Nightlife Agenda

Girl Power is clad in short plaid skirts, pigtails and white dress shirts tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Reform School matches a team of five female DJs who are usually found at Right Round (Black Cat), Pow Wow (Spy Lounge) and Razmatazz (Black Cat), and they'll be spinning a mix of Britpop, '80s, hip-hop, disco, punk and party rock. Admission is $8, or $6 if you're wearing a private school uniform.

Saturday, July 14
All hip-hop heads that bemoan Mos Def's focus on acting need to understand a few things. The underground superstar with the mainstream appeal studied acting as a youth -- the same time he was lighting up Brooklyn rhyme ciphers. His much-delayed recent album "True Magic" is actually pretty dope, considering the record label drama and the fact that music had taken a back seat for some time. And most importantly, hip-hop could use more multi-dimensional performers that do more with the occasional film role than just channel the largely fictional personas they create on their records. Black Dante, aka Pretty Flaco, aka Mos Def can still spit it raw. Catch him rocking an early show at the 9:30 club tonight.

The Hip-Hop Theater Festival wraps up tonight with one of Washington's hardest-working and internationally lauded hip-hop performers. When Asheru isn't fine tuning his educational curriculum, which uses hip-hop to reach kids in the classroom, he still gets into recording booths and onto stages to drop hot verses. His Guerilla Lounge parties are like hip-hop parlor gatherings where Ash Gordon rocks improvisational style with his hybrid organic/electronic band The ELs and guests can also engage in a fully stocked game lounge or try their talents during an open mike portion. Check it out at Cafe Nema tonight and forget about paying a cover.

Bastille Day parties really kick into gear tonight and there's a wide range of events going on to celebrate the 218th anniversary of the storming of the notorious Parisian prison and the symbolic beginning of the French Revolution. Want to watch customers in French Maid costumes, sip discounted French beer and listen to DJs spinning classic French music? Head for L'Enfant. Prefer modern electronic music that packs clubs in Paris and C?te d'Azur? There's a rooftop party at Tabaq that will be packed with Francophones. All the information on these and other events can be found here.

"Hollywood style" DJing describes the popular party experience of mash-ups taken to the extreme. Hair band metal, crunk and hardcore electro can all collide within seconds with the right manipulation, and cats like DJ AM have ridden the formula into the celebrity stratosphere. DJ Quixotic is more from the A-Trak school of DJs who put in years mastering intricate scratch science before moving on to meld those skills with party rocking techniques. Now a Los Angeles fixture, Quixotic got his start here in Northern Virginia with the turntablist crew the Trooperz, whose membership also includes the every-popular DJs Enferno and Geometrix. Quixotic's battle career culminated with several Guitar Center, ITF and DMC regional titles before he focused his skills on the club world. Now he's one of the few jocks on the scene who can rip a flawless hyper-technical routine for a dancefloor filled with party girls who would never know a laser scratch from a flare scratch. He's back home in the D.C. area for two weekends of shows, including Thursday night at Indebleu and Friday at Lotus, but if you want to catch him in a club setting instead of an expensive lounge, your opportunity is tonight at Ultrabar. Hit the club's Web site (ultrabardc.com) for discount admission.

Sunday, July 15
The genre is called Rock en Espanol, and even though it refers to alternative and punk sung in Spanish, it's all part of the universal language of rock. Case in point: Almost every song on Volumen Cero's "Estelar" could be an alternative radio or blogger favorite if it had English lyrics. Filled with touches of the Pixies, New Order, the Beatles, Weezer and jangly '90s guitar rock, the Grammy-nominated album crashes through the language barrier, and you'll be humming the melodies to "Muerdeme," "Bailarinas" and "Autos" after a listen or two, even if you can't understand all the words. (Check our most recent podcast for audio samples, or visit the band's MySpace page.) The band, now based in Los Angeles, is scheduled to release a new album later this year, so expect some new songs mixed in with the favorites at the State Theatre.

There's more experimental goodness to catch at the Velvet Lounge tonight as Brooklynites Jessica Pavone and Mary Halvorsen (listen) bring their unique blend of jazz, classical and folk to town. Both young musicians are classically trained -- Pavone holds degrees in viola performance, music education and composition, while guitarist Halvorsen studied jazz at Wesleyan University and the New School -- but regulars in the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall would certainly be thrown for a loop by the duo's choppy, instinctual compositions. The songs manage to feel both improvised and thoroughly thought-out at the same time, as Halvorsen's lyrical guitar mingles perfectly with Pavone's viola, which can go from mournful to playful at a moment's notice. Judith Berkson (listen) opens with what she calls a "modern take on the 19th century salon concert." She plays alone on Wurlitzer piano, everything from jazz standards to originals to songs from the Schumann canon.

Monday, July 16
The independent hip-hop scene has gotten quite crowded since Souls Of Mischief and their Hieroglyphics crew helped draft the blueprint for the indie game almost 15 years ago. Back then, Souls Of Mischief were hyper spitfires, dropping careening freestyle rhymes over dusty loops. They've got more styles in their catalog these days, but fans come to shows to hear them get lyrical. As is the case with most underground shows, you'll get a gang of performers for your door dollars. Home team representation on this Black Cat gig includes Icon the Mic King, an interesting kid who's been diligently working the circuit.

Two Cow Garage just seems like they'd be a fun band to see live. The Columbus, Ohio, group (listen) lives up to its name with a raucous blend of country and garage rock that ends up sounding a whole lot like the Replacements. If their live shows are anything like early shows by the Replacements, well . . . someone might get injured, or at least soaked in beer. Two Cow Garage is another fine data point in the argument that true originality isn't the be-all, end-all when it comes to quality music. Write good songs, inject them with an honest energy and that's plenty good enough.

Wednesday, July 18Bohemian Caverns scores a major coup this week with back-to-back shows featuring Les Nubians, the acclaimed Francophone sisters who began their love affair with America right here in Washington. The breezy Afropop and nu-soul of Les Nubians' debut caught fire on WHUR in 1998, back when Europe wasn't really showing them love. That first single "Makeda" instantly made a lot of listeners more worldly, opening them up to black music in other languages and from other shores. Les Nubians have only dropped one other album since, 2003's solid "One Step Forward," but the sincerity and fun in their music makes them a consistent concert draw. Catch one late set in the upstairs Liv space tonight or Thursday.