Washington City Paper (June 24, 2016)

CITYPAPER Washington

politics: the xxxxgreen XX team wilts food:7xxxxx XX arts: xxxxxxx bikes: don’t XX follow the leader 11 arts: new labels 29

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50 cravings, 50 places to satisfy them 12 Photos by Darrow Montgomery

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INSIDE 12the food issue

Whether you crave cut-above fries, a $5 cocktail, or control, City Paper has 50 restaurant and bar recommendations for you.

Photographs by Darrow Montgomery

4 Chatter DistriCt Line

7 Loose Lips: Muriel Bowser’s Green Team considers its primary-night drubbing.

9 Buy D.C. 10 Savage Love 11 Gear Prudence

arts

27 Crazed and Confused: Olszewski on new films from Nicolas Winding Refn and Benoît Jacquot 29 Label News: A survey of D.C.’s newest record labels 30 Short Subjects: Gittell on The Fits 32 Speed Reads: Villacorta on Paula Whyman’s You May See a Stranger 34 Discography: Weber on Thaylobleu’s Oscars & Jellyfish

City List

37 City Lights: Stoner-metal legend Sleep descends upon the 9:30 Club.

37 Music 43 Books 43 Galleries 43 Dance 44 Theater 45 Film

46 CLassifieDs Diversions 47 Crossword

on the Cover

Fruit tart from Woodward Takeout Food

“‘Hey, emu up there. Heads up.’”

—Page 11 washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 3

CHATTER Tell Your Doctor If Your Election Lasts More Than a Week

In which readers reflected on those elected

Darrow MontgoMery

Will Sommer’S looSe Lips post-election analysis (“Green Around the Gills,” June 17) kicked off some buzz in our comments section, and there’s nothing we love more than some Monday-morning quarterbacking. It’s one of our specialties!

James Watson (among others) read into the election a referendum on the mayor herself: “Let’s just see it for what it is: Bowser never was and never will be a suitable mayor....

During her tenure as a Councilmember, she never did ANYTHING that made her unique, saavy or forward thinking.”

That same reader, later in the comment, managed to sneak in some choice periphrastic aspersions, calling members of the Green Team “hypocritical, insouciant pajandrums.” Actually [adjusts spectacles imperiously], it’s spelled “panjandrums,” and according to Merriam-Webster, it was a word entirely made up by a British actor and playwright in 1755. Still beats “your momma’s so green…” Reader MarvinEAdams feels former Mayor Vince Gray should be given a fair shot at the D.C. Council, and we’re very sure (nod, nod, nod) that this is his highest aspiration, right? “Whoa Hoss! Or, as Barry would have quipped: ‘Sho’ Ya’ Right. Vincent Gray has N-O-T taken the Oath of Council and folks are already proclaiming his ‘mayoral’ bona fides. I have a suggestion: Everybody take a deep breath and let the Council member-elect do the job for which he was elected.... Ward 7 is in desperate need of adult leadership, period, end of discussion. As for the Mayor, S-ER-I-O-U-S-L-Y! As former President George H.W. Bush famously pronounced: ‘Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice…’ DeeCee will N-O-T be hoodwinked, bamboozled or HAD T-W-I-C-E! AT least, one can H-O-P-E, can’t one?”

Does that spell it out for you?

—Emily Q. Hazzard Want to see your name in bold on this page? Send letters, gripes, clarifications, or praise to editor@washingtoncitypaper.com.

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6 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

Tomorrow’s History Today: This was the week that three lame-duck councilmembers voted to kill a campaign finance reform measure that would have banned for a year political donors from receiving city contracts of more than $100,000.

DistrictLine Wilted Greens

Muriel Bowser’s Green Team considers its primary-night drubbing.

By Will Sommer Last week’s Democratic primary results brought big news for D.C. Council challengers running against Mayor Muriel Bowser’s incumbents. Resurgent ex-Mayor Vince Gray, now the presumptive Ward 7 councilmember after beating incumbent Yvette Alexander by nearly 30 percent of the vote, was met at his campaign party by supporters chanting his name.

In Ward 8, challenger Trayon White and his campaign volunteers spilled out of his election party on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. They celebrated beating incumbent LaRuby May, despite being outraised by nearly 800 percent. After congratulating White, At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman speculated that voters’ ouster of Bowser-backed incumbents would make the Council more “dynamic.”

The mood was much different among the political operatives, campaign contributors, and city government staffers that make up Bowser’s Green Team. Three of the mayor’s allies had just lost, badly hurting the mayor’s bloc in next year’s Council session and emboldening potential mayoral rivals waiting for 2018.

The one Bowser-endorsed candidate who fended off a challenger for his seat, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, ran in what’s supposed to be the heart of the mayor’s support, but still couldn’t crack more than 50 percent of the vote.

A week later, members of the Green Team find themselves doing an autopsy on the primary disaster. Some, including major Green Team booster Bill Lightfoot, say each loss was on the candidates themselves, not Bowser. The mayor can’t be expected to carry candidates across the finish line, in Lighfoot’s telling, because District politics just doesn’t work like that.

“Politicians do not have coattails in this city,” Lightfoot says.

Bowser Chief of Staff John Falcicchio agrees, saying last week’s races were decided

Darrow Montgomery

Loose Lips

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 7

District

Line

by the candidates themselves.

Still, unhappy Green Teamers who spoke to LL on background for fear of crossing Bowser or her close advisors have described a mood of fear and recrimination, as they wonder whether Bowser’s administration could have avoided such a rebuke at the ballot box.

Lightfoot, a Green Team patriarch and former at-large councilmember, provides the party line. In his telling, he saw the losses coming from a ways away. At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange’s loss to challenger Robert White was doomed by what he calls “the city’s new demographics.” In other, less minced words: more young white people who have moved to the city.

In Ward 8, Lightfoot says White just out-organized May. Nothing Bowser could do about that! And as for Alexander?

“Yvette wasn’t going to beat Vince,” Lightfoot says. “There was no way.”

The winning candidates in those races didn’t run against Bowser—at least not officially. She wasn’t on their campaign litera-

ture, but it was easy to see Bowser’s influence reflected in talk from Robert White and Trayon White about the need for “independent” councilmembers.

Gray, who has the biggest reason to hold a grudge against Bowser after the 2014 mayoral race, has predictably declined opportunities to needle her. On Thursday, they’ll both appear at the Democratic unity breakfast—an intriguing prospect, since he almost snubbed her at the same breakfast after his defeat in 2014.

Ironically, the race that most worries some Bowser supporters is also the only one they won: Ward 4.

The results in Wards 7 and 8 can be explained away as the mayor’s machine facing a unique opponent in former Mayor Gray or the exceptionally popular White. Orange lost citywide, but he was never an original part of Bowser’s coalition, and faced what was supposed to be a divided field of challengers.

In Ward 4, though, mayoral protege Todd tried to keep Bowser’s old seat after winning it in a special election last year. Todd wasn’t

facing a former mayor—he was facing Leon Andrews, a nonprofit staffer who had already lost to him in last year’s special election.

Todd outraised Andrews by nearly $200,000, with most of Andrews’ money coming from his own bank account. On election night, though, Todd only beat him by a margin of less than nine percent in Bowser’s home ward.

Unhappy Green Teamers LL spoke with this week fretted over the results. If a Bowser favorite can pull less than a 10-percent margin over a replacement-level candidate, what does that mean for anyone else allied with her on the Council? Or for her own mayoral hopes?

“There’s no doubt the race was closer than what people had expected,” Lightfoot concedes.

That’s little comfort to the people who have supported Bowser. Instead, while the mayor’s losing candidates serve out what’s left of their lame-duck terms, the mayoral supporters are left to consider what could be driving voters’ discontent.

There’s Bowser’s plan to close D.C. General, dissected at the Council after a series of dam-

aging news stories showed that Bowser’s oddly structured plan would pay off big for her campaign donors. Then there’s the homicide rate— as of LL’s writing, just one homicide short yearto-year from 2015’s unusually high toll.

Then, there’s the specter hanging over Bowser’s administration: Adrian Fenty, the mentor who lost his 2010 mayoral re-election bid after alienating nearly every constituency in the city. For some Bowser supporters LL talked with, including one who described the tight inner circle around the mayor as “insular,” it’s starting to look a lot like 2010.

Still, the District is two years away from seeing whether the new primary results predict the end of Bowser’s mayoral hopes or are just an anomaly. Political consultant Bo Shuff, who ran Bowser’s successful 2014 mayoral campaign, sums up the Green Team’s official approach to last week’s disappointing results.

“It is what it is,” Shuff says.

CP Got a tip for LL? Send suggestions to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. Or call (202) 650-6925.

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SAVAGELOVE There is a guy at my work who is into puppy play. I know this because I have some friends in the gay puppy community. I don’t give two shits what anyone I work with does to get off.

All well and good, except… he wants us to call him Spike, his puppy name. Isn’t this a case of him involving everyone at work in his sex life, whether we want to be involved or not?

—Disturbed Over Gratuitous Gratifications Of Naming Experience “It’s important to note, firstly, that pup play isn’t a sexual activity so much as it is a head space,” said Amp, a puppy, a gamer, a porn performer, and the cohost of Watts the Safeword, a kink-friendly sex-education YouTube channel. “For DOGGONE’s coworker, pup play may be a comfort thing, or a social thing, or even a way for him to redefine who he is as a person so that he can take control.”

Amp, who is 26 and lives in Seattle, got into pup play about five years ago.

“A daddy and his pup joined a group of friends on a gay camping trip,” said Amp. “Their bond just seemed to glow, and their relationship stuck with me as something I wanted in my life. For me, yes, pup play can get sexual with my Daddy, but Amp is just who I am when I’m out and about.”

Like your coworker, DOGGONE, Amp goes by his puppy name socially and professionally. So I put this question to him: Does he get a secret thrill and/or a visible boner when a coworker, barista, casual friend, or rando calls him by his pup name?

“God no!” said Amp. “If someone calls me ‘pup’ in a really sexual way or an aggressive way, maybe, but not when someone is simply using your name. A pup name is essentially a nickname, and people use nicknames socially and professionally. So long as the kinkier aspects of pup play—tail wagging, barking,

ball chasing—are kept out of the workplace, DOGGONE’s coworker using his puppy name at work doesn’t involve the office in his sex life.”

A quick thought experiment, DOGGONE: Let’s say a female coworker married a man—a really hot man—and later confided in you that she married him because the sex was great. And let’s say she took her new husband’s last name. Would using her new last name “involve” you in her sex life? Being married partly defines who she is, it led her to take a new name, and sex is an important part of her marriage. But her new name isn’t just about sex—it’s about identity, intimacy, connection, and sex.

Pup play isn’t as serious a business as marriage, of course, but you should be able to extend the same courtesy to Spike that you wouldn’t hesitate to extend to your hypothetical straight female coworker—that is, use the names you’ve been asked to use without obsessing over their respective sex lives.

“DOGGONE should always respect how someone identifies and asks to be named,” said Amp, “and regard the sexual or kink aspects of someone’s name choice as a separate detail.”

You can—and should—follow Amp on Twitter @Pup_Amp. —Dan Savage I recently synced my phone contacts to my Twitter account. When I was scrolling through the list of people who turned up from my contacts, I saw a username that looked out of place. It was the account of a low-key traditional-guy friend of mine. To my surprise, on the account he was dressed as a woman in a few of the pictures and was with another Twitter user who is a popular dominatrix in the area where he lives. I’m sexpositive and support people who are gender

nonconforming, of course. I also work for a porn company, so I don’t judge anyone who participates in BDSM. My concern is that I don’t know if this person is aware that his account can be found via a regular old social media and phone sync. I don’t want him to get outed for being a fetishist or possibly being gender questioning or transgender if he does not want to be out. Should I give him a heads up? Should I keep my mouth shut? I want to be respectful.

—Knowing Isn’t Necessarily Knowledge, Yes? Send that traditional guy a note, KINKY, but “bury the lead,” as they say in the news biz.

Instead of opening with those particular photos being easily accessible to all, open with the relevant facts about yourself: “You know I work in porn, and I’m not fazed by BDSM or sex work or any sort of genderrelated sex play, and I’m a big supporter of gender-nonconforming people as well as the trans community.” Then let him know what you found, how you stumbled across it, and how to adjust his privacy settings.

—Dan

My name is Peter and I’m a longtime fan.

I’ve also been very involved with the Human Rights Campaign and their work in getting the Equality Act passed. I’m 21 and only recently out of the closet. I opened up about my sexuality after the passage of marriage equality last June and have since been a proud gay man. It seemed that since marriage equality, our community was only going up. Even the passage of HB2 didn’t make me cynical about the future. But this recent shooting has changed my world completely. Fighting for equality in housing, education, and employment seems like a joke after this massive act of violence in Orlando. I’m looking to someone in the community for guidance. —Peter

They don’t win—the haters don’t win—when they chase us, beat us, or kill us. They win when we stop fighting.

Please don’t stop fighting.

And please don’t despair. Hundreds of thousands of us died in the 1980s and ’90s when hate, fear, greed, racism, and negligence intersected with a deadly virus. A lot of us felt then the way you do now—that it was over, that it was hopeless, that the coming out and the organizing and the fighting had been for nothing, and that everything we had won up to that point was meaningless. And then we got up off our butts and we showed them—we showed those motherfuckers—that the fight in us was greater than the hate in them. We showed them that we were stronger and smarter than they were, we showed that fucking virus that we were stronger and smarter than it was, and we made it clear to them that we were not going to shut up and die quietly or go back into the closet and die alone.

And we had only each other for a while there—for a long while. For years we fought alone.

Look at who is on our side today—all good and decent people everywhere. The president of the United States and the next president of the United States. Look at the rallies, look at the vigils, look at the outpouring of love, sympathy, and support. Don’t look at the killer. Don’t look at the haters. Don’t look at the vile comments left by shit people on Twitter and Facebook. Look at the good.

Look at the love. Look at the good and loving people inside and outside the LGBT community and take strength from their love and support.

Then get out there and fight.

—Dan Send your Savage Love questions to mail@savagelove.net.

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Gear Prudence Gear Prudence: Something happened and I feel bad about it. The other day I was riding through the city and I decided that since no one was coming, I had waited at the red light long enough and I ran it. The girl on the bike behind me saw that I was going and decided to follow. Before she made it across the intersection, a car came. The driver slammed on the brakes (thankfully, he didn’t hit her) and got out of the car and started yelling at her! She started crying. I had already made it to the other side of the intersection and I was never really in any danger of being hit or even slowing anyone down, but I can’t help but feel bad if I lured another cyclist into a bad situation. How guilty should I feel?

—Genuinely Upset, I Luckily Traversed Dear GUILT: Before GP gets into the question of how guilty you should feel, let’s first go through the usual caveats. Bicyclists are expected to follow traffic laws, which means waiting until lights turn green, irrespective of whether the intersection is clear or whether you can make it across without getting hit.

That’s the law and it’s not changing. If you don’t care about being on the good side of the law and are willing to risk a ticket, be sure that you’re only risking a ticket and that the right of way is really, really, really empty. Most of the time, waiting for the green is going to be your safest bet.

To what extent do cyclists have a moral obligation to their biking compatriots visà-vis safety? It’s not totally clear. On the one hand, you want to be decent person.

For example, if you see a wild emu blocking the roadway ahead, maybe turn around and say, “Hey, emu up there. Heads up.”

Same with potholes or any other traffic obstruction. Really, if there’s anything you see that you would’ve liked someone to tell you about, try to share it. Pointing things out to fellow cyclists is completely innocuous and costs very little time or effort. Unconstrained by giant metal boxes, cycling affords the opportunity for some degree of conviviality, so you might as well.

Ultimately, though, everyone is alone out there and responsible for making their own decisions. While your call to run the red might have affected her thinking, the cyclist behind you chose to do the same illegal thing you did.

While you got away with it with minimal impact, she didn’t. Close calls and getting yelled at aren’t fun, but everyone is lucky it wasn’t worse. Don’t feel guilty. Do, however, use this experience as a reminder that the choices you make, on a bike and otherwise, have consequences.

—GP Gear Prudence is Brian McEntee, who tweets @sharrowsDC. Got a question about bicycling?

Email gearprudence@washcp.com.

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CRAVINGS Photos by Darrow Montgomery

Sometimes, nothing else will do. You have your mind set on a grilled cheese or a gin martini or some frozen custard, and you will go anywhere, do anything just to scratch that itch.

This year’s Food Issue is devoted to all those cravings. We’ve assembled 50 food and drink yearnings and determined places to best satisfy all of them. So whether you can’t stop thinking about pancakes or desperately need a Szechuan Chinese fix, we’ve got you covered.

—Jessica Sidman 12 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

Righteous Cheese’s brie grilled cheese

Cut-above fries: Blue Duck Tavern 1201 24th St. NW, (202) 419-6755, blueducktavern.com

I consider myself a connoisseur of french fries. If I see them on the menu, I’m going to order them. They’re one of those items I find tells me a lot about a restaurant. After all, if the kitchen screws up something as relatively simple as this, I’m definitely going to be leery of ordering their wallet-busting gourmet burger. I loved the Jenga-sized, triple-frizzled fries that were one of Blue Duck Tavern’s long-running, signature items.

So I was more than a little skeptical when I learned that chef de cuisine Brad Deboy decided to revamp them. And then I tried them. Damn, if he didn’t go and make them even more awesome. He starts by steaming gold potatoes until tender and then mashing them until velveteen. They’re set in a pan, cut into logs, dried overnight, and fried until golden brown. He serves the substantial sticks with spicy smoked pepper aioli. Guess I need to get back to the West End eatery for lunch soon, so I can sample Deboy’s fancyass cheeseburger.

—Nevin Martell

Smothered fries: Crisp Kitchen + Bar

1837 First St. NW, (202) 853-9115, crispdc.com Poutine isn’t as rare around these parts as it used to be, but I’m still always on the hunt for the best way to satisfy the inevitable craving for piping hot fries topped with cheese curds and meaty gravy. Chef Alex McCoy’s duck poutine at Crisp in Bloomingdale starts with a hefty layer of twice-fried, house-cut russets. He refers to the first fry as the “base tan,” and then the fries get another dunk in

sizzling oil to order. The kitchen tosses on white cheddar curds, which come from different sources but often hail from Pennsylvania, for that essential squeaky-cheese element. And the final piece of the Lipitor trifecta is the black-pepper duck gravy composed of duck confit and stock made with the duck bones, plus molasses and woody herbs like thyme. It’s both the perfect way to prep for a rowdy night out and the cure, all in one savory powerhouse.

—Rina Rapuano

Fried pickles: Boundary Stone

116 Rhode Island Ave. NW, (202) 621-6635, boundarystonedc.com Boundary Stone has cracked the code on fried pickles, but it wasn’t always this way. The restaurant used to serve fried pickle spears, which were good, but too soft and juicy after the fryer. Fast forward to today. The restaurant completed a renovation in December and expanded the menu significantly. For the fried pickle lover, there’s a significant change: fried pickle chips. Boundary Stone slices whole dill pickles, tosses them in a cornmeal batter, then fries the chips to perfection. The new and improved offering hits all of the major hallmarks of a food craving: salty, deep-fried, and juicy. Plus, the honey dipping sauce adds an extra layer of sweetness.

—Tim Ebner

Fancy fried food: Compass Rose 1346 T St. NW, (202) 506-4765, compassrosedc.com

I crave the crunch of something perfectly fried every day. Enter Compass Rose, the restaurant specializing in global street food, which sells

Compass Rose’s pescaditos fritos refined variations on deep-fried favorites. Instead of, say, bland fish sticks, they offer pescaditos fritos, tiny whole fish that are battered, fried, then dipped in an addictive citrus aioli. Meanwhile, brussels sprouts get softer and saltier after a trip to the frier. Even a past offering of corn dogs, which seem best eaten at a state fair, tasted fancier when shrunk to bitesized and served on a plate with mustard. It might seem like a buzzy 14th Street cocktail bar, but the eats are just as appealing to highand lowbrow palates.

—Caroline Jones

Grilled cheese: Righteous Cheese 1309 5th St. NE, (202) 716-3320, righteouscheese.com

As you might imagine, a grilled cheese from a cheesemonger is, well, pretty righteous. The outstanding sandwiches here change every so often, and they try to keep one option fairly kid-friendly. Two choices—such as brie on sourdough and manchego with roasted tomato spread on sourdough—are generally on offer. The bread is sourced from Lyon Bakery, which also has a stall at Union Market. And while cheese and bread are already pretty high on the addictiveness scale, the cornerstone of my powerful craving for these particular grilled cheeses might just be the chili-infused dipping honey that can be added to your order for $1. Don’t be cheap. Just do it. Pro tip: Rappahannock Oyster Bar allows cus-

tomers to bring food over from other market vendors, so there’s no need to choose between raw oysters with cocktails and a gooey grilled cheese.

—Rina Rapuano

Mac and cheese: Hank’s Oyster Bar Multiple locations, hanksoysterbar.com

Hank’s Oyster Bar may sound more like a place for something cold and briny than something warm and gooey. But make no mistake: The seafood-centric standby has the best mac and cheese around. Too many versions of the comfort food have pools of oil, stringy cheese, or soupy cream. At Hank’s, a super creamy sauce coats every edge and fills every nook of the large elbow noodles. (Perhaps that’s why the $7 side is dubbed mac and cheesy.) Sharp white cheddar sets the scene, while smoked gouda provides the intriguing plot twist. A sprinkling of crunchy bread crumbs on top ensures your mouth lives happily ever after.

—Jessica Sidman

Greasy breakfast: Pumpernickel’s Deli 5504 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 244-9505, pumpdeli.com

The District has no shortage of Instagrammable

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 13

Funky food: Bad Saint 3226 11th St. NW, badsaintdc.com

One Of the most prized possessions in the kitchen of Bad Saint is a bottle of sugar cane vinegar with chilies, garlic, and a hodgepodge of spices. Chef Tom Cunanan is continuously adding more vinegar and ingredients to the secret sauce, and as it ages, it develops more character and complexity. “Chef guards that with his life,” says co-owner Genevieve Villamora.

The condiment is used to finish some dishes on the menu, but vinegar in general plays prominently in the funky flavors of Filipino cuisine. It’s a key building block in the national dish of the Philippines, adobo, which uses vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic.

Bad Saint’s menu changes often, but you can always count on at least one variation of adobo. The Columbia Heights restaurant has played around with one version incorporating pig tails and another with squid, which had a sauce darkened by ink and spiced up with long pepper. (Adobo is not typically spicy.) On a recent visit, though, one of the dreamiest dishes was sour, creamy chicken adobo, which (in a break with tradition) incorporated coconut milk, turmeric, cauliflower, and kabocha squash.

The dish I still have stuck in my head, though, is a vegan adobo with a silky-yet-chewy texture from banana blossom hearts and tofu skins. The dish was enveloped in a gravylike sauce with black peppercorn, tomatoes, green beans, and more.

“A popular stereotype of Filipino food is that it is heavily meaty,” Villamora says. “But you can grow anything there, so there are so many fruits and vegetables there that people use.”

The most eye-catching dish, however, is ukoy, a freshwater shrimp and sweet potato fritter served with—you guessed it—a vinegar dipping sauce with bits of red onion. The tangle of fried goodness looks like a nest with the beady black eyes of the small sea creatures peering through. Some diners will polish off the plate but leave the shrimp heads behind.

Don’t make the same mistake. The funky parts are the best parts.

—Jessica Sidman

breakfast choices: avocado on toast, say, or endless pitchers of mimosas. Sometimes, though, you just want an overflowing bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Enter Pumpernickel’s, the home of Chevy Chase’s most brimming foam containers. If you can brave the line, you’ll see Pumpernickel’s speedy and often irate short-order cooks turn up loads of cheese omelets and French toast. There’s something to be said for artisanal tartines, but when you want something big and heavy to brace yourself for the day, it’s Pumpernickel’s.

—Will Sommer

Breakfast after 11 a.m.: Parkway Deli

8317 Grubb Road, Silver Spring, (301) 587-1427, theparkwaydeli.com While D.C. is full of places to brunch on weekends, it doesn’t have as many options for hungry patrons in search of eggs and waffles after 11 a.m. on a weekday. To access the region’s deepest breakfast menu available from sunrise to sunset, eaters need to just barely cross the line into Maryland and grab a booth at Silver Spring’s Parkway Deli. The 53-year-

old restaurant specializes in New York–style deli fare, offering everything from bagels with salty lox to creamy blintzes to matzoh brei.

Potatoes, which can ruin a breakfast when prepared poorly, always come out perfectly, whether in the form of thin hash browns or fluffy latkes. More traditional breakfast fare like a luscious, custardy French toast (made with challah) and classic omelettes are available for purists. Just come prepared to make lots of decisions: You’ve got 12 kinds of meat and eight kinds of bread to choose from.

—Caroline Jones

Taste of Texas: Republic Kolache

Multiple locations, republic-kolache.com There’s nothing like a kolache to bring Texans out of the woodwork. One bite of these filled pillowy pastries of Czech origin, and suddenly you know what it feels like to be homesick for the Lone Star state. Republic Kolache has smartly capitalized on the kolache’s conspicuous absence in the D.C. area since it started serving them at popups a year and a half ago. The bakery has wrapped up both its American Ice Company and Union Market pop-ups as of late May, but you can now find them at Dacha Beer Garden from 9:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and at Hill Country Barbecue on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings starting July 1. Expect to find some of the bakery’s most popular flavors—such as the half-smoke or cream cheese and pecan— as well as new options that incorporate Hill Country’s smoked meats. And don’t worry, you can still get your cold-brew coffee fix. Plus, co-owner Chris Svetlik says they are launching a sister brand, Republic Tacos, and actively working to open their own brick-and-mortar location.

—Rina Rapuano

New York bagel: Bethesda Bagels

Multiple locations, bethesdabagels.com

Bad Saint’s chicken adobo

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When I lived in New York City years ago, my a.m. routine almost always included one of two phrases: “egg and cheese on everything” or “everything with chive.” Bagels, along with strong coffee, were the fuel I needed to shake off the night before and get on with my day. I always took them for granted, which was my mistake, because when I moved to the District in 2006, I came to realize that to most of America the word bagel, roughly translated, means “doughy bread circle of disappointment.” I was heartbroken. Until, one Saturday morning, I stumbled into Bethesda Bagels, fearing the worst, but unable to stop myself from trying to get my everything-with-chive fix. It was a homecoming. The round was still warm and didn’t need a moment in the toaster. The bagel had just the right amount of chew, and there was

FROM DETROIT TO THE DISTRICT. C O M E C E L E B R AT E A N A M E R I C A N S U M M E R

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a pleasant plumpness to it, ensuring my daily dose of carbs would be fulfilled in a single meal. The counterman schmeared on the chive-flecked cream cheese with gusto, so it spilled over the edges and threatened to drip on my clothes, but I didn’t care. For a moment, I was back in Manhattan.

—Nevin Martell

The Riggsby’s pancakes with banana-caramel sauce

Smoked fish: The Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse 1356 Okie St. NE, (202) 529-3300, ivycitytavern.com

Previous generations smoked and cured fish to stretch its shelf life before refrigeration. But at Ivy City Smokehouse, it’s possible the smoked salmon you’re eating was swimming in the Atlantic just days prior. The smokehouse shares ownership with seafood wholesaler ProFish across the street, making instantaneous sourcing a cinch. Only simple ingredients are required for seasoning: salt, sugar, and organic honey. “Everything is smoked in really small batches over hickory and applewood before it’s cured overnight,” says John Rorapaugh, the director of sustainability for ProFish. Experience the range of Ivy City Smokehouse’s products at the upstairs tavern by ordering a platter ($14) that aggressively feeds one, or the sampler ($20) for two. Both proffer smoked salmon, whitefish salad, smoked rainbow trout, pepper salmon, and “Indian Candy.” The candy, with a name only Dan Snyder would condone, is a drug. See if you can stop at one rectangle of this firm, smoked salmon that tastes of maple and imitates a Pacific Northwest Native American snack.

—Laura Hayes

Decked-out pancakes: The Riggsby

1731 New Hampshire Ave. NW, (202) 787-1500, theriggsby.com When it comes to the great pancake/waffle/ French toast debate, most people harbor a passionate opinion as to which maple syrup vehicle is tops. If you land squarely on #teampancake, you must try the ultra-fluffy disks served during breakfast and brunch at restaurateur and chef Michael Schlow’s restaurant in the Kimpton-owned Carlyle Hotel. Griddled with clarified butter and topped with a banana-caramel sauce, toasted hazelnuts, and orange zest, these might just be the best pancakes I’ve ever had. The restaurant claims the recipe is pretty basic, saying the secret to their airiness is “baking powder and a lot of love”—but we call bullshit. There must be unicorn tears in there somewhere.

—Rina Rapuano

A legit hoagie: Bub and Pop’s

1815 M St. NW, (202) 457-1111, bubandpops.com In D.C., there’s Bub and Pop’s, and then there’s every other sandwich shop. Nothing quite compares to the epic hoagies coming out of this mother-and-son operation. Maybe it’s because of the mounds of meats and vegetables overstuffed into soft Lyon Bakery rolls. Or maybe it’s because the chef, Jonathan Taub, has serious culinary cred earned in upscale restaurants like Adour and Art & Soul. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but I am partial to Pop’s beef brisket with tender slow-braised meat, apple-horseradish cream, slabs of five-year-aged gouda, and veal jus. If you’re feeling extra decadent, add a fried egg for a dollar. Now good luck eating it without getting wonderful, greasy juices all over your hands, chin, and nose.

—Jessica Sidman

Taste of Maine: Luke’s Lobster Multiple locations, lukeslobster.com

This Maine girl only trusts the child of a Maine lobsterman to make her a lobster roll. Georgetown grad and fellow Pine Tree state native Luke Holden knows to use a buttered and toasted splittop bun, stuff it with (Maine!) tail and claw meat, and mix it with just a bit of mayo. No fancy stuff.

Mainers hate fancy stuff. If I’m really homesick, I pair it with a crab roll, sweet Jonah crab claws, and a (Maine-made) Maine Root soda. Blueberry, of course. Maine blueberries. Did I mention I’m from Maine?

—Jessica Strelitz

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Neapolitan pizza: 2 Amys 3715 Macomb St. NW, (202) 885-5700, 2amysdc.com

2 Amys’ certified Vera Pizza Napoletana pies are consistent reminders of the pleasure possible with just a handful of simple, quality ingredients. Case-in-point is the traditional margherita, which combines creamy buffalo mozzarella with a fresh, runny tomato sauce and fragrant basil leaves. The Enta, another menu staple, is a sublime blend of eggplant confit, briny capers, and salty grana cheese.

Build-your-own toppings are encouraged as well, and don’t sleep on the daily specials, which in true Italian fashion, often feature seasonal and kitchen favorites like ramps, squash blossoms, and house-made sausage. The oven-fired crusts at 2 Amys manage to be both doughy and charred around the edges with a soft, thin bottom. The individual pizzas range in price from $10 to around $14, depending on the toppings, making it a suitable option for both quick takeout or a more leisurely meal.

Wait times can mount during peak hours, but the dependable product makes it worth the investment.

—Travis Mitchell

Non-Neapolitan pizza: All Purpose 1250 9th St. NW, (202) 849-6174, allpurposedc.com

Ubiquitous Neapolitan pies are great and all, but sometimes you want a pizza that’s a lit-

tle more substantial and won’t require the John Kasich–style embarrassment of using a fork and knife. At All Purpose, the new Shaw spot from the owners of The Red Hen and Boundary Stone, it all starts with the dough.

Chef Mike Friedman ferments it for three days, then bakes his pizzas in a slower-cooking deck oven (as opposed to the popular wood-fired ovens), which helps caramelize the dough. Even with a pile of toppings—like artichokes, ramps, stinging nettles, and pistachio pesto or white clam sauce, littleneck clams, smoked guanciale, and spring peas— each slice is easy to hold. Best of all, the crust is so good you won’t want to discard it like watermelon rinds.

—Jessica Sidman

Italian carb load: Ghibellina

1610 14th St. NW, (202) 803-2389, ghibellina.com If my Italian grandmother and running habits have taught me anything, it’s never to take gluten for granted. Copious amounts of gluten. Bountiful, pliable, life-giving gluten.

Capiche? Ghibellina definitely doesn’t. Diners are welcomed with rustic, fluffy bread and really, really, ridiculously good–tasting olive oil, although this Brooklyn boy suggests you exercise some restraint on the freebies and hold out for the main menu. The restaurant’s antipasti are a tempting array of carbs—crispy risotto cakes, chicken liver crostini, and fried seafood with polenta cubes. And then there are the pastas and pizzas, which never fail to excite. The rigatoni ragu speckled with grana padano comforts the soul, and the gnocchi is the perfect match for versatile pomodoro

Jaleo’s salmon tartare cones with trout roe, gambas alajillo, and chicken croquetas

sauce. The four-cheese and ramp pizzas both feature heavenly, creamy ricotta. And don’t neglect ordering the the chocolate hazelnut cake for dessert. To quote grandma: Mangia.

—Andrew Giambrone

with Spanish ham. And, of course, you’re going to want to accompany your parade of plates with one of six types of gin and tonics. They’re the best in the city—and there’s nothing small about them.

—Jessica Sidman

Tapas: Jaleo

Chinese carb load: Peter Chang

480 7th St. NW, (202) 628-7949, jaleo.com When Jaleo opened more than two decades ago, tapas were still a novel concept to most Washingtonians. Today, global variations are everywhere—so much so that there’s now an aggressive backlash against small plates underway. But even the most fervent haters of shareable dishes will find something to love at the Penn Quarter José Andrés landmark, which is still my go-to tapas spot all these years later. It’s a crime if you don’t order a round of the croquetas stuffed with chicken or ibérico ham. They’re the crispiest, gooiest fried food around, and the pollo option is served inexplicably in dish that’s shaped like a sneaker.

Counterbalance that with any of the vegetable dishes—Andrés loves his veggies—but particularly a plate of roasted red peppers, eggplant, and sweet onions with sherry dressing and toasted bread. Other highlights include the sea urchin and butter-topped toast, sauteed shrimp with garlic, and basically anything

2503 N. Harrison St., Arlington, (703) 538-6688, peterchangarlington.com

Nothing could keep me away from this epiphany-inducing Szechuan eatery. The staff could refer to me as a “plaid asshole” on my check and I wouldn’t care, because I love the food that much. When I’m in the mood for some serious carb loading, the puffed-up scallion bubble pancakes are a mandatory starter. Tear off a strip of the still-hot deep-fried dough and a whoosh of steam escapes. Dunk the feathery bit into the warm curry sauce and chew while you watch the edible balloon slowly deflate. Grandma’s noodles—a riot of spicy, savory, and oniony notes— are another must-have. From there, move on to the dry-fried eggplant, sizzled crisp on the outside and alive with Chinese chili powder, hot paprika, and plenty of cilantro to add a little levity. Last, but certainly not least, the meal needs to include the appropriately named hot

and numbing noodles, which, like all the noodles, are made in-house. You’ll leave with your palate ablaze, but already planning your next trip back.

—Nevin Martell

Tongue-tingling Szechuan cooking: Panda Gourmet 2700 New York Ave. NE, (202) 534-1620

The fiery Chinese cooking coming out of this unassuming restaurant attached to a Days Inn has garnered something of a cult following over the past few years. The main attraction is the addicting, tongue-tingling heat of the flavorful Szechuan chili oil used in many of the dishes. Its numbing sensation is different from the forehead-sweating, mouth-igniting spice of hot Buffalo wings or habanero salsa. The restaurant’s mapo tofu is a perfectly balanced showcase of Panda Gourmet’s signature Chinese flavors. The sizeable portion is spicy, savory, and silky, and best ladled over fluffy steamed rice. It will make you return again and again, especially during dreary weather. Other dishes to try include the dan dan noodles bathed in a zippy peanut and chili-oil sauce as well as the tangy and sour Qishan noodle soup.

—Travis Mitchell

Super spicy food: Thip Khao

3462 14th St. NW, (202) 387-5426, thipkhao.com When I order the two “phet phet”—extremely spicy—dishes at Thip Khao, the server looks at me as if I’ve just asked her to wax off my eyebrows. I assure her I like spicy. I can handle spicy.

The first dish is a shredded papaya salad mixed with unfiltered fish sauce, and the second is a pho noodle salad with shrimp and crab paste, green beans, Thai eggplant, crispy bits of pig ear, and dried and steamed shrimp. Both come from the Laotian restaurant’s “jungle” menu, which offers the most intense flavors and “adventurous” ingredients. Within seconds of digging in, the fire takes over. My husband admits defeat after only a few bites, but I power on. As long as I don’t stop eating, the heat doesn’t fully hit me. But the second I stop, it all catches up.

My eyes are watering. Snot is dripping out of my nose. Did I permanently sear off my taste buds? I don’t know, but the heat paralyzes me from asking the question out loud. Would an eyebrow wax would be less intense after all? Maybe. But it wouldn’t hurt this good. —Jessica Sidman

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 17

Seafood that was Sushi: Sushi Taro swimming minutes 1503 17th St. NW, (202) 462-8999, sushitaro.com No need to dunk your sushi in soy sauce like a ago: Soju Sarang chicken nugget in ketchup. Every piece of ni4231 Markham St., Unit E, Annandale, Va., (703) 256-3565, sojusarang.com

When it comes to sashimi, most people think Japanese. But let’s not forget that South Korea is a peninsula with plenty of seafood cred in its own right. When you walk the streets of Seoul, even some sidewalk vendors have tanks full of live fish ready to be sliced up and cooked to order. The closest you can come to that experience without the 12-hour flight is at Soju Sarang in Annandale, Va. Tanks filled with live sea creatures greet you at the entrance of the strip mall restaurant. Survey the tables around you, and it will quickly become evident that a sashimi platter is the way to go.

(Be warned: A “small” can easily feed two to three.) But first, a dozen banchan—complimentary small plates—crowd the table, including anything from a sour jellyfish salad to a whole foot-long mackerel. The raw fish platter is equally generous with slabs of salmon, octopus, yellowfin, tuna, surf clam, and fresh-from-the-tank flounder alongside sea squirt and sea cucumber. And just when you think there couldn’t possibly be more food, here comes a bubbling cauldron of stew made with tofu, rice cakes, and leftover fish bones and lobster shells. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, supplement your meal with sannakji, a live octopus dish offered only on Fridays. It’s so fresh that when it hits the table, it’s still squirming.

—Jessica Sidman

Korean barbecue: Kogiya

4220-A Annandale Road, Annandale, Va., (703) 942-6995, kogiya.com At lot of restaurants make it a pain to bring a big group of friends: Maybe there aren’t enough large tables, or maybe the dishes are so small that they’re awkwardly shared.

But Korean barbecue is the ultimate way to bring together your besties of all budgets and make sure everyone gets their fill.

Kogiya, in particular, does it right with fresh, generous banchan (like kimchi and lemonwasabi daikon) and quality meats cooked on each table’s grill. The all-you-can-eat options are a great way for groups to go. For $23 per person, you get a generous helping of fatty brisket, three types of pork belly, and spicy chicken. (The $29 option adds intestines.) Throw in a couple bottles of soju, and it’s a party. Beyond the food and drinks, Kogiya stands out because it thinks of all the little things. Each table has drawers with chopsticks, napkins, and spoons, and you can stash your jackets inside the drum-like seats to prevent them from smelling like barbecue. Then again, this is a meal you won’t mind lingering in your nostrils.

—Jessica Sidman

giri at Sushi Taro is already seasoned in perfect balance. If anything, it requires no more than a tiny dab of soy sauce to enhance the fish’s delicate flavor and perfectly formed pads of rice. The freshness of the seafood is a big part of what sets Sushi Taro apart—from the rich New Zealand king salmon to the delicate sweet raw shrimp. Ikura, bright orange orbs of salmon roe, taste like pure salt at most sushi restaurants. But at Sushi Taro, what might otherwise be my least favorite piece of sushi is a highlight, thanks to sweeter, slightly smoky fish eggs. Indulging at Sushi Taro can be a luxury with prices to match. But for one of the best bargains in the city, head to the restaurant during happy hour from 5:30 to 7 p.m. weekdays at the bar only. Almost all of the sushi is half-price (as are drinks), and people line up as much as an hour in advance to ensure they get one of the coveted seats.

—Jessica Sidman

French food without the fuss: Chez Billy Sud 1039 31st St. NW, (202) 965-2606, chezbillysud.com

There is a certain well-regarded French restaurant in town that sometimes feels like a mob scene-meets-fashion show on a Friday night. (Cough, Le Diplomate.) Chez Billy Sud doesn’t have that same trendy buzz, but what it does, it does très bien. The dishes are classics—don’t expect a lot of fancy flourishes or boundary-pushing twists. But sometimes the best food is unfussy food, expertly and elegantly executed. Take basics like soups, hot or cold. Nothing is more refreshing than chilled carrot soup “perfumed” with ginger and cardamom and topped with yogurt, mint, and nasturtiums. Meanwhile, a classic onion soup aces the sweet caramelized onion flavor and cheesy goodness. One of the few riffs you may encounter on the menu are meaty soft-shell crabs prepared in the style of trout amandine with slivers of almonds and green beans. It’s one of the better soft-shell crab dishes I’ve had. Best of all, you can enjoy a conversation in a normal speaking voice: The pastel green dining room is not one of those places so loud you have to yell over the din of the crowd.

—Jessica Sidman

Meat in a pouch: Kantutas

2462 Ennalls Ave., Wheaton, Md., (301) 929-2865 In a Wheaton strip mall, near the end of the Red Line, is where you’ll find saltena salvation.

For those unfamiliar, the saltena is basically a

18 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

The Dabney chef/owner Jeremiah Langhorne

Local and seasonal: The Dabney 122 Blagden Alley NW, (202) 450-1015, thedabney.com

YOu knOw the Dabney is no ordinary restaurant when your server casually mentions that the food runner is also an oyster farmer. That’s how the Mid-Atlantic-centric restaurant came to serve White Stone oysters—perfectly shucked, perfectly chilled bivalves augmented with a touch of mignotte made with rotating artisanal vinegars. The sweet and briny Virginia oysters taste more like they came from the West Coast.

“They’re the best oysters out of the Chesapeake,” chef/owner Jeremiah Langhorne claims.

He’s reading my mind.

The beauty of The Dabney is the care it takes in sourcing the very best ingredients—locally, of course. In his quest to create an identity for Mid-Atlantic cuisine, Langhorne has scoured the region for native plants, many of which you’ve likely never even heard of.

Langhorne goes foraging once or twice a week, often on the 400 acres at The Farm at Sunnyside in Washington, Va. Recently, the chef has picked up some wild yarrow (a medicinal herb used in a lot of teas), field garlic, and sheep sorrel (the leaves supposedly look like a sheep’s head).

The Dabney also employs a part-time gardener to maintain its rooftop plot, which grows 40 to 50 types of herbs and vegetables. Langhorne says they’ve done a number of “Pepsi challenge taste tests,” but with basil and other plants to see how they compare to other sources’ produce. The roof greens always win out.

A tangle of rooftop-grown anise hyssop, basil, pea shoots, lovage, nasturtium, and coriander flowers dress up a creamy bright green ramp custard, a recent dish that was basically spring in a bowl. Puffed sorghum grains, which look like itty bitty popcorn kernels, and pickled ramps added crunch and punch to the dish.

The menu is so seasonal that it will look completely different on each visit. But you can count on the family-style section of the menu for a meal cooked over the wood-fire hearth in the heart of the open kitchen. The pedigreed proteins for two or more may include a Whistle Pig Farm aged duck or Rettland Farm half-chicken.

Langhorne visits and vets the farms he uses, and the quality shows. “That’s why we buy from the farms that we do. That’s why we work with the purveyors that we work with,” Langhorne says. “They do things right, and those things end up mattering.”

—Jessica Sidman

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Mole: Espita

1250 9th St. NW, (202) 621-9695, espitadc.com Most people might think of mole as that thick, chocolatey brown sauce that tops braised chicken or pork. But in fact, mole—simply meaning “mixed”—has much more variety. For many Mexicans, it’s a time-honored food tradition that usually goes back through several generations of family recipes.

“Just like how the French have their mother sauces, in Oaxaca there are seven styles of mole,” says Josh Phillips, the founder, general manager, and master mezcalier of Espita Mezcaleria.

The Oaxacan-inspired Shaw restaurant offers entrees smothered in moles of all colors, each with its own unique blend of ingredients. “It’s a popular dish,” says chef Alexis Samayoa. “But the hardest thing has been explaining to people what moles are, and how many of them that are out there.”

Phillips and Samayoa can rattle off the seven types of mole quickly: poblano, verde, amarillo, negro, manchamantel (a red chili sauce that literally means “tablecloth

stainer”), coloradito (which contains mashed sweet plantains), and chichilo (made from beef stock).

The most traditional variety is a mole poblano. Espita’s version has 23 ingredients, including the base ingredients of mulato peppers, raisins, walnuts, and chocolate. But the customer favorite so far is the braised short ribs topped with the mole chichilo. The mole tastes very much like a steak sauce and offers just the right amount of heat.

Mole research and development is no easy thing, Samayoa says. He rented out a kitchen space at Union Kitchen and spent the better part of three months researching and developing each sauce.

“Mole is really a Rubik’s cube of colors and shapes,” he says. “To create a sauce, you have to be focused on the technique, the use of chile, the specific region in Mexico—really there are a lot of things to be thinking about.”

That said, Samayoa wouldn’t necessarily call himself a mole expert. “I’m constantly talking to my cooks and asking them about their mom’s and grandma’s recipe,” he says.

—Tim Ebner

bigger, meatier take on the empanada. Kantutas is one of the few Bolivian restaurants that consistently serves authentic dishes, including various meats stuffed into breaded pouches. Most Saturdays and Sundays, tables fill up fast for a late desayuno (translation: brunch).

The saltenas come in chicken and beef varieties and are stuffed with a stew of olives, hard boiled eggs, and green peas. Dive right into this steaming pouch and be prepared with a napkin, or two: It’s a soupy mess that’s likely to end up in your lap.

—Tim Ebner

A finger-licking slab of ribs: The BBQ Joint

2005 14th St. NW, (202) 747-2377, andrewevansbbqjoint.com When Andrew Evans goes for the gold at barbecue competitions, he only pulls out three ribs—the best ones are two bones in from the fat side. The BBQ Joint chef and owner made his transition from fine dining to pitmaster after getting hooked on these competitions. Now, he recreates his award-winning recipes at four D.C.-area locations, including his freshest spot on 14th Street. There, a red light out front signifies when racks of ribs are still hot from the smoker, ready to satisfy any primal craving for a smoky, sweet, sticky rack. Evans, after all, only serves his ribs by the full rack ($30) unless you get a sampler meat plate. “There’s skinny bones, fat bones, and end bones. If you get a rack, you get the full gambit of quality,” he explains. The lacquered ribs come out with a heavy sprinkling of coarse pepper, lending an extra layer of flavor and texture. Opt to dribble on additional sauce in flavors like “swicy” that comingles sweet and spicy.

—Laura Hayes

Goat: Kapnos

2201 14th St. NW, (202) 234-5000, kapnosdc.com Goat is a stubborn craving to satisfy because it’s relatively hard to find compared to, say, steak or lamb. When you want something a bit gamey but not overly so (looking at you, venison), the spiced baby goat at Mike Isabella’s Kapnos hits the spot. It’s roasted, ever so slowly, on a spit in the restaurant’s open kitchen. Walking past it as you head to your table will help you quickly move past whatever qualms you might have about eating baby animals. What will do that even better is chewing the charred, tender, smoky meat served with napa cabbage, chickpeas, and red peppers.

—Andrew Giambrone

Espita Mezcaleria’s beef short rib with chichilo mole

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Spicy fried chicken: Bonchon Multiple locations, us.bonchon.com

There are other good things on Bonchon’s menu, but the reason to go there is for the fiery

Korean-style fried chicken. In terms of heat, it probably rates less than half way up Nashville’s epic appetizing-yet-excruciating scale.

But like its Music City cousin “hot chicken,” Bonchon’s bird offers the irresistible combination of fire and crunch. The wings are good, but I prefer the breast-meat strips. Their relatively regular shape allows for a thinner, more even coating that provides a satisfying crispiness that’s somehow both delicate and profoundly crackling. That crunch remains even if you raid the icebox for leftovers that night.

The chicken (also available as drumsticks—but why?) comes with a serving of pickled daikon radishes, which like the water or beer you will drink plenty of, is a nice intermezzo between spicy pieces. Other (mostly Western-style) sides are available á la carte. And, if you, like I, are in a mixed marriage, Bonchon is still a safe place to take a more heat-adverse significant other. But if what you really long for is chicken so good it will make you cry, this is the joint.

No, seriously: It will make you cry.

—Jandos Rothstein

Restorative soup that isn’t Asian: El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria

3911 14th St. NW, (202) 545-0081, elsol-dc.com Washingtonians often gravitate toward pho or ramen when we need a warming pick-meup—or, let’s be honest here, a hangover remedy—but I beg you to reconsider. The pozole rojo at this well-regarded Mexican spot can definitely hold its own against any bowl of Asian noodle soup in the area for fixing what ails you. The nutrient-rich, brick-red broth is filled with stick-to-your-ribs braised pork and hominy—aka, just what the abuela ordered. It’s served with a side of fried tortillas, radish, and lime, which provide crunch and brightness to counteract the richness of the soup. It’s also found on the restaurant’s threecourse brunch deal, which includes beers or cocktails for $2 more. Because hair of the dog, right?

—Rina Rapuano

A taco feast: Taco Bamba

2190 Pimmit Drive, Falls Church, Va., (703) 639-0505, tacobambarestaurant.com At a typical taqueria, it’s safe to go alone.

When your options are chicken with cilantro and diced onions, carnitas with cilantro and diced onions, steak with cilantro and diced onions—you get the idea—you can order in peace, no FOMO. At Taco Bamba, every taco on the “Taco Nuestros” (our tacos) menu begs to be tried. Bring company and order as many of these eight tacos as you can. One highlight is El Beso (the kiss) with perfectly crispy pork and beef tongue, charred scallions, and chili aioli. Another:

the Black Pearl with fried tilapia, coleslaw, and a black squid-ink aioli. There’s no way to go wrong, not even with El Gringo, a delightfully low-brow bacon cheeseburger taco with ranch dressing inside a flour tortilla. Round out your feast with chips and guacamole (the avocados are grilled before they’re mashed) and corn on the cob coated with mayo, cotija cheese, and chili powder.

—Zach Rausnitz

Woodward Takeout Food’s bombolone

Vegetarian pho: Sprig and Sprout

2317 Wisconsin Ave. NW, (202) 333-2569, sprig-and-sprout.com For many restaurants, vegetarian and vegan options are a mere afterthought. That’s not a knock against them—most diners are omnivores—it’s just the reality. But Glover Park’s Sprig and Sprout goes to great lengths to ensure its menu is as inclusive to diners who don’t eat meat. Highlights of the veg menu include an array of filling appetizers (veggie summer and egg rolls, lemongrass poppers, tofu fries with spicy sriracha aioli) and veggie pho, which comes brimming with two different types of fried tofu (lemongrass and salt and pepper) and a spread of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and daikon. Diners can also opt for the vermicelli bowl, which is filled with many of the same pho ingredients but topped off with Sprig and Sprout’s signature sweet and tangy dressing.

—Matt Cohen

Vegetables not in salad form: Chaia

3207 Grace St. NW, (202) 333-5222, chaiadc.com Vegetables may not inspire the kind of cravings that pizza, burgers, or doughnuts do. But if you satisfy those greasy-carb cravings too well, you may find yourself with a genuine lust for something leafy and naturally colorful. Go to Chaia, a place where vegetables have reached their highest potential: as ingredients in tacos. Try the butternut squash taco with caramelized onion, ricotta, chipotle yogurt, cilantro, and microgreens, or the creamy kale and potato with pepperjack cheese, pickled onions, crema, green sauce, and microgreens. A trio of Chaia tacos boasts a greater variety of vegetables than most salads, and who craves salad anyway? Warm, hearty corn tortillas provide the base, and every taco has enough cheese to make sure you don’t leave this plant-heavy meal craving protein.

—Zach Rausnitz

Control: Cava Grill Multiple locations, cavagrill.com

Since you live in D.C., you must be a Type-A person with boundless ambition and a borderline unhealthy desire to compete. You

also need control—you crave it in every aspect of your life—so obviously the booming fast-casual scene with all its build-yourown options delights you. But which spot will let you be a control freak without ending up with an inedible bowl of mush? Enter Cava Grill, which gives you several opportunities to create your own Mediterranean dish, from base (including salad and grain bowl), dips and spreads (hummus, harissa, crazy feta), proteins (falafel, grilled chicken, roasted seasonal veggies), toppings (so many!), and dressings (sriracha greek yogurt, greek vinaigrette). The combos are varied, but it’s tough to end up with something that doesn’t taste great. There’s even an online nutrition calculator that allows you to determine precisely how many calories your meal will contain. Nothing tastes quite as good as complete authority.

—Sarah Anne Hughes

Vitamin D: Bardo

1200-1216 Bladensburg Road NE, (762) 233-7070, bardodc.com Beer gardens are as plentiful as dandelions in D.C. Most feel like an oasis—Shaw’s Dacha, for example, has plenty of umbrellas and even provides a cool mist during the summer—but not Bardo in Trinidad. The Mad Maxian space, complete with painted shipping containers and a giant skull made out of beer cans, is almost totally devoid of shade, with just a few umbrellas and some trees providing modest coverage. This forces patrons to do two things: soak up the sun

and drink a lot of beer brewed on-site. With plenty of water for both humans and dogs (who are welcome to roam unleashed), it’s a perfect spot for those who crave alcohol and vitamin D. —Sarah Anne Hughes

A decadent afternoon snack: Woodward Takeout Food 1426 H St. NW, (202) 347-5355, woodwardtable.com

If you’re craving something sweet around 2:30 p.m., you’d be lucky to find yourself in the vicinity of 15th and H streets NW. Woodward Takeout Food is primarily a gourmet sandwich and salad destination for the office hordes, but it’s nearly impossible to make it to the cash register without being tempted by a face-sized bacon and chocolate chip cookie or an oversized crispy rice treat specked with Oreos. More delightful still are the treats in the pastry and gelato cases. This summer, the cafe has been serving pineapple sorbet in half-pineapples and coconut sorbet in half-coconut shells as well as often rotating gelato flavors like maple waffle and cardamom popcorn. Meanwhile, the fanciful pastries are the kind of desserts you’d otherwise expect to find at the end of a fine dining meal: decorated fruit tartlets, a chocolate strawberry cake glinting with gold leaf, a chic mound of tiramisu. Best of all, most can be packed to-go for under $5.

—Jessica Sidman

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Alcoholic ice cream and sorbet: Ice Cream Jubilee

terrible things: one of America’s most racially segregated cities, extremely nasal accents, and Paul Ryan, to name a few. It might be worth suffering through all of the above because Wisconsin also has the highest concentration of frozen custard shops in the world. For the uninitiated, frozen custard is like smoother, richer ice cream, and under no circumstances should it go in a pie. Dickey’s Frozen Custard closed its downtown shop, and Rita’s Italian Ice is an abomination (what kind of disturbed individual combines shaved ice and a dairy product?), so that leaves The Dairy Godmother. The owner is a Wisconsinite who knows the proper methods for preparing and storing this summertime treat, and, like a good Midwesterner, she features a rotating flavor of the day. I have skipped friends’ birthdays and once-in-a-lifetime concerts because they were in Virginia, but I will find a way make it to Del Ray for a cone at least a few times this summer. —Stephanie Rudig

301 Water St. SE, (202) 863-0727, icecreamjubilee.com

A wave of tranquility will likely hit you when you walk into Navy Yard’s Ice Cream Jubilee and glimpse the frozen gold. Partly, that may have have to do with the store’s no-frills ambience, located in a light-filled box on the first floor of a modernized industrial building called the “Lumber Shed.” The cream-colored walls provide a calming backdrop for sugar-crazed patrons at pains to settle on a flavor. Those who can’t decide between dessert or a cocktail should try Jubilee’s banana bourbon caramel ice cream and gin and tonic sorbet. Made with good old friend Jim Beam, the banana bourbon caramel boasts ripened fruit, which is pureed and spiked with hints of nutty spices. (If Instagram is to be believed, the flavor is a favorite of Nats outfielder Bryce Harper.) The gin and tonic sorbet gets imbued with Beefeater and a hint of lime, an equally refreshing, though marginally less indulgent, treat. Like you would with a great drink, relax and enjoy.

—Andrew Giambrone

Parisian sweets: Praline Bakery and Bistro

4611 Sangamore Road, Bethesda, (301) 229-8180, praline-bakery.com A good dessert is worth going the extra mile for, whether that means hopping on a plane to Paris or driving up MacArthur Boulevard to Praline Bakery’s Bethesda outpost. While you won’t find the sugary New Orleans confections there, what the shop offers is so much better:

Warm, gooey cookies: Captain Cookie & the Milk Man

Ice Cream Jubilee’s banana bourbon caramel ice cream

2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, (202) 556-3396, captaincookiedc.com

piles of croissants, macarons, and tarts that glisten with butter. Don’t worry about pronouncing the overtly French pastry names correctly; judge the day’s offerings by look and scent.

Sweet and fruity apple and apricot feuillete and delicately layered slices of opera cake could have been flown in from the Left Bank, but the bakers also apply their classic techniques to American sweets like brownies and cinnamon rolls. Selecting only one treat from Praline’s dozens of delicacies feels like settling, so don’t do it. Grab a variety of treats to go, then invite friends over to share in the bounty. If you have

to choose just one cake because you’re marking a birthday, anniversary, or a day ending in “y,” the indulgent chocolate mousse topped with pieces of dark chocolate and a tiny macaron feels extra celebratory. —Caroline Jones

Frozen custard: The Dairy Godmother 2310 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, (703) 683-7767, thedairygodmother.com

I’m from Wisconsin, which is home to lots of

Supreme luxury: Pineapple and Pearls 715 8th St. SE, (202) 595-7375, pineappleandpearls.com

From the First sip from spirit savant Jeff Faile to a sweet finale of boozy mini-doughnuts 14 courses later, you feel cradled in hospitality at Pineapple and Pearls. The latest restaurant from Rose’s Luxury’s Aaron Silverman is fine dining with a few tattoos.

Despite the moniker of the line-drawing cool kid next door, real luxury can be found at Pineapple and Pearls. “I want people to feel the same way they feel when coming into Rose’s, just in a more elegant space, a little less casual and more refined,” Silverman says. “But it’s the same soul.”

That makes Pineapple and Pearls the place to book when you’re craving a blowout gastronomic, wine-soaked celebration that’s as much entertainment as a meal. Maybe it will even leave you bleary-eyed by meal’s end—grateful Silverman and team picked D.C. to feed and fuss over.

The tasting menu priced at $250 per person (inclusive of drinks, tax, and gratuity) kicks off with a progression of small bites that send the message that you’re in for treats full of tricks. Take the orb filled with fennel yogurt perched atop an absinthe set-up, for example. Or tableside egg-drop soup poured from a kettle over greens

22 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

so fresh they could have been pried from a rabbit’s mouth that morning. The meal crescendos with a statement piece. On one recent occasion, smoked beef rib with mole and Jimmy Red corn grits did the honors. There’s no need for a second dinner after this tasting menu, which can’t be said for some of its prixfixe competitors.

More contributes to the luxe feel than just the finessed dishes served on a parade of plates and bowls that could belong in a museum. Servers twirl around the dining room advancing diners’ meals in a choreographed ballet. Check their feet for pointe shoes. Their collective vocabulary may abuse the word “enjoy,” but all is forgiven when they employ the Rose’s Luxury technique of making guests feel like Powerball winners.

Here comes the big question: Is it worth the price tag and the online reservation gauntlet? If you have a hankering to feel spoiled in every way, yes. One hundred percent yes, because like a concert or a play, you’ll remember the meal long after the curtain closes.

—Laura Hayes

Cookies are good. But warm, gooey cookies?

They’re magic. Captain Cookie & the Milk Man freshly bakes batches on its food trucks and at its Foggy Bottom shop, so you’re almost always guaranteed some melty chocolate and soft dough. I am partial to the spiced-up ginger molasses flavor, but chocolate chip purists won’t be disappointed. Order a glass of milk, or do yourself a favor and transform the cookies into a sandwich with a couple scoops of vanilla or black cherry ice cream. (Pro tip: You can get different flavored cookies on the top and bottom.) The treat is a little unwieldy to manage, but you’ll survive. You’re eating a freaking ice cream sandwich after all. —Jessica Sidman

All the beers: ChurchKey

1337 14th St. NW, (202) 567-2576, churchkeydc.com There are plenty of spots to get a quality beer in D.C., but few can match the selection and attention to detail of ChurchKey. The bar opened in 2009 as a beer stronghold in what was still an upand-coming neighborhood. Today, the Logan Circle bar’s 50 constantly rotating temperaturecontrolled taps are enough to cure the worst case of beer boredom. The extensive menu, which also includes bottles, makes it easy to find a beer to match any occasion, from hoppy to malty to sour. All of ChurchKey’s draft beers are available by the glass or four-ounce pours, which encourages sharing and tasting multiple offerings. A visit to ChurchKey will likely result in discovering a new favorite brew or two, but finding that special beer again can be tricky. Repeat visits to the bar can bring a whole new draft list—but that’s not at all a bad thing.

—Travis Mitchell

Events DC & Washington City Paper’s

SUMMER

CINEMA SERIES Presented by RCN

Seating begins at 6:30 PM CARNEGIE LIBRARY EAST LAWN TUESDAYS July 19 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice July 26 Bridesmaids August 2 Back to the Future

Movies begin at dusk

WEDNESDAYS

DC ARMORY MALL THURSDAYS

June 29 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

June 30 Creed

July 6 Jurassic World

July 7 Rudy

July 13 Minions

July 14 Happy Gillmore

July 20 Aladdin

July 21 Cool Runnings

July 27 The Good Dinosaur

July 28 A League of Their Own

GATEWAY

August 3 Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story

CITYPAPER WASHINGTON

Visit washingtoncitypaper.com/events for more information *Moviegoers are encouraged to bring a blanket Movies are subject to change.

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 23

2 Birds 1 Stone

Virginia wine: The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm 42461 Lovettsville Road, Lovettsville, Va., (540) 822-9017, patowmackfarm.com

There is no better selection of local bottles—and no better view—than at this organic farm-restaurant overlooking the Potomac River. Request a table in the open-air tent and order wine from one of more than a half dozen different Virginia vineyards, including several fermenting grapes just a few miles down the road. The 2014 Chardonnay from Fabbioli Cellars with notes of citrus and light oak and North Gate Vineyards’ berryforward 2014 Chambourcin are both currently available by the glass and primed for warm weather sipping. If you’re celebrating, you can drink like you’re attending a White House Dinner. Two Virginia sparkling wines—Blanc de Blanc and the Xtra Brut—are available by the bottle from the powerhouse team of winemaker Claude Thibaut and Champagne producer Manuel Janisson.

—Jessica Strelitz

A flaming cocktail in a pineapple: Archipelago 1201 U St. NW. (202) 627-0794, archipelagobardc.com

Archipelago’s Pineapple of Hospitality

Bartender Owen Thomson has been making the Pineapple of Hospitality for at least a decade. Back in his days at Bourbon in Adams Morgan, he would make two of the cocktails served in pineapples with flaming limes a day—but you couldn’t order one, it had to be gifted to you by the staff. “We never gave it to anyone we knew,” he says. “They were free. Basically, I’d go up to any one of the servers at some random time and be like, ‘Who do you like right now? You got a table that’s having fun?’” The Pineapple of Hospitality is no longer free, but it is available to one and all on the menu of U Street tiki bar Archipelago, Thomson’s latest venture with three bartender buddies. Its ingredients are listed on the menu simply as rum and “secrets.” (Not even my bartender on a recent visit was privy to the recipe.) It may cost $25 (or $16 during happy hour), but the drink for two—with goofy long straws—is still guaranteed to put a smile on your soon-to-be-drunk face.

—Jessica Sidman

A $14 cocktail that’s worth it: 2 Birds 1 Stone

1800 14th St. NW, lower level, 2birds1stonedc.com Unfortunately, most D.C. cocktails clock in at the all-too-familiar rate of $14. At some bars, what you get is a “mixologist” serving slightly abovegrade rail liquor, and the cocktail is likely to get lost in showy garnishes, artisanal ice, and possibly some smoke or fire. But the pricetag is worth 24 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

it at 2 Birds 1 Stone, where you’ll find both the classics, like a negroni, as well as inventive originals, like a tiki drink with Chartreuse and sherry.

(OK, there’s some artisanal ice, too.) Bartender Adam Bernbach changes his menu weekly, and it tends to steer towards specific themes. Recently, he’s been channeling tropical vibes. A recent bourbon and amaro cocktail, the Banana Lindera, uses spicebush vinegar from local, smallbatch vinegar producer Lindera Farms, as well as Bernbach’s own house-made banana soda. It sounds weird, but the ingredients all work together to make a refreshing, summertime drink that’s perfectly palatable at $14 a glass. —Tim Ebner

A fancy $5 cocktail: Twisted Horn 819 Upshur St. NW, (202) 290-1808, twistedhorndc.com

Twisted Horn in Petworth has something refreshing for those craving a fancy cocktail: throwback drinks with prices to match. The bar serves up a decidedly cheap $5 old fashioned with Pikesville Rye, as well as a $5 rotating punch during happy hour (Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m). Bartender Michael Saccone, previously of sister restaurant Hank’s Oyster Bar on the Hill, isn’t just mailing it in when it comes to his classic cocktails either. His Blood & Sands punch, for example, is a 1930s-era drink that combines blended Scotch, cherry liqueur, and sweet vermouth. The bar will soon open its patio, and with it, comes one more drink deal: a $5 Aperol spritz.

—Tim Ebner

A gin martini: Copycat Co. 1110 H St. NE, (202) 241-1952, copycatcompany.com

Owner and barman Devin Gong’s martinis are so good they not only satisfy a martini craving, they actually create the craving. If you’re ready to graduate from extra dirty vodka martinis to gin martinis with a twist, this is where you’re going to want to do it. Gong says the drink’s simplicity is exactly what makes it tough to get right. “The martini is above all about the technique and fresh ingredients,” he says. The first thing you’ll notice about his martini is how cold it is. To achieve this, he chills both the serving and stirring glasses, and the Copycat team makes and cuts its own clear ice in-house. It’s also about the stirring— when I tried Gong’s perfect martini, he must have stirred that thing for five minutes. Then, of course, it comes down to ingredients. Gong started out using Beefeater gin exclusively but has recently brought in Boodles, a London dry he employs solely for martinis. Dolin dry vermouth is kept fresh thanks to refrigeration and an understanding of its short shelf life, a detail that Gong feels makes all the difference. “A common mistake in making a crappy martini is oxidized vermouth,” he cautions. Add it all up, and you’ve got a cocktail that Gong says should taste “like super cold silk that drinks very easily.” Objective achieved, sir.

—Rina Rapuano

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An Homage to Umm Kulthum Join us for programs and performances celebrating the legacy of beloved Egyptian singer and songwriter Umm Kulthum.

SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2016 | 3–5 P.M. Registration required: $15 general; $10 members, seniors, students Purchase tickets at: nmwa.org/content/star-east-homage-umm-kulthum This Cultural Capital program partnership is presented by the museum’s Women, Arts, and Social Change initiative in collaboration with the Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Program, and with support from the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 25

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CPArts

Go-go producer and manager Preston Blue dies at 49. washingtoncitypaper.com/arts

Crazed and Confused

New films by Nicolas Winding Refn and Benoît Jacquot are stylish achievements, but ultimately confusing and boring.

The Neon Demon

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

The Neon Demon

Diary of a Chambermaid Directed by Benoît Jacquot

By Tricia Olszewski Writer-director Nicolas WiNdiNg Refn gave audiences a surprise with his 2011 film, Drive. Part of its surprise—its departure from audiences’ expectations—was admittedly was out of his hands, the product of a poor marketing campaign, which promised action whereas Rehn delivered stillness. But among that stillness were jolts of graphic violence, all the more shocking for being unexpected.

Refn’s latest film, The Neon Demon, is eerie, disturbing, and eventually stomach-turning. The surprise here, however, is that it’s also predictable. From the time 16-year-old Jesse (Elle Fanning, a swan), an aspiring model and new L.A. transplant, meets Ruby (Jena Malone), a seasoned makeup artist, you know that Ruby’s intense interest in the teenager isn’t exactly innocent. Barely after exchanging names, Ruby invites her to a party—“a fun one,” she says, after Jesse asks what kind.

But it doesn’t seem fun at all. Besides the inky venue and blood-red strobes, there are Ruby’s two friends, Sarah (Abbey Lee) and Gigi (Bella Heathcote). Both are models and, along with Ruby, interrogate an awkward Jesse in the bathroom in an attempt to get a feel for her status and whether she’ll soon push them out of their pockets of the industry. Even after this ridiculous exchange—with all of them staring at her, Ruby says, “Isn’t she just perfect?”—Jesse stays at the party, smiling at Ruby about the avant-garde “show” going on.

Jesse’s star rises immediately, with one designer’s mouth dropping as if the guy was looking at the second coming of Bridget Bardot. She stays angelic and nearly apologetic; the other models practically hiss. But danger’s afoot. You can tell because a panther somehow ends up in her motel room, and she dreams of a knife being stuck down her throat. And Jesse’s three new friends seem, oh, a bit too coven-y for comfort.

Refn’s certainly created something stylish, with scenes either quiet or pulsing with EDM- and trance-like touches that recall Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. A fashion show that Jesse catwalks for has no audience, just unending blackness and flashes of light, and she hallucinates about seeing herself in a trifold mirror and kissing her reflection. Another set piece pans across a photographer and model who don’t move, though the camera keeps clicking. When a second photographer takes over, he walks onto the white backdrop to position his model; the backdrop grows until it looks like the entire set.

Too soon, Jesse turns Stepford, adopting her competitors’

FILM

Diary of a Chambermaid

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 27

CPArts petty personalities. So was her wide-eyed initiation just an act?

Not really, because her naïveté shows up again. Then she proclaims herself a “dangerous girl,” saying her mother used to tell her that. But the coven—I mean, three friends—not only stay disturbing, they ramp it up. Necrophilia is involved, among other vile acts.

The message that Refn, who co-wrote the script with two others, is trying to convey is as in-your-face as, well, neon.

Gigi, who’s had multiple cosmetic surgeries, says things such as “Plastics is just good grooming” and “Besides, no one likes the way they look.” A modeling agent informs the willowy Jesse that some people might say she’s fat. There’s talk of deciding against breast augmentation, the better to look like “a hanger.”

If you still have no idea what the movie’s trying to say, you’re probably also expecting a happy ending.

A couple of “why?”s include the presence of Keanu Reeves as the furious keeper of Jesse’s motel and a possible murder that seems meant only to contribute to the sense of peril. Though the specifics of the climax count as blindsiding, the end itself will make you yawn (that is, if you’re not laughing). What’s the neon demon? Who knows. The only aspect of the film you can be sure of is its trajectory. léa seydoux plays up her seductive strengths in Benoît Jacquot’s Diary of a Chambermaid, the novel’s third film adaptation after Jean Renoir’s 1946 version and Luis Buñuel’s 1964 go. Or so the synopsis says: As with Jesse, it’s sometimes difficult to tell whether she’s truly sweet or truly sour, or merely riding her mood du jour.

28 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

If you watched all three films, you still wouldn’t have a firm handle on the book’s original plot. Like the directors before him, Jacquot, who co-wrote the script with Hélène Zimmer, culls details from each telling to form a Franken-Maid that feels so severely stripped you’re not always certain what’s going on.

From the opening scene, characters seem to be speaking a double language. Célestine (Seydoux, Blue Is the Warmest Color) belongs to a Parisian placement agency in the late 19th century. When her supervisor claims she has an excellent job for Célestine and calls her intelligent and attractive, Célestine replies with a ’Ætude. Then the supervisor says that she’s “unstable” and “unreliable” and further insinuates that she’s a bad servant. Célestine, with a smile, promises to be on her best behavior.

Sarcasm? Probably. But when she arrives at her provincial post, she’s polite and obedient to Madame Lanlaire (Clotilde Mollet)—at least to her face. Her hatred of her boss not long after she walks in the door is a bit too instant and, though her instincts will prove right, unearned at this early point. Célestine is also polite and obedient to Monsieur Lanlaire (Hervé Pierre)—at least for a moment. Turns out Monsieur is a bit grabby with the help.

At other times, however, Célestine seems to genuinely care, such as with the couple’s groomer, Joseph (Vincent Lindon, The Measure of a Man). Joseph won’t acknowledge her presence initially, but after they do start speaking, Célestine acts like she’s fallen. And, suddenly—if this is a flashback, it’s not at all indicated—she’s at the placement agency again, given a job to care for a woman’s sickly grandson (Vincent Lacoste). She’s tender

with him. But soon Célestine is back with the couple again, as if that episode never happened. And she’s shown at the agency one more time, though the frame of the story takes place chez Lanlaire.

Célestine is likely working the various men to gain social status and wealth, but that’s never made clear, especially after a scene—again, away from the Lanlaires—in which an old biddy essentially asks Célestine to join her brothel. (Not the first such proposition.) Tears run down Célestine’s face, but she eventually agrees to a similar setup.

Viewers are let in on some of Célestine’s thoughts, or, one guesses, her diary entries. But mostly only her wicked ones—and even some of those she actually mutters. Her loving reflections are also made known. Either way, they aren’t revealed on a regular enough basis for you to know what to make of them.

One early bud that never blooms is the soundtrack of piano and strings that suggest a Hitchcock-ian thriller is about to take place. There may be one or two surprises in the slow-moving Chambermaid, but thrills they are not. Seydoux makes a lovely and sharp Célestine, and the bitches she encounters are realistically bitchy. But Jacquot needed to give a little more to communicate the lead character’s motive, the timeline, and, well, the story in general.

CP The Neon Demon opens Friday at Angelika Film Center at Mosaic.

Diary of a Chambermaid is now playing at the Avalon Theatre.

CPArts Arts Desk

The New Century Jazz Quintet wins DC Jazz Fest’s inaugural JazzPrix competition. washingtoncitypaper.com/arts

Label News

There’s no shortage of independent record labels in D.C. Some, like Dischord Records and Lovitt Records, have been around for decades putting out some of the city’s best music, while others—like Sister Polygon and Babe City—represent a new generation of musical proteges who are bringing attention to the city’s music scene with their forward-thinking releases. And it doesn’t end there: So far, 2016 has seen a new crop of local record labels pop up, continuing to push the city’s musical boundaries. Get —Matt Cohen

to know ’em.

Wedderburn Records

Working Order Records

Background Noise: Founded by musician Janel Leppin, Wedderburn Records’ mission is to release “music which has a magical or mystical essence.”

Now Playing: Thus far, Wedderburn’s inaugural releases have been two solo records by Leppin: the ethereal, layered Mellow Diamond, and the haunting, minimal Songs For Voice and Mellotron. up next, is a new album by Janel & Anthony, Leppin’s long-running musical project with her husband, Anthony Pirog.

Background Noise: Music has often been a vehicle for social justice and positive impact, and that’s doubly true for Working Order Records, a nonprofit organization as well as a record label.

Founded by “socially conscious music lovers” Kristy Lupejkis, Stephen Petix, and Katherine Taylor. Working Order Records operates under the “belief that music is inextricably linked with the potential for positive change.” All proceeds from their releases go to charity.

Now Playing: Working Order’s inaugural release, the debut album from darkwave/electronic duo Technophobia (Katie Petix and Stephen Petix), is due out in July.

EST. JAnuARy 2016

EST. MARCh 2016

Verses Records

Trick Bag Records

Background Noise: As longtime participants in the local music scene—both as musicians, producers, and engineers— Dennis Kane and Douglas Kallmeyer have a lot of experience under their belt. So when they founded Verses Records at the beginning of the year, they did so with the mission to release more experimental and outer sound music— genres that stand apart from the punk scene they both came from.

Now Playing: Verses has been pretty busy in its inaugural year, with releases from Kane’s group Domingues & Kane, James Wolf, and a label sampler featuring an array of other artists Kane and Kallmeyer have worked with.

Background Noise: Paul Vivari’s bar, Showtime, is known for its great jukebox and essential DJs who regularly spin old soul, funk, and R&B, so it’s no surprise that he’s expanded his business ventures into a record label.

Now Playing: The label just put out its first release, D.C. expat Benjy Ferree’s Cry-Fi, but Vivari tells City Paper they’ve got some more stuff in the works, including a 45-rpm single of a “Showtime theme song” by the bar’s house band, Granny & The Boys.

EST. JAnuARy 2016

EST. APRiL 2016

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 29

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Nouvelle vague Job #: RCNDC60_June_CityPaper-1Qtr Directed

by Anna Rose Holmer Size: 4.666”W x 5.1455”H 05/24/16 WeDate: knoW this pre-teen is different because she listens more than she talks. Well, Prepared By: accurate: She observes. Toni that’s not quite (Royalty Hightower), the protagonist of The Fits, spends her after-school hours at a Cin718-967-2241 cinnati gym. Half her time there is spent with herKen@DeLeonGroup.com brother in the boxing ring, where she ab©2016 GROUP misogynistic LLC. All rights reserved. sorbs theDELEON casually talk between him and his goofy friends. The other half is spent peering over the ropes to the other side of the building, where a dance troupe of older girls rehearses. She wants to become them but doesn’t know how.

Not knowing is a feeling you need to be comfortable with when watching The Fits. It is undoubtedly the debut of one of those major talents who refuses to acquiesce to the audience and instead creates art on her own terms. First-time filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer has crafted a story so poetic and precise that it must be the pure, uncorrupted vision of its creator. It’s not a flawless film, but it is perfect in its own way.

Channelling the slow-burn tension of Brian De Palma or Stanley Kubrick (the camera zooms so subtly that it’s almost imperceptible), Holmer follows the quiet, diminutive Toni as she slowly, carefully, almost menacingly enters the world of the dance troupe.

Her supportive brother encourages her to try

out, despite her clear lack of rhythm and ability to master her own body. They let her join anyway, but soon strange things start to happen. One by one, the older girls are struck by seizures. They recover quickly, but the episodes are unnerving to all, and the troupe— which we understand as a rare escape from the more complicated inner-city world outside of the gym—is overcome with a subtle but powerful paranoia.

Except Toni, who somehow retains agency throughout. Holmer never shows us what’s behind her piercing eyes, and instead tells her story through formal composition, varying her size in the frame from scene to scene.

Sometimes Toni is small in the foreground, a minor character in her own story. But this girl has power. You can see it in the occasional close-up. She burns with confidence. We know she will accomplish whatever she sets out to. So when the community determines that the cause of these “fits” is a mysterious case of water contamination, we know better.

We know who’s doing it, even if we don’t know how. Even if she herself doesn’t know.

Still, this not-knowing comes at some cost, especially for the audience. Holmer purposefully keeps things vague, evoking the confusion and alienation of adolescence without ever naming its cause or effect. This will surely be a problem for some viewers, but for others, it will create an unassailable curiosity about this girl and the world—both internal and external—she inhabits. Put simply, how much you enjoy The Fits will depend largely on your comfort with the void.

—Noah Gittell The Fits opens Friday at E Street Cinema.

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booksspeed reads

Danger to Herself

Presenting Sponsor

You May See a Stranger

Photo by Bill Bernstein

Photo by Brian Friedman

Paula Whyman TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press, 216 pp.

June 23 The District of Comedy Roast of James Carville Bob Saget, Roastmaster

SOLD OUT

June 24 Jane Lynch in See Jane Sing

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

June 24

June 24

June 24

The Daily Show Writers Standup Tour

Jermaine Fowler & Friends

Jay Pharoah

SOLD OUT

June 24

June 25

June 25

The Goddamn Comedy Jam

Robert Post Comedy Theatre for Kids

Dick Gregory: An Evening of Comedy & Jazz

June 25

June 25

Now thru–July 31

Judd Apatow & Friends with Michael Che & Pete Holmes

The Second City’s Almost Accurate Guide to America

Reggie Watts

Plus, live podcast recordings with Hard Nation; The Todd Glass Show; The Last Podcast on the Left; Redacted Tonight; and You, Me, Them, Everybody!

Most performances are recommended for mature audiences.

For tickets and information, visit kennedy-center.org/comedy.

(202) 467-4600 | Tickets also available at the Box Office.

Additional support for the District of Comedy Festival is provided by New Orleans Tourism.

32 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

Paula Whyman’s debut collection of stories, You May See a Stranger, spans three decades, following D.C. native Miranda Weber from her high school driver’s education class to marriage and motherhood. While the city’s crises change—the crack epidemic of ’80s, the “murder capital” days, 9/11, the Beltway sniper attacks—Weber’s personal crisis remains the same. She allows men to push her around: a troublemaking teen, a swaggering party boy who refuses to grow up, a married media executive, an electronics repairman, and finally, even the austere engineer she marries.

Her vulnerability is puzzling.

While she clearly enjoys sex and likes the power her body wields, good looks aren’t her only strength. She’s also observant, sharp, and funny. But for the most of the book, she keeps her observations to herself. “I briefly entertain the idea of making my own little announcement,” Weber thinks in the title story. “It’s as if there are two different conversations going on, the one everyone else is having, and the imagined one in my head. I have to try hard not to confuse myself.” It’s confusing for the reader too and a bit unbelievable: Why doesn’t she say what’s on her mind? Why would such a sharp woman put up with so much crap?

Weber feels guilt over the way she treated her older sister who has a disability, but that doesn’t explain why she repeatedly lets men use and then discard her. However, growing up with someone who wasn’t “normal,” as Weber puts it, does explain her perceptive eye. Her boyfriend drives an old Mercedes because “the idea is to look like they don’t care about money, or even think about it.” Her boss is a “bilious troglodyte” whose “monogrammed cuffs are stained with mustard” and who tips poorly.

These anthropological observations often make use of similes that are frequently surprising, humorous, and spot-on: “Cheever keeps squeezing Natasha’s arm as if she’s a fresh loaf of Wonder Bread.” An older man runs his tongue over her ear, creating a sound “like someone fumbling with a microphone when they don’t know it’s switched on.” Weber snorts lines of coke at her dealer’s house like they’re “free samples in the cheese aisle.”

But some of Whyman’s details are a bit cringe-worthy: The movie that’s stuck in her

VCR is Fatal Attraction, and she ends up sleeping with the VCR repairman. The bar she and her friend like to frequent is called Heaven and Hell—you have to go through Hell, where there is no dancing, to get to Heaven, where there is.

Eventually we learn that, when Weber was a child, a relative sexually abused her. Her grandmother’s second husband exposed himself to her, and she’s never told anyone, until now, in the writing of the story. She explains that she felt “silly” mentioning the incident when she wasn’t sure it did her any harm. But it’s clear, from her relationships, that some harm has been done. Allusions to this incident earlier on could have helped make her actions more understandable.

Whyman speaks truths about the District that can only be learned from living here for so long. “If there was one thing you learned from growing up in D.C., it was that government workers were lazy bums, and their jobs were regimented and dull as the Agriculture building, which was modeled after a prison,” Weber observes when her parents urge her to apply for a government job. And then there’s Whyman’s traffic-circle-as-life metaphor: “All the major roads in D.C. lead to traffic circles, eventually… L’Enfant intended for these circles to be destinations; instead they’re obstacles.” Weber notes that it’s safer to keep driving around in circles if you don’t know how they work. And so she keeps circling, prompting the reader to wonder why, after all these years of driving in D.C., does she still not know how to get off?

—Natalie Villacorta Whyman reads at Kramerbooks on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Free.

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 33

The Kennedy Center Presents

MusicDiscography

Finding Fury Oscars & Jellyfish Thaylobleu Self-released

Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have won the hearts of music lovers across the globe at their exhilarating live performances showcasing Rodrigo’s fiery lead lines and Gabriela’s rhythmic battery.

June 29 at 8 p.m. | Concert Hall TICKETS ON SALE NOW! KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600

Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.

34 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

Thaylobleu’s roaring Oscars & Jellyfish is officially its first record, but it makes the kind of statement that can only come with experience. After years of playing around D.C. and refining its sound, this group of local hiphop veterans’ rock debut feels taut. While the foundation of the music is presented as ’70s and ’80s metal—with a Guns N’ Roses reference to boot—the speed and oscillating textures evoke D.C. punk and funk.

But don’t worry, hip-hop’s influence is abundant on Oscars & Jellyfish. “I got jelly-stained pajamas/My words like a pack of half-trained piranhas,” lead singer Terence Nicholson rhymes in the album’s funky third track “Rose in the Briar.” Rhyming in rock music is so rare these days that this opening line serves as a kind of announcement that Thaylobleu isn’t your typical rock band.

The mixture of influences occasionally falters—some guitar solos feel goofy and the Scarface “my little friend” reference could’ve been left on the edit room floor—but it ultimately succeeds in giving urgency and credence to the most powerful aspect of the record: Nicholson’s no-holds-barred lyrics.

It starts with the album’s title: a clear allusion to what’s to come. Oscars, named after an aggressive and territorial South American fish, are songs that cut straight to the point and don’t mess around. Conversely, jellyfish ebb and flow, not revealing their sting until you’ve gotten too close. And that’s kind of what Oscars

& Jellyfish is: Listening through the album’s 10 tracks, some more melodic ones act as interludes—almost meditation breaks—that let the bite from the oscars sink in. These breaks allow for needed reflection, as though the structure of the album itself acts as a teaching tool for thoughtful listening.

Nicholson’s delivery is aggressive and percussive so he doesn’t mince words, but his lyrics come from a deeply personal place: They’re often reflections of certain experiences, the lessons from which Nicholson learned the hard way. On “Locked,” a case of mistaken identity leads to police abuse; “Too Much” tells the story of a man who starts to learn what he wants in a relationship after dating several women too wild for him; and after a berating from a bully on “Bones of Contention (the Bully song),” a “weakling” learns not to internalize insults or judgement.

But the thread of clarity weaves deeper on the second half of the album. “Get Low,” accessorized with record scratches to keep the beat, warns to “keep it under your hat” because the truth may get you in trouble. And as the record thunders on toward a raucous climax, its statement becomes clearer, up until the fiery denouement “Welcome to Anacostia.” “Welcome to my jungle,” Nicholson sings, talking directly to the gentrifiers in Anacostia, only to later let the newcomers know, “we can get along if you know your place.”

These are more than just songs. They’re fables and declarations on the importance of truth, certainty, and self-understanding. The lasting impression of Oscars & Jellyfish aren’t the dated rock tropes, but Thaylobleu passing its experiences onto its community with confidence and care.

—Justin Weber Listen to Oscars & Jellyfish at washingtoncitypaper.com/arts.

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 35

36 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

CITYLIST

INER

60S-INSPIRED D

Music 37 Books 43 Galleries 43 Dance 44 Theater 44

Serving

EVERYTHING from BURGERS to BOOZY SHAKES

HAPPY HOUR:

$2 TUESDAY $3 THURSDAY $4 FRIDAY (ALL DRAFTS AND RAIL)

BRING YOUR TICKET

AFTER ANY SHOW AT

Club

TO GET A

FREE SCHAEFERS

SABBATH SUNDAY NIGHTS Punk/Metal/Hardcore Classics

10:30 pm - Close $5 Drafts & Rail Specials

Music rock

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Jon Bellion, SonReal, Blaque Keyz. 8 p.m. (Sold out) 930.com. birChmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. 10,000 Maniacs. 7:30 p.m. $39.50. birchmere.com.

Comet Ping Pong 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 364-0404. Anthony Pirog and Jarrett Gilgore, Other Colors, Marian McLaughlin Trio. 10 p.m. $12. cometpingpong.com.

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Soak, Overcoat. 7 p.m. $15. dcnine.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Dave Barnes,Lucie Silvas. 8:30 p.m. $15–$25. thehamiltondc.com. howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Dr. John and the Nite Trippers. 8 p.m. $50–$70. thehowardtheatre.com.

Jiffy lube live 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow.

(703) 754-6400. Weezer, Panic! at the Disco. 7 p.m. $25–$75. livenation.com. national gallery of art SCulPture garDen 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 7374215. Enter The Haggis. 5 p.m. Free. nga.gov. roCk & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625.

Pere Ubu, Obnox. 8 p.m. $25. rockandrollhoteldc.com. u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

The Low Anthem, River Whyless. 7 p.m. $18. ustreetmusichall.com.

dJ Nights

blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Dark & Stormy with DJ Shea Van Horn. 10 p.m. $5. blackcatdc.com.

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Liberation Dance Party with DJ Bill Spieler. 10:30 p.m. $5. dcnine.com. howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Reggaefest vs. Soca. 11 p.m. $20. thehowardtheatre.com.

classical

muSiC Center at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Millennial Choirs and Orchestras. 8 p.m. (Sold out) strathmore.org.

Folk

kenneDy Center ConCert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Punch Brothers, Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer, I’m With Her. 7:30 p.m. $29–$79. kennedy-center.org. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The 19th Street Band. 10:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc. com.

Jazz

located next door to 9:30 club

CITY LIGHTS: Friday

Friday

couNtry

2047 9th Street NW

Film 45

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Nicholas Payton. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25–$30. bluesalley.com. mr. henry’S 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Aaron L. Myers II. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Alex Hamburger Quartet. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz. com.

chaMBEr daNcE ProJEct

Straight from the streets to the stage, the third season of Chamber Dance Project, “Ballet & Brass,” will marry contemporary ballet with music from local street band Brass Connection. Previous seasons have highlighted themes ranging from infatuation and loss to humorous interactions between dancers and classical musicians. The dancers seem to perform for more than just the pleasure of moving; they also elicit laughs from the audience while simultaneously offering them a greater understanding of how the human body can move. What makes the ensemble unique is the intricate union it creates between dancers and live musicians. This season’s performance will highlight the work of three choreographers. D.C. hip-hop artist Victor Adebusola and New York choreographer Jennifer Archibald each created new works with Brass Connection, while Artistic Director Diane Coburn Bruning presents a piece set to a score by American composer Bryce Dessner, best known to casual music listeners as a member of the Grammy-nominated band The National. All involved intend to challenge the limits of contemporary dance productions. Chamber Dance Project performs June 23 to June 26 at the Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. $20–$50. (202) 499-2297. chamberdance.org.

—Raye Weigel

ElEctroNic

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Broncho, Winter, Faron Young Cannibals. 9 p.m. $12–$15. dcnine.com.

flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Eli Verveine, Doubtingthomas, Navbox, Mazi R. 8 p.m. $8. flashdc.com. u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Jerry Folk, Kry Wolf, Alexnoize. 10:30 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.

FuNk & r&B

betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Judith Hill. 8 p.m. $40–$45. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

rhizome DC 6950 Maple St. NW. Dyr Faser, Insect Factory, Sansyou. 8 p.m. Free. rhizomedc.org. roCk & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625.

Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Jay Som. 8 p.m. (Sold out) rockandrollhoteldc.com.

saturday birChmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm. 7:30 p.m. (Sold out) birchmere.com. blaCk Cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Black Mountain, Majeure. 9 p.m. $15. blackcatdc.com.

kenneDy Center ConCert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. NSO Pops with Gregory Alan Isakov.

8 p.m. $35–$60. kennedy-center.org. olD City farm anD guilD 925 Rhode Island Ave. NW. (202) 737-7230. Capital Fringe Music Festival.

Noon. Free. capitalfringe.org.

gyPSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The Pimps of Joytime, Kuf Knotz. 9 p.m. $15–$20. gypsysallys.com.

rock

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Start Making Sense. 8:30 p.m. $18–$23. Burt the Dirt.

10:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc.com.

Sixth & i hiStoriC Synagogue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Bitchin’ Bajas, Highlife. 8 p.m. $30–$35. sixthandi.org.

State theatre 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church.

(703) 237-0300. Nocoda, Aces in Chains. 8:30 p.m.

Free. thestatetheatre.com.

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 37

u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Ladyhawke, Psychic Twin. 7 p.m. $20. ustreetmusichall.com.

Vocal

atlaS Performing artS Center 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. Potomac Fever, Rock Creek Singers, Schola Cantorosa, The Homonics. 8 p.m. $20–$25. atlasarts.org.

dJ Nights

GOOD TO GO Brunch Sundays from 11am - 3pm

TH JUNE 23 One Blue Night FR JUNE 24 Taylor Carson (Full Band) SA JUNE 25 Moogatu w/Agori Tribe MO JUNE 27 SEHKRAFT OPEN MIC! (Hosted by Derek Evry) TU JUNE 28 We are The 9 • WE JUNE 29 Boxcartel TH JUNE 30 “An Evening Of Opera Meets Jazz At The Brewery” Featuring: Danielle Talamantes Accompanied By Pianist Henry Dehlinger FR JULY 1 Drew Davidsen and Friends SA JULY 2 Festival Because Awareness Weekend Featuring: Roosevelt Dime! w/ Laura Baron SU JULY 3 Festival Because Awareness Brunch Meet & Greet w/Roosevelt Dime!

WE JULY 6 Jon Spear Band • TH JULY 7 The J & A Band • FR JULY 8 Moonshine Society SA JULY 9 Cactus Liquors • MO JULY 11 SEHKRAFT OPEN MIC! (Hosted by Derek Evry) WE JULY 13 Jim Stephanson • TH JULY 14 Silver Line Station FR JULY 15 70s vs 80s Dance Party W/ DJ Skruggs and Mellie Mel SA JULY 16 KIDSROCK! Brunch & Concert w/ Mr. Knick Knack (Tickets On Sale Now) SA JULY 16 The Lucky So & So’s and Mary EL • SU JULY 17 Hayley Fahey CD RELEASE SHOW!!

blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Gay/Bash! with Donna Slash. 10 p.m. $7. blackcatdc.com. velvet lounge 915 U St. NW. (202) 462-3213. Hot Mess Dance Party. 10 p.m. Free. velvetloungedc.com.

oPEra

atlaS Performing artS Center 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. The In Series: Beethoven’s Fidelio. 8 p.m. $23–$46. atlasarts.org.

hiP-hoP TRIVIA NIGHTS

w/ Geeks Who Drink on 7/5 - 7/12 - 7/1

925 North Garfield St. | Arlington, VA | 703-841-5889 | sehkraftbrewing.com

fillmore Silver SPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Grits and Biscuits. 9 p.m. $20. fillmoresilverspring.com.

Folk

u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Solid Stone. 10:30 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

FuNk & r&B

betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Tribute to the Music of Mary J, Fantasia, and Erykah with Halima Peru. 8 p.m. $30. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

suNday rock

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Sleep, Windhand. 7 p.m. (Sold out) 930.com. betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Peter Asher, Albert Lee, The Kennedys. 8 p.m. $35. bethesdabluesjazz.com. birChmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Three Dog Night. 7:30 p.m. $69.50. birchmere.com. blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Mystery Lights, Teen Liver. 7:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com. boSSa biStro 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088.

Stolen Jars, The Red Fetish. 9 p.m. $10. bossadc.com.

gyPSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Dangermuffin, On the Bus. 9 p.m. $10–$14. gypsysallys.com.

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Hemlines, Worriers, Mikey Erg, Art Sorority for Girls. 8 p.m. $10–$12. dcnine.com.

kenneDy Center millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Chris Thile. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

galaxy hut 2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 5258646. Dope Francis, Dura. 9 p.m. $5. galaxyhut.com.

couNtry

Jiffy lube live 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow.

(703) 754-6400. Dixie Chicks, Anderson East, Josh Herbert. 7 p.m. $42–$136. livenation.com.

Jazz

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Kathy Sledge. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $35–$40. bluesalley.com. mr. henry’S 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Di Daly. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Equilibrium. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.

ElEctroNic

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Balkan Beat Box, A-WA. 8 p.m. $25. 930.com. flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Shlomi Aber, Jubilee. 8 p.m. $5–$10. flashdc.com.

merriweather PoSt Pavilion 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. (410) 715-5550. DC101 Kerfuffle. 1:30 p.m. $55–$95. merriweathermusic.com. olD City farm anD guilD 925 Rhode Island Ave. NW. (202) 737-7230. Capital Fringe Music Festival.

Noon. Free. capitalfringe.org.

gosPEl

howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Harlem Gospel Choir. 1:30 p.m. $20–$40. thehowardtheatre.com.

classical

muSiC Center at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Best of Serenade! 3 p.m. $5–$10. strathmore.org.

oPEra

atlaS Performing artS Center 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. The In Series: Beethoven’s Fidelio. 4 p.m. $23–$46. atlasarts.org.

CITY LIGHTS: saturday

ladyhaWkE

Four years between albums feels like an eternity in pop music, but that’s how long Ladyhawke fans have had to wait for a new album—twice. Ladyhawke, the stage name of New Zealand singer-songwriter Pip Brown, debuted in 2008 amid a wave of female artists that borrowed liberally from the sounds and style of the ’80s. Her selftitled album combined the sheen and groove of synth-pop with the riffs and rough edges of rock as she told tales of youth both in revolt and crazy in love.

But non-stop touring in support of the album left her physically and mentally exhausted; it would be four years until Brown released the underwhelming Anxiety, a rock-heavy album that found her bitter and broken-hearted. Four years after that, she presented Wild Things, a return-to-form full of the anthemic choruses and four-on-the-floor grooves that made her first album such a delight. Brown married in 2015, and Wild Things is a joyous honeymoon that entreats listeners to dance “like the wild things in the night” and live like millionaires, no matter the danger and uncertainty in the world. Hopefully, it won’t be another four years until Ladyhawke flies again. Ladyhawke performs with Psychic Twin at 7 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. $20. (202) 588-1889. ustreetmusichall.com.

—Chris Kelly 38 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 39

barnS at wolf traP 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Aria Jukebox with Wolf Trap Opera Soloists.

3 p.m. $32–$48. wolftrap.org.

3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA • 703-549-7500

1811 14TH ST NW

www.blackcatdc.com @blackcatdc

UPCOMING SHOWS FRI 24

BURLESQUEER PRESENTS:

PRIDE BURLESQUE

EXTRAVAGANZA FRI 24 SAT 25

SAT 25

DARK & STORMY

ELECTRO / RETRO / DANCE

BLACK MOUNTAIN GAY//BASH!!

DRAG SHOW DANCE PARTY

For entire schedule go to Birchmere.com Find us on Facebook/Twitter!

Tix @ Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000

10,000 MANIACS 26 THREE DOG NIGHT

June An 24 Evening with

BlueNote 75 Presents

30

OUR POINT OF VIEW

feat.

ROBERT GLASPER, LIONEL LOUEKE,

DERRICK HODGE, MARCUS STRICKLAND, AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE

VIVIAN GREEN 2 DONNELL RAWLINGS w/The Fat Doctor

July 1

BILL KIRCHEN & TOO MUCH FUN 7 The CrossRhodes

3

SUN 26

(RAHEEM DeVAUGHN & WES FELTON) w/Muhsinah

THU 30

YAHZARAH Purple Reign A Tribute to the Music and Life of Prince

MYSTERY LIGHTS MON 27 STEREORIOTS JUL 1 JUL 2 JUL 8 JUL 9

UNRING THE BELL

FLAG

MOUSETRAP

SICK OF IT ALL

DAVID BAZAN

JUL 12 HOGWART’S HAPPY HOUR BUTTERBEER DRINK SPECIALS & ONE FILM SCREENING A WEEK JUL 15 JUL 19

HEY MERCEDES AZEALIA BANKS

8

9 10TH ANNUAL MIKE SEEGER COMMEMORATIVE

TIME BANJO FESTIVAL OLD feat. Roni Stoneman, the ebony hillbillieS,

Cathy Fink & maRCy maRxeR, Sam GleaveS

10

LITTLE RIVER BAND

12

Aaron LOS LONELY BOYS Stephens

THE EVERLY BROTHERS EXPERIENCE PHIL PERRY 15 17

The Real Deal starring Texas Legends

Reverend Horton Heat (solo) & Dale Watson (solo)

18

21

Matt BETH HART Anderson

An Evening with

GRAHAM NASH

THIS PATH TONIGHT, TOUR 2016

SAT JUN 25

THE BACON BROTHERS 26 BWB featuring NORMAN BROWN, KIRK WHALUM, RICK BRAUN

22,24

presents

mint condition SAT JUL 9

DAVID BAZAN

TAKE METRO!

WE ARE LOCATED 3 BLOCKS FROM THE U STREET/CARDOZO STATION

TO BUY TICKETS VISIT TICKETFLY.COM

“Until Next Time” www.mintconditionmusic.com Saturday July 16, 8pm Warner Theatre, Washington DC

Tickets On Sale Now through Ticketmaster.com/800-745-3000!

LALAH HATHAWAY & MUSIQ SOULCHILD Fri. Oct. 21, 8 pm Warner Theatre, Wash DC

Tickets On Sale Now through Ticketmaster.com/800-745-3000

40 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

fillmore Silver SPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, YFN Lucci. 8 p.m. (Sold out) fillmoresilverspring.com.

Jazz

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Kathy Sledge. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $35–$40. bluesalley.com.

PhilliPS ColleCtion 1600 21st St. NW. (202) 3872151. Equilibrium. 4 p.m. Free. phillipscollection.org. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Jegna Tree-O. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.

FuNk & r&B

howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

The X-Factor. 8 p.m. $20–$40. thehowardtheatre.com.

MoNday rock

betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Josh Christina, Full Power Blues. 7:30 p.m. Free. bethesdabluesjazz.com. blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Stereoriots, Mimi Loco and the Drama Queens, Company Calls. 7:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com. galaxy hut 2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 5258646. KROBOPOL. 9 p.m. $5. galaxyhut.com. roCk & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625.

Quasi, Saqqara Mastaba. 8 p.m. $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com. wolf traP filene Center 1551 Trap Road, Vienna.

(703) 255-1900. Paul Simon. 8 p.m. $48–$130. wolftrap.org.

hiP-hoP

fillmore Silver SPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Lil Uzi Vert. 8 p.m. $28. fillmoresilverspring.com.

boSSa biStro 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088.

Kamel Zennia and His Band. 9:30 p.m. $5. bossadc.com.

Jazz

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Dwayne Adell Trio. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.

tuEsday rock

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Joe Purdy, Garrison Starr. 7:30 p.m. $14.75–$22.25. thehamiltondc.com. wolf traP filene Center 1551 Trap Road, Vienna.

(703) 255-1900. Paul Simon. 8 p.m. $48–$130. wolftrap.org.

hiP-hoP

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, DJ Zone, Homeboy Sandman. 7 p.m. $25. 930.com.

World

howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Ceu, Kauf. 8 p.m. $25–$60. thehowardtheatre.com.

Folk

kenneDy Center millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Billy McComiskey and Sons. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

Jazz

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Al Strong. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.

WEdNEsday rock

blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Unring the Bell, Breakup Season, Hundredth Nomad. 7:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com.

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Pinegrove, Ratboys, Half Waif. 8 p.m. $12–$14. dcnine.com.

The Bird Dogs present

14

19&20

BLACK MOUNTAIN

hiP-hoP

World

CITY LIGHTS: suNday

slEEP

In a way, Sleep’s gradual rise to metal infamy is much like the band’s music: slow, heavy, and deliberate. Earlier this year, the New York Times gave the California doom metal pioneers’ classic album Dopesmoker a nod of approval a mere 13 years after it came out. The album—a generous term for what’s actually one hour-plus long song—was the band’s ultimate creation, but it would eventually lead to the band’s break-up. Originally recorded in 1995, the band’s label at the time, London Records, refused to release it, arguing that an hourlong song was unmarketable. The band went back to the studio to redo the song, but essentially just trimmed it to 52 minutes, which London Records still rejected. The frustration from the Dopesmoker sessions led to the band’s dissolution, with the album on the cutting room floor.

Eventually, the band released the shorter version, retitled as Jerusalem, in 1998, and Tee Pee Records finally released the full version of Dopesmoker in 2003. In the following years, the band, much like the album, has been shrouded in mystery until it resurfaced in 2009. Since then, the band has performed sporadically, reminding metal fans just frequently enough why it’s one of the genre’s very best. Sleep performs with Windhand at 7 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. (Sold out) (202) 265-0930. 930.com.

—Matt Cohen

washingtoncitypaper.com june 24, 2016 41

$10 BURGER & BEER MON-FRI 4 P M -7 P M

TRIVIA EVERY M O N D AY & W E D N E S D AY

$3 PBR & NATTY BOH ALL DAY EVERY DAY

fillmore Silver SPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Whitesnake. 8 p.m. $40. fillmoresilverspring.com.

amP by Strathmore 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Be Steadwell. 7:30 p.m. $17. ampbystrathmore.com.

gyPSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Beggars Tomb, Gypsy Soul Revival. 8 p.m. $10–$12. gypsysallys.com.

betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Band of Roses, Jazzy Blu. 8 p.m. $20. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Mingo Fishtrap, Jamie McLean Band. 7:30 p.m. $15–$20. thehamiltondc.com.

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Andaiye. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley.com.

kenneDy Center ConCert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Rodrigo y Gabriela. 8 p.m. $29–$59. kennedy-center.org.

dJ Nights 600 beers from around the world

Downstairs: good food, great beer: $3 PBR & Natty Boh’s all day every day *all shows 21+

JUNE 23RD

JUNE 23 DAWKINS / PREE / GRACE VONDERKUHN / DANGERS

UNDERGROUND COMEDY

JUNE 24 RITMOS RAROS ALL VINYL NIGHT

JUNE 24TH

JUNE 25 SOULFUL BRUNCH W/ DJ NITEKRAWLER JVDBSS ALBUM RELEASE

DOORS AT 8PM STARTS AT 830PM

STARR STRUCK COMEDY DOORS AT 7 PM SHOW AT 8PM JUNE 25TH

BLACK MARKET BURLESQUE PRESENTS

FREE LIQUOR TASTING W/ JOS. A. MAGNUS GAME OF THRONES WATCH PARTY JUNE 27 $8 BEER + OLD OVERHOLT COMBO ALL NIGHT

RAINBOW PROJECT PRESENTS DOORS AT 7PM SHOW AT 8PM JUNE 27TH

DISTRICT TRIVIA STARTS AT 730PM JUNE 28TH

LAST RESORT COMEDY DOORS AT 8PM S HOW AT 830PM JUNE 29TH

DISTRICT TRIVIA JUNE 28 CAN I KICK IT? W/ SHAOLIN JAZZ FREE COMEDY TONIGHT

STARTS AT 730PM JUNE 30TH

UNDERGROUND COMEDY

DOORS AT 8PM STARTS AT 830PM JUNE 31ST

DOESN’T EXIST 1523 22nd St NW – Washington, DC 20037 (202) 293-1887 - www.bierbarondc.com @bierbarondc.com for news and events

42 june 24, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com

World

howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Beres Hammond. 8 p.m. $39.50–$65. thehowardtheatre.com. kenneDy Center millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Homayoun Sakhi and Salar Nader. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. national mall 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Kepa Junkera, Sorginak. 6:30 p.m. Free. festival.si.edu. wolf traP filene Center 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Asha Bholse, Wolf Trap Orchestra, Falu’s Bollywood Orchestra. 8 p.m. $40–$115. wolftrap.org.

rock

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Dead Kennedys, The Welch Boys, Walk The Plank. 7 p.m. $25.

930.com.

DC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Fear of Men, Puro Instinct. 9 p.m. $12–$14. dcnine.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Owen Danoff, Mike Schiavo. 7:30 p.m. $12–$20. thehamiltondc.com.

classical

kenneDy Center family theater 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Home Within. 6 p.m. kennedy-center.org.

oPEra

PhilliPS ColleCtion 1600 21st St. NW. (202) 3872151. Vocal Colors. 6:30 p.m. $8–$20. phillipscollection.org.

go-go

Jazz

Dar ConStitution hall 1776 D St. NW. (202) 6284780. Hip-Hop and Go-Go Classic featuring Naughty

by Nature. 7:30 p.m. $65–$75. dar.org.

ElEctroNic

hiP-hoP

houSe of SweDen 2900 K St. NW. (202) 536-1500.

IKIZ Cabin Crew. 7 p.m. Free. houseofsweden.com. flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Oshi, Seba Yuri. 8 p.m. $15. flashdc.com. u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Tale of Us, Rush Plus. 9 p.m. $20. ustreetmusichall.com.

FuNk & r&B

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Mayer Hawthorne. 7 p.m. $27.85. 930.com.

roCk & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625.

Black Milk, Nappynappa, Ab & Nat Turner. 8 p.m. $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com. troPiCalia 2001 14th St. NW. (202) 629-4535. The Difference Machine, yU, J Scienide. 9 p.m. $10. tropicaliadc.com. u Street muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Kanye vs. the World: Yeezy vs. Drizzy with Jerome Baker III, Ayes Cold. 10 p.m. $5. ustreetmusichall.com.

DOORS AT 8PM SHOW AT 9PM JUNE 26TH

JUNE 26 NEW VINYL BRUNCH

roCk & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625.

‘80s Dance Night. 8 p.m. Free. rockandrollhoteldc.com.

thursday

CITY LIGHTS: MoNday

Paul siMoN

Paul Simon is on the road in support of his experimental new solo album, Stranger to Stranger. Rolling Stone calls it “genre-bending,” and Simon himself admits that he wanders in whichever direction captures his interest. The result melds African woodwinds with electronic dance beats by Italian artist Clap!

Clap!, brings in Peruvian percussion and Indian strings, and traces the stories of a few characters across tracks—a first for Simon. On the hunt for rare sounds, Simon trekked to Montclair State University to capture tones from the Cloud-Chamber Bowls and the Chromelodeon, creations of the late microtonal music theorist Harry Partch. Over this, Simon continues to use rhythm and wordplay to tell stories, from the lighthearted (a musician locked out of his own show for lack of a wristband) to the mystical (a werewolf-turned-angelof-death) to the somber (the death of a teacher killed at Sandy Hook). The critically acclaimed release has earned Simon his highest Billboard chart debut, but every song won’t make the cut for his touring setlist. With accompaniment from his band of nine, Simon will highlight a few songs from recent albums, making room for crowd-pleasing sing alongs, from “Graceland” to “The Boxer,” from his early career. Paul Simon performs at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. $48–$130. (703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.

—Emily Walz

CITY LIGHTS: tuEsday

aEsoP rock

Aesop Rock’s new album, The Impossible Kid, feels like the result of a long career in which solo albums have become less and less important. During a solo work hiatus from 2007 to 2012, he focused on producing, art projects, and collaborating with other artists include Kimya Dawson. Since then, his albums have featured his own beats and production, and they rival his prodigious vocabulary—a 2012 study for Polygraph deemed it the largest in rap—in complexity. It’s worth getting lost in the instrumental version of The Impossible Kid to marvel at how perfectly the beats set the mood (I’d personally like the ’70s street strut of “Lotta Years” to soundtrack my walks down H Street NE). In addition, Aesop Rock offers his most personal narrative to date as the loss of a friend causes him to reflect on life, his weaknesses, and even the role of cats in society. In this more sober context, how Aesop Rock pieces his verbal puzzle together still feels impossible and thrilling. Aesop Rock performs with Rob Sonic, DJ Zone, and Homeboy Sandman at 7 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $25. (202) 265-0930. 930.com.

—Justin Weber

World

howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Beres Hammond. 8 p.m. $39.50–$65. thehowardtheatre.com. national mall 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Homayoun Sakhi, Salar Nader. 6:30 p.m.

Free.

couNtry

gyPSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The Woodshedders, Will Overman Band. 8 p.m. $10–$12. gypsysallys.com. mr. henry’S 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Justin Trawick. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com.

Jazz

betheSDa blueS anD Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Dave Damiani, Bobby Rydell, No Vacancy Orchestra. 8 p.m. $35. bethesdabluesjazz.com. birChmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Our Point of View. 7:30 p.m. $65. birchmere.com. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Twins Jazz Orchestra. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. 10. twinsjazz.com.

ian frazier The longtime New Yorker contributor discusses his favorite reported pieces, now collected in the new volume Hogs Wild. Politics & Prose.

5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. June 29, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.

Dave holmeS Holmes, a pop culture writer and former MTV VJ, discusses his life and career in his first book, Party of One. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.

1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. June 29, 6:30 p.m. Free.

(202) 387-1400.

ChriS lehmann Lehmann, editor-in-chief of The Baffler, looks at the failing American economy in his new book, The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. June 28, 7 p.m. Free.

(202) 364-1919.

Paula whyman anD Pamela erenS The authors speak about their latest books: Whyman’s You May See a Stranger is a collection of short stories following one woman as she deals with the poor behavior of men; Erens’ Eleven Hours looks at the physical and mental tolls of childbirth. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. June 27, 6:30 p.m.

Free. (202) 387-1400.

ElEctroNic

flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Tube & Berger, Bella & J Tek. 8 p.m. $8–$15. flashdc.com.

FuNk & r&B

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Karen Bernod. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley. com. muSiC Center at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Patti LaBelle. 8 p.m. $65–$150. strathmore.org.

Books

SuSan faluDi The feminist activist and prolific writer reads from her latest book, In the Darkroom, in which she examines her relationship with her estranged father and the complex idea of gender identity. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. June 30, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.

Galleries

aDDiSon/riPley fine art 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 338-5180. addisonripleyfineart.com. Ongoing: “Unscripted, Naturally.” New works exploring language and patterning by artist Isabel Manalo. June 8 to July 16.

CroSS maCkenzie gallery 1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 337-7970. crossmackenzie.com. Ongoing: “Architects’ Drawings.” Architects and curators Mark McInturff and Dhiru Thadani highlight drawings from some of the world’s most interesting building planners in this exhibition presented in partnership with the National Building Museum. June 8 to July 31. hemPhill 1515 14th St. NW. (202) 234-5601. hemphillfinearts.com. Closing: “Language of the Birds.” Artist Julie Wolfe presents a variety of new works, including examinations of human behavior patterns and

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7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD (240) 330-4500 www. BethesdaBluesJazz.com

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how birds interact and communicate, at her third Hemphill exhibition. May 14 to June 30.

Woods. 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. June 30, 10:30 a.m. $8. (703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.

honfleur gallery 1241 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. honfleurgallery.com. Ongoing: “Hear/ Here.” Four artists explore themes of displacement and gentrification in American metropolitan areas in this exhibition curated by Jarvis DuBois. June 8 to July 15.

riverDanCe The acclaimed Irish dance production celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new show celebrating Irish history, music, and culture. Wolf Trap Filene Center. 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. June 24, 8 p.m.; June 25, 2 p.m.; June 25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 2 p.m.; June 26, 8 p.m. $20–$75. (703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.

Dance

Theater

furia flamenCa DanCe ComPany The local ensemble, which specializes in the traditional Spanish percussive dance form, presents a show geared toward young audiences. Wolf Trap Theatre-in-the-

DiStriCt merChantS Aaron Posner looks to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice for inspiration in this tale of love, money, and racial tension set in D.C. in the years following the Civil War. Folger Elizabethan Theatre. 201 E. Capitol St. SE. To July 3. $35–$75. (202) 544-7077. folger.edu.

Chamber DanCe ProJeCt The local company, which specializes in combining music and movement on stage, presents “Ballet & Brass,” a collection of three new dance pieces set to music by D.C.-based street band Brass Connection and composer Bryce Dessner of The National. Lansburgh Theatre. 450 7th St. NW. June 24, 8 p.m.; June 25, 2 p.m.; June 25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 7:30 p.m. $20–$50. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.

an oCtoroon Woolly Mammoth presents their version of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ drama about a white slave owner’s relationship with a woman who is oneeighth black and the comedy that ensues from this case of mistaken identity. Woolly Mammoth Theatre.

641 D St. NW. To June 26. $20–$128. (202) 393-3939. woollymammoth.net.

CITY LIGHTS: WEdNEsday

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asha BhoslE

Asha Bhosle’s high-pitched soprano has been heard on more than 11,000 songs, most of them recorded for and lip synched by Bollywood actresses, since her career began seven decades ago. An icon in India, Bhosle has also recorded albums under her own name in various styles including pop, qawwali, ghazal, and raga. Now 82, Bhosle’s success is due to more than just hitting the top notes of scales in those genres. She’s equally adept at altering her cadence, and she sounds comfortable singing in multiple languages over strings and disco beats, psychedelic South Asian guitar grooves, and slow-tempoed traditional acoustic arrangements. Duets with the late Bollywood king Kishore Kumar, Boy George, and Michael Stipe have raised her profile outside India but only a few duets exist with her prolific older sister Lata Mangeshkar—the two have a well-publicized sibling rivalry. Heralded in the ’90s by British rockers Cornershop on their hit “Brimful of Asha,” Bhosle added to her crossover appeal in 2005 when she sang with artsy string group the Kronos Quartet. Here she will be backed by the Wolf Trap Orchestra who will work to convey her broad musical spectrum while she emotes. Asha Bhosle performs with the Wolf Trap Orchestra at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. $40–$115. (703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.

—Steve Kiviat

kinky bootS In this award-winning musical based on the 2005 film, a down-on-his-luck shoe factory owner must figure out how to save his business.

Inspiration comes in the form of a drag queen in search of a supportive heel and a team of collaborative colleagues. Kennedy Center Opera House. 2700 F St. NW. To July 10. $25–$199. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. love’S labor’S loSt Students from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy of Classical Acting perform the Bard’s early comedy about a king and his pals who vow to keep far away from women, only to break that promise and interact with them anyway.

Presented in repertory with A Maid’s Tragedy. Shakespeare Theatre Company Studios. 610 F Street NW. To July 2. $5–$10. 202-547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. the maiD’S trageDy Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher’s 17th century drama about murder, mistaken identity, and the overwhelming power of love is performed by students from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy of Classical Acting. Presented in repertory with Love’s Labor’s Lost. Shakespeare Theatre Company Studios. 610 F Street NW. To July 2. $5–$10. 202-547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. miSS everS’ boyS Shakespeare Theatre Company and the National Academy of Sciences collaborate on this staged reading of David Feldshuh’s drama about true events surrounding the Tuskeegee Syphilis Study. National Academy of Sciences. 1200 New York Ave. NW. To June 27. Free. RSVP at www.nasonlin. the taming of the Shrew The complex relationship between Kate and Petruchio is explored in this new production of Shakespeare’s comedy, in which director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar blurs gender roles and examines identities. Sidney Harman Hall. 610 F St. NW. To June 26. $20–$108. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.

Film

inDePenDenCe Day: reSurgenCe Two decades after the events in the previous film, a new alien event threatens the future of Earth, forcing former president Thomas J. Whitmore and scientist David Levinson to spring into action once again. Starring Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldlum, and Liam Hemsworth. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)

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free State of JoneS Matthew McConaughey stars as Newton Knight, a poor Mississippi farmer who leads a rebellion against the Confederacy, in this drama based on true events. Written and directed by Gary Ross. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) the ShallowS An surfer trapped on a large rock in the ocean must fight off an advancing group of great white sharks in this survuval flick starring Blake Lively. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) the muSiC of StrangerS The work of Yo-Yo Ma and members of his Silk Road Ensemble explore the ways music and art preserve cultural traditions in this new documentary from director Morgan Neville. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) the neon Demon In this psychological thriller starring Elle Fanning, a group of murderous models plot to take out an emerging talent in their field but events quickly turn even more sinister. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)

Film clips by Caroline Jones

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Signed to the venerable indie rock tastemaker Kanine Records (home to Grizzly Bear, Chairlift, and Surfer Blood), Brighton, U.K.–based band Fear of Men has transformed a reliable and charming indie-pop sound into something staunch and disarming on its new record, Fall Forever. That’s not to say the new compositions lack the tenderness of the band’s first effort, but after a much praised debut album, Fear of Men has returned with an updated, harsher drive that feels both like a courageous risk and a natural step forward. Tracks like “Trauma” and especially “Until You” hone in on the structural and sonic evolutions, highlighting singer Jessica Weiss’ dreamy vocals over pacing drones. Michael Miles’ fantastic, repetitive percussion sits on top of almost every song. This newfound energy and vitality is enough to sustain both the band and its audiences. Fear of Men performs with Puro Instinct at 9 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $12–$14.

(202) 483-5000. dcnine.com.

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