WAMU 88.5 : Art Beat

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'Art Beat' With Sean Rameswaram

August 26, 2011
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Chuck Brown celebrates birthday 75 at the 9:30 Club Saturday night.
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Chuck Brown celebrates birthday 75 at the 9:30 Club Saturday night.

Beckett’s best, two birthdays and the dirtiest joke ever told.

(Aug. 28) Avoiding Irene while Waiting for Godot

If you’re looking for a way to avoid Irene this weekend you can catch some super-rare celluloid from the archives at the National Gallery of Art. The 1961 television adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot screens Saturday afternoon. The influential classic finds two characters waiting for a man that will never show up.

(Aug. 27) Basie and Brown

Two concerts celebrate the music and birthdays of two master musicians Saturday night. Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom hosts a "hot sock" dance party to celebrate legendary jazzman Count Basie. And Northwest Washington's 9:30 Club helps Washington's own Chuck Brown celebrate his 75th in style. The "Godfather of Go-Go" music blows out the candles with a couple thousand of his closest friends and a few of his funkiest beats. Bassmaster Bootsy Collins hosts the affair.

(Aug. 27) The Aristocrats

If you can appreciate a dirty joke you may be able to stomach what's often called the dirtiest joke of all time. The Aristocrats is the title of the production and the punch line, but the debauchery's in the details at Warehouse Theater in Northwest Saturday night. Proceeds from the show benefit the DC Arts Center.

Music: “Taxi War Dance” by Count Basie

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