Few birthdays can rattle us like our 30th, the official death knell of youth. But the long-standing indie-rock stalwarts of Yo La Tengo began their third decade on the heels of releasing their best album in years, 2013’s Fade. Over the course of its existence, the band has enjoyed a regularity that’s rare among music acts, with a stable line-up, consistently great records, and a sense of creativity and adventure that helped it survive the indie-rock booms and busts that sideswiped many of its contemporaries. Tonight’s anniversary performance will likely focus on crowd-pleasers and more than a few obscurities to satiate the diehards who’ve been with the band since its birth. Read more >>> Yo La Tengo performs with Lambchop at 8 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $30. (202) 265-0930. 930.com. (Matt Siblo)
EAT THIS
The DC Craft Bartenders Guild holds its annual Repeal Day Ball tomorrow at the Carnegie Library. The black-tie affair, one of the biggest cocktail gatherings of the year, celebrates the passage of the 21st amendment ending Prohibition in 1933. Nearly 30 local and visiting mixologists will make drinks. The event will also include catering by Occasions, a live brass jazz band, and a black and white photo booth with décor and props from the 1930s. Tickets, available here, are $80 for regular admission or $120 for VIPs, who gain entry an hour early at 8 p.m. Repeal Day Ball at the Carnegie Library, 801 K St. NW.dccraftbartendersguild.org/repeal-day. (Jessica Sidman)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: Roots reggae act Christos DC celebrates the release of his new album, The Long Road, with a performance at Tropicalia featuring Mateo Monk and live dub mixing by Deb Architect. 8 p.m. at 2001 14th St. NW. $10.
Friday: Bad Brains’ HR takes the stage at Comet Ping Pong with rocksteady act the Scotch Bonnets and old-school ska band the Captivators. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. $12.
Friday: Authors Edward P. Jones, Lorrie Moore, and Tobias Wolff, all winners of the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bernard Malamud with a reading of his work. 7:30 p.m. at 201 East Capitol St. SE. $25.
Saturday: The famous teakettle Mrs. Potts once called it a “tale as old as time,” but don’t expect a Disney-fied version of Beauty and the Beast from Synetic Theater. In fact, don’t go looking for Mrs. Potts at all, because the experimental, movement-based company is advertising its take on the famous fairy tale as “a gothic quest for love, without the singing teapot.” When you cut away the jovial anthropomorphic decorations, what’s left of Beauty and the Beast is a sinister love story with overtones of Stockholm Syndrome. Read more >>> The play runs Dec. 3 to Jan. 11 at Synetic Theater, 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. $15–$90. (866) 811-4111. synetictheater.org.
Saturday: R&B vocalists Elle Varner and Adrian Marcel entertain the masses at the Howard Theatre. 8 p.m. at 620 T St. NW. $35–$40.
Saturday: Cross Mackenzie Gallery presents a new show of abstract landscape paintings by Cuban-born painter Rafael Torres Correa entitled “A Dialogue with Landscape.” 11 a.m. at 1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Free.
Sunday: Some nights of storytelling are awkward. For its year-end show, SpeakeasyDC has eliminated this guesswork and invited two experienced performers to share longer stories. The most compelling story will come from Keith Mellnick. In “I’m Not Crazy,” the freelance photographer will explain why, after graduating from college, he chose to move to Kazakhstan for two years, discussing life in the former Soviet Republic and recounting months spent eating cabbage in frank detail. Read more >>> The performances begin at 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. $20. (202) 630-9828. speakeasydc.org.
Sunday: Looking to play old-school arcade games? Head to the American Art Museum’s Luce Center to visit a pop-up arcade featuring games like Asteroids and Tron presented by the museum and Washington City Paper. 2 p.m. at 8th and F streets NW. Free.
Sunday: Folk-country singer and guitarist Emmylou Harris performs an intimate show at the Hamilton with special guest Mary Chapin Carpenter. 7:30 p.m. at 600 14th St. NW. $90–$100.
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