Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday 

Monday, March 26: Remember when we did the ticket giveaway for The Shins, and our reader Rob won? Well, the ticket-winning event that he submitted happens today, so let’s revisit the exciting activity:

“On Monday, March 26, at 7 pm, Randall the Enamel Animal will be unleashed at Birreria Paradiso (3282 M Street, NW), the DC beer lover’s basement bar hidden below Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown. Randall is not some uptight Belgian brew or ancient Flemish-style ale meant to be sipped, sniffed, or snorted from a crystal snifter. Rather, he is a three-foot-long cylinder-filter that is packed with a half pound of whole leaf hops and then affixed to the beer line of a tapped keg of beer. Officially known as an organoleptic hop transducer module, this cool tool was designed by the mad brew scientists at Dogfish Head Brewing Company in Rehoboth Beach, DE. When combined with a high-alcohol brew like the award-winning Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA, the beer filters through the Randall, grabbing the oils off the hops and inducing the most pungent and glorious fresh hop experience known to man (or woman). Combine that with some of the finest gourmet pizza in DC, and you have an evening of delectable delirium.”

Thanks, Rob!

Tuesday, March 27: Tuesday nights at the hole-in-the-wall jazz spot HR-57 (1610 14th St., NW), $8 will gain you entrance to a jazz jam session that’s one of the best date nights in town. Head over to the club at 8 pm when the session gets started (though sometimes things get going a little bit late), settle into a chair, and listen to the music in the candlelit room. Though you can purchase alcohol at HR-57, there’s also a BYOB policy, so if you’ve got a bottle of wine you’ve been meaning to drink, bring it along.

Wednesday, March 28: Wednesdays mean one thing for the folks at the lovely lounge Tapatinis on Barracks Row—it’s Ladies Night, and the women get $1 glasses of wine and $4 cocktails from 5 to 9 pm. What are you waiting for? 711 Eighth St., SE.

Thursday, March 29: It’s a three-pronged evening of great concerts in the DC area. How to choose? Over at the 9:30 Club, you have the high-energy punk-pop of Ted Leo, a hometown boy done good (9 pm, $12), and one of my favorite live performers. At the Black Cat, you have indie rock royalty in the form of Dean and Britta—that’s Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, a married couple who make deliciously catchy and lo-fi pop, lately of groups Luna and Galaxie 500 (8 pm, $15). Then at DC9, you have local romantic DC rockers Monopoli playing their last show before the band calls it quits (9 pm, $8).

If none of those concerts tickle your fancy, head over to the Corcoran (500 17th St NW), where Paul Greenhalgh, director and president, explains the idea of Utopia in art and design. His lecture is free. 7 pm. RSVP at 202-639-1774.