EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman

JANUARY 14, 2016

Volume 22 / Issue 36

ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
MANAGING EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
SENIOR EDITOR
John Riley
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim

NEWS

Blood Work

10

Holding Pattern

by John Riley

by Rhuaridh Marr

12

Community Calendar

Puppy Love

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
Scott G. Brooks, Christopher Cunetto
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Gordon Ashenhurst, Sean Bugg, Connor J. Hogan,
Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield
WEBMASTER
David Uy
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Julian Vankim

SALES & MARKETING

PUBLISHER
Randy Shulman

FEATURES

16

From the pups to their handlers

and the bonds they share,

an inside look at the increasingly popular

leather subset. Just call them

MALs best friends.
by John Riley

Photography by Todd Franson
22
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend
Events Calendar

by Doug Rule

OUT ON THE TOWN

24

Center Stages As You Like It

TECH

31

Tech Appeal

NIGHTLIFE

35

Otter Crossing at Green Lantern

46

Last Word

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Rivendell Media Co.
212-242-6863
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Dennis Havrilla

by Doug Rule

by Rhuaridh Marr

PATRON SAINT
Lassie

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY
Pup Indigo and Pup Gryphn by Todd Franson

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JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

photography by Ward Morrison

Linda Harvey backs Cruz for president.

Qatar banishes Danish Girl for moral depravity.

MATEJ KASTELIC

LGBT

News

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

Blood Work

Medical experts react to the FDAs new policy guidance on allowing

gay and bisexual men to donate blood
by John Riley

ORTER BROCKWAY AND AL DERUS HAVE BEEN

married for two years. The couple, who live in Silver
Spring, share everything even the same blood type.
And yet, current FDA guidance would prevent either
from donating blood or tissue to save the others life.
The prohibition affecting Brockway and Derus previously
existed as a lifetime deferral for any men who had sex with men
(MSM), regardless of whether or not they were monogamous.
Enacted at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the indefinite
deferral was enforced as a way of keeping the nations blood
supply as free of HIV antibodies as possible. Even as advances
in HIV testing technology advanced, the deferral stayed in place
until last month, when the FDA changed the period to one year
from the time of last sexual contact.
Initially, when the first news reports came out, Brockway
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JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

was pleased to see headlines stating that what essentially constituted a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men had been lifted.
The first time I read about it, it seemed like, Oh, cool, we
can just donate blood, and then reading into it, I saw about
the one-year waiting period, says Brockway. I thought it was
progress, but its not enough.
Derus understands that the special deferrals for MSM come
from good intentions, as blood collectors want to limit the possibility that blood donation could become a vector for HIV,
but believes the concept of different guidelines based solely on
sexual orientation is outdated.
All of the same risky behaviors can be happening with partners of different sexes, says Derus.
Dan Bruner, senior director of policy at Whitman-Walker
Health, says that the change to the new policy guidance was

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

LGBTNews
long overdue, as the FDA was under pressure to do something.
But the new one-year deferral period is viewed as insufficient
and discriminatory by many in the medical profession including Whitman-Walker Health.
The reason the FDA gives for one year, rather than some
other time period, from what we can tell [is] based on one argument, he says. About five or six years ago, Australia went to
a one-year ban for gay and bisexual men, and there had been
studies of the safety of the blood supply in Australia that say
the move from essentially a lifetime ban to one-year ban has not
resulted in the blood supply being any less safe.
Bruner adds that blood is routinely tested for HIV after it is
collected anyway. As a result, the only risk posed to the blood
supply is if someone has contracted the virus during the window period, the time when somebody becomes infected and
the virus can be detected through blood tests. According to the
FDA, that window period is only nine days.
Our argument was that the ban should be no longer than 30
days, Bruner says of the suggestions Whitman-Walker made
during the FDAs public comment period. Some groups, just
to try to be even more conservative, were suggesting a ban of
several months. But certainly not a year.
The fairest solution, says Bruner, would be a deferral period
of anywhere from 14 days to a month from the last sexual
contact, applied equally to all donors, regardless of sexual orientation or risk behavior. Logistically, however, that solution
would likely be unworkable, as blood collection agencies would
be worried that most people wouldnt donate under the more
stringent restrictions.
Moreover, blood collection agencies, such as the American
Red Cross, AABB and Americas Blood Centers, would have to
revise their risk questionnaire to reflect the new policy which
could take months to carry out.
Kara Lusk Dudley, a spokeswoman for the American Red
Cross, says her organization will follow the FDA guidance for a
one-year deferral, and will also follow FDA guidelines allowing
transgender donors to be assessed based on their self-reported
gender identity.
The Red Cross is working diligently to determine a process
for the reinstatement of eligible donors, and we are working on
a detailed plan that will outline all the steps needed to implement this change, Dudley said in a prepared statement. But she
also noted that the change will take several months to update
our computer systems, modify processes and procedures, train
staff, and implement these changes.
The most significant change to the policy will be the revi-

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

sion of the donor health history questionnaire, which will be

amended to reflect the updated guidelines while also reducing
the risk of transmission of HIV and other bloodborne diseases.
Dr. Oladipo Alao, medical director of Amida Care, a special
needs health insurer that deals with people with chronic health
conditions such as HIV, acknowledges the criticisms that have
been lodged against the FDAs new guidance, but also notes that
blood banks practice pooled testing, where they collect blood
from six to 16 individuals and test the pooled sample of blood for
HIV. Alao says this approach is more practical than testing each
individually-collected sample.
The alternative would be to test someone, and then retest
them in nine days, asking them to abstain from risky activities between the two testing points, Alao says. If you look at
what the science is, that would probably be the optimal way of
eliminating the risk of HIV from blood transfusions as a whole.
But I think what has been said is that, from a viewpoint of being
cost-effective, that is not feasible, because the costs associated
with it might be too high, and, again, you cant be sure, during
that within that nine-day period, theyve abstained from risky
activities.
But Doug Wirth, the CEO of Amida Care, still hopes to eventually move to a behavior-based risk assessment. Wirth says the
current policy is an improvement, but doesnt go far enough.
I think the fact that it promotes a certain kind of stereotype
that all gay and bisexual men are inherently dangerous is not
okay, says Wirth, who worked as a health advisor to former
New York City Mayors David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani. Its
unacceptable, its stigmatizing, its stereotyping. It is, in fact, a
remnant of the past. I think the LGBT community, and the HIV/
AIDS community must speak out and drive health agencies and
organizations at the state and federal level to embrace zero tolerance for stigmatizing policy.
Wirth says the approach to blood donation deferrals should
be based on science, taking into account important safeguards,
improvements in testing, and the reduced risk of HIV transmission due to improvements in HIV treatment and prevention. He
urges the United States adopt a forward-looking policy rather
than rely on other nations to set the standard for medical providers around the world.
We believe that the United States, if it wants to assume
its rightful position as a world leader, should get out in front
of these other countries and demonstrate true leadership, as
opposed to getting to as good a place as the United Kingdom,
New Zealand and Australia, he says. We can do better than
that. l

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

Holding Pattern
Republicans have forced openly gay Army Secretary nominee to
step aside until they confirm him
by Rhuaridh Marr

HE FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON TO BE NOMInated to lead a branch of the military has been forced
to temporarily step down from his position amid
pressure from Congress.
Eric Fannings nomination as Army Secretary has been in
limbo since it was announced in September that he would
replace Secretary John McHugh. Fanning took over as Acting
Secretary in November, but his nomination has languished since,
thanks to Republican members of the Senate.
Members of the Armed Services Committee expressed some
concerns about Fanning being slotted into the acting position,
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement, Defense
News reports. The committee is responsible for holding a confirmation hearing prior to Fannings nomination being voted on by
the Senate, but that hearing has thus far failed to take place.
While the Administration believes the designation of Fanning
as Acting Secretary of the Army is consistent with the Vacancies
Act, as a show of comity to address these concerns, Fanning has
agreed to step out of his acting role to focus on achieving confirmation in the near future, Cook continued. He remains one
of the most qualified nominees to be a Service Secretary, having
served in many senior executive positions in each of the three
military departments and as Chief of Staff of the Department.
Chief culprit in forcing Fanning to step down is Sen. Pat
Roberts (R-Kan.), who placed a hold on his nomination shortly
after Fanning assumed the role of Acting Secretary. Roberts
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JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

objected to President Obamas plans to shut down Guantanamo

Bay and transfer any persons detained there to the United
States, his office told Stars and Stripes. At the time, military officials were considering locations to transfer any detainees to
one of which included the United States Disciplinary Barracks
in Leavenworth, Kansas, according to CNN, something Roberts
wasnt happy with. Roberts will apparently leave his hold in
place until President Obama guarantees that Kansas wont
accommodate Guantanamo detainees.
While Fannings hold is due to politicking, Roberts certainly
wont be eager to see an openly gay man in charge of the Army.
He has a perfect zero rating from Human Rights Campaign due
to his continued opposition to LGBT equality. He voted against
expanding hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation,
wants to amend the Constitution to define traditional marriage,
and believes that a states definition of marriage supersedes the
federal definition.
Another roadblock to Fannings nomination has been Senate
Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.).
McCains spokesperson attests that he is looking to hold
a hearing to consider Mr. Fannings nomination as soon as
possible. However, McCain has been delaying confirmation
hearings for a number of Democrat appointees in 2015. I told
em: You jam them through, its going to be a long time before
I approve of them, McCain said, according to Politico, after
Democrats changed confirmation rules in 2013 and approved

DOD PHOTO BY ERIN A. KIRK-CUOMO

Fanning, left, the acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force, briefs reporters on the state of the Air Force as Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III looks on at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Dec. 13, 2013

several appointees without allowing Republican lawmakers

to block them. Its affected me as chairman of the Armed
Services, he added.
The committee has approved several positions, including a
new Army chief of staff, Marine Corps commandant, and defense
secretary Ash Carter, but Fannings nomination remains stuck.
President Obamas nomination for Under Secretary, Patrick
Murphy, was confirmed without any impediments and he will
assume Fannings role as Acting Secretary until Fannings nomination is approved.
Carter took the committee to task during his confirmation
hearing in December, telling them their repeated blocking of
nominees was making it harder for the military to do its job.
DoD currently has 16 nominees awaiting [confirmation,
and] 12 of the 16 are still awaiting even a hearing, including our
nominees to be secretary of the Army, the undersecretaries of
each of our three military departments, Army, Navy and Air
Force, and the undersecretaries of both intelligence and personnel and readiness, Carter said. These positions should be filled
by confirmed nominees, especially in a time of conflict.
Should the committee ever decide to hold Fannings
confirmation hearing, he would make history as the first
openly gay civilian Secretary of the Army. With 25 years of
experience, including roles on the House Armed Services
Committee, Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Chief
Management Officer for the Department of the Navy, and
Under Secretary of the Air Force, Fanning is more than
qualified for the role. He served as Under Secretary of the
Army prior to being nominated.
Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role, Obama said in a statement
at the time of Fannings nomination. I look forward to working
with Eric to keep our Army the very best in the world.
History continues to be written and equality marches forward with the nomination of an openly gay man to serve in this
significantly important role, Ashley Broadway-Mack, president
of AMPA, a support organization for LGBT military families,
said when Fanning was nominated. Fannings expertise and
knowledge within the defense community together with his
sensitivity to issues faced by LGBT service members and their
families is why we urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm
his appointment.
If Fanning is ever allowed to carry out his duties with the
approval of the Senate, it will mark a major step for LGBT inclusion in the military, a process that started in September 2011
when Dont Ask, Dont Tell finally came to an end. l

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

11

LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in the D.C.-area
LGBT community, from alternative social events to volunteer opportunities.
Event information should be sent by email to calendar@MetroWeekly.com.
Deadline for inclusion is noon of the Friday before Thursdays publication.
Questions about the calendar may be directed to the
Metro Weekly office at 202-638-6830 or
the calendar email address.

DC SENTINELS basketball team meets

at Turkey Thicket Recreation Center,
1100 Michigan Ave. NE, 2-4 p.m. For
players of all levels, gay or straight.
teamdcbasketball.org.

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for LGBT

community, family and friends. 6:30
p.m., Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill,
3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria. All
welcome. For more info, visit dignitynova.org.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses critical languages and foreign languages. 7
p.m. Nellies, 900 U St. NW. RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, JAN. 14

FRIDAY, JAN. 15

SATURDAY, JAN. 16

The REEL AFFIRMATIONS FILM

GAY DISTRICT, a group for GBTQQI

CENTER GLOBAL, a group focusing

on various issues and anti-gay laws
affecting the LGBT community across
the globe, holds its monthly meeting at
The DC Center. 12-2 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit thedccenter.org.

FESTIVAL COORDINATING
COMMITTEE holds a planning meet-

ing at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000

14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit reelaffirmations.org.

men between the ages of 18-35, meets

on the first and third Fridays of each
month. 8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit gaydistrict.org.

LGB PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP for

WEEKLY EVENTS
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at Takoma Aquatic Center,
300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9 p.m.
swimdcac.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and
lesbian square-dancing group features
mainstream through advanced square
dancing at the National City Christian
Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30
p.m. Casual dress. 301-257-0517,
dclambdasquares.org.
The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern
Virginia social group meets for happy
hour at Sheraton in Reston, 11810 Sunrise
Valley Drive, second-floor bar, 7-9 p.m.
All welcome. dullestriangles.com.

IDENTITY offers free and confidential

HIV testing in Gaithersburg, 414 East

Diamond Ave., and in Takoma Park,
7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411.
Walk-ins 2-6 p.m. For appointments
other hours, call Gaithersburg, 301-3009978, or Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5

p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for

youth 21 and younger. 202-567-3155 or
testing@smyal.org.

adults in Montgomery County offers a

safe space to explore coming out and
issues of identity. 10-11:30 a.m. 16220 S.
Frederick Rd., Suite 512, Gaithersburg,
Md. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr.
SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. At the Elizabeth Taylor
Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
METROHEALTH CENTER offers

free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.
202-638-0750.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics

Anonymous Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,
3636 Georgia Ave. NW. The group is
independent of UHU. 202-446-1100.

affirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6

p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact
Tamara, 202-319-0422, layc-dc.org.

WOMENS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

social atmosphere for GLBT and questioning youth, featuring dance parties,
vogue nights, movies and games. More
info, catherine.chu@smyal.org.

for young LBTQ women, 13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30

p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th
St. SE. 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@
smyal.org.

12

JANUARY 14, 2016

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-6

p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for
youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,
410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@
smyal.org.

METROWEEKLY.COM

HIV testing in Takoma Park, 7676 New

Hampshire Ave., Suite 411. Walk-ins
12-3 p.m. For appointments other hours,
call 301-422-2398.

SUNDAY, JAN. 17
ADVENTURING outdoors group hikes

CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

several easy miles at Second Manassas

Battlefield, near Gainesville, Va. Bring
beverages, lunch, mud-worthy boots
and a few dollars for fees. Carpool at
10 a.m. from the Kiss & Ride lot at East
Falls Church Metro station, return
well before dark. Craig, 202-462-0535.
adventuring.org.

The DC Center holds a monthly

support meeting and dinner for its

WEEKLY EVENTS

CENTER ASLYUM SEEKERS/

ASYLEES GROUP. 5-7 p.m. 2000 14th

LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS

holds bi-monthly dinner at a Metroaccessible restaurant in Northern

Virginia. 7 p.m. All welcome. Plans for
late winter museum visits and outof-town excursions will be discussed.
Contact Kevin, 571-338-1433. kgiles27@
gmail.com.

St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707 or andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

BET MISHPACHAH, founded by members of the LGBT community, holds

Saturday morning Shabbat services, 10
a.m., followed by Kiddush luncheon.
Services in DCJCC Community Room,
1529 16th St. NW. betmish.org.

BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, including

others interested in Brazilian culture,
meets. For location/time, email braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

SMYALS REC NIGHT provides a

IDENTITY offers free and confidential

MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m., High

Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave.
NW. 202-232-4244, allsoulsdc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

session at Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr.,
SW. 9:30-11 a.m. Visit swimdcac.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED
CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes all

to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW.

firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

welcomes GLBT community for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130 Old Telegraph
Road, Alexandria. hopeucc.org.

HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT

GROUP for gay men living in the DC

metro area. This group will be meeting

once a month. For information on location and time, email to not.the.only.one.
dc@gmail.com.

session at Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr.,

SW. 8:30-10 a.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

Join LINCOLN CONGREGATIONAL

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walk-

TEMPLE UNITED CHURCH OF

CHRIST for an inclusive, loving and

ing/social club welcomes all levels for

exercise in a fun and supportive environment, socializing afterward. Meet
9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for a
walk; or 10 a.m. for fun run. dcfrontrunners.org.

progressive faith community every

Sunday. 11 a.m. 1701 11th Street NW,
near R in Shaw/Logan neighborhood.
lincolntemple.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA

services at 11 a.m., led by Rev. Onetta

Brooks. Childrens Sunday School, 11
a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax.
703-691-0930, mccnova.com.

NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN

CHURCH, inclusive church with GLBT
fellowship, offers gospel worship, 8:30
a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m.
5 Thomas Circle NW. 202-232-0323,
nationalcitycc.org.

ST. STEPHEN AND THE

INCARNATION, an interracial, multi-

ethnic Christian Community offers

services in English, 8 a.m. and 10:30
a.m., and in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525
Newton St. NW. 202-232-0900, saintstephensdc.org.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING invites
LGBTQ families and individuals of all
creeds and cultures to join the church.
Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 10309 New
Hampshire Ave. uucss.org.

MONDAY, JAN. 18
CENTER FAITH, a group of LGBT people and their allies from various faith
traditions, holds a monthly meeting at
The DC Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
The DC Center joins other local organizations in sending a contingent to
march in the 10TH ANNUAL MARTIN

LUTHER KING, JR. HOLIDAY

PARADE. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. St. Elizabeths

East, 2700 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.

SE. Near Congress Heights Station on
the Green Line. For more information,
visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS

METROHEALTH CENTER offers free,

rapid HIV testing. No appointment
needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th St. NW,
Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing.
5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200,
Arlington. Appointments: 703-789-4467.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5

p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for

youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,
410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or testing@
smyal.org.

THE DC CENTER hosts Coffee Drop-In

for the Senior LGBT Community. 10
a.m.-noon. 2000 14th St. NW. 202-6822245, thedccenter.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
mens evening affinity group. 3636
Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER
POLO TEAM practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma

Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW.

Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Tom,
703-299-0504, secretary@wetskins.org,
wetskins.org.

WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH

HIV/AIDS Support Group for newly

diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m.
Registration required. 202-939-7671,
hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.

TUESDAY, JAN. 19
CENTER BI, a group of The DC Center,
hosts a monthly roundtable discussion
around issues of bisexuality. 7-8 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio

Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison
Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.
wordpress.com.

ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly dinner

GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at

Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave. NW.

getequal.wdc@gmail.com.

HIV Testing at WHITMAN-WALKER

HEALTH. At the Elizabeth Taylor

Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,

9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.)

SERVICES, 3333 Duke St., Alexandria,

offers free rapid HIV testing and

counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 703-823-4401.

in Dupont/Logan Circle area, 6:30 p.m.

afwash@aol.com, afwashington.net.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

session at Takoma Aquatic Center, 300
Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9 p.m. swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social club serving greater D.C.s
LGBT community and allies hosts an
evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.
THE GAY MENS HEALTH
COLLABORATIVE offers free HIV testing and STI screening and treatment
every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow
Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria
Health Department, 4480 King St. 703746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. james.
leslie@inova.org.

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

13

THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THE

DC CENTER hosts Packing Party,

where volunteers assemble safe-sex

kits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m., Green
Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. thedccenter.org.

IDENTITY offers free and confidential

HIV testing in Gaithersburg, 414 East
Diamond Ave., and in Takoma Park,
7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411.
Walk-ins 2-6 p.m. For appointments
other hours, call Gaithersburg at
301-300-9978 or Takoma Park at 301422-2398.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers

free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.
202-638-0750.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUSLGBT
focused meeting every Tuesday, 7
p.m. St. Georges Episcopal Church,
915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just
steps from Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-1999.
Handicapped accessible. Newcomers
welcome. liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5
p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for
youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,
410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@
smyal.org.

THE TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL

BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social Bridge.
7:30 p.m. Dignity Center, 721 8th St SE
(across from Marine Barracks). No
reservations and partner needed. All
welcome. 301-345-1571 for more information.

WOMAN TO WOMAN: A SUPPORT

GROUP FOR HIV-POSITIVE WOMEN
WHO LOVE WOMEN, meets on the

third Wednesday of each month at The

Womens Collective. Light refreshments
served. 5:30-7 p.m. 1331 Rhode Island
Ave. NE. For more information, 202483-7003.

WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets about 6:30-6 p.m., Steam,
17th and R NW. All welcome. For more
information, call Fausto Fernandez,
703-732-5174.
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW.
7-8:30 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ

YOUTH ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL, 410

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice,

6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison Elementary,
1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.
com.

US HELPING US hosts a support

group for black gay men 40 and older.
7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202446-1100.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers

Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05
p.m. All welcome. 118 N. Washington
St., Alexandria. 703-549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.

7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy Chu, 202567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.

Whitman-Walker Healths GAY

MENS HEALTH AND WELLNESS/

STD CLINIC opens at 6 p.m., 1701 14th
St. NW. Patients are seen on walk-in
basis. No-cost screening for HIV,
syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Hepatitis and herpes testing available
for fee. whitman-walker.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. At the Elizabeth Taylor Medical
Center, 1701 14th St. NW, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
At the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK
Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000. Visit
whitman-walker.org.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support program

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20
BOOKMEN DC, an informal mens

gay-literature group, discusses Gay

American Autobiography: Writings
from Whitman to Sedaris (David
Bergman, editor). 7:30 p.m. DC Center,
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. All welcome. bookmendc.blogspot.com.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers free,

rapid HIV testing. No appointment
needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th St. NW,
Suite 700. 202-638-0750.

GAY MARRIED MENS

ASSOCIATION (GAMMA) VA is a

a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200,

Arlington. Appointments: 703-789-4467.

confidential support group for men

who are gay, bisexual, questioning and
who are married or involved with a
woman. The Virginia chapter meets on
the third Wednesday of each month.
6:30-8:30 p.m. at a private residence
in Sterling, Va. For more information,
visit GAMMAinDC.org.

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JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

for job entrants and seekers, meets at

The DC Center. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. 6-7:30 p.m. For more info, www.
centercareers.org.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11

PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social club for

mature gay men, hosts weekly happy

hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m., Windows Bar
above Dupont Italian Kitchen, 1637 17th
St. NW. Carl, 703-573-8316. l

FEATURED PARTNER

Fetish Sizing
Bite The Fruit aims to help customers get
that perfect fetish fit

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASTY PIG

HERE ARE DOWNSIDES TO BUYING FETISH GEAR AND

sex toys online. You often cant even see pictures of the
products in use on Amazon.
In our store, theres no censorship, says Bite The Fruits
Russwin Francisco. As long as youre 18 or older, you can come
in and we can talk sex. And we can show you pictures.
A former business instructor, Francisco spent a decade working at The Leather Rack before taking over the Connecticut Avenue
store in 2012. He eventually rechristened the venue Bite The Fruit
in reference to Adam and Eve, and as a kind of tribute to Eves
action in expanding carnal knowledge and experience. The name
change has helped Francisco expand the stores customer base
from almost exclusively gay leathermen to a 70/30 mix, that also
included straight women and straight couples.
Bite The Fruit caters to everyone, he says. The idea is that,
if you are just curious, or shy, or maybe even conservative, youll
feel comfortable enough here, because there is absolutely no judgment about who you are and where you are, where youre from
and what youre looking for.
Bite The Fruit carries a wide variety of sex toys for both
men and women. And said toys have come a long way from
their clunky, cumbersome, battery-powered, hard rubber days.
We have a new wave of high-end, modern-looking vibrators,
Francisco says. Theyre made with fantastic silicone-type materials that are USB-chargeable and waterproof. Theyre very powerful
and very discreet, more durable and not that expensive.

Even with the changes in customer makeup and advances in

toy technology, the gay male staples of lubes, condoms and video
head cleaners are still very much the heart of the business and
thats true of leather and the leather community, too. We still
participate in silent auctions and fundraisers, Francisco says, and
are still doing the same exact things in terms of what we used to
do as The Leather Rack in the leather community.
And Bite The Fruit will soon revive another Leather Rack
tradition: producing original leather goods, from armbands to
harnesses. Theyre also bringing back the ability to make simple
alterations to leather gear just another way Bite The Fruit is
working to get that right fetish fit for its customers. l
Bite The Fruit is at 1723 Connecticut Ave. NW. Hours are 11 a.m.
to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to midnight,
Fridays and Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Call
202-299-0440 or visit bitethefruit.com.

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

15

puppy

ove
L

From the pups to their handlers

and the bonds they share,
an inside look at the increasingly popular leather
subset. Just call them MALs best friends.
by John Riley
Photographed by Todd Franson at the DC Eagle,
Thursday, January 7

TS THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE DC EAGLE, AND

Pup Gryphn is in his element. He bats a neon green
football with his red paws, the glow of the ball in the
darkness complementing his lime green and black
armbands and harness. He barks, sits, kneels and plays
fetch on command, attentive to the directions shouted
at him. Playful, affectionate, even a bit rambunctious, Gryphn
is fully immersed in what is known as pup headspace, a level
of consciousness where his actions and behaviors mimic those
of a biological dog, whether hes crawling on the floor, wagging
the 13-inch-long silicone tail attached to his belt, or playing an
impromptu game of tug of war with his favorite stuffed toy,
Moose on a Noose.
For me, headspace is letting go of the human condition,
everything thats going on, he says. You know, Did I leave the
stove on? Letting go of all that and adopting this other mindset.
For me, its a puppy. I get down on all fours, I bark, I act like
a dog. You adopt that mindset. Ooh, squirrel! And suddenly
youre chasing a squirrel for no reason at all. Its a lot of fun. Its
good stress relief.
Gryphn, 28, the current Mid-Atlantic Puppy 2016 titleholder
and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Kennel Korps, is one of a
growing number of people taking part in puppy play. Its a scene
that, while not leather-centric, grew out of the leather and
BDSM communities and is often lumped in with other fetishes
that may be unfamiliar to the casual observer. Its a world that,
although slowly gaining acceptance, is still misunderstood.
Gryphns roots in puppy play began slightly over a year ago,
but his interest in headspace dates back to the early 2000s, when
he was first introduced to the furry community, a subset of
the fetish and kink community where people dress in costumes
that have the anthropomorphic characteristics of an animal.
He began chatting with people in online forums, including the
virtual roleplay game, Second Life. In 2010, he finally attended
his first convention for furries Midwest FurFest in Chicago.
Someone gave me the unique opportunity to wear the fur
suit of a blue fox, he says. Thats when I learned what headspace is, adapting that character and moving forward with it.
16

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

Pup Gryphn

He would later apply the same concept to his involvement in

puppy play.
Reaching the proper headspace needed to participate in
puppy play depends on each individuals ability to achieve mental focus.
Sometimes its a process, he says. Sometimes its just sitting down, and, boom, youre in headspace. Sometimes it has
to be sit down and just meditate and slowly drop everything off
until youre into that space. For me, I have a very weird trigger.
Lets say Im in a space with mirrors. If Im in pup headspace and
I see myself in a mirror without pup headgear on, I snap right
back. Because what I see in the mirror isnt a puppy, its someone
on all fours pretending to be a puppy.
While gear, such as a harness, collar and tail enhance the
puppy play experience, Gryphn stresses its not essential to participate, save a pair of mitts and knee pads.
At a minimum, I would recommend you get a set of mitts,
and a pair of knee pads, because your basic position is up on
your knuckles and on your knees, he says. And if youre in that
position for a while, it causes a lot of stress on your joints. The
knee pads and mitts I use MMA gloves prevent the impact
from reaching your bones and joints so you can do it for longer.
For Pup Domino, a 22-year-old unowned boy pup from

Sam and Pup Nubi

Washington, D.C., headspace is easy to achieve, regardless of

whether he is regaled in full gear.
I have an acting background, so that kind of helps me a
little bit, in that I can very easily jump into a role, says Domino.
When Im on my knees and down, Im like, This is great. Lets
go. Were about to have fun. Were about to pup out all the way.
Lets do it!
For others, including Pup Nubi, 24, of Falls Church, Va., the
right gear particularly a puppy mask is the key to helping
achieve the right headspace.
The first time I ever got it was from the gear itself, says
Nubi. The first time I put on my hood, I felt a connection with
it. Just sort of exploring the space I was in, exploring my room.
When you start to get into headspace, any kind of self-conscious
thoughts thoughts about what you have to do the next day
go away. So when youre in headspace, youre very, very focused
on whats in front of you. But its easier to get there with someone else, which is why we have handlers.

ENTER THE HANDLER

IN THE PUP COMMUNITY, handlers function the same way
dog owners do, keeping a watchful eye on their charge and rein-

ing in the pups if needed. Its the handlers who train the pups
and teach them discipline, doling out rewards or punishments
based on good or bad behavior.
Think of any bio-dog, Gryphn says. You can train them.
Its this go do this reward system, just like a bio-dog. So lets
say youre playing fetch, you throw the ball, the pup picks it up,
brings it back, and drops it at your feet. Youre going to reward
him, whether its petting him or anything like that.
Or, lets go to an extreme, he continues. Lets say youre
doing pup play around the house and the pup decides to pee
on the floor. Obviously the pup is going to be punished for that.
Typically, when were being humans, its Why would you correct me in front of so-and-so? Thats wrong, dont do that. Dont
speak for the next five minutes, something like that.
Just like the pups they are tasked with watching over, some
handlers need to enter their own headspace when engaging in
puppy play.
My headspace is equivalent to the mom who sees her kid in
danger, or the dad who wants to teach his son how to play football, says Nubis 27-year-old handler, Sam. Its the concept of
the teacher and nurturer.... My job is to make sure that while hes
in headspace, Im keeping him safe.
Of course, close relationships, particularly those in the kink
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JANUARY 14, 2016

17

Sir Haydn and Pup Stitch

community, take time to build due to the amount of trust needed.

The first time a handler and pup engage in pup play, one or both
of the parties may hold back a little.
The first time I met Sam, it was at The Eagle, at a pup night
just like this, six or seven months ago, recalls Nubi. He was
handling me at that pup night, but I didnt get super deep into
headspace because there wasnt that trust yet. The longer Ive
been his pup, the easier it is for me to get deeper into to that
headspace with him, because theres trust.
A similar foundation was the basis for the mentorship role
assumed by Sir Haydn, of Arlington, and his mentee, Pup Stitch,
who has another owner but sought out Sir Haydn for advice.
Im a fairly new pup, says Stitch. Someone told me that
I should speak with Sir Haydn about his experience, not only
as a pup, but also a handler. We developed a friendship and a
closeness and from there it was really a natural progression of
a relationship, where I was seeking a handler. I felt I needed
someone who could train me and teach me some of the intricacies of being a pup.
Part of a handlers job that ties into that trust is making
sure no harm comes to the pup while in that headspace. In that
case, a handlers best tools are his powers of observation and
five basic senses.
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I tell people that if youre going to be a good handler, you

have to listen well, Sam says. I can hear when Pup needs
something faster, because of the difference in the grunts or the
moans. Sam also says that watching a pups eyes, his interactions with people, and his reaction time to certain commands
can signal whether a pup needs to take a rest or break for water.
A pup should never get so dry that he has to ask for water,
he says. A handler should know that even if hes not whimpering
for water, you know this is the time for something that he needs.
Sir Paris, the handler of a female wolf pup known as Pup Horo,
agrees that certain behaviors can indicate a pup is in distress,
such as a previously playful pup who is becoming more aggressive, sweating profusely, or seems lethargic. He says it is up to
handlers to keep a watchful eye on their charges, who are placing
their trust in the handlers to watch out for their best interests.
For us, its easier maybe than some others, says Horo.
Weve been together for 23 years. If I dont trust him after all
this time, its not going to happen. I do trust him implicitly to be
there and know if Im getting overheated. Im an asthmatic, so if
I need my inhaler, he can tell the signs, he can read me. Hes able
to read my body because of the amount of time weve spent playing in BDSM play, so he knows when to stop. He knows when
Ive reached saturation point.

Eli Onyx and Pup Stryker

PACKMATES
A PUP AND HANDLERS relationship is more than just a glorified pet-sitter. Each pup and handler have to work out the details
of what theyre looking to get out of the experience.
Everyones role is different, everyones dynamic is different, says Gryphn. With my dynamic right now, we decided
very early on in meeting that we were boyfriends first. So before
anything ever happens, were equal. Then when were getting
into roleplay or scenes, he becomes above me. But in every other
aspect, were equal.
Other handlers exert more dominance over their charges, as
in the case of Sir Paris and Horo.
We have a sir/girl dynamic normally, says Horo. For me
to get into the wolf headspace, I usually have to put the gear on.
That sort of helps, especially the wolf collar, which I wear only
when in pup space. But my girl collar stays on all the time.
Other pups dont even have handlers, acting as moreor-less free agents who occasionally submit to a temporary
handler. Such is the case with Domino and his two friends,
Bragi, 23, and Indigo, 25. None of them have official handlers,
though Bragi is in talks with someone about establishing such
a relationship. All three are members of the Mid-Atlantic

Kennel Korps (MAKK), a local organization for people interested in puppy play.
Were all technically packmates, thats what we call ourselves, says Bragi. Its like a brotherhood, in a way.
Eli Onyx, Mr. Maryland Leather 2016 and a sir and handler to
three different puppies, tries to establish a personal, individualized relationship with each of his pups, in order to gauge what
theyre seeking to get out of the pup-handler dynamic.
I need to know the dynamic of the pup, what exactly are they
looking for, he says. One of the things I ask them all the time is:
What are you looking for from a handler? And one of the things
I find, just as with children or a real pup, is that theyre looking
for structure, they want to be obedient, they want discipline.
Being a trainer, I like that aspect of it.
The diversity in the pup community is so varied, some pups
actually collar each other as part of a pack, rather than having an
individualized handler.
Its just like a pack mentality, Gryphn says. You have your
alpha beta, omega, gamma. Gamma is, for lack of a better term, a
slave. They live to serve and thats all they do. Your omegas are
a little bit higher. Your betas are playful, but theyre subservient.
And typically, your alpha will only be subservient to maybe one,
two other people, depending on the whole dynamic of the pack.
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JANUARY 14, 2016

19

DOGGIE STYLE

Sir Paris and Pup Horo

20

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THE DIVERSITY WITHIN the community also extends to opinions about

mixing puppy play with sex. For some,
puppy play is completely independent
of sex. For others, its part of the fuller
experience.
Typically, my pup is not sexual,
Gryphn says. My personal preference
is usually not to mix pup play and sex.
Pup Horo has a similar view.
Its not sexual, she says. Its totally about being able to just be, and have
fun being in the moment.... Even the
humping, its not really a sexual thing,
its just part of the play.
Others have polyamorous or open
relationships in their personal lives that
allow them to have a kink partner who
is separate from their real life spouse
or partner. Depending on the spouse,
they may either shun pup or other fetish
scenes entirely, or slowly be brought
into the fold after becoming more comfortable with their significant others
bedroom preferences.
One of my friends was married to
his husband, and had a sir outside of
their relationship, says Gryphn. That
sir eventually decided that My collar
would be best served by your husband,
so now his husband has become his sir.
An alternative arrangement works
best for Sam and Pup Nubi.
Pup and I have what I feel is one
of the most ideally perfect connections
between our personal and kink life,
Sam says. Both of us have other partners, so we come into this space, and
then we come out of it, knowing the
boundaries of where your kink and nonkink relationships begin and end.
Of course, even among partners, two
individuals will approach sex from different perspectives. Sam needs to mentally distance his sexual activity from
the pup scene, but for Nubi, its easier
to stay in character.
I actually have trouble when we
transition from pup play to having sex,
Sam explains. Like, No, I cant have
you whimper like that when were having sex, because I dont want to mix
that world. Its interesting, because he
doesnt have to come out of pup mode
to have me fuck him. I personally have
to bring him out of pup perception for
me. But then Im still treating him as a
submissive to me.
I get self-conscious very easily,
says Nubi. So being in pup headspace in the bedroom keeps me very

(L-R) Pup Domino, Pup Indigo and Bragi

focused on exactly whats in front of me, so it sort of serves

a function in that respect.

DONT TUG THE TAIL

THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE to full acceptance by the larger
BDSM and leather communities, even as MAL welcomes pups
with open arms, are the misconceptions that some people have
about puppy play, the practitioners say. Unfortunately, those
misconceptions can lead to potentially embarrassing or uncomfortable situations when a person who knows little about the
puppy play scene stumbles upon it.
One of the hardest things about being a handler is that Ive
honestly had people ask, Wait, you have sex with animals?
Sam says. They believe its abusive, that its taking advantage of
someone who may not be acting up to a level of human responsibility.... The other misperception is that I have some really
messed up background, like, did I have some horrible childhood
trauma that made me like to have sex with animals.
Other outsiders may not have a sense of personal space,
believing they can touch or grab the puppies as they wish.
I have three separate tails. I have my show tail, which
attaches to my belt, and I have two other tails, which are insertables, Gryphn says. This is something I feel very strongly about.
I have been in the center of a bar, elbow-to-elbow, and someone
has grabbed my tail and it was my show tail and yanked
on it. I stopped everything I was doing in mid-sentence, turned
around, and educated the person about it.
I said, Look, I know you dont know what you just did. Im
not upset with you. Im not going to yell at you. However, what I
have on now is a show tail. Its on my belt. Typically, its inserted.
If you were to grab and yank, you would cause damage. So the
moral of the story is: dont touch a pups tail unless you have

permission, whether it be from the pup or the handler.

Other things for people not entrenched in the puppy play
scene to remember are that power dynamics are often at play, and
can be strictly enforced, particularly at more formal gatherings
such as Mid-Atlantic Leather. For instance, Gryphn says, a pup is
not expected to step out of his place, either within the hierarchy
of a pack or with his handler. If a pup is collared, the protocol is
not to try to engage the pup until one has asked for permission
from the handler. If the handler is not immediately available, it is
the pups duty to ask for permission from the handler.
Even though pups are not actual dogs, try to go about it as
you would approach someones dog, says Pup Indigo. You
wouldnt just be mean and pull on a dogs tail. Youd go up to
them and say, Can I pet your dog? The same kind of manners
that you would afford someone who has a pet, you should afford
someone who has a collard human pup.
Ultimately, what I would tell people is this: when you see
a puppy, when you see them moshing and everything, its not
something that should be feared or make you say, I dont know
what to do, adds Indigo. Its going to sound cliche, but pups
dont bite. If youre interested in talking to them, go up to them,
get down on their level, and try to get their attention. Show them
you want to be welcoming to them. Basically, just treat the pups
with respect.
The Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend Puppy Park, co-hosted by the
New York City Pups and Handlers, is Saturday, Jan. 16, from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Ballroom, 400 New Jersey Ave.
NW. For MAL weekend pass prices and more information, visit
leatherweekend.com.
For more information on the Mid-Atlantic Kennel Korps, visit
makkorps.org. l
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JANUARY 14, 2016

21

Event Calendar
Mid-Atlantic Leather 2016

By Doug Rule

LTRA NAT SURPRISED THE CROWD AT

a Toronto Pride party last summer. A lot of
people were shocked by my DJing, she says.
We need to rethink everything we thought
we knew about you, several partygoers told
her, describing her set as fierce.
Nearly two decades after her gay-affirming anthem Free,
Ultra Nat is mostly known as a house singer/songwriter with
a handful of No. 1 club hits. But in recent years the Baltimore
native has made a name for herself as a house DJ, through
summer residencies at lauded venues in club mecca Ibiza.
And theres also her soulful house party Deep Sugar, which
just celebrated 12 years of attracting a mixed, musically oriented crowd every month in Baltimore.
Nat will play a live five-hour-set for Mid-Atlantic Leathers
Dark & Twisted closing dance at the 9:30 Club this Sunday,
Jan. 17. Im so excited and really honored, she says. Im
preparing some tracks from a lot of different genres, because
I like to be a bit more experimental and go some places that
other DJs might not.
Of course, Dark & Twisted is just the culminating event of a
long weekend filled with parties, perhaps more this year than
ever. The bulk of the action takes place at the Hyatt Regency
Capitol Hill, now in its sixth year as host for MAL and the
Centaur Motorcycle Club, MALs presenting organization, has
once again booked the entire 800-room complex at 400 New
Jersey Avenue NW. More than 3,000 people are expected to
attend official and affiliated events in ballrooms in the Hyatt
from the 31st annual Mr. MAL contest to rituals inspired by
animals, mainly puppies and pigs. That is, when not crowding,
carousing and cruising the lobby and the elevators.
Yet most gay and many gay-friendly clubs in D.C. are the
site of at least one fetish function this year. Green Lantern
continues to be the unofficial off-site meeting ground, certainly for gear-fiends, with the watering hole just off Thomas
Circle hosting underwear event after jockstrap party sometimes even on the same night. But after sitting on the sidelines with its new, not-yet-ready space last year, DC Eagle
has put major skin in the game, presenting a few enticing
events and taking extra measures, from scheduling shuttles nightly to alerting car services of heightened demand, to
ease getting there and back.
Events marked with an asterisk are official, MAL-ticketed
events for weekend pass holders, who also have exclusive
access to the free shuttles running every night from the hotel
to bars such as DC Eagle.
Admission to the Exhibit Hall and other events on the host
hotels lower levels are available for $15 for one-day entry or
$30 for all three days. Full registration, with a weekend pass,
is $200.
All listings subject to change.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 14
DC Leather Pride:
Welcome to MAL 2015
Mr. MAL Titleholders
Bar Night with Hot Jock Contest,
plus guest host
Falcon exclusive
Boomer Banks
9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
DC Eagle
3700 Benning Rd. NE
DCEagle.com

Shirtless Men Drink Free &

Blackout Underwear Party
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Green Lantern
1335 Green Ct. NW
Greenlanterndc.com

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15
MAL Registration
3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Capitol Rooms A and B
Host Hotel
Bootblacks on Duty
Benefitting Mr. MAL Travel Fund
and the Rainbow Railroad
3 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Lobby Level
4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lower Level
Host Hotel
Exhibit Hall
4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lower Level
Host Hotel

DC Bar Cre: Leather Bear Party

& Patio Cigar Party
DJ Say What?
6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
No cover before 9:30 p.m.
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St. NW
dcbearcrue.com
Gear Night & Atlantic States Gay
Rodeo Association Bar Night
Happy Hour prices all night for
those in fetish gear
5 p.m. to 3 a.m., ASGRA bar night
9:30 p.m. to close
DC Eagle

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16
MAL Registration
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Capitol A and B
Host Hotel
Bootblacks on Duty
11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Lobby and Lower Levels
Host Hotel
Exhibit Hall
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Lower Level
Host Hotel

Puppy Park 8
A puppy mosh co-hosted by
NYC-PAH and Tom Buckley
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Regency B, C and D
Host Hotel
nycpah.org
International Mr. Leather 2016
Judges Announcement
Noon to 1 p.m.
Thornton Room
imrl.com

S U N DAY, J A N U A RY 17
MAL Brunch*
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Capitol A and B,
Congressional A & B
Host Hotel
MAL Registration
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Capitol Room Foyer
Host Hotel

Bootblacks on Duty
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lobby and Lower Level
Host Hotel
Exhibit Hall
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lower Level
Host Hotel

KARL GIANT

Ultra Nat

Mister International Rubber

Meet and Greet Party
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Thornton Room
Host Hotel
mirubber.com
NastyKingPigs:
United States of Gear
DJ Jake Chang, hosts Element
Extreme & Cake Moss
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Congressional Room A
Host Hotel
nastykinkpigs.com

Furball DC Dance Party

featuring Honcho
DJs Aaron Clark, Clark Price and
George dAdhemar
9 p.m. to late
Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW
blackcatdc.com
Grunt
DJ Jake Chang,
performance by Cake Moss
10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Green Lantern
Highwaymen TNT Party:
Impact
DJ TWiN, plus a Dyke Invasion
with female go-go boi(s)
10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Regency Ballroom B
Host Hotel
trashandtravel.com

SigMa BDSM Demonstrations

2 p.m to 3:30 p.m.
Regency B, C and D
Host Hotel

495 Bears Presents

Bears Can Dance
9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Green Lantern

SpankDC Presents Spank!

Monthly male/male spanking party
2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Green Lantern
spankdc.com

SigMa Dungeon Play Party

8 p.m. to Midnight
1636 R St. NW, Second Floor

Onyx Fetish Cocktail Party with

Benefit Gear Auction
2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Congressional A and B
Host Hotel
onyxmen.com

Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2016

Contest*
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Non-pass-holder tickets are $25
Regency A, B, C & D
Host Hotel
MAL Happy Hour and Buffet
12 p.m. to 6 p.m. for happy hour, 2
p.m. to 7 p.m. buffet
DC Eagle

Leather Cocktails*
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Regency Ballroom
Host Hotel

Code DC
Gear, uniform, leather or
naked strictly enforced
DJs Eric Gruber and David Merrill
10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
$40 for one night, or $60 for
Weekend Pass
Glorious Health Club
2120 West Virginia Ave. NE
codedc.com
Code runs its own shuttle between
9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
SigMa Dungeon Play Party
D.C.s only all-male
BDSM/kink organization
8 p.m. to Midnight
$20 SigMa members,
$25 non-members
1636 R St. NW, Second Floor
sigmadc.org

MAUL (Mid-Atlantic Uniform

League) Party
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Congressional B
Host Hotel
uniformleague.org
Empire City Motorcycle Club
Bar Night
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
DC Eagle
NastyKinkPigs: Primal FxCK
DJ Jack Chang, with performance
by Cake Moss
10 p.m to 4 a.m.
Regency B, C & D
Host Hotel

DC Leather Pride: Bluf (Breeches

& Leather Uniform Fanclub) DC
DJ Say What?
4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Cobalt
Shuttle offered, with drop-offs also
at 9:30 Club and DC Eagle

Otter Den DC:

Last Chance Tea Dance
DJs Scooter McCreight and
Kevin OConnor
5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Town Danceboutique
towndc.com

495 Bears: Bears Can Party!

MAL Edition
DJ Jeffrey Eletto
4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Green Lantern

SigMa Dungeon Play Party

6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
1636 R St. NW, Second Floor
Strapd: The GL Jockstrap Party
9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Green Lantern

495 Bears: Leather Growl Party

DJ Jeffrey Eletto with all-nude
muscle & bear dancers
8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Secrets
1824 Half Street SW
secretsdc.com
Leather & Skin Dance Party
DJs Keenan Orr & MadScience
4 to 9 p.m.
Cobalt
1639 R St. NW
facebook.com/cobaltdc

Lisa Frank & TNX: Horse Meat

Disco MAL Weekend
British DJ collective makes
its D.C. debut
10 p.m. to close
U Street Music Hall
1115 U St. NW
ustreetmusichall.com
Code DC
10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
$40 for one night, or
$60 for Weekend Pass
Glorious Health Club
Code shuttle runs
9 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Official Closing Dance:

Dark & Twisted
DJ Ultra Nat, with lighting by
Guy Smith
10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Non-pass-holder tickets
$35 or $45 day-of
9:30 Club
815 V St. NW
930.com
Shuttle runs from
10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.

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JANUARY 14, 2016

23

JANUARY 14 - 21, 2016

Compiled by Doug Rule

SPOTLIGHT
A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM

Randy Baker of Rorschach Theatre

directs the hearty Shakespeare comedy, featuring Indonesian-inspired
shadow puppets designed by
Alex Vernon accompanied by an
actor-generated percussion orchestra. Daven Ralson is Puck and Zach
Brewster-Geisz is Bottom in this wild
reimagining of the famous tale of fairies. Opens in previews Thursday, Jan.
14, at 7:30 p.m. To Feb. 7. Gunston
Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St.
Arlington. Tickets are $20. Call 703418-4808 or visit wscavantbard.org.

DEAN ALEXANDER

JAZZMEIA HORN WITH ARTISTRY

OF JAZZ HORN

Gender
Neutralized
Baltimores Center Stage serves up an all-female As You Like It

OMETIMES WHEN YOURE ASKED TO GO BACK INSIDE SOMETHING THAT

is this old, theres this fear that it wont resonate in any way, says Wendy Goldberg,
discussing Shakespeares As You Like It. You dont want to be gimmicky about your
approach. You want to make sure that its true to what the play is trying to do.
Goldbergs approach to The Bards cross-dressing, escapist romantic comedy, was to
stage it with an all-female ensemble. This 400-year-old play is the most gender-bending
play in Shakespeares canon, she says. It is an invitation to explore gender and identity,
and the fluidity of gender.
In an era of heightened gender and transgender awareness, Center Stages production
is assured to resonate with modern audiences. Its an unprecedented move for Goldberg,
who couldnt turn down the opportunity to re-envision a Shakespeare play with a decidedly
female perspective. Her all-female approach is the inverse of that from Shakespeares day,
when all characters, male and female, were played by men and boys. Even today, its far more
common to see an all-male production of Shakespeare including this springs The Taming
of the Shrew at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Goldberg was especially intrigued by putting
women in As You Like Its lead male roles, Jacques and Duke.
In a play where it makes sense, its pretty extraordinary to put all of these women
together and give them the opportunity to play roles that they would probably never have
the chance to play, Goldberg says. My ultimate goal is that gender becomes neutralized
and you just forget whos doing what and its just about these characters. Doug Rule
Center Stages As You Like It opens in previews Friday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m., and runs to Feb. 14,
at Towson Universitys Center for the Arts, 1 Fine Arts Dr., Towson, Md. Tickets are $10 to
$59. Call 410-986-4000 or visit centerstage.org.
24

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

Originally from Dallas, this jazz vocalist is quickly emerging as one of the
genres best new talents, winning prestigious titles in the process, including
the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International
Jazz Vocal Competition and the
2015 Thelonious Monk Institute
International Jazz Competition.
The Kennedy Center presents a free
Millennium Stage concert by Horn
and her band the Artistry of Jazz Horn
as part of the James A. Johnson Young
Artist Series. Wednesday, Jan. 20, at
6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium
Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.

JULIA SCOTTI, KEVIN MEANEY:

BIG PANTS & HOT FLASHES

Cool Cow Comedy co-presents a night

of Out-standing comedy featuring
transgender comedian Julia Scotti and
Kevin Meaney, a stand-up comic and
actor from both TV and Broadway.
Rahmein Mostafavi hosts a show that
ends with a no holds barred Q&A.
Friday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. Amp by
Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave.
North Bethesda. Tickets are $20 to
$30. Call 301-581-5100 or visit ampbystrathmore.com.

KING: A FILMED RECORD

MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS

Once again the American Film

Institutes Silver Theatre celebrates
MLK Day by screening a free documentary featuring footage of the civil
rights legend. King: A Filmed Record
Montgomery to Memphis includes his
stirring I Have A Dream speech at
the Lincoln Memorial, and also features narration and commentary from
Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Paul
Newman, Charlton Heston, Harry
Belafonte and Ruby Dee, among oth-

ers. Sidney Lumet and Joseph L.

Mankiewicz co-directed and produced this 1970 film. Monday, Jan.
18, at 12 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633
Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets
are free, available at the box office
starting one hour before screentime.
Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/
Silver.

MEDIEVAL STORY LAND

Red Knight Productions, another

company nurtured by the Capital
Fringe Festival, offers a fast-paced
comedy adventure that parodies the
fantasy genre for adults and children
alike. Written by Red Knights Scott
Courlander, Medieval Story Land
is described as a blend of Lord of
the Rings, Forrest Gump and Monty
Python, and features 12 actors playing
over 40 different characters. Expect
furious swordplay, a gripping plot and
sketch comedy irreverence. Following
the show is a free performance of
Stephen Meads one-man-show
Victorian Story Time. Opens Friday,
Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. Runs to Jan. 3. Port
City Playhouse, 1819 North Quaker
Lane. Alexandria. Tickets are $!8 to
$20. Call 703-838-2880 or visit redknightproductions.com.

STEP AFRIKA! STEP EXPLOSION

In honor of Martin Luther King

Jr., Strathmore presents the second
annual showcase of this professional
dance troupe focused on stepping,
the high-energy, percussive style of
dance that originated with AfricanAmerican fraternities and sororities.
The Dem Raider Boyz Step Squad out
of Greenbelt, Md., Alpha Phi Alphas
Beta Chapter at Howard University
and the New York-based Delta Sigma
Theta-composed Crimson Inferno
are among regional ensembles that
will be featured. Sunday, Jan. 17, at 4
p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.
Tickets are $25 to $40. Call 301-5815100 or visit strathmore.org.

THE GREAT INKA ROAD:

ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE

One of the monumental engineering

achievements in history, the Great
Inka Road is a network of more than
20,000 miles, crossing mountains and
tropical lowlands, rivers and deserts,
linking the Inca capital Cusco with the
farthest reaches of its empire and it
still serves Andean communities today
in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia,
Argentina and Chile. This exhibition
explores the legacy of the Inka Empire
and technological feat of the road,
recognized by the United Nations as
a World Heritage site in 2014. Now
to April 2018. National Museum of
the American Indian, Independence
Avenue at 4th Street SW. Call 202633-1000 or visit nmai.si.edu.

THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG

Twenty-two years after its Broadway

debut and 10 years after its awardwinning playwrights untimely
death, Theater J presents The Sisters
Rosensweig by Wendy Wasserstein.
26

JANUARY 14, 2016

Kasi Campbell directs this heartfelt

comedy about three very different siblings, reunited for one remarkable,
revealing weekend, and portrayed
by the sharp team of Susan Lynskey,
Susan Rome and Kimberly Schraf.
Josh Adams, Edward Christian,
Michael Russotto, James Whalen
and Caroline Wolfson round out the
cast. Now in previews. Opens Friday,
Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. Runs to Feb.
21. The Aaron and Cecile Goldman
Theater, Washington, D.C.s Jewish
Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW.
Call 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.

FILM
CAROL

HHHHH
Carol, the sixth feature from Todd
Haynes, has the feel of a career pinnacle, as though every other film in
his canon was building to this masterpiece. Based on the novel The Price of
Salt by Patricia Highsmith, the movie
is the lesbian equivalent of Ang Lees
Brokeback Mountain. But Carol is
arguably more emotionally satisfying
than Lees film, in part because of
the way Highsmith, herself a closeted lesbian, crafted the story of a
young shopgirl (Rooney Mara) who
falls in love with an older woman
(Cate Blanchett) and embarks on a
journey of self-discovery. Despite the
lack of a suspense-driven narrative, it
effortlessly evokes the spirit of Alfred
Hitchcock; Carol could be a distant
cousin to Vertigo. And, unlike so many
films these days, Carol takes its time,
with Haynes resolutely refusing to
hurry things along. Some in the audience might find the approach dull.
Its not. Its captivating, absorbing,
all-encompassing. Its the way movies used to be made, an instant-born
classic, with Blanchett and Mara giving the kinds of performances that
Oscars are made for. Now playing.
Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.
(Randy Shulman)

JERUSALEM 3D

Benedict Cumberbatch narrates a film

offering the first-ever large format
aerial footage of the Old City and
throughout the Holy Land including
sites ranging from the Western Wall
to the Dome of the Rock to the Sea of
Galilee. This 3D film also offers eyeopening personal stories and remarkable historical perspective. Showtimes
Saturdays and Sundays to March 31.
National Geographic Museum, 1145
17th St. NW. Tickets are $7. Call 202857-7588 or visit ngmuseum.org.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE

AWAKENS

HHHHH
The seventh film in a series that has
spanned four decades and spawned
a near limitless number of spin-offs,
merchandise and uber fans, The Force
Awakens isnt original theres too
much history for that to be possible.
But it works on several levels. And

METROWEEKLY.COM

for the most part, the screenplay by

Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt
and J.J. Abrams, who directs, hits
the right notes, with the grand, operatic overtones the series has long been
known for. For its various foibles and
the awkward transition between old
characters and new, theres something undoubtedly exciting about
this new trilogy of films. This is Star
Wars returned, reformed, revitalized
for a new generation. Every time you
laugh at a reference, every time you
see a familiar face, every time John
Williams glorious score swells, you
cant help but get sucked in by it all.
Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (Rhuaridh Marr)

Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 800-4948497 or visit synetictheater.org.

THE DANISH GIRL

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY

HHHHH
Fashioning the tale of transgender
pioneer Lili Elbe into a mainstreamfriendly love story may seem like
shrewd packaging by a Hollywood
marketing department, but the result
is a film that succeeds above all else
because that central love story is so
well crafted. David Ebershoffs eponymous novel loosely depicted Elbes
life, but Tom Hoopers The Danish
Girl sticks closer to the facts. It follows Einar Wegener, a Danish painter,
who slowly comes to realize that he is
transgender after modeling womens
clothes for his wife Gerda. From there,
Lili is born, with the film following the
couple as they navigate Lilis exploration of her new gender identity and
Gerda deals with her love for Lili and
the loss of her husband. The Danish
Girl is a flattering, beautifully captured, captivatingly performed retelling of the marriage between a trans
pioneer and her wife and one sure
to do well this awards season. Now
playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.
com. (Rhuaridh Marr)

STAGE
A GENTLEMANS GUIDE
TO LOVE & MURDER

Kennedy Center welcomes the national touring production of the little

show that two years ago found Tony
fame and fortune. Steven Lutvak and
Robert L. Freedmans musical is about
a man who attempts to slay his way
to inheritance. To Jan. 30. Kennedy
Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets
are $64 to $229. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

AS YOU LIKE IT

All the worlds a stage for Synetic

Theaters 12th silent Shakespeare
adaptation, this time the frothy comedy complete with a girl disguised as
a boy. As You Like It is also the source
of some of the Bards most famous
phrases, from all the worlds a stage
to too much of a good thing
though of course you wont hear those
here. Paata Tsikurishvili directs the
adaptation featuring Taylor Robinson,
Sharisse Taylor and Philip Fletcher as
Orlando. To Jan. 17. Theater at Crystal
City, 1800 South Bell St., Arlington.

BAD JEWS

Already the best-selling play in its history after last years constantly extended run, Studio Theatre has reprised
Joshua Harmons acerbic dramedy
Bad Jews for another go and once
again, it keeps extending the run due
to popular demand. Serge Seiden once
again directs, this year featuring a
cast including Laura Lapidus, Rowan
Vickers, Noah Averbach-Katz and
Maggie Wilder. Extended again to Jan.
31. Studio Theatre, 14th & P Streets
NW. Tickets are $44 to $88. Call 202332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

Yet another boisterous and unflinchingly dark comedy from Stephen Adly
Guirgis, whose play The Motherfucker
with the Hat received much critical
praise at Studio Theatre a few years
ago. Between Riverside and Crazy was
the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for
Drama and is focused on an ex-cop who
is facing eviction, battling City Hall and
struggling over the recent death of his
wife. To Feb. 28. Studio Theatre, 14th
& P Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or
visit studiotheatre.org.

CHOCOLATE COVERED ANTS

The Anacostia Playhouse partners

with Marylands Restoration Stage for
the world premiere of Steven A. Butler,
Jr.s intense drama about being black
and male in modern-day America.
Courtney Baker-Oliver directs the production featuring Suli Myrie, David
Lamont Wilson, Clermon Acklin,
Tillmon Figgs, Wilma Lynn Horton,
Kandace Foreman, Christopher Ezell,
Marquis Fair and Charles W. Harris
Jr. Opens Friday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m.
Now to Feb. 7. Anacostia Playhouse,
2020 Shannon Place SE. Tickets are
$35 to $50. Call 202-714-0646 or visit
restorationstageinc.com.

GEORGIE: THE LIFE AND

DEATH OF GEORGE ROSE

Helen Hayes Award-winning actor

Ed Dixon (Signature Theatres Sunset
Boulevard) wrote and stars in this tribute to his friend and mentor, a Tony
Award-winning character actor (My
Fair Lady) who was a bon vivant with a
flair for the dramatic and the eccentric.
Eric Schaeffer directs the Signature
Theatre production of this human tale
about art, personal connections and
the struggles of life and death. Now
to Feb. 7. Signature Theatre, 4200
Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are
$25 to $45. Call 703-820-9771 or visit
signature-theatre.org.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF HIV

Denim Theatre presents an original

play by Kieyontaye D. Johnson-Carter,
a powerful drama set in present-day
D.C. and focused on two long-term
couples one straight, one gay
struggling to cope with life and love,
secrets and status, in a time when being
safe just isnt safe enough. Opens
Thursday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. Runs to

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

27

Jan. 25. Anacostia Arts Center, 1231

Good Hope Road SE. Tickets are $25
to $35. Call 202-631-6291 or visit anacostiaartscenter.com.

PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE

Now that Bright Star has wrapped its

pre-Broadway Kennedy Center run,
Keegan Theatre offers a production of
another work by comedian/composer
Steve Martin which previously ran
Off Broadway. Picasso at the Lapin
Agile is a slightly absurd look at the
famous Spanish painters life and
that of Albert Einsteins too before
they changed the world through
their work. Chris Stezin directs a cast
including Matthew Keenan, Bradley
Foster Smith, Allison Leigh Corke,
Kevin Adams, Michael Innocenti,
Sherri S. Herren and Jessica Power.
Opens in previews Saturday, Jan. 16,
at 8 p.m. To Feb. 13. Keegan Theatre,
1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $40.
Call 703-892-0202 or visit keegantheatre.com.

STONE TAPE PARTY

D.C.-based, female-driven theater

company Nu Sass Productions offers
Danny Rovins play, which won Best
Comedy and Best Show Overall at
Capital Fringe 2014. Angela Kay
Pirko directs an all-female cast in
a quick-witted tribute to the postcollege struggles from hedonism
to misanthropy of the Millennial
Generation. Briana Manente leads a
cast also including Ariana Almajan,
Jill Tighe and Casey Leffue. Opens
Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. Runs to
Feb. 7. Atlas Performing Arts Center,
1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $30.
Call 202-399-7993 or visit nusass.com.

THE CRITIC/THE REAL

INSPECTOR HOUND

Michael Kahn directs this double bill

of one-act comedies about behind-thescenes life in the theater. An ensemble
cast takes on multiple characters
bringing to life Jeffrey Hatchers fresh
take on Richard Brinsley Sheridans
18th-century romp The Critic and
Tom Stoppards absurdist tour-defarce The Real Inspector Hound. Now
to Feb. 14. Lansburgh Theatre, 450
7th St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit
shakespearetheatre.org.

WEST SIDE STORY

HHHHH
Leave it to Signature Theatre to
stage a production that reinvigorates this classic musical, giving it
more relevance and resonance than
ever before. The all-star collaboration between Leonard Bernstein,
Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents
and Jerome Robbins is widely considered one of the greatest musicals ever
made. Unlike other Signature reinventions of classics, director Matthew
Gardiner didnt pare down the calledfor 30-member cast, which is further
bolstered by a standard 17-member
orchestra, led by Jon Kalbfleisch. The
result is the largest show Signature
has ever produced. Its also one of
the most stimulating shows youve
28

JANUARY 14, 2016

yet seen in Shirlington, aided by

Gardiners choice to present it on a
thrust stage, with the audience on
three sides in the Max Theatre. The
production engages you in a way that
standard proscenium productions of
West Side Story cant. If this doesnt
become your favorite production
of West Side Story, I would love to
know where you saw it staged better. Extended to Jan. 31. Signature
Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave.,
Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $95. Call
703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org. (Doug Rule)

WRESTLING JERUSALEM

Mosaic Theater Company of DC presents a reprise of writer and performer

Aaron Davidmans work first commissioned by Theater J and Mosaic
founder Ari Roth in 2007. This personal story of a man trying to comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
coursing through his divided psyche
and argumentative community is part
of Voices from a Changing Middle
East Festival, the provocative series
formerly presented by Theater J that
Roth has revived with his new company. To Jan. 24. Atlas Performing
Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are
$20 to $40. Call 202-399-7993 or visit
mosaictheater.org.

MUSIC
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA

Constantine Kitsopoulos conducts the

BSO in the SuperPops program Pixar
in Concert, featuring a compilation
of the stirring music and stunning
imagery from the companys 13 feature films, including Toy Story, A Bugs
Life and Monsters, Inc. Thursday,
Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. Music Center at
Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane,
North Bethesda. Also Friday, Jan.
22, and Saturday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m.,
and Sunday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. Joseph
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212
Cathedral St., Baltimore. Tickets are
$35 to $99. Call 410-783-8000 or visit
bsomusic.org.

BRIDGET EVERETT &

THE TENDER MOMENTS

A breathy, foul-mouthed cabaret act,

whom the New York Times has facilely
compared to an early Bette Midler,
Bridget Everett performs songs whose
crass titles often say it all (also, often
all you want to hear): from What I
Got To Do (To Get That Dick In My
Mouth) to Titties to Coming For
You. Saturday, Jan. 16. Doors at 6
p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets
are $30. Call 202-265-0930 or visit
930.com.

CHOPTEETH

The Washington Post has called this

12-piece band a storming powerhouse of big-band African funk...
smart, tight and relentlessly driving. Chopteeth has already won a
number of Washington Area Music
Association Awards otherwise

METROWEEKLY.COM

known as Wammies, including the

Artist of the Year accolade in 2008.
And now the Afrobeat-driven group
returns to Strathmores cabaret venue
after a summer debut. Saturday, Jan.
23, at 8 p.m. Amp by Strathmore, 11810
Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda.
Tickets are $20 to $30. Call 301-5815100 or visit ampbystrathmore.com.

ELISE TESTONE AND BANDS

AMY WINEHOUSE TRIBUTE

American Idol 2012 finalist Elise

Testone offers a toast to the goneway-too-soon Amy Winehouse
accompanied by an eight-piece funky
jazz band also featuring vocalist Sam
Stevens. This Thankful for Amy
tribute reaches the Howard Theatre
after hit performances in New York
and Philadelphia. Friday, Jan. 15, at 8
p.m. The Howard Theatre, 620 T St.
NW. Tickets are $17.50 to $35. Call
202-588-5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com.

FALUS BOLLYWOOD ORCHESTRA

The Village Voice has raved that this

Indian group creates some of the
more pleasurable pastiche around.
Its also some of the most unusual, a
beyond Bollywood mix of Indian
classical music, Punjabi bhangra, even
jazz and pop. Singer Falguni Falu
Shah, considered one of Indias most
influential musicians though she
now lives in the U.S., leads this septet. Friday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. The
Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $22 to $27. Call
877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

FOLGER CONSORT

The Wonder of Will: Early and New

Music Celebrating Shakespeare is
the name of this years concert series
at the National Cathedral in the
400th year since the Bards death.
Instrumentalists Arcadia Viols will
join the consort as will the 12-member vocal group Stile Antico, offering
the Washington premiere of Gentle
Sleep, a commissioned piece based on
texts from Henry IV by acclaimed gay
contemporary composer Nico Muhly.
Friday, Jan. 22, and Saturday, Jan.
23, at 8 p.m. Washington National
Cathedral,
Massachusetts
and
Wisconsin Avenues NW. Tickets are
$30 to $60. Call 202-544-7077 or visit
folger.edu.

LEVINE PRESENTS:
CELEBRATING 40!

Now in its 40th year, the Levine

School of Music celebrates by presenting a concert of two monumental
piano trios, Beethovens Archduke
Trio and Schumanns Piano Trio No.
3 in G Minor both written when
the composers were forty. This
Levine Presents concert features
violinist Fedor Ouspensky, cellist
Igor Zubkovsky and pianist Anna
Ouspenskaya and is presented in partnership with Stone Room Concerts.
Saturday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. Falls
Church Episcopal, 115 E. Fairfax St.
Falls Church. Tickets are $15 online or
$20 at the door. Call 703-241-0003 or
visit levinemusic.org.

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Strathmores resident orchestra offers

a concert focused on Bachs Violin
Concerto No. 2 featuring concertmaster Colin Sorgi. Piotr Gajewski
conducts the philharmonic in a program also including Mozarts virtuosic Divertimento in D Major, Edvard
Griegs Holberg Suite and Benjamin
Brittens Simple Symphony for Strings.
Saturday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m. Music
Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman
Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are
$29 to $79. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
strathmore.org.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA

A few weeks before embarking on

a European tour with the NSO and
outgoing music director Christoph
Eschenbach, young cellist Daniel
Muller-Schott takes to the Kennedy
Center Concert Hall to perform
Dvoraks beautiful, breathtaking
Cello Concerto in B Minor. Led by
Eschenbach, this NSO program also
including Brahmss Piano Quartet
No. 1 in G Minor plus the first NSO
performances of Christopher Rouses
Phaethon. Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.,
and Friday, Jan. 22, and Saturday, Jan.
23, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert
Hall. Tickets are $15 to $89. Call 202467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

THE DHOL FOUNDATION,

BLACK MASALA

Multiflora Productions presents this

double-billing dubbed a Balkan
Bhangra Party, featuring Londonbased bhangra percussion group the
Dhol Foundation and D.C.s own
Balkan and funk band consisting of
members from Thievery Corporation.
The two groups will unite for a drumming and dancing global spectacular.
Thursday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. Tropicalia,
2001 14th St. NW. Tickets are $10 in
advance or $15 day-of show. Call 202629-4535 or visit tropicaliadc.com.

THE MOUNT HOLYOKE

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Mount Holyoke Club of

Washington D.C. presents the first
Mary Lyon Concert in D.C. of this
Massachusetts-based student orchestra, offering an evening of classical
works by contemporary female composers. Ng Tian Hui leads a program
featuring violinist Linda Laderach performing Roxanna Paufniks Abraham,
soprano Andrea Chinedu Nwoke and
baritone Philip Lima singing excerpts
from Mary D. Watkinss opera Dark
River: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story
and a new commission by Tawnie
Olsen. Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m.
Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St.
NW. Tickets are $50. Call 202-3472635 or visit mtholyoke.edu.

THE KNOCKS

A sharp neo-disco DJ/production duo

from New York, the Knocks are a justbubbling-under act who has stirred up
the All Things Go Fall Classic at Union
Market in each of its first two years.
Next weekend the duo of Ben B-Roc
Ruttner and James JPatt Patterson

will drop by the 9:30 Club to give a

preview of 55 and immerse the crowd
in a style of vocal-driven dance music
that has been described as original
material that references the golden
years of vocal house and credible pop,
or cred-pop for short. Saturday, Jan.
16. Doors at 10 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V
St. NW. Tickets are $18. Call 202-2650930 or visit 930.com.

VERONNEAU

D.C.-based acoustic group offers jazz

from around the world, from swing
to samba to gypsy. And as it gains
in popularity, the group increasingly
travels the world, presenting its spin
on global grooves perfect to take in
while sipping cocktails.
Monday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW.
Tickets are $20, plus $12 minimum
purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or visit
bluesalley.com.

WICKED JEZABEL

Pauline Anson-Dross popular lesbian

all-covers party-rock band Wicked
Jezabel has been rocking as well as
raising money for various good causes
all over the region for a decade
now, originally under the name The
Outskirts of Town. This weekend the
women perform at the weekly Ladies
Night in the Loft event at Baltimores
gay club Grand Central. Saturday, Jan.
16, at 9 p.m. The Loft at Grand Central,
1001 N. Charles St. Baltimore. Cover is
$10. Call 410-752-7133 or visit wickedjezabel.com.

YALES WHIM N RHYTHM

The female version of Yale Universitys

famous male a cappella group the
Whiffenpoofs, the Whim n Rhythm
group offers a rare public concert in
D.C., courtesy of the Capitol Hill Arts
Workshop. Fourteen singers from this
years senior class perform an eclectic
jazz and pop repertoire, including renditions of songs popularized by Ella
Fitzgerald, Bonnie Raitt, Demi Lovato,
and Justin Timberlake. Friday, Jan. 15,
at 7:30 p.m. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop,
545 7th St. SE. Tickets are $10. Call 202547-6839 or visit chaw.org.

YOLANDA ADAMS IN LET

FREEDOM RING!

Grammy-nominated gospel star

Yolanda Adams leads this years free
musical celebration honoring Martin
Luther King, Jrs legacy put on by
the Kennedy Center and Georgetown
University. Also on the bill as ever
is the Let Freedom Ring Choir with
music director Rev. Nolan Williams Jr.
And the 14th annual John Thompson
Legacy of a Dream Award will be presented to Nakeisha Neal Jones, executive director of Public Allies, one of
the first AmeriCorps national service
programs. Monday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Free
tickets will be given away two per person on a first-come, first-served basis
starting at 4:30 p.m. that day. Call 202467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

DANCE

advance, or $30 at the door. Call 202269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.

COMPANY E

MARYLAND MASTI 10

Generations: Poland is an elegant, eloquent program celebrating four generations of Polish contemporary choreography and classical music from
this local company in a co-presentation
with the Embassy of the Republic of
Poland. The Washington Performing
Arts Children of the Gospel Choir
will join the heralded eight-member
Company E in a special performance
of the late Pola Nirenskas Holocaustthemed Dirge as well as the premiere
of a new work set to Henryk Goreckis
Symphony of Sorrowful Songs by the
companys Paul Gordon Emerson. The
Saturday evening performance will
celebrate winners of the 2016 Pola
Nirenska Award Deborah Riley,
Douglas E. Yeuell and Erica Rebollar
which is administered by Washington
Performing Arts. Friday, Jan. 22, and
Saturday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. Kennedy
Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are
$25 to $35. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.

KANKOURAN WEST AFRICAN

DANCE COMPANY

Sundiata is a powerful tale of courage and determination, told through

West African dance and drumming by
this D.C.-based company led by Assane
Konte. Saturday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m., and
Sunday, Jan. 17, at 4 p.m. Dance Place,
3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25 in

An annual intercollegiate competition

held at the University of Maryland,
Maryland Masti aims to spread awareness of the traditional folk dance
cultures of the West Indian state of
Gujarat, as well as to provide an outlet
for current students to express their
passion for such dance. Saturday, Jan.
23, at 7 p.m. The Kay Theatre in the
Clarice at the University of Maryland,
University Boulevard and Stadium
Drive. College Park. Tickets are $18.
Call 301-405-ARTS or visit theclarice.
umd.edu.

THE NATIONAL BALLET

OF CANADA

A co-production with the U.K.s Royal

Ballet, this national Canadian ensemble presents the U.S. premiere of The
Winters Tale, another international
hit by choreographer Christopher
Wheeldon after 2013s Alices
Adventures in Wonderland. Based on
Shakespeares play, this production
features music by John Talbot, costumes by Rob Crowley and lighting by
Natasha Katz. The Kennedy Center
Opera House Orchestra accompanies.
Performances begin Tuesday, Jan. 19,
at 7 p.m. To Jan. 24. Kennedy Center
Opera House. Tickets are $39 to $149.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedycenter.org.

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OUT OF THE ASHES

COMEDY
WASHINGTON IMPROV THEATER:
ROAD SHOW!

D.C.s leading company for longform

improv such as that popularized
by the Upright Citizens Brigade and
Second City offers a Wintry Mix,
a series of vignettes featuring different
ensembles, with each plot developed
on-the-fly, spurred by a single audience
suggestion. Opens Thursday, Jan. 14,
at 7:30 p.m. Runs to Feb. 13. District of
Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), 2438
18th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance,
or $15 at the door. Call 202-462-7833 or
visit washingtonimprov.org.

GALLERIES
A COLLECTORS VISION:
WASHINGTONIANA COLLECTION

In addition to incorporating the

Textile Museum, the recently opened
George
Washington
University
Museum also houses the Albert H.
Small Washingtoniana Collection. The
exhibition A Collectors Vision serves
as a perfect introduction to the collection, featuring maps and prints, rare
letters, photographs and drawings documenting the history of Washington,
D.C. and donated by Small in 2011.
Ongoing. The George Washington
University Museum, 701 21st St. NW.
Call 202-994-5200 or visit museum.
gwu.edu.

ART OF THE AIRPORT TOWER

The images of Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo offer a journey

examining contemporary and historic
air traffic control towers in this exhibition at the Air and Space Museum.
Through November. National Air and
Space Museum, Independence Ave at
6th St. SW. Call 202-633-2214 or visit
airandspace.si.edu

COLBY CALDWELL: HOW TO

SURVIVE YOUR OWN DEATH

Logan Circles Hemphill Fine

Arts presents an exhibition by this
Asheville, N.C.-based Corcoran
Gallery of Art alum, based on a series
of accidentally corrupted images that
have taken on a new life of their own as
a result. Opening reception Saturday,
Jan. 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Exhibit
runs to March 5. Hemphill Fine Arts,
1515 14th St. NW. Call 202-234-5601 or
visit hemphillfinearts.com.

EYE POP: THE CELEBRITY GAZE

Many never publicly displayed portraits of 53 luminaries at the top in their

fields is the focus of this exhibition at
the National Portrait Gallery. Oprah
Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Katy Perry, Sonia
Sotomayor, Michelle Obama, Serena
Williams and Kobe Bryant are among
the works, ranging from drawings to
sculpture, paintings to video portraits,
and all recent additions to the museums
collection. Through July 10. National
Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets. NW.
Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

30

JANUARY 14, 2016

Subtitled New Library for Congress

and the Nation, this exhibition marks
the 200th anniversary of the acquisition of Jeffersons library of books, the
foundation of the modern Library of
Congress. The Jeffersonian concept of
a universal library covering all subjects
is the basis of the librarys comprehensive collecting policies. Through
May. Second Floor of the Library of
Congresss Thomas Jefferson Building,
10 First St. SE. Call 202-707-8000 or
visit loc.gov/concerts.

PATHMAKERS: WOMEN IN ART,

CRAFT AND DESIGN

The National Museum of Women in

the Arts presents an exhibition illuminating the vital contributions that
women made to post-war, mid-20th
century visual culture and their use of
craft materials to explore concepts of
modernism. Although painting, sculpture and architecture were dominated
by men a half-century ago, women
had considerable impact in the fields
of textiles, ceramics and metals. Ruth
Asawa, Sheila Hicks and Eva Zeisel
are just a few of the women from
the era celebrated in this exhibition,
organized by New Yorks Museum of
Arts and Design, which also shines
the light on some pathmaking contemporary female artists and designers,
including Anne Wilson, Vivian Beer
and Hella Jongerius. Now through
Feb. 28. National Museum of Women
in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave NW.
Admission is $10. Call 202-783-5000 or
visit nmwa.org.

PEARLS ON A STRING

Subtitled Artists, Patrons and Poets at

the Great Islamic Courts, Baltimores
Walters Art Museum presents its first
major exhibition of Islamic art, with a
focus on the cultures of historic India,
Iran and Turkey. The result is a sweeping selection of works including manuscripts, paintings, sculpture, textiles,
decorated ceramics and metalwork.
Through Jan. 31. Walters Art Museum,
600 North Charles St. Baltimore. Call
410-547-9000 or visit thewalters.org.

PRISTINE SEAS: THE OCEANS

LAST WILD PLACES

National Geographics Pristine Seas

project searches for the last truly wild
places in the ocean and documents
them in powerful footage intended
to motivate world leaders to protect
the worlds oceans. This exhibition
about the project features stunning
photography and behind-the-scenes
expedition images from the Arctic to
the tropics, as well as an immersive
underwater video wall. Now to March
27. National Geographic Museum, 1145
17th St. NW. Free. Call 202-857-7588
or visit ngmuseum.org.

RENWICK GALLERY: WONDER

As part of the immersive exhibition

Wonder, nine leading contemporary artists, including Gabriel Dawe,
Patrick Dougherty and Maya Lin, have
each taken over different galleries in
the newly renovated Renwick Gallery,
the first building in the U.S. designed
expressly as an art museum. Through

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July 10. Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania

Avenue at 17th Street NW. Free. Call
202-633-1000 or visit renwick.americanart.si.edu.

SHAKESPEARE: LIFE OF AN ICON

In honor of the 400th anniversary year

of William Shakespeares death, the
Folger Shakespeare Library offers an
exhibition that brings together some
of the most important manuscripts
and printed books related to his life
and career. The intent is to offer a
glimpse of the most famous author in
the world. Opens Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Runs through March 27. The Great
Hall in Folger Shakespeare Library,
201 East Capitol St. SE. Call 202-5447077 or visit folger.edu.

SOL HILL: SIGNAL FROM NOISE

Combining the aesthetics and visual

concerns of painting and photography, Sol Hill dubs his work energy
paintings. Using a digital sensor,
Hill transforms images into a kind
of hyper-vision, showing aspects of
reality not normally seen. Opening
reception is Friday, Jan. 22, from 6
p.m. to 8 p.m. Exhibition runs through
March 11. Vivid Solutions Gallery in
the Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good
Hope Road SE. Call 202-631-6291 or
visit anacostiaartscenter.com.

THE BIG HOPE SHOW

Baltimores American Visionary Art

Museum offers its 21st annual exhibition, featuring over 25 artists offering
works in various media that champion the radiant and transformative
power of hope. Its an original and
unabashedly idealistic exhibition,
curated by Rebecca Alban Hoffberger,
founder and director of this original
and unabashedly unusual 20-year-old
museum. Through Sept. 4. American
Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key
Highway. Baltimore. Tickets are
$15.95, or $20 for the preview party.
Call 410-244-1900 or visit avam.org.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

F*CK BRUNCH! DRAG LUNCH

You can find drag queens serving and

sashaying at brunches around town,
but theres only one place to find drag
kings on a Sunday afternoon and
they dont do brunch. (Or they dont
call it brunch, anyway.) Next weekend,
drag king entity Pretty Boi Drag, led by
Chris Jay and former DC King Pretty
Rik E, presents a lunch show at Dupont
Circles Bier Baron Tavern, which
includes exclusive beermosas and
items from the venues new menu, plus
tunes from DJ Deedub and of course
an interactive show with performances
by kings including Namii and Jasfer.
Sunday, Jan. 24, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Bier Baron Tavern, 1523 22nd St. NW.
Tickets are $15 for the show, or $25 for
the lunch and show. Call 202-293-1887
or visit prettyboidrag.com.

LA-TI-DO

Regie Cabico and Don Mike Mendozas

La-Ti-Do variety show is neither karaoke nor cabaret. The show features

higher-quality singing than most karaoke, often from local musical theater
actors performing on their night off.
Cabico and co-host Mendoza also
select storytellers who offer spokenword poetry and comedy. Now held
at Bistro Bistro in Dupont Circle,
La-Ti-Do celebrates its fourth anniversary with a show and party on Monday,
Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. Bistro Bistro, 1727
Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $15,
or only $10 if you eat dinner at the restaurant beforehand. Call 202-328-1640
or visit latidodc.wix.com/latidodc.

PLAYBACK THE TAPE: THE X-FILES

Nostalgic for The X-Files? If so, then

plan to hit The Coupe in Columbia
Heights next Thursday, Jan. 21, when
Playback The Tape will show three
classic episodes of the 90s television
staple, featuring guest stars including
Charles Nelson Reilly, Alex Trebek,
Giovanni Ribisi and Jack Black. Just
dont expect high-quality visuals:
These episodes were recorded from
TV during their original broadcast,
complete with commercials. Why?
Because thats Playbacks modus
operandi. Touted as a free, all-ages,
monthly foray into VHS archaeology,
the unusual outfit curates a new show
once a month built around a different
theme but always featuring 100-percent home-recorded video. Thursday,
Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. The Coupe, 3415 11th
St. NW. Free. Call 202-290-3342 or
visit playbackthetape.com.

THE DC GURLY SHOW: GURLIES

ON BROADWAY

Having grown out of local drag king

organization the DC Kings, the DC
Gurly Show isnt your grandfathers
burlesque. Its focused more on playing with gender than teasing with sex.
This Friday, Jan. 15, the organization
offers a Broadway Burlesque Review
featuring Phoenix King, Stellina
Nyghtshade, Sindalicious, Sugar Cane,
Lyndi Luxe, Dixe Castafiore, James
Fondle and Mindi Mimosa. Friday,
Jan. 15, at 9:30 p.m. Phase 1, 525 8th St.
SE. Tickets are $10. Call 202-544-6831
or visit dcgurlyshow.com.

THE PANCAKES AND

BOOZE ART SHOW

An import from Los Angeles, this

unusual underground art show features the work of over 90 emerging artists plus live body painting, live music,
a live art battle and a free pancake bar,
as well as brews on tap at Penn Social
the space briefly known as Riot Act
Comedy. Pancakes and Booze is a traveling, Andy Warhol-styled event that
former Hollywood cameraman Tom
Kirlin started in 2009 and has since
brought to over 20 cities, including
D.C. twice a year. When I was in college, the only place that was open after
a night of drinking was IHOP, Kirlin
told Metro Weekly last year. I always
had this silly idea to make a pancake
restaurant with a full bar. So with the
art show, I just merged the two ideas
together. Thursday, Jan. 21, starting
at 7 p.m. Penn Social, 801 E St. NW.
Cover is $5. Call 202-697-4900 or visit
pennsocialdc.com. l

tech

Chevy Bolt

Tech Appeal
CES wasnt full of surprises, but still had its
fair share of desirable tech on offer
by RHUARIDH MARR

HIS YEARS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

in Las Vegas was a rather conservative affair.
Smartphones have largely transitioned to Februarys
Mobile World Congress in Spain, televisions really
havent had any revolutionary changes since curves were introduced, and it was expected that cars and virtual reality would be
taking over the show floors.
That said, there was still plenty to enjoy for tech fans, from
modular screens to wearable translators to the return of retro.
Lets dive in.

GENERAL MOTORS

TELEVISIONS
We know what to expect from manufacturers these days: 4K
screens with eye-popping colors and deep blacks (be they OLED
or LED), maybe a curve, perhaps a severe case of weight loss.
However, a certain degree of obviousness in display technologies
has meant that this year, manufacturers are focusing on ever more
granular features to wow customers as well as a renewed focus
on beautifying their sets to look even better in our living rooms.
Samsung knows this better than most, and its new 88-inch
KS9500 set is not only incredibly thin, it also has bezels that,
given the size of the set, are almost nonexistent. That combination of razor-edges and slim bezels means that Samsungs set
is more art installation than display and its subtle curve only
enhances that fact. Just expect a price tag to match when it goes
on sale later this year. An example of Samsungs dedication to
beauty? According to Gizmodo, a Samsung executive boasted

at a briefing that the company had managed to eliminate visible

screws from the rear of its TV. The future is now, people!
Not to be outdone, Sonys CES booth lauded the clean look
on the rear of its latest TV. You know, the part most people shove
against or mount on a wall and never think about. It makes even
less sense when what was happening around front was arguably
more newsworthy. Sony was demoing its upcoming Backlight
Master Drive tech, which boosts the brightness of its TVs by
utilizing HDR (high dynamic range) tech, the same trickery that
makes your photos pop, to offer incredible contrast and a brightness level (4,000 nits) up to four times the already bright sets
Samsung was promoting elsewhere at CES.
LG, meanwhile, trotted out the latest televisions with its
dazzling OLED technology. If youve never seen an OLED set,
go down to Best Buy and get ready to start throwing your credit
card at someone. That urge may grow even stronger should you
encounter LGs latest units, which are just millimeters deep
(fractions of an inch, in our parlance). How thin? A tenth of an
inch, or just over three credit cards. The G6 and E6 series will
offer the extremely thin displays, dubbed Picture-on-Glass,
which offer an Ultra HD Premium image and HDR Pro tech,
which should ensure that whatever youre watching looks magnificent. (Just make sure that credit card has a generous limit....)
Oh, and because its CES, Samsung also produced a dazzling,
modular concept which utilized truly bezel-less displays that
could break apart into several smaller displays and then reform
in different aspect ratios such as going from 16:9 to 21:9 for
films or to create unique digital presentations that danced
around one another. Dont expect to buy your own any time
soon, but it was a slick concept nonetheless.

VIRTUAL REALITY
Theres no escaping virtual reality these days. A number of
companies are making a big push into the technology, including
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Sony with its PlayStation Morpheus headset, Google with its

low-cost Cardboard affairs, and Samsungs Galaxy smartphoneaccommodating Gear VR headsets. However, virtual reality at
CES was dominated by Oculus.
The $600 Oculus Rift is now available for everyone to preorder, so its no surprise that Oculus was at CES pimping the
heck out of their headset. They were demonstrating Medium, an
app for Oculus that is essentially Microsoft Paint for VR, if Paint
worked in VR, let users paint in 3D, and was absolutely nothing
like Microsoft Paint. Using the Oculus Touch controllers, users
can manipulate virtual sculptures, paintings and other objects to
create their own digital artworks. Its a pretty nifty way of showing the capabilities of Oculus hardware.
Microsoft was also on hand to demonstrate its augmented
reality headset HoloLens. Minecraft, the all-conquering game,
was back to show off the headsets features, overlaying the
blocky game into the users real world and letting them manipulate and alter the world to their hearts content. HoloLens is
still very much a developer-focused tool, one that wont reach
the market for a while, but its consumer applications are tempting nonetheless, and Microsofts take on virtual reality is a nice
alternative to the enclosing methods of Oculus, Samsung, HTC
and others.

AUTOS
Automakers have clearly forgotten that the Detroit Motor Show
is currently taking place, instead showcasing several vehicles

and technologies at CES. Of course, you wont find traditional

gas guzzlers and budget models lining the halls in Vegas the
automotive influences at CES were centered around concepts,
electrification, and better integration with our gadgets.
Really, if anyone can claim to have won the rather
niche award for best CES automaker, it was Chevrolet.
With the introduction of the Chevy Bolt, GMs mass market
brand not only managed to generate a significant amount of
attention for the brand, it also managed to do exactly what
Tesla has been promising for years: make a smaller, cheaper
electric vehicle that doesnt skimp on range or quality. The
2017 Bolt is an all-electric hatch that will cost $30,000 after
tax incentives, run for 200 miles on a single charge, and a
design that manages to be cool, modern and yet also familiar. Its Chevy Sonic meets BMW i3 and thats something
that mainstream buyers will love.
Volkswagen appeared at CES under the burden of a federal
lawsuit and massive outcry over its diesel emissions scandal, but
tried its best to ignore such worries by looking to the past. Not
too far back, mind no peoples car here but rather to the potloving 60s. Yes, Volkswagens iconic Microbus is back. Except
theres no peace symbols, used bongs and dirty pillows here.
Instead, the gas engine is gone and the hard plastics are out in
come an electric engine, glossy, high-tech interior, and a name
change to BUDD-e. Sadly, its just a concept, a demonstration
of VWs modular electric car platform, but if it actually existed,
itd offer 373 miles of electric range, the potential for 80-percent
recharging in just fifteen minutes, and gesture control inside

What the Tech?

5 bizarre tech items from CES
by Rhuaridh Marr

ES IS PERHAPS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF Vegas: its massive,

glitzy, saturated with consumerism, and has more than its fair share
of bizarre eccentricities. Its those latter parts that really make the
annual tech-fest such an amusing, engaging experience the
products that make us wonder who on earth would ever buy them. Heres five
products revealed at CES that make little sense, but delighted us all the same.

CleverPet Hub
Gaming can be tough when youve got a pet. Dogs cant understand
that youre just one level away from finishing Halo, so theyll nudge
you, eager for more of that wonderful human love theyve become
so accustomed to. Enter CleverPet with a new feeding device that
brings gaming to your dog! No, really.
The CleverPet Hub is a $269 gadget that forces your pooch to
work for their meal. By pawing lights on the surface of the device,
dogs can unlock delicious treats and snacks. The dog has to hit the
right button at the right time to get a bit of their food for the day,
the companys cofounder told VentureBeat. There are some dogs
that take a little longer than others to learn. If your dog struggles to
respond to sit, perhaps give this a miss.
32

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

EHang 184 Drone

Drones are big business, stepping up in a big way over the past year
to delight consumers, filmmakers, emergency services and armed
forces alike, but this latest concept from Chinese manufacturer
EHang really stretches the term. Offering what is, essentially, a helicopter thats more likely to slice your knees than your head, EHang
believes that its Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) is the next great
thing in personal transport.
Capable of carrying a passenger over short distances flight time
is limited to around half an hour at a pretty reasonable 62 miles
per hour. EHang is eager to convince people that the EHang 184
isnt a helicopter for one terrifying reason: theres no controls inside.
Instead, everything is handled by a smartphone or tablet. Heres hop-

and out to interact with its various functions. Oh, and you can
use it like a giant speaker for your guitar, if youre so inclined.
Diesel who?
And if you thought manufacturers had slowed down on automation innovations, think again. Instead, CES demonstrated
several of the challenges facing the automotive industry, including making cars smart enough to detect human error. Nvidia
demonstrated its Nvidia Drive PX 2 automotive supercomputer,
which makes use of twelve CPUs and a powerful GPU to provide the power of roughly 150 MacBook Pros, enough to handle
the thousands of functions modern, connected cars will need to
crunch if were aiming for a more autonomous future, including
the usual infotainment systems, information from cameras and
sensors, driver inputs, and other functions. Sure, it wont play
Grand Theft Auto, but itll hopefully have the heft to keep your
future car running smoothly.

EVERYTHING ELSE
Traveling is tough if youre unfamiliar with the local language,
but Logbars Ili wearable translator aims to fix that problem. No
longer will you be forced to look up a local phrasebook, or ask
the Google app to translate your requests on the fly. Instead, Ili
is a wearable translator that automatically translates English,
Japanese and Chinese without an internet connection, meaning
youll never struggle to ask someone for directions to the nearest
restroom, how much that ramen costs, or where exactly youve

stumbled into. Ignoring the rather creepy product commercial,

which features a man asking Japanese women if he can kiss
them, it could be a pretty compelling tool for would-be adventurers when it launches later this year.
Perhaps a sign of our retro-loving times, both Panasonic and
Sony were eager to highlight their record players at CES. Yes,
record players for records. For Panasonic, it was the reintroduction of the Technics brand to turntable production, with the
Technics SL1200-GA bringing the brand back in time for its 50th
anniversary there hasnt been a new model of the DJ-favorite
turntable since the 00s. Not to be outdone, Sony unveiled the
PS-HX500, a turntable that will not only play your favorite
records, but also convert them to Sonys proprietary DSD file
format, or high-resolution WAV files. It also features Sonys
typically minimalist styling, so you can be retro cool and ultra
modern at the same time.
Wireless charging is all the rage at the moment, but it requires
dropping your phone onto a pesky charging pad, and thats so
much effort. Enter, then, Ossias Cota charger, which launches
this year and will charge devices up to ten feet away. Yes, using
a proprietary sensor that detects RF signals from the base and
directs them around obstacles, the tech can push one entire Watt
of power to a compatible device enough to charge an iPhone in
a compatible case in around four times as long as using the cable.
A slightly cooler implementation: Ossia will offer AA batteries
with the sensor inside, meaning that devices such as your TV
remote near the transmitter need never have their batteries
replaced. How convenient would that be? l

ing your battery is up to the task should the EHang ever make it to
market though dont expect the FAA to be too eager to approve it.
Faraday Future FFZERO1
Faraday Future aims to be the next Tesla, but its electric car while
undoubtedly cool to look at is strictly conceptual, as none of its
more outlandish motifs will ever reach consumers. With design
inspiration seemingly borrowed from Le Mans racers and Michael
Keatons 90s Batmobile, the FFZERO1 is merely an example of what
Faradays modular vehicle platform, dubbed VPA, is capable of. Itll
scale from smaller, cheaper vehicles to the outlandish FFZERO1.
Faradays plans involve a $1 billion manufacturing plant in Nevada
intended to break ground this year, but as for a car you can actually
buy? The automaker had nothing to offer at CES.
LG Styler
You know what your home really needs? A closet that will automatically steam and gently shake your clothes to get them fresh,
deodorized and crease-free because apparently no one has time

to iron these days. The price for

all of this convenience? $2,000.
Yes, $2,000. Oh, and it only has
enough space for a few items at
most. Maybe break out the ironing
board instead.
Parrot Pot
If you really love your plants, perhaps this is something youll be

interested in. For everyone

else, prepare to gasp. The
Parrot Pot is just that, a
flower pot. But its also
more than that. Its a bluetooth connected, batterypowered, self-watering,
bluetooth compatible flower pot that can keep plants
healthy and nurtured for as
long as its half gallon tank
can last. The catch? Its
$99. For a flower pot. Just
pick up a watering can. l

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

33

NIGHT

LIFE
LISTINGS
THURS., 01.14.16

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection
Music videos featuring
DJ Wess
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite,
$4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Open Day for Stonewall
Darts, 6-10pm $3 Rail
Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at
midnight, hosted by Miss
Kristina Kelly and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5
Cover under 21 and free
with college ID

DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
Centaur MC hosts prior
Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leathers
Highwaymen TNT host
Hot Jock Night Join
DC Leather Pride as they
welcome the prior MALs
Free Round-Trip Bus
Rides from Hotel and Bar,
9:30pm-1:30am for MAL
package holders $2 Bud

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com

METROWEEKLY.COM

35

36

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

scene
Otter Crossing at the Green Lantern
Friday, January 1
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

Photography by
Ward Morrison

and Bud Light Draughts, $3

Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call Mid-Atlantic Kennel
Korps on Club Bar, 9pm2am No Cover 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm DJs
BacK2bACk Green
Lanterns Blackout
Underwear Party, 11pm2am
JR.S
All You Can Drink for $15,
5-8pm $3 Rail Vodka
Highballs, $2 JR.s drafts,
8pm-close Throwback
Thursday featuring rock/
pop retro hits
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Drag Bingo

NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
9pm Cover 21+
FRI., 01.15.16

9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
5-9pm Friday Night
Videos with resident DJ
Shea Van Horn VJ
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,

$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis Upstairs open,
5-11pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail and
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks all
night DJ MadScience
upstairs DJ Keenan Orr
downstairs $10 cover
10pm-1am, $5 after 1am
21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
$2 Bud and Bud Light
Draughts, $3 Domestic
Bottles, $4 Rail and Import
Bottle Beer, $6 Call No
Cover 21+

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
$5 Smirnoff, all flavors,
all night long DJ Jack
Chang Grunt, featuring
Cake Moss, 10pm-2am
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1,
4-9pm $2 Skyy Highballs
and $2 Drafts, 10pmmidnight Retro Friday
$5 Coronas, $8 Vodka Red
Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat the Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
TOWN
DC Bear Crue Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles

Free Pizza, 7pm No

cover before 9:30pm
21+ Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-Lee,
Riley Knoxx and BaNaka
DJ Wess upstairs, DJs
BacK2bACk downstairs
GoGo Boys after 11pm
Doors open at 10pm For
those 21 and over, $10
For those 18-20, $15 18+
TOWN PATIO
Open 6pm No Cover
before 10pm Cover after
10pm (entry through Town)
TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Ziegfelds,
9pm Rotating Hosts
DJ in Secrets VJ Tre in
Ziegfelds Cover 21+

METROWEEKLY.COM

SAT., 01.16.16

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm $5 Absolut
& Titos, $3 Miller Lite
after 9pm Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover Music videos
featuring various DJs
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch at
Level One, 11am-2pm and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
Kelly and the Ladies of
Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody
Marys Happy Hour:
$3 Miller Lite, $4 Rail,
$5 Call, 4-9pm Drink
specials all night Doors
open 10pm $7 cover
before midnight, $10 cover
after 21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 4-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 8pm Join
Empire City Motorcycle
Club from Manhattan for

JANUARY 14, 2016

37

their Bar Night celebrating

Mid-Atlantic Leather 9,
9pm-2am 2 $2 Draughts,
Jello Shots Happy Hour,
8-10pm $2 Bud and
Bud Light Draughts, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call No Cover 21
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Drag Queen Broadway
Brunch, 10am-3pm
Starring Freddies
Broadway Babes Crazy
Hour, 4-7pm Freddies
Follies Drag Show,
8-10pm, hosted by Miss
Destiny B. Childs No
Cover
GREEN LANTERN
Spank DC presents
SPANK! upstairs, 2-6pm
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
$5 Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long 495 Bears
presents Bears Can Dance:
Leather, Boxers & Jocks
Party, 9pm-3am
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka
Highballs, $7 Vodka Red
Bulls

38

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm No Cover
TOWN
DJ Chord, 10pm-close
Music and video downstairs by DJ Wess Drag
Show starts at 10:30pm
Featuring a special performance by Sasha Hosted
by Lena Lett and featuring
Miss Tatianna, ShiQueeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
and BaNaka Doors open
10pm $12 Cover 21+
TOWN PATIO
Open 10pm (entry through
Town) $12 Cover
TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 2pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,

2-10pm Beer and wine

only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host Ella
Fitzgerald Doors at 9
p.m., first show at 11:30
p.m. % DJs Doors open
8pm Cover 21+
SUN., 01.17.16

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli, Stoli flavors and
Miller Lite all day DC
Leather Pride presents
their 2nd Annual BLUF
(Breeches and Leather
Uniform Fan Club): DC,
4-9pm Music by DJ Say
What!? Bootblacks Boy
Ed, Boy Andersen and
Widj Shuttle Bus from
Hyatt provided BLUF
Cardholders Free, BLUF

Members $5, All Others in

Gear $10, Everyone Else
$20 To reserve your
spot, visit blufdc.eventbrite.com Homowood
Karaoke, hosted by Robert
Bise, 10pm-close No
Cover for Karaoke 21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 2-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 12pm
Football on Big Screens
Happy Hour, 12-6pm
$2 Bud and Bud Light
Draughts, $3 Domestic
Bottles, $4 Rail and Import
Bottle Beer, $6 Call
Buffet, 2-7pm Like on
Facebook for menu options
$2 Bud and Bud Light
Draughts all day and night
No Cover 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke, 8pm1am

40

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Bears Can Party, featuring
DJ Jeff Eletto, 4-9pm
Strapd: The Green Lantern
Jockstrap Party upstairs,
9pm-2am Mamas
Trailer Park Karaoke downstairs, 9:30pm-close
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights and
$3 Skyy (all flavors), all
day and night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am3pm $20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
any drink, 3-9pm No
Cover

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

ROCK HARD SUNDAYS

@THE HOUSE
NIGHTCLUB
3530 Georgia Ave. NW
Diverse group of all male,
all nude dancers Doors
open 8pm Shows all
night until close, starting
at 8:30pm $5 Domestic
Beer, $6 Imports
$10 cover For Table
Reservations, 202-4876646 rockharddc.com
TOWN
Last Chance Tea Dance,
5-10pm Celebrating
Mid-Atlantic Leather
Weekend Featuring DJ
Scooter McCreight and
Kevin OConnor Doors
open 5pm $8 Cover, or
half of with gear WTF:
Cruise Ship, 10pm-close
Music by Aaron Riggins
and Ed Bailey Featuring
performances by Jaxknife,
Salvadora Dali, and Pu$$y
Noir No cover from
10-11 pm, $5 after 11 pm
Free of charge for those
who attended Last Chance
Tea Dance 21+

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 2pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm Beer and wine
only $4

COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Monday Nights A Drag,
hosted by Kristina Kelly
Doors open at 10pm
$3 Skyy Cocktails, $8 Skyy
and Red Bull $8 Long
Islands No Cover, 18+

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm

ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
9pm Cover 21+

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com

JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1,
4-9pm Showtunes Songs
& Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ James $3 Draft
Pints, 8pm-midnight

MON., 01.18.16

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis

DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
$1 Bud and Bud Light
Draughts Free Pool all
day and night Monday
Night Football on Big
Screens Men in DC
Eagle T-Shirts get Happy
Hour, 8pm-close $2 Bud
and Bud Light Draughts, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call No Cover 21+

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long
Michaels Open Mic
Night Karaoke, 9:30pmclose

NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Texas Holdem
Poker, 8pm Dart Boards
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

41

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
TUES., 01.19.16

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis

42

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
SIN Service Industry
Night $1 Rail Drinks
all night

NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Karaoke and
Drag Bingo

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com

NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Safe Word: A Gay Spelling
Bee, 8-11pm Prizes to
the top three spellers
After 9pm, $3 Absolut,
Bulleit & Stella

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long,
4pm-close
JR.S
Birdie La Cage Show,
10:30pm Underground
(Indie Pop/Alt/Brit Rock),
9pm-close DJ Wes
Della Volla 2-for-1, 5pmmidnight

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4 l

44

SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 14, 2016

45

Its the son who finds the courage

to come out as who he is,

and the father whose love for that son overrides everything hes been taught.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, during his final State of the Union address on Tuesday. The President also noted, in a thinly veiled

nod to the Supreme Court decision this past June, that we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love.

I can agree to disagree with her position and those who support her, but
she has the right to be there.
JIM OBERGEFELL, speaking to The Hill about Kentucky clerk Kim Davis being invited to the State of the Union
by Republican lawmakers.

If jokes caused the easily offended to bleed internally,

Id do more stand up.
RICKY GERVAIS, on Twitter defending jokes he made during the Golden Globes ceremony about Caitlyn Jenner. Gervais referred
to Caitlyn as Bruce and joked about a car crash she was involved in last year which injured seven and killed one person.
She became a role model for trans people everywhere She didnt do a lot for women drivers,
but you cant do everything, he quipped.

Without being a dick about it, I owe it to myself, more than anything,
to be who I needed when I was younger.
Actor CHARLIE CARVER, star of MTVs Teen Wolf and HBOs The Leftovers, writing on Instagram in a series of posts revealing his sexuality. Carver was open to his family (including his straight twin, Max), but hid his sexuality once his career started to
take off, something he regrets. I now believe that by omitting this part of myself from the record, I am complicit
in perpetuating the suffering, fear, and shame cast upon so many in the world, he wrote.

Im just a gay guy from Indiana

who doesnt play basketball.

CBS Entertainment Chairman GLENN GELLER, the networks first openly gay president, speaking with reporters. There is
diversity at CBS, he said. It exists in front and and behind the camera. Can we do better? I think we are.

46

JANUARY 14, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM