Tuesday Happenings

Still from The Rock-a-Fire Explosion from the movie's website.

The Rock-a-Fire Explosion (2008) is simply a fantastic documentary. Its quirky subject, the animatronic band of anthropomorphic animals that entertained kids at Showbiz Pizza during the eighties and its strange afterlife (YouTube videos included), seems like the sort thing that could turn very quickly into preciousness. But director Brett Whitcomb captures the ardor and emotion of his subjects with a deft hand, and the documentary is a poignant meditation on obsession, obsolescence, failure, and community. Screening at the Boston Underground Film Festival with Davy Crockett in Space and Out of Print. Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Square, 7:45 p.m.

Drinking

Opus Affair is a series of gatherings hosted by friendly folks who want to nurture the culture of arts appreciation in Boston. Arts lovers are invited to gather, drink, and chat about art (and presumably other things). Drink, 348 Congress St., South Boston, 6 p.m. No admission.

Symphonies by Women

Long written out of the classical canon, women composers have always been surreptitious scribblers of symphonies. It's a history of quiet desperation that stretches back at least as far as Bach, whose wife was an unappreciated composer in her own right. "Symphonies by Women: Four Composers from the 19th Century" is a lecture by Liane Curtis that examines the life and work of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Louise Farrenc, Augusta Holmès, and Amy Beach. Women's Studies Research Center, Epstein Building, Brandeis University 515 South St., Waltham. 12:30 p.m. Free.