Weekend Filter: Sinners and Saints Edition

The best of the creative, fun and fabulous this weekend.

Friday

Tonight, Amel Larrieux makes a return trip to The Park's Unplugged stage.  As always, you should get on the guest list.

If you are looking for something a little more low-key where you can catch up with friends (and actually hear them) or chill with your man, check out Jazz in the Garden.  This free weekly event at the National Gallery of Art is less about the music and more about relaxing at the end of a long week and people-watching around the main fountain.  There will be more guys there than you might think.  Tripped out there with a friend and a new acquaintance last week over a pitcher of the museum's overpriced sangria.  Bring a blanket to sit on, and know that if you try to BYOB, it might get confiscated.

Saturday

Saved and single?  Or love being around those who fit that description?  Cool.  You might want to check out Alfred Street Baptist Church's CAYA (a unique ministry focused on adults ages 21-40) Rooftop Party at the Beacon Hotel.  Their events for young adults at the church always draw quite a crowd, and I've heard positive things about this particular social.  There won't be any event-sanctioned alcohol, but there will be a DJ and a performance by Black Alley, a band that's in residence at Bar 7 on Thursdays.  Tickets purchased online are $10; $20 at the door.

I already mentioned the Blak Fantasy masquerade and concert at BloomBars. 

Sunday

I can't say that I'm down with the idea of a bar crawl on the Lord's day, but if that's your thing, I won't judge.  The annual U Street hip-hop bar crawl starts at 1 PM at Tabaq Bistro and ends sometime after 7 at Queen Makeda.  That's a real drinking marathon for ya.  Promise me that you'll leave the driving to Metro.  Or the Circulator.

The Atlas Theater in Northeast has been hosting a retrospective of Spike Lee's work all summer long.  Sunday's selection is School Daze!  Can't you already hear the Jigaboo vs. Wannabe song now?  Tickets are only $2 online.  

This Is Where Your Alter Ego Will Be Partying on Saturday

I hate whenever articles about D.C. in the national media go the lazy route, with stale intros that drone on about how dull the city is, how its denizens think navy suits and tan hose are the height of fashion, and how we're all supposedly living in a sad little government-obsessed bubble. 

Those who believe that nonsense couldn't even attempt to comprehend the mad creativity brewing at BloomBars this week.

Updates and Randomness

Sorry for the hiatus.  I've been on my grind and busier than usual.

Last week, I interviewed a rapper who's about to blow up when his album drops later this month.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was charming, humble and focused, despite his tweets about getting high all the time.

Photo of Wiz Khalifa by Weekly Dig.  Obtained under a Creative Commons License.

It should be on newsstands in May...

What else?  Oh, I had a mysterious cold that took me down for a few days, but I'm much better now.

Was given a pair of tickets to "Intersections" at the Atlas Performing Arts Center as a birthday present.  I wasn't familiar with most of the groups performing, but I went anyway.  The music and DJ of the show I picked were better than the skits, but I'm glad I went.

I meant to check out the Yelawolf show at the Rock and Roll Hotel to see what the buzz is about, but didn't realize that it was happening on Monday...

Interesting event:  Les Nubians will perform at the French Embassy on the 17th.  There's also other unique events scheduled for the Francophonie Cultural Festival.    

Review: Theophilus London at U Street Music Hall

I stopped by U Street Music Hall last night to check out Theophilus London's sold-out show.  He's an underground hip-hop artist with international reach who does a chilled out, hard-to-classify mix of backpacker/alt rap and new wave, seasoned with a dash of progressive R&B.  There was a young, multicultural but predominately African-American crowd at the show, and he's going to be one to watch this year.  I predict that with the right marketing of his Lovers Holiday EP and a more precisely defined musical ethos, he's going to crossover to the mainstream in a Kid Cudi kind of way.