We Love Weekends: July 24-25

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Rachel: Well, I’m fresh off a stint in Nashville to audition for American Idol. It didn’t go my way but I learned a lot and am ready to rock out harder than ever before after being “cut” from the program before ever seeing any air-time. I’ve got a gig booked for Saturday night at the Tonic Lounge (located at 2036 G Street NW, near the Foggy Bottom Metro). I’m not the only entertainment on tap, several artists from the DC area will take the stage too. So grab a drink at the bar, stay for the tunes, and if you’re a Glee fan I guarantee a solid new cover added to my repertoire from the second half of last season’s show. Not gonna tell you what it is, you’ll have to stop by to hear it. Show starts at 8 p.m. with a $5 cover. I’ll also have albums on sale with proceeds going to the National Kidney Foundation in honor of my late father who received a heart transplant in 1999. Hope to see you there! It should be a rockin’ good time.

Patrick: Weeks of no social life ends this weekend. Noises Off! opens this Saturday at Keegan Theatre in Dupont Circle. As the stage manager I’ll be in the booth playing the role of incompetent sound technician #1. No seriously, come see the show and watch the actors freak out at me during Act III. The show will run through August so I hope to see everybody there eventually. While I’m running the show I’ll also be trying to figure out where to eat and drink before and after performances- anybody have any suggestions for places I should check out around 17th Street?

Max: Friday night I’ll be killing two birds with one museum at the Hirshhorn After Hours – drinking alcohol and viewing the Yves Klein exhibit that I’ve heard great things about.  I’ll also be swinging by the opening for PORTRAY, a photography exhibit curated by Frank Hallam Day at Addison Ripley in Georgetown. Saturday night I’l be attending the closing party for Mixology II at Curator’s Office, a photography show that benefits Doctors Without Borders, and then checking out work by the new 2010 Hamiltonian Fellows.  Sunday I’ll be sleeping as much as possible, but I’d like to go see Inception since everyone seems to be freaking out about it.

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘julianne’s’

Dave L.: To commemorate a personal milestone of reaching my late 20s (trust me, that’s impressive if we’ve met), I’ll be ringing in the celebrations with my good friends Dave Matthews and Zac Brown at Nationals Park. After the show, it’s a whirlwind weekend of the normal activities: alumni league softball with a chance to win the division, a little bit of a cookout/pool party, some craziness at Little Miss Whiskey’s, and then practicing for four upcoming gigs: one next week and three in August.

Rebecca: Sometimes there’s nothing grander than keeping one of your weekend nights completely open, so that’s what I’m doing with my Friday night. I may go down to the Waterfront. I may go check out Inception. I may check out Drive-By Truckers at the 930 Club. I don’t know. I’ll go where the mood takes me. Saturday: I’m desperate for some farmers market produce, so the Georgetown Farmers Market is calling my name. Depending on the level of hotness and humidity, I’d like to bike down to the Mall and tour around. Haven’t gone down there in a while. Sunday: Relazing by the Volta Park pool sounds like a good idea. I hope I can catch some sort of a tan for my pasty whiteness.

Jenn: I’m breathing a deep sigh of relief as I face off a weekend not as crazily jam-packed as usual. Tonight I’m off to see my last Fringe show, Terre Haute, about the correspondence between Timothy McVeigh and Gore Vidal. Should be a barrel of laughs (just kidding, I think it will be a deeply philosophical debate). Friday sees me out on 17th Street to slurp some oysters at Hank’s and then sip some raki at Agora (hmm, dangerous combo?). I’m sure I can slip some Rickey’s in there somewhere, the contest ends soon so get out there and enjoy. The rest of the weekend is devoted to the zen of house chores. They have to be done sometime!

Photo courtesy of
‘Silver Strollers’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Tom: Given the horrific weekend forecast, I’m moving all my activities to the early morning: a quick trip to the farm and the farm markets in the morning on Saturday, and light yard maintenance on Sunday.  Of course, there are a lot of great places to hide in the shade and from the heat in this kind of weather, and I may let my air conditioning off the hook for the weekend.  I was thinking I might go down to the Sculpture Garden and put my feet in the fountain, or go see Toy Story 3, finally.  I’m also thinking that in that kind of heat, there’s no way I’m cooking. I’m thinking Ray’s River East.

Kirk: This weekend is my first in town in two weeks, so I’m thinking I’ll stick with some of my classic activities.  Like Rebecca, I’m keeping my Friday open to see where the winds of fortune direct me.  I’m guessing it will be to Red Derby, but who knows.  I’ve had this urge to cook all week and I’m planning on using Saturday morning and afternoon to satiate it, and then some.  On Saturday night I might cruise over to HR-57 to catch some jazz, and then on Sunday I’ll probably take a contemplative stroll through the National Cathedral, listening to whatever guest choir happens to be signing.

Michael: This Saturday I am going to see these guys and I can’t wait!

Kirk is a Maine-born, military brat who moved no fewer than 12 times during his childhood. He came to the DC area in 2004 for his undergrad and decided that it was the place for him. Since graduating, he’s nabbed a job with the Fed and spends most of his free time hunting for cheap thrills in the city. Find out why he loves DC.