What do child stars do when they give up acting? Make a band, of course.

Former child actors Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett did this just that, and their group, Rilo Kiley, rocked the 9:30 Club last night—the second of two gigs at the venue this week. Lewis, whose film credits include Pleasantville and Foxfire, brought out her classic bluegrass-meets-Billie Holiday vocals in full force, while Sennett, who played childhood bullies in the TV series Boy Meets World and Salute Your Shorts, proved to be a surprisingly versatile guitarist, playing electric and acoustic guitars and a ukulele with equal skill.

With two EPs and four full-length albums under its belt, the band had plenty of material to work with. The sold-out concert, which opened with “It’s a Hit,” the first track from the band’s 2004 album, featured a solid mix of old and new tunes. Audience favorites included “The Moneymaker,” Rilo Kiley’s first single from its latest album, Under the Blacklight, and “With Arms Outstretched,” a tried-and-true oldie that the crowd belted a cappella with Lewis and her bandmates.

The spot: Poste Moderne Brasserie, 555 Eighth St., NW; 202-783-6060

The drink: Mr. Brightside (Grey Goose L’Orange and Lillet Rouge shaken with a splash of orange juice and finished with a dash of bitters)

The price: $10

First impression: Though one of Poste’s newest concoctions for the fall, Mr. Brightside looks like a fruity summertime refreshment. Served with an orange wedge, the vodka-and-vermouth-based cocktail gives off a light citrus scent. Unfortunately, the drink’s midsummer night’s dream doesn’t carried through to the taste: The first sip was disappointingly bland.

Last impression: The flavorlessness carried through to the end. Perhaps the alcohol-to-orange-juice ratio was off, but Mr. Brightside never seemed to have, well, a bright side. According to the bartender, this $10 drink is supposed to have a classic taste—but since when does “classic” mean boring?

Grade: C-

Poste’s new fall cocktail lineup also includes tea-infused cocktails such as the Chameleon (herbal tea mixed with Bombay Sapphire, lemon verbena, and club soda), Chai Tea-ni (featuring rum and milk served hot or cold), and 555 (a lemon “teaquila”). Others on the roster: Pear of Queens (pear purée mixed with rosemary and vodka) and Tango & Cash (Bacardi rum mixed with cashew and pineapple juices).

Friday, September 28: Who’s up for more vintage shopping and cocktail sipping? I am! If you are, too, head to the Vintage Project tonight. Hosted by Project 4 Gallery (903 U St., NW), the event is billed as “a vintage fashion trunk show for a good cause.” A portion of the proceeds from each sale of vintage and designer clothes will go toward purchasing school uniforms for children in Africa. 6 to 8 PM. More info can be found here.

Chicago’s most famous comedic troupe, Second City, comes to the Smithsonian this evening. One Nation, Under Blog is the show; I can only guess at what kind of hilarious material that deals with. It’s at 6:30 at the National Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium (Tenth St. and Constitution Ave., NW). General admission $25, Smithsonian members $20; call 202-633-3030 for more information. Purchase tickets here.

Feeling like U Street is a bit played out? Sick of the weekend crowds in Adams Morgan? It might be time to head to DC’s H Street, Northeast. Also known as the Atlas District—named for a former movie theater that now houses the Atlas Performing Arts Center—it’s a diverse three-block swath of nightlife that has been blossoming over the past few years.

Spearheaded by local nightlife guru and bar owner Joe Englert, who plans to open a total of eight-plus bars along the corridor, H Street is home to some of the most interesting and edgiest bars in the city as well as a few good music venues, coffee shops, and up-and-coming restaurants.

Though boarded-up storefronts still punctuate the street—the neighborhood was hit heavily by the 1968 riots and is still in recovery—signs of change are obvious. From the lively patio of neighborhood pub the Argonaut to the lines of hipsters waiting to see a show at the Rock and Roll Hotel to locals sipping a beer at the Majestic, H Street is making its mark on the nightlife scene.

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Photo Slideshow: The Scene on H Street

Lili Montoya arrives only a minute or so late to our Belly Up interview but is profusely apologetic. “I got stuck in traffic driving into the city,” she says in a way that suggests she’s a focused, organized individual. These traits help her run a tight ship as bartender at the Black Cat (1811 14th Street, NW; 202-667-7960), where she’s worked for almost ten years. The charming and outspoken Montoya talks here about her job, her musical tastes, and why not even Eddie Vedder gets special treatment.

When did you start bartending?

My first bartending job was at a place that doesn’t exist anymore called the Mountain Lodge. It was a coffeehouse in Georgetown, near Key Bridge, that used to serve liquor. It’s unclear whether or not it was supposed to serve liquor, and I was way under the age that I probably should have been, but this was at a time when people didn’t check that much.

We had a lot of punk shows and poetry readings at the Mountain Lodge. People who are old DC punks might remember some of the shows we used to have, like the Econochrist show where a guy went out onto M Street and sang to it.

How did you end up at the Black Cat?

I was friends with some of the staff and was asked to work there, which is kind of rare. Normally, the bartending system at the Black Cat is based almost completely on seniority. Only two or three people have been hired from outside, and I was one of them.

At the time, the Black Cat was pretty guy-heavy and I think they were looking for someone who was a woman, someone who was a pro-style bartender—“pro-style” in the sense of an old punk-rock word for professional—and someone who had roots in and understood the community.

Monday, September 24: Are you as excited about the second-season premiere of Heroes tonight as I am? If you’d like to enjoy the first episode in a social setting, head over to Dr. Dremo’s Taphouse (2001 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington; 703-528-4660), where the show will be screened at the bar. 9 PM.

Tuesday, September 25: Tonight at Velvet Lounge (915 U St., NW; 202-462-3213), Found Magazine is hosting an event to promote its fifth issue. Never heard of Found? It’s a magazine full of, well, found material—everything from lost letters to shopping lists to random bits of paper happened upon by readers. Tonight the magazine’s editor, Davy Rothbart, will read from a selection of notes, while his older brother Peter will perform music based on material in the magazine. $10; 9 PM.

Photos by Chris Leaman.

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Last night, the District Line played host to a shindig fit for the Queen. After months of being closed while the store moved from Adam’s Morgan to Georgetown, the men’s clothing store, which carries only British lines, celebrated its grand reopening.

In almost every regard, the launch party brought London to Washington. The party’s 200 guests were greeted out front by a shiny Bentley Continental GT, compliments of Capitol Dream Cars. Inside, the walls were covered with custom paper—London city maps downstairs and hunter green clubhouse soccer prints upstairs—which were designed by the store’s architect Brian Miller. British tunes pumped through the sound system, and the food and drink, which included Bombay Sapphire, Bass Pale Ale and Dean & Deluca’s English tea baskets, kept the crowd more than satisfied. Perhaps the only thing missing was a Buckingham guard.