The Club & Music Scene

If you're looking for a more interactive, tuneful night on the town, Washington offers hip jazz clubs, gay bars, warehouse ballrooms, places where you sit back and listen, places where you can get up and dance, even a roadhouse or two. If you're looking for comic relief, Washington can take care of that, too (the pickings are few but good).

Many nightspots wear multiple hats. For example, the Black Cat is a bar and a dance club, offering food and sometimes poetry readings. I've listed each nightspot according to the type of music it features. The details are in the description.

The best nightlife districts are Adams-Morgan; U and 14th streets NW between 16th and 9th streets; north and south of Dupont Circle along Connecticut Avenue; the Penn Quarter, notably 7th and 8th streets and from Pennsylvania Avenue north as far as H Street; Georgetown; and D.C.'s newest bar-and-club scene, H Street NE, between 12th and 14th streets, in the area known as the Atlas District. As a rule, while club-hopping -- even in Georgetown -- stick to the major thoroughfares and steer clear of deserted side streets.

The best sources of information about what's doing at bars and clubs are the Washington Post's "Weekend" edition, online at www.washingtonpost.com, and "Going Out Gurus" blog; the fat weekly, City Paper, available free at bookstores, movie theaters, drugstores, and other locations, and online at www.washingtoncitypaper.com; and the blog www.dcist.com. Also check out the monthly On Tap, another fat freebie found mostly in bars, but whose website, www.ontaponline.com, is essential reading for carefree 20-somethings. By the way, Thursday night is "College Night" at nearly every club.

Washington's clubs and bars tend to keep their own hours; it's best to call ahead to make sure the place you're headed is open.

Comedy

In addition to these two comedy venues, the Warner Theatre also features big-name comedians from time to time.

Jazz & Blues

A calendar of jazz gigs for these and other clubs is posted at www.dcjazz.com, although the website can be notoriously out-of-date. For instance, when last I looked, the website did not mention D.C.'s fabulous Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. The 2009 event will be its fifth annual. If you're a jazz fan and planning a trip to D.C. in late September/early October, check out the website, www.dejazzfest.org, for exact dates of the weeklong festival, which showcases the talents of at least 100 musicians in various venues around town, leading to a big free concert on the Mall on one of the final days.

Gay Clubs

Dupont Circle is the gay hub of Washington, D.C., with at least 10 gay bars within easy walking distance of one another. Here are three from that neighborhood.

Electric Avenues for Live-Music Lovers

Live music venues are ever more popular in the capital, and one neighborhood is particularly noteworthy for the sheer amount and variety of fabulous music on tap on any given night: U Street NW, between 9th and 18th streets, and its side streets. Whether you're a fan of jazz, hip-hop, indie rock, or blues, you're bound to find something to please you just by strolling along the U and 14th street corridors, especially on a Friday or Saturday evening. Bohemian Caverns, HR-57, Twins Jazz, Chi-Cha Lounge, U-Topia, the 9:30 Club, DC9, and the Black Cat are among the clubs. In another part of town that's come to be known as the "Atlas District," live music venues also are springing up along H Street NE, between 12th and 14th streets (though it must be said that this locale, especially at night, is pretty iffy).For a less urban experience, you might also check out a stretch of suburban street in Arlington, Virginia: a section of Wilson Boulevard in the Clarendon neighborhood, roughly between Highland and Edgewood roads. Arlington Row is a lot tamer and tends to attract a crowd of all ages, usually dressed for comfort. And though it's outside the District, the area is easy to reach by Metro. Streets are safer and clubs front the streets with picture windows and aren't as exclusive.

The music is live, it's outstanding (most of the time), and it's here almost nightly. So take the Metro to the Clarendon stop and walk down Wilson, or drive up Wilson from Key Bridge, turn left on Edgewood Road or another side street, and park on the street. Check out these three spots, all within walking distance of each other; all serve food:

Galaxy Hut, 2711 Wilson Blvd. (tel. 703/525-8646; www.galaxyhut.com), is a comfortable bar with far-out art on the walls and a patio in the alley. Look for live alternative rock Saturday and Sunday nights; sometimes a $5 cover.

At IOTA, 2832 Wilson Blvd. (tel. 703/522-8340; iotaclubandcafe.com), the best of the area's bands (if either Little Pink or Last Train Home is performing, go), as well as up-and-coming groups, take the stage nightly in a setting with minimal decor (cement floor, exposed-brick walls, and a wood-beamed ceiling) and a patio in back. There's live music nightly. When a cover is charged, it's usually $8 to $18.

Whitlow's on Wilson, 2854 Wilson Blvd. (tel. 703/276-9693; www.whitlows.com), is the biggest spot on the block, spreading throughout four rooms, the first showcasing the music (usually blues, with anything from surfer music to rock thrown in), the other rooms holding coin-operated pool tables, dartboards, and air hockey. Two patios further enlarge Whitlow's. The place has the appearance of a diner, from Formica table-booths to a soda fountain, and serves a range of comfort food, including soul food, pastas, and hamburgers. (Mon half-price burger nights are a good deal -- and very popular.). Cover is usually $3 to $5 Thursday through Saturday after 9pm.