Method Man

Golden West Cafe has a handful of good shows this week, but the highlight is easily Joe Lally and Zomes on Saturday. While Fugazi has been on an indefinite hiatus for over eight years now, Lally, the band's founding bassist, has released three solo albums; the latest, "Why Should I Get Used to It," was released in April. Elsewhere this week: Wham City Comedy, Height with Friends, and the Smokers Club tour, starring Method Man and Curren$y.  On Monday , Manchester Orchestra, an indie rock five-piece, perform at the 9:30 club, 815 V St. N.W., Washington.

The latest issue of Spin is a celebration of "Hip-hop's DIY Movement" (with a great essay from Baltimore scribe and former b contributor Brandon Soderberg). There are so many micro-genres splintering in hip-hop that a magazine has to devote a whole issue to cover it properly. The Smokers Club Tour, which stops by Rams Head Live on Sunday night, fits perfectly within this "movement," mostly because of its headliner, New Orleans' stoner Curren$y. First, about that stereotypical "stoner" image - a zonked-out dude passed out with Doritos and "Cops" on TV: it doesn't fly in Curren$y's case.

I'm trying to keep this show ghetto, and there's a way for it to be both ghetto and intelligent, but it's not going that way." -- Method Man, on his new Fox television comedy series, Method & Red

Golden West Cafe has a handful of good shows this week, but the highlight is easily Joe Lally and Zomes on Saturday. While Fugazi has been on an indefinite hiatus for over eight years now, Lally, the band's founding bassist, has released three solo albums; the latest, "Why Should I Get Used to It," was released in April. Elsewhere this week: Wham City Comedy, Height with Friends, and the Smokers Club tour, starring Method Man and Curren$y.  On Monday , Manchester Orchestra, an indie rock five-piece, perform at the 9:30 club, 815 V St. N.W., Washington.

Lou Rawls / Turf Valley Resort You'll never find another voice like his. Soul-pop legend Lou Rawls plays Turf Valley Resort, 2700 Turf Valley Road in Ellicott City, tomorrow night at 8:30. Tickets are $50-$70 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 410-547-SEAT or visiting www.ticket master.com. Robert Cray Band and Buddy Guy / Cavalier Pavilion at Pier 6 The blues will smolder as the Robert Cray Band and Buddy Guy take the stage at Cavalier Pavilion at Pier 6, 731 Eastern Ave., Sunday night at 7:30.

Funny, I never thought of Cheech and Chong as cinematic auteurs. But based on How High, which casts rappers Method Man and Redman as stoners for a new generation, those pioneering '70s potheads really had their act together. Their movies may not have been masterpieces, but they were consistent and had a central anarchic vision that at least let you enjoy them without looking for a life lesson behind all the haze. How High, to the contrary, seems to be out to teach us something - about intelligence, about effort, about class distinctions.

music NSO: Ivan Fischer, the National Symphony Orchestra's principal conductor, is known for an incisive musicality, which is bound to yield memorable results as he leads the ensemble in Mahler's Symphony No. 3. Performances are at 7 tonight and 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W., Washington Tickets are $20- $80. Call 800-444-1324 or go to kennedy-center.org. Tim Smith film 'The Candidate': Because of his classy demeanor and all-American looks, Robert Redford never received credit for his originality.

Method Man -- Sonar / Rapper Method Man's latest album is 4:21, the Day After. He performs, along with Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa at Sonar, 407 E. Saratoga St., tonight. Doors open for the all-ages concert at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22-$25, available through ticketmaster.com or by calling 410-457-SEAT. New Found Glory -- Rams Head Live / Punk-poppers New Found Glory, who hail from Coral Gables, Fla., hit Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, on Saturday. The Early November, Cartel and Hit the Lights are also slated to perform.

It's hard to decide what comes through most clearly in "Backstage" -- the power of hip-hop or the anger underlying it. Filmed during last year's Hard Knock Life Tour, an all-star traveling rap and hip-hop festival featuring acts from Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam records, "Backstage" captures energetic performances from DMX, Method Man, Red- man, Ja Rule, Beanie Sigel and Amil. But the movie catches serious fire when Jay-Z commandeers the stage, working the crowd and talking about what's happening.

The latest issue of Spin is a celebration of "Hip-hop's DIY Movement" (with a great essay from Baltimore scribe and former b contributor Brandon Soderberg). There are so many micro-genres splintering in hip-hop that a magazine has to devote a whole issue to cover it properly. The Smokers Club Tour, which stops by Rams Head Live on Sunday night, fits perfectly within this "movement," mostly because of its headliner, New Orleans' stoner Curren$y. First, about that stereotypical "stoner" image - a zonked-out dude passed out with Doritos and "Cops" on TV: it doesn't fly in Curren$y's case.

music NSO: Ivan Fischer, the National Symphony Orchestra's principal conductor, is known for an incisive musicality, which is bound to yield memorable results as he leads the ensemble in Mahler's Symphony No. 3. Performances are at 7 tonight and 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W., Washington Tickets are $20- $80. Call 800-444-1324 or go to kennedy-center.org. Tim Smith film 'The Candidate': Because of his classy demeanor and all-American looks, Robert Redford never received credit for his originality.

TODAY "The Clean Up Woman": JD Lawrence's new stage play and dramedy, The Clean Up Woman, stars Jackee Harry, Telma Hopkins, Christopher Williams and George Wilborn. 8 p.m. at Morgan State University, Murphy Fine Arts Center, 2201 Argonne Drive. $39. 443-885-4440 or murphyfineartscent er.org. "Bent Twig" opera : The Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore performs excerpts from Bent Twig, written by African-American composers Helen Roberts and Arlein Straw. 2 p.m. at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Free.

Method Man -- Sonar / Rapper Method Man's latest album is 4:21, the Day After. He performs, along with Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa at Sonar, 407 E. Saratoga St., tonight. Doors open for the all-ages concert at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22-$25, available through ticketmaster.com or by calling 410-457-SEAT. New Found Glory -- Rams Head Live / Punk-poppers New Found Glory, who hail from Coral Gables, Fla., hit Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, on Saturday. The Early November, Cartel and Hit the Lights are also slated to perform.

Lou Rawls / Turf Valley Resort You'll never find another voice like his. Soul-pop legend Lou Rawls plays Turf Valley Resort, 2700 Turf Valley Road in Ellicott City, tomorrow night at 8:30. Tickets are $50-$70 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 410-547-SEAT or visiting www.ticket master.com. Robert Cray Band and Buddy Guy / Cavalier Pavilion at Pier 6 The blues will smolder as the Robert Cray Band and Buddy Guy take the stage at Cavalier Pavilion at Pier 6, 731 Eastern Ave., Sunday night at 7:30.

I'm trying to keep this show ghetto, and there's a way for it to be both ghetto and intelligent, but it's not going that way." -- Method Man, on his new Fox television comedy series, Method & Red

Funny, I never thought of Cheech and Chong as cinematic auteurs. But based on How High, which casts rappers Method Man and Redman as stoners for a new generation, those pioneering '70s potheads really had their act together. Their movies may not have been masterpieces, but they were consistent and had a central anarchic vision that at least let you enjoy them without looking for a life lesson behind all the haze. How High, to the contrary, seems to be out to teach us something - about intelligence, about effort, about class distinctions.

TODAY "The Clean Up Woman": JD Lawrence's new stage play and dramedy, The Clean Up Woman, stars Jackee Harry, Telma Hopkins, Christopher Williams and George Wilborn. 8 p.m. at Morgan State University, Murphy Fine Arts Center, 2201 Argonne Drive. $39. 443-885-4440 or murphyfineartscent er.org. "Bent Twig" opera : The Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore performs excerpts from Bent Twig, written by African-American composers Helen Roberts and Arlein Straw. 2 p.m. at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Free.

It's hard to decide what comes through most clearly in "Backstage" -- the power of hip-hop or the anger underlying it. Filmed during last year's Hard Knock Life Tour, an all-star traveling rap and hip-hop festival featuring acts from Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam records, "Backstage" captures energetic performances from DMX, Method Man, Red- man, Ja Rule, Beanie Sigel and Amil. But the movie catches serious fire when Jay-Z commandeers the stage, working the crowd and talking about what's happening.