Nightlife Agenda

Thursday, March 2As silly as it sounds, it's time to start planning for beach season. We know -- you've got more on your mind right now than where you're going to crash in Dewey Beach on a lazy July weekend, but if you don't think ahead, you're going to be one of those folks sending out e-mails like this on Thursday afternoons: "Hi Guys. I was thinking about heading out to Dewey Friday night. Does anyone have space on their couch?" Make it easy for yourself: Head out to the weekly House Book Sign-Up Night, hosted by Dewey's legendary Starboard bar. Tonight from 7 to 9 at the Bottom Line, folks looking for spaces in beach houses can find the folks who have vacancies. (Simple, right?) While you're there, you can sign up for the Starboard's 2006 VIP Card, which might even get you to the front of the body-shot line on Memorial Day weekend!

When Wolf Eyes came to DC9 in September, we described the group's sound as "confrontational, abrasive, deconstructionist electronic music" that was "intense" and "sometimes scary." Well, Wolf Eyes is coming back to DC9 tonight, but on this bill, the Michigan trio may as well be the Beach Boys. That's just the way things go when you open for Whitehouse, the infamous U.K. noise merchants. Over the past quarter century the duo claims to have made "the most extreme music ever made," and while that's certainly a strong statement, we doubt that any souls brave enough to head to the show tonight will disagree. Armed with a variety of keyboards and synthesizers, Whitehouse's goal is to create "a sound that could bludgeon an audience into submission," founder William Bennett says. The other opening act, local grindcore/metal lords Pig Destroyer, seriously brings the noise as well, but their kind of noise is positively traditional compared to what Whitehouse conjures up. It's going to be quite a scene. Just make sure to bring a pair -- or 12 -- of earplugs.

On the other side of the spectrum, if you want some pure pop bliss, head on over to Nation (no, really) where Baltimore quartet the Oranges Band will kick off an odd show that sees the group opening for emo-punks Bayside and "they-still-exist?" crooning punks the Smoking Popes. The Oranges Band are certainly down with the whole crooning thing themselves; lead singer Roman Kuebler's voice is a halfway point between an old-time lounge singer and Morrissey, which fits perfectly over the band's carefully constructed, catchy tunes. The band's latest, "The World and Everything In It," was a meditation on just that: good, evil, youth, love and the beach, full of surfy riffs and surprisingly poignant lyrics that bring to mind Ted Leo or Spoon, two acts the Oranges Band have shared the stage with on many occasions. For a band whose homebase is just up 95, the group doesn't get to D.C. too much, so don't miss this chance to check them out.

The loping bass of roots reggae thumps out of U Turn on Thursdays, and tonight you can catch three reggae acts from the Virgin Islands at U Turn's Evening of Conscious Roots Reggae. You can get dancehall at other spots on U Street, but this is the only live roots action happening down there these days.

In a post on the Going Out Gurus blog this week, Fritz was pondering why there are so many Red Sox fans in the Washington area. We don't have a real answer yet -- other than "there are a lot of people who went to school there" and "everyone hates the Yankees" -- so you're welcome to post your own theories. In the meantime, Red Sox fans should head over to Mister Days tonight for the Boston Red Sox Happy Hour, where they can sign up for a "VIP Card" that allows discounts during BoSox games, priority seating and more. If that's not enough of a draw, free food and drink specials should be. Doors open at 5 and the event runs until 9.

During Hands on DC's annual Work-a-Thon, volunteers descend on Washington's public schools to paint classrooms, plant shrubbery and perform general tidying-up tasks. (Whether the D.C. government should be taking care of these basic things itself is a question for another time.) It's a great cause, but someone has to pay for the paint and mulch -- which is why it's time for Hands on DC Happy Hour. Head over to the Madhatter tonight between 6 and 9, donate five bucks to the cause and you'll get half-price appetizers, $2 Miller Lites, $3 Yuenglings and $2.50 rail drinks and glasses of wine. If you're interested in working for Hands on DC on April 29, you'll be able to talk to representatives from the organization.

Friday, March 3
Lima, the latest establishment from uber-promoter Masoud A. and designers Division One, is a sleek three-level building with a restaurant upstairs, a bar at street level and a bottle-service lounge downstairs. You'll find the usual low leather couches and candle-lit nooks, but the lounge also sports flowing water features and panels with murals projected onto them. (Of course, you'll have to drop at least $200 for a bottle of Absolut or Bacardi if you want to hang out at a table for the night.) Open for just a few weeks, Lima's grand opening party is from 6 to 9 tonight, complete with a DJ and free hors d'oeuvres (ceviche, tiradito and raw shellfish). Everyone is invited to attend, but you can't just show up; Head to www.y3h.org to get on the guest list. There's a $10 cover.

Saturday, March 4As always, we're of two minds about organized bar crawls like today's Leprechaun Lap. Pros: They give you a reason to stop into bars you've never visited before, and exploring is good. Beer is cheap. The people can be fun. Charities benefit from your participation. Cons: You can find yourself stuck in a windowless hole like Recessions at 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, sucking down cheap beer. You can find yourself stuck in a bar at 5 p.m. with a bunch of people who've been sucking down cheap beer for the last four hours and who are becoming obnoxious. (At that point, of course, you just move on to the next establishment.) Consider this a qualified endorsement, then, of the Lap, which starts at 1 p.m. at Mackey's. Sign up there anytime before 6 p.m., then hop over to Porter's, the Front Page, McFadden's or any of the other eight participating bars for $2 Bud, Bud Light and Bud Select until 9. The cover is $13, or $10 if you bring two cans of food for the local charity Bread for the City.

The Jamaican diaspora is widespread and the anointed sons of the reggae tradition no longer hail only from yard. Crossroads consistently books reggae's brightest stars, but tonight will be the first time that the UK's Steel Pulse will take the stage there. Although the group might be eclipsed in sales by Inner Circle or Aswad, Steel Pulse is arguably the most important British reggae band because of its consistently great output over two decades, multiple Grammy wins and an insistence on recording politically and socially aware material, even as its commercial popularity bloomed worldwide.

If you're trying to get in the mood for St. Patrick's Day -- or you need somewhere to let your hair down after Alexandria's parade -- we recommend putting on your black-tie best and heading over to the ever-popular Blarney Ball. Held at the posh University Club, the ninth annual ball features live music by the local Celtic rock band Johnny Jump Up, an open bar and food. Proceeds benefit Project Children, an Irish charity that brings Protestant and Catholic kids from Northern Ireland to the United States to live and play together for six weeks each summer. Dress is either formal or creative black-tie, including kilts. Tickets are $90 from www.stouthearts.org.

Sunday, March 5The hip-hop world is still reeling from last month's loss of one of its brightest minds. Jay Dee, also known as J. Dilla, was your favorite producer's favorite producer -- just ask Pharrell and Kanye. Dilla banged out underground heat under his own name, with his group Slum Village and with other subterranean faves like Madlib, while also serving up hot beats on a platter for some of hip-hop and soul's biggest mainstream stars. Dilla's knock touched hits by Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes and the Pharcyde. He was the backbone of the Soulquarians (the force behind Common's "Like Water For Chocolate, D'Angelo's "Voodoo") and the Ummah (A Tribe Called Quest's last two albums). Dilla left behind a mountain of amazing work and also astronomical medical bills from his fight against lupus and a rare blood disease. At Science Club tonight you can reminisce over his massive discography with DJ Roddy Rod at A Night in Loving Memory of Jay Dee. Daryl "Quartermaine" Francis is the host. There's a $5 cover, and all the proceeds will go to Maureen Yancey, a k a Momma Dilla.

We'll be honest -- sometimes it's hard to keep our journalistic objectivity. So forgive us if we seem a little overly enthusiastic about the Wedding Present. Sometimes we're just fans, too, and that's the case here. From 1987 to 1997, frontman David Gedge wrote more great pop songs than just about anyone in the world, starting out with manically strummed Brit-pop delights and moving to a fuller rock sound, his rousing baritone and somewhat erotic lyrics always at the forefront. Last year's "reunion" tour (Gedge is the only original member) was a rousing success; Gedge never stopped performing (Fritz has seen his other project, Cinerama, four times), so there was hardly any rust to shake off. The old hits were given new life, and if there was one complaint, it was that the band played only a fraction of the songs everyone wanted to hear -- but that's to be expected when you're picking just 20 out of more than a hundred tunes from the library. The good news is that the setlist for this tour has only a handful of repeats. And if you're a fan of non-smoking shows, there's even more good news -- this is one of those rare ones at the Black Cat.

Tuesday, March 7
Galaxy Hut is allowing anyone the chance to be the DJ with its new BYO iPod Night. Beginning at 8, plug in your MP3 player for three songs or 15 minutes, whichever comes first. There's no host, no sign-up sheet -- just look for the mixing board next to the picture of Erik Estrada. "I'm hoping it's sort of self-regulating," explains owner Lary Hoffman. The event will repeat on the first Tuesday of every month.

Wednesday, March 8DJ Mandrill's retro party has kept a steady stream of devotees as it jumped about from venue to venue over the years. Now based at Cobalt, Memories is Mandrill's opportunity to give praise to the divas who have done the most to burn up dance floors. This month, he'll be paying tribute to Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan and Ann Nesby. Patrons who are averse to disco, classic garage, gospel house and dancing down the soles of their shoes need not apply.