Nightlife Agenda

Birdman, whom you may know as the founder of Cash Money Records, is performing live at H2O tonight. Since Lil' Wayne, who's featured on Birdman's recent hits "Pop Bottles" and "I Run This," won't be in the building, our interest is lessened. Fans of the Cash Money Millionaires, though, are advised to show up early: Women get in free before 11.

Saturday, Feb. 2
Mardi Gras isn't until Tuesday, but some clever promoters are getting the jump on the competition tonight. At the Hard Rock Cafe, the Mardi Gras Kickoff Jam includes DJs spinning jazz, salsa and samba music before the music shifts to retro, Top 40 and hip-hop hits later. Masks, beads, hors d'oeuvres and movie passes are free, as are caricatures drawn by an artist. Oh, and you can enter to win a trip to Iceland, which is as far from Mardi Gras as you can get, but it still sounds pretty cool. Dress to impress. Tickets are $12 in advance from minkevents.com, and will be $15 to 20 at the door.

Down on the Southwest Waterfront, Mardi Gras Madness offers live Cajun and zydeco music by the Crawdaddies and local cover band That Guy at the massive Phillips Flagship restaurant. The first 200 folks through the door get free masks; everyone gets $2 Miller Lite, $4 hurricanes and various food specials. Doors open at 9. Tickets are $5, but you can skip the wait if you buy them in advance from lindypromo.com.

Most Mardi Gras parties around Washington have a decidedly New Orleans vibe, but the holiday is celebrated by cultures around the world. Germany's been celebrating Karnaval since at least the 14th century; get a taste tonight in Fairfax, where the Washington Saengerbund, a German cultural group, is hosting its annual Fasching Masquerade Ball. Two live bands play polkas, waltzes and other ballroom dances, German food is offered by the Swiss Bakery, and German beer and wine is available. Come in costume, as prizes will be awarded. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door; see the Saengerbund's Web site for more information.

Brazil's Carnival celebrations are legendary, and the folks at Ultrabar are trying to recreate that spirit tonight at their Brazilian Carnaval 2008. You'll get the Brazilian beers and drinks you'd expect (Skol, Brahama, etc.) on the third floor, where DJ FabioSoul is spinning Carnival favorites all night and samba dancers will perform. There's an open bar from 9:30 to 10:30 and free admission for everyone over 21 until midnight when you snag a pass from dcgroove.com.

Elephant Man is known as the Energy God. This dancehall veteran's trademark, other than his day-glo hairstyles, is a manic stage presence akin to what Busta Rhymes brings to the hip-hop world. Singles like "Jook Gal" and "Shake" with Pitbull and Ying Yang Twins faithfully bring dance floors up to his energy level. Elephant Man owns the hottest dancehall riddims like "Scoobay" by running down all the new moves like some sort of Jamaican square dance caller. You can "Get Jiggy," "Row Di Boat," do the "Summer Bounce" and the "Shelly Belly" with Father Elephant at Zanzibar tonight. Tickets are available for $30 from Zanzibar's site.

Will Rast was diligently building up his chops and playing in jam bands years ago when W. Ellington Felton scooped him up to direct his live ensemble. Since then he's become an in-demand touring musician (with R&B star Mya among others) and made a name for himself in the jazz-fusion world. In between the increasingly frequent tour dates you can still find him leading different combos at intimate spots around town. His current outfit, The Funk Ark, features Jerry Busher of Fugazi on drums and a full horn section that wouldn't be able to fit in the front window of his weekly Bossa gigs. Style-wise, the name says it all. The Funk Ark will be exploring the far reaches of outer vamp-space and dropping it on the one for two sets at Bohemian Caverns tonight.

The Washington Capitals' up-and-down season finds the Caps with a 8-4 record in January, which is pretty good when you consider how awful they looked early on. Celebrate during today's Caps on Tap Bar Tour through Penn Quarter, then watch our guys (hopefully) beat the Atlanta Thrashers; We think the odds are good -- as we write this, the Thrashers haven't won a game in two weeks. Anyway, the $30 cover for the bar tour includes a $35 ticket to the game, plus $2 beers at seven bars: R.F.D., Rocket Bar, the Irish Channel, Lucky Strike, Austin Grill, RNR Bar and Lounge and the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern. The crawl runs from 1 to 7; the puck drops at 7:05. If you already have tickets to the game, you can pick up a wristband for an extra $5 at the Phone Booth.

Sunday, Feb. 3
Super Bowl parties. Yep. Patriots fans, go here or here. Giants fans, Fritz spoke to the president of the New York State Society, and he suggests you go here, here or here. If you want a neutral environment and like the idea of unlimited beer and wings, this is the place. Want to watch on big screens? Try here, here or here. For a more international flavor, we like the sound of this. Can't make up your mind? Try a party with live go-go by Chuck Brown. Or just check this longer list.

Got Tom Brady fatigue? Need something to do on Sunday? Ghana and Nigeria are playing at noon in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals.

Monday, Feb. 4
Here's an odd one: Rob Pierangeli, former singer for local alt-rockers the Hard Tomorrows, will take to the Iota stage with friend Holly Tegeler to play a short set of Magnetic Fields covers. They've dubbed themselves Umbrellas in London, after the wonderful song from the band's 1995 album, "Get Lost," and the stripped-down acoustic duo (think guitar + bells, tambourine, toy piano) will perform as guests of the Federal Reserve's monthly first Monday gathering. The Hard Tomorrows sometimes played all-cover sets and if you went to school in College Park about eight years ago you might remember the pre-Hard Tomorrows outfit Tweezer (yes, a Weezer cover band), so Pierangeli knows his way around other people's tunes. And since few people write better tunes than Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, this could prove to be more than just an interesting curiosity.

Tuesday, Feb. 5
Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday fall on the same day this year, pitting policy wonks who want to follow election results in their favorite bar against drunks who just want another hurricane and whether you want to "earn" a string of plastic beads.