Portraitist Gérard Rondeau has photographed some of the world's best-known arts and literary figures. Tonight, La Maison Française unveils 100 Rondeau portraits—most austere and stunning in black and white (see image, right)—of his famous and/or fascinating subjects, from Susan Sontag to Gore Vidal to Louise Bourgeois. To catch the show early, stop by this evening's free wine reception at 7 p.m. If you can't make it tonight, the images will be on view through March 16. RSVP required, since this is an embassy and all.

BOOKS

Shalom Auslander’s trick as a humorist is to take indisputable truisms and dispute them, claiming they mean the opposite of what we thought they did. Solomon Kugel, the self-loathing hero of Auslander’s debut novel, Hope: A Tragedy (see?), regularly consults with a shrink who argues that Eden was Hell and Hitler was an optimist. (“Pessimists don’t build gas chambers,” Kugel is told.) Auslander carpet-bombs the book with provocations, none more unsettling than the idea that Anne Frank can be a subject for satire. Kugel’s discovery of an elderly, decrepit Frank living in the attic of his home leads into a brutally comic study of how unshakable the Holocaust is for even the most secular Jew. If you see nothing funny about cracking wise about this stuff, look elsewhere, but Hope: A Tragedy is free of cheap shots, and ultimately it’s a humane novel about how much we lean on the past to reckon with the present. Auslander discusses and signs his book at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose. Free. (Mark Athitakis)

Yay! This week, Arlington's One More Page Books celebrates its first anniversary. Celebrate this evening with wine and snacks at the shop. 6:30 p.m.

MUSIC

The ever-popular Brazilian Rhythms DJ night returns to Cafe Saint-Ex tonight with DJ Neville C (Som Records' Neal Becton) and a sponsorship from Peroni beer. Load yer gullet with cheap Italian lager and get mellow. 9 p.m. or so. Free.

Mavis Staples performs at 24-hour eatery The Hamilton tonight, and it looks like some cheaper tickets have been made available. Sushi and Mavis Staples? I can think of worse ways to spend a Thursday night. 8 p.m. $60-$100.

There are two fine options on H Street this evening: Ghost (the semi-heavy Swedish band with the killer graphic designer) headlines Rock & Roll Hotel alongside Blood Ceremony and Ancient VVisdom (doors 8 p.m., $15); and Tereu Tereu, band of City Paper writer Ryan Little, opens for Canada's Wildlife at Red Palace (doors 8 p.m., $10 at the door).

The Museum played before acts like Carolina Chocolate Drops (gospel hoe-downs, approximately), Wanda Jackson, and Amos Lee, and a day after Gillian Welch, Earl Scruggs, and the Decemberists, whose presence explains why Newport sold out this weekend for the first time in its 52-year history. Wax's band, including a smart three-piece horn section and a Mexican son jarocho dancer, displayed its usual panache, and made a strong argument for why the festival should still exist.

Newport has something of a dual personality these days, exemplified in the divide between the "dancing section" (yes, there is actually a dancing section) and the lawn-chair section. Concomitantly, we had the nostalgia acts and the Bob Boilen-approved youngbloods; this is an oversimplification, but not as drastic a one as you might think. Heavyweights such as the Decemberists are called in to round out the crowd, but meanwhile the relevance of the proceedings (if we still worry about these things) is, I think, a healthy question.

Folk music as a rule toes the line between calling out the bullshit pieties and preserving the needful ones. Most traces of purism are gone from Newport. After a heavily distorted "Legionnaire's Lament," Colin Meloy could safely joke: "Pete did not brandish an axe for that one." (Seeger was not only present but within axe-swinging distance; for a gloss of Meloy's reference, see here.) That's a good thing: Mavis Staples kills when she has an electric band behind her, and Wanda Jackson offers a warm and witty rockabilly set—though Newport's Gospel deficit remains troubling. Still, we're talking about a festival that came of age fighting the Man (see: "This machine kills fascists"); it's hard to maintain that attitude when you're suddenly onstage at the pleasure of the Man's Prius-driving brother.

The best answer I think is when a festival—however hoary, however sponsored—makes possible the national debut of otherwise marginal or regional acts. On my ballot, this year's emergent big-timers included several fantastic female harmony groups such as The Secret Sisters and Mountain Man, a trio that combines three-part barbershop with more intricate, canticle-like arrangements to glorious effect. It would be delightful to see both groups return next year. David Wax has proven that success at the festival does not go unrewarded, though residents of Mount Pleasant may well mourn to find that he isn't knocking on their doors as often as he used to.

Photograph of David Wax at Newport by Annie Galvin

This long weekend offers a little bit of everything—bachata, soul, dance from India, Afro-Peruvian, country, and more. The just-announced Sunday appearance by Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans is the weekend gig I'm most excited about.

Friday

Anthony Santos, a Dominican master of the soft, romantic bachata style, performs at 9 p.m. at Galaxy Night Club, 2031 University Blvd., Hyattsville, Md. Price TBD; call (301) 439-6666.

Nito Mestre is almost 60, and the Argentinean guitarist is best known for being in rock band Sui Generis. He’ll be here Saturday night with 8 de Bastos at 8:30 p.m. at Divino Lounge, 7345-B Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. $20 (or $50 including includes dinner). (240) 497-0300.

Mallika Sarabhai performs in "Sampradayam: Traditions in Indian Dance" at 7:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. $18.50-$42.50. (202) 328-6000.

Ebony Hillbillies, a group made up of  New York African-American old-timey musicians, performs at 8p.m. at the Washington Ethical Society, 7750 16th St. NW. Free for Folklore Society of Greater Washington members, $20 for others. (202) 882-6650.

Saturday

Eva Ayllon, a great veteran Afro-Peruvian singer who has performed in the area about once a year for the past four years, appears at the Hilton at 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Va. $35. (703) 978-1897.

Anita Ratnam performs in "Faces: Blessed Unrest" at 7:30 pm at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. $18.50-$42.50. (202) 328-6000. Ratnam will be performing hand-gesturing Bharata Natyam-style classical dance from India.

Mavis Staples and Bettye Lavette at Lisner Auditorium, 21st & H. Sts. NW. $25-$45. (202) 397-SEAT.  This is a powerful soul-vocalists bill. While I find the glacial pace of most cuts on Lavette’s latest cd, Interpretations: the British Rock Songbook, problematic, there’s no question that she's strong live. Staples’ new cd, You are Not Alone, produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, is more varied tempo-wise, and she’s not bad live either.

Jamey Johnson, Colt Ford, and Josh Thompson opening for Hank Williams Jr. at the American Freedom Festival at 7 p.m. at the George Mason University Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax. $27-$131.50. (703) 993-3000. Johnson is the current critics fave country singer/songwriter, and WMZQ listeners like him too.

Sunday

Artisphere Open House, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Free. (703) 875-1100. Artisphere opens with local bands, dance and theatre.  Today includes Joe Falero’s Latin Jazz Allstars at 2:30 p.m.; bluesman Memphis Gold at 6 p.m., and afrobeat combo Chopteeth at 9 p.m..

K'naan at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. (202) 265-0930. This Canadian-based Somalian throwback style rapper’s gig is sold-out.

Boukman Eksperyans at 7 p.m. at the Crossroads Entertainment Complex, 4103 Baltimore Ave., Bladensburg, Md. $15. (240) 463-7196.  A politically active Haitian band who I enjoy for their funky polyrhythms.  The Haitian promoter assures me the show is happening although it is not on the club’s website. The band will be at the Richmond Folk Festival Saturday night if you’re up for a road trip.

Monday

"The Structure of  Salsa " with La Excelencia and dance instructor/musical historian Eileen Torres at 6 p.m. at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Free.  703-875-1100  in Arlington —read about the event here.

Raul Malo at 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $29.50. (703) 549-7500. Malo’s Roy Orbison goes Tex-Mex vocals are always suave and powerful.

Sunday's rally for climate change legislation rolled on undaunted by the difficulties that the passage of said legislation is currently encountering, and was even given a boost by unexpectedly beautiful weather. The Roots played what felt like a headlining set midway through the afternoon, and then proceeded to play the role of backup band for every high-profile performer remaining, including Sting (pictured above), John Legend, Mavis Staples and more.

Photo overload after the jump, and even more at the full gallery.

Willie Colón:

Passion Pit:

Jimmy Cliff:

Bob Weir:

Maria Menounos:

Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters:

Dhani Jones, Cincinnati Bengals:

Jesse Jackson:

The Roots:

Mavis Staples:

Joss Stone:

Robert Randolph:

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.):

John Legend:

Trudie Styler:

Sting:

More crowd shots:

Full gallery here.

Local DJ faves Jesse Tittsworth and Will Eastman and a group of partners are opening up their own space on U Street, the Going Out Gurus report at The Post. Expect the 250- to 300-capacity U Street Music Hall to open early next year at 1115 U St., formerly the Cue Bar. "The whole place is going to be a dance floor," Eastman told the Gurus. "There will be a few booths and bar stools, but it's a dance club. It's for dancing, not sitting." Eastman will still be hosting dance nights elsewhere though, like his popular Bliss night at the Black Cat.

From the Dept. of Ex-Washingtonians: Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, whose last two labels stopped releasing music, are now signed to Matador Records. And the dubby, noisy group Mi Ami—which, like Leo & Co., was on Touch & Go—has signed with Thrill Jockey. The San Francisco outfit includes two members of the disbanded Black Eyes.

The Kennedy Center announced its 2009-2010 jazz season, Jazz Times reports. Highlights include Mavis Staples on April 23 and a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald on Jan. 24 featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Janis Siegel, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.

In other jazz news, the Congressional Black Caucus is hosting a free jazz (but not Free Jazz) forum and concert tonight in Ballroom A of the Convention Center. The evening features lots of local names, and caps off with a tribute to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, in celebration of the album's 50th anniversary this year.

Area DJ Dave Nada and engineer Matt Nordstrom's Nadastrom project dropped a digital EP today.

Aural Suppository has some videos from the Black Cat's recent 16th anniversary show with Dead Meadow and The Shirks. Including this one:

Dead Meadow performing at the Black Cat's 16 anniversary in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Photo courtesy of Mi Ami's MySpace page.