Welcome Week is over, and, with the start of classes, comes your chance to start exploring the city. The D.C. fall arts season is just beginning, so take advantage of the best concerts, plays and other arts events D.C. has to offer this week.
Today, Aug. 30: Vieux Farka Touré at 9:30 club
The 9:30 club mostly brings bigger-name indie rock acts, but today features a change from the traditional rock show with Mali’s Vieux Farka Touré. The son of Ali Farka Touré, one of Africa’s renowned guitar virtuosos, Mali-born Vieux carries on the tradition of his father’s music with his own take on the desert blues of Northern Mali. Vieux’s new album, “The Secret,” features collaborations with Derek Trucks and Dave Matthews. Trained as a percussionist, Vieux also studied the harp-like kora and has been dubbed “the Hendrix of the Sahara.”
Wednesday, Aug. 31: Wise Blood at DC9
Wise Blood doesn’t record songs so much as he weaves together a drugged-out collage of samples. The mysterious project of Pittsburgh native Chris Laufman, Wise Blood’s warped, lo-fi experimental music has been steadily gaining buzz over the past year. Laufman recently released the “+” EP featuring the Led Zeppelin-distorting single “B.I.G. E.G.O,” as well as contributed a woozy cover of Strokes hit “Someday” to Stereogum’s “Is This It” tribute compilation. Wise Blood is touring in anticipation of his upcoming “These Wings EP.”
Thursday, Sept. 1: Theater J’s Imagining Madoff
D.C.’s Theater J is the professional theater group of the Jewish Community Center, and their 2011 season opener is “Imagining Madoff,” a play written by Obie Award winner Deb Margolin about infamous Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff. The much-anticipated play revolves around a fictional encounter between the now-imprisoned Madoff and the victims who he scammed. Imagining Madoff was supposed to be staged by Theater J in May 2010, but Holocaust victim and famed author Elie Wiesel objected to the play’s use of his character, forcing the play back into revisions. The new version is playing this fall at the D.C. Jewish Community Center.
Friday, Sept. 2: The War on Drugs at the Red Palace
The Philadelphia-based band The War On Drugs are touring in support of their new album “Slave Ambient,” which has received positive reviews and snagged a BNM on Pitchfork. Kurt Vile was a founding member of the War on Drugs before he left the band to record his own music, and his influences are apparent on the band’s rustic rock sound. The album’s expansive indie rock is made for live shows, so don’t miss the War on Drugs at the Red Palace, supported by Cavemen and Paperhaus.
Saturday, Sept. 3: The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Julius Caesar
D.C. is a city generous with its free events, offering free museums, music events and even the occasional play. In what has become a beloved D.C. tradition, the Shakespeare Theatre Company stages a free play every year, and this year’s offering is a reboot of their 2007-2008 production of Shakespeare’s lauded tragedy “Julius Caesar.” Tickets are free, and can be obtained by entering your name in the ticket lottery on the company’s website. “Julius Caesar” closes at the end of this week, so don’t miss this yearly offering of free Shakespeare.
Sunday, Sept. 4: National Symphony Orchestra’s Labor Day Capitol Concert
In a Labor Day tradition, the National Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Kicking off their 2011 season, the National Symphony Orchestra will perform a program that pays musical tribute to legends of D.C. music, including John Phillip Sousa, jazz great Duke Ellington and Chuck Brown, the father of go-go music, whose band will follow the orchestral portion of the evening.