JFK (Flickr/thesmuggler- Night of the Swallow)

Chris Matthews' latest biography, Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, delves into the life of JFK beyond the presidency. Only 78 pages of the book actually pertain to his time in office, while the rest are stories, some from Kennedy aides. Matthews' says "anytime I've ever met a person who knew him — someone who was there with J.F.K. in real time — I crave hearing his or her first-person memories." From The New York Times review, "Matthews ... draws on conversations with numerous people, including his old boss (and onetime speaker of the House) Tip O'Neill and some of Kennedy's former aides." The Hardball host discusses and signs his book at the Inter-American Development Bank. 7 p.m.

THEATER & MUSIC

The Washington premiere of Yasmina Raza's play God of Carnage opens at Signature Theatre. The Tony Award-winning comedy breaks down civility in the story of two upper middle class Brooklyn couples. The couples are thrown together when their sons get in a fight on the playground, and as the meeting wanes, their posh civility loses out to human nature. 7:30 p.m. Tickets online. $55 - $60.

UK Indie-rock band Kaiser Chiefs, set to release a new singles collection entitled Souvenir: The Singles 2004 - 2012 on June 4, performs with Spacecamp at Rams Head Live. 8 p.m. $25.    

Austin indie band White Denim performs with Hundred Visions at Rock & Roll Hotel.  8 p.m. $12/$14.

On Nada Surf's recently released album, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, NPR writes, "singer Matthew Caws issues a mission statement to sum up this and all Nada Surf records: 'It's never too late for teenage dreams.'" The indie band performs with An Horse at 9:30 Club. 7 p.m. $22.

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Howard Theatre (Facebook)

A night of music all around town. The Howard Theatre reopens tonight with performances by Wale, Loud Pac, and Tabi Bonney. The newly renovated theater, built in Shaw in 1910, was a hub for rock 'n' roll and the blues in the '60s, with performances by the likes of Otis Redding, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lionel Hampton. After closing in the '70s, the Howard Theatre makes its return. 9 p.m. $35.

SOLD OUT! The Magnetic Fields at 9:30 Club.

The Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld embarks on the "Alone Together" tour with Gregory Rogove and Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin and Wood. The instrumentalists perform solo compositions. Iota. 8:30 p.m. $16.

New York-based pop band Caveman performs with Night Moves at Red Palace.  8 p.m. $10/$12.

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MUSIC

SOLD OUT SHOWS! Snow Patrol at 9:30 Club & Alabama Shakes at Rams Head Live.

chickfactor celebrates its 20th anniversary with chickfactor 2012: For the Love of Pop! Pam Berry and Gail O'Hara started the fanzine in '92 on the floor of the Washington City Paper's office. "The year was 1992 and—scissors and saddle-stitch staplers in hand—O’Hara and Berry were compiling the first issue of their indie-pop fanzine chickfactor. Its beginnings were humble, but over its decade-long run chickfactor became a veritable indie bible."

Two decades later, the fanzine brings two nights of wondrous indie-pop to Artisphere. Friday's show features a solo performance from Belle & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson, pop girl Frankie Rose, Providence pop group Honey Bunch, and D.C. pop group Dot Dash. Saturday's show features D.C. noise-pop act Black Tambourine, Slumberland act Lilys, chamber-pop group Fan Modine and Slumberland act Lorelei. Friday & Saturday. 8 p.m. $25 advance, $27 door, $45 for a two day pass.

City Paper presents Tragedy: The All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees at Rams Head Live. Friday. 8 p.m. $12/$15.

Omaha indie-rock band Cursive's 7th album, I Am Gemini, tells the story of twin brothers separated at birth. They perform with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Conduits at Black Cat. Friday. 9 p.m. $16/$18.

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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.

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(Photo courtesy Jo Koy's web site)

Jo Koy, a comedian and regular guest on the Chelsea Lately talk show, will perform five shows this weekend at the DC Improv. Koy has also been a guest on Last Call with Carson Daly and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He received his claim-to-fame when the crowd at The Tonight Show gave him a standing ovation in 2005. 

“It was one of the greatest days of my life,” Koy said. “Going in to The Tonight Show, I was just going to take it as just another TV taping to use. It’s kind of easy to get booked at places once you’ve been on The Tonight Show.”

Ever since booking that gig, Koy's been touring relentlessly.

“Every weekend, [it’s] a different city,” he said.

In Koy’s last two specials, he told stories about his son and mother. His material is shifting, though, to cover relationships (though he does have a new story to tell the D.C. crowd about his son). The material in his latest special, "Lights Out," hinted at the change with Koy's “Pull Out 2012” campaign, in which he encourages men who aren't ready for kids to “pull out.” He's even incorporated the “campaign” into his merchandise.

“That shirt already sold out. Everyone loves that damn shirt. [The shirt] comes in a campaign package with a sticker and a green condom.” (To understand why the condom is green, watch his first special “Don’t Make Him Angry.”)

A lot of people think that since Koy is half-Filipino, and a lot of his fans are of Asian descent. A look at any fan photo galleries on his sight, though, reveals a diverse following. Koy takes pictures with any audience member who asks.

Jo Koy’s latest special, “Lights Out,” was released this week on DVD and for download. He will be performing five shows at DC Improv from April 5 - 7.

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Stevie Jackson of Belle & Sebastian (photo paddymccann via Flickr)

Easter may mean nothing more to you than a three-day weekend, or maybe it's cause for celebration, whether traditional (reflecting on death and resurrection), culinary (Cadbury creme eggs, anyone?), or sartorial (Easter hats aren't just for the Queen!). Luckily, there's a show for however you choose to observe the weekend.

The Deads
Thursday, Apr. 5 at the Velvet Lounge, $8

A band called "The Deads" is probably better suited for Good Friday, but Maundy Thursday is a good enough substitute. This noise trio's sound combines elements of punk and psych, and while they don't appear to have any videos on YouTube (although admittedly, "The Deads" isn't the easiest phrase to search for), they have made their demo available for a free download via their bandcamp page

Chickfactor 2012: For the Love of Pop
Friday, Apr. 6 and Saturday, Apr. 7 at Artisphere, $25 per show or two-day pass for $45

File these shows under "risen from the dead": East Coast zine Chickfactor is celebrating its 20th anniversary with shows including a reunion of the DC band Black Tambourine (4/7 show), a noise-pop group that hasn't performed live since 1991. Other performers include Stevie Jackson from Belle & Sebastian (4/6) and Slumberland bands the Lilys and Lorelei (4/7).

Chill and the Rabbits
Saturday, Apr. 7 at Night Cat (Easton, MD), $10

It's a far drive to Easton, Md., from DC, but we couldn't exactly ignore a band with "rabbits" in its name the night before the Easter bunny shows up. Chill and the Rabbits is a Henderson, Md., quartet that specializes in a gritty blues-rock sound.

The Rebuilt Machine and A Raven on the Rosary
Monday, Apr. 9 at Jammin' Java, $10 advance or $13 day of show

The Hail Mary isn't specific to Easter, but we have to include a show on Easter Monday with a band whose name is a Catholic reference. This Herndon band has one EP under its belt and expects to capture its a radio-friendly hard-rock sound (think Daughtry and Anberlin) in a full-length album this year.

These and other show listings can be found on ShowListDC.

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Boston-based synth-electro pop-rock band Gentleman Hall won BillBoard's 2011 Battle of the Bands contest. The band's first official record, When We All Disappear dropped last November, with the single track "All Our Love" featured on the CW's 90210. "It is very safe to say that Boston has pumped out some of the best recent acts this year, Gentlemen Hall being on of them. It is also safe to say that good, homegrown funk is alive and well in this millennia and Gentlemen Hall are the bearers of this neo-disco torch," writes the Sound Alarm. They perform with the Young Rapids and Wise Eyes at DC9. 8:30 p.m. $8/$10.

BOOKS & FILM

Journalist Lionel Shriver discusses her new novel, The New Republic, a satiric thriller about a journalist sent to Barba, a province in Portugal, where a local terrorist group fights for its independence. Interestingly enough, Shriver wrote the book before 9/11. Politics & Prose. 7 p.m.

A special screening of The Boy Mir, winner of the Best Documentary Film at the 2011 Santa Barbara Film Festival, at West End Cinema. 7 p.m.

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Next week, Cassie Meador will walk 500 miles from the District through Maryland and Virginia to the coal mining regions of West Virginia. The Dance Exchange artistic director's latest project, How to Lose a Mountain, is an exploration — "Behind every product we use lies a story of communities, lands, and processes that often exist beyond the scope of our awareness. Could knowing the story behind our 'stuff' change our relationship to what we use?" On this evening, a work-in-progress performance from How to Lose a Mountain will ignite the launch of 500 Miles/500 Stories, an online story-telling project. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center/UMD. 5:30 p.m. Free.

Something Out of Nothing — A Conversation on Waste, Olivier Giron's MFA Thesis exhibition, created from discarded items found a dumpsites, seeks to build a different context from waste. An opening reception will be held at GMU School of Art Gallery. 7 p.m.

BOOKS & MUSIC

Jaclyn Friedman signs and discusses her new book, What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girls Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety. Busboys and Poets/14th&K. 6:30 p.m. Free.

SOLD OUT!!  Of Montreal with Loney Dear and Kishi Bashi at 9:30 Club.

Hip-hop artist Andre Nickatina with Fashawn and MUMBLS at U Street Music Hall. 7 p.m. $15.

'70s English rock band Moody Blues continue their 45th anniversary tour playing Days of Future Passed. DAR Constitution Hall. 8 p.m.

Pomegranates at DC9. With Pity Rally and We Were Pirates. 8:30 p.m. $8/$10. 

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Walter Rybek's recently released book, Re-Solving the Economic Puzzle, argues a flaw in America's economic system explains why in a country of such wealth, there's still people entrenched in poverty, homelessness, and joblessness. The founder and director of the Center for Public Dialogue discusses and and signs his book at Busboys and Poets/5th&K. 6:30 p.m. Free.

MUSIC

SOLD OUT!! Wild Flag at 9:30 Club and Of Monsters and Men at Black Cat.

Boheme features Cassidy, the former lead singer of Antigone Rising, at Iota. With Laura Tsaggaris. 8:30 p.m. $12.

Pro Musica Hebraica: Marc-Andre Hamelin, The Enigma of Paris: Charles-Valentin Alkan, Frederic Chopin, and the French-Jewish Romance at the Kennedy Center. 7:30 p.m. $38.

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