Atoms Apart at Pancakes and Booze DC

The annual Pancakes and Booze art show is hitting Penn Social in DC again this Thursday, April 6. This huge underground music and art party draws thousands of people to the large Chinatown location. This time the Arlington brothers Atoms Apart are performing from 7 to 8:30.

Brothers Mike and Emil Favila are the electronic pop duo Atoms Apart from Washington DC. They write, perform and record all their own music, lyrics and videos. Their sound has been compared to bands like Postal Service, M83 and New Order. Their debut album White Label is out now on Bandcamp, Itunes, Google Play, Amazon MP3 and all major digital outlets.

Thursday night will include:

- 100+ Emerging Artists

- Live Body Painting

- FREE Pancake Bar

- 21+ EVENT

- And live DJ sets by:

• 7:00-8:30 Atoms Apart
• 8:45-10:15 Missing
• 10:30-12:00 DJ Jon Chris
• 12:30-2:00 Moose Baby

Goodbye Carpool

Carpool is already surrounded with many
high rise apartments in Ballston.

Beloved local bar Carpool in Ballston is set to close its doors and garage bays for the last time this Monday, April 3. Sadly the longtime favorite casual sports bar will be torn down for a 22 story apartment building later this year.

Carpool has occupied a special place in the Arlington night life scene for years as its cheap prices, what-you-expected-from-a-dive bar food, pool and dart games, and a great open area on the patio that connects to the main bar when its garage doors are open. It's one of the few "dive" type bars left in the area, and a key spot for long time regulars and casual happy hours and Penn State grads.

With the nice spring weather upon us Carpool should see lots a business this weekend. Monday night will be the best time to visit as it is also the celebration of opening day for Nationals baseball season.

Blarney Blowout Breakfast

Instead of a St. Patrick's Day bar crawl in Arlington, Project DC Events is throwing a Blarney Blowout breakfast bash on Saturday March 18 morning at multiple Arlington locations. Keep the fun going from the Friday night festivities with a little help of hair of the dog at this Irish breakfast at either A-Town, Pamplona, Clarendon Grill or Courthaus Social.

Tickets are $25 and are for one of the four venues only, so choose your adventure wisely. Tickets include an all you can eat breakfast from 8 to 11am, drink specials, DJs, raffles and outfit contests. Wearing as much green as possible is recommended.

Derek Evry at Black Cat

Local favorite Derek Evry is taking the stage at Black Cat in DC on Friday March 10 for the first time playing in his own band. Derek frequents many Clarendon and DC venues often and is a huge part of our local music scene. In addition, the $12 show ($10 in advance) will feature more music and burlesque:

LIVE MUSIC from:
Jonny Grave & the Tombstones
Oh He Dead
Derek Evry & the Rhythm Section

BURLESQUE by:
GiGi Holliday of Chocolate City Burlesque and Cabaret
Whiskey Joy of Baltimore, MD

Hosted by:
Jenn Tisdale

This is an exciting time for Derek, as last week was not only his birthday but he also announced his engagement to Emily Henry, also a super talented singer-songwriter. Congrats!

Qianlei Li at Iota

Qianlei Li returns to Iota this Wednesday, March 8 at 10pm to once again play the unique Chinese violin Erhu and perform a variety of music from classic traditional songs to Adele covers. Qianlei has been playing the Erhu since she was six and has performed many times at local venues, including recently at the Verizon center before a Caps game. This Wednesday Qianlei will play along with other local talents at Iota's open mic night, presented by Alex Parez. Free show starts at 8pm.

Mardi Gras Parade and Ball

The Clarendon Alliance is producing the 2017 Clarendon Mardi Gras parade on Tuesday, February 28 starting at Wilson Blvd and N. Barton Street and will continue up Wilson Boulevard, past Liberty Tavern and end on N. Irving Street. Clarendon has for a number of years brought the community together to celebrate Fat Tuesday with an annual parade and nightlife celebrations. After the parade, there will be the Second Annual Mardi Gras Ball at Clarendon Ballroom. There will be live music, great food in the Fat Tuesday tradition with beer, wine and punch. The Mardi Gras Ball is a ticketed event, which along with parade entry fees helps the Clarendon Alliance defray their substantial parade expenses. A portion of the proceeds from the Ball will be donated to our nonprofit partners, Arlington Independent Media, and WERA-FM 96.7. Purchase Mardi Gras Ball Tickets here.

Save IOTA!

I nearly had a heart attack when ArlNow.com broke the story of the possible future closing of Iota given the developer Regency Centers plan to the demolish 2800 Clarendon building. Since then, the developer who also owns Market Common Clarendon has responded saying they have "been actively working with the owner of IOTA since we acquired the center to do what we can to keep her as a part of the redevelopment."

Despite those assurances, local fans of the small live music venue that has graced our neighborhood for decades have created a petition to Arlington County to Save Iota and oppose the demolition plan. The next Clarendon Courthouse Civic Association meeting is happening this Thursday February 23 at 7:30pm at the Hyatt Place hotel in Courthouse (where Wilson Tavern used to be).

Come out to the Civic Association meeting Thursday night to voice your opinion and talk directly the developers. With the recent rash of local restaurant closings last year I don't think the community can stomach another loss, let alone a long time historical staple like Iota Club and Café.

Reston Bar Crawl for Fairfax Boxing Club

A former Clarendon resident created the promotion company Rabid Events to help fundraise for local non-profits. Rabid's first event is the bar crawl for the Fairfax Boxing Club being held this Saturday February 11 2-8pm in Reston Town Center. Starting at World Of Beer, portions of the sales will go to support the Fairfax Boxing Club which strives to mentor at-risk youth through boxing and to put them on a track of health, fitness, and community involvement. FBC will receive 25% of every sale and a percentage of restaurant sales as well. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 online.

Silent Disco at A-Town

On Thursday, February 9th, join the crew at A-Town for the grand opening of Silent Disco Thursdays! Watch three DJs compete and go head to head at the same time while you choose any of the three on your headphones and rock out to whichever you choose!

DJ Phlipz - EDM, Top 40, House
DJ Emervize - Bachata, Salsa
DJ Reckless - International, Latin

Tickets are just $5 for your headset for the night.

White Ford Bronco at Clarendon Ballroom

One of the best 90s cover bands out there White Ford Bronco will be playing Clarendon Ballroom  on Friday, February 3. Since 2008, this five member band has played all around the DC area at Clarendon Ballroom, Clarendon Grill and Truckeroo amongst over places. It's no surprise they were named Best Local Cover Band in Washington City Paper earlier this year, as their energetic renditions of your favorite songs and Gretchen's vocals will make you an instant fan of theirs. Music stars at 10pm and cover is $12.