Hirshhorn, "After Hours," Nov. 7:

"After Hours" is all about smashing through the stodginess of a typical museum experience. Instead of skulking around the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the Mall in silent reverence, try dancing around its courtyard like a maniac.

Looking at the 2,800 partygoers, it was hard to imagine that a single, good-looking, under-30 District resident was left beyond the museum's plaza walls. The Hirshhorn has hosted the party seven times since March 2007 and charges $10 in advance, $12 at the door. But a prepurchased ticket wasn't enough to dodge the hour-long security line that stretched two city blocks.

Baltimore-based electronic musician Dan Deacon did without a stage and played his computer gadgetry right on the patio amid the ecstatic crowd. Overheard in the ladies' room about 10:30 p.m.: "Dan Deacon is a genius."

But there was a second layer of music, one that has accompanied all of the Hirshhorn parties: the sound of the security buzzers going off every time a boozy partier bumped into a work of art.

-- R.B.