Nightlife Agenda Pick of the Week

The best thing about legendary BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's late-night sessions -- which you can listen to on www.bbc.co.uk/radio1 -- is the way he bounces between genres and artists in a manner that's virtually unknown in the United States. He thinks nothing of playing a set that contains unreleased Slum Village, jump-up house remixes by Lil' Louie Vega and Coki's deep, gut-shaking dubstep, topped off by some weird Sun Ra. Somehow, it all flows into one head-nodding block. Latin, vintage house, new-school soul -- you'll hear and groove to it all. The eclecticism is something to be expected from Peterson, who's always on the forefront of funky new sounds. He's the man behind the Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud labels, which broke Jamiroquai and the Brand New Heavies back in the '90s before introducing worldwide audiences to Roni Size's groundbreaking drum 'n' bass, 4hero's breakbeats and MJ Cole's futuristic two-step garage. Peterson very rarely makes it to Washington -- he hasn't been here for seven or eight years -- and we can't believe that he's playing for free at Five on Wednesday, March 28. It's a show that's sponsored by Scion, whose habit of bringing talent like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Ras Kass to D.C. means that it does a better job than most car manufacturers when it comes to being mentioned in this column. You need to RSVP, though -- head to pookiesgallery.com and take care of that before the spots fill up. Local godfather of house Sam "The Man" Burns, Jahsonic and Munch are on the bill representing D.C. Full disclosure: Our own DJ Stylus (nee Rhome Anderson) is also performing, but having Gilles Peterson performing in Washington is such a major event that we felt we had to tell you about it.

This is just one of the events featured in this week's Nightlife Agenda column, along with a late night at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, a full slate of Bhangra Blowout parties and a live performance by Music Editor David Malitz's favorite band (at this moment).

By Fritz Hahn |  March 21, 2007; 7:09 PM ET Bars and Clubs
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