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Hushed but hardly timid, local band Cigarette put out one of the area’s best indie-rock records last year: Gush, a seven-song exercise in sneaky tension and patient rhythms. It’s music for a sublimely empty bedroom, but it’s worth talking about, too. Cigarette will be the first guests of District Sounds, a new monthly discussion and concert series hosted by Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards at the Hill Center in the Old Naval Hospital. Read more >>> Cigarette performs at 7 p.m. at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. $10–$15. (202) 549-4172. hillcenterdc.org. (Joe Warminsky)
EAT THIS
Sunday will be the last night to eat the full menu at Dino in Cleveland Park before owner Dean Gold shuts down and prepares to open Dino’s Grotto in Shaw. But there will still be food on hand after Sunday’s service, so the actual very last opportunity to eat at Dino will be Monday evening, when the restaurant plans to cook until the kitchen is empty. The farewell party will include buffet-style food plus a cash bar for beer, wine, and booze. Tickets to the party are $30; purchase them here. Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 686-2966. dino-dc.com. (Jessica Sidman)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: New York’s Heaven joins D.C. bands No Evils and Wanted Man for a triple bill at Comet Ping Pong. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. $10.
Friday: WSC Avant Bard debuts its production of Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando, an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, at Theater on the Run. Read more in our Spring Arts Guide. 7:30 p.m. at 3700 South Four Mile Run, Arlington. Pay what you can.
Friday: Pleasant Plains Workshop resident artists display their works at a new group show, “General Assembly,” opening tonight. 6 p.m. at 2608 Georgia Ave. NW. Free.
Saturday: Did young Charlie Parker, hustling gigs on his alto sax and washing dishes at a Manhattan chicken shack just to be close to the music, ever imagine he’d be honored by the Smithsonian Institution? Perhaps—-he knew he was onto something big with the bebop he pioneered in his off-hours. But that doesn’t dilute how high his legacy has risen. Saturday, “The Genius of Charlie Parker” is performed by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the institution’s resident big band. Also on hand is a string section, one of Parker’s many innovations; it’s a gala exploration of a man who helped extend jazz into the realm of art music, while at the same time turning up the swing to unimagined levels. Not bad for a dishwasher from Kansas City. 7:30 p.m. at the National Museum of Natural History’s Laird Auditorium, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. $26. (Michael J. West)
Saturday: According to legendary percussionist Tito Puente, New York City’s Palladium Ballroom played host to one of America’s first sites of voluntary desegregation. In the new musical Remembering the Palladium, Latin big band Orquesta Son de Ayer and the Eileen Torres Dancers bring the 1950s mambo palace to life. Read more >>> The show takes place at 4 p.m. at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. $16.50–$22. (202) 399-7993. intersectionsdc.org. (Steve Kiviat)
Saturday: Washington National Opera begins performances of Moby-Dick. Read more in our Spring Arts Guide. 7 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $25–$305.
Saturday: The D.C. Square Dance Collective touches down yet again at St. Stephen’s church for “The Great American Square Dance Revival.” Live music comes courtesy of Boston’s Put Your Hoe Down—-and this time it’s a real party, as the collective celebrates its third birthday. 8:30 p.m. at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church. $5.
Sunday: The haunting string theme to Mad Men may be his most widely known composition, but Ramble John Krohn, the hip-hop and electronic producer better known as RJD2, creates more than just trancy TV music. The Ohio native began his career DJing with rap group MHz and now is an in-demand producer for Massive Attack, Mos Def, and many others. Read more >>> RJD2 performs with Christine Moritz at 7 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $20. (202) 265-0930. 930.com. (Quinn Kelley)
Sunday: Hip-hop artists including DJ Roddyrod, DJ 2Tone Jones, and Jahsonic pay tribute to late producer J. Dilla at the 9th annual D.C. Loves Dilla benefit at U Street Music Hall. 9 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $10.
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