At this most stressful time of the spring, with Spring Break a distant memory and summer a mere speck at the end of a harrowingly long tunnel, it helps to be reminded that there's life - and hope - off campus. In fact, there's even a little bit of hope on campus.
After scouring local event lists, The Scene is proud to bring you the following 10 handpicked recommendations for fun and edification that will set you back a mere $10 or less (happily, most are free). Consider it your prescribed to-do list to ensure sanity, financial comfort and general well being from now 'til finals. Ready, set, go!
Greenland at the Black Cat TONIGHT, Monday, March 27, 9 p.m. 1811 14th Street, NW (blackcatdc.org) Tickets: $6
Local indie band Greenland, fronted by singer/songwriter Jamie Green, is one of the best acts you've never seen live. Although unsigned, their recent "Greenland" EP swells with jangly grunge guitar, Green's pleasing post-punk voice and lyrics like "Run me like a river through your alley." Check out their Myspace page (myspace.com/greenland), listen to a few tracks and then cruise over to the Black Cat with a few friends in tow. It will be $6 sweetly spent and a great way to get over that case of the Mondays.
National Cherry Blossom Festival Through April 9 Our Fair City - mostly the National Mall and Tidal basin. nationalcherryblossomfestival.org Admission: Free.
In case you didn't know, D.C. is full of cherry blossom trees. Three thousand of them, in fact - from Japan! They kind of hang around for most of the year not being very impressive, doing really great impressions of other, more generic trees. But then they pull a fast one and explode into utterly breathtaking bloom, conveniently during your busiest two weeks of the spring semester. Afterward they just go back to being pretty generic again.
Nearly one million projected tourists have caught on to this yearly spring landmark, so don't let school make you miss out on the pink glory. Natty Cherry Blossom festivities are on now through April 9, are mostly all free and make unbeatable photo ops or cheap dates. Don't miss out on this staple of Washingtonian life. Check out the festival site for event updates, as well as the "Anchorman"-esque BLOOM WATCH section, featuring constant updates on predicted peak bloom dates (between March 26 - 28), a cherry tree map and information on the different cherry tree varieties in our fair district.
Forget Me Not/No Me Olvides: Photographs by Norma Quintana Opens this Tuesday, March 28 and is on display until May 7. Katzen Arts Center Admission: Free.
Thanks to the Katzen, AU students have only to fall out of bed and find some sort of shoes (and hopefully clothes) to absorb culture. Take full advantage of those tuition dollars next week with this exhibit of 70 black and white photographs, dealing with childhood through the eyes of Puerto Rican artist Norma Quintana. It really doesn't get any easier than this, kids.
WVAU: We Exist concert Saturday, April 8, 7:30 p.m. Kay Spiritual Life Center basement Admission: Free
WVAU exists. And it wants the world to know. Thus, come check out bands Sweet Teeth (featuring The Scene's own Chris DeWitt), Robert Stillman's Horses and Flying for zero bucks. Furthermore, this won't even incur transportation fees, so walk/jog/hike/bike/hitchhike over to Kay for a night of good tunes and WVAU awareness.
Rosslyn Mountain Boys at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage Wednesday, March 29, 6 p.m. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (kennedy-center.org) Tickets: Free.
The Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage program has been providing impoverished college students with cultural enrichment for some time now - or at least giving them something high-concept to drop in party conversation. Throw caution to the wind and heck out this locally acclaimed roots music act and accompanying band Too Much Fun, a foot-stomping bluegrass/country act.
Space Rock Concert featuring Jorge Reyes Thursday, March 30, 6:30 p.m. IDB Cultural Center (iadb.org/cultural) Tickets: Free on first come-first served basis on the day of the show. Photo ID is required for entrance to venue.
The Scene isn't really sure what "space rock" is, but we're really psyched to find out. We're also psyched to not have to pay for it. The show's description, "Mexican space-rocker Jorge Reyes performs "Nahui Olin, Woman of Light" (a glimpse of the life, love and art of Carmen Mondrag¢n, an extraordinary woman of Mexico's early 20th century culture)" features pictures a guy in face paint and also mentions something about a "copper wardrobe." Go forth and witness the spectacle. And then write a review for The Eagle.
"Boys of Baraka," "Crash" and "TransAmerica" Showing through Thursday, March 30 The Avalon Theatre (theavalon.org) Tickets: $6.75 with student ID, $9.50 without (per movie)
Not only is the Avalon a choice place to see flicks, but these three much-talked about films aren't available for viewing just any old place anymore. "Boys of Baraka" follows a group of 12-year-old boys from the ghettos of Baltimore to an experimental boarding school in Kenya. The there's "Crash," the recent best-picture winner and total P.T. Anderson's "Magnolia" ripoff. (Weird things falling from the sky and then all the unknowingly interconnected people are OK? Please.) Certainly not to be missed is Felicity Huffman's Oscar-nominated turn as a male-to-female transsexual in "TransAmerica." Hop on the red line, get off at Van Ness/UDC and make a cute mid-week date out of it.
No Temperance in it: Woodrow Wilson, The Prohibition Amendment and Brewing in Washington, D.C. Through April 10 Woodrow Wilson House (woodrowwilsonhouse.org) Admission: Free. Guided tours of the house are $3 with student ID, $7.50 without.
Contrary to popular belief, President Woodrow Wilson wasn't in favor of the 18th Amendment - the one that made Prohibition the law of the land despite his veto. Before Prohibition royally crashed and burned, the Washington area was apparently a hotbed of bootlegging and alcohol smuggling, or so this exhibit shows. Enjoy the history, memorabilia and lore of this fascinating chapter in America's social history, as well as checking out a cool D.C. landmark - Wilson lived here from his presidency's end in 1921 to his death in 1924.
U.S. Capitol Exterior Walking Tour Monday, April 10, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Meets at Union Station Metro stop, Massachusetts Avenue exit Cost: $10
Enjoy this picturesque and informative tour, led by U.S. Capitol Historical Society chief tour guide Steve Livengood (read: he gives tours like this for a living, and knows his stuff). Learn why it took 40 years to build, how and when it was enlarged and the details of the massive construction now underway. Rain or shine. For more information, visit uschs.org.
Joe Lally (of Fugazi) with Golden Bears and Human Bell Wednesday, March 29 The Warehouse Next Door (warehousenextdoor.com) Tickets: Free!
Like music? Don't have much money? Start frequenting the Warehouse Next Door, where something good and/or progressive is usually cooking for "$5 - $9," as its Web site declares. Anyone into Fugazi, or grunge, or alt-rock, or basically any alternative music made in the '90s, should take a gander at what Joe Lally's got going on these days. The worst that could happen? It's less-than-stellar, so you opt for a more expensive night in Chinatown (i.e. at the new-ish Lucky Strike lanes - bowlluckystrike.com).
