Music Hometown keytar heroes Freezepop have returned from touring the world (okay, Florida, and the Rust Belt) to once again rock Cambridge, with the help of the The Information, The Main Drag, and Michael Hensley. Middle East Downstairs, 8 pm, 18+, $14. Beer Harpoon will hold its St. Patrick's Festival at the brewery on 306 Northern Avenue. Wear galoshes because the floor may well be slick with beer. Harpoon Brewery, 5:30 to 11:00 pm,......

Books Sarah Boxer bravely prowled through the blogosphere to share its treasures with us in Ultimate Blogs. Of course, Go Fug Yourself makes the list. Brattle Theatre (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm, $5. Edit: Event has been moved to Harvard Book Store --If you've been reading Bostonist for a while, you might know how we feel about the potential of wind power. A while ago, we read this barnburner of a book about......

Books Is it possible to be saved by the Sex Pistols? The answer to that is a resounding yes. Michael Patrick MacDonald will be reading from Easter Rising, an account of his youth in the Boston punk scene, at Brookline Booksmith. Bostonist had the opportunity to hear him read from the book when he spoke at UMass-Boston, and we say with great emphasis that this is a must-see, not just for those who love......

Music and Cryptozoology A set of local organizations--Cloud City (aka Ben Sisto), The Footlight Club, and the Milky Way--are throwing a fund-raiser for 826 Boston. In a match made in heaven, the bookish Harry & the Potters will be the main event, and the openers will be Pants Yell! If you're nice, Bigfoot might show up in the shadows. Be observant. The Footlight Club, 7A Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain, 5:30 doors, 6:30 show, $12.......

Music Annie Clark went to Berklee, paid her indie-cred dues in Sufjan Stevens' touring band and the Polyphonic Spree, and named her solo project St. Vincent after a church where which she fell in love and the hospital where Dylan Thomas died. Her songs are chamber pop clad in synthesizers and charm. Middle East Downstairs, 8 pm, 18+, $12. Carnal Carnival Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys know how to throw a......

Short Cartoons You saw the nominees for the Live Action Short Film Academy Award last night; come back to the ICA for the contenders in the animated category. Formats include traditional 2D animation, CGI, and claymation. Check out the John Lennon interview film "I Met the Walrus." Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston, 7:00pm. $7/$9. Recover Heal a broken heart with laughter. Ben Karlin has assembled a collection of raucous breakup......

Adrian Tomine, 6pm ($5) Killer of Sheep, 8pm ($12, $10 Brattle members) Brattle Theatre Special $15 ticket gets you into both events! Perhaps best known for his graphic series Optic Nerve, some of which was collected in the book Summer Blonde, artist Adrian Tomine recently came out with a full-length graphic novel called Shortcomings--and even more recently drew a rad cover for the New Yorker (pictured right). The longer novel format gave Tomine more room......

Books --Charles Bock's Beautiful Children isn't as delicate as it sounds. A couple reels after their child vanishes in the Las Vegas desert--only it's so, so much more than that, and it's received a flood of attention. The Globe thought Bock threw too much into his debut, but everyone seems to agree that he's ambitious. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Speaking of free, he's letting you download the book without dropping a single dime.......

Daft Punk's Electroma Gus Van Sant, Isaac Asimov, and a French-loving raver walk into the desert... Not a joke, but the vibe of Daft Punk's art-house film debut that debuted at Cannes in '06. In what could either be called a long-form music video or a 74-minute silent movie, it's a beautifully-filmed story that touches on some classic human themes, but in a really twisted way starring robots. (It better have been filmed beautifully......

This past Monday French avant garde novelist and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet died at the age of 85. Robbe-Grillet is regarded as the theorist behind the "new novel", which rejects conventional storytelling techniques for surface narratives that focus on objects and details rather than the world at large. Truly, he could suck a story out of an electric shaver like no other. While a favorite name to drop in the literary lounge, Robbe-Grillet is best known......

Dancing Hipsters Probably most famous for dating producing transatlantic hipster heartthrob MIA, Diplo made his name DJing. He's a dance music polymath who introduced the world to Brazilian Funk Carioca and Baltimore Club while inspiring a legion of white guys in skinny jeans to invest in Serato Scratch Live. He spins in Allston tonight. Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave, Allston. 9:00 pm. $15. Music --Darkbuster's Hometown Throwup continues with Hub City Stompers, The Allstonians,......

Speed-the-Plow By David Mamet Presented By Bad Habit Productions 8:00 pm tonight and Saturday, 2:00 pm Sunday Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont St., Boston. $12. Tickets and information They are the largely thankless theatrical roles, the parts that move a piece along but don't bring with them the promise of glory. Take Hamlet in Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz & Guilderstern Are Dead" and Rose Maxson in August Wilson's "Fences" - both necessary characters, but parts designed as......

Art Somerville's Nave Gallery has brought us thoughtful installations before, but their new "Ghost Town" sounds positively compelling. Artists imagine our earth in a process of transformation, with cities growing and shrinking, populations moving, people interacting with nature, and everything cycling both naturally and unnaturally toward growth, decay, and chaos. Might sound like a bunch of hippie nonsense, but we think it makes for some appealing art. "Ghost Town" runs through March 21 at......

Movies The MFA calls Les Saignantes "the first science fiction film to come out of Africa," which should be reason enough to see it. But did we mention that it has won comparisons to Russ Meyer? And that it's about a group of women determined to rid their distopian future world of all men? Cameroon director Jean-Pierre Bekolo wins Bostonist's seal of approval. Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, 6:00pm (also screening Sunday). $8/$9......

Jazzy Movies Avant garde filmmaker Robert Fenz and free music composer and multi-instrumentalist Wadada Leo Smith team up tonight at the Harvard Film Archive to "create a 'space' that grows out of the combination of disciplines, with neither sound nor image subjugated." Fenz screens his film Meditations on Revolution and Smith provides live improvisational accompaniment. Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7:00pm. $10. (RS) Rabbits Bored on President's Day? Get in......

Movies --The ultimate sci-fi slumber party will happen with the 33rd Annual Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival, where this year's theme is "The Future is Passe," and the main event is a screening of A Boy and His Dog, starring Don Johnson. Get more details. Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, 12:00 noon, running through 12:00 noon the next day. Gender Bending Trannies take the stage for Traniwreck, Boston's only all-gender, all-genre burlesque variety show. Expect comedy,......

Comedy Just when you're sick of all the caucusing and candidate crap, Jimmy Tingle makes a triumphant local return with his show "Jimmy Tingle for President." Bostonist interviewed the candidate, and he's going to have plenty to say. Regent Theatre, Arlington, 8:00 pm. $30 orchestra / $25 balcony. PS--Mr. Tingle himself told Bostonist another show has been added for next Saturday, February 23. Dirty Movies Be careful who sits behind you tonight as sex......

Jimmy Tingle for President Saturday, February 16 and Saturday, February 23 Regent Theatre Arlington, 8:00 pm. $30 orchestra / $25 balcony When Jimmy Tingle shut down the theater in Somerville that bore his name, it seemed as if Tingle would take some time off from the day-to-day stresses of running the theater. However, he wasn't going to stay off the stage for long. He will be returning to Arlington tomorrow for his one-man show, which......

Manchildren Founder of K Records and former member of Beat Happening, Calvin Johnson mastered precious naivete decades before it became the default indie mode. His off-kilter baritone is what sold it, and he's bringing his voice and an acoustic guitar to Cambridge tonight. Teenbeat Records founder Mark Robinson also performs as Cotton Candy. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, 7:00pm, $10. Men With Children Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers is returning to......

Music --The Magnetic Fields, on Valentine's Day? Could anything be better for a first date, or any sort of date? They even work well for a broken heart. Well, only if you got tickets in time. Check the Craig, as this one is a hot ticket. Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, 8:00 pm, $27.50. Good luck getting in! --Drown your Valentine's Day sorrows with a night of indie rock and dancing at Viva Viva's Valentine's......

33rd Annual Sci-Fi Film Festival Sunday, February 17, noon, until Monday, February 18, noon Somerville Theatre $55 in advance / $65 day of show More info on the festival The annual Sci-Fi Film Festival will kick off this weekend. Each year has a new theme, and the theme this time around is "The Future is Passe," in which "the future had been predicted, but that time has past." Bostonist asked Garen Daly, organizer of the......

Books --Self-described philosopher-comedians Tom Cathcart and Daniel Klein discuss Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington. Imagine Jon Stewart after he stops shouting "Whaaaa??" takes some time off for a philosophy PhD, and returns to TV. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. --Find out why Drew Gilpin Faust is the president of Harvard, and you're not. Faust will discuss her book This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War at the Harvard Coop......

The cold weather is no excuse for you not to get out! Human Dogsledding No kidding. The 8th annual National Human Dog Sled Competition will start today in Lowell. You can learn more about other Lowell Winterfest events, which sound like fun. However, for Bostonist, it is all about the human dogsledding--and teams usually wear costumes. Challenger rounds will be tonight at 6:45 and 10:00 pm, and championship rounds will be tomorrow at 3:30 and......

Great Romances III Friday, Feb 8 -- Thursday, Feb 14, various times Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge More details Somebody at the Brattle Theatre must have a heart made of sap. The cinema is hosting not one, not two, but six days of romantic films leading up to Valentine's Day. You cannot deal with that much loving. We cannot. So, Bostonist has assembled a quick guide to help you choose the ideal screening for......

Music Few acts in hip-hop's young guard come more correct than Berkeley, CA crew The Pack. Roiling, minimalist beats, raps about partying and sneakers, and a whispered menace that keeps you off guard: it's like degree zero of the art form. Sounds great on record (or Myspace), but can they rock an audience? Harper's Ferry, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston, 7:00 pm, $12/$14. Could your music options for tonight be any different? "Lady rapper" Leslie......

Super Tuesday Obama? Clinton? Romney? Huckabee? Are you getting them all mixed up right about now? Try to get untangled because today is Super Tuesday and the Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Vote so you can at least weed a few of these candidates out. Find out where your polling station is. Girl Scout Cookies Warning: Expensive event ahead. For $45, you can find out what local chefs can do with Girl Scout Cookies, and proceeds will......

Music --Haven't you always wanted to go to an event called HARVAPALOOZA? Well, now you can. Local band The Franklin Kite bring a special combination of musical prowess and astrophysics knowledge to Tommy Doyle's, where they'll play alongside Maya and The Trolleys to commemorate the palooza that is Harvard. Or something like that? Anyway, the show starts at 9 and it's totally free. A dance party will follow, so put your best foot forward. Hopefully......

Theater Theater lovers! A rare treat - Part I *and* Part II of Tony Kushner's seminal modern epic "Angels in America" is in town and it runs until Feb. 10. It's about the painful disintegration of two relationships against a backdrop of greed, conservatism, and the discovery of AIDS. Presented by Boston Theatre Works. Fringy Theater That Tastes Like Chicken! Who can resist a play about chickens that advises, "Beware! Contains fowl language"? Useless Theater......

Movies Catch a sneak preview of In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The movie, which screened at Sundance, follows two hit men who are forced to vacation in the tourist hotspot. CNN dared to call the film "Tarantino-esque." Whether or not "Tarantino-esque" fits, the trailer is full of some sharp one-liners. Director Martin McDonagh will be there. Brattle Theatre, 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00, and getting there early is recommended. Check out......

Meet the Spartans, which is now at 3% on Rotten Tomatoes after starting off in the negative, is enjoying the number-one position at the box office this week. Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone's comeback vehicle of-sorts, Rambo, wound up in second place. Seriously, Diedrich Bader is cool, but you're way better off watching him as a "Dog the Bounty Hunter" rip-off during this season's "Reno 911." At least Mark Feeney at the Globe found something to like......