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The coolest things happening in DC this week - and what's coming up

1/28/2015

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From gay parties to magic shows, it's been a fun DC week for me. 

The magic show in question was Catch Me, in the Maison Biltmore in Adams Morgan, which I'd always wanted to visit. The premise: two magicians battle it out in a tournament to be crowned the best in Washington. I do think it is excessively priced (though they have discounts on Goldstar), and I was sad that no alcohol was available, but I haven't enjoyed a show this much in ages. The magicians were charming and entertaining - and talented. A diverse, engaged crowd interacted with glee as they performed the sorts of tricks you don't actually get to enjoy all that often. Magic shows aren't really a thing anymore - or they weren't til now. Their next show is February 28th. 


We saw Whiplash at the West End Cinema, about the relationship between a boy who wants to be the best drummer in the world, and his very tough mentor. It was excellent, if tense... And we went to the Kennedy Center to see Gigi, which is on til February 12th. The story may be insubstantial, but this was what I'd call a sumptuous performance. None of the actors really dazzled, the entire plot is about a girl getting together with a boy (with almost no impediments), but the singing was lovely, the look of the thing was a Parisian delight, and I found the chorus particularly good at setting the ambience. I enjoyed it quite a lot. 


As for art, we cycled over to the Sackler Gallery, bizarrely for the first time ever, to see The Traveler's Eye: Scenes of Asia. This was a small but sweet exhibit of various artwork depicting Asian countries, brought back by travelers to these exotic parts. I felt that a bit of more vigorous curation could have done wonders for engaging me in it, but I quite enjoyed walking through it. I popped my head into most of the rest of the Sackler, and the Freer Galleries, which was all quite pleasant. 

Our gay cavorting this week included attending the Capital Pride 2015 launch event at Malmaison, which was okay but less fun things to do than last year, and the launch of GLINT, the new initiative linking LGBT diplomats in embassies across Washington at Number Nine, which was amazingly busy. 


Of course the best event of the week was our Burns Night party. Hooray for Robert Burns!


The coolest-sounding things coming up in the next week


Wed Jan 28th - The place to be tonight is Malmaison for the 5th Annual Eurochannel short films tour. Your $15 gets you a glass of wine and an array of European short films on the theme 'From Women, with Love.' The films start at 7pm; doors from 5:30. 


Thu Jan 29th - Time to see some world class theatre, courtesy of National Theatre Live at Sidney Harman Hall. Tonight: Of Mice and Men. Or else there's a cool event involving watching SpeakeasyShorts films while eating and chatting called Reel Talk, by ReCreative Spaces. If I wasn't going to Of Mice and Men, I'd be going to this! Or else go down to SIxth and I for Emily Spivak talking about her book, Worn Stories, where she's gathered clothing-inspired stories from around the world. Or if you're really not convinced, why not go play new STEM-themed games at the Science Museum.


Fri Jan 30th - Peter Carey's talking about his new book, Amnesia, at Politics and Prose. Or get over to the Atlas Performing Arts Center to see Tim Lee. Science comedy is getting big in Washington these days, and we hear he's hilarious. It was sold out when we tried to go last year. Get your tickets. NB Check Goldstar for discount tickets. Or go hear awkward sex stories from NYC storytellers. 



Sat Jan 31st - I had been planning on going to Life Sucks (or the Present Ridiculous) at Theatre J, but then I had a conflict, i.e. my friend was having a birthday gathering at roller derby. So I've switched my tickets, but you should go as it's getting great reviews (it's on til Feb 15th). But I've always wanted to go to Roller Derby. If you have too, this is your moment. 


Sun Feb 1st - Tim Lee science comedy is on again today.


Mon Feb 2nd - Go learn how to make sushi at Masa14. 


Tue Feb 3rd - Celebrate the intersection of theatre and poetry with some Brits at Folger Theatre.


Wed Feb 4th - Perfect Liars Club is of course sold out, but there are a few tickets to be acquired on the door. They'll go on sale around 6pm. Remember, tickets for March go on sale on Thu February 5th at 1pm!
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The coolest things to do in DC every night for the rest of January

1/21/2015

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DC has taken a little while to wake up from its festive rest... but rest no more - the remainder of January promises lots of  DC fun. 

Wed Jan 21st - If you're LGBT and work in a DC Embassy, tonight the place to be is Number Nine, for the launch of GLINT. If not, get down to the library between 10am and 10pm for a live readathon of 1984, as part of their Orwellian America series. You can even sign up to read for 10 mins! 


Thu Jan 22nd - Carrying on the gay theme, the Capital Pride Reveal party is happening at Malmaison tonight. 


Fri Jan 23rd - A free screening of Xanadu at the Library of Congress? The folks at BYT and DCist seem to be behind this madness!


Sat Jan 24th - During the day, check out the Rosebud Film Festival, a showcase of homegrown film talent at Artisphere. Later, celebrate Burns Night (see Sunday) with a formal dinner by the St Andrews Society.  


Sun Jan 25th - It's Burns Night! Don your tartan, eat a haggis, and find your way to a Scotch whisky establishment to toast the beloved Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Also, registration for some of this term's Knowledge Commons free classes kicks off. Check out the options - from audio storytelling to typography, composting to cell phone documentarymaking. 


Mon Jan 26th - DC Science Cafe is back and this month's topic is engineering ethics and our love/hate relationship with technology. Free, so get there early for a good seat. 


Tue Jan 27th - Check out Nerds in Noma, with an event discussing 'Word on the Street' which I'm guessing includes my favorite topic, public transport, while sipping wine. 


Wed Jan 28th - I can't find anything good to do tonight. Maybe it's time to check out a good book. I've just published a list of all the books I read in 2014, complete with ratings.  


Thu Jan 29th - Let's see some world class theatre, courtesy of National Theatre Live at Sidney Harman Hall. Tonight: Of Mice and Men. Or else there's a cool event involving watching SpeakeasyShorts films while eating and chatting called Reel Talk, by ReCreative Spaces. If I wasn't going to Of Mice and Men, I'd be going to this! Or else go down to SIxth and I for Emily Spivak talking about her book, Worn Stories, where she's gathered clothing-inspired stories from around the world. 


Fri Jan 30th - Peter Carey's talking about his new book, Amnesia, at Politics and Prose. That might be quite good. Or get over to the Atlas Performing Arts Center to see Tim Lee. Science comedy is getting big in Washington these days, and we hear he's hilarious. It was sold out when we tried to go last year. Get your tickets. NB Check Goldstar for discount tickets. Or go hear awkward sex stories from NYC storytellers. 


Sat Jan 31st - Go see Tim Lee if you missed him last night. (He's also on tomorrow)
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What's cool in DC this week... and what's coming up

1/14/2015

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We have been embracing a delightful January of DC fun. Perfect Liars Club was hilarious, and you can read all about it and see photos here. Tickets are on sale now for February 4th. 

In the storytelling theme, we really enjoyed SpeakeasyDC's Top Shelf (their favorite stories of the year), which was at the Lincoln Theatre, sold out, and a great night out - and in a SpeakeasyDC extravaganza we also went to their second Tuesday show last night, which was very entertaining, particularly a story about smuggling a tortoise into the US which I lamented hadn't found its way to Perfect Liars Club! Hilarious. 

We also went to DC Shorts Laughs, a combination of funny short films from the DC Shorts festival and live comedians, which was very entertaining. Our final spoken word event attempt of the week was, alas, met with failure. Kramer Books had a humorous reading evening and after trekking there for half an hour in the rain, found it was so extremely busy that there was no way to either see or hear the readers. As, like other disappointed late arrivals, I trekked home again in yet more rain, I bitterly but optimistically mused that there is a massive, enthusiastic demand for book events in DC. It's wonderful that Kramer Books has started doing events - maybe they should think of using part of their restaurant to increase the capacity or something... 

And then we popped over to Studio Theatre to see Choir Boy. The play is set in an elite boarding school for young black men, and circles around the story of one of the choir boys being gay. The performances, direction and set were all top notch, but I wasn't that impressed with the script. Worth seeing though. 

In other news, that winter bread pudding with gingerbread and caramel they're serving at Dickson's Wine Bar on U Street is amazing. 

Top picks for what's coming up this week 
(spoiler alert: there doesn't seem to be much on this week!)

Wed 14th Jan - Separate Beds improv show sounds like fun: they do a show based on an interview with an 'intriguing DC personality'... A different one every Wednesday, starting now.

Fri 16th Jan - The Weirdo Show is at the Bier Baron, with sideshow tricks by many talented people, including this month's Perfect Liar, Michelle who promises to eat fire and escape from a straitjacket...

Sat 17th Jan - Ice Yards is a big wintery party happening down at Navy Yard. 

Sun 18th Jan - A Most Unusual Brunch, sponsored by Hendricks gin, promises cocktails galore and circus sideshow-style entertainment at STK. And at 7pm there's a Kramer Books event with authors reading from the Washington City Paper fiction issue. After Monday's overcrowding fiasco, I can only suggest getting there very early for a seat! 

Wed 21st Jan - If you're a gay diplomat in a Embassy in DC, there's now an event especially for you. Enjoy the launch happy hour for GLINT. 
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What's cool in DC this week... and what's coming up

1/9/2015

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Happy new year, and hooray for an imminently spectacular 2015 filled with DC delights. 


But first, let's review the last few days of 2014. Sadly many of them were occupied with bereavement activities, but I still managed to get to Second City, which my lovely wife had to see for a second time to accommodate my demands, and it was indeed hilarious. Plus I really like the Arlington Drafthouse as a venue, other than its pesky location. Hooray for Uber. 

SpeakeasyDC's My So Called Jewish Life at Sixth and I was fantastic - of course I would say so as I was performing in it! But it was a great crowd, great stories, and Amy's innovation of Jewish-themed jokes between the stories was well judged. 

We also saw Pointless Theatre Company's Christmas revue, which we found a little facile and disappointing for this cool theatre company - but I guess I just don't really like that particular genre. We tried to see Woolly Mammoth's Famous Puppet Death Scenes, and while it was clearly quirky and eccentric and macabre, it turned out not to be the best choice for the recently bereaved... so we had to flee for the exit after the first couple of death scenes. I was interested to see Pippin at the National Theatre, especially given all the glowing reviews... and I'm afraid I had mixed feelings. I just wasn't that impressed with the story (nor did I really understand why this particular story should be performed by circus type performers in one of these performances-within-a-performance that perhaps unfairly irritate me... But the performances were fab, and I loved all the acrobatic and trapeze stuff. Especially the grandmother. Very nice. And I loved seeing another National Theatre Live performance, Skylight, at the Sidney Harman Hall. 


Coolest-sounding things coming up this week
Hooray, the festive season was messing up all the cool things to do in DC. But now we're back!

Wed 7th Jan - Tonight is Perfect Liars Club! It's sold out of course, but if you aren't a lucky ticketholder, there will be a limited number of tickets on the door, starting somewhere between 6 and 6:30. Go try your luck! (tickets for the February show go on sale on Thu at 1pm)

Thu 8th Jan - The 9 Songwriter Series at the 9:30 club features Perfect Liars Club theme song writers, the Sweater Set! Check them out.

Fri 9th and Sat 10th - One of my favorite shows of the year, DC Shorts Laughs - a mix of live comedy and funny film shorts from the DC Shorts festivals. They actually have two entirely different shows, so you can do a double show marathon on one evening, or go both nights! Discount code for 20% off DC Shorts Laughs: 15LAUGHS20

Sat 10th - It's SpeakeasyDC's night of the year: Top Shelf! They choose their favorite stories from their entire last year of shows and bring them all together to be performed for our pleasure. They're sold out but maybe you can seduce someone... 

Sun 11th Jan - Patton Oswalt talks film and comedy at Sixth and I.

Mon 12th Jan - Kramer Books presents an evening of humorous readings. This sounds good! Or go learn clever things about Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.

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    What is this blog?

    Every Friday, Perfect Liars Club MC Layla laboriously curates a list of all the coolest English-accessible things happening in Tokyo for the next week for your delight and entertainment. If you live in Tokyo and like attending great events, you had better sign up.

    How to suggest an event to be included

    Tweet @perfectliarstky or email Layla with details and a link.

    What sort of events does this listings guide include?

    ​Recommendations are biased towards things Layla personally enjoys, like theatre, cinema, sciencey talks, book things, storytelling, comedy, art and random quirky activities.

    Come to my event, Layla!

    You can email Layla to invite her to something cool.

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