MONDAY >> The Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theatre in the James Madison Building kicks off 5 weeks worth of free Monday night rock and pop films with a rare showing of the 1966 documentary, The Big T.N.T. Show. David "Man from Uncle" McCallum hosts Ray Charles, Petula Clark, the Lovin' Spoonful, Bo Diddley, Joan Baez, the Ronettes, Roger Miller, the Byrds, Donovan, the Seeds, the Modern Folk Quartet, and Ike and Tina Turner taped......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: Halloween Screams at the AFI Perhaps my favorite part of this time of year is the fact that on any given night, you can turn on the television, and somewhere on the dial you can find a movie about things that go bump in the night, creatures from the depths of Hell, or your garden......

The Smithsonian announced yesterday that they've officially formed the committee to find the replacement for Olga Viso as the new Director of the Hirshhorn. The group of eight includes local art collectors and Hirshhorn trustees, a couple Smithsonian officers, and the Director of SFMoMA, though we can think of at least one more loud voice that might want in on the decision. We'll be interested to hear who they come up with before Viso leaves......

Three years, one EP, one DCist interview, and a slew of locally hyped shows later and The Alphabetical Order have finally taken that next big step. October 9th marked the release of their debut full length album. I Am Magically Happening! is their most polished and complete work to date. It is the band’s signature early 90’s alt-rock sound with just enough mainstream pop glaze to raise them up from the underground. The Alphabetical Order......

FRIDAY: >> Howard University alum Eric Roberson performs tonight at the Black Cat along with Emily King. Doors open at 9 p.m. $17. >> It's pretty much the end of times: Vanilla Ice will be at Foggy Bottom bar McFadden's tonight, "drinking, partying, and hosting the night" starting at 10 p.m. $5 Jager bombs and $2 Bud and Bud Light bottles are little enticement to make this event anything more than laughable, but maybe if......

It’s almost impossible to discuss the state of punk and hardcore music in this town without someone making a grand pronouncement like “the D.C. scene is dead”. Ask any of the old timers and they’ll tell you that the kids in Washington just don’t care about punk rock anymore. It’s not hard to understand where these folks are coming from; given the vital role that our city played in the evolution of hardcore music, it’s......

The day has finally arrived -- the official release of J.K. Rowling's final installment in her Harry Potter book series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is scheduled for midnight tonight (unless of course you received one of those magical early copies that have been floating around). For all you D.C. area Potter nerds out there (and as we already know, there are a whole lot of you) looking to celebrate tonight, here's some area......

We know this whole mid-week holiday thing can do a number on you, so before you launch into another D.C. summer weekend, mark your calendars for next Wednesday, because that's when DCist is bringing you the sixth installment of our concert series, Unbuckled. We'll convene at DC9 on July 11 to bring you the ebullient sounds of D.C.'s speedy success story, Le Loup, and Brooklyn's more-mature-than-their-years pop rock outfit, The XYZ Affair. Unbuckleds of......

This city has always produced fine jazz musicians, but the scene has had its ups and downs. In the 1990s, D.C.'s jazz landscape was very different. This was a time before the resurgence of U Street and Adams Morgan as centers for live music, and it also seemed as though there was a dearth of young talent in the city. While top notch national acts always came to the Kennedy Center and Blues Alley,......

FRIDAY: >> Let it be known - any country with a holiday that translates as "party of music" (or "music party") is OK in our book. In celebration of the French holiday Fete de la Musique, as well as the summer solstice, French and American musicians will be performing at La Maison Francaise tonight. Local guitar and cello duo Janel and Anthony*** will play from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the auditorium stage, but......

As you'll recall from last summer's round of Crime Emergency-associated legislation, teens in the District were forced to obey a curfew of 10 p.m. throughout the summer months in an effort to stem the tide of law breaking that was often blamed on youths being out on the streets, up to no good. Did it help? Not particularly as far we could ever tell, though it did allow police to release figures about how many......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

We thought we'd share this photo of Jemina Pearl from Be Your Own Pet at the 9:30 Club last night, opening up for Arctic Monkeys. If you missed out on the show, there's plenty of live music to choose from tonight. >> Swedish garage rock band Mando Diao are known for their combustive live shows as much as their music: super catchy '60s power pop twinged with a hint of dirt. They've won awards galore......

After the whirlwind of April arts events, May looks to be a little quieter, perhaps even serene at times. Though if you're looking for a party, we've got the info for this week's Artomatic events, which is only just past its halfway point. >> Ever dream of being one of those madly rich people with original Van Goghs or Kandinskys in your climate controlled, wood paneled library (in the east wing)? Bring your envious eyes......

DCist Jeff Beam contributed to this post. Drew McManus, who writes about the orchestra business at the ArtsJournal blog Adaptistration, has dubbed April Take a Friend to the Orchestra month. For the second year now, Drew has lined up names in the classical music world to write pieces on how ordinary people who love classical music can invite a friend who does not regularly go to hear live music to a concert. This year's articles......

By now it is Chamber of Commerce cliché to write of "U Street’s revitalization." Most residents have read the historical postings along U Street NW and know, by way of slogan at least, that "before Harlem, there was U Street." At the height of Washington’s segregated past, a few decades after segregation was imposed by Congress against the will of a vocal many white and black District residents, U Street NW was the city’s celebrated......

Many apologies for bringing you the arts agenda a day late this week -- we're getting darned worn out by all these great events going on lately. Visual art continues to stampede the city throughout April, and this weekend brings us a four-day festival as well as the continuation of the two huge exhibition projects sweeping the metro area. Get your fill below, just remember to stay hydrated as you enter the middle of this......

Imagine a well-renowned D.C. glass artist, a gallery-experienced (and ColorField.remix contributor) abstract painter, and at least seven people we already know are pretty talented photographers putting their work next to mermaids made out of garage sale rejects and Tic Tac sculptures, and you'll start to get the essence of Artomatic. This chaotic jumble of an art fair where "Fire" gets its own category has infamously drawn ire from some of the city's fine art critics......

What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building......

We are, of course, still pulling for any ban on all ages shows at bars to fail miserably. But we always support the idea of alternative, non-bar venues putting on shows as well. So we were happy to learn this week that Murky Coffee, the independent coffee shop in Clarendon that many area residents claim boasts one of the best cups of coffee in town, is going to start hosting bands. The schedule is......

The tango is a colorful, fiery display of passion and movement, with ballet being its more classical, astute and refined cousin. Now, imagine the two together, and toss some mariachi music into the mix. The Washington Ballet's ¡Noche Latina! does just that, combining the classical, floating movements of ballet with the energy and boldness of tango. Not just a dance show, the night includes live music, including Mariachi Los Amigos, who come in through......

MONDAY>> We're excited to see Glasgow indie-pop group Camera Obscura headlining the 930 Club tonight. We last saw them at the Black Cat and compared them to Belle and Sebastian. The group's latest album, Let's Get Out of This Country, is whimsical, romantic and will make you feel a little bit better about your life, or at least, this dreary weather. Vermont via Brooklyn band Essex Green opens. 9:30 p.m., $15. >> If your Fugazi......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

With its upper floors now dedicated to live entertainment – in the former Erico Café – we thought we might be able to dine downstairs at Café Nema in peace, away from the bustle. We were wrong. Before the expansion, you got food and great jazz at Nema, but you also had to fight for tables, play musical chairs to get your party seated together and step over an amp to get to the restroom.......

Amanda Mattos contributed to this post. A recent tip from Dave at Indiefolkforever lead us to a rather unflattering portrait of our fair city. Norfolk & Western, a Portland band that visited D.C. last month, apparently didn't have a very nice time playing DC9 or visiting the U street/Shaw neighborhood in Northwest D.C. As part of a tour journal posted on Local Cut, the band wrote: Washington DC proved to be a less pleasant experience......

After six years of adding to the eclectic flavor of the intersection of 18th and Florida NW, word comes to us this week that Staccato is closing its doors forever next month. Staccato has always sort of been the Little Club That Could, hosting aspiring musicians from a variety of genres in its no-frills, teeny, converted-townhouse venue. Funky little joints like Staccato are the white blood cells of a city’s music scene. Maybe not so......

Transformer isn't the only gallery putting on its little black dress and collecting alms for art these days. Those of you with a little cash in hand, looking to fill your civic duty by supporting the arts and partying the night away have two more bashes to choose from. Tonight, put on your dancing shoes and swing over to the Corcoran for ArtCentric 2006. The annual event features live music, performance art, and an auction......

Editor's Note: The Picks are a little lean this week, not because there isn't a ton of fun stuff to do but because we're operating on an "it's one of the last Fridays of the summer" frame of mind and can't muster the energy for more. Please tell us what you're up to this weekend in the comments, for the benefit of the group. FRIDAY: We'll be down at the ongoing opening festivities for Joe......

FRIDAY: >> We don't usually hype big studio movies in the Picks, but when faced with a certain kind of reptile on a specific form of transportation — there's not much you can do but cross your fingers it doesn't turn out to suck and jump on the hype train (err, plane). More specifically, literally dozens of local D-list Internet celebrities will be attending the 10:10 p.m. screening of Snakes on a Plane at the......