We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
Good morning, D.C. If you’re a local politician wishing to give your girlfriend $5,000 in contracts, rest assured that your actions now have a legal precedent. That’s none other than Marion Barry, of course, who’s been cleared for last year’s dirty deeds. With local politics like this, who needs rehearsed drama?
I kid, I kid. For, if that were the case, what would we do with Arena Stage? Staff moved into the Southwest glass behemoth yesterday, and it blew up Twitter. Though Arena productions are typically noted as provocative, the company is breaking in their new digs with Oklahoma. No comment.
Maybe, like the winds sweeping gently down the plain, those ubiquitous “I <3 DC” shirts are just not for you. If so, like head over to ReadySetDC and vote on a new tourist t-shirt design. One straight-up calls out those pesky escalefters—-finally!
In other new, shiny openings, the new Watha T. Daniel Shaw library got its ribbon cut. Apparently they have all sorts of fun gadgets, like iMacs or whatever, but the wireless wasn’t turned on.
Wale let loose a performance of “Black and Gold,” off of his Seinfeld-themed More About Nothing mixtape, which drops today. Additionally, he very politely asked Bill Cosby to post it. I would like to very politely ask Wale to move his performances of brand-new singles from New York to DC.
Last night’s Fort Reno saw Cephalopods, who sounded like the slow part of every Fugazi song, and The Evens, who can boast a former member of Fugazi. Coincidence? Doesn’t matter. The weather was beautiful, and Henry Rollins made an appearance. The Fort Reno schedule is into its last two weeks, and certain outdoor movie screenings have already ceased.
Here on Arts Desk, we say goodbye to Ted’s Red Shed, the bygone home of a thousand nonjudgmental shows, and review 71: Into the Fire. Did you read last week’s Arts Desk feature? For those OCD-prone individuals, it has a little something to do with lists.