Dirty Guv'nahs

MUSIC

Six-piece rock band the Dirty Guv'nahs bring some good ol' American rock 'n' roll to the stage at Red Palace. The Nashville-based band's 2010 album, Youth is Our Blood has the "menace of the Stones" and the "outspoken indignation of John Mellancamp." With the help of Kickstarter, the band's next studio album is in the works. They'll perform with Bobby E. Lee & the Sympathizers and the Highballers. 7 p.m. $14.

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner straps on his guitar for a different set with the Modern West at the Strathmore. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sara Beck opens the show. 8 p.m.

Pop band School of Seven Bells performs with Exitmusic at Black Cat. With an electro-'80s sound, the duo comprised of Alejandra de la Deheza and Benjamin Curtis' recently released studio album Ghoststory revisits a sound they'd left behind — rock 'n' roll. "At the start of this band, rock was a four-letter word to me, but I fell in love [with] the guitar again," Curtis says. "This album is more energetic and frenetic than any music we've written before." 8 p.m. $15.

SPACE, LAUGHS & THE BRAIN

Comedian Joy Koy, a regular guest on Chelsea Lately, performs stand-up at DC Improv all weekend long. $25.

What happens to your brain when you're on the ground in fits of hysterical laughter? Arts and the Brain Series: Your Brain on Laughter - Neuroscience of Humor and Improvisation at Strathmore. 7 p.m.

The opening reception for Elevator to the Moon: Retro-Future Visions of Space takes place tonight. The exhibit features 15 artists' work inspired by 20th-century predictions of space travel and creating new visions for the future. Artisphere.  5:30 p.m.