Drone

-- Houston band Indian Jewelry picked a good time to go on tour. Thousands of miles away from its crippled city, the band has brought its psychedelic drone to Medford. Willfully obscure lyrics, washes of sound, and startling feedback comprise the group's sound. Playing with locals Concord Ballet Orchestra Players. Oxfam Cafe, 44 Professors' Row, Tufts University, Medford, 8 p.m. Free.

Beer Dinners

-- Cambridge Common hosts a beer dinner featuring Left Hand Brewery products. The meal's first three courses sound dandy, but we'd just as soon show up late. Left Hand's ineffable milk stout is what's for dessert. Cambridge Common Restaurant, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge, 6:30 p.m. $39.

Obscurantists

-- Slavoj Zizek, who has possibly surpassed machinery and Laibach as Slovenia's most notable export, writes maddeningly obscure books and Abercrombie and Fitch catalogues. Rating somewhere between a philosopher and a stand-up comedian, Zizek is curiously popular among the uptight types who think that "theory" is a genre of writing rather than a proposition to be tested. His reading is sold out, but you can still snag tickets to watch him introduce Psycho (1960). Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 8 p.m. $10.