Friday Happenings

Barackin' Out, Classical Style

-- Local political blog Blue Mass Group has organized a classical music concert to benefit Barack Obama's campaign. New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Avenue, 8pm, $20-$1000 donation (yes, one thousand). (KS)

Look at Me, I'm Jesse Dee

-- Okay, not funny. But neither is Jesse Dee's latest album, Bittersweet Batch. But it is a fun, soulful record featuring solid musicianship and Jesse's appealing voice. Make sure to catch his CD release party tonight at Johnny D's, especially if you missed his show two weeks ago with Mikea Pauley. Johnny D's, 17 Holland Street, Somerville. 9:30pm, $10. (KS)

Noise

-- Bostonist had a great time when we last visited Chinatown hideaway Nom d'Artiste, and tonight's showcase promises more of the same mind-bending skronk, noise, and experimental noodling. Bhob Rainey is back on the bill, collaborating with Howard Spencer. Cambridge skronk-masters Heathen Shame are the headliner, but don't miss the set by The New Monuments, featuring Don Dietrich, a member of Borbetomagus, a granddaddy of noise. Nom d'Artiste, 25 Edinboro St., 5th Floor, Chinatown, 9 p.m.

Movies

-- We'll admit that, despite our affection for his other work, The Wild Bunch (1969) is the Sam Peckinpah film we've been dying to see on the big screen. Between the buckets of blood, the double-crossing, William Holden and Ernest Borgnine's complicated male-to-male relationship, and the nearly continuous diegetic laugh track, you almost miss the beauty of the cinematographic composition and the nuanced, tightly controlled montage. Easily one of the greatest films of the sixties. Followed by a documentary about the making of the movie. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7 p.m. $8/$6.