MONDAY, MAY 1
FOOD & DRINK 1905 Bistro & Bar is celebrating the 1970s with a cocktail party featuring classics in food, drink, and music—including salisbury steak, cocktail weenies, and jello cups with fruit salad. Period attire is highly suggested, and the event will benefit Calvary Women’s Services in DC. $5 entry (food/drink prices vary), 6 PM.
BOOKS NPR science journalist Richard F. Harris will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Undermines Tomorrow’s Medicine. Through interviews with researchers and health-care practitioners, Harris explores the unreliability of many lab tests due to poor methodology or erroneous information. Free, 7 PM.
TUESDAY, MAY 2
MUSIC Atlanta progressive metal band Mastodon just released its seventh studio album, Emperor of Sand, which finds the group re-incorporating a more technical sound—a welcome addition after their recent fanbase-alienating near-pop albums. They haven’t returned to the multi-part opuses of early records, but the hybrid sound here should still appeal to longtime fans. Mastodon performs at the Fillmore Silver Spring alongside Eagles of Death Metal and instrumental band Russian Circles. $37.50, 7:30 PM.
DISCUSSION Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn will speak at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium on the legacy of disco fashion as part of the LOC’s Bibliodiscotheque event. Gunn will be interviewed by Deputy Librarian of Congress Robert Newlen about the impact of the disco era’s fashion on the styles of today, followed by a book signing. Free (advanced registration highly recommended), 7 PM.
FILM AFI Silver Theatre is showing a double-feature of rock documentaries: Eat That Question – Frank Zappa in His Own Words followed by Jim Jarmusch’s Gimme Danger. The Frank Zappa documentary includes footage from more than 30 years of the musician’s life, including his 1985 Senate testimony against the censorship of the Parents Music Resource Center. Gimme Danger highlights the career of The Stooges, including interviews with frontman Iggy Pop. $13, 7:15 PM.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3
DISCUSSION Temple Beth Ami in Rockville is hosting a lecture entitled “African Americans and Jews: Through Music, Living the American Potential.” Music historian and lecturer Saul Lilienstein will speak about the relationships built between musicians of color and musicians of Jewish heritage during the time of Jim Crow and segregation, citing such important voices as Marian Anderson, Harold Arlen, Louis Armstrong, and Cab Calloway. Free (with registration), 7:30 PM.
COMEDY Comedian Lucas Bohn will perform his one-man comedy show Lesson Plans to Late Night at the Drafthouse Comedy Theater from Wednesday through May 13. Bohn was a public school teacher in Loudoun County, and the show is about his transition from the classroom to national touring comedian. $25, 7 PM.
BOOKS Stand-up comic and TV host W. Kamau Bell’s first book, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell, recounts his own experiences growing up as well as current issues such as law enforcement, race relations, and right-wing politics. He’ll be in conversation at The Avalon Theater with Rabia Chaudry, author of the New York Times bestseller Adnan’s Story about Adnan Syed from Serial. $15, 8 PM.
