By Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz
washingtonpost.com Staff Writers
Thursday, August 16, 2007 12:00 AM

Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday

Thursday, Aug. 16
There's a new music festival in town this weekend: Phase Fest, which is sponsored by Phase 1, the country's oldest continually-operating lesbian bar. Organized by local musician Mara Levi, who books Phase 1's Sunday night live music, the festival has two goals: convincing gay and lesbian touring musicians that there's a scene in Washington that is worth including on their itineraries, and convincing local music fans that they can come out and hear good rock, hip-hop and electro music without having to go to larger venues like the Black Cat or 9:30 Club. (Visual arts and comedy will also be featured throughout the festival.) Tonight's opening concert includes one of the bands Levi told Fritz she's most excited about seeing this weekend: Team Gina, a Seattle-based electro-hip-hop duo (listen) that sings songs about butch girls and searching for love while performing synchronized dance routines and wearing matching outfits. Spoken word artist Athens Boys Choir and rapper Katastrophe -- originally selected for VH1's "White Rapper Show" -- open the evening. Get tickets and listen to more soundclips at http://www.phasefest.com.

Labor Day's on the horizon, kids are about to go back to school -- sadly, we're about to hit the end of the summer. If you want to stretch the lazy, hazy feeling just a bit longer, try the Omni Shoreham Hotel's new weekly Code Orange Happy Hour. Held at the Woodley Park hotel's poolside bar, the attractions include a menu of frozen cocktails made with orange sorbet or fresh mangos. The $15 entrance fee includes one drink and access to the hotel pool from 4 to 9 -- whether you want to go for a swim or just relax on a deck chair. (You'll be able to use the locker room if you need to change.) To get there, go into the hotel's main lobby and follow the signs for the Birdcage Walk.

Louisville psych-art-rockers Phanton Family Halo (listen) just got off a tour with reunited neighbors Slint, and there's no reason why people who drool all over Slint's classic "Spiderland" wouldn't do the same over PFH's recent "The Legend of Black Six." It's trippier and more varied, incorporating bits of folk, prog and space rock, but the band never oversteps its reach. Openers Midnite Snake (listen) are a little more direct with their approach, offering psych-metal riffs that pummel you into submission. Expand your mind at the Rock and Roll Hotel.

A few months ago, the Palace of Wonders was sold to the owners of Mount Pleasant's Radius Pizza and Tonic Restaurant. They've decided to resurrect the H Street funhouse's competitive eating events, but with a twist: Instead of racing to eat hot dogs, 10 contestants have to finish an entire large pizza from Radius, crust and all. There will be gift certificates for the winners. Signup begins between 9 and 9:30, with the contest starting between 10 and 10:30, so skip dinner and get there early. (If you're not participating, you may still get to enjoy free pizza at the bar.)

It's a shame that it's been years since someone has taken on the task of running an open turntable party in Washington. Marx Cafe and the Blue Room both had popular runs of these first-come, first-served sessions where DJs sometimes filled the sign-in list an hour before the doors of the club even opened. Some of these bedroom jocks were playing in a club for the first time, so they would painfully train-wreck or totally play for themselves instead of the vibe of the room, but ultimately those nights were helpful incubators for developing DJs. Their friends would show up to support them, and the egalitarian nature of the night would encourage DJs of different styles to talk shop. Earlier this month DJ Double o7 -- one of the best house DJs in the city -- set up a new weekly open turntable session at Eleventh Street in Arlington. Once you get your slot on the list you've got 30 minutes to get busy on vinyl or CD. Double o7 will keep the selfishness to a minimum by enforcing a continuity rule: Go with the flow of the night. Don't dive into your obscure minimal techno plates if the jock before you played a set of Afrobeat. It kicks off at 8.

Friday, August 17
We always like to spotlight benefit shows, so if you're looking to enjoy some fine tunes and make a positive contribution to the world -- there's a first time for everything, after all -- head on out to Solly's U Street Tavern tonight. It's a lineup we can get behind even if there was no cause involved, with a solid trio of local rock acts in Gist (listen), the Chance (listen) and Timothy Bracken Complex (listen). Proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Summer is quickly drawing to a close, and if you haven't attended any outdoor concerts yet, you've got another chance tonight at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre. It's really one of the best ways to enjoy this time of year. Angie Stone is one of the most mature voices of nu-soul, with a bluesy alto that connects directly to musical elders like Gladys Knight and sounds equally comfortable over tracks by Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. Her most recent album, "The Art of Love and War," brings modern soul full circle: It was released on Stax, the label that first gave the world Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett and The Staple Singers.

Saturday, August 18
It's easy to take the Black Cat's monthly Mousetrap Britpop night for granted, but let's not forget that this is one of the most important and influential DJ events to hit Washington in the last decade. No, we're not kidding. Before Mark Zimin launched Mousetrap at the Metro Cafe in 1999, the city didn't have any regular DJ nights focused on indie rock, Britpop or related genres. Zimin's persistence (and Mousetrap's growing crowds) opened doors at the previous live-music-only Black Cat, becoming the club's first monthly dance night and making it okay for indie rockers to dance to Blur, Belle and Sebastian, the Stone Roses and the Smiths at clubs across the city. (If you're feeling nostalgic, Mousetrap was the subject of Fritz's first Weekend Section story back in 2001, which you can read here.) Anyway, tonight at the Black Cat, raise a glass to Zimin -- the only man in the DJ booth -- dance to "Common People" for the umpteenth time and say "Hi" to the cute hipster at the bar. Just get there early, because after eight years, Mousetrap still hits capacity.

India celebrated 60 years of independence on Wednesday, and the Bollywood 2 Night DJs are celebrating tonight with an Independence Day Party on Ozio's VIPs-only fourth floor. DJ Fresh and DJ Tap will spin Bollywood soundtracks and remixes, bhangra and Indian pop from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., and there will be special guest dance performances throughout the evening. (We've been to these events in the past, and they've always been loads of fun, even for non-Indians.) Tickets are $15 from Groovetickets, and those who purchase in advance get priority over the Johnny-come-latelys paying at the door.

Today's the last (and biggest) day of the Phase Festival, with events running from noon to last call. It's a really diverse day of activities that features a lap-dancing workshop, a number of local singers and visual artists, stand-up comedy from the Dykes of Hazard, hard-rocking Baltimore group Odd Girl Out and the jazzy folk-pop of singer-songwriter Mara Levi, topped of by the hard-edged rhymes of Brooklyn hip-hop duo God-Des and She. See Thursday's listings for more information about Phase Fest.

U Street is primarily the domain of jazz and hip-hop on Friday nights, but there's a special Latin Night tonight at Alero for those who'd rather get down to salsa, merengue, bachata, cha cha and reggaeton. DJ Oscar is spinning, and novices can check out beginner salsa, merengue and bachata dance classes at 11, midnight and 1 a.m.

It may be a coincidence that the debut of Not Bull[expletive] comes on the same night that Mousetrap celebrates its eighth anniversary, but this is one DJ night that promises to offer the exact opposite as the Britpop mainstay. It's advertised as "a DJ night for people who hate DJ nights," and will feature members of garage-punk troublemakers the Points and psych-experimentalists Kohoutek spinning ... well, whatever they want, be it punk, noise or a 17-minute song that drones on one chord. Not many DJ nights would debut on a bill alongside five noise-rock bands, but this clearly isn't your usual DJ night. After tonight Not B.S. will take place the first Monday of every month at the Velvet Lounge.

Sunday, August 19
Collie Buddz's single "Come Around" is so critical that no one finds it odd that this new dancehall star is a white guy from New Orleans who grew up in Bermuda. I'm sure he's relieved that his music is strong enough to have suppressed the obvious comparisons to Snow, the short-lived Canadian dancehall sensation of the early '90s. His timbre and flow is actually a lot closer to Sean Paul, which puts him in great company. The two ragga chatters also share the same subject matter of their respective breakthrough singles, a substance that the security staff at the 9:30 Club are pretty strict about.

Dancehall fans have quite a choice tonight: Up-and-comer Collie Buddz at the 9:30 Club or up-and-comer Assassin at the Crossroads? Okay, it may be a bit of a stretch to call Assassin a rising star -- his debut CD "Infiltration" came out in 2005 -- but the new "Gully Sit'n" should herald big things for the Kingston, Jamaica, native. Check out the hardcore dancehall songs on his MySpace page -- nary an R&B chorus or guest star to lend a crossover hit.

Monday, August 20
There should be more albums like Mika Miko's 2006 effort "C.Y.S.L.A.B.F." In barely 20 minutes, the young, all-female L.A. quintet thrashes through 13 songs that remind you what made punk rock so great in the first place (listen). It's all energy, from the manic vocals to the dance-y basslines and backbeats and sharp guitars that ring throughout. The band members may not be much more than kids, but they've clearly done their rock homework as the songs bring to mind the Wipers, Delta 5, Bratmobile and even the Rondelles. The Velvet Lounge goes all-ages for this show, with openers Japanther and Ingrid.

Tuesday, August 21
Peter Laughner. It's sort of like a code. Similar to Roky Erickson and Don Van Vliet, if you say Laughner's name and someone knows what you're talking about, chances are you can have a pretty good conversation with that person. Well, let's revise that. Chances are that person knows his or her stuff about good music, particularly pre-punk-era rock music. But that also means the person will likely be incredibly socially awkward and won't be able to talk about anything besides pre-punk era rock music. Anyway, Laughner is a minor rock god who was at the forefront of the vital Cleveland rock scene in the mid-'70s, when he was guitarist and songwriter for proto-punk bigshots Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu. He was unfortunately prophetic when he penned the line "Ain't it fun when you know you're gonna die young?" Laughner died from pancreatis when he was just 23, leaving behind a limited legacy of teen angst anthems like "Ain't It Fun," "Life Stinks," "Seventeen" and "Never Gonna Kill Myself Again." To celebrate what would have been his 55th birthday, local singer-songwriter John Bustine will perform a set of Laughner-penned songs -- along with a select few by Bob Dylan and Lou Reed, two of Laughner's favorites -- at the Velvet Lounge. Yes, the Velvet Lounge really has it going on this week.

Wednesday, August 22
Remember how Sean Taylor got busted for DWI after Rod Gardner's birthday party a few years ago? Yeah, so do we. Let's hope the cooler heads at Redskins Park have arranged for a fleet of chauffeured limos for "Fred Smoot's Official Welcome Back Party" at MCCXXIII tonight. Hosted by fellow defensive back Carlos Rogers, this is your chance to tell Smoot that you forgive him for going to Minnesota and getting involved in those Love Boat shenanigans. Several players will allegedly in the house, and those of us who don't pull down seven-figure annual salaries can pretend to be ballers by taking advantage of the open bar from 9 to 11. WKYS's DJ Analyze is providing the music, and offering a 30-minute flashback set of "Bad Boy v. Roc-A-Fella" hits. (Start practicing those Diddy and Hov jokes now.) The best part? Admission is free with printout or e-mail pass from Tazevents.com, eVIPlist.com and SouthSideSity.com.