Nightlife Agenda

Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday (9/20)

Thursday, Sept. 13
Diddy will be in his element tonight at Ibiza. There will probably be an egregious line outside. The VIP room will be stocked with rich-people-only liquor and wannabe video vixens. And the Charlie Hustle of the jiggy hip-hop world is always most motivated when he has something to promote -- in this case, his new Sean John threads. One thing that can be said in his favor is that the Diddy hosting experience isn't the usual exercise of celeb worship from a distance. Geometrix will be putting in work on the turntables, and if past behavior is any indication, Diddy is likely to jump on the mike to help pump up the crowd. His domination of the top tiers of the hip-hop and business worlds hasn't completely erased the influence of his days as a backup dancer in videos, as Diddy tends to run towards the attention, not put up walls against it. The ad says that he'll arrive at 11 p.m. Plan accordingly.

Friday, Sept. 14
Last week, D.C.'s free concert series featured MC Hammer. This Friday at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the star is salsa legend Willie Colon, who has sold more than 30 million records and been nominated for 11 Grammy awards. Born in the Bronx, Colon signed to the legendary Fania Records as a teenager and formed a famous partnership with vocalist Hector Lavoe. Later, Colon lent his trombone and vocals to records by Fania All-Stars, Ruben Blades and the late Celia Cruz as well as his own bands. Tonight's show is an extremely rare area appearance for Colon, so you'd be a fool to miss it.

The 20-year cycle of fashion is yielding some curiosities and dividends in hip-hop. In the former category is the reborn trend of dookie rope gold chains, appearing these days on models, teenagers and hipsters. While scratching our head at the combination of skinny jeans and Rakim's neckwear, we can at least enjoy reissues of classic albums, tours featuring old school stars like MC Lyte and Big Daddy Kane, and sneakers that we missed out on 20 years ago coming back on the market. Puma has long been able to turn our heads with refreshed versions of their classic styles, but now they're really going whole hog by launching a YO! MTV Raps line of their timeless Suede and Clyde models. Special Ed will be performing at the Puma store tonight to celebrate the new retro kicks along with a gang of D.C. favorites including Asheru, Grap Luva, Hueman Prophets and many more. AM Radio will be on the canvas while DJ RBI and DJ Cuzzin B control the decks.

Stephen Colbert often talks about The Colbert Bump. That's when somebody appears on his show and a surge in name-recognition follows -- just check Wikiality for the full scoop. Well, how about the Nightlife Agenda Bump? Last July we did a podcast with burgeoning local Afrofunk outfit Chopteeth. In the year since then the band has become a local favorite, started its own recurring Afrofunk Forum party and tonight the band is headlining the mainstage of the Black Cat. The dozen-plus member band is all kinds of funky -- and we mean that both figuratively and literally. All kinds as in "Boy, that's some funky [stuff]!" and all kinds as in Afrofunk, rumba, ska, anything that will make you shake it.

Saturday, Sept. 15
Here's another one for the Nightlife Agenda Bump files. It's not like we were the first to talk about the Black Lips (listen) have been playing their brand of trashy, carefree garage rock since 2000. But we gave you fair warning last year that this was a band to seriously keep your eye on. Although the band's new "Good Bad Not Evil" is a bit of a letdown -- we prefer the raucous live album from earlier this year, "Los Valientos del Mundo Nuevo" -- it still finds the Atlanta quartet carving out its own niche in the garage/punk world, not always the easiest thing to do. Hyperbole about the band's antics on stage have gotten a bit out of control lately -- there might be some spit involved or a guitar solo played with teeth, but don't believe some of the debaucherous tales you might read -- still, the band has songs good enough that it doesn't have to hide behind silly stunts. The Selmanaires (listen) and the always-awesome the Points (listen) open at the Black Cat.

For millions of fans around the world, Tiesto is not just a DJ -- he's the DJ. Winner of DJ Magazine's "#1 DJ in the World" ranking for three consecutive years, Tiesto sells out 20,000-35,000 capacity soccer stadiums in Europe when he's the only act on the bill, has played at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, and even has instrumental trance music tunes hit the top of the Top 40. (Think there's any chance of that happening here?) It only makes sense, then, that Tiesto's show at Love today is on a relatively grand scale. Instead of playing inside the club, as DJs usually do, the club is shutting down Okie Street, erecting a stage at one end and welcoming up to 8,000 fans for the party. (Tickets are approaching sell-out levels, according to Love.) It should be a good afternoon, as Tiesto's latest CD, "Elements of Life," is him doing what he does best, crafting 7-minute symphonies that shift color and mood, building and falling repeatedly over throbbing bass and thudding beats. Gates open at 3 and the 18-and-over party goes until 11:30. It's followed by a free party inside Love with DJ Ferry Corsten that goes until the wee hours. As a bonus, you can leave your car at home: The club is running shuttle buses from Union Station to Love every 15 minutes from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 a.m.

We've always been fans of Federico Aubele, the Argentine troubadour who records for Eighteenth Street Lounge records. Fusing a laidback singer-songwriter vibe with dub beats, ornamentation from Mexican guitars, random tango riffs, sharp bongo shots and hip-hop beats, it's appropriate that his new record is called Panamericana, as he's shamelessly borrowing influences from either side of the Panama Canal. Aubele is unveiling his outstanding new record with a DJ set tonight at ESL, where we expect to hear songs from his CD as well as favorites from around the globe. Doors open at 9:30, and Will Griffen opens.

Anyone who says D.C. nightlife is staid and tame has never been to one of Garutachi's Underwear parties, where most of the participants, fueled by some unholy combination of Sparks, Jameson, lust and forgotten teenage hormones, shed their clothes and spend the night dancing and posing in lingerie or boxer shorts. (Then they spend the next week worried that someone from their office is going to see the photo of them in skimpy briefs on Wonkette or Brightest Young Things.) DJs John Redden, Ca$$idy, Mikey Vader and Cale supply the music at the Rock and Roll Hotel, but come on -- the real entertainment will be all around you. Admission is $10, though you get in free if you're brave enough to leave most of your outerwear at the "clothes check."

Sunday, Sept. 16
A mumbling Mase-like delivery made Fabolous appear more fad than fab when he first stepped on the scene a few years. With the way that the rap game has changed over the last decade, it's surprising that he still has a career four albums and nine years since he debuted on wax. Maybe it's the combination of Fab's pop sensibilities and that New York gangsta swagger that keeps him abuzz with mixtape consumers constantly tabulating the "hottest rapper in the game" rankings. Judge for youself when Fabolous drops verses from his recent "From Nothin' to Somethin'" album at Gallery tonight, but we're actually more excited that he'll be joined by DJ Jay-Ski, one of Philadelphia's nastiest assassins on the fader who we fondly remember from his days killing live mixes on WKYS.

Monday, Sept. 17
After last Sunday's nailbiter of a win against a mediocre Miami Dolphins team, we're not sure we really want to watch tonight's Redskins-Eagles game in public. We might have to drink too much to get through it, which could be expensive, and sometimes the Redskins' wide receivers cause us to unleash streams of expletives that could find us banned from the bar. If we were going out for the big game, though, we'd head for Mister Days. Dozens of screens and drink specials are pretty much standard these days, but the Clarendon sports bar has arranged for performances by the Washington Redskins cheerleaders before the game and again at halftime. (Hey, something's got to keep our spirits up.) Option B is at McFadden's, where Ballard of WBIG is hosting a game-watching with drink specials. Iggles fans, meanwhile, can go boo Santa Claus at Rhino Bar.

Tuesday, Sept. 18
Munich's world-famous Oktoberfest starts Sept. 22, but local brewpubs are getting into the spirit a little early. Rock Bottom Bethesda is tapping its special Maerzen beer tonight at a party hosted by brewer Geoff Lively. Pints are $2 from 7 p.m. on.

Wednesday, Sept. 19
Brush up on your renditions of "Ein Prosit" this week, because Gordon Biersch is unveiling its special Festbier tonight from 5:30 to 8. An oompah band plays, free snacks are handed out in the bar area, and once the ceremonial wooden cask is tapped (probably between 7 and 7:30, if previous parties are any indication), everyone can drink from it for free until it runs dry.

January 24, 1996. David will always remember that date. The new 9:30 Club had been open for less than month and the first show he saw there was the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. After witnessing hundreds of shows at the club in the past 12 years, that show still stands out as one of the very best. As schticky as Spencer's Elvis-doing-blues-rock routine could be, with his constant shouts of "Blues Explosion!" there was no denying the adrenaline rush that was felt throughout the club. Hey, at least that's how I remember it being when I was 15. The Blues Explosion last exploded a few years ago and Spencer's onto a new project now with Heavy Trash (listen). He's still looking backward for his inspiration, but rockabilly has replaced the blues this time around. It's a more straightforward tribute to the genre, without the noise freakouts (ah, theremin solo!) that came with the Blues Explosion. If you didn't know any better you might even mistake some tunes from the recent "Going Way Out With Heavy Trash" for songs that just missed the cut for the last year's Rockin' Bones box set. Powersolo (listen) and NA faves the Hall Monitors (listen) open at the Rock and Roll Hotel.

Thursday, Sept. 20
Early warning: The Ballston branch of Rock Bottom is tapping its Oktoberfest beer tonight. Check the Going Out Gurus blog for more information.