Wednesday Happenings

Critics, Hysteria

-- James Woods, the critic, is difficult to impress. Whether you are Zadie Smith, Don DeLillo, or Salman Rushdie, he will still say "meh." (His own novel, The Book Against God, was itself greeted by a chorus of "meh"s.) He's also pretty brilliant. He reads from his new book How Fiction Works, an ambitious critical project by one of the few working critics who can pull it off. Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 7 p.m. Free.

Dancing Hipsters

-- When Cosmo Baker was 16, he was already a legendary DJ in Philadelphia. A renowned beat digger, remixer, and amateur historian, Baker has rocked parties in every major city on the east coast. Best known for spinning hip hop (and throwing in a few rock records), Baker brings his funk and soul crates (or hard drive) to Soul Touch tonight. Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass. Ave., 9 p.m. $5.

Radio on Stage

-- Radio plays went the way of the party line when television came around in the fifties, but you can still count on their nostalgia value. Tomes of Terror is a live recreation of a clutch of radio horror dramas, featuring actors reading lines into microphones and live foley artists creating the proper sound effects. Presented by the Post-Meridian Players. Unity Church of God, 6 William St., Somerville, 7:30 p.m. (through Saturday, Nov. 1). $10/$12.

Queer Halloween

-- Gross Anatomy is DJs Dafna, Patrick, and Stella's regular queer dance night. Tonight, they host a Halloween party. It's free, even for those who are straight and incognito. Milky Way Lounge and Lanes, 405 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 9 p.m. Free.