Thursday, January 17: Tipper Gore and Jodi Cobb share their experiences behind the camera lens tonight at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (500 17th St., NW; 202-639-1700). Gore, besides being the wife of Al Gore, is an accomplished photographer; Cobb is National Geographic’s only female staff photographer. 7 PM; $25 for National Geographic members, $35 for nonmembers. Purchase tickets here.
Every Thursday, the Capital City Brewing Company on Capitol Hill (2 Massachusetts Ave., NE), holds Real Ale Night, where a different cask of ale is tapped each week. Pints are just $3 from the time it’s tapped until it’s gone. Call 202-842-BEER for times and details on the cask.
Help the local events organization Things to Do DC celebrate its anniversary with a party at Five (1214 18th St., NW; 202-331-7123). For just $1 ($2 at the door), the group is offering an open bar (for the first hour), DJs, cake, and general fun. 8 PM to 1 AM. Purchase tickets here.
Friday, January 18: He’s best known as the frontman for alt-country darlings the Old 97s, but Rhett Miller moonlights as a solo performer—and does pretty darn well at it. The charming musician (who’s totally handsome, if I’m going to be honest), will play his delightful country-tinged power pop tonight at the Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW; 202-667-7960). 7:30 PM; $15.
Organized by the Goethe-Institut, Film Neu screens ten new—and hard-to-find—movies from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The series opens tonight with Grave Decisions, a comedy about an 11-year-old boy who finds unusual ways to grieve his mother’s death. Get more information, tickets, and a screening schedule here.
Saturday, January 19: A Neil Diamond tribute band—plus a Smiths tribute band? Sign me up. That’s what you get tonight at the 9:30 Club (815 V St., NW) with Super Diamond and openers Girlfriend in a Coma. You know you want to sing along to a rousing rendition of “Sweet Caroline.” 9 PM; $22. Purchase tickets here.
It’s the last weekend before Arlington standby Dr. Dremo’s (2001 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington; 703-528-4660) closes. (It’s looking for a new location.) So it’s only fitting that the bar is hosting the fun and eclectic DC Counter Culture Festival. The festival hosts arts-and-crafts vendors, comic-book authors, fashion designers, and even a sideshow (guys who walk on glass, hammer nails into their faces—you know, the regular stuff). Plus—six local bands will be playing. Come say goodbye to Dremo’s in style. Free; 4 to 8 PM for the vendors and festival; 8 till late for the sideshow and musical performances.
Sunday, January 20: Check out a new play opening this weekend at the Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington; 703-820-9771). Glory Days, a musical about four guys a year after high school, plays today at 2 and 7. Author James Gardiner, who went to Greenbelt’s Eleanor Roosevelt High and lives in Washington, and composer/lyricist Nick Blaemire, who went to Sidwell Friends and lives in New York City, have been friends since their teen years and collaborated on the play by phone and e-mail. Fitting for two 23-year-olds whose objective was to show what it’s like to be part of their generation.
