Thursday: I Was Monty’s Double at the Library of Congress
If you have the stomach to willingly head anywhere near the Capitol Building right now, this free screening at the Library of Congress may be just what you need to have some faith restored in America and democratic ideals. The 1958 film tells the true story of British General Bernard Montgomery and a guy pretending to be British General Bernard Montgomery. In May 1944, actor M. E. Clifton James was brought into the Allied war effort to fool Nazis. James impersonated General Montgomery on a tour of North Africa to keep attention away from the upcoming invasion of Normandy. It worked. D-Day was a success and, as of this writing, none of the Allied nations succumbed to Nazism. The actor wrote the book I Was Monty’s Double in 1954 and the film was made four years later. Starring James, the actor and writer plays both himself and the general, again. While America today seems friendlier to Nazi ideals, this film stands as an important rebuff, regardless of what certain tech leaders want you to believe. It’s going to be a long four years. Consistent reminders that the Allies won World War II may be good for the soul. I Was Monty’s Double screens at 7 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE. loc.gov. Free. —Brandon Wetherbee
Thursday: Yamato: The Drummers of Japan at the Music Center at Strathmore
With more than 40 taiko drums of different sizes, Japan’s Yamato Drummers are an ensemble whose members energetically and theatrically play the percussion instruments, and sometimes vary that sound with bells, bronze cymbals, chanted vocals, traditional stringed instruments, and bamboo flutes. Artistic director Masa Ogawa, who founded the group in 1993, conceives a new program for the Yamato Drummers every two years. This year’s program, “人の力 ”Hito no Chikara (The Power of Human Strength),” using drama and humor as well as music, looks at humanity’s evolving relationship with technology and wonders whether artificial intelligence could ever duplicate or replace the distinctive human-propelled sound of taiko drumming. Ogawa creates the music, choreographs the members movements, and works with a team on costume and lighting design. The Yamato Drummers not only practice the program extensively, Ogawa tells City Paper via email that they prepare for the physicality of the performances by running roughly 6.2 miles in the mountains or rice fields most mornings and by shadow drumming with just their sticks before bringing the drums in. This training especially helps those who pound one of their most exhilarating, booming drums, an “Odaiko,” which is made in part from wood from a 400-plus-year-old tree, has a 6.5-foot circumference, and weighs 1,102 pounds. Yamato Drummers perform at 8 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda. strathmore.org. $48–$78. —Steve Kiviat
Friday: Universal Language at the Freer Gallery of Art
This weekend there are two places in the DMV where you can see a gorgeous movie, shot on film, that addresses the immigrant experience and a school of architecture that’s much maligned but gaining in acceptance. While Brady Corbet’s epic drama The Brutalist is playing at AFI Silver, the modest, magical 2024 gem from Canadian director Matthew Rankin screens on the Mall Friday to cast its dryly endearing spell in less than half the time of its Oscar-bound complement. A deadpan fairy tale, Universal Language begins with two children who find money frozen in ice, and in short order brings in a Montreal businessman (Rankin) who returns to Winnipeg to reconnect with old family. What makes this strange tale most unusual is that its meticulous compositions are framed by banal Brutalist behemoths, in a French Canadian city where business signs—including the ubiquitous coffeehouse chain Tim Horton’s—are printed in Farsi. Universal Language is loaded with laughs both broad and subtle, from a running joke about turkeys to opening credits that are a spot-on impersonation of Abbas Kiarostami’s early works. But the film’s heart finally beats for the innocence of children and the importance of family. Rankin has created a distinct and fantastic low-budget world that might be a little too cute, but it’s full of delights. Universal Language screens at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24 at Freer Gallery of Art, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. asia.si.edu. Free, but register in advance. —Pat Padua
Saturday: Jordana at Union Stage
Maryland born and raised, Jordana has taken the bedroom pop circuit by storm since she burst onto the scene in 2020 with Classical Notions of Happiness. She’s kept busy in the five years since, releasing three more full-length albums and several EPs, including a collaboration with celebrated band TV Girl. Despite her DMV roots, Jordana’s latest project, Lively Premonition, draws inspiration from her recent move to Los Angeles. The album re-introduces us to Jordana with a distinctly West Coast sound. “Like A Dog” and “Raver Girl” evoke a young Carole King sensibility and make me want to dance in a way that’s rare for bedroom pop. On this record, Jordana proves she can do it all. With her far-ranging discography and mature musical voice, it’s easy to forget she’s 24 but that reminder makes me excited for all of the work she has yet to release. I caught her at Union Stage in September 2023 and was blown away by the subtlety and playfulness of her live show. She played the entire set in a housecoat with a roller atop her head, forcing the audience to feel at home with her. This return to Union Stage will be a homecoming worth catching. Jordana plays at 8 p.m. on Jan. 25 at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. unionstagepresents.com. $18. —Serena Zets
Saturday: Third Annual Abortion Access Benefit Series
In November, seven states enshrined the right to abortion access in their constitutions, including three that cast their electoral votes for Donald Trump. And whether Trump will push for a federal ban is hard to say. He has waffled on the issue before, but his notorious unpredictability and connections to the authors of the Project 2025 manifesto have advocates on edge. Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, 21 states have instituted restrictions on abortion, including West Virginia’s draconian ban, which has triggered an influx of people from out-of-state traveling to D.C. and Maryland for abortion care. Meanwhile, thanks to a clogged news cycle, the issue has fallen off the radar for many people and the post-Dobbs surge of donations to abortion access organizations has steadied to a trickle. “Starting the day Trump takes office, we anticipate a wave of renewed attacks on bodily autonomy,” Katie Quinonez of the Maryland Women’s Health Center told the Baltimore Banner in a pre-inauguration interview. “People living in bigger cities need to support those held hostage by far-right conservative ideals.” The Abortion Access Benefit Series aims to enable folks living in D.C. to do just that with an upcoming evening of music at Songbyrd. Since its launch in 2023, the series has featured performances by more than 100 artists (Cat Power, Mac DeMarco, Kim Gordon, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have all chipped in) and raised more than $110,000 for abortion access. All proceeds go to Noise For Now, a pro-choice organization that distributes funding to clinics throughout the U.S. The series will feature a smorgasbord of local music when it stops by Songbyrd, including the moody teen poem rock of Birthday Girl DC, the discordant dance vibes of Clear Channel, and the atemporal post-grunge of Flowers for the Dead. I know we all just want to bed rot in our dark apartments right now, but coming out to see local music and show support for bodily autonomy, women’s rights, and access to health care will do you far more good than generating passive income for some sociopath billionaire as you scroll social media. Don’t give up. The event starts at 8 p.m. on Jan. 25 at Songbyrd, 540 Penn St. NE. songbyrddc.com. $32.19. —Will Lennon
Sunday: Sierra Spirit at the Anthem
I know, $56 might be a little steep to see an artist who likely won’t headline a stage the size of the Anthem for a few more years, but it might be worth it to say you saw Sierra Spirit when. The solo project of young native artist Sierra Spirit Kihega (Otoe-Missouria and Keetoowah Cherokee) is as funny as it is poignant, as smart as it is sad. Though her discography is fledgling, her unique twist on indie rock makes me suspect we’ll be hearing her name more and more in the coming years. Released in October, her debut EP, coin toss, lasts only 20 minutes, but the melancholy riffs of her twangy guitar haunt you long after “i’ll be waiting (pug)”—an ode to her late grandmother—ends. Sierra Spirit opens for David Gray. Sierra Spirit plays at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. theanthemdc.com. $56–$126. —Sarah Marloff
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