-propelled adventure. —James Constant and Sarah Anne Hughes
The Boathouse at Fletcher’s Cove, 4940 Canal Road NW
Cost: $12.50 an hour, $38 per day for a single; $20 an hour, $50 per day for a double Rental season: Now through October What to see: The boathouse is located near D.C.’s Foxhall Crescent and Palisades neighborhoods across the river from Virginia where the tree cover is thick and the city feels far away. Take a kayak up to the Chain Bridge to see one of the historic lock houses.
Key Bridge Boathouse, 3500 Water St. NW
Cost: $15 an hour, $60 per day for a single; $20 an hour, $80 per day for a double Rental season: Now through November 1 What to see: Paddle up to Roosevelt Island, just across from the boathouse near the Virginia side of the Potomac. (Rental company Boating in D.C. doesn’t recommend getting out of your borrowed kayak, but if you own, you can drag it up onto one of the beaches and explore the island’s trails.) Orange Anchor, a new seafood spot at 3050 K St. NW, is also open to waterfront orders from kayakers—you don’t even have to leave your boat.
Ballpark Boathouse, Potomac Avenue SE and First Street SE
Cost: $15 an hour, $60 per day for a single; $20 an hour, $80 per day for a double Rental season: May 2 through September 27 What to see: Stay nearby and observe Navy Yard attractions like Nationals Park and the USS Barry (which will soon be dismantled and scrapped) from the Anacostia. You can also paddle over to nearby Yards Park to listen to the Friday outdoor concert offerings, which begin next month.
3400 bloCk of 7tH StReet ne, mARCH 30. by DARRoW montgomeRy
10 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Thank You to the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s 2015 Sponsors! LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
HOST SPONSORS
FESTIVAL ASSOCIATES
MEDIA PARTNERS WUSA 9 Comcast Washington City Paper Washingtonian WASH-FM 98.7 WMZQ BIG 100.3 HOT 99.5 94.7 Fresh FM El Zol 107.9 WPGC 95.5 WHERE Magazine Capitol File Magazine The Washington Informer Washington Parent Magazine Washington Blade On Tap Magazine Ettractions.com – Connecting Visitors to Fun Social Sightings Yelp CultureCapital.com
SAKURA CIRCLE SUPPORTERS
agencyQ Allstate ANA - All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. AUN-J Bubbles Salons Busch Gardens Williamsburg Capital One Bank Compass CSI Printing & Graphics Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. DARCARS Donate Life - Be A Donor Dunkin’ Donuts
Amtrak Atlas Performing Arts Center Carmine’s Casey Trees Cherry Blossom Inc. The Coca-Cola Company FedEx Office The Graham Georgetown Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Macy’s Microsoft Mitsubishi International Corporation National Building Museum The National Press Club NEWSEUM Odyssey Cruises Pepco Premier Plantscapes S&R Foundation Spirit Cruises SUBWAY® Restaurants of the greater Washington DC area
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL
SUPPORTERS AND DONORS Lockheed Martin Chevron Eli Lilly and Company
Eastern National The Embassy Row Hotel EventEQ Exelon Freer and Sackler Galleries Guest Services, Inc. Hair Cuttery The Hamilton Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers Kawasaki Heavy Industries KIND Healthy Snacks Kirin Brewery LandDesign - Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture
America, Inc. Mitsui Fudosan America National Archives The Sally Foss and James Scott Hill Foundation United Airlines University of the District of Columbia Visit Fairfax Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Windows Catering Company
AMERICA! Stores of the greater Washington DC area Brooks Brothers Cantina Marina Capitol Riverfront BID Clark Construction Cooley LLP DMI Hitachi, Ltd. Holland & Knight LLP The Hotel Association of Washington, DC ITOCHU International Inc.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Toshiba TOYOTA Turkish Airlines Tysons Corner Center Union Station VOA Associates, Inc. Warner Theatre Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Nationals Westfield Montgomery The Wharf
SPECIAL THANKS
KPMG, LLP Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington Sumitomo Corporation of America White Apron Specialty Sandwiches The 2015 National Cherry Blossom Festival recognizes and appreciates the service of DC area Veterans and the DC VA Medical Center’s commitment to caring.
Sachiko Kuno, PhD.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 11
Gear Prudence: I love my bike—a lot—but I’m really paranoid about it getting stolen. When I ride it to work, I bring it into my office. At home, I always keep it inside. I rarely ride on evenings when I go out because I’m that afraid that a thief is going to take it, and not only will I be stranded, but inconsolable. How do I get over my irrational (or totally justified?) fear of bike theft? —Seriously Terrified Over Losing Everyday Necessity
G W OR T N RE. P S 00 T & .33 EA TH 32 TH 14 2.3 IO 20 TUD S
S ba ara c tr k ’s St eas up life a ag ur in is au nd a ed es he per fo die liv cab in t r li fec r h f t M a fu nce i e ban aret- is ex e, th , unt ED ll i n t d, st pl rea il a IA mm he m Mu yle w osiv ten n o PA ersi idd rder ith e ro ing ld fl RT ve e le o Ba full ck mever ame N xpe f its llad bar us ythi sho ER rie a pu se ica ng w nc cti ts rv l. s s he e. on th ice e
CT MU L– AN IA IC UL IRE ID RI 5 D V P US J 01 M DA A 2 Y MA
ITH W Y D SB N AN RIC DA Y B BY LY R D D JO ICS SH VE N IA LYR NA BY EI K A L A ED SE NC OO JU D N CO B
Dear STOLEN: Bike theft is an unfortunate and far too common part of urban life. And while a determined thief with enough time and effort can boost almost any bicycle no matter how fortified, there are some precautions you can take to mitigate the chances the bike he steals is yours. For example, always lock your bike next to ones that are fancier or vastly more expensive. Or put a sign on your u-lock (not a flimsy cable lock) like “Please don’t steal me,” which is both direct and polite. Be sure to lock the frame and the rear wheel to something securely bolted to the ground, preferably a bike rack instead of a signpost or fence. If you can lock your bike to an armed security guard (ask first), try that. Many a D.C. cyclist wary of theft (including GP) look to Bikeshare as a middle ground. That way, you can still ride but suffer none of the has—GP sles and fears of bicycle larceny. Gear Prudence: I see this all the time: The pedestrian signal changes a few seconds before the traffic light and bicyclists start to cross the street on the walk signal and not on the green light. Aren’t bicyclists supposed to follow traffic lights —Green Only like drivers do? Dear GO: When the walk signal is activated before the light turns from red to green, this is called a Leading Pedestrian Interval. The idea is to give pedestrians a “head start,” thereby making them more visible in the crosswalk and reducing the likelihood that a driver will turn into them. The LPI also prioritizes the people walking, so they don’t have to wait for a turning driver to get through before they can start to cross the street. This arrangement has become pretty common at downtown intersections, especially in areas with heavy foot traffic. But Leading Pedestrian Intervals are not just for pedestrians. As a result of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013, bicyclists in D.C. can also start to cross on the walk signal and do not need to wait for the green light. This gives bicyclists the same “head start” as pedestrians and hopefully, the same safety benefits. So, while bicyclists and drivers normally need to heed the same laws regarding traffic lights (BREAKING NEWS: red means stop), this is one area —GP in which their obligations vary. Gear Prudence is Brian McEntee, who tweets @sharrowsDC. Got a question about bicycling? Email gearprudence@washcp.com.
12 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
SAVAGELOVE I consider myself a straight guy—but for the last four years, I’ve been having an affair with “Connie,” a trans girl I met online. It was just casual at first, but over time we developed a deeper personal relationship but kept it hidden. At some point, I figured out she was in love with me. I love her too, but I don’t think I am “in love” with her. Several weeks ago, I went on a couple of dates with a girl I met on Match. com. The new girl posted about our dates on Facebook, Connie saw it and was upset, and then Connie outed me to the new girl. The new girl and I weren’t dating anymore, but it still was a betrayal that Connie told her—told anyone—about our relationship and my kink. Right now, I can’t look at or speak to Connie, but her friends tell me that she is despondent. I can’t get past my anger. I’d like to keep her as a friend, but can I trust her? She reached out to me recently, but I told her to just leave me alone. —Secret Telling Unnerves Nice Guy “Right out the gate, STUNG has to declare his heterosexuality,” said Bailey Jay, an AVN Award–winning trans porn performer, writer, prolific (and hilarious) tweeter, and cohost of The Jim Norton Show on Vice.com. “Unless he’s trying to say that trans women are men or that he’d be mortified to be mistaken for a gay person, then emphasizing ‘straight’ is unnecessary.” Also unnecessary: that “but” after “I consider myself a straight guy.” Guys who desire and fuck women exclusively are straight, trans women are women, so no need to drop a “but” before telling us you’ve been sleeping with a woman who happens to be trans. “The term ‘kink’ stuck out as well,” Jay added. “Sex with a trans woman can still be vanilla. I know lots of trans chicks who are a total bore in bed—so while something new can be exciting, sex with trans women is not innately kinky because of our bodies.” Vocabulary lesson’s over, STUNG. Now the advice… “STUNG says he feels betrayed by Connie blabbing about their relationship,” said Jay, “but it sounds less like a betrayal and more like embarrassment. The whole tone of his letter seems to imply that it’s a given that being with a trans woman is innately shameful. But take out all of the conditioned negative associations that some have with trans people, and what are you left with? At worst, we have a young lady who got jealous and acted immaturely.” Let’s pause for a moment to think about why Connie behaved immaturely and tried to screw up your (already DOA) relationship with the new girl. “STUNG seems to feel that it’s a given that Connie should know better than to talk openly about their relationship,” said Jay, “because trans women are an embarrass-
ment and Connie should know enough to keep quiet.” So you treated Connie like she was an embarrassing secret for four long years, STUNG, and that caused her pain. You caused her pain. Then you go on a couple dates with another woman—a cis woman— and it’s instantly all over Facebook. Connie was understandably upset, and not just by the fact that you were seeing someone else. All the hurt and anger that built up over the last four years—hurt at the way you treated her, anger with herself for putting up with it—overwhelmed her, and she lashed out. Connie isn’t a bad person, STUNG, she was just angry and upset. “And I don’t think STUNG is a bad guy,” said Jay. “His attitude toward trans women was shaped by a culture that treats trans women as either fetishes or punch lines. I am a transgender woman, and I have my own internalized transphobia that I’ve had to navigate around. So while I can dissect and analyze STUNG, I can hardly vilify him.” So what do I think you should do about Connie? You should call her and apologize. You should tell her that you treated her badly and you can understand why she lashed out. And you should tell her that, while you aren’t “in love” with her, you do love her. Then you should tell her you’re open to meeting up and talking things out. And what does Jay think you should do going forward? “I think STUNG should try to see every woman he sleeps with as fully human, regardless of their genitals.” Follow Bailey Jay on Twitter @BaileyJayTweets. —Dan Savage
Something about being put in a diaper turns you on.
I’m 26 years old and have been dating my boyfriend for a year. In the first week of dating, he disclosed his adult-baby side. Trying to be a GGG partner, I told him I supported him and dove right in, even though I felt uncomfortable. He likes me to dress him up and let him pee while wearing diapers, and he likes to dress me up. I feel “icky” and even violated afterward—though everything has always been consensual. I want to be comfortable with it, but I’m just not there. When I’ve expressed my discomfort, it’s made him upset and embarrassed. Another confusing thing: My vagina always gets way wetter than usual when he puts a diaper on me. But I can’t seem to get to a place where I actually feel like I’m enjoying it. Is it fair that I feel resentful for not being given more understanding for my mixed feelings? Is there a way I can break through and enjoy this? (We have plenty of vanilla sex, which he is totally into as well.) —Adult Diapers Under Lover’s Terms
in your swimsuit area? The taboo-ness of being a non-incontinent adult in a diaper?) But that turn-on is short-circuited by your discomfort. And if your turn-on is grounded in the sensations and/or the taboo, ADULT, you may never become comfortable with your boyfriend’s kink. Quite the opposite: The more you do it, the less surprising the sensations will come to feel, the less naughty it will feel, the less of an accidental/bankshot turn-on diapers will become. Being GGG doesn’t require a person to do whatever the hell their partner wants. Remember what GGG stands for: “Good in bed (work on those skills), giving of pleasure (without always expecting immediate reciprocation), and game for anything— within reason.” It’s unreasonable of your partner to ask you to continue engaging in diaper play when it leaves you feeling violated. You gave it a shot, it’s not working for you, and you have to be able to discuss your feelings—and your limits—without him playing mad and/or hurt. Right now, you’re engaging in diaper play not out of a GGG desire to meet his needs, ADULT, but because you’re afraid of upsetting him. So you’re not consenting from a place of honest desire (a desire to do a particular thing, a desire to please your partner) but from a place of fear—you don’t fear him, but you fear hurting him. No wonder it leaves you feeling like shit. Here’s what you should say: “Hey, honey, it’s great that you have a fetish, and I’m glad you felt comfortable sharing it with me. But I don’t enjoy it and I don’t think I ever will. So this is something you should explore with other people. Get yourself a diaper pal, play to your heart’s content, and then come home and have awesome vanilla —Dan sex with me.”
Something about being put in a diaper turns you on. (The particular sensations it creates
Send your Savage Love questions to mail@savagelove.net.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sun, 4/19 at 7:00pm Visiting Hours Amy Butcher in conversation with Tim Denevi
Mon, 4/20 at 6:30pm If the Oceans Were Ink Carla Power Thurs, 4/23 at 6:30pm BYOB Book Drive with World Book Night Sat, 4/25 from 11:00am-5:00pm World Book Day in Washington D.C. in Dupont Circle Sun, 4/26 at 11:00am My Organic Life Nora Pouillon at the Dupont Circle Farmer’s Market 1517 CONNECTICUT AVE. NW 202.387.1400 // KRAMERS.COM
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 13
THESTRAIGHTDOPE WANTED!!!
If you found a solution to global health problems and could earn a small share of the market, do you believe YOU could become wealthy? Look no further - our company has found several solutions to global health problems and we are now sharing our products with the world!!! Our Company Launched January 1, 2015 and we are Seeking Networkers to Market Various Product Lines to 150 countries. No Experience Necessary. Commit 10 hours a week.
5 Ways to Get Paid
-We pay out 85% of sales volume up to $1,000,000.00 monthly. -Up to 85% in Jump Start Bonuses -Up to 20% Binary Team Commissions -Up to 100% Leadership Check Matches -Customer Commissions Enjoy Weekly Bonuses and Commissions Paid Monthly! • We Use Virtual iCloud Technology • We own our own systems and software • We are 100% debt-free • Limited Overhead Expenses Affiliates are earning $500.00 - $4,000.00 in their first week!
If you’re ready to Take Control of Your life, call (202) 507-2022. If no answer, please leave a message. All calls will be returned within 24 hours! 14 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
It’s not an entirely crazy thought, I guess. Estimates vary, but the U.S. Geological Survey believes there’s about 3 trillion barrels of oil sitting in what’s known as the greater Green River Basin, a sedimentary rock formation lying beneath parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, more than 70 percent of which is owned by the federal government. Even if only a trillion barrels of that is recoverable, that’s still nearly four times the total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. So how much does a trillion barrels of oil get you these days? Depends on your timing. Over the last five years, the price of oil has varied nearly as much as your post-divorce weight— from less than $50 a barrel to nearly $130. Average that out to $90, and we get the whopping sum of $90 trillion in revenue. OK then, you say: Time to make it rain. Before you get too excited, consider the expenses. Production costs vary more than prices, so much so that recent estimates for the breakeven price—the per-barrel price above which it’s worth extracting oil from shale—range from $24 to $110. The crucial organic compounds in oil shale are in solid form, so the stuff has to be mined and retorted (heated to a high temperature), and then the resulting petroleum-like liquid gets separated out and collected. The development of other, possibly cheaper methods (like in-situ retorting—heating the shale underground and pumping the liquid out) has been limited thus far by the lack of investment in shale production generally. So, assuming that the break-even price for shale oil falls somewhere between $60 to $85 per barrel, the overall profit on a trillion barrels could be anywhere between $5 trillion and $30 trillion. Given that the total national debt is now approaching $18.2 trillion, Green River shale oil money might or might not cover it. As I write this, oil is at about $52 a barrel, meaning you’d likely lose money on shale mining—one big reason the government couldn’t just sell off the rights today. And then, as always, there’s environmental impact: Among other problems, extracting the Green River shale oil would require vast amounts of water in an area suffering from severe drought, and it would be competing for these resources with the country’s most valuable agricultural land—say goodbye to almonds. But even if that shale oil had the potential for $30 trillion in profits, we’d still need to raise maybe $60 trillion in capital to pay for the investment. Even if Apple, the most valuable company in the world, were to liquidate itself, it wouldn’t raise $1 trillion. Valuewise, none of our other energy assets are in the same league. The U.S. Strategic Petro-
Slug Signorino
NETWORKERS
I’ve heard our current U.S. national debt could easily be paid off by converting oil-shale deposits in Utah and Colorado into oil and selling it on the market. Is there any truth to this? —Ken Vaughan
leum Reserve, currently the largest emergency supply in the world, now contains 691 million barrels. Even at $90 per barrel (which, again, is well above the current price), that’s only $62.2 billion. The government also owns about 88 billion tons of coal reserves, and could possibly sell that off as well. But production costs are mighty here too—only a dollar or two per ton below the retail price—so those reserves probably aren’t worth more than $176 billion. But America is nothing if not enterprising, and if it came down to a national rummage sale there’s lots of things we could slap a price tag on—the Smithsonian Institution, for instance. High-end museums don’t tend to include the value of their collections on balance sheets, presumably because this would be both speculative and gauche, but I think we can assume the Hope Diamond has some significant street value. At $1,200 a troy ounce, the gold in Fort Knox would be nominally worth around $177 billion, if you could dump that much gold on the market without obliterating the price. What else? One idea floated by a Washington Post financial writer a few years back: sell Alaska. Projected value: $2.5 trillion (minus reparations to the current residents). Then there’s our nuclear arsenal, which we sunk at least $5.5 trillion into between 1940 and 1996. Deterrence is all well and good, but it may be time to get some more tangible benefit out of these things. Of course, the actual answer to your question is: Why pay off the national debt at all? We haven’t since World War II, and as long as we make sure tax revenues keep up with the interest we don’t really need to. Running a country’s economy isn’t very much like running a household, as many economists have pointed out, and anyway we actually earn more from our assets abroad than we pay to foreign investors. Look, at the moment there’re clearly a couple things we could stand to spend a few extra trillion dollars on—infrastructure and energy development come to mind. Squaring the national debt may, under the circumstances, be an unaf—Cecil Adams fordable priority. Have something you need to get straight? Take it up with Cecil at straightdope.com.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 15
cinema roll The Filmfest DC that nearly wasn’t promises to be one of the best.
Jal
16 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Last year, Filmfest DC was on life support. Its prognosis was so dire, in fact, that Tony Gittens, the festival’s founder and director, sounded like he was steeling himself to pull the plug. “My board reminds me there’s always a possibility,” Gittens told Washington City Paper. “No one’s stepped up as yet [to financially support it].” Because Filmfest has had some disappointing, disorganized years, audiences might have once reacted to this news with a shrug. But the better it got, the more money it apparently bled—and 2015, nearly the fest that never was, is looking like the best one yet. Filmfest DC is offering more than 70 international features, documentaries, and shorts in its 29th year, and we’ve reviewed about half of them. It’s possible that our critics got lucky while picking their assignments, but it’s much more likely that these are going to be 10 great days. Gittens attributes Filmfest’s revival to new donors, increased contributions, budget adjustments, and keeping screenings to two venues. (Smart move. Unless they could teleport, filmgoers had to make some difficult decisions in previous years when the Filmfest slate was spread around the city.) What’s truly remarkable, though, is that Filmfest has found a way to both survive and secure impressive selections. Like a 90-year-old who starts running hurdles after hip surgery, the festival has added live musical performances, director Q&As via Skype, and an online catalog that allows visitors to watch trailers on their phones with the Aurasma app. Between the limited venues and the perks, Filmfest DC promises to deliver a true festival experience this year, creating an inclusivity that filmgoers will feel beyond opening- and closing-night galas—an atmosphere that was often absent in the days of lonely ticket tables set up in the corners of several different theaters. If money woes inspired Gittens and his crew toward this kind of invention, let the struggle continue. —Tricia Olszewski
Tango glories
FinDing gasTón
Directed by Oliver Kolker and Hernán Findling Argentina
Directed by Patricia Perez Peru
The trick of tango lies in the “embrace”—the way you hold your partner. In Tango Glories, the ultimate embrace comes from the dance itself, gripping people throughout their lives even as their partners change and the orchestra switches numbers. The anchor of the film is Fermin (Hector Alterio/Luciano Caceres), who lives in a mental institution in Buenos Aires and only speaks in tango lyrics. Fermin’s condition inspires his psychologist (Gastón Pauls) to immerse himself in the culture of the dance, though the patient’s tango-instructing, sexy granddaughter (Antonella Costa) certainly doesn’t hurt in spurring the doctor’s interest. Tango Glories jumps to different times in Fermin’s life, showing how he ended up a remorseful old man who can only speak in rhymes. The only problem? Fermin is by far the weakest character in a film with a number of winning bit players (especially Centipede, played by Emilio Disi and Oliver Kolker). The movie grants unearned catharsis to someone who thinks that feeling regret is a sufficient condition for redemption. The incredible dancing in the film does the redeeming far better than any crying old man can. —Rachel Kurzius Thurs. April 16, 7 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
Few people have Gastón Acurio’s career conviction: The day he entered culinary school was the happiest of his life, he says at the start of the documentary Finding Gastón, “because I finally knew that I could begin to do what I was born to do.” Then again, few people draw worshipful crowds wherever they go. The Peruvian chef and TV host has opened more than 40 restaurants worldwide, with one rumored to be coming to D.C. soon. But as he’s portrayed in Finding Gastón, Acurio’s much more than a chef: He’s a patriot, a revolutionary, a humanitarian, an environmentalist, an ambassador— in short, an Atlas carrying his country on his capable shoulders. It makes for a monotonous, fawning film, although it’s rescued somewhat by the protagonist’s charm and the recurring food-porn montages that evoke a kind of real-life Chef, if only Jon Favreau’s character, rather than being treated as a fuck-up, were received as a deity. As Disney would have put it: No one cooks like Gastón. —Aaron Wiener Fri. April 17, 6:30 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 5 p.m., E Street Cinema
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 17
one For The roaD
Jal
Directed by Jack Zagha Kababie Mexico
Directed by Girish Malik India
Getting old sucks, and perhaps nobody knows it more than the four main characters in One for the Road. When one of the four, Pedro, announces during a game of dominoes that he has incurable colon cancer, he tasks the remaining three to fulfill his dying wish: deliver a napkin inscribed with song lyrics and a personal autograph from legendary crooner José Alfredo Jiménez to the singer’s museum in Dolores Hidalgo. What follows is a road trip across Mexico in which the octogenarians face ghosts, brushes with death, and several sudden bathroom breaks. Though the film revolves around the inevitability of death and the awkwardness that comes with old age, it’s a charming dark comedy that deals bitter and sweet in equal portions. —Tim Regan Fri. April 17, 6:30 p.m.; Fri. April 24, 9 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
Water is in short supply in this fine introduction to Bollywood style. A parched desert village in India’s Rann of Kutch region puts its faith in Bakka (the charming Purab Kohli), a pompous self-proclaimed “god of water.” His ancient divining rituals are put to the test by foreign conservationists, who arrive trying to save a dying flamingo population. Who’s more endangered: the birds or the humans? Some icky use of female characters puts a damper on things, but Girish Malik’s film is a briskly paced, prescient fable of diminishing resources, high in melodrama and goofy comedy. The lush photography features sweeping crane footage of arid landscapes that could recall the distant past—or not-so—Andrew Lapin distant future. Sat. April 18, 4:30 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 2:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
ToDay
The nighTingale
Directed by Reza Mirkarimi Iran Today, Iran’s official submission for 2015 Oscar consideration, prompts more questions than it answers. When an upset and bloodied pregnant woman (Soheila Golestani) jumps into a cab while the taciturn driver, Youness (Parviz Parastui), is having lunch, he agrees to take her to a hospital, though he’s not familiar with the one she’s deliriously describing. Two impatient thoughts will cross your mind during the ride: “Shut up, lady!” and “Say something, dude!” Her babbling skills are incomparable, while he maintains the kind of silence you never experience in the real world. Youness’ unwillingness to open his mouth throughout the film’s entirety is incredibly frustrating, and the story’s pace isn’t exactly brisk. Yet viewers will remain gripped, anxious to discover who these characters are and why Youness stays with his fare, letting the side-eyeing hospital staff believe he’s her (much older) husband/lover/relative. Reza Mirkarimi’s film recalls Locke as Youness, who’s hinted at a wife but perhaps not children, chooses to attend to a pregnant stranger rather than come home that night. He initially seems like an ass, but Parastui softens him as the hours go by. In the end, it’s clear that sadness is behind Youness’ stillness—and though Today clarifies little else, it’ll leave most viewers moved. —Tricia Olszewski Fri. April 17, 8:15 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 3 p.m., E Street Cinema
Directed by Philippe Muyl China, France Like any good road-trip flick, The Nightingale throws a big-rig’s worth of obstacles at its protagonists to make their relationship stronger in the end. En rambling route from Beijing to the rural province of Guangxi, grandfather Zhu Zhi Gen (an introspective Baotian Li) teaches his young granddaughter (the believably bratty Xin Yi Yang) to appreciate nature and old-fashioned fun while he grapples with regrets and feelings of inadequacy. (The young’n is an iPad-obsessed latchkey kid whose supervision-dodging tendencies led to a missing child scare and a four-year estrangement between her father and grandfather.) In well-paced, gorgeous shots of the green Chinese countryside and a truly heartwarming ending that wraps up just a smidge too cleanly, China’s entry for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is a delightful watch, if not a particularly memorable one. —Christina Cauterucci Sat. April 18, 4:30 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 4:15 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
ParTners in Crime Directed by Chang Jung-chi Taiwan Chang Jung-chi’s Partners in Crime is a mystery, but it’s more about melancholy than thrills. When three young men discover the body of a pretty high school se-
18 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Partners in Crime
nior on the side of the road, an apparent suicide victim, they develop a mutual obsession. There’s a strange intimacy among them, as if no one else could ever understand their secret, and together they’re capable of monstrous acts that none could accomplish as an individual. The most disturbing thing about Partners in Crime is the malformed logic of high school students, who have a passion for investigation but none of the skill. Because the characters find transcendence in teen suicide, their immaturity carries a tragic quality, and Jung-chi’s utter lack of an adult perspective is claustrophobic. —Alan Zilberman Sat. April 18, 5 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 3 p.m., E Street Cinema
Bikes vs Cars Directed by Fredrik Gertten Sweden The hot topic of Bikes vs Cars is enough to pack a house. Regardless of whether District audiences more passionately support two wheels or four, one of the documentary’s questions is sure to unite them: “Why is public transportation so expensive even though it’s so bad?” The musing comes from a cyclist frustrated with São Paulo’s system; it’s not WMATA, but the criticism fits. The film, which also screened in D.C. during last month’s Environmental Film Festival, looks at the transportation priorities of cities like Los Angeles (duh), Toronto, and Copenhagen, the last of which is a cycling utopia where a remarkable 40 percent of the population commutes by bike. At the other extreme is Toronto. The doc provides a clip of former Mayor Rob Ford calling bicyclists “a pain in the ass” and heartbreaking footage
Tales
Tales
Advanced Style
Directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad Iran
close enough. El’Zabar is magnetic onstage, putting on incredible performances, speeches, and music lessons with intensity and unique artistic vision. But El’Zabar’s improvisational approach to everything—performances given without rehearsals; lectures delivered without preparation—blurs the offstage line between brilliance and bullshit. As the documentary progresses, El’Zabar is faced with the consequences of squandering relationships with people who got to know —Maxwell Tani him too well. Sat. April 18, 6:30 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 7:30 p.m., Goethe-Institut
heriTages Directed by Philippe Aractingi Lebanon, France
of bike lanes, installed in 2010, being torn up in 2012. Bikes vs Cars touches on political motives, health consequences, and environmental concerns, plus some history of bicycling around the world, including a surprising and very cool look at L.A. circa 1900, when the wooden “California Cycleway” was the commuter route of choice. Best of all, it avoids black-andwhite arguments, giving voice to the ambivalent among us. If you missed the doc earlier, you’ve got another chance. —Tricia Olszewski Sat. April 18, 5 p.m.; Wed. April 22, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
Be known: The mysTery oF kahil el’ZaBar Directed by Dwayne Johnson-Cochran USA Kahil El’Zabar wants to be known, but he wants people to get to know him on his own terms. Throughout the six-week tour chronicled in Dwayne Johnson-Cochran’s documentary Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El’Zabar, the avant-garde jazz legend offers plenty of hints about why audiences, fans, and fellow musicians have been drawn to him for more than 40 years and what some discover when they get
At its core, Heritages is a film about exodus and homecoming. When it starts, filmmaker Philippe Aractingi, his wife Diane, and their kids are leaving home on a French military ship. They’re fleeing the 2006 conflict in Lebanon between Israeli and Hezbollah forces that left thousands of civilians dead. But this isn’t the first time Aractingi or his family have had to leave war-torn Lebanon: Using a mixture of dreamlike reenactments, archival footage, and Aractingi’s home movies, we get a snapshot of what it was like growing up in Beirut during its many years of chaos and war. Despite the politically turbulent setting, this isn’t a film with much of a political message. Rather, it’s a deeply personal narrative that reflects on Aractingi’s family memories as he travels between two very different worlds. —Tim Regan Sat. April 18, 7 p.m.; Fri. April 24, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
It’s Crash, but in Tehran. That’s probably too kind to the Paul Haggis schlockfest, actually, but the two films’ formats are the same: intersecting lives, hapless characters, social issues, the works. Our protagonists, who pass each other on the streets or in the subway, have little in common besides their repeated struggles with uninterested bureaucrats and a sanctions-wrecked economy. Female characters have it the worst: One woman struggles with an addicted husband; another tries to spring her political prisoner son from jail. No matter their gender, though, every character lives the danger of standing out in the Islamic —Will Sommer Republic of Iran. Sat. April 18, 7 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie; Sat. April 25, 5 p.m., E Street Cinema
aDvanCeD sTyle Directed by Lina Plioplyte USA Advanced Style is a glorified commercial for producer Ari Seth Cohen’s blog of the same name, a repository of portraits of over-50 women dressed in glamorous, eccentric, or of-the-moment get-ups. In its profiling of six now-famous blog subjects, the documentary gives Cohen a vigorous pat on the back for celebrating women whose age or bodies set them at odds with popular standards of beauty. But something about the film’s cloying tone rings problematic, making viewers complicit in tokenizing and fetishizing these complex women for their flashy baubles, feathered hats, and homemade fake eyelashes. It’s a navel-gazing vanity project that barely bumps up against the ableism, misogyny, and ageism that sideline elderly women in the first place. Much of the film’s latter half is concerned with the life-changing effect Cohen’s blog has had on its featured women: appearances on the Ricki Lake Show, an ad campaign with Lanvin, and potential starring roles in a Discovery Channel series. Cursory attempts at conflict and intrigue set the viewer up for a sense of meaning that never comes. Why these women? Why now? There’s no story here, just 70 long minutes of beautiful outfits and the kind of platitudes (be yourself ! live life to the fullest!) you might find in any serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul. —Christina Cauterucci Sat. April 18, 9 p.m.; Sun. April 19, 5 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 19
CiuDaD Delirio Directed by Chus Gutiérrez Colombia, Spain A doctor from Spain named Javier (Julián Villagrán) goes to Cali, Colombia for a medical conference and meets a salsa dance instructor, a single mother named Angie (Carolina Ramírez). She struggles to afford costumes for her working-class dance company, the Cali Stars, who are determined to win a competition. The plot of Ciudad Delirio is formulaic, and positioning the doctor as a stiff, nice white guy who can’t dance and Angie’s ex (her child’s father) as an irresponsible, flashy black dancer doesn’t help. But if you’re a sucker for corny romance tales, the drum-and-horn pulse of classic salsa, and Latin choreography glitzed up with Vegas-style sequins and spectacle, you might be able to overlook director and co-screenwriter Chus Gutiérrez’s reliance on stereotypes and clichés. —Steve Kiviat Sat. April 18, 9:15 p.m.; Wed. April 22, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
Koechlin, a rising star in India. Koechlin gives a transformative and heartbreaking performance as Laila, who leaves her home in Mumbai to attend college in New York. Although the story hits some expected notes, co-directors Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar smartly refuse to condescend to Laila’s disability, and the character’s journey of self-discovery takes on a universal quality. When she becomes romantically involved with a blind female activist (Sayani Gupta), Laila struggles to integrate her new life into her old one, and Koechlin’s mesmerizing
talents smooth over a production that feels a little rough around the edges. —Noah Gittell Sun. April 19, 1 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 7 p.m., E Street Cinema
The Dinner Directed by Ivano De Matteo Italy If you see your 16-year-old son glued to a web series whose participants, he says, “beat
the pants off each other, but it’s cool,” and you just smile and walk away, your “World’s Greatest Dad” T-shirt is a lie. The Dinner, a 2014 remake of a 2013 film adapted from a 2009 book, tells an increasingly tabloid-esque story of a lifelong sibling rivalry (two brothers, a defense attorney and a pediatrician in this version), the friendship of their seemingly angelic teenage kids, and the deeply felt values that are impulsively pushed aside in the face of tragedy. Though the animosity between the brothers and their wives isn’t
The Dinner
margariTa, wiTh a sTraw Directed by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar India This Indian drama sets up for itself an enormous challenge: telling a coming-of-age story about a girl with cerebral palsy without devolving into Movie-of-the-Week mawkishness. Most of the time, Margarita, With a Straw succeeds due to the charms and talents of lead actress Kalki sufficiently explained—comments like “I just don’t get them” feel baseless—the families interact with wonderful realism and tenderness within each home. The Dinner morphs into a “what would you do?” film once it’s discovered that the teens committed a horrific act after a booze-filled party; the brothers’ history of low-boil hostility shapes the aftermath of what will happen to their kids. The film’s final scene is a bit too sensational even for a sensational story, but on the plus side, this potboiler turn is lightning-quick and much more effective than it would have —Tricia Olszewski been if prolonged. Sun. April 19, 5 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie; Mon. April 20, 8:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
The lies oF The viCTors Directed by Christoph Hochhäusler Germany
Ciudad Delirio
20 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Journalists make great protagonists because of the risks they take. Unlike cops or private detectives, they often lack the experience to understand a dangerous situation and have little authority over the people they interview. German thriller The Lies of the Victors is about two young journalists who nearly uncover a conspiracy, except the shadowy corporation they’re after is always one step ahead
EDUCATION
BE THE CHANGE WASHINGTON, D.C. CAMPUS
AND MULTIPLE CITY LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE EDUCATION
INNOVATION
SERVICE
COMMUNITY
INFO.BETHECHANGEDC.COM
A NONPROFIT INSTITUTION 888-852-1419
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 21
of them. We see business executives turn the screws on the gumshoes, undermining their credibility at every turn. Director Christoph Hochhäusler’s style is a bit of a distraction from the material—the camera is always panning in one direction without much purpose, so it’s difficult to determine a shot’s focal point. And since the screenplay lacks meaningful twists, Hochhäusler tries to add depth through one too many meandering sub-plots and an unearned, pretentious epigraph. —Alan Zilberman Sun. April 19, 7 p.m.; Mon. April 20, 8:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
The Chambermaid
TheeB Directed by Naji Abu Nowar Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, United Kingdom In the unforgiving desert, it’s often survival of the fittest. Theeb follows the film’s namesake character, a young boy from a Bedouin tribe in the Arabian Desert, as he learns that lesson firsthand during World War I. When his older brother, Hussein, is enlisted on a mission accompanying a British soldier, curious Theeb follows. But once the mission goes awry, Theeb, a boy who’s unable to muster the fortitude to slaughter a goat, is forced to make life-or-death decisions on a human scale. With gunfights, a sweeping score, and grandiose shots of the sun-baked desert, Theeb could nearly pass for a Western. But under that action is a tale of lost innocence and traumatic emotional aging rarely found in modern adventure films. —Tim Regan Sun. April 19, 7 p.m., E Street Cinema; Tues. April 21, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
living is easy wiTh eyes CloseD Directed by David Trueba Spain Here’s a free life hack: You can improve anything by adding the Beatles. The Spanish-made Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed is a simplistic, well-meaning story made infinitely more charming by the infusion of John Lennon’s (mostly) offscreen presence. Antonio (Javier Cámara) is a schoolteacher and first-class Beatlemaniac who travels to the southern coast of Spain one weekend to meet the singer, who is filming a movie there (1967’s How I Won the War). Along the way, he picks up two hitchhikers: a pregnant young woman escaping from a convent (Natalia de Molina) and a teenager running away from home (Francesc Colomer). Sweet and amiable, this film is a special treat for Beatles fans—Lennon does make an appearance, kinda—and for everyone else, it’s as pleasantly refreshing as a week—Noah Gittell end trip to the beach. Sun. April 19, 7:15 p.m., E Street Cinema; Sat. April 25, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
Tigers Directed by Danis Tanovic India, France, United Kingdom As you’ve probably assumed, Tigers is not about the animal. It’s about a potentially more dangerous creature: the pharmaceutical rep. As so many films are these days, Tigers is based on a true story: Ayan (Emraan Hashmi), a young Pakistani salesman, thinks he’s struck gold when he’s hired to peddle big pharma. But when Ayan discovers that the baby formula he helped popularize can be fatal and that his overlords don’t care, he blows the whistle—an action, it seems, that most corporations don’t like. Tigers adopts a Life of Pi framing; here, a documentary team wanting to film an exposé video-chats with Ayan to go over the story. With the bulk of the film told in flashbacks and the documentary conceit forgotten about for significant stretches of time, the approach is an irritating distraction. The film largely feels rather Disease of the Week, all good intentions and not-so-great execution. But if there were an award for Best Ominous Sitter—an (in)action I’ve never really considered—one of Tigers’ many bad guys would be a shoo-in. —Tricia Olszewski Mon., April 20, 6:30 p.m.; Tues., April 21, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
The ChamBermaiD Directed by Ingo Haeb Germany
22 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed
Lynn (Vicky Krieps) loves her job working as a chambermaid. The guests fascinate her— she sniffs the detritus they leave behind, tries on their clothes, and even hides under the bed as they sleep. But her comfortable intimacy stops there; she’s nearly unable to get up the nerve to speak to them face-to-face. Sexual encounters with her schleppy boss (Steffen Muenster) are passionless and framed in shots that emphasize negative space. When Lynn hides under the bed during a guest’s session with a dominatrix (Lena Lauzemis), something clicks for Lynn and she starts scheduling her own sessions. Adapted from a German novel, The Chambermaid is a slow, quiet movie whose action plays out entirely
on the lead actress’ face. Your interest will depend entirely on whether Lynn’s interior processes compel you. —Rachel Kurzius Mon. April 20, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema; Thurs. April 23, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
The ClearsTream aFFair Directed by Vincent Garenq France, Luxembourg, Belgium Shady corporations, bugged rooms, anonymous calls, guys who whisper things like, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with!”... Are these just conspiracy movie clichés, or could they actually happen in real
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 23
PAN! Our Music Odyssey
cold little heart. And any warmth is welcome, because the jaw-droppingly beautiful Swiss backdrop looks cold as hell. —Emily Q. Hazzard Tues. April 21, 6:30 p.m.; Fri. April 24, 8:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
goD loves The FighTer Directed by Damian Marcano Trinidad and Tobago
Unlikely Heroes
Liam Neeson in his rigid, determined performance. His adversaries lend a pitch-black comedic tone to the violent affair, with a sadistic, fastidious vegan kingpin (Pål Sverre Hagen) furnishing the film’s best moments of Nordic humor. Director Hans Petter Moland’s breakneck action flick spills a lot of blood, but doesn’t dwell on it—In Order of Disappearance is always digging new graves to fill. It’s got its limitations (women characters seem to exist solely to annoy men), but Dickman’s grim quest is unequivocally thrilling. —James Constant Mon. April 20; Wed. April 22, 8:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
unlikely heroes Directed by Peter Luisi Switzerland life? The fact that the Vincent Garenq political thriller The Clearstream Affair doesn’t answer this question by the film’s end demonstrates its main problem. Based on a series of scandals that rocked France for almost a decade, the film admirably attempts to detail the banking conspiracies uncovered by investigative journalist Denis Robert, seen in the film seeking justice out of the back of his convertible. Garenq’s attempt to pack in maximum plot weighs down the film, papering over the kind of exposition and detail that helps audiences believe in a scene. There’s little time to examine the existing evidence before the film jumps to another scandal/murder/double-crossing at an even higher level of government. Those familiar with the real Clearstream affair will undoubtedly get more from this film, but many
U.S. viewers may find themselves struggling to keep each of the empty-parking-garage scenes straight. —Maxwell Tani Mon. April 20; Fri. April 24, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
in orDer oF DisaPPearanCe Directed by Hans Petter Moland Norway For Nils Dickman (Stellan Skarsgård), proper revenge means a higher body count than is probably necessary. As an upstanding rural snowplow driver whose son is killed by a drug gang, Skarsgard channels Taken’s
24 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Glum divorcée Sabine (Esther Gemsch) volunteers over the Christmas holiday at a refugee house for asylum seekers in Switzerland, and the group proposes to mount a production of Friedrich Schiller’s play William Tell—language and culture barriers be damned! The cast squabbles, makes up, falls in love, struggles with deportation, and in the end, the locals all turn out to cheer on the production, and everyone’s happier for it. The plot’s practically tied up with a neat little bow as the credits roll. While the film will likely be a huge crowd-pleaser, I wish Unlikely Heroes had given the audience a grittier look at the issues asylum seekers face—the exception is the scene in which a young boy’s mother is carried, kicking and screaming, from the group house after their application is rejected. Still, it’s impossible for this film not to warm the cockles of your
Damian Marcano’s vibrant, meandering look at a Trinidad and Tobago slum announces its intent from the get-go. A drifter wanders through the streets of eastern Port of Spain, the slums of the capital city where dozens of murders occur every year, preaching about “the real Trinidad.” Everyone in God Loves The Fighter needs money, and crime seems the only way to get it. A series of vignettes coalesces into the tale of a mob worker; his heavily tattooed, racist boss; a shame-ridden sex worker under her boss’s thumb; and a small boy with a penchant for mischief. Comparisons to City Of God are inevitable, as both films employ ultra-saturated color, handheld cameras, and quick editing to show how poverty pushes young people into darkness. Marcano’s film is a bit too aimless, and its religious allegory too on-the-nose to match its predecessor, but an inviting style and a bumping reggae soundtrack by Freetown Collective help make this worth a look. —Andrew Lapin Tues. April 21; Wed. April 22, 8:45 p.m., E Street Cinema
Pan! our musiC oDyssey Directed by Jérôme Guiot Trinidad and Tobago, France The sound of steelpan is familiar to anyone who’s heard Sebastian the crab sing “Under the Sea” in The Little Mermaid. Made from 55-gallon oil drums, steelpan is the only acoustic steel instrument created in the 20th century. It plays an enormous role in the musical culture of Trinidad and Tobago, where it was developed. Jérôme Guiot’s film PAN! Our Music Odyssey tells the story of the instrument’s evolution in two parts: reenacted vignettes that chronicle the rise of steelpan in the early 1900s, and a contemporary look at the 50th annual Panorama competition, which pits players from around the world against one another. Among the Panorama musicians highlighted are a middle-aged New Yorker, a French woman who learned pan from her father, an aspiring musician who traveled from Tokyo to join a legendary pan group, and a young boy participating in his first competition. Their excitement, combined with the upbeat music and fact-packed narration, makes for a compelling watch. —Caroline Jones Wed. April 22, 6:30 p.m.; Thurs. April 23, 8:45 p.m., E Street Cinema
tomorrow exchange buy *sell*trade
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
JOIN IN APRIL & GET 50% OFF REGISTRATION FEE
Precor cardio equipment, FREE group exercise classes, personal training, courts, indoor pool, steam rooms, towel service, & more!
202.777.3218 16th & Q Streets NW dcjcc.org/join /dcjccfitness @16thstj
14th STREET CORRIDOR: 1318 14th St. NW • 202-299-9148 GEORGETOWN: 3279 M St. NW • 202-333-2829
BuffaloExchange.com
D.C.’s awesomest washingtonCitypaper.Com/CalenDar events calendar.
April 19-25 2015 | www.ovc.gov/ncvrw washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 25
haPPy Times
Limited Partnership
Directed by Luis Javier M. Henaine Mexico For viewers who’ve accrued a certain amount of relationship experience, Happy Times will vividly recall some unhappy times. Max (Luis Arrieta, a Jason Schwartzman type) and Monica (Cassandra Ciangherotti) have been dating for five years, but he wants to end the relationship. The problem is that, despite many break-up attempts, Max is too nice to make it stick. So a shadowy person refers him to a shadowy agency he can hire to do the job. That Max aspires to be a cartoonist is apt, because the film has Wes Anderson-ian touches (which, ahem, are used judiciously, Wes) and characters exaggerated just enough to provide a steady run of laughs. The couple’s dynamics are largely universal, making for palpable moments of joy, frustration, confusion, and sorrow. The agency’s weirdness and the film’s mysterious end also supply a fair amount of humor. Happy Times serves as a reminder that these days, delivering a smart romantic com—Tricia Olszewski edy is no joke. Wed. April 22, 6:30 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 4:30 p.m., Mazza Gallerie
rahsaan rolanD kirk: The Case oF The Three siDeD Dream Directed by Adam Kahan USA
The TreaTmenT Directed by Hans Herbots Belgium This eerie Belgian adaptation of Mo Hayder’s 2002 novel has it all: drama, suspense, crime rings, and a drearily crowd-pleasing noir feel. When an officer named Nick Cafmeyer begins investigating the creepy case of a kidnapped local boy, he’s thrust back into the still-smarting and still-unresolved childhood trauma of his own young brother’s abduction. As he dives deeper into the case— director Hans Herbots leads viewers down a winding path of possible suspects and their baffling behaviors—Cafmeyer begins to fear that this latest case is related to his brother’s disappearance. Could both be part of a massive pedophilia criminal network? With onpoint acting, compelling characters, and resonant plot twists, The Treatment will excite —Laura Barcella fans of smart thrillers. Wed. April 22, 8:45 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 9 p.m., E Street Cinema
limiTeD ParTnershiP Directed by Thomas Miller USA Now that equal marriage rights are all but a foregone conclusion in the U.S., a documentary about the first gay couple to bring their marriage before a federal court could have felt quaint. But Thomas Miller’s film about Filipino-American Richard Adams and Australian citizen Tony Sullivan, who petitioned for a green card for Sullivan after marrying in Boulder in 1975 (the INS not only ditched the application, but also called the couple 26 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
“faggots” in its denial letter), dwells on the personal, not the political. It looks at a wide swath of LGBTQ history—1952’s restriction on gay immigration, the AIDS crisis, the death of DOMA—through the sweet story of a loving couple living in fear of Sullivan’s deportation. The film’s a safe bet for the politically illiterate and gay-ally n00bs, too, though—it’s full of historical footage, dates, and headlines, the overabundance of which is its biggest flaw. Marriage equality isn’t the be-all and end-all of gay rights, but this film rightly positions it as a hard-won step in the —Christina Cauterucci right direction. Thurs. April 23, 6:30 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 9:15 p.m., E Street Cinema
This Is My Land
The tragically short life of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the virtuosic blind jazz musician best remembered for his ability to play multiple instruments simultaneously (an idea that came to him in a dream), is brilliantly told in Adam Kahan’s documentary. Through archival footage of Kirk’s performances, interviews with his friends and fellow players, and ’60s-style animation, the film shows Kirk as the genius he was and pushes back against the “gimmick” label (he played a specially rigged recorder through his right nostril) that followed him throughout his career. “Sound was his life,” says poet Betty Neals of Kirk, who died at age 44 a few years after he suffered a stroke. “His religion was the religion of dreams.” But in real life, Kirk was unafraid to express his frustration with unfair treatment of black Americans through stunts (he and a group interrupted the Dick Cavett Show with whistles) and songs like “Blacknuss.” The Case of the Three Sided Dream goes a long way to preserve Kirk’s legacy beyond remembrances of his unusual playing. —Sarah Anne Hughes Thurs. April 23, 8:30 p.m.; Fri. April 24, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
This is my lanD Directed by Tamara Erde France There is a breathtaking moment early in Tamara Erde’s This is My Land, a documentary that peeks inside classrooms in Israel and Palestine to see how each side teaches the history of their decades-long war. Erde asks a child student at a state-run Israeli school his opinion of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and he responds, “What does ‘conflict’ mean?” Sadly, such illustrative moments are rare in this well-intentioned but unshaped documentary, which provides only fleeting glimpses of teachers and students that beg for a deeper look. Instead, This is My Land
sunday, june 7, 2015 walter e. washington convention center
vote online for the winners in four categories washingtoncitypaper.com/rammys favorite gathering place Bar Pilar, Cashion’s Eat Place, ChurchKey, Et Voila!, Evening Star Cafe
upscale casual brunch
Birch & Barley, Kapnos - DC, Le Diplomate, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Seasons at The Four Seasons
everyday casual brunch
Beuchert’s Saloon, The Daily Dish, DGS Delicatessen, Duke’s Grocery, The Liberty Tavern
favorite fast bites
Cava Grill – Bethesda Row, DCity Smokehouse, G by Mike Isabella, Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza - Friendship Heights, Red Apron Butcher – Union Market
sponsored tables & tickets on sale now at therammys.org we’re so honored to be your #1 source for organic food delivered to your door! thanks for showing us the love. we love you, too!
#RAMMYS15
@RAMMYawards
MAJOR SPONSORS
the Mid-Atlantic’s original farm-to-door delivery service www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 27
I Can Quit Whenever I Want
inundates the viewer with repetitive classroom footage, making it the documentary equivalent of raw vegetables: highly nutritious but funda—Noah Gittell mentally undercooked. Thurs. April 23, 8:30 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 6:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
ating a real world that’s murky and fascinating —Maxwell Tani from all angles. Fri. April 24, 8:45 p.m., Goethe-Institut; Sat. April 25, 4:30 p.m., E Street Cinema
rewineD
cardboard characters, unintentionally clunky lines, and little to inspire any emotional investment. Some viewers may find that these shortcomings are “the point,” while other viewers may need another glass of wine to get through the thing. Neither are wrong. —Maxwell Tani Fri. April 24, 6:30 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 9 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
Directed by Dean Hargrove USA
Directed by Sydney Sibilia Italy
Directed by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani Italy
The monk
For the people who only know tap dance through Broadway musicals or children’s recitals, Tap World does a serviceable job showing what a diverse and exciting art form it can be. Unlike dance styles that are problematically designed to favor thinner bodies, anyone with rhythm and metal-plated shoes can tap. This low barrier to entry, as the film shows, makes tap a unifier on a micro level (a group of domestic violence survivors tap together in Harrisburg, Penn.) and a macro one (the film features dancers, young and old, from all over the world). The film fluctuates between interviews with dancers—like a formerly homeless college student in New York and a teen in Japan who works three jobs to pay for lessons—and solo and group tapping. The documentary is at its best when it focuses on the latter, which makes the ending, a cheesy choreographed number starring one of the film’s producers, an especially hard letdown. —Sarah Anne Hughes
On one level, the Italian comedy I Can Quit Whenever I Want sounds like a knockoff of the acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Its hero is a desperate, brilliant chemist who develops a popular street drug after he loses his job, and the drug trade proves too dangerous for him. But instead of brutal thrills, director Sydney Sibilia delivers an ensemble comedy that’s a critique of academia and modern Italian life. All the heroes are overeducated losers who work menial jobs, and there’s a running gag about how no one understands their academic jargon. I Can Quit Whenever I Want has fun with Italian stereotypes, too, in histrionic arguments and adult men who act like children. While there are a few strange musical cues, including ill-advised use of the Offspring, the film maintains a pleasant dizzying high with an easy comedown. —Alan Zilberman Sun. April 26, 4 p.m., Lincoln Theatre
Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani’s film noir Rewined is the kind of cerebral dark comedy that provokes questions like “How did our lives get this way?” and “Who needs another drink?” The vino-centric film about a wine connoisseur who may have committed a murder ages decently—what’s initially unsettling about the genre switching, perspective swapping, and brash chauvinism becomes palatable as it’s revealed that Orgnani is making statements about the futility of all kinds of things. He accomplishes his directorial goals; the film’s intentionally disorienting plot pacing is indeed disorienting, and the absurd situations are indeed absurd. But with so many threads to weave and existential musings to play out, Rewined leaves little time for tired narrative concepts like “character development” and “motivation.” The results are less than highbrow:
Directed by The Maw Naing Myanmar, Czech Republic To tell the story of a pair of pensive Buddhist monks, The Maw Naing wraps his protagonists in a rich sensory environment. Beautiful long takes and wide shots of the monks in the countryside linger on details without glamorizing them as a more impatient film would do with a montage. The characters almost function as set pieces, melting into the scenery as they go about their lives with little dialogue, communicating through glances, long pauses, and sentimental gestures. Much of The Monk has to do with the limits of these kinds of restraints; it’s a classic culture-clash narrative, as old-fashioned values face changing attitudes and stubborn-yet-sympathetic folks struggle to find their places in a world in flux. Naing is skillful enough to poke holes in the dichotomy he sets up, instead cre-
28 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
TaP worlD
Fri. April 24, 8:45 p.m.; Sat. April 25, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie
i Can QuiT whenever i wanT
BUYD.C.
Layers By Kaarin Vembar
Meat Your Maker The best Uruguayan sandwich in the D.C. area comes from a gas station. Come fill your tank and stay for layers of bacon, mozzarella, black forest ham, olives, egg, and beef tenderloin. Chivito sandwich, $13. Fast Gourmet, 1400 W St. NW. (202) 448-9217
At First Blush This blush contains two colors in one compact. Wear them alone or layer according to your desired color intensity. Nars Dual Intensity Blush in Panic, $45. Bluemercury. 1619 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 462-1300 See My Vest, See My Vest D.C.-based sportswear brand Native Danger designed a vest that provides an extra layer, a hood, and a little asymmetrical style to your ensemble. RX78 Vest, $127.50. Redeem, 1810 14th St. NW. (202) 332-7447
Community Collage Want a pretty, layered display of photos but lack the artistic eye to create it? This photo frame takes the guesswork out of constructing a picture collage. Matrix multi-photo display, $39.95. Mara Home. 2213 14th St. NW. (202) 232-4526
Drop a Line This layered to-do pad gives you space to take notes, doodle, and write down all of your nonsensical (soon-to-be multi-million dollar) ideas. Knock Knock 3-way pad, $6. Lou Lou. 1623 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 817-3089 washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 29
New Spring Menus Lunch, Dinner & Brunch
“Sing & Sip”
Mon. April 13, 2015 6:30-10 Cabaret Style Sing-A-Long Presented By “Theatre Washington Cocktails & Dinner In the Main Dining Room No Cover Fee
202-872-1126 BBGWDC.com
17th & Rhode Island Ave. NW
30 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Champagne Brunch Weekends Saturdays A-La-Carte: $26.95 Sundays Buffet: $36.95 Unlimited Champagne
Patio Now Open With A New Happy Hour Menu
DCFEED
Which toppings go best with which marijuana strains? Amsterdam Falafelshop has created a pot pairing menu. Read more at washingtoncitypaper.com/go/potpairing.
YOUNG & HUNGRY
Invest Egg
Need the Dough: Bluebird Bakery sells croissants and other baked goods at the 918 F St. NW pop-up. By Jessica Sidman The dark red stone building at 918 F St. NW has remained fairly quiet since LivingSocial stopped using it as a hub for cheesemaking, bellydancing, vodka tasting, and terrarium-building classes. But last week, the shuttered event space became home to a pop-up once again. Bluebird Bakery, from two of the city’s top pastry chefs, has taken over the first floor atrium with a spread of croissants, fruit tarts, macarons, and other baked goods displayed on wooden boards and turquoise cake stands. A coffee bar serves La Colombe, while an upstairs seating area provides a home for anyone who needs a Wi-Fi connection. In the coming weeks, more restaurant pop-ups will open in the five-story venue, which is named Prequel. When it’s up to full speed by early summer, the place will be able to host as
many as five rotating restaurants and bars at a time. Kiosks— like those in a movie theater or airport—will eventually allow guests to check in for their meals and pay in advance. The “pop-up megaplex” comes from EquityEats, an equity crowdfunding platform where investors can potentially earn profits, not just Kickstarter-like perks. The venue was created so that restaurants that use the EquityEats’ crowdfunding platform could have a place to showcase their food and drinks to the public and potential investors. But the building also goes beyond that, offering a soon-to-open house bar called Brick & Mortar (a permanent fixture for a pre- or post-dinner drinks) and serving as a sanctuary for any chefs in need of a pop-up space regardless of their affiliation with EquityEats. The opening of Prequel is just part of EquityEats’ reinvention since its October launch. After struggling to meet the
Photographs by Darrow Montgomery
With the launch of “pop-up megaplex” Prequel, EquityEats rethinks its business.
fundraising goals for its four opening projects, the company has significantly changed its model. For starters, EquityEats will no longer raise money exclusively from accredited investors (individuals with annual incomes of at least $200,000 or net worths of at least $1 million). Instead, EquityEats plans to only support restaurants taking advantage of new regulations that the D.C. government approved late last year, which allow businesses to crowdfund money from District residents of all income levels. Through these new rules, Prequel has already raised more than $200,000 from 325 investors who gave between $100 and $10,000. EquityEats had hoped to facilitate crowdfunding from people of all income levels from the get-go, but federal regulations made the process too cumbersome. This will likely change in the future: The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently writing regulations to implement provisions in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act that will allow anyone to be an equity investor under certain limits. The new D.C. crowdfunding rules require approved businesses to raise funds exclusively from District residents. Steve Lucas, vice president of strategy and communications for EquityEats, sees local investors as the next step in the locavore movement. “You eat locally, you shop locally, invest locally,” he says. “Why wouldn’t a chef want local investors who provide a lot of value versus investors who live all over?” The hope is that local investors will also frequent the restaurant and bring their friends. As it moves away from accredited investors, EquityEats has stopped raising money for its initial group of restaurants. None of the projects raised more than half of their goals (which ranged from $445,000 to $970,000) anyway, and the deadlines for those goals were repeatedly pushed back. All the money raised was pledged, so investors never actually forked over a check. Meanwhile, two of the four restaurant concepts that launched through EquityEats are no longer happening. (Bluebird Bakery remains, and a lobster and burger concept called Lighthouse will be operated by EquityEats and pop up at Prequel.) Greg Kakaletris and chef Brittany Frick, who both worked at Estadio and Doi Moi, had planned to open a seafood counter called Albright Special. Kakaletris says in an email that because of the crowdfunding platform’s evolution—“an understandable consequence of growing a new business”—he and Frick felt the new EquityEats “wasn’t the right fit for us and the way we wanted to open, own, and operate our place.” Shortly after they parted ways with EquityEats, Kakaletris and Frick decided to put their restaurant “on hold.” They did not respond to requests to elaborate further. Chef Adam McFarland and his business partner Amy Troutmiller have also “postponed” plans for their restaurant, a seasonal American place called Sussex Drive. “We each have some independent projects going on as well, and so we decided to hold off on this one,” Troutmiller says. She adds that being a startup that was part of another startup resulted in “some bumps in the road.” The fact that they could only accept funds from accredited investors also caused some uncertainty at first about who was qualified to be a backer. “It was washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 31
DCFEED(cont.) THANK YOU FOR VOTING BELGA CAFE "BEST RESTAURANT DC 2015"!!! A Touch of Brussels on the Hill Join Chef Bart Vandaele at Belga Café and enjoy the amazing food, open kitchen and sidewalk cafe. Excellent Belgian cuisine in a fun, friendly and casual atmosphere. Belga Cafe is open daily for lunch and dinner, brunch on weekends.
32 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
hard to communicate to the investors how exactly everything was going to work,” she says. Plans for Sussex Drive stalled before EquityEats started moving to a model that supports investments from people of all income levels. Troutmiller is optimistic about the changes: “Now that they have those things lined up, it’s going to be much easier for the future businesses that are trying to use that platform to raise money,” she says. “They’ve come a long way and made adjustments where they needed to make adjustments.” Still, if Troutmiller ever decides to continue pursuing the restaurant, she says she would turn to traditional investors for the bulk of the fundraising. But she might consider EquityEats to raise the last 20 percent or so. The $970,000 Sussex Drive was trying to raise was “a little bit intimidating” for a crowdfunding platform, she says. EquityEats’ Lucas doesn’t think the two discontinued restaurants necessarily reflect badly on the company. Restaurant projects fail all the time away from the public eye, and it’s better that entrepreneurs realize this isn’t what they want to do sooner rather than later. Plus, Lucas points out that EquityEats is merely the platform. “We support the entrepreneurs, but this is eventually their endeavor. The entrepreneurs are the ones who have to do the campaigning. They have to make the product,” Lucas says. “We’re not handing someone a restaurant. That’s not what this is. That’s not what crowdfunding does either.” Going forward, EquityEats plans to work with more seasoned chefs and restaurateurs who already have lots of connections and business acumen but are looking to crowdfund their pool of investors. This will likely include people who are opening their second restaurants or expanding their brands. EquityEats is also banking on Prequel to help attract more investors. The idea is that people will be more willing to back a place where they’ve tried the food and drinks. While it’s yet to be seen whether the investment dollars will, in fact, roll in, at least Prequel will make it easier for anyone looking to host a pop-up. D.C. has a growing number of incubators like EatsPlace or Mess Hall that have spaces specifically built for pop-ups, but most chefs looking for temporary kitchens still rely on restaurants or other venues they can borrow during off-
Bluebird Bakery hopes its pop-up will help attract investors.
nights. At Prequel, they won’t have to worry about working around someone else’s schedule or finding room in the walk-in fridge. And rather than relying on friends or relatives to wait tables, Prequel will provide a staff of servers. Bluebird Bakery chefs Tom Wellings and Camila Arango did one pop-up at After Peacock Room in Georgetown before moving into Prequel. Wellings had hoped to make croissants, but when he got there, he realized there was no walk-in fridge. It was a cold night, so he set up on the back patio to chill the dough. Logistically, working out of Prequel is already going more smoothly. Because of the resources, Wellings believes the pop-up complex will allow them to more realistically showcase to investors what they want to offer, rather than the best they can do in a given space. That’s important because if Prequel and EquityEats want to succeed, the popups have to become destinations in their own right. “The experience here has to be an experience that is on par with any other restaurant,” says Brian Zipin, a partner in DGS Delicatessen who is now Prequel’s general manager. Prequel’s 325 crowdfunded investors are CP counting on it. Eatery tips? Food pursuits? Send suggestions to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com
2033 M Street, NW | 202 530 3621 | www.MStreetDC.com
Underground Dance Music and Lounge featuring DJ Double 07 and rotating roster of guest selectors. Join us on April 23rd. On the second level for this second installment of The down low lounge. Deep house will be served shaken, never stirred... Thursdays, 9 PM to 1 AM. No cover.... No dress code.... No drama.
All female comedy showcase
4/22
VISIT STETSONS FOR
THE BEST
Your Neighborhood Destination Restaurant Winner OpenTable.com “Diners Choice” Award
Freely Flowing Champagne Brunch
Saturdays: Three Courses - A-La-Carte $26.95 Sunday Jazz Brunch: Live Entertainment – Three Courses $29.95 Celebration Parties Welcome! Served 11 to 3 PM
Happy Hour Daily
PUB QUIZ AND NEIGHBORHOOD BAR
Premium Drinks & Small Plates
New Spring Menu
IN DC!
PUPPY PATIO
Lunch, Dinner Saturday & Sunday Champagne Brunch
MONDAYS
Wine Flights Daily With Dinner
WATER BOWLS AND TREATS PROVIDED
50% off Wine Bottles With Dinner
Wednesday & Saturday Nights With Dinner
HALF PRICE BURGERS 21
1610 U Street NW (metro accessible) 202-667-6295 www.stetsons-dc.com | Friend us on facebook
2033 M Street, NW | 202 530 3621 WWW.MStreetDC.com
A Perfect Event Venue
To Book Visit Our Website, Call Or Book Through OpenTable.com
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 33
DCFEED
what we ate last week:
Squid ink macaroni with clams, chilies, and lamb pancetta, $11, Iron Gate. Satisfaction level: 4 out of 5 what we’ll eat next week:
Grazer
Ravioli della Nonna with pumpkin, amaretti, and butter sage sauce, $14.99, Sette Osteria. Excitement level: 2.5 out of 5
MeetMarket
THE’WICHINGHOUR
More than three years in the making, food and fashion emporium Maketto finally opened last week at 1351 H St. NE. The joint venture from Toki Underground chef Erik Bruner-Yang and Durkl founder Will Sharp brings together Cambodian and Taiwanese food, baked goods, locally roasted coffee, and men’s streetwear in a sleek 5,000-square-foot space. Take a tour below. —Jessica Sidman
The Sandwich: Carolina Chopped Pork Shoulder Sandwich Where: Pitmasters Back Alley Barbecue, 4818 Yuma St. NW Cost: $11.99 with fries Bread: House-baked potato roll
The Shopping Maketto is the first retail space for D.C.based men’s streetwear brand Durkl. The company displays its own line of shirts, hats, and hoodies, alongside other brands. There’s an entire wall of shoes near the entrance.
The CourTyard Situated between the main building and the kitchen building, this outdoor space features a rickshaw and a long communal picnic table. You can grab food from the kitchen and sit in the sun. No reservations required here (or anywhere in Maketto).
The KiTChen Separated in its own diner-like building with counter seating, guests get a front-row view of the kitchen. The Cambodian-Taiwanese menu consists of larger dishes that can be shared among two to four people—including a whole fried fish or wok-fried noodles—and smaller plates like oyster pancakes, American Wagyu tartare, and steamed pork bao.
Stuffings: Chopped pork shoulder, Carolina barbecue sauce, and a choice of apple slaw or “mother-in-law” slaw (a spicy Trinidadian specialty made with pepper and carrot) Thickness: 3.5 inches Pros: While most chopped pork possesses the same, slightly stringy texture, the meat from this new Wagshal’s-affiliated carryout spot has slightly crunchy and juicy, fleshier bits. The spicy tang of the mother-in-law slaw cuts through the salty meat and delivers just enough heat to warm your mouth without wiping out every other flavor. Cons: This sandwich is the size of a small dinner plate, and after consuming half of it, you’re exhausted. Meanwhile, the expected acidity of vinegary Carolina-style barbecue sauce never materializes, and each bite tastes the same as the last.
The Bar During the day, Frenchie’s Artisan Pastries and Desserts provides sweets and baked goods like cardamom pistachio buns and lemon cream sandwich cookies. Some cocktails are available all day, but the list expands in the evening. Try the mala colada, a play on a piña colada with numbing Sichuan peppercorns and Thai basil, or housemade vinegars in flavors like beet, hibiscus, and pumpkin.
The roofTop When it’s not being used for additional outdoor seating, the space will host yoga, crafting classes, and other events. An elevated walkway leads back to the main building, where there’s a small patio and a custom-designed vending machine that sells condoms, rice crackers, lucky cats, and more.
34 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
The Coffee Bar Local roaster Vigilante Coffee supplies pourovers and coffee from a siphon setup on the second floor. A lighter cafe menu (available from 10 a.m to 3 p.m.) includes pan-fried leek buns, Cambodian pork noodle salad, and Chinese doughnuts with soy milk.
Sloppiness level (1 to 5): 3. The soft roll doesn’t support the entire weight of the meat and a few bites fall by the wayside. Fortunately, the massive size of the roll allows the majority of the contents to remain intact. Overall score (1 to 5): 3.5. Although the texture and flavor of the meat are spot on, this concoction gets weighed down by its fluffy roll and enormous size. Take away some pork, add a few more condiments, and shrink this hefty haul down by half for a more manageable meal. —Caroline Jones
�� ����� ����
��� ����� ���������
����� ��� �����
��� ���������� ����� ������ �� �������������� ���� �� ���� � ������������� ������
���� � � � � � � ��
Dine, Drink, Dance
1 4 3 3
H
S t .
N E .
D C
2 0 2 . 2 5 0 . 3 6 6 0
•
A r g o N A u t D C . C o m
•
@ A r g o N A u t D C
Best Bloody Mary in DC! Thank you for voting us for the 2nd year in a row! At The Heights, we take our Bloody Mary seriously. You can build your own or choose from our specially crafted Constructed Bloodies:
The Last Samurai Dirty Harry High Noon El Mariachi 3 1 1 5 1 4 T H S T N W, WA S H I N G T O N , D C | ( 2 0 2 ) 7 9 7 - 7 2 2 7 | T H E H E I G H T S D C . C O M washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 35
KS
EE AL W
FIN
ST ! MU
IL 26
PR SE A
CLO
“Electric...Beckim knows and likes his characters, and the performances disarm you.” -Washington Post
“Tour-de-force acting performances from all three cast members bring out the best of Beckim’s tightly written script” -Broadway World
“Rich with intelligence and insight... provocative and engaging.” -Metro Weekly
“With Beckim’s strong script...directed to perfection by Michael John Garcés and production elements to match, here is one play to definitely add to your spring theatergoing schedule.” -MD Theatre Guide
“A compelling drama... Lights Rise on Grace never blinks.” -DC Metro Theater Arts
“Superb acting receives a production worthy of it...the best production I’ve seen at Woolly for a couple of years.” -DC Theatre Scene
“Phenomenal playwriting, acting, and direction” -Magic Time!
LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE
BY CHAD BECKIM // DIR. BY MICHAEL JOHN GARCÉS National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
36 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
CPARTS Go-Go-ing the Distance OuTSTAnding dick Joke, OuTSTAnding use of Outdated gender norms, OuTSTAnding Coddling: it’s the Helen Hayes Awards Awards! washingtoncitypaper.com/go/hayesawards
The sound of D.C.’s soul finds its place in the digital era. By Natalie Hopkinson and Nico the GoGo-Ologist
chapter called “The Archive”—a nod to his work as curator of a private collection of thousands of live go-go recordings. I have been trying to help Nico raise money to digitize his collection, contributing to a proposed city resolution to honor historic go-go sites, and advising several D.C. black history archives interested in boosting their go-go holdings. I’m mostly just glad that, in the DMV, there are still believers like Nico throwing the —Natalie Hopkinson soul of the Chocolate City a lifeline.
for P.A. Palace to grow into a chain of four music stores from 1994 to 2015?
Darrow Montgomery
I meet my friend Nico “the GoGo-Ologist” on a recent Sunday afternoon in the studios of GoGoRadio Nico: D.C. and go-go as a whole have always been behind Live, nestled in Temple Hills, Md.’s Iverson Mall, just the scale in music. To be honest, I was late getting on the CD past a waiting room filled with photographer Thomas Saything. The tapes [live recordings on cassettes straight from ers Ellis’ black-and-white go-go action shots. Nearly every the sound board of the P.A.] gave a warm feeling. You feel wall is plastered with vintage Day-Glo ads for classic acts like the music a lot more than you could on CD. When you start Northeast Groovers, Hot Cold Sweat, and Trouble Funk. going digital you lose that warmth. Under the eyes of a life-sized cutout of the late Hopkinson: P.A. Palace’s 21-year run fits in with Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, we talk about GoGoRadio’s upcoming fifth anniversary, the dego-go’s whole vibe: It does its own thing. What fimise of prominent go-go storefront retailer (and nally did them in? Nico’s Iverson Mall neighbor) P.A. Palace, go-go’s Nico: Today, you can’t rely on go-go financially belinks to the monster hit show Empire, and why go-go cause the bands don’t put out enough new quality might have to die in order to be born again. music. Original studio recordings give new life to the Now in its fifth decade, D.C.’s homegrown go[live] P.A. recordings. Fans have no reason to check go scene is showing mixed vital signs. By all acyou to buy something new. It’s hard to develop and counts, Rare Essence made a righteous showing at Austin’s SXSW last month, the festival’s first-ever bring in new fans without investing in yourself. Bands go-go performance. But as one of the oldest conare not writing original music, going into the studios, tinuously operating go-go bands, along with Trouand recording, mastering, packaging. To put it blunt, ble Funk and Experience Unlimited, it highlights they are lazy. All that they are doing are covers. It’s sad the scene’s aging core audience. Black Alley, one of because there is so much talent in the city. the shiny new lights of go-go, also played Austin— Hopkinson: But the problem P.A. Palace had is a but its members reject the go-go label, saying the problem in the music industry, period. People don’t band plays “hood rock.” Given that go-go-identified think they have to pay for music. That’s what [Fox’s bands earn more police scrutiny and fewer gigs, I hit show] Empire is about. If you are going to have an get it. Last summer, when I worked with some D.C. empire, you can’t just sell music. You have to sell magteens on a music project for the Humanities Counazines, liquor, luxury goods, do sports management. cil of Washington, DC, they told me that go-go is You also need to be publicly traded. “is dying softly.” This kind of talk seems to just energize Nico. Nico: It is all about visibility. Diddy and Jay Z are He’s the general manager and CEO of GoGoRadio a good example. They stay relevant by pushing out Live, a 24-hour music site, and he’s still banking on their product on various media outlets to stay visthe future. (He hopes to revive a union-like organiible. Beyoncé is the most genius of them all. She zation for go-go musicians and industry workers to Empire Strikes Back: Hopkinson and Nico think the hit TV show is crossing both [black and white] markets. All the represent their legal, economic, and political intercould be an opportunity for local bands. advertising, promotion, marketing—everything for ests, too.) Nico’s relaunching the site May 1 at the her tour—Pepsi paid for all of that. mall studios off Maryland’s Branch Avenue, where many of the black-owned cultural institutions, churches, cloth- This conversation has been edited and condensed. Hopkinson: That’s why I feel like, as badly written as it ing retailers, and music stores that were once the beating heart Hopkinson: When I was in high school in Indianapolis in is, Empire is a genius concept because at the end of the day, of the District have migrated. When Nico and I first met a decade ago, he managed a go-go the 1990s, I had the best job a teenager could have: work- they are selling music—original music. So the storyline is music store on H Street NE back when whispers about a street- ing at the Camelot and then Sound Warehouse selling mu- crying about how hard it is to sell music, but in the process, car and revitalized bar scene in the neighborhood were still just sic. But by the time I left undergrad at Howard, music they are selling a ton of music. conspiracy theories. In my 2012 book, Go-Go Live: The Musical stores were dying because of the Internet. With all other Life and Death of a Chocolate City, Nico’s life story unfolded in a types of music retail dying, how does it even make sense Nico: It’s a music video in a TV format. washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 37
CPARTS Continued
Hopkinson: Why didn’t anyone think of that before? I was at a wedding yesterday, and they were playing, [sings] “Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.” I was like, what? This is a wedding. Nico: The track is hot though. Hopkinson: It is hot. [Laughs.] I saw an ad for Rare Essence backing an Empire viewing party in D.C. They showed Empire on the big screens, and then the band comes out after. Brilliant! Nico: That was wise of the promoters [Epic Concepts]. If not, you lose a big part of your walk-up audience because they are at home watching Empire. They did it first with Scandal. When it got really big on Thursdays, bands wait ‘til the show is over before they start playing. Hopkinson: A lot of go-go is also moving online. Tell me about GoGoRadio. Nico: The whole idea with GoGoRadio is that a lot of people outside of the culture don’t understand go-go unless they have been there to experience it. So just streaming the music wasn’t enough. We needed live personalities who were on the circuit to give a face to the music. So we got key individuals like DJ Rico, Supa Dan,
and Purp Haze. Then when I added Billy the Kidd and 32 [David Ellis], it was a wrap. Go-go never had that big of a platform in terrestrial radio. When there is new original music, we promote it. The most recent studio album was by CCB, Perfect Levels, and Rare Essence’s new single “Cups to the Floor” is doing well. Hopkinson: One of your most popular shows on the 6-10 p.m. slot is Bounce Beat Radio, which focuses on the newer generation of go-go. It has a more hard-edged sound popular with the 30-and-under crowd. Nico: The reason why their show is popular, these young kids don’t get to go out as much because there aren’t as many venues available to them. Where else are they going to get it? They hear it live right here. Some of the bands are MTM, ABM, YBI, TOB, A2C, Major Band, Drama Squad, TE, Dream Team, and can’t forget about the Kingz, TCB. The hosts of Bounce Beat Radio show are Cocky, the former manager of 3DB, C-Bo, who was the lead talker of 3DB, and Shooters from ABM. And then the deejay is DJ Blackhouse. The show averages anywhere from 500 to 750 listeners. Hopkinson: There’s been some outside interest too. SXSW festival organizers asked the D.C. government to bring some live gogo to Austin this year. There are archives popping up at George Washington University and MLK Library interested in go-go. [At-large D.C. Councilmember] David Grosso’s office has begun talking about doing some sort of resolution to honor the key sites where Chuck Brown created the go-go sound. That is preserving the past, but what is the future of go-go? Nico: People think go-go is dead. Actually, it’s not thriving as it once was, but it’s staying strong. The people that are in the circle of the culture know what’s going on and still come out on a regular. But truly only a couple of bands are thriving in this market.
JULIAN SANDS
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
A Celebration of Harold Pinter
with WYNTON MARSALIS
Directed by John Malkovich
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, orator
Sat, Apr 18, 2pm & 8pm Lansburgh Theatre Acclaimed actor Sands (A Room with a View) presents a humorous and intimate portrait of the Nobel-winning playwright/poet. “So touching and so appropriate” (New York Times).
Sun, Apr 19, 7pm Kennedy Center
THIS WEEKEND!
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is made possible by Herbert and Patrice Miller, with special thanks to Paxton Baker and Centric. Ute Lemper is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Amphion Foundation, the Abramson Family Foundation, and an anonymous gift.
38 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
THIS WEEKEND!
Featuring a tribute to Duke Ellington and Ted Nash’s The Presidential Suite
The visibility has really died down. Hopkinson: What about venues? Gentrification is hurting all kinds of D.C. artists, but go-go artists are hit really hard. Nico: Venues are lacking. But there are some new ones. Malachai Johns, former manager of Mambo Sauce, he was in the studio yesterday. He is currently booking bands at Maryland Live! Casino. Be’La Dona has been up there, Faycez U Know, Trouble Funk. Secret Society—they don’t call themselves a go-go band, but most of those band members have go-go backgrounds. They are the regular house band up there on karaoke night. Hopkinson: You’ve been pretty hardcore in your criticism of gogo—the level of musicianship, the level of professionalism and organization, the parties causing a ruckus in neighborhoods. You say the culture does not give back enough to the community. You seem a bit negative about it. What keeps you motivated to devote your life’s work to it? Nico: I wouldn’t say “negative.” I would say “realistic.” What keeps me going? This is my bloodline! This is a culture. This is not just music. A culture is truly a bloodline that has to be passed on from my child to the next child. We have to be willing to stop doing business like it’s 30 years ago. It’s bands like Familiar Faces and Rare Essence from the older generation that understand the politics and will not be suppressed. This is something that has taken care of me, taken care of many families. It’s its own genre of music. You want to see it thrive as much as possible. Derrick Holmes from the Vybe Band told me that go-go might have to die out in order for it to come back. That was very profound. But you know what? He might be right. If that is the case, this station CP will be here to help push it along. GoGoRadio will relaunch at GoWin.media on May 1.
UTE LEMPER
Forever: The Love Poems of Pablo Neruda Sat, Apr 25, 8pm Sixth & I Historic Synagogue The cabaret and jazz chanteuse brings her newest project, a song cycle set to the love poems of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, along with Berlin cabaret songs and French chansons.
TICKETS: WashingtonPerformingArts.org • (202) 785-9727
CPARTS One trAck MinD
washingtoncitypaper.com/go/noah
One whole section of Hoff’s exhibition is dedicated to cases made in Vermont, where he spends his summers and puts his cases on display at a local farmers market. This one, made of zippers, can be worn dangling casually or zipped up for “an evening at the Kennedy Center,” Hoff says.
In Perfect HarmonIca
Anjahla
It all started with a small box covered in intricate red and black beadwork. Bob “Hoff” Hoffman had taken up the harmonica in his mid-50s and wanted an attractive way to store and carry the instrument. He met an artist at the Smithsonian’s annual craft show and commissioned a beautiful custom case, emblazoned with “HOFF” on the back, that he could wear around his neck. But when Hoff wore a blue and purple ensemble a few days later, the new accessory clashed with his get-up. He contacted the artist to request a second case in a new color combo. A decade on, Hoff has amassed what he calls the world’s largest collection of handcrafted harmonica cases. (He’s still waiting on a response to his letter to Guinness World Records.) The Mount Pleasant resident, who moved to D.C. from New York 45 years ago, counts 500 unique cases in his collection, representing the work of about 450 different artists and crafters. In every country he visits, at every art fair he attends, Hoff finds someone who does commissions and works with him or her to design a functioning case with a personalized element—sometimes his name, sometimes an interpretation of his face. “I am a little bit of a pack rat,” Hoff says. But at 69 years old, he’s never collected anything else with such purpose and passion. Nearly half of Hoff’s holdings will be on view at Gallery O on H tomorrow through April 26. It only took him two years to convince his wife of his hobby’s legitimacy; maybe you’ll be a quicker sell. —Christina Cauterucci
“Afreekan Mama” Standout Track: Released alongside “A Mighty Road (Roots Mix)” to coincide with International Women’s Day, Anjahla’s “Afreekan Mama” is a soulful reggae track honoring the women of Africa. Anjahla was backed by several notable reggae artists, including Errol “Flabba” Holt—one of Jamaica’s most well-respected bass players, who also produced the song. Musical Motivation: As its name implies, “Afreekan Mama” is meant to dignify African women who suffer at the hands of misogynist systems that often deny them basic rights and protection. “The earliest inspiration for ‘Afreekan Mama’ was when I learned about the rape and pillaging of women, children, and their villages in the Congo,” Anjahla writes in an email. “It was heart-wrenching to think about it, and my release was writing a song… It is like a letter to my African sisters who are facing these issues daily. I want to let them know I hear their cry.” Anjahla considers the tribute one of the most important songs she’s written. Sentimental Value: In the time since “Afreekan Mama” was recorded, it’s taken on another meaning for Anjahla following October’s apparent murder of Lincoln “Style” Scott, who played drums on the track. “It was important for me to release the music, as well, in honor of his wonderful spirit,” she writes. “I remember him saying in Patois after the recording session, ‘Now this is what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. Been a long time since mi play dem type a music deh—yes sista, I love it.’” —Briana Younger
Read more about Hoff and his collection at washingtoncitypaper.com/go/ harmonica.
This case—which, like all of the pieces in Hoff’s collection, can be worn like a necklace— was made by an artist Hoff met at a faerie convention. Underneath the harmonica, the likeness of Hoff is anatomically correct.
When Hoff commissions cases from artists, he tells them to take all the time they need: no deadlines. From first discussion to delivery, this engraved ostrich egg case took three years to get to Hoff.
Photos by Amanda Hoffman
Arts Desk
Trevor Noah got real political in seven sold-out shows in arlington last weekend:
An instrument inside an instrument—INCEPTION! This case is a working rainstick.
Hoff’s collection includes a case that’s a mini pinball machine, one that functions as a flask, and this one, a kaleidoscope.
Listen to “Afreekan Mama” at washingtoncitypaper.com/go/afreekan. washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 39
TheaTer
Round House’s stunt-cast Uncle Vanya cuts deeper than Christopher Durang’s Tony-winner. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike By Christopher Durang Directed by Aaron Posner At Arena Stage to May 3 Uncle Vanya By Anton Chekhov Adapted by Annie Baker from a translation by Margarita Shalina Directed by John Vreeke At Round House Theatre to May 3 By Chris Klimek Midway through his seventh decade, the prolific satirist Christopher Durang is experiencing a late-career renaissance. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, his loose collage of several Anton Chekhov classics—primarily Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard—is one of the most-produced American plays of recent years. In 2013, it fetched both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Play. Its initial 2012 production at Princeton University, and its subsequent off-Broadway and Broadway stagings came loaded with star power, featuring Frasier alumnus David Hyde Pierce and—in the role of an middle-aged movie star whose anxiety about her fading marquee value makes her kind of a bitch—Durang’s long-ago Yale drama school classmate, Sigourney Weaver. The cast’s the thing, to misquote a Danish prince who’d fit right in with Chekhov’s wretched crew of navel-gazing depressives. Well, the director, too. Arena Stage’s handsome D.C. premiere of Vanya and Sonia comes from cool-handed Aaron Posner. He’s guided a conspicuous number of the best things in D.C. playhouses over the last decade. As a playwright, he’s offered his own irreverent updates of Chekhov, in 2013’s sublime Stupid Fucking Bird—inspired by The Seagull—and his more recent, almost-as-good Uncle Vanya riff, Life Sucks (or the Present Ridiculous). It’s almost certainly cheating to compare Durang’s Chekhov smoothie to the more faithful glosses Posner has subsequently written. (A little fucking bird told me he’s tackling The Cherry Orchard next.) But life, as Chekhov observed with more eloquence than almost anybody, is not fair. Vanya and Sonia might play better if SFB and Life Sucks were not so fresh in memory, but in their wake, it feels glib, overlong, and insubstantial, neither
as funny nor as soulful as both Chekhov and to bludgeon a flock of pigeons with his umPosner have conditioned us to expect. Every- brella. His jabs at Hollywood, delivered via one shows up admirably, and Sherri L. Edel- Masha and Spike, are too vague to land with en as Sonia is particularly strong, tapping a any power: The movie franchise that made deeper (or maybe just different) vein of emo- Masha rich is called Sexy Killer? Spike’s neartion than in the musical roles for which she’s miss with fame came via “the sequel to Entoubest known. A scene wherein her repressed rage, Entourage 2?” Masha’s personal assistant character takes a phone call from an unseen is named Hootie Pie? suitor asking her on her first date in decades “Let everything on the stage be just as is the most trenchant moment in the show, complex and at the same time just as simple down to Edelen’s ability to play four emo- as in life,” Chekhov wrote. Durang manages tions at once. It’s an A-level performance in only the second part. the service of a B- or C+ script. Maybe In both Chekhov it was subtler in Russian? In Durang’s scenario, frumpy shut- productions, the ins Vanya (Eric Hissom, a lifetime mem- cast is the real ber of the Aaron Posner Players) and his draw. stepsister Sonia gave their best years to caring for their infirm, Chekhov-loving parents and never bounced back after they died. Now in their 50s and living in a comfortable Bucks County, Penn. country house paid for by their glamorous, globetrotting sister Masha (Grace Gonglewski), they spend their days sulking in bathrobes. Masha drops in with her new boyfriend Spike (Jefferson Farber)—a sinewy, tatted-up imbecile a generation younger than she—threatening to sell the place. Hijinks ensue. It is, as an actor-pal of mine rightly observed, evocative of a lot middling ’90s sitcoms. Every character here can be fully rendered in two adjectives, and none is afforded the dignity of being able to surprise us. Jessica Frances Dukes wrings more humor from her supporting part as Cassandra, the soothsayer/maid than a lesser actor could, but she’s a straight-up wacky neighbor. And even after that childless MILF Masha undergoes a wholly unconvincing 11thhour quick-change in temperament, resolving to treat her helpless siblings with kindness, she persists in bossing around the only person of color on stage. (“Any age, probably African American,” is how Cassan- The cast is also the draw of Round House Theatre’s stirring new Uncle Vanya, using a dra is described on page one of the script.) It’s almost always a mistake to conflate the recent variant by Annie Baker, the 2014 Puplaywright with the character, of course, but litzer winner whose plays Circle Mirror Transwhen Hissom’s celibate-gay Vanya stops the formation and The Aliens were at Studio Theshow for a 15-minute paroxysm about the atre in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Silence good old days of the monoculture with the and the clumsiness of language are big parts all-caps refrain, “AND WE LICKED POST- of Baker’s work. In adapting Chekhov’s 117AGE STAMPS,” it’s tough not to picture Du- year-old opus (from a “literal translation” by rang suffering a massive coronary while trying Margarita Shalina), she has tried to restore the
40 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Courtesy Photography by C. Stanley
Chek’s Mix
roughness that the original Russian audiences would’ve heard before the play was consecrated and canonized. (The word “creep” is used where prior adapter Peter Carson said “eccentrics,” to cite but one example highlighted in the program.) Aside from ringers like Mitchell Hébert as Vanya and Kimberly Gilbert as Sonya, with the delightfully overqualified likes of Nancy Robinette and Mark Jaster filling out the smaller roles, the eclectic company includes three present and past artistic directors. Studio Theatre founder Joy Zinoman’s turn as Maria is her first pro acting gig in 40 years. She’s capable, as is former Round House head Jerry Whiddon as Serebryakov, the aged, egotistical professor who outsources his suffering to everyone around him. But the show’s most welcome surprise is current Round House Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, who’s grown a louche ‘stache to play Astrov, the country doctor who pines hungrily for Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey’s remote, sexy Yelena while Gilbert’s Sonya pines chastely for him. Rilette isn’t merely good; he’s terrific, bringing a nervy impatience and barrel-chested vitality to the part that makes the character’s ennui and resignation resonate with even greater pathos. Set designer Misha Kachman’s rendering of the only country house is rustic and inviting: Eight thick tree stumps punch through the worn floorboards, and a suspended tarp enforces a sense of confinement. Colin K. Bills’ lighting scheme recreates the hazy shimmer of suffocating, humid nights, while sound designer Eric Shimelonis completes the illusion with his buzzing insects and neighing horses. Shimelonis and Jaster perform their impish original score live on stage on accordion and harmonica, respectively, suggesting a world of crumbling civilities not unlike the one in Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest Hotel. Director John Vreeke punctuates the many long speeches with fleeting, memorable images, like when he has Robinette ride a bicycle across the back of the stage. She looks giddy and uncertain, like the bicycle is the tiny serving of mirth she’ll find in a long day of labor. It’s less than a minute, but it’s as indelible as Gilbert’s sublime rendering of Sonya’s climactic pledge to endure her unhappiness “until my life comes CP to its natural end.” Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. $55–$100. (202) 554-9066. arenastage.org. Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. $10–$50. (240) 644-1100. roundhousetheatre.org.
CUAdrama
Cultural Arts Center and the Arab American Heritage Month Committee present
o La M rt
Karim Nagi
By Lauren Gunderson
, Sororité tÉ li
u O
Ana Masry Band
Liberté, Ég a
presents
ANA MASRY BAND featuring Karim Nagi
TONIGHT, Thursday April 16, 7p.m.
April 23-26, 2015
Box Office opens at 5pm, and early reservations encouraged. Advance tickets: www.montgomerycollege.edu/cac (cut-off 5:30pm).
Drama.cua.edu 202-319-4000
Celebrate Egypt’s multi-layered cultural identity through music and poetry
CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
7995 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD • Free parking in student spaces of W-1 lot and West Garage
Info line: 240-567-5775
To request accommodations for individuals with disabilities, please call 202-319-5358.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 41
TheaTerCurtain Calls The Margins is more metaphor for collaboration than a horror play.
Too Many SpookS The Margins By David Skeele Directed by Carl Brandt Long Molotov Theatre Group at DC Arts Center to April 26 Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in the power of the collaborative writing process? Molotov Theatre’s production of The Margins offers one of those phenomena as a way of getting at the other. Based on the “Philip experiment,” a spirit-summoning test conducted in Toronto in the 1970s, the 65-minute horror play imagines a roomful of Fox Mulders (and one skeptical Scully) who collaborate to invent a century-old dead woman, flesh out her backstory, then invite her fictional spirit into their world. But bad things happen when we play God (or play group brainstorm). The invented persona is a servant girl who was abused by her aristocratic boss, in whose basement the show takes place. As her creators—including two strident feminists and one unapologetic horndog— argue over who this person was and how much agency she had over her own life, The Margins unveils an intriguing metaphor for the creative process. What are her motivations? Her painful histories? How attractive should she be? And what happens
when she attempts to break free of her narrative constraints? Yet just when I was starting to get a handle on the complex rules of this narrative séance, the show changed them—and then changed them again. Playwright David Skeele’s 2007 work is a jittery, restless narrative that, given its brevity, offers little incentive for keeping up. Certainly it’s not to keep abreast of the personal dramas of all these B-movie character types, sketched as haphazardly as the violent specter they conjure. Adam R. Adkins is quite excitable as the hotshot parapsychologist (really) whom someone describes as “the Indiana Jones of the netherworld” (really). Then there are the two researchers and ex-lovers (Jen Bevan and Katie Jeffries), who spend much of their dialogue protesting gender norms at the expense of their own characters; a flashy, self-absorbed psychic (Elliott Kashner, hamming where he can); a mute medium (Yoni Gray, managing some genuinely terrifying facial expressions); and the skeptic, represented by a New York Times journalist who’s quick to treat everything as a sideshow (Brian McDermott). When the dialogue grows too painful (“You can put your penis back in your pants now”), director Carl Brandt Long offers a diversion: a camcorder feeding a black-and-white live stream of the action onto a rear projection. Characters will occasionally pick it up to film spooky things on the fly. Years of Paranormal Activity knockoffs have trained horror fans to expect shenanigans whenever a camera is involved, which is why I kept one eyeball on the
42 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
feed the whole time. To my disappointment, it revealed little except different angles on the actors’ blocking. A cinematic close-up in the play’s closing moments is neat, though. Molotov’s stated mission is to preserve French-style Grand Guignol horror—short works that emphasize carnivalesque, visceral shocks over deeper meaning. Ironic, then, that The Margins works better as metaphor than it does as horror. But collaborative efforts do always end up in new places. —Andrew Lapin 2438 18th St. NW. $25. dcartscenter.org.
Love LeSS Lights Rise On Grace By Chad Beckim Directed by Michael John Garcés At Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company to April 26 The concept of family has evolved quite a bit since the days of Leave it to Beaver. Somewhere within the course of The Simpsons’ infinite run, society has developed a taste for portrayals of dysfunctional, nontraditional families, albeit ones held together touchingly, maybe even sappily, by love. One of the latest and greatest takes on the modern family is at the core of Chad Beckim’s Lights Rise on Grace, a play making its world premiere at Woolly Mammoth through the National New Play Network. The tale Beckim weaves is equal parts
twisted and touching: It explores the lives of three young adults bound invisibly but inexorably by knots of race, sexuality, love, and pain. None of their lives are easy: Secondgeneration Chinese-American Grace (Jeena Yi), Caucasian Riece (Ryan Barry), and African-American Large (DeLance Minefee) all come from different but equally unforgiving backgrounds. They’re only able to survive through trusting in one another—even if that trust is painfully betrayed. High school student Grace is fragile at first: She cringes and shrinks away from other people. Fellow student Large takes an interest and manages to coax her out of her shell with a little sweetness and a friendly swagger. Soon after, Large lands in prison, where he finds himself as guarded, scared, and silent as Grace was when they met. His defenses are broken, roughly, by Riece; the meetcute from the start of the play is repeated and reflected in a dark mirror. Riece now recites Large’s lines, tinged with masculine jocularity and a bit of menace; the cutesy meeting from before is transformed into something borderline sinister. Repeated, inverted scenes like this occur throughout the play and act as guideposts that track how much has changed for the unlikely love triangle since the last time the lines were uttered. And everything is in a state of flux. In turns, Large, Riece, and Grace evolve from sweet and caring to cold and guarded, or from hurt and broken to triumphant and resilient. It’s an immense credit to each of the three actors—who also serve as a chorus of dozens of one-off characters that flesh out the world around them—that the three main characters feel easily identifiable, even as they grow and change. Director Michael John Garcés’ canny choreography is also useful to keep track of the ever-shifting relationship. In one particularly stunning repeated scene, we see how Large is literally torn between his two lovers. One seductively, softly caresses him while the other claws and manhandles, causing Large to be wracked in agony or ecstasy or possibly both at once. While the characters go through hell, the title of Lights Rise on Grace isn’t meant to be ironic (or at least, it’s meant to be equally ironic and sincere—just another of the play’s myriad contradictions). The show is dedicated to exploring love in all of its aspects—at its purest and kindest, at its most destructive and devastating, and at the times where the difference between those two extremes are a muddle. Ultimately, the trials these characters endure are a hyperbolic explosion of the quotidian struggles and successes of any relationship. Like love, Lights Rise on Grace hurts, but it’s impossible to not want to come —Riley Croghan back for more. 641 D St. NW. $20-$93.(202) 393-3939. woollymammoth.net.
24 FRI H Berklee College of Music
Students perform original compositions and works by modern jazz masters.
25 SAT H Oberlin Conservatory of Music Students play works by Kim, Dvorˇák, and others, and a work for electronics by Mitchell Hermann.
IN THE TERRACE THEATER
26 SUN H Comedy at the Kennedy Center: Ophira Eisenberg*
Brought to you by
FREE PERFORMANCES 365 DAYS A YEAR EVERYDAY AT 6 P.M. H NO TICKETS REQUIRED *Unless noted otherwise
APRIL 16–30 16 THU H NSO Youth Fellows
The comedian, writer, and host of NPR’s Ask Me Another, has appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Today Show, Comedy Central, and VH-1. Matty Litwack opens. This program contains mature themes and strong language.
IN THE CONCERT HALL
27 MON H The Youth Symphonic Orchestra and Choir “Polígono Don Bosco”*
The National Symphony Orchestra program develops and encourages high school students to become orchestral musicians through performance-oriented training.
The group, part of the arts promotion program carried out by the Polígono Industrial Don Bosco in San Salvador which supports at-risk youth, makes its U.S. debut.
17 FRI H NSO Prelude
28 TUE H Seneca Valley High
Members of the NSO play chamber works by Piston, Rossini, Schulhoff, and Meyer.
IN THE TERRACE THEATER
School Chamber Choir & The Luther Jackson Concert Choir The talented local high school choirs from Maryland and Virginia present a joint program of classical works and contemporary favorites. Part of Music in Our Schools Month.
29 WED H Ma¯ris Briežkalns Quintet: Rothko in Jazz 18 SAT H Manhattan School of Music
The Jazz Arts Quintet performs a variety of pieces by Duke Ellington.
19 SUN H San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Students perform selections from Donizetti’s opera L’elisir d’amore with piano accompaniment.
20 MON H New England Conservatory of Music
Students perform string quartets by Bartók and Mendelssohn, songs by Faust and Dvorˇák, and violin solos by Tchaikovsky and Paganini.
The Latvian quintet performs works inspired by the great artwork of Mark Rothko with a unique audiovisual project.
FATOUMATA DIAWARA
THURS APR 16 AT 8PM / DOME THEATRE
A multi-talented singer, songwriter, actress and model, Diawara’s songwriting combines traditional African tunes with a unique contemporary folk sound. Following the concert, Diawara will conduct a Q&A session with the audience.
This engagement is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
30 THU H Rebellum
The group, led by vocalists Mikel Banks and Mazz Swift, performs selections from Brer Rabbit: The Opera ~ A Funky Meditation of Gentrification and other songs from their forthcoming live DVD Back from the Abyss.
*Free general admission tickets will be distributed in the States Gallery starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. in the Hall of Nations for the 4/27 performance which is reserved seating), up to 2 tickets per person.
21 TUE H Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University Students perform songs and arias for mezzo-soprano by Strauss, DuParc, & Rossini; and classical works by Lutosławski, Ravel, Schumann, Strauss, and Liszt.
PLENA LIBRE
22 WED H Juilliard School of Music
Students perform piano trios by Mozart and Ravel.
FRI APR 24 AT 8PM / BALLROOM
23 THU H Eastman School of
Music at the Univ. of Rochester
Students from the Eastman Saxophone Project perform arrangements by Bach, Ravel, Djupstrom, Bryant, and Gorb. The Millennium Stage was created and underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs to make the performing arts accessible to everyone in fulfillment of the Kennedy Center’s mission to its community and the nation. Additional funding for the Millennium Stage is provided by The Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky Family Foundation, Inc., The Meredith Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A.J. Stolwijk, U.S. Department of Education, and the Millennium Stage Endowment Fund. The Millennium Stage Endowment Fund was made possible by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, Fannie Mae Foundation, James V. Kimsey, Gilbert† and Jaylee† Mead, Mortgage Bankers Association of America and other anonymous gifts to secure the future of the Millennium Stage. Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is also made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
PLEASE NOTE: There
is no free parking for free performances.
The Kennedy Center welcomes persons with disabilities.
THU 30 H Rebellum Live Internet broadcast, video archive, artist information, and more at
kennedy-center.org/millennium For more information call: (202) 467-4600
TAKE METRO to the Foggy Bottom/GWU station and ride the free Kennedy Center shuttle departing every 15 minutes until midnight. GET CONNECTED! Become a fan of Millennium Stage on Facebook and check out artist photos, upcoming events, and more!
Plena Libre has almost single-handedly revived the Puerto Rican plena music tradition, fusing tight harmonies with danceable Afro-Rican rhythms for a new generation of listeners to enjoy.
“A mad weave of polyrhythms that simply sizzle.” —The Boston Herald
www.artisphere.com
1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 Free parking weekdays after 5pm + all day on weekends Two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Follow us: @Artisphere Like us: ArtisphereVA washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 43
FilmShort SubjectS Guns in the Family
Nuanced performances and underdone violence make Black Souls an elegant mafia flick.
Black Souls Directed by Francesco Munzi In a mob movie, if a scene gets too quiet, you know someone’s about to get whacked. Also if a character is smiling as he walks away from a friendly interaction. Didn’t laugh sincerely enough at a rival’s joke? Whackage as soon as his back is turned. And so on. Black Souls tells the story of three brothers involved in the ’Ndrangheta, an organized crime group based in Italy’s Calabria region. Two of them, Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta) and Luigi (Marco Leonardi), are still active in the drug trade; Luigi’s the glad-hander while Rocco has the disposition of an irritated babysitter. You wonder why Rocco still humors Luigi at all (perhaps “humor” isn’t quite the word in terms of thug life), especially in light of a snide implication that he and his wife (Barbora Bobul’ová) have relocated too far from the family ’hood. The third brother, Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane), has removed himself from the business, continuing their family’s ancestral work as a goat farmer instead. But look out for hotheaded Leo (Giuseppe Fumo), Luciano’s grown son. Teens with law-abiding parents and “cool” criminal uncles can be bad news. No spoilers, but ask yourself: Is it even possible for a mafia tale to result in anything but bad news? Black Souls, adapted from a novel and directed by Francesco Munzi, is a relatively low-key affair that lacks a huge body count and whose guns are shot with execution-style elegance more often than they’re brought out a’ blazin’. Much of the carnage is offscreen. For Scarface fans, this will be a disappointment. But the simplicity of the script is more satisfying than, say, 2008’s lauded Gomorrah, whose overwhelming number of characters seem to have been fired into frame with T-shirt cannons, preventing any real development. Munzi was able to mix some nonprofessional locals into the cast after living in Calabria for some time and cautiously gaining their trust. But it’s difficult to tell the pros from the amateurs: Everyone performs with the appropriate intensity of someone tiptoeing around land mines, and troubled looks— or, worse, fake grins—often express more than the minimal dialogue. The film’s cinematography contrasts gorgeous shots of mountains and endless seas under sunshine with interiors that are dark and even rustic. (Munzi said he was inspired by Caravaggio; I was thinking
Binoche and Stewart’s lives imitate art—or is it the other way around?
Van Gogh.) The outdoor scenes make you breathe a little easier, but the tension never disappears completely. Of course, a slaughter—though tasteful!— is saved for the finale, at the hands of an unlikely killer. The moral of the story would be well-directed toward, say, thespian couples who swear they won’t let their children pursue acting: The grown-ups can say what they will, but the kids will do as they want. It’s in —Tricia Olszewski their blood. Black Souls opens April 17 at the Angelika Mosaic in Fairfax and Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market.
44 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
upstaGe BeFore Beauty Clouds of Sils Maria Directed by Oliver Assayas Summarizing the story of Clouds of Sils Maria makes it sound full of clichés: A successful middle-aged woman, reflecting on her own mortality, gets drawn into an intimate, complicated relationship with a young colleague. She admires the girl for all the things she used to be. Eventually, her admi-
ration makes her weak, and the young woman usurps the older one. Oliver Assayas’s intimate and mesmerizing new drama refracts this simple story of loss and aging through a narrative prism, casting new light—as well as some heat—in every direction. Juliette Binoche plays Maria, a renowned film and stage actress grieving over the loss of two men. The first is her husband; she is in the middle of an ugly, contentious divorce. But the bigger blow comes when her mentor, a legendary playwright who took a chance on her as a young actress, suddenly commits suicide. She learns the news from her personal assistant, Valentine (Kristen Stewart) on a train ride to a remote Norwegian town where the playwright is being honored. In this emotional vacuum, her professional and personal lives become dangerously intertwined when she takes on a new artistic challenge. A young director is reviving the play that made Maria famous—a drama about a businesswoman and her young assistant—and has asked her to play the part of the older woman. As Maria agonizes over the role and its implications, she and Valentine escape to her late mentor’s cabin in Switzerland, where, as the thick mountain clouds surround them, they run lines, drink, and become far more emotionally entangled than either of them can admit. Meanwhile, Maria starts to research her new co-star—Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young tabloid queen who is taking on her former role in the new revival—and begins to rethink her participation in the project. Throughout, the interplay between the two actresses is fascinating; Binoche is all raw vulnerability, while Stewart keeps her motives and feelings hidden just under her cool surface. The performances adeptly reflect the film’s themes, as Valentine’s quiet confidence is a threat to Maria, who quickly unravels under youth’s unstoppable force. The casting, too, is spot-on: Binoche is, of course, a middle-aged actress playing a middle-aged actress. When Valentine describes the infamous Jo-Ann to Maria—“She’s very different from what you’ve read in the papers”—it’s hard not to imagine Stewart describing herself. Stewart, after all, was prime tabloid fodder when dating and breaking up with her Twilight costar Robert Pattinson. Indeed, Stewart is one of the great revelations of Sils Maria. Binoche’s brilliance is easy to take for granted, but the former teen idol matches her in every scene. In a subtle, naturalistic performance, she captures both our imagination and our sympathies, no small achievement in a film that thrives on never letting viewers know quite —Noah Gittell where they stand. Clouds of Sils Maria opens April 17 at Landmark E Street Cinema.
50
BLUES ALLEY JAZZ SOCIETY 111TH 0 T H AANNUAL NNUAL
BIG BAND JAM! WASHINGTON, DC
Sean Jones Guest Artist-in-residence
APRIL
18-30 2
0
1
5
www.BIGBANDJAM.org
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 45
46 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
CITYLIST Music
Friday Rock
9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Walk The Moon, The Griswolds. 8 p.m. (Sold out) 930.com. Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Pink Talking Fish, Mister F. 9 p.m. $12.50–$15. gypsysallys.com. RoCk & Roll Hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-ROCK. The North Country, Paperhaus, Fellow Creatures. 9 p.m. $12. rockandrollhoteldc.com. u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Gemma Ray. 7 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
Funk & R&B HowaRd tHeatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Alice Smith. 8 p.m. $25–$60. thehowardtheatre.com.
ElEctRonic HowaRd tHeatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. DJ Paulo, DJ Twin. 11 p.m. $75–$100. thehowardtheatre.com. u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Maribou State, Cassian, Martin Miguel. 10:30 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.
Jazz tHe HaMilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Chaise Lounge. 8:30 p.m. $18–$25. thehamiltondc.com. MontpelieR aRts CenteR 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel. (301) 377-7800. Tony DeSare. 8 p.m. $30. arts. pgparks.com.
Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 Galleries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8 Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
SearCh LISTIngS aT waShIngTonCITYpaper.Com
CITY LIGHTS: FRIDAY
URBAN BUSH WOMEN
If you’re looking for the history of John Coltrane in D.C., you might wander down U Street NW past Bohemian Caver ns and other jazz clubs he played when the strip was known as Black Broadway. But instead of going to see his saxophone in the Smithsonian (a Selmer Mark VI tenor made in Paris), head to the American Dance Institute in Rockville, where Brooklyn-based dance company Urban Bush Women brings to the stage part of a trilogy of works inspired by the late musician. Choreographed by founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and company dancer Samantha Speis, Walking with Trane, Chapter 2 pairs an original score by pianist George Caldwell with contemporary choreography that incorporates the spinning, flexing, stretching, clasped-hands partner swinging of classic jazz dance. Musically, Chapter 2 is inspired by Coltrane’s 1965 landmark A Love Supreme, the album that was, in turn, inspired by Coltrane overcoming drug addiction and finding faith. Don’t worry about seeing the second part of this work before seeing the first: Like George Lucas, Urban Bush Women starts this series in the middle and plans to premiere parts 1 and 3 sometime in the future. Urban Bush Women performs Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at American Dance Institute, 1570 East Jefferson St., Rock—Emily Walz ville. $16.25–$41.25. (855) 263-2623. americandance.org.
kennedy CenteR MillenniuM staGe 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. NSO Prelude. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. The Mowgli’s, Fences, Hippo Campus. 7 p.m. $17. ustreetmusichall.com.
dJ nights
ElEctRonic
MR. HenRy’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Steve Scott Project. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com.
blaCk Cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Bodywork with DJ Abichula, Alex DB, Mothersheister, Rat. 9:30 p.m. $8. blackcatdc.com.
u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Matthew Dear, Andrew Grant, Jeremy Synz. 10:30 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.
BluEs
HowaRd tHeatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Gravity, DJ Paulo, DJ Twin. 11 p.m. $20–$25. thehowardtheatre.com.
Jazz
Zoo baR 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 2324225. Moonshine Society. 9 p.m. Free. zoobardc.com.
countRy MusiC CenteR at stRatHMoRe 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Rosanne Cash. 8 p.m. $27–$68. strathmore.org.
Vocal wasHinGton national CatHedRal 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 537-6200. Cathedral Choral Society: Great Opera Choruses. 4 p.m. $15–$75. nationalcathedral.org.
CONCEIVED BY AND WITH BOOK AND LYRICS BY JULIA JORDAN MUSIC AND LYRICS BY JULIANA NASH DIRECTED BY DAVID MUSE
APRIL-MAY 2015
THIS WEEK’S SHOWS
SAT 18
BAR OPENS AT 7PM SHOW AT 8PM
WED 22 BAR OPENS AT 7PM SHOW AT 8PM GUEST BARTENDER AFTER SHOW FROM PEARL DIVE/BLACK JACK THUR 23 BAR OPENS AT 7PM SHOW AT 8PM GUEST BARTENDER AFTER SHOW FROM BTOO
kennedy CenteR MillenniuM staGe 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Manhattan School of Music Jazz Arts Quintet. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. MR. HenRy’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Mary Alouette and The DJams. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com.
saturday
tRopiCalia 2001 14th St. NW. (202) 629-4535. Tal National, DJ Farrah Yalla!. 8 p.m. $15–$18. tropicaliadc.com.
Rock
BluEs
9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Martin Sexton, Brothers McCann. 6 p.m. $27.50. 930.com.
classical
Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Skribe. 7 p.m. Free. gypsysallys.com.
Zoo baR 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 2324225. Stacy Brooks Blues Band. 9 p.m. Free. zoobardc.com.
aMp by stRatHMoRe 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Soheil Nasseri. 8 p.m. $25. ampbystrathmore.com.
RoCk & Roll Hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-ROCK. Oh Honey, Public, Nick Santino. 8 p.m. $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com.
baRns at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Eileen Ivers. 8 p.m. $27–$30. wolftrap.org.
BAR OPENS AT 7PM SHOW AT 8PM
SUN 19 BAR OPENS AT 6PM SHOW AT 7PM
sixtH & i HistoRiC synaGoGue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. The Hot Sardines. 8 p.m. $20. sixthandi. org.
WoRld
FRI 17
FRI 24
BAR OPENS AT 6PM SHOW AT 7PM AFTER PARTY AT POSTO BAR OPENS AT 9PM SHOW AT 10PM
14TH & P STREETS STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG | 202.332.3300
countRy 9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Randy Rogers Band, Stoney LaRue. 10:30 p.m. $30. 930.com.
MEDIA PARTNER
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 47
WoRld
ElEctRonic
aMp by stRatHMoRe 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Gabriel Alegría. 8 p.m. $25–$30. ampbystrathmore.com.
u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Dieselboy, Downlink. 10 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
classical
Jazz
Casa italiana 595 1/2 3rd St. NW. (202) 638-1348. The Romantics: Wagner and Liszt. 8 p.m. $16–$35. casaitalianaschool.org.
sixtH & i HistoRiC synaGoGue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. Vijay Iyer Trio. 8 p.m. $25. sixthandi.org.
dJ nights blaCk Cat baCkstaGe 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Right Round with DJ lil’e. 10 p.m. $7. blackcatdc.com. dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Peach Pit with DJ Matt Bailer. 10:30 p.m. $5–$8. dcnine.com.
twins JaZZ 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. William Chan. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.
go-go HowaRd tHeatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Michelle Blackwell. 8 p.m. $20–$45. thehowardtheatre.com.
sunday
classical
blaCk Cat baCkstaGe 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Seryn, Hope for Agoldensummer, Corey James Bost. 7:30 p.m. $10–$12. blackcatdc.com.
kennedy CenteR MillenniuM staGe 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
Rock
dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Doldrums, Moon King. 9 p.m. $13–$15. dcnine.com. Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Johnette Napolitano, Laurie Sargent. 8 p.m. $25–$35. gypsysallys.com. Johnette Napolitano, Laurie Sargent. 8 p.m. $25–$35. gypsysallys.com. tHe HaMilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Heart By Heart. 7:30 p.m. $20–$25. thehamiltondc.com.
Casa italiana 595 1/2 3rd St. NW. (202) 638-1348. The Romantics: Wagner and Liszt. 3:30 p.m. $16–$35. casaitalianaschool.org.
Monday Rock
9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Manic Street Preachers, U.S. Royalty. 7 p.m. $25. 930.com. dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Seoul, Ballet School. 9 p.m. $12–$14. dcnine.com.
CITY LIGHTS: SATURDAY
THE HOT SARDINES
The Jazz Age as F. Scott Fitzgerald remembered it might be long gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t recreate a version of it. If you’ve had a bit of trouble channeling those smoky Parisian café vibes, glean some inspiration from the Hot Sardines, an ensemble of 1920s and 1930s jazz enthusiasts. The group even has a song called “Waking Up in Paris,” inspired by the hometown of lead singer Miz Elizabeth. The band is based in New York City, though, and Big Apple juice drips from every brassy note, trumpet solo, and whispering cymbal. The Hot Sardines tell stories with their music, referencing longago artists both forgotten and heavily appreciated. Whether the ensemble plays “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” or “Petite Fleur,” the influences of jazz masters Django Reinhardt and Fats Waller are evident. On a spring evening, their languid and inventive jazz provides an ideal soundtrack—and unlike their namesake, these Hot Sardines don’t stink. The Hot Sardines perform at 7 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. —Jordan-Marie Smith $20. (202) 785-9727. washingtonperformingarts.org
48 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 49
2461 18th St., NW Washington, DC 202-667-5370
“Where the Beautiful People go to get
Ugly.” “One of the 25 best bars in America” - Playboy Magazine
Redheads always drink 1/2 price Shiner Bock!
LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT Thu: Ladies Night (No Cover For Ladies)
Patrick Alban & Noche Latina Latin & World Beats
Fri: Mississippi Heat
CITY LIGHTS: SUNDAY
MICHELLE BLACKWELL
For the past 15 years, Michelle Blackwell has sung with go-go bands like Northeast Groovers, EU, What? Band, Suttle Thoughts, and Chocolate City. Inspired in part by the “grown and sexy” take on funk and go-go pioneered in the ‘90s by Maiesha and the Hip Huggers, Blackwell adds smooth tones and a hip-hop rasp to her signature go-go vocals on both original compositions and polyrhythmic covers of radio hits and old-school soul classics. She’s sung sultry R&B love songs like “Selfless” with Suttle Thoughts; giddy, hiphop-inflected numbers with What? Band; and touching, sensitive pieces with others. Now, eager to create a product that celebrates all aspects of her artistic being, Blackwell will record her show at the Howard for a live album and DVD with a core band including members of the What? Band and Chocolate City, plus special guests, like percussionist Go-Go Mickey Freeman and vocalist Gene Pratt of Suttle Thoughts and the Junk Yard Band. With an ensemble this stacked, the live release will sound just as good as your old go-go cassettes. Michelle Blackwell performs with Go-Go Mickey, Cal Da Animal, Lysette, Gene Pratt, RappaDude and the Misfitz at 8 p.m. at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $20–$45. (202) 803—Steve Kiviat 2899. thehowardtheatre.com.
Traditional Blues w/ a unique sound
Madam’s House Party On The Second Floor-Featuring DJ India 10:00pm
Sat: JP Soars & The Redhots Traditional Blues Saturday Opening Act: Rico Amero Soulful Blues 7:00pm - 9:00pm Madam’s House Party On The Second Floor-Featuring DJ India 10:00pm
Sun: The Good Thing Band Blues & Funk
Mon: One Nite Stand Reggae, Funk & R&B Tue: TheRock, Johnny Artis Band R&B & Reggae Wed: The Human Country Jukebox Band featuring JACK GREGORI from the
!
Open Mic-8pm Second Floor
Sun, Tues & Thurs
Second Floor: Drunkaoke (Karaoke with Two Drink Minimum)
www.madamsorgan.com 50 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Funk & R&B
ElEctRonic
HowaRd tHeatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Monophonics, People’s Blues of Richmond, Congo Sanchez, Time Is Fire, Litz, DJ Ayecold. 4:20 p.m. $15. thehowardtheatre.com.
u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Keenan Orr, Native Sun, Braulio Agnese, Burymeinamink. 8 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
Jazz boHeMian CaveRns 2001 11th St. NW. (202) 2990800. Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. bohemiancaverns.com.
hip-hop u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Joey Fatts, Maxo Kream, Uno Hype, Vaunfe. 7 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
tuesday
Folk Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Roosevelt Dime, Dirty Bourbon River Show. 8:30 p.m. $12–$15. gypsysallys.com. sixtH & i HistoRiC synaGoGue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. Elvis Perkins. 8 p.m. $18–$20. sixthandi.org.
WoRld bossa bistRo 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088. Cheick Hamala Diabate. 9 p.m. Free. bossproject.com.
Rock
classical
9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Hurray For The Riff Raff, Son Little. 7 p.m. $20. 930.com.
kennedy CenteR MillenniuM staGe 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Bienen School of Music. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Feed the Meter, Dirty Destroyers Orchestra. 9 p.m. $8. dcnine.com. Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Roosevelt Dime, Dirty Bourbon River Show. 8:30 p.m. $12–$15. gypsysallys.com. tHe HaMilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Martha Davis And The Motels. 7:30 p.m. $18–$28. thehamiltondc.com.
Wednesday Rock
Gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. West Main, The Dead 27s. 8 p.m. $10–$14. gypsysallys.com.
ON SALE NOW! ©
Low Ticket Warning
Low Ticket Warning
MAY 26
SHERYL CROW
AMY HELM & THE HANDSOME STRANGERS
JULY 30
JUNE 18
LINDSEY STIRLING THE MUSIC BOX TOUR
AUG 12
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS
JIM GAFFIGAN CONTAGIOUS
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION WITH GARRISON KEILLOR
PETER FRAMPTON AND CHEAP TRICK
AND SPECIAL GUESTS: SARA WATKINS SARAH JAROSZ AOIFE O’DONOVAN
MAY 22 & 23
in association with Minnesota Public Radio & WAMU 88.5 FM
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA EMIL DE COU, CONDUCTOR
JULY 31
JUNE 26-28
AN EVENING WITH THE CREATORS OF SERIAL:
NEEDTOBREATHE’S
PUNCH BROTHERS
TOUR DE COMPADRES
SWITCHFOOT DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS COLONY HOUSE
BÉLA FLECK & ABIGAIL WASHBURN
SARAH KOENIG & JULIE SNYDER JUNE 6
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
TONY AWARD-WINNING ROCK ’N’ ROLL MUSICAL Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis
THE INTIMATE CONCERT TOUR
MAY 29
FIRST AID KIT
JULY 22
JUNE 25
A.R. RAHMAN Low Ticket Warning
BRANDI CARLILE
JULY 15
THESE SHOWS ON SALE APRIL 25!
AUG 11
INGRID MICHAELSON 6/3 » GUSTER | KISHI BASHI 7/16
JILL SCOTT 7/29 » CULTURE CLUB 8/10 » COUNTING CROWS | CITIZEN COPE 8/13 ZZ TOP | BLACKBERRY SMOKE 8/18 » RODRIGO Y GABRIELA 9/6 » AND MORE!
SUMMER 2015
WOLFTRAP.ORG
1.877.WOLFTRAP washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 51
Jazz
Folk
bossa bistRo 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088. Proyecto Jazz. 9 p.m. $5. bossproject.com.
baRns at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. John McCutcheon. 8 p.m. $25–$28. wolftrap.org.
MR. HenRy’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Capitol Hill Jazz Jam with Herb Scott. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com. twins JaZZ 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Nicole Saphos. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.
countRy baRns at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Lee Ann Womack. 8 p.m. $27. wolftrap.org.
classical kennedy CenteR MillenniuM staGe 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. The Juilliard School. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
thursday Rock S H AW - H O WA R D METRO ACCESS OFF GREEN + YELLOW LINE
620 T ST. NW WASHINGTON DC, 2001 202.803.2899 THEHOWARDTHEATRE.COM
VALET PARKING + SELF PARKING ON INTERSECTION OF 7TH & T ST FULL DINNER MENU EVERY SHOW NIGHT
FEATURED SHOWS
9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Kodaline, Gavin James. 7 p.m. $25. 930.com. blaCk Cat baCkstaGe 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Marrow, Phantomweight. 7:30 p.m. $12. blackcatdc.com. tHe HaMilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Dopapod. 7:30 p.m. $15–$20. thehamiltondc.com. u stReet MusiC Hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Footwerk, Trevor Young, DJ Heat, Twinkdrumz. 7 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
countRy 4/25 KEITH SWEAT
ALBUM RELEASE SHOW BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
4/28
COMEDY AT THE HOWARD:
DONNELL RAWLINGS
5/1 ILOVEMAKONNEN, KEY! & SONNY DIGITAL
4/30 SHEILA E
aMp by stRatHMoRe 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Claire Lynch Band. 8 p.m. $30–$35. ampbystrathmore.com.
WoRld atlas peRfoRMinG aRts CenteR 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. Gato’s Sin Frontera. 8 p.m. $22–$28. atlasarts.org.
classical Mansion at stRatHMoRe 10701 Rockville Pike, Rockville. (301) 581-5100. Lily Neill, Vesa Norilo. 7:30 p.m. $22.50–$25. strathmore.org.
Books
Renata adleR The longtime New Yorker staff writer and novelist collects her early political writing and current reflections in her new volume, After the Tall Timber. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 20, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. david bRooks The New York Times columnist examines the lives of ten thought-provoking individuals in his new book, The Road to Character. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. April 23, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 408-3100. liaM Callanan The author, who previously published the novels All Saints and The Cloud Atlas, reads from his new collection of observant short stories, Listen & Other Stories. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 17, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. JoHnny dwyeR Dwyer tells the story of Chucky Taylor, the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor who went from a normal Florida teenager to a war criminal after visiting his father, in American Warlord: A True Story. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 21, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. anGela flouRney The novelist and employee of D.C. Public Libraries reads from her debut book, The Turner House. Busboys and Poets Brookland. 625 Monroe St. NE. April 21, 6:30 p.m. Free.
CITY LIGHTS: MONDAY
5/10 5/2 LEE FIELDS & TROUBLE FUNK
5/5 DEVIN WHITE
FRIDAY APRIL 17TH
COMEDY AT THE HOWARD:
TOMMY DAVIDSON
MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL
UPCOMING SHOWS
ALICE SMITH
PRODUCED BY JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONS
FRIDAY APRIL 17TH LATE SHOW
THE CHERRY FUND PRESENTS:
MONDAY APRIL 20TH DC NORML PRESENTS
FRIDAY APRIL 24TH
JARABE DE PALO
O-TOWN
SUNDAY MAY 3RD
ERICA CAMPBELL OF MARY MARY
ZAKKE
SUNDAY APRIL 19TH
SATURDAY APRIL 25TH
MICHELLE BLACKWELL
LATE-HIP HOP LIVS PRESENTS:
15TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW W/ SPECIAL GUESTS GOGO MICKEY, CAL DA ANIMAL, MISFITZ BAND & MORE! DEVIN WHITE RAW DC PRESENTS SENSORY: DC’S LARGEST LOCAL ARTIST SHOWCASE 5/8 TEEDRA MOSES: ALBUM RELEASE SHOW 5/10 COMEDY AT THE HOWARD: TOMMY DAVIDSON (2 SHOWS) 5/11 HEAVEN ADORES YOU: ELLIOTT SMITH DOCUMENTARY 5/13 FORWARD PRESENTS: RARE ESSENCE, JEREMY ELLIS, STARSHIP CONNECTION + MORE!
MONDAY APRIL 27TH
HIGHER GROUND: MONOPHONICS & PEOPLE’S BLUES OF RICHMOND WITH CONGO SANCHEZ, TIME IS FIRE, LITZ, DUBPIXEL & AYES COLD
GRAVITY W/ DJ PAULO & DJ TWIN
5/5 5/6
5/8 TEEDRA MOSES: ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
BACKYARD BAND: FAN APPRECIATION PARTY 5/15 WHITE FORD BRONCO 5/16 5/16 TRIBUTE TO PHYLLIS HYMAN 5/16 CHUCK BROWN BAND FEAT. FRANK SIRIUS (AKA SCOOBY), KK + MORE! 5/17 AFRISONORE PRESENTS LÁGBÁJÁ 5/19 SPECIAL EFFECTS TOUR 2015: TECH N9NE 5/20 PUMPSTATION & THE HOWARD THEATRE PRESENT: ETANA 5/22 MOBB DEEP 5/23 KINKY / DANIELA SPALLA 5/23-LATE-MEGA WOMEN’S EVENT
U
WITH THE HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR
EVERY SUNDAY !
MONDAY MAY 4TH
RATA BLANCA METANIUM
5/24 A DRAG SALUTE TO THE DIVAS GIRL GROUPS & LADIES OF HIP HOP 5/25 ANTHONYKEN, LLC. & SHERYL LEE RALPH/THE D.I.V.A. FOUNDATION PRESENT MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL 5/27 JAZZ AT THE HOWARD: YELLOWJACKETS FEAT. BOB MINTZER, FELIX PASTORIUS, RUSSELL FERRANTE & WILLIAM KENNEDY 5/28 LOUIS WEEKS: ALBUM RELEASE SHOW 5/29 LSS UNIVERSAL PRESENTS: TWEET
ADMISSION GETS YOU U ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET + ENTRANCE TO THE SHOW!
52 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
2 SHOW EASTER SPECIAL! SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015 DOORS AT 10AM + 1PM
LITTLE MARGIE CLARK AND JACQUES JOHNSON The beginning-of-the-week gigs at Southwest D.C.’s Westminster Church are billed as “Blue Monday Blues,” but this week’s will deliver a little more soul than most. “Jacques & Margie Live!” brings together the warbling vocals of Little Margie Clark, from the 1960s D.C. girl group the Jewels, and the saxophone tones of Jacques Johnson. The Jewels were best known for their 1964 hit song “Opportunities” and toured with James Brown at the height of their popularity before breaking up in 1968. Clark, a Roosevelt High grad who’s sung gospel, R&B, and jazz for decades, can still hit the high notes. In this century, she’s occasionally worked with a band that includes Johnson, the father of Meshell Ndegeocello, who has played for many years with the U.S. Army Band. The pair will also be joined by veteran trombonist, keyboardist, and arranger Bobby Felder, who got his start playing with Ray Charles. Clark is no longer that young star who impressed the Godfather of Soul, but as on her 2004 album, At Last, she’ll bring life to classics like “Summertime” and “Chain of Fools.” Little Margie Clark and Jacques Johnson perform at 6 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 —Steve Kiviat I St. SW. $5. (202) 484-7700. westminsterdc.org.
I.M.P. PRESENTS Merriweather Post Pavilion • Columbia, MD
JUST ANNOUNCED!
MUMFORDOn Sale & Friday, SONS w/ The Maccabees............JUNE 10 April 17 at 10am
THIS WEEK’S SHOWS
Martin Sexton w/ Brothers McCann Early Show! 6pm Doors ..........................Sa 18 Randy Rogers Band w/ Stoney LaRue Late Show! 10:30pm Doors ...............Sa 18 Manic Street Preachers w/ U.S. Royalty ............................................................. M 20
VANS WARPED TOUR
On Sale Now. For a full lineup, visit vanswarpedtour.com.
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Hurray For The Riff Raff w/ Son Little ...............................................................Tu 21
feat.
Kix • Europe • Queensrÿche and more!............................... MAY 1 & 2
Two-day and Single-day tickets on sale now. For a full lineup, visit m3rockfest.com.
APRIL
DC101 KERFUFFLE
U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS
Duke Dumont w/ Will Eastman Late Show! 10:30pm Doors.............................. Sa 25 Houndmouth ................................................................................................................ Su 26 Spandau Ballet All 2/9 Spandau Ballet tickets honored. ................................... Tu 28
For a full lineup, visit dc101.com
Kenny Chesney w/ Jake Owen & Chase Rice .................................................... MAY 27 FEATURING
Joe Pug w/ Field Report (solo) ......................................................................................Sa 2 Butch Walker w/ Jonathan Tyler & The Dove and The Wolf .................................. Th 7 The Maine w/ Real Friends • Knuckle Puck • The Technicolors ......................... Su 10 Aaron Watson .............................................................................................................. Th 14 ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Papadosio ....................................................................................................................... F 15
AN EVENING WITH
Walk Off The Earth ................................................................................................... Sa 16
U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS
Kilngande ..................................................................................................................... Sa 23 The Story So Far w/ Four Year Strong • Terror • Souvenirs.............................. Su 24 Steven Wilson This is a seated show. .................................................................... Tu 26 Patrick Watson w/ The Low Anthem ........................................................................ W 27
9:30 CUPCAKES
FEATURING
Incubus • The Offspring • Panic! at the Disco • Dirty Heads and more! .......MAY 3
MAY
MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE!
FEATURING
Asking Alexandria • Black Veil Brides • Riff Raff and more! ............. SAT JULY 18
930.com
The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com
Kendrick Lamar • Banks and more! ........ MAY 30 Calvin Harris • The Weeknd and more!... MAY 31
Single-Day tickets on sale now. For more info, visit sweetlifefestival.com.
The Decemberists w/ Father John Misty .............................................................. JUNE 4 CAPITAL JAZZ FEST FEATURING
Kenny G • George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic and more!.............JUNE 5-7
Florence + The Machine w/ Empress Of ....................................................... JUNE 9 Hozier w/ The Antlers ...................................................................................................... JUNE 20 Fall Out Boy | Wiz Khalifa w/ Hoodie Allen & DJ Drama ..................................... JUNE 27 Sam Smith........................................................................................................................JULY 24 My Morning Jacket w/ Jason Isbell........................................................................JULY 26 Faith No More w/ Refused ....................................................................................... AUGUST 2 CDE PRESENTS 2015 SUMMER SPIRIT FESTIVAL FEATURING
ERYKAH BADU • ANTHONY HAMILTON and more!.............................. AUG 8 Phish ......................................................................................................................AUGUST 15 & 16 Willie Nelson & Family and Old Crow Medicine Show..................... AUG 19 Darius Rucker w/ Brett Eldredge • Brothers Osborne • A Thousand Horses........ AUG 22 Death Cab For Cutie w/ very special guest Explosions in the Sky ...............SEPT 13 • For full lineups and more info, visit merriweathermusic.com • 930.com
SEPT 8 SOLD OUT! SECOND NIGHT
9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL Oh Land w/ I Am Strikes ................ Su MAY 3 w/ Protomartyr & The Gotobeds .. Th APR 16 Stu Larsen & Natsuki Kurai w/ Matt Sanders...................................... Th 7 Kitty, Daisy & Lewis w/ Gemma Ray ... F 17 Nick Hakim w/ Ben Talmi........................ F 8 Joey Fatts w/ Maxo Kream • Uno Hype • Vaunfe ................................. M 20 Tennis w/ Kuroma ................................ Tu 12 Lo-Fang ................................................. W 13 Footwerk w/ Trevor Young & DJ Heat and Twinkdrumz ................................... Th 23 Sam Prekop w/ Mountains.................... F 15 Shy Girls w/ Young Ejecta.................... Th 30 William Fitzsimmons ........................ Th 21
ADDED!
Echostage • Washington, D.C.
TWENTY ONE PILOTS w/ Echosmith ............................... SEPTEMBER 9 On Sale Friday, April 17 at 10am
9:30 & SASHA LORD PRESENT
Priests
• Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office
Atmosphere w/ B Dolan • deM atlaS • DJ Adatrak.......................................................MAY 2 TV On The Radio w/ Bo Ningen ...................................................................................MAY 19 Hot Chip w/ Sinkane .......................................................................................................... JUNE 5 Tame Impala w/ Kuroma ..........................................................................................SAT JUNE 6 Belle and Sebastian w/ Alvvays................................................................................ JUNE 11 Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.......................................................... JUNE 16 Milky Chance w/ X Ambassadors.......................................................................... SAT JULY 27 Interpol ................................................................................................................................JULY 28 Stromae ................................................................................................................. SEPTEMBER 16
DAR Constitution Hall • Washington D.C.
ABC’S NASHVILLE IN CONCERT
2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE • Ticketmaster
FEATURING
Clare Bowen • Chris Carmack • Charles Esten and more!.. MAY 3 For full lineup, visit abc.com/nashvilletour. Ticketmaster
Pimlico Race Course • Baltimore, MD
ARMIN VAN BUUREN w/ Childish Gambino .... SAT MAY 16 All day event! For more info, visit preakness.com/infield.
1215 U Street NW, Washington, D.C.
THIS SUNDAY!
Rick Springfield STRIPPED DOWN An intimate solo performance of music & storytelling
w/ Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady ......................................................................... APRIL 19
THIS WEDNESDAY!
The Idan Raichel Project ................................................................................ APRIL 22 Daughtry STRIPPED - ACOUSTIC SHOW! w/ Lucie Silvas.................................................. MAY 2 Lisa Lampanelli .................................................................................................... MAY 29 LIVE NATION PRESENTS
RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
T.J. Miller ................................................................................................... SAT JUNE 20
AEG LIVE PRESENTS
20th Anniversary Blowout!
Buddy Guy • Gary Clark Jr. • Heart • and more! For full lineup, visit 930.com ... JULY 4
Jim Jefferies ....................................................................................... SAT NOVEMBER 7 • thelincolndc.com •
U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!
Ticketmaster
Tickets for 9:30 Club shows are available through TicketFly.com, by phone at 1-877-4FLY-TIX, and at the 9:30 Club box office. 9:30 CLUB BOX OFFICE HOURS are 12-7PM Weekdays & Until 11PM on show nights. 6-11PM on Sat & 6-10:30PM on Sun on show nights. 9:30 CUPCAKES The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth. Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. www.buzzbakery.com
PARKING: THE OFFICIAL 9:30 parking lot entrance is on 9th Street, directly behind the 9:30 club. Buy your advance parking tickets at the same time as your concert tickets!
HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES
AFTER THE SHOW AT THE BACK BAR!
930.com
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 53
pHyllis leffleR, Julian bond The authors, codirectors of the University of Virginia’s Explorations in Black Leadership Project, read from their new book, Black Leaders on Leadership: Conversations with Julian Bond. Busboys and Poets Brookland. 625 Monroe St. NE. April 19, 6:30 p.m. Free. Justin MaRtin Martin explores the origin of America’s bohemian movement from the perspective of poet Walt Whitman in his new book Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America’s First Bohemians. Library of Congress James Madison Building. 101 Independence Ave. SE. April 21, 12 p.m. Free. (202) 707-5000. baRbaRa klein Moss In Moss’ new novel The Language of Paradise, a pregnant artist in 19th century New England struggles with her husband while he obsesses over creating a perfect greenhouse. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 18, 6 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. CHiGoZie obioMa, e.C. osondu The two young Nigerian authors share their recent work: Obioma reads from The Fishermen and Osondu reads from This House Is Not for Sale. Busboys and Poets Takoma. 234 Carroll St. NW. April 20, 6:30 p.m. Free. (202) 726-9525. RobeRt sCHeeR The author advocates for the right to privacy in his new book, They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy. Busboys and Poets Takoma. 234 Carroll St. NW. April 22, 6:30 p.m. Free. (202) 726-9525. GoRan RosenbeRG The author, a popular journalist in Sweden, chronicles his father’s emigration from Poland to Sweden during World War II in A Brief Stop on the Road From Auschwitz. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 23, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. MaRCus saMuelsson Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelson discusses his latest cookbook, Marcus Off-Duty, and his own food preferences with Nat Geo Studios executive producer Pam Caragol Wells. National Geographic Grosvenor Auditorium. 1600 M St. NW. April 23, 7 p.m. $40.50-$45. (202) 857-7700. MiCHelanGelo siGnoRile Radio host and editor Signorile reads from his latest book about the fight for gay rights, It’s Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance,
Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 22, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. sCott siMon NPR reporter Simon describes his fond relationship with his late mother in Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime, which originated as a series of tweets. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 19, 1 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. andRew yaRRow The journalist and historian traces the American obsession with saving money and general thriftiness from the temperance movement to today’s push for increased sustainability in his book Thrift: The History of an American Cultural Movement. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. April 18, 1 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.
Galleries
adaMson GalleRy 1515 14th St. NW, Suite 202. (202) 232-0707. adamsongallery.jimdo.com. OngOing: “Gordon Parks: A Segregation Story” Photographs chronicling racial segregation throughout America by the late Life magazine photographer Gordon Parks. April 11–June 27. anaCostia aRts CenteR 1231 Good Hope Road SE. anacostiaartscenter.com. OngOing: “Eternal Spring” Artist Matt Hollis affixes hundreds of artificial flower petals to his canvases to both mimic and celebrate the changing seasons in this exhibition of assemblages. March 27–April 25. aRlinGton aRts CenteR 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. arlingtonartscenter.org. Opening: “2015 Spring SOLOS” Former AAC curators Andrea Pollan and Jeffry Cudlin judge this annual exhibition of work by emerging artists. Featured participants include Bradley Chriss, Nichola Kinch, Kate Kretz, Ariana Lamb, Nate Larson, Dan Perkins, and Paul Shortt. April 18–June 27. aRtispHeRe 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 8751100. artisphere.com. OngOing: “Infinitesimal” Artist Monica Stroik explores the limits of perception and memory in this immersive new exhibition of oil paintings that draws inspiration from Artisphere’s architecture. Feb. 4–April 25. OngOing: “Bruised” Local animator Safwat Saleem and WAMU’s Rebecca Sheir curate this new participatory art project that invites
CITY LIGHTS: TUESDAY
ELVIS PERKINS As opposed to an evening-bound serenade, an aubade is a morning love song, sung between two lovers separating at first light. In a statement posted to his website in November, Elvis Perkins—the well-heeled musician son of Psycho actor Anthony Perkins— explained why he named his third album, I Aubade, after this mournful melodic tradition: The word captured dawn’s “renewal and translation” and sonically evoked questions of obeying. “And I was led to consider whom and what man-made I have obeyed in lieu of natural and supernatural law,” Perkins writes. These new-age queries mark a musical turn for the tattooed folkie: Listeners will still catch tinges of Bob Dylan on the album’s 13 tracks, but the addition of harps, flutes, and synthesizers give this new offering an ethereal, floating quality. Perkins will merely suggest daybreak when he plays Tuesday night. Elvis Perkins performs at 8 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. $18–$20. (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org. —Anya van Wagtendonk
54 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 55
CITY LIGHTS: WEDNESDAY
TRIVIA EVERY M O N D AY & W E D N E S D AY
$10 BURGER & BEER MON-FRI 4 P M -7 P M $3 PBR & NATTY BOH ALL DAY EVERY DAY
www.bethesdabluesjazz.com
600 beers from around the world Downstairs: good food, great beer, $3 PBR & Natty Boh’s all day every day
th 16
*all shows 21+
friday april 17
tito puente jr & hiS orCheStra
THURS, APR 16
UNDERGROUND COMEDY DOORS OPEN AT 630PM
LATin DAnCing - Dj eARL 10:30PM - 12:30AM
FRI, APR 17
THE WEIRDO SHOW
DOORS OPEN AT 830PM SHOW STARTS AT 10PM
LONG TRAIL EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
a p r i l the JQ experience, Julian Quander live
Sa 18 the soul crackers w/ tommy lepson Sunday april 19
STARTS AT YPM WE WILL BE POURING; LONG TRAIL STANDOUT, OTTER FRESH SLICE,WOLIVERS WILD FLOWER, OTTER PALE, SHED MOUNTAIN.
junior walker’S all Star band
S AT, A P R 1 8
LAST RESORT COMEDY SHOW
thurSday april 23
SHOW DOORS OPEN AT 6PM SHOW STARTS 630PM
freda payne
BLACKMARKETBURLESQUESHOW
DOORS OPEN AT 830PM SHOW STARTS AT 10PM SUN, APR 19
ALEXX STAR PRESENTS A PUNCHLINES IN PARADISE A COMEDY COMPETITION 2 SHOWS DOORS
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM SHOW AT 6PM AND DOORS OPEN AT 730PM FOR 8PM SHOW MON, APR 20
friday april 24
Club nouveau
PLus CALvin RiChARDson AnD CAse th 30
TRIVIA
STARTS AT 730PM WITH DISTRICT TRIVIA
international Jazz day featuring dave damiani, spencer day and maiya sykes m a y
TUES, APR 21
may 1St
DUPONT ROTARY CLUB MEETING
eddie money
DOORS OPEN AT 6PM
LASTRESORTCOMEDYSHOW DOORS OPEN AT 630PM THURS, APR 30
ON APRIL 30TH 2015 BIER BARONWILL BE HOSTING
“THE RIDICULOUS BEER EVENT”
WE LOOKED DEEP IN THE CELLAR AND CALLED SOME FRIENDS TO PROCURE THE MOST RIDICULOUS BEERSWE COULD FIND FOR THIS EVENT. IN TRUE BARON FASHION,WE ARE NOT SELLING TICKETS,SO FIRST COME FIRST SERVE AND ALLWE ASK IS THATYOU BUYYOUR BEER. WEWILL BE RELEASING A DIFFERENT BEER EVERY 30 MINUTES; 6PM FOUNDERS KBS 2015 630PM HEAVY SEAS PLANK 3 CASKTHATWE ARE ADDING A BLEND OF SPICY CHILI PEPPERS 7PM MOONLIGHT MEADERY CURIOSITY 2015 730PM BELL’S EXPEDITION STOUT 2012 8PM JW LEE’S HARVEST ALE AGED IN CALVADOS CASKS 2011 830PM GOOSE ISLAND BOURBON COUNTY STOUT 2013 1523 22nd St NW – Washington, DC 20037 (202) 293-1887 - www.bierbarondc.com @bierbarondc.com for news and events
two ShowS! Sa 2
Be’la dona
S3
girma yifrashewa
f8
luther re-lives feat. william “smooth” wardlaw
Sa 9
shadows of the 60’s: a triBute to the four tops
S 10
(mother’s day Brunch & evening show) wil hart of the original delfonics
Sa 16 king soul S 17
soulcial hour Band
f 22
a southern soul triBute: the music of muscle shoals & stax/volt Sunday may 24
CryStal gayle f 29
grainger and the new pockets feat merixtell
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS’ THEATER NEW PLAY FESTIVAL Thanks to the Young Playwrights’ Theater, thousands of D.C. school children every year receive a crash course in dramatic writing. Through its InSchool Playwriting Program, the organization encourages students to connect with their inner dramatists and explore their ideas—and while it’s unclear if the next Arthur Miller is buried within their ranks, the resulting works always boast a high entertainment value. From the more than 1,000 student scripts authored this year, 15 will be performed and directed by professionals at YPT’s New Play Festival. Works by elementary-school students fill the first two nights of the festival, but closing night highlights work by middle and high school students, whose plays cover everything from family life to time travel to bullying. The students remain involved in the process, collaborating with their directors, actors, and dramaturgs to turn out mini masterpieces that aren’t as gloomy as Broadway fare but just as engrossing. The festival runs April 20 to 22 at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. —Caroline Jones Free. (202) 387-9173. youngplaywrightstheater.org.
visitors to share their stories of defeat. Saleem will then animate the stories and display them on screens throughout the building. April 15–July 31. atHenaeuM 201 Prince St., Alexandria. (703) 5480035. nvfaa.org. OngOing: “Rara Avis” Martin Tarrat and Langley Spurlock present “The Abcdearium of Birds,” a collection of illustrations and verses about imaginary birds, while Beverly Ress presents large-scale drawings and constructions of birds. April 16–May 31. bRentwood aRts exCHanGe 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood. (301) 277-2863. arts.pgparks.com. OngOing: “Brentwood Arts Exchange 5th Anniversary Show” Artists who’ve presented work at the center over the years return to celebrate at this anniversary show. March 16–May 9. Capitol skyline Hotel 10 I St. SW. (202) 4887500. capitolskyline.com. OngOing: “Upward Mobility” Photographer Avi Gupta presents a large-scale photograph of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s staircase printed on a banner on the side of the Capitol Skyline Hotel to close the WPA’s South Capitol Skyscape series. Feb. 2–April 30. CRoss MaCkenZie GalleRy 2026 R St. NW. (202) 333-7970. crossmackenzie.com. OngOing: “Blast Off!” Flight-themed works by artists Eve Biddle & Joshua Frankel, Matthew Courtney, David Favrod, Maxwell MacKenzie, Philip Slagter, and Trevor Young. April 3–April 25. tHe fRidGe Rear Alley, 516 Eighth St. SE. (202) 6644151. thefridgedc.com. OngOing: “Rose Jaffe.” New colorful portraits by local artist Rose Jaffe. April 4–May 3.
7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD (240) 330-4500
GalleRy plan b 1530 14th St. NW. (202) 234-2711. galleryplanb.com. OngOing “Africa” Landscape paintings inspired by artist Freya Grand’s travels around the continent. March 25–May 3.
Two Blocks from Bethesda Metro/Red Line Free Parking on Weekends
GoetHe-institut wasHinGton 812 7th St. NW. (202) 289-1200. www.goethe.de/washington. OngOing: “gute aussichten: new german photography
56 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
2014/2015” The eight winners of this annual photography competition display more than 300 images chronicling everything from life in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to the Matterhorn. March 5–May 1. HillyeR aRt spaCe 9 Hillyer Court NW. (202) 3380680. artsandartists.org. OngOing: “CircuitScapes” Paintings of computer circuits styled to look like landscapes by painter Glen Kessler. April 3–April 25. OngOing: “J.D. Deardourff” Colorful screenprints inspired by comic books by graphic designer and artist J.D. Deardourff. April 3–April 25. HonfleuR GalleRy 1241 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. honfleurgallery.com. OngOing: User Error” Larry Lairson references op-art in his large paintings that frequently incorporate materials like glue and linen. March 20–May 1. lonG view GalleRy 1234 9th St. NW. (202) 2324788. longviewgallery.com. OngOing: “Networks” Abstract paintings by Long View regulars Sondra N. Arkin and Eve Stockton. April 2–May 3. tRansfoRMeR GalleRy 1404 P St. NW. (202) 483-1102. transformergallery.org. OngOing: “Before the Law” Raul Romero and Jane Carver use Kafka’s “before the law” parable as inspiration for this multimedia show that explores the relationship between absolutism and relativity. March 14–April 25. vivid solutions GalleRy 1231 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. vividsolutionsdc.com. OngOing: “Anacostia River Photography” D.C. residents share their photos and memories of the Anacostia River in this open-call group show. March 20–May 1. ZenitH GalleRy 1429 Iris St. NW. (202) 783-2963. zenithgallery.com. OngOing: “Women of Zenith Who Have Reached the Zenith” Female artists take over the walls at this exhibition to celebrate Washington’s female leaders and Zenith Gallery’s 37th anniversary. Jan. 14–April 26.
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 57
UPTOWN BLUES
Dine Out Thursday, April 23rd
Open Mic Blues JaM w/ Big Boy LittLe every Thursday
Dining Out for
Fri. Apr. 17 Ann todArA
& the grAnd horizontALs
www.foodandfriends.org/dol
Sat. Apr. 18 stAcy Brooks BLues BAnd Fri. Apr. 24 swAmp keeper’s BAnd Sat. Apr. 25 Bruce ewAn
D.C.’s awesomest
events calendar.
washingtoncitypaper.com/ calendar washingtoncitypaper.com
the red hArmonicA king
Fri. May 1 over the Limit Sat. May 2 Big Boy LittLe BAnd
Sundays mike FLAherty’s
dixieLAnd direct JAzz BAnd
TIPPI HEDREN
MELANIE GRIFFITH
Buy Advance Tickets Online
tickets.landmarktheatres.com
(across from the National Zoo)
202-232-4225 zoobardc.com
sHen yun 2015: RevivinG 5,000 yeaRs of CiviliZation The New York-based company returns to the Kennedy Center to celebrate Chinese culture, music, and dance. Kennedy Center Opera House. 2700 F St. NW. April 17, 7:30 p.m.; April 18, 7:30 p.m.; April 18, 1:30 p.m.; April 19, 1:30 p.m.; April 22, 7:30 p.m.; April 23, 7:30 p.m. $50-$250. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
The Inter-American Development Bank Staff Association Art Gallery
IDB Staff Association Art Gallery
A R T I S T
OLGA ARMAND UGON THE SOUTH
IOTA CLUB & CAFE
12 taps--craft BEErs--growlErfills
new hours
open 4 pm
mon-tue-wed-thu
happy hour 4-7 pM BEforE shows
open 10 am
fri-sat-sun-hol
BrEakfast - Brunch - BoozE
april
th arcology @ iota 16 DJ saM snow on thE DEcks
7:30
frEE
fr 17
champagne fever 8:30 alarke $10 sara curtin ofthEswEatEr sEt
sa 18
moonlight detective 9:00 $10
su 19
bells & hunters 7:30 braddock station $10 garrison cd release
Don ziEnta Mo an evening with w/
20
8:00 $12
frank fairfield
................................... tu 21
lgbtuesdays@iota
frEE
half-pricED apps & hh until 9 pM ................................... wE --Do you play?-22 open mic night !
frEE 8:00
two sign-ups @ 7:30 & 10:00pM
APRIL 21–MAY 1, 2015 Monday through Friday 12 P.M. – 6 P.M.
This exhibit assembles numerous artworks produced in different moments, using different techniques, depicting personal experiences, and her own sensibility to her native land.
OPENING RECEPTION
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 6 – 8 p.m. 1300 New York Avenue, NW (13th Street entrance) Two blocks from Metro Center galeriaISAAG@iadb.org 202-623-2217/3635
58 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
GalliM danCe Guggenheim Fellow Andrea Miller and her company draw inspiration from Israeli modern dance and contemporary movement artists for this evening-long performance. Lansburgh Theatre. 450 7th St. NW. April 17, 8 p.m. $30. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.
Rosy siMas Native American choreographer Simas presents We Wait in Silence, a rumination on the ways ancestry and culture are held within the body. The choreography is complemented by music and sound design by French composer François Richomme. Dance Place. 3225 8th St. NE. April 18, 8 p.m.; April 19, 7 p.m. $15-$30. (202) 269-1600. danceplace.org.
3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW
U R U G U A Y A N
asapH danCe The company commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War with a sentimental evening of dance inspired by real letters sent from soldiers to their loved ones. Hylton Performing Arts Center. 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas. April 17, 8 p.m. $20-$30. (703) 993-7759. hyltoncenter.org.
pilobolus The acclaimed and inventive modern dance troupe presents its humorous and athletic routines at the Alden. Alden Theatre. 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. April 17, 8 p.m. $35-$50. (703) 790-0123. mcleancenter.org/alden/default.asp.
Fri & Sat, April 17 & 18 at Midnight!
Presents
dance
th 23 fr 24
adam ezra mellissa ferrick
sa 25
darlingside and bombadil sir alan & thE calypso ponzi schEMErs
su 26
8:30 $12 7:30 w/anDy zipf of cowarDs choir $20
w/ thE harry BElls th dawn drapes 30 w/ up thE chain
grogan social scEnE coming soon... w/
9:00 $15
7:30 $12 8:30 $10
@ I OTA b a c ka l l ey
shows first come first served
thank you for your business
iotaclubandcafe.com
2832 WILSON BLVD
ARLINGTON VA 703/522-8340 2 1/2 BLOCKS EAST OF
CLARENDON METRO
uRban busH woMen The company, which specializes in telling lesser known stories from the African diaspora through dance, presents Walking with ‘Trane, Chapter 2 an exploration of the legacy of jazz musician John Coltrane. American Dance Institute. 1570 East Jefferson St., Rockville. April 17, 8 p.m.; April 18, 8 p.m. $16.25-$31.25. (855) 263-2623. americandance.org.
theater
Call Me williaM: tHe life and loves of willa CatHeR Prudence Wright Holmes presents her onewoman show about author Willa Cather, a pioneer in the LGBT community who dared to wear men’s clothes and had romantic relationships with women in a period when those actions were seen as punishable offenses. Alden Theatre. 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. To April 19. $15-$20. (703) 790-0123. mcleancenter.org/alden/default.asp. CaRousel A carousel barker gets a second chance at love in this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that features classic songs like “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “If I Loved You.” Olney Theatre Center. 2001 OlneySandy Spring Road, Olney. To May 10. $18-$75. (301) 924-3400. olneytheatre.org. daMe edna’s GloRious Goodbye Barry Humphries’ cross-dressing dame bids her fans farewell and recounts stories from over the years in this musical one-man show. National Theatre. 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. To April 26. $48-$98. (202) 628-6161. nationaltheatre.org. tHe fiRe and tHe Rain Contemporary Indian playwright Girish Karnad turns the Indian epic The Mahabharata into this play about a man who prays for rain to save the earth and the romantic entanglements of his family. Constellation Theatre at Source. 1835 14th St. NW. To May 24. $20-$45. (202) 204-7741. constellationtheatre.org. fReedoM’s sonG Abraham Lincoln’s life and words come to life in this musical that tells the stories of individuals’ highs and lows throughout the Civil War. Ford’s Theatre. 511 10th St. NW. To May 20. $27-$69. (202) 347-4833. fordstheatre.org. G-d’s Honest tRutH Roberta and Larry, a devoted Jewish couple, have the opportunity to rescue a Holocaust torah and give it to their synagogue. Renee Calarco’s new comedy, inspired by the true story of Rabbi Menachem Youlus, examines how communities deal with scandals past and present. Theater J. 1529
16th St. NW. To April 19. $10-$65. (202) 518-9400. theaterj.org. tHe island This South African play, devised by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, explores the physical and psychological torture suffered by black political prisoners during Apartheid through the guide of a performance of Antigone. MetroStage. 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. To April 26. $50-$55. (703) 5489044. metrostage.org. lauGH Mabel, a wealthy orphan, is sent to live with a calculating aunt who aims to steal her fortune by setting Mabel up with her son. Their courtship flounders but reveals a love of movies and ultimately results in a Hollywood-style romance. Studio Theatre. 1501 14th St. NW. To April 19. $20-$78. (202) 332-3300. studiotheatre.org. lettiCe and lovaGe An eccentric tour guide leads visitors on a tour of an English estate and embellishes the truth to liven the experience. Peter Shaffer’s comedy explores what happens when these little lies put the tour guide at odds with a tough inspector from the Preservation Trust. Quotidian Theatre Company at The Writer’s Center. 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda. To May 17. $15-$30. (301) 816-1023. quotidiantheatre.org. liGHts Rise on GRaCe An African-American young man and a daughter of Chinese immigrants fall in love in an inner-city high school. They reconnect after six years, during which the man is swallowed by the system, and struggle to figure out their altered relationship in Chad Beckim’s new play about love, faith, and family. Woolly Mammoth Theatre. 641 D St. NW. To April 26. $40-$68. (202) 393-3939. woollymammoth.net. Man of la ManCHa Don Quixote’s epic journey past windmills and monsters comes to life in this classic musical that features songs like “I Really Like Him” and “The Impossible Dream.” Sidney Harman Hall. 610 F St. NW. To April 26. $20-$110. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. MaRiela in tHe deseRt Playwright Karen Zacarías’ draws inspiration from the lives of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to tell this story about Mexican art patrons who find their inspiration lacking when their family and friends move away. GALA Hispanic Theatre. 3333 14th St. NW. To May 10. $20-$50. (202) 234-7174. galatheatre.org. MuRdeR ballad A woman revels in her perfect life until her ex-lover returns to turn everything upside down. David Muse directs Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash’s exciting rock musical. Studio Theatre. 1501 14th St. NW. To May 10. $20-$50. (202) 332-3300. studiotheatre.org. old wiCked sonGs A young American piano prodigy moves to Vienna in order to conquer a case of writer’s block and meets a tough and traditional Austrian teacher. As the two very different characters interact, it’s unclear whether they’ll suffer or survive working together. 1st Stage. 1524 Spring Hill Road, McLean. To May 3. $15-$28. (703) 854-1856. 1ststagespringhill.org. on appRoval Two wealthy women have picked out suitable husbands but aim to test the goods out before they commit in this witty comedy from the ‘20s. Washington Stage Guild at Undercroft Theatre. 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW. To May 17. $20-$50. (240) 582-0050. stageguild.org. tHe oRiGinalist Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith directs the world premiere of John Strand’s drama about cantankerous Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia. Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero stars as Scalia, who spars with a stubborn, liberal law clerk as they prepare for an important case. Arena Stage. 1101 6th St. SW. To April 26. $70-$110. (202) 488-3300. arenastage.org. tHe Revolutionists A playwright, an assassin, a free woman of color, and a former queen come together in the aftermath of the French Revolution in this new comedy by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson. Catholic University of America. 620 Michigan Ave. NE. To April 26. $5-$15. (202) 319-5000. cua.edu.
To Benefit Believe In Music, a program of Living Classrooms Foundation, that teaches music to underprivileged children.
siMply sondHeiM Signature Theatre celebrates 25 years of producing musicals by Stephen Sondheim with a new review directed by Eric Schaeffer and
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 59
featuring six favorite Signature vocalists. Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To April 19. $75-$90. (703) 820-9771. signature-theatre.org. soon In this world premiere by composer and lyricist Nick Blaemire, all of earth’s water is due to evaporate in a few months, which sends aimless 20-something Charlie into hibernation on the couch. Her mother, friend, and boyfriend try to encourage her to take advantage of what time is left but she soon reveals past events that have kept her confined physically and emotionally. Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To April 26. $39-$94. (703) 820-9771. signature-theatre.org. swinG tiMe—tHe MusiCal Enjoy the music of Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, and Duke Ellington in this comedic wartime musical set during a war bond radio drive broadcast. Arleigh & Roberta Burke Theater at the U.S. Naval Heritage Center. 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. To June 24. $19-$49. (202) 573-8127. swingtimethemusical.com. tHe typoGRapHeR’s dReaM A typographer, geographer, and stenographer discuss their careers in this comedy that questions what happens when your job is your life and you happen to hate your job. The Hub Theatre at John Swayze Theatre. 9431 Silver King Court, Fairfax. To May 3. $20-$30. (703) 674-3177. thehubtheatre.org. unCle vanya Round House presents the area premiere of playwright Annie Baker’s adaptation of Chekhov’s classic about a blended family that fights over the value, both sentimental and monetary, of a country estate. Round House Theatre Bethesda. 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. To May 3. $10-$50. (240) 644-1100. roundhousetheatre.org. vanya and sonia and MasHa and spike Playwright Christopher Durang satirizes Chekov’s characters and premises in this Tony-winning play about two dreary siblings whose lives are upended when their sister comes to visit with her new boyfriend and makes a big announcement. Arena Stage. 1101 6th St. SW. To May 3. $55-$100. (202) 488-3300. arenastage.org.
FilM
of sils MaRia Juliette Binoche, n Clouds Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz star in this drama about an aging actress who is forced to confront her own fears of aging and irrelevancy when a younger actress is asked to play the part that made the older woman famous. (See washingtoncitypaper. com for venue information) deseRt danCeR Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian forms an underground dance company during the dramatic 2009 presidential election in this film based on a true story. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) ex MaCHina A computer coder and the CEO of n the company he works for fight over the behavior and affection of the a female humanoid artificial intelligence in this thriller directed by Alex Garland. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) kinGdoM Tina Fey narrates this Disn Monkey neynature documentary about a group of toque macaques that has to find a new home when a neighboring tribe takes over their space. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) blaRt: Mall Cop 2 The Segway-riding n paul New Jersey security guard returns in this sequel, which finds him chasing down bad guys and stumbling through Las Vegas casinos. (See washingtoncitypaper. com for venue information) stoRy Michael Finkel, a journalist (Jonah n tRue Hill), follows the story of a murderer wanted by the FBI who uses Finkel’s name as an alias, in this thrilling drama also starring James Franco and Felicity Jones. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) A group of friends are terrorized n byunfRiended an anonymous person online in this thriller directed by Levan Gabriadze. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
Film clips are written by Caroline Jones.
CITY LIGHTS: THURSDAY
ON APPROVAL Whether buying a dress or selecting a romantic partner, trying out the goods is essential before sealing the deal. But there was once a time when parents settled the marriage agreement and women didn’t have a chance to decide on their potential spouses. That’s the case in Washington Stage Guild’s production of Frederick Lonsdale’s On Approval, a comedy of manners about a widow who whisks her lover off to Scotland in order to investigate whether he’ll be an acceptable husband. Circumstances lead to them getting stranded with two friends and, predictably, things go south. The very polite manners the characters once displayed turn bad, partners get swapped, and marriage seems almost entirely out of the question, but hilarity still ensues. The play hasn’t been seen in D.C. for decades, so while the source material might be old, the story appears brand new. The play runs April 23 to May 17 at the Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW. $20–$50. —Caroline Jones (202) 582-0050. stageguild.org.
60 april 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
GOING UP
HHHH
OF GOMORRAH AND THE GODFATHER...THRILLING.”
“SHADES
By BreNdaN emmett QUIGley 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 24
21
25
22
30
33
34
38 43 46 52
56
57
59
35
60
36
37 40
44
45 48
53
68
69
70
19 20 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 32 34 37 38 39
40
47
58
67
16 17 18
46
55
66
15
42
54
65
“Eff you, pal” ___ soda Grooming aid Spanish province near Madrid Morale boosting grp. Eighth of a cup Picture puzzle? Singer Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie Sucking tool They’re always on the left “Who do you think you ___?” Tour jeté outfit Dance similar to the Twist It might take some X-rated insertions Word said with a finger snap Common video game setting Spending ___ Time to hit the salad bar Little Camel Falstaff’s buddy Curry ingredient “Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ___!” Big name in pest control
42
50
62
1 6 9 14
41 41
49
61
Across
36
31
39
47
51
22 24 25 29 31 33 35
13
27
29
32
12
23
26
28
11
43 21-Down’s genre 44 Go bad 45 Fancy ___ (children’s book series) 46 Word on a sheepskin 48 Knock the socks off 50 Lollipop alternative 51 Centers of operation 52 Remove, as rollerblades 55 Alternative reporting magazine 56 Doing stuff, probably 57 Chrysler compact 59 Turned white 61 Butterfingers 62 She’s into hip hop 65 2011 hurricane 66 Banana cream ___ 67 Fast times? 68 It ends with “next year in Jerusalem” 69 “One more thing ...” 70 Took the lead
Down 1 Place for buds to hang out? 2 “Hi, Claudius!” 3 The Dalai Lama yours truly rounded up?
63
64
49 51 53 54 55 58
4 Valentine message from the spelling impaired 5 Shock with a gun 6 Less-thanspectacular vehicle? 7 “Have ___” (“Get comfortable”) 8 Bugle’s sound? 9 Really awesome PDA? 10 Road to nowhere? 11 Act out the chorus of Weezer’s “The Sweater Song”? 12 Few and far between 13 Lumberjack at work 21 100 Miles and Runnin’ group
60 63 64
Showerhead? Nursery powder “Fuhgeddit” Spur a horse on? ___ avis Chowder fish Twitter event of 11/7/13 Make sure star pitcher has dinner? Orange headphones for Google Music? Where “FB” means Facebook: Abbr. Space in a crossword “I’ll take that as ___” Get married Pueblo builders Parkinson’s medicine Director’s direction Pushed hard More than competent Houston-toBeaumont dir. Meter maid’s assignment: Abbr. If you take it more than seven times, you’re supposedly legally insane
“A SUPERIOR ITALIAN GANGSTER
MOVIE... THE KIND THAT OTHER MOB FILMS ASPIRE TO BE.” ANIME NERE
A FILM BY
FRANCESCO MUNZI CRITICS’ PICKS
SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS START FRIDAY, APRIL 17
Washington
ANGELIKA POP-UP
Virginia
ANGELIKA MOSAIC
AT UNION MARKET 550 PENN STREET 2911 DISTRICT AVE @ LEE NE (571) 512-3313 ANGELIKAPOPUP.COM HIGHWAY & GALLOWS RD WASHINGTON (571) 512-3301 FAIRFAX, VA
blacksoulsmovie.com
LAST WEEK: CORPORATE ROCKERS C A P O
A M O N G
M O W E R
T R O R E X Y O Y C G O O L P N O A T B R I E T N
A Y R E E R A B O L S B E E J A N S T O R A P G L E P R S S O E N A
M E D I C
A L E P H
R O L E O
D E K O L E C I N N I O B E
N O L I E
D R Y E R
T G L I R O E N E D S D O L B O N O O N A Z I N O N A B O P A I A N Z I I R N D R A M I N V A I
I M G A Y
B A R B Q
U L R E N O G E K K O
F E S S
washingtoncitypaper.com april 17, 2015 61
Contents:
Adult ..............................................62 Auto/Wheels/Boat .....................63 Buy, Sell, Trade, Marketplace.................................63 Community...................................63 Employment.................................62 Health/Mind, Body & Spirit ...............................63 Housing/Rentals .........................62 Legals Notices.............................62 Music/Music Row ......................63 Pets................................................63 Real Estate...................................62 Services........................................63
Diversions
Dir�farm ........................................63
Adult Employment
Roommates
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Insurance
DCFG photography are looking for female models ages 18-40 to pose full-time regularly doing indoor/outdoor in a variety of classic fetish styles: close-ups, full body, corporate, casual, heels, feet. You are $$$$ hourly. We provide majority of materials, you also get a copy of all photos. For info/interviews call Rafael,202 /262-8917,brd28@ msn.com
ALL AREAS: ROOMMATES. COM. Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to compliment your personality and lifestyles at Roommates.com!
Sr. Principal Engineer, Satellite Uplink Systems at SiriusXM Radio: An experienced engineer with specifi c skills in the design of software based systems including databases, networking, operations, and maintenance areas is needed to provide project technical direction, program management, testing, and operational support. Apply at : https:// c a r e er s - sirius x m.icim s.c om / jobs/10243/sr.-principal-engihttp://www.washingtoncineer%2c-satellite-uplink-systypaper.com/ tems/job
The IDEA Public Charter School is seeking for a vendor to provide facility maintenance solutions in the education market
AUTO INSURANCE STARTING AT $25/ MONTH! Call 855-9779537
ADULT NIGHTCLUBS SEEKING DANCERS up to $1000. nightly no exp. nec apply after 7pm mcdoogals.com 410-437-2834
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS Adult Services HEALTH/MIND, Gorgeous Asian offer sensuBODY & massage.combiSPIRIT ous full body
nation relaxing by soft magic http://www.washingttouch 9am-7pm appointment oncitypaper.com/ only call 703-5874683 duke st.
Hablas Espanol? Hot Latino Chat. Call Fonochat now & in seconds you can be speaking to HOT Hispanic singles in your area. Try FREE! 1-800-416-3809. Wanna good time! Sweet Japanese Asian model give you a relaxing session! Falls Church VA.in-out call. 571-253-1215
Adult Phone Entertainment
Classified Ads Print & Web Classified Packages may be placed on our Web site, by fax, mail, phone, or in person at our office: 1400 I (EYE) Street NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20005. Commercial Ads rates start at $20 for up to 6 lines in print and online; additional print lines start at $2.50/line (vary by section). Your print ad placement will include web placement plus up to 10 photos online. Premium options available for both print and web may vary. Print Deadline The deadline for submission and payment of classified ads for print is each Monday, 5 pm. You may contact the Classifieds Rep by e-mailing classifieds@washingtoncitypaper.com or calling 202-650-6926. For more information please visit www.washingtoncitypaper.com
Feel the Vibe! Hot Black Chat. Urban woman and men ready to MAKE THE CONNECTION. Call singles in your area! Try Free! Call 1-800-305-9164
Moving? Find A Helping Hand Today
Where Local Girls Go Wild! Hot, Live, Real, Discreet! Uncensored live 1-on-1 HOT phone Chat. Calls in YOUR city! Try Free! Call 1-800-261-4097 Curious About Men? Talk Discreetly with men like you! Try FREE! Call 1-888-779-2789, www.guyspyvoice.com.
Apartments for Rent
Out with the College Park, Green Line old, the Metro, 1In BR,with living, dining area, kitchen, 1BA. 1.5 blocks new Post your from College Park Metro station. Quiet building, listing withparking, From $875/mo. includes heat and water. Direct TV Washington and FIOS available. Laundry City Paper in building. 1 year lease, 1 month security deposit. Mgr. Classifieds 301/277-1755. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
large 1BR on beautiful block in Mt. Pleaseant DC. W/D, HWF, back yard patio, high ceilings, large windows, street parking, available immediately, $1400/mo. + utils. hartapartments@aol.com, 202-898-0899. Ledroit Park NW DC Special. Nice X-LRG 1 BRDM + Den Apt. HRWD FLRS. French Doors, Bay Window, Ceiling Fan, LRG Rooms. Back Porch. Quiet BLDG, Near trans. $1200/mo. 301-262-9123
Condos for Rent 620 sqft 1br/1ba 2nd floor condo in Petworth facing Sherman Circle. Unlimited on-street parking, laundry in basement. Quiet pets allowed. $1500/mo+$1500 security deposit. Call Jenny 202/294-6287 to view. http:// washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ apa/4970106974.html
62 April 17, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com
Rooms for Rent Capitol Hill Living: Furnished Rooms for rent for $1,100 - visit website for details www.TheCurryEstate.com
Architecture/ Engineering Michiels Architecture & Partners has two job openings: an architect and a Project Manager. For job details, please email info@ MichielsArchitecture.com www.MichielsArchitecture.com
Beauty, Fashion & Modeling AIRBRUSH MAKEUP ARTIST course for: ads, TV, film, fashion. 40% off tuition for limited time -Train & Build Portfolio. One week course Details at: AwardMakeupSchool. com, 818-980-2119.
Business Opportunities
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
Assistant Librarian, Programming at SiriusXM Radio: The Assistant Librarian provides support to the SiriusXM programming departments under the direction of the Library Director. Prepares and distributes reports to supervisor, programming department and other staff. Assists programming staff in locating or accessing library assets Apply at : https://careers-siriusxm.icims. com/jobs/10267/assistant-librarian%2c-programming/job
Please go to www.ideapcs.org/ requests-for-proposals to view a full RFP. Proposals shall be received no later than 5:00 P.M., Friday, May 1,FIND 2015.YOUR OUTLET.
RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ Art, Media & Design MIND, BODY & SPIRIT http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Moving? Find A Helping Moving? Find A Helping Hand Today Start your humanitarian career! Change the lives of others while creating a sustainable future. 1, 6, 9, 18 month programs available. Apply today! www.OneWorldCenter.org, 269-591-0518 info@ oneworldcenter.org
Make $1000 Weekly!! Mailing Brochures From Home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine Opportunity. No Experience Required. Start Immediately. www.theworkingcorner.com.
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Education Washington City Update your skills for a better Paper Classifieds job! Continuing Education at
EAT, DRINK, PAINT! Learn the secrets to painting in a 2 hour class - Sip, snack, paint your night away! *BUY TICKETS on FACEBOOK* (Search: Learn Make Live) www.Universe.com/LearnMakeLive No Experience needed!
Hand Today
OWE BACK TAXES, RECENT ARREST, other legal problems? Contact the Law Offi ce of Effi e Forde to get the help you need - 202-5081483. Conveniently located to METRO.
Moving & Hauling Tenley Bulk Trash Removal and light moving. 202-437-4413.
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
Antiques & Collectibles
I BUY RECORD COLLECTIONS!! I drive to you, pay in CASH, and haul them away. professional and courteous. Looking for classic rock, jazz, funk, soul, heavy metal, and MoTown. Call 571-830-5871 WANTED: Soul/R&B 45s, LPS, 12”s, Show Posters (see Globe Posters), or any DC area soul music related memorabilia. 1950s-1980s considered. Cash paid. Call 703-380-7952
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds
F R C M
h
M Hel
GET ON TO GET OFF
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Community College at UDC has http://www.washingtoncitymore than a thousand certified paper.com/ online & affordable classes in nearly every field. Education on your own. http://cc.udc.edu/continuing_education
General
Legal Services
Moving?
AIRLINE CAREERS begin here – Get started by training as FAA certifi ed Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualifi ed students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-725-1563
Find A 202-448-0091 Helping Hand Today Try it for free
More local numbers:1-800-777-8000 Ahora en Español/18+ www.guyspyvoice.com
Miscellaneous Associate Producer, Talk Programming at SiriusXM Radio: Associate Producer for The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt, a national daily political talk show focused on progressive politics and Beltway intrigue. Position requires call-screening, writing for on-air talent among other daily responsibilities producing a three-hour news, opinion and information program. Apply at: https://careers-siriusxm.icims. com/jobs/10331/associate-producer%2c-talk-programming/job
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
Senior Director, Broadcast Operations at SiriusXM Radio: The Senior Director, Broadcast Operations has responsibility for the day to day management of Sirius | XM RADIO’s content distribution systems. The responsibilities include architecture, implementation and configuration control of all satellite uplink, IP delivery, Telematics systems. Apply at : https://careers-siriusxm.icims. com/jobs/10360/senior-director%2c-broadcast-operations/ job
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
MOVING? FIND A HELPING HAND TODAY Out with the old, In with
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN
MOVING?
FIND A HELPING Out with the HAND old, In with the new 202.448.0113 Post your TODAY listing with CHATLINE TM
Try for FREE
Ahora en Español
For More Local Numbers: 1.800.926.6000 Teligence/18+ www.livelinks.com
Washington City Paper Classifieds
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
FIN OU RE UN RE CL HE MI &
http onc
T.
EDS DY
nci-
ELECTRONICS
Events
DISH TV Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) SAVE! Regular Price $34.99 Ask About FREE SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 888992-1957
Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show SUNDAY APRIL 19 10am-3pm at the Annandale Fire House Hall 7128 Columbia Pike Annandale Virginia 22003 Info: shoffpromotions.com Dealers selling their collectibles such as Gold, Silver, Bronze and Modern Age Comic Books, NonSports Cards from the 1880’s to the present PLUS Sports Cards including Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey & sports memorabilia, Also a selection of records & DVD’s and hobby supplies PLUS an Artists Alley $1 Off regular $3 Adult Admission with this ad FREE admission fee:18 years old and younger
Miscellaneous KILL STINK BUGS! Harris Stink Bug Spray. Indoor/Outdoor, Odorless, Non-Staining. Effective results begin after spray dries. Available: Hardware Stores, The Home Depot, Buy online: homedepot.com Get CABLE TV, INTERNET & PHONE with FREE HD Equipment and install for under $3 a day! Call Now! 866-353-6916
Cars/Trucks/SUVs Cash For Cars Any Car/Truck. Running or not! Top dollar paid. We come to you. Call for Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www. cash4car.com.
Musical Instruments
FIND YOURPIANO OUTLET.for sale. KIMBALL $1999. Upright, mahogany brown, RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT like new. 202/678-2346.
CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ MIND, BODY &Instruction/ SPIRIT Musical http://www.washingtonClasses citypaper.com/
ng Moving?
, In st
y ds
ty-
Find A Helping Hand Today
Voice, Piano/Keyboards-Unleash your unique voice with outof-the-box, intuitive teacher in all styles classical, jazz, R&B, gospel, neo-soul etc. Sessions available @ my studio, your home or via Skype. Call 202-486-3741 or email dwight@dwightmcnair.com
Out with the old, In with the new for Hire PostBands/DJs your listing with Washington DJ DC SOUL man. Hiphop, regCity Paper gae, go-go, oldies, etc. Clubs, Classifieds caberets, weddings, etc. Contact
thehttp://www.washingtDC Soul Hot Line at 202/286oncitypaper.com/ 1773 or email me at dc1soulman@live.com.
Musicians Available Bass player available. Formerly with Asleep at the Wheel, Katy Benko, Hey Norton, Night Train, Burch Rivers. Call Hal on 703-862-3766 or email halbo@ yahoo.com Guitarist Available- Smooth Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Pop. Call Bruce 202-631-1100
Upcoming Shows
You are invited to enjoy yourself at the NASIM Conference Cultural Night, April 17, 2015, at the Sheraton Hotel, Silver Spring, MD. http://youtu.be/Od9VQwvxGZU
LET. RELAX, AT CLASSIFIEDS BODY & SPIRIT
Events
Mark your calendar
ypaper.com/ now! The Hall of Fame and
Distinguished Service award program will be held May 28th from 5:30 to 8 pm at Knight Hall, University of Maryland, College Park. The reception immediately prior to the program will feature our Reese Cleghorn interns.
FIND A ND TODAY
he old, In with
Sip&Sew: Pop-Up Pillow Talk @Union Market; 4/23,6:30-9pm ALL SUPPLIES PROVIDED. Light refreshments/wine will be served. Registration required. https://pillowtalkum423. eventbrite.com
FIND YOUR OUTLET. General REQUEST FOR QUOTES RELAX, Carlos Rosario UNWIND,International Public Charter School is an adult education public charter school REPEAT operating in the District of CoFIND YOUR lumbia. CRIPCS is interested in CLASSIFIEDS theOUTLET. purchase andRELAX, support of additional network switches for its HEALTH/ UNWIND, REPEAT Harvard campus. The following is theCLASSIFIEDS list of items needed: MIND, BODY 3 Enterasys C5 48 Port HEALTH/MIND, 10/100/1000 4XSFP Switch& SPIRIT es, 2 Enterasys C5 48 Port BODY & SPIRIT
http://www.washingt10/100/1000 PoE- 4XSFP + http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/ 2X32G Switches, 2 Extreme Networks AP3710i Dual Radio oncitypaper.com/ 3x3:3 Access Point with Mimo Integrated Antenna, 1 Extreme Networks ExtremeWorks NBD Advanced Hardware Replacement for NAC-A-20, 2 Extreme Networks 1 Year NBD AHR Support for WS-C25, 1 Extreme Networks 27x7x365 E-Support for NMS25, 1 Extreme Networks 4 Hour Advanced Hardware Replacement for SSA-G8018-0652, 1 Extreme Networks 4 Hour Advanced Hardware Replacement for S180, 1 Extreme Networks 4 Hour Advanced Hardware Replacement for SSA-G80Extreme Networks 4 Year Advanced Hardware Replacement for 71K91L4-48. All quotes must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm Friday, April 24, 2015. For a full copy of the RFQ please contact Gwen Ellis, Business Manager at 202-7974700 or gellis@carlosrosario.org; Subject: Interactive RFQ
General REQUEST FOR QUOTES Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School is an adult education public charter school operating in the District of Columbia. CRIPCS is seeking to replace its current backup/disaster recovery system. This system will support an enterprise level network with multiple VLANs, a mixed physical/virtual machine environment and two domains across two physical campus locations. The system must be presented as a turnkey system with, at a minimum, backup/ recovery, de-duplication, offsite replication, cross site archiving, and bare metal restore (to different platforms) capability. A proven track record working within an educational environment and knowledge of educational pricing options is important. Responses are required by 5pm, Friday, April 24, 2015. For a full copy of the RFQ please contact Gwen Ellis, Business Manager at 202-7974700 or gellis@carlosrosario.org; Subject: Backup/Recovery RFQ
Volunteer Services
Pregnant? Thinking of Adoption? Talk with a caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. Living Expenses Paid. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana.
Licensed Massage & Spas Excellent Massage by beautiful therapists in Qi Spa. Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone massage. 3106 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007. www.qispadc@gmail.com. Appointment or walk-ins welcome. Ask for City Paper Specials! 202333-6344.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Moving? Find A Helping Hand Today
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ MIND, BODY & SPIRIT http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Moving? Out with the old, In with new Post Moving? your Find the A Helping listing with Washington Find A Helping HandCity Today Paper Classifieds Hand Today
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
FIND YOUR OUTLE RELAX, UNWIND, CLASSIFIEDS HE MIND, BODY & S
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
http://www.washingtoncitypape
Moving? F Helping Hand
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Heaven-On-Earth. You’ve tried the rest, now come to the best! 240-418-9530, Bethesda. MD Massage License #R00120.
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds
Find A Helping Hand Today
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
http://www.washingtonciCounseling typaper.com/
Helping Hand Today
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
Defend abortion rights. Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF) needs volunteer clinic escorts Saturday mornings, weekdays. Trainings, other info:202-681-6577, http://www. wacdtf.org, wacdtf@wacdtf.org.
Moving? Moving? Find A
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds
FIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
Out with the old the new Post yo listing with Was City Paper Clas
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds
http://www.washingtoncitypap
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
MOVING?
Moving?
Out with the FIND YOUR Find A old, In with OUTLET. the new RELAX, Helping UNWIND, Post your Hand REPEAT listing with CLASSIFIEDS HIRE AN INTERN . CHANGE A LIFE. Today Washington HEALTH/ To sponsor City an intern, Warren, Paper contact Jetheda jwarren@theurbanalliance.org, 202-459-4308 FIND YOUR MIND, BODY Classifieds Urban Alliance empowers under-resourced youth to aspire, work, & SPIRIT OUTLET. and succeed through paid internships, formal training, and mentoring. http://www.washingt-
FIND A HELPING HAND TODAYFIND YOUR OUTLET. RELAX,
MOVING?
oncitypaper.com/ http://www washingtwww.theurbanalliance.org oncitypaper.com/
UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/MIND, BODY & SPIRIT http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
FIND A HELPING
Ou old the RELAX, UNWIND, Po REPEAT lis CLASSIFIEDS Wa HEALTH/ Cit
washingtoncitypaper.com April 17, 2015 63
Out with the