from weheartit

If you’re not taking a cue from our furry friend above and getting some rest this Autumn weekend, then you’ve got some great options for shows, free movies, and general mayhem throughout the rest of this week. I’m jealous of all the talent in the city this weekend as I’ll be at the wedding of two good friends in Detroit (forfeiting my Weakerthans ticket). And so, here’s an early edition (including Wednesday night) of this weekend’s Must See Shows.

Tonight; Matt & Kim are playing a sold out show at the Black Cat. If you got tickets to this you’re one of the lucky few but it might be worth it to chill out in the red room of the venue for the evening – the indie pop darlings are sure to have appreciative audiences and a fun party before and after.

Tonight; in Alexandria, Idea Track plays a late night show of pop-punk fun at The Light Horse, a fun restaurant and bar not far from the heart of Old Town. This band is easily my favorite local act, with songs that make you think while making you just have to get up and dance. They’ve recently added a second guitarist, too, and the full sound is seriously working for them. You don’t want to miss this!

Tonight; don’t forget that every Wednesday is also the open mic night at IOTA, possibly the best venue in town (well, NoVa) for pop-rock and singer songwriter styles.

Tomorrow; Yo La Tengo comes to DC! They’ll be hitting up the 9:30 Club for what I’m sure is going to be a surprising, indie, rock-fueled evening. Come on, the band played The Velvet Underground in ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ – does it get much better than that?

Tomorrow; if you’re in a movie mood, the space movies series continues on the SE Waterfront with a showing of the modern classic Toy Story.

Friday; a great double header at the 9:30 Club sees Ingrid Michaelson playing the early show (I’d love to see her live sometime, gotta admit!) and Moby brings the house down in the late show – all ready sold out, sadly, but if you’re really jonesing for good mixing, check out The Horrors and friends at Baltimore’s it spot, Sonar.

Saturday; I missed both the Adams Morgan Day Festival and the DC VegFest last Saturday due to a ridiculous morning of a cappella (care of AU’s On a Sensual Note), Teabaggers’ traffic, a last minute brunch in Mt. Pleasant, getting lost in Columbia Heights, and general exhaustion – this weekend I will also be missing the H St. Festival, sadly. H St. has quickly become one of my favorite corridors in the city, beat only by U St. currently, with some of the best bars, cheapest food, coolest neighbors, and rockingest music venues in DC. Don’t miss up a chance to get to know this awesome artsy and low key hipster haven, and if you love it like I do head on out to show your love!

Saturday night; if you got to any show at all this week and weekend MAKE IT THIS SHOW. The Weakerthans are playing the early show (doors are at 7:30) at the 9:30 Club, and word was when tickets first went on sale that they sold out immediately. Because the venue is kind and dear, more tickets were put up and you can still get in on the best band to come out of Canada since Great Big Sea first started singing sea shanties in Newfoundland. How can you not love boys who took their band name from a line in the film of Marguerite Duras’ The Lover: “Go ahead, I’m weaker than you can possibly imagine.” Friend and local singer-songwriter Adrian “Hardkor” turned me on to these guys and you can’t beat their punk/folk/rock with its “literate, witty, introspective lyrics”, true musicianship on a range of interesting instruments, complicated combinations of sounds (no one uses a simple tinkling bell like they do), and an overall sound that’s been compared to The Constantines and Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. I cannot say enough good things about this band. They very rarely make it to DC. Do yourself a favor and go.

Sunday night; Cap off your weekend with MGMT at the Kia Soul Collective Warehouse – the venue, on NY Ave in Kenilworth, will be open with free concerts all weekend (Wale, The Creepers, and Dan Deacon also hit the lineup) as part of a national tour of get-up-and-go concerts to spread the word about the Kia Soul. Corporate sponsorship aside, any chance to spend a Sunday night on the dance floor with the best of ‘shape-shifting psychedelic pop’ (as Spin magazine appears to have called them) is good enough for me.

And that’s about it from me today; been a ridiculous week all ready (thanks to starting off on the best foot with @alextheredparez and friends at Solly’s on U St.) and I’m seriously looking forward to a weekend out of the city (it’s been ages! and not to mention, two of my dearest friends are getting married!). Any suggestions for must-see attractions/watering holes in Detroit? Hit me up here or on twitter and in the meantime I’ll catch you all tonight at The Light Horse (right? Right).