Nightlife Agenda

Thursday, June 29
This week's Most Dangerous Night in Washington award goes to Taste DC's first D.C. Rum Festival, which allows guests to sample at least 50 different rums from the Caribbean and Central America. It's tempting, because we like rum. Fritz has at least eight different varieties in his liquor cabinet at home, ranging from Pusser's Naval Rum to an obscure but wonderful Martinique brand called Trois Rivieres. But 50 rums? How do you taste even half that number in one sitting? And how do you even begin to choose which to sample? We'll leave that up to you and the knowledgeable folks at Taste DC, but hopefully you'll skip the Gosling's Black Seal for some of those amazing Plantation rums from Barbados. The $68 admission includes a Caribbean buffet with jerk chicken, conch fritters and the like.

From June through October, the folks at Rock-n-Romp present local bands at a monthly Sunday afternoon show especially designed for parents and their kids. The bands set up shop in a backyard, the kids run around and dance and the parents do whatever it is that parents do. Tonight at the Quarry House Tavern, however, the Rock-n-Romp crew presents a show for adults only, with garage-pop stompers Spoils of NW, propulsive rockers the Chance and up-and-comers Greenland. The Quarry House is never a bad place to spend an evening, and with no cover for this show, it becomes even better.

Most local karaoke nights have books full of Johnny Cash, Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Madonna, not Belle and Sebastian, Pavement or the Smiths. What's a hipster to do? You know what they say: if you want a night of indie rock karaoke, you have to do it yourself. Tonight's Indie Rock Karaoke for the Children -- the fourth installment at Staccato -- doesn't follow the usual lyrics-on-a -TV-screen format. Because instrumental versions of indie and Britpop tunes are hard to come by, the organizers invite everyone to bring their own CDs or iPods and sing along over a tune of their choice. (The PA system will be turned up loud enough that singers can be heard over the existing vocals.) The kicker is that this a fundraiser for the Landmine Survivors Network. If you want a moment in the spotlight, you donate $5. The more cash you donate, the faster you'll get onstage. Everything gets underway at 9.

Friday, June 30
For the last four years, the D.C. Soundclash has been bringing traditional reggae, ska, rocksteady and dub to Marx Cafe. It's one of the only nights of its kind in the area, and if you want to hear Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, Jackie Mittoo, the Skatalites or Alton Ellis, this is the place, and the DJs really know their stuff. Marx's new owners have redesigned the room slightly -- the DJ booth is now in the rear -- but they've kept the outstanding draft beer lineup. Now if only they'd do something about those bathrooms.

Remember that scene in "Garden State" where Natalie Portman's character told Zach Braff's character that "the Shins will change your life"? And then you rolled your eyes, not because the Shins aren't a solid band, but because it was just exceedingly silly. Anyway, perhaps the Shins likely didn't change the lives of the Timothy Bracken Complex or Deleted Scenes, but the group's influence can certainly be heard in the music of the two local outfits. Both bands play pop/rock with special attention to vocal melodies. The songs are warm and inviting, with hooks that are strong enough to grab you at first listen, but with enough intricacies to hold up after repeated playing. The bands share a bill at the Velvet Lounge.

For his last full-length collection of cosmopolitan dance floor treats, DJ Spinna rocked sneakers and denim. On the cover of his forthcoming "Intergalactic Soul" LP, he's decked out in a black suit and white tie, an outfit that accessorizes nicely with his cover of "Computer Love" and the quiet storm backdrop he lays under vocalist Eric Roberson on "Butterfly Girl." Spinna will be rocking the party at Bohemian Caverns tonight to mark the release of this new album, but don't take its style to mean it will be strictly a lounge affair. Spinna brings the heat to a jam from all angles.

Saturday, July 1
Aceyalone helped birth avant-garde hip-hop and gave voice to non-gangster West Coast MCs with Freestyle Fellowship. He hopscotched through a number of spin-off projects and survived a decade and a half in the fickle world of the rap underground to emerge over the last couple of years with not a second but a third wind. His collaborations with producer RJD2 started a buzz with a new crop of listeners -- likely ones who missed out on Los Angeles' Leimart Park scene the first time around. Appearing with the veteran at the Black Cat tonight are Chicago's dense lyricist Diverse, California's happy-go-lucky crew Ugly Duckling and the Colorado journeymen known as the Procussions.

Sunday, July 2
When punk and indie fans talk about the D.C. music scene, the conversation invariably turns back to Dischord Records, Minor Threat and Fugazi. This legacy can be a problem for up-and-coming bands, who occasionally find themselves with a large Ian MacKaye-shaped millstone around their necks. Compounding the problem: While harDCore and Fugazi's overtly political math-rock manage to get most of the attention inside and outside of the Beltway, Washington has been home to any number of great alternative bands, including the Nation of Ulysses, Scream, Bikini Kill, the Make Up, Jawbox ... I could go on and on. Tonight at the Black Cat, the folks from Positive Force -- one of the city's leading activist groups -- are throwing themselves a 21st birthday party with vintage video footage from Washington's storied alternative music scene. Sure, you'll see some Fugazi, but keep your eye out for footage of Beefeater, Soul Side and One Last Wish (one of Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto's pre-Fugazi outfits). The $5 cover goes to help Positive Force's projects, which include delivering groceries to the elderly and helping prepare lunch for women's shelters.

The technology that has put gigabytes of music in our pockets and changed the entertainment marketplace is once again threatening the existence of vinyl records. Rising manufacturing costs from higher petroleum prices aren't helping either. Enough with the business page nerdery, you're probably saying. What does this really mean? Capital City Records is closing. Vinyl nuts are still a spend-happy bunch, but it's now a global rather than local market, so Cap City is taking its operation to the Internet. Tonight at Velvet Lounge Kev Brown anchors a battalion of local hip-hop performers paying tribute to a bricks-and-mortar store that didn't just sell records, it provided a space for regular showcases, battles and friendly gatherings of wax devotees.

Madagascar may be named after an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa, but the Baltimore band takes its influences from a region that's the hot new inspiration for indie rockers -- Eastern Europe. To call them indie rockers might be a stretch, actually. There are no off-kilter guitars or anything like that here, but there's plenty of ukulele, accordion, singing saw and the like. The band's "Forced March" album on top experimental label Western Vinyl is perfect soundtrack music, especially for the soundtrack to a black-and-white film about poverty in the Eastern Bloc. Not quite "Superman Returns." Madagascar opens for Stamen and Pistils at the Red & the Black.

Little Brother embodies all of the hallmarks of Golden Age hip-hop, so when producer 9th Wonder does his thing behind the decks instead of the boards, expect all of the feel good treats of the late '80s and early '90s. Washington's own Cuzzin B shares the DJ booth at Bohemian Caverns with 9th tonight to sling hits from Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang and more.

The long-running gay dance party Lizard Lounge abruptly shut down earlier this year after promoter Mark Lee decided that his weekly event couldn't continue in the face of the looming D.C. smoking ban -- even though the law doesn't take effect until 2007. Lee promised, however, that Lizard Lounge would return to MCCXXIII for long holiday weekends, complete with special guests. For the July 4 weekend, Lizard presents DJ Casey Alva -- fresh from appearances at Los Angeles' Pride festival -- in the main room and resident DJ Kostas in the upstairs Spank lounge.