If you're looking forward to sampling beers from 40 different breweries at the Capitol City Brewing Company's Oktoberfest in Shirlington tomorrow, be warned: The days of unlimited tastes are over.

For the last five years, attendees paid one price for admission and a tasting glass, and then could wander through the festival and try any beer that struck their fancy until last call. Not any more.

Earlier today, the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control told Brewer Mike McCarthy that Cap City would not receive the licenses it needed to hold the festival if it allowed attendees to taste as many beers as they wanted.

"The ABC raked us over the coals at the 11th hour," McCarthy said in a phone call. He says he was told that each person who pays the $25 admission can have no more than 10 tastes of beer all day. Period.

McCarthy is baffled by the ruling, pointing out that patrons of last weekend's Northern Virginia Brewfest got unlimited tastings for one price, as did patrons of the Vintage Crystal wine festival in Crystal City the weekend before. He attributes the change to the arrival of a new ABC officer who's not familiar with the festival, and adds that, as in previous years, Capitol City "has the support of the police who work here. They love it."

Because Oktoberfesters will receive less beer, Capitol City has lowered the price of admission to $20, which includes those 10 tickets, and beers in the brewpub will be $2 all day.

With a finite number of opportunities to drink, though, this year's festival is going to lose the element of exploration that made it so exciting -- the chance to happen upon a beer you'd never tried before, or the decision to taste a new seasonal beer on a whim. When you've only got 10 chances, with no do-overs, you need to be more cautious with your tickets.

So I asked McCarthy to put himself in the shoes of an Oktoberfest patron. What would he spend his 10 tickets on?

"Well, I'd go to Chimay and Spaten -- they have a tent together, and I'd use a ticket on a Chimay. I'd go to Oskar Blues, because they're going to have the Ten Fidy imperial stout. I'd go to Capitol City Brewing Co (laughs), I'd hit up Troegs, because I really like their beers. I'd go to Stone Brewing, and Bell's [Brewing], and I'd definitely go to District Chophouse. [Barrett Laurer]'s beers are really good this year. Dogfish head is going, go have their Pumpkin Ale, which people love. Bear Republic, from California. And Allagash. You can't go wrong with Allagash."

-- Fritz

I pinned these as loyal fans. (Photos by Lavanya Ramanathan)

Last night, nearly 15 years after calling it quits, the New Kids on the Block returned to Washington to play Verizon Center, no longer kids but men 35 to 39 years old.

And herds of women in their 20s and 30s forked over somewhere between $40 and $80 a ticket (assuming they paid face value), dug out their circa-1989 T-shirts and jumbo buttons from attics and garages and went to see them. And they skipped the VP debate to do it.

In an effort to better understand my Jordan Knight-loving sistas, I went to Verizon Center last night, too, partly to be part of this weird pilgrimage being undertaken by women my age, partly out of curiosity. Who still holds a torch for "Hangin' Tough" -- and seriously, why?

Everybody's hungry for the Taste of Bethesda. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

"Taste of [Insert Neighborhood Here]" events are now common around the area, but Taste of Bethesda and Taste of Georgetown are a pair of the longest-running and most well known. In action for 19 and 15 years (respectively), the festivals are a way to try-before-you-really-buy, offering samples of restaurant fare for a fraction of the cost. Since the fests are on tap this week and next, here's a quick rundown of what to expect.

At Madame Tussauds, feel free to kiss, hug, touch and otherwise have your way with wax celebrities. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

For me, Madame Tussauds, with its nearly $20 price tag, has been the one museum best left to the tourists -- even though I'd love to spend a Saturday afternoon straightening the skinny ties of a waxen Jonas Brothers and comparing my assets to J-Lo's.

And I know I'm not the only one who's curious.

Next Wednesday through Saturday (Oct. 8-11), thrifty Washingtonians will have a chance to visit Madame Tussauds for just $1 as the wax museum celebrates the first anniversary of its D.C. location. (Doesn't it seem like it's been there far longer?)

The catch: They want you to sing "Happy Birthday" at the box office. They'll still let you in if you don't, but you will be considered a poor sport.

-- Lavanya Ramanathan

There are plenty of great shows during this year's Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, but Sunday's Jazz on the Mall is the best of the bunch. The free concert features a host of top acts, including blues singer Taj Mahal, renowned bassist Christian McBride, former John Coltrane pianist McCoy Tyner and vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. In today's Got Plans?, someone asked when Taj Mahal was playing and the best info I could give was what it said on his MySpace page. But now the entire schedule has been released, so check it out below and plan accordingly.

12-12:50 - Afro Blue
1-2 - Taj Mahal
2:15-3:15 - Christian McBride Quartet
3:30-4:30 - Conrad Herwig Latin Side Project
4:45-5:45 - McCoy Tyner Quartet
6-7:15 - Dee Dee Bridgewater

-- David

McCoy Tyner plays a free show on the Mall as part of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. (Gene Martin/The Washington Post)

A couple of very different festivals -- Sonic Circuits DC and Duke Ellington Jazz Festival -- highlight the picks for early in the month. One of them features a transgender singer-songwriter who sometimes sounds like Randy Newman, the other has one of John Coltrane's most renowned collaborators. Try to guess which is which! Also, a tough decision with the Wedding Present vs. Wire, the return of Shudder to Think and a great Beck cover by Jay Reatard in this supersize edition of the mixtape.

"Birthday" - The Bird and the Bee (Oct. 3, Jammin' Java)
Light, breezy, ethereal indie-pop.

"Displacer" - Dead Science (Oct. 3, Velvet Lounge)
Whatever the opposite of light, breezy, ethereal indie-pop is.

"Susie at the Seashore" - These United States (Oct. 4, Rock and Roll Hotel)
The local group led by Jesse Elliot is back with its second album and this song, at least, shows off a new T.Rex-inspired sound.

"Rainbow Flag" - Matmos (Oct. 4, Velvet Lounge)
The soundtrack to your dream where you get locked in the arcade and Pacman and Donkey Kong are chasing you and you cannot escape.

"Time" - The Rumble Strips (Oct. 5, Black Cat)
I say this as a compliment: These guys remind me of a modern-day Dexy's Midnight Runners.

"Giant Steps" (YouTube video) - McCoy Tyner (Oct. 5, National Mall)
Here's a fantastic performance of the jazz legend and former John Coltrane collaborator taking on the 'Trane classic, on which he originally performed.

"Teeth Are the Only Bones That Show" - Baby Dee (Oct. 5, Velvet Lounge)
The transgender singer-songwriter/performance artists is an underground hero whose performances can make most acts at the Palace of Wonders seem positively normal. This song is a fairly straightforward, jaunty piano pop song.

"Just One of Those Things" - Alex Brown (Oct. 6, Blues Alley)
The very young jazz pianist, a member of Paquito D'Rivera's band, is making waves on the jazz scene.

"Singing to the Earth (To Thank Her for You)" - Apollo Sunshine (Oct. 9, DC9)
More breezy, less etherial indie-pop. There's a lot of that these days. This Philly band does it better than most, though.

"Hit Liquor" (YouTube video) - Shudder to Think (Oct. 10, 9:30 club)
D.C.'s most confounding almost-stars of the '90s are back, and this stilted rocker is a good example of the band's slippery appeal.

(15 more after the jump...)

So last week we did a big rundown of all the debate-watching events around town. With two debates taking place over the next week -- vice presidential candidates on Thursday, then the presidential candidates on Tuesday -- you won't be surprised to learn that many bars are going to be getting into the spirit again, with viewing parties and food and drink specials. (And, to be honest, many of them are sticking with the same formula they used last time around.)

The bars that follow are all showing the debate with sound, because it's no fun trying to read the typo-ridden subtitles in a crowded bar.

May the best cupcake win. These CakeLove samples? Probably not the one. (James M. Thresher for The Washington Post)

Update: This week, we sampled goods from a favorite bakery in Bethesda and from a business that recently started selling at a Logan Circle cafe. Read the results here.

In this week's Food section, we Posties are embarking on a great challenge, one that we're undertaking with humility and a solemn sense of responsibility. We're tasting cupcakes from a dozen bakeries in pursuit of Washington's best. For the next six weeks, we'll be risking our waistlines for you, gentle readers, so that your cupcake dollars never go misspent.

We'll be keeping track of our findings on this chart, but we want to hear from you about your local favorite. Is it Sticky Fingers, CakeLove, Buzz, Lavender Moon Cupcakery, Hello Cupcake, Just Cakes, Sweet Christina's, Pastries by Randolph, Georgetown Cupcake, Baked & Wired, Furin's or Baltimore Cupcake (sold at Hitched)? Let us know by voting in this poll. Write-in votes are encouraged in the comments section below.

A final note: Surely there are those who are sick of the cupcake trend or those who hail from other cities where cupcakes are already yesterday's news. To them, I say, lighten up. In these uncertain times, we could all use a snack.

-- Julia

Swedish rockers Division of Laura Lee are just one of the attractions at the House of Sweden of Friday -- there's also a fashion show and roofop DJs. (Joshua Kessler/Courtesy of Burning Heart Records)

A diverse Nightlife Agenda column includes a French happy hour at Hillwood, a Swedish concert and fashion show at the House of Sweden, the debuts of a new lounge and new hip-hop DJ night, some Sonic Circuits Festival shows to catch, a rare appearance by Northern Soul legend Lou Pride and a dance party with roof-raising Canadian electrofunk duo Chromeo.

I made a rare trip outside the office today to pick up some lunch across the street at Corner Bakery. The restaurant is attached at the hip to a shrunken Olsson's Books and Records location and I noticed a sign in the door saying something like "Olsson's is closed. Thanks for all the ..." OK, that's when I stopped reading and went to get some food. I figured this was just the latest location of the local chain to bite the dust. But it turns out the news was much more dire -- all six five branches of the local chain are closed. Forever. Immediately. Gone.

A press release posted today on the company's Web site lists the reasons you'd expect for something like this: "stagnant sales, low cash reserves, and an inability to renegotiate current leases, along with a continuing weak retail economy and plummeting music sales." The events of the past week certainly couldn't have helped.

Olsson's was sort of in no-man's land, the last of a dying breed -- the local chain. You could always find a place with a little better selection and a little better price, and because there wasn't a single location, like, say, Politics & Prose, it was hard to feel the same connection. But the staff picks were always reliable, they knew what they were selling, and, at least at the Courthouse location, the vinyl selections they kept behind the desk were extremely choice.

We didn't even get one last bargain-bin shopping session. Bummer.

-- David