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Lovers of brutalism—that much-maligned mid-century architectural style that employs hard, geometric edges and huge, unfinished concrete slabs—may be upset at this week’s recommendation. That’s because the shiny, mirror-like glass structure on the front of the First Church of Christ, Scientist at 910 16th St. NW replaced the (contestedly) iconic ’70s brutalist octagon designed by Araldo Cassutta of I.M. Pei & Partners. After decades of debate, the building was demolished in 2014. But we come to bury the octagon, not to praise it. Regardless of how you feel about the old church, the new structure (part of a larger office plaza on the 900 block of the street), built by firm Cooper Carry, is undeniably striking. The church’s entrance is marked by a protruding, crystalline structure that reflects the streetscape from a variety of angles and allows, when the sun isn’t glaring, glimpses inside. It’s a bold move for a building situated among some of our country’s most recognizable neoclassical architecture and some of our city’s most buttoned-up office buildings, but it’s a generous one. According to Cooper Carry’s website, “it is deliberately transparent from the street to convey an open, welcome feeling in keeping with the Church’s tenets.” Walk by, catch your reflection, and peer in to see if you agree.
Also, arts lovers, don’t forget: This weekend is Crafty, City Paper‘s festival highlighting D.C.’s most talented and exciting craftspeople and artists. If you’re interested in supporting local business or updating your home decor, catch us at Buzzard Point on Sept. 28 and 29. —Emma Sarappo
FRIDAY
Wu-Tang ClanWu-Tang Clan is what you get when you put philosophy, chess, divine mathematics, samurai movies, funk, and kung fu into the hands of nine genius-level rappers from Staten Island. The Clan dropped Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) within a year of Nas’ Illmatic and Biggie’s Ready to Die, but Wu-Tang’s debut album tapped into something beyond New York hip-hop. They had a business plan from the start: Drop megaton bombs on their debut, then spin members off into solo stardom. This strategy has proven wildly successful, culminating in new classics like GZA’s Liquid Swords and Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele. Over the years, the Clan have become both foundational to rap as we know it and a totally distinct institution. Read more >>> The show begins at 7 p.m. at Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow. $35–$110.50. (703) 754-6400. livenation.com. (Will Lennon)
West by God, the story of two families in West Virginia and their generational divides, makes its world premiere. To Oct. 20 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. $41–$51.
Feel the infectious energy of electro-funk whiz kid GRiZ‘s live shows. 8 p.m. at The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. $40–$189.
Lola Kirke (whose sister Jemima you know from Girls) is embarking on a pop career in addition to her acting in Mozart in the Jungle and Mistress America. 7 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $12–$15.
SATURDAY
CiaraWhen Ciara released “Level Up” last summer, it seemed that her lyrics—“my comeback on one hunnid / Less talking, more action, you just gon’ see Ci coming”—were on the money. The club-ready beat put the singer in one of her best modes: dance floor inspiration. The erstwhile “First Lady of Crunk&B” has ridden the pop-R&B rollercoaster since breaking through in the mid-aughts with songs like “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step.” Too often, she’s been outshined by a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Beyoncé; CiCi’s career-best self-titled record was one of the year’s best… in a year that Bey changed the game with her own self-titled album. That record showed a way forward for Ciara, but her split from ex-fiance and executive producer Future spurred a change in direction, both musically and personally. Read more >>> Ciara performs at 8 p.m. at The Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $34. (301) 960-9999. fillmoresilverspring.com. (Chris Kelly)
Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo will discuss her newest book Beverly, Right Here. 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 4900 Connecticut Ave. NW. $23–$29.
Ben Tufts & Friends will play nearly 100 TV theme tunes from the medium’s history. 8 p.m. at Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave. East, Vienna. $20–$35.
Sir Babygirl‘s queer pop sneers at gender roles and binaries. 8 p.m. at Songbyrd Music House, 2475 18th St. NW. $12–$14.
SUNDAY
Team DreschA Team Dresch reunion means returning to a music history moment at the nexus of grunge and hardcore. Grunge explains the band’s thrift-shop-explosion aesthetic, while hardcore informs their nakedly political music, which still feels urgent and relevant today. Songs from Personal Best and Captain My Captain are short, tight, and bittersweet, packed like tubes of dynamite with the angst and anger of growing up queer in the Reagan-Clinton era. Read more >>>Team Dresch perform at 7:30 p.m. at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $15. (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com. (Will Lennon)
Robert Glasper finishes his time at the Kennedy Center’s REACH by playing music from his album Black Radio with Yasiin Bey, better known as Mos Def. 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Center REACH, 2700 F St. NW. $39–$99.
Grammy-nominated rocker K.Flay isn’t quieting down anytime soon. 6:30 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $25.
Southeast born and raised vocalist Lori Williams is coming full circle on her new album. 8 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. $20–$35.
MONDAY
Phum ViphuritSporting a blue bomber jacket, Phum Viphurit strums a guitar and sings about loneliness. In the background, other Phum Viphurits skateboard, do jumping jacks, and dance with mops. It’s not double vision—that’s the music video for the Bangkok-based singer-songwriter’s most recent single, “Hello, Anxiety,” an indie-pop bop about managing the stress inherent in his growing success. By the end of the video, surrounded by glittering peers, Viphurit leads an impromptu disco party and reassures his audience that “the sun still shines, we’ll be fine.” Read more >>> Phum Viphurit performs at 7 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. $20. (202) 588-1889. ustreetmusichall.com. (Amy Guay)
John Splithoff brings soul-pop power ballads to the stage. 7:30 p.m. at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. $15.
Meanwhile, John Moreland plays moving, vulnerable songs about heartbreak and relationships. 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $29.50.
Or see emerging pop crooner Dean Lewis before he becomes a national name. 7 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $30.
TUESDAY
FleabagYou saw Fleabag; you saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge win an armload of Emmys. Now see the one-woman show about a hapless, sex-crazed single Brit that led to a black jumpsuit craze and dozens of hot priest memes. Fleabag premiered as a play at the Edinburgh Festival back in 2013. As Waller-Bridge said after the show won best comedy at the Emmys, she told producers “two jokes over a pint” and they backed what became her Amazon TV series. Read more >>> Fleabag screens at 7:30 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. $18. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. (Rebecca J. Ritzel)
Gary Barker‘s novel The Museum of Lost Love focuses on characters who stumble across a museum full of objects from broken relationships (something that you can actually visit in Zagreb, Croatia). If you can’t make it that far in the near future, hear Barker read from the novel instead. 7 p.m. at Solid State Books, 600 H St. NE. Free.
Lauren Duca has been a hot topic in media recently, especially after a dramatic BuzzFeed profile lit up the internet last week, but if you want to hear from Duca herself about her book How to Start a Revolution, her speaking tour’s going ahead as planned. 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose at Union Market, 1270 5th St. NE. Free.
Tiger Army‘s newest release Retrofuture is their sixth full-length release, featuring modern takes on classic punk and garage rock. 7 p.m. at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $25–$30.
WEDNESDAY
The Improvised Shakespeare CompanyThough William Shakespeare is credited with writing at least 37 plays, scholars believe several of his works have disappeared over time, from a sequel to Love’s Labour’s Lost to a spin-off of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Since 2005, a group of Chicago actors known as the Improvised Shakespeare Company have filled this gap in literary history by performing one-night-only renditions of “new” Shakespearean works. Read more >>> The show runs to Oct. 6 at the Kennedy Center Family Theater, 2700 F St. NW. $39–$49. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. (Mercedes Hesselroth)
The last day of the AFI Latin American Film Festival offers screenings of De Lo Mio, Lisbon Beat, Midnight Family, Days of Light, The Longest Night, and Chicuarotes. 5:20 p.m. to 10 p.m. at AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $15.
It’s Da Band‘s 15th anniversary, and they’re celebrating in style. 8 p.m. at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $27.50–$100.
Courage on Canvas, an exhibit featuring artwork by the young men who participate in Life Pieces to Masterpieces’ apprenticeship program, opens. To Oct. 20 at Pepco Edison Place Gallery, 702 8th St. NW. Free.
THURSDAY
Aldous HardingNew Zealand-raised singer and guitarist Aldous Harding’s eponymous 2014 debut album was striking for its less-is-more take on British folk, thanks to Harding’s tuneful yet raw vocals and minimalistic guitar strumming. Harding, born Hannah Harding (and now living in Wales), has since expanded her musical approach on her second and third albums, but her vocals and lyrics retain a mysterious, artsy feel that sometimes veers into the avant-garde. Her second album Party, produced by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, shows her vocal range as she switches from sweet and breathy to Nico-like monotone to kid-like and screechy. Read more >>> Aldous Harding performs at 8 p.m. at Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. $15. (202) 388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com. (Steve Kiviat)
Storm Large‘s background in rock anchors her turn into cabaret and the theater—now, she’s taking AMP by storm. 8 p.m. at AMP by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. $35–$55.
Rising Australian house star Hayden James is making waves on our side of the pond. 7 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. $20–$25.
Boston trio Bay Faction is full of Florida Guilt. 8 p.m. at Pie Shop, 1339 H St. NE. $10–$12.
NEWS AND REVIEWS YOU CAN USE
News: The Highwood Theatre’s founder was fired for sending sexual messages to a minor—and now the theater’s in turmoil.
Galleries: The Barbershop Project is an examination—and celebration—of the complexity of barbershop culture.
Film: Ms. Purple is a family drama that exceeds expectations.
Theater: Cats doesn’t reward close reading: It’s just supposed to be nonsensical, Jellicle fun.
OFFICE OF FUTURE PLANNING
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday for The Cult at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Dec. 8. 8 p.m. at 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Ticket prices to be announced at time of sale.
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday for Mount Eerie at the Miracle Theatre on Dec. 16. 8 p.m. at 535 8th St. SE. $25.
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday for Tim and Eric at the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 8. 6 p.m. at 1215 U St. NW. $47.50–$97.50.
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday for Fitz and the Tantrums at The Anthem on Feb. 14. 8 p.m. at 901 Wharf St. SW. $45–$75.