For our complete guide to events for the weekend, click here.


Friday, August 8
• What We Do Is Secret. No, not what we do, silly (nothing we do is secret, we’re bloggers, remember? We’re prone to overshare). That is the name of a new dub and techno happy hour that kicks off tonight in the upstairs area of Cafe Luna. 6:30 PM.

• Soccer=awesome. Martial arts=badass. Soccer+martial arts=awesome badassery...or Shaolin Soccer, the film about a group of soccer-playing monks trained in the Shaolin school of martial arts. The film, part of the Made in Hong Kong film festival, screens at the Freer Gallery's Meyer Auditorium at 7. Tickets are distributed at the auditorium one hour before the show.

• Curious about DC’s music scene? You might want to head to the Rock and Roll Hotel. Tonight, four local bands, including the Jones and Curly and the Rocket, play at the H Street venue (which, btws, celebrates its second anniversary Saturday with a dance party co-sponsored by BrightestYoungThings.com). Tickets are $10. Doors open at 8:30.

For those of you who can’t afford tickets to this weekend’s Virgin Mobile Festival featuring Bob Dylan, Kanye West, the Foo Fighters and more, here’s something you can afford: the free Virgin Mobile Festival After Party at Sonar this Saturday night, August 9, at 9. Taxlo DJs and Dave Nada are a couple of the DJs scheduled to play, and you must be at least 18 to enter. If you’re still contemplating going to the festival at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, tickets are available, but they don’t come cheap; for general admission, two-day passes cost $175, and single-day passes are $97.50.

There’s another free show later this month, this time at 9:30 Club, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of DC restaurant Ben’s Chili Bowl. Ben’s is known for its half smokes and chili dogs, and the concert is 50 years to the day it opened in 1958. Several bands will play including local hip-hop/funk groups Poem-Cees, Trouble Funk, and Mambo Sauce. The show is Sunday, August 24, at 2pm.

Thursday, August 7: The Smithsonian Young Benefactors is hosting a happy hour tonight at the Australian Embassy to celebrate the opening of an exhibition of silk batiks by indigenous Australians. For a donation of $10, you’ll get the chance to view the exhibit, sip beer and wine, and mingle. 6 PM. RSVP to yb@si.edu.

If you’re a fan of power pop and summer nights (and who isn’t?), then you’ll want to catch Julie Ocean at Fort Reno tonight. The local band (made up of former Velocity Girl members) will be playing with another local pop outfit, the Aquarium. 7 PM.

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of funniess” is the tagline for the DC Comedy Fest, which kicks off tonight. Catch tons of local comedy acts, audition for The Tonight Show and Best Week Ever, and just have yourself a weekend full of belly laughs. For schedules and details, head to the Comedy Fest’s Web site.

Friday, August 8: Looking for a good end-of-the-week happy hour? Try Taberna del Alabardero from 3 to 7. This opulent Spanish dining room woos younger customers with half-price tapas before the expense-account set arrives. The happy-hour crowd sometimes spills out of the cozy bar into the dining room, where you might find yourself snacking atop a plush crimson banquette. Recent winners are sweet piquillo peppers stuffed with Catalonian sausage ($4.25) and a crock of shrimp sizzling in olive oil and garlic ($6.75 for a large portion). Pitchers of sangría are $16 for one of the best renditions in town. Want more? We just put up a guide to the best deals on food for happy hours.

Heard of the Sazerac? It’s one of the oldest cocktails on record in the United States. The drink, credited to apothecary Antoine Peychaud, is made with absinthe and named after an imported cognac, Sazerac de Forge et Fils, once used in the making of the drink. Just recently, the Sazerac was named the official drink of New Orleans.

Neat facts, but do they ring a bell?

If not, we recommend a visit to the Tabard Inn’s bar, pronto. It’s there that you’ll catch Chantal Tseng crafting interesting variations on old classics. Digging up old, almost forgotten cocktail recipes is a passion of Tseng’s, and she’s constantly featuring old drinks on the bar’s menu as well as introducing playful reinterpretations on staples such as the Bellini or mimosa. During our visit, her knowledge about the history of cocktails impressed us just as much as her skills behind the bar.

But don’t take our word for it. Have a look at Tseng making the Sazerac for yourself below and get the recipe for the drink!

Black’s Bar and Kitchen
Monday through Friday 4 to 7

The recently renovated bar at Black’s Bar and Kitchen—lots of blond wood with comfortable stools and booths—buzzes with well-dressed crowds thanks to a happy-hour deal for seafood lovers. Settle in for $6 martinis, $3.50 Smithwicks, or $2.50 Yuenglings, and slurp briny bay oysters on the cheap (two for $1.95). Old Bay–sprinkled shrimp on ice are 50 cents each. “Addie’s mussels,” in a broth of tomato, garlic, and shallots and served with warm, crusty bread, are half price at $6.50.

By the looks of the quiet bar scene, not many people know about this Southern-accented restaurant’s quickie one-night happy hour. If they did, the line would be out the door. Signature drinks, such as black-cherry cosmos, Dark & Stormies, and Yellow Cabs (a mix of Cognac, pineapple juice, and lime), are $5. Same goes for snacks. A juicy burger with well-seasoned fries will double as dinner.

More contemporary and colorful than its Glover Park sibling, this Dupont Circle Indian spot offers many a deal at the long, sleek bar: tapas-style takes on Indian street food are half price (most under $4), cocktails are $4.75 (the selections are well mixed if standard), and beers are $2.50 domestic, $3.50 imported. We like the bargain samosas stuffed with curried peas and potatoes, the pakoras, and more-modern dishes such as dahi bhalla, lentil dumplings artfully arranged in a yogurt sauce.

Well, we’re in at the end of the middle of our summer doldrums. Every weekend marks another mass exodus to 95 North and beyond; presidential election wonks take turns claiming, “Polls don’t matter right now” and “Look at this poll! Look at it, I say!” And, of course, it’s hot. And humid. History repeats itself. We’re looking for the greater angels of central air conditioning, not an answer to an unanswerable question about an election three months away.

We can help with our roundup of activities in cool places—and unlike most things in Washington, the help and the suggestions themselves are free. As in, we can help you find that oasis of treated air circulation, where you can rest your feet, feed your soul, ignore your wallet, and pretend you don’t live in the middle of a swamp.

Tuesday, August 5
• Who’d turn down a free ticket to Gnarls Barkley’s concert at the 9:30 Club tonight? Sadly, me (using the first person singular because Catherine would NEVER do such a thing). Unable to extricate myself from previous commitments, I’m mourning my loss by including two songs from the duo’s The Odd Couple album on this week’s playlist.

• Tucson trio Mostly Bears may be best known for its loud drum-pounding and guitar riffs, but the song “Leda Atomica”—full of acoustic guitars and hand-clapping—shows the band is well-versed in the art of the charming pop song. Mostly Bears plays at the Red and the Black.

Friday, August 8
• The guys from These United States, alongside fellow local band the Apparitions, stop by Iota for a two-night gig celebrating the second anniversary of music blog Instrumental Analysis. Also playing tonight is the Cotton Jones Basket Ride. Bellman Barker opens the Saturday night show.