Pop music isn’t that far removed from the world of punk. On its legs, punk is musical catharsis—raw emotion and energy channeled through power chords and a raucous scream. Pop music is basically that, but presented in a more refined style. No one understands that better than Allison Crutchfield, who cut her teeth on the DIY punk circuit touring with her bands P.S. Eliot and Swearin’. But on her solo debut, Tourist in This Town, Crutchfield emerges as a bonafide pop artist—and a sensational one at that. Read more >>> Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz perform with Radiator Hospital and Pinkwash at 7:30 p.m. at The Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $12–$15. (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com. (Matt Cohen)

EAT THIS

A visit to Union Market has the potential to be especially festive this month as Chef David Guas has put together a pop-up Mardi Gras shop open through Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28. He’s serving Bayou Bakery King Cake whole ($39.95) and by-the-slice ($3.25), a take on praline called Gras-Leens ($8), and, for something slightly healthier, a granola called GrasNola ($8). Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE. (877) 775-3462. unionmarketdc.com. (Laura Hayes)

OH AND ALSO

MetroStage begins performances of The Gin Game, Donald L. Coburn‘s play that uses card games as a metaphor for life starring Roz White and Doug Brown. 8 p.m. at 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. $55.

Hardcore punk act The Mostly Dead takes the stage at DC9 with opening acts Free Children of Earth and Full Monty. 8:30 p.m. at 1940 9th St. NW. $8.

Check out a preview of I Dream, a new R&B opera about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. 6 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. Free.

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