The Washington Post - 23.08.2019

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THE WASHINGTON POST

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

Best BetsNoteworthy events this week

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend fans waited

six long years between the

band’s 2013 opus “Modern

Vampires of the City” and this

year’s “Father of the Bride.” By

the time the band’s fourth

album arrived in May, fans also

were met with a different band,

most notably one missing

producer, multi-instrumentalist

and D.C. native Rostam

Batmanglij. While Batmanglij

still helps out on a few songs,

singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig is

fully running the show and

lyrically is consumed by dread,

both literal and existential.

Koenig’s writing is more direct

than ever on the expansive 18-

track album, which runs the

musical gamut and finds the

band channeling the Grateful

Dead (“Harmony Hall,”

“Sunflower”); sampling film

composer Hans Zimmer’s “The

Thin Red Line” score; and

teaming with Haim’s Danielle

Haim for country-eqsue duets.

When: Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Merriweather Post

Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent

Pkwy., Columbia.

merriweathermusic.com.

Tickets: $39.50-$89.50.

Taste of Barbados

Earlier this month, Barbadians

celebrated Crop Over, a

centuries-old carnival that

includes parades, concerts and

street parties. If you didn’t make

it to the Caribbean island during

the six-week festival, you can

still get a taste of the culture at A

Taste of Barbados, an annual

gathering at the Embassy of

Barbados. Sample traditional

food and drink — including a

rum punch made by Plantation

Rum ambassador Dameain

Williams — while listening to DJs

spin soca and other Bajan

music.

When: Saturday from 2 to 7

p.m.

Where: Embassy of Barbados,

2144 Wyoming Ave. NW.

bawdca.org.

Admission: Free.

Final Jazz in the

Garden

As summer is drawing to a close

— well, spiritually, even if the

weather isn’t following suit —

you can send off the season

with one last chance to sip

sangria in the National Gallery

of Art Sculpture Garden while

listening to jazzy tunes. Local

ensemble Funky Dawgz Brass

Band takes the stage for the

final installment in this year’s

edition of the NGAs popular free

Friday concert series. If you’ve

never staked out a spot, get

ready to bump shoulders with a

wide swath of D.C. as you

chitchat and take in the sights.

(Just remember that you still

need to keep your hands off the

priceless art.)

When: Friday from 5 to 8:30

p.m.

Where: National Gallery of Art

Sculpture Garden, Constitution

Avenue and Seventh Street NW.

nga.gov/jazz.

Admission: Free.

TopGolf Crush

Until TopGolf opened at National

Harbor earlier this summer, fans

of the high-tech golf game had to

venture out into the Virginia

suburbs to tee off on targets. For

one weekend, TopGolf is coming

to Washington proper, and the

draw is that golfers can use the

outfield typically patrolled by

Juan Soto, Victor Robles and

Adam Eaton as their own private

fairway for an hour. TopGolf

takes a typical golf driving range

setup and adds island-shaped

targets that award points for

accuracy and distance. Each bay

holds groups of up to six, but

leave the lucky driver at home:

Only TopGolf-issued clubs are

permitted.

When: Through Sunday; tee

times vary.

Where: Nationals Park, 1500 S.

Capitol St. SE. topgolf.com/us/

crush.

Tickets: $10-$110.

— Hau Chu, Rudi Greenberg

and Fritz Hahn

Music

Del Florida;

Farruko;

Brittany

Howard;

Flatbush

Zombies; Sting.

5

Dining

Tom Sietsema’s

faves. 10

Nightlife

Happy Hour

chat. 12

Stage

“Assassins” at

Signature. 16

Movies

“American

Factory” is the

first movie from

the Obamas’

Higher Ground

Productions.

20

INSIDE

Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride

Two weeks after the U.S. National Team retained the Women’s World Cup, the Washington

Spirit recorded their first capacity crowd of the three-month-old National Women’s Soccer

League season. Was that because of the World Cup spurring a greater appreciation of

women’s soccer? The chance to welcome home World Cup winners Mallory Pugh and Rose

Lavelle? Probably a bit of both. The Spirit have played two more matches at the Maryland

SoccerPlex this month, including another sellout against the second-place Chicago Fire, but

the most eye-catching fixture finds the team on a bigger stage: Audi Field. D.C. United’s

stadium is more centrally located, and more importantly, its capacity is several times larger

than the SoccerPlex, meaning more fans can watch Lavelle, Pugh and company take on the

Orlando Pride, led by U.S. striker Alex Morgan and Brazilian legend Marta.

When: Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Audi Field, 100 Potomac Ave. SW. washingtonspirit.com.

Tickets: $37-$158.

RICH POLK/GETTY IMAGES FOR IHEARTMEDIA

Ezra Koenig’s Vampire

Weekend kept fans waiting.

HANNAH WAGNER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Andi Sullivan and the Washington Spirit have sold out two of their matches since the U.S. National

Team won the World Cup. Next up for the Spirit? A bigger stage at D.C. United’s Audi Field.