Agenda

Icepack
Shopping Spree

Maybe you haven't gone to The Fire in years. Alto saxophonist Tim Berne's compositional aspect can only be described as expansive. With a name like that, it's gotta be metal. Or at least prog. For better or worse, Fanfarlo's sound should be instantly familiar to anyone who's paid the slightest attention to the tasteful, tuneful indie rock of the past decade The Tin Angel won't be a sweet little singer-songwriter room on Saturday night. All over the Web this weekend, music fans were venting their shock and grief at the news that Philadelphia guitar wizard Jack Rose had passed away following a heart attack at age 38.

"We wanted a performance that included all the elements we love in a show: an exciting space, a good story, quality acting, great music ... and a cocktail." But with In Retrospect, the company enters an even more unexpected space — a dance studio. The nearly-30-piece collection, a loose interpretation of The Night Before Christmas, follows "Nick" and all his bits and pieces as he does the nasty with a bunch of dudes on Christmas Eve. Donations have been pouring through the gallery's big mail slot every few hours, says artist/publisher/co-organizer Alex Lukas, and this year's work is of the highest caliber he's ever seen. Back off, D.C.: This show — the only local Nutcracker directly linked through Balanchine to the 1892 Tchaikovsky original — is one we'd like to keep for ourselves. "Back by popular demand" is often hyperbole, but not regarding This Is the Week That Is: The New Administration, the fourth installment of 1812 Productions' comedic skewering of current events.