9:30 Club

The 9:30 Club is the one every other D.C. venue measures itself against. It's been at 815 V Street NW near the U Street Corridor since 1996, holds 1,200, and has the best sightlines of any standing-room club at this size - a single big floor, raised sections along the sides, and a wraparound upper deck if you'd rather watch than push. The sound is dialed and the booking radar is uncanny: this is where you catch the act a year before they're playing the arena.

Two things every regular knows. One: the room is run by I.M.P., same crew behind Merriweather, and they treat the place like a temple. Two: the 9:30 cupcake is real - a devil's food number from Buzz Bakeshop in Alexandria with the club's logo on top, and Friends With Benefits members get one free during their birthday month.

For food, you're steps from Ben's Chili Bowl at 1213 U Street - order the half-smoke, the half-pork half-beef sausage that's basically D.C.'s official dish. Eat first, then walk over. Find 9:30 Club shows on Evil Tickets - this is one of the rooms in D.C. where seats move fastest.