The Stranger

(MUSIC) A freewheeling Portland collective, Jackie-O Motherfucker are linchpins in the chimerical "New Weird America" scene (pace UK mag the Wire). Pundits also call them catalysts of the burgeoning freak-folk movement. All of that critical jargon dissipates once you experience JOMF's whole-grained amalgam of slow-fused improv sorcery and blissed-out balladry. Supporting the best album of their long career, Flags of the Sacred Harp, JOMF excavate and update the holy drone of trad-folk songcraft and beautify free-rock maneuvers. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 8 pm, $7, 21+.) by Dave Segal

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(FILM) This fantastic movie about a South African farm boy and his cheetah is supposed to be for kids, but 12-year-old Xan has to face down serious human grief as well as mortal danger. When his cheetah can't learn to act like a house kitty, kid and cat embark on a journey through salt pans and jungles and across a crocodile-infested river. The anti-machismo message is incredibly refreshing: "Be smart. Be afraid." (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 267-5380. 6:30 and 8:30 pm, $5-$8.) by Annie Wagner

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(ART TALK) Before he died of AIDS at age 38 in 1996, Felix Gonzalez-Torres made art about giving. He piled candies for the taking—modest placebos to sweeten a time marked by pain and loss as he, his friends, and his great love, Ross, were dying. As visitors interacted with his art, it disappeared. His first comprehensive monograph comes out this year, with writings from Miwon Kwon, who curated at the Whitney Museum when Gonzalez-Torres was active in New York. Tonight, Kwon talks about his work. (Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect St, 726-5011. 7:30 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

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(CD RELEASE) They're punk with a fun beat, they're dance with an attitude. They do a little screaming, have a little swagger, and pour everything that's cool into their music. They are the Pharmacy, and tonight they're celebrating the re-release of their debut full-length, B.F.F. The album's first pressing has sold out. That could only mean one thing... re-release dance party! The all-ages show also features Ms. Led, NRDLNGR, and Wallpaper. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 8 pm, $7, all ages.) by Megan Seling

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(MUSIC) These two Danish musical exports intend to charm your American ears with some uncontroversial but high-quality rock. Figurines offer sprightly, winsome melodies in songs that fizz and sparkle like a Shins-Strokes jam session. (Tonight is the CD-release party for Figurines' joyous Skeleton on Sonic Boom.) Kira soulfully channels Janis and Johnette while her Kindred Spirits plow hearty, classic rock/R&B grooves. (Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave, 441-5611. 9 pm, $5, 21+. Also Sun Mar 12 at Sonic Boom Records, 2209 NW Market, 297-BOOM. 5 pm, free.) by Dave Segal

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(HIPHOP) In the turbulent atmosphere of the English language, black American speech is the zigzag brilliance of a thunderbolt that crystallized, shattered, and fell to earth like glass broken into rain. That is as close as I can get to an accurate description of the kind of power (black power) Framework's raps exert on my imagination. From him we hear a black English that has a flow, a force, a danger that is electrical. His debut CD, Hello World, was produced by Bean One, whose genius is not electrical but volcanic. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 9 pm, $17 adv, all ages.) by Charles Mudede

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(MUSIC PARTY) Last month, the music department at The Stranger chose 13 of their favorite up-and-coming local bands, put 'em on a ballot, and asked you to vote for your favorite. Thousands of entries were received and the four finalists are (drum roll...) Tennis Pro, Speaker Speaker, the Emergency, and Romance! Tonight the grand-prize winner will be crowned, DJ El Toro spins between sets, I will MC, and Visqueen headlines. (Neumo's, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, free, 21+.) by Megan Seling

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