The Stranger

Born in the Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, Dmitriy Salita is a practicing Orthodox Jew and professional boxer. This documentary catches him at the moment he is about to reach the peak of his career. He has not lost a fight and is determined to get to the top. He has support from his Jewish community, black American friends, and Latino trainers. Although Orthodox, Dmitriy does not live in a closed world. Indeed, Orthodox Stance overflows with the boxer's humanity. (Cinerama, 2100 Fourth Ave, 441-3080. 7:30 pm, $7–$10.) by Charles Mudede

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Depending on who you ask, Autechre have spent nearly two decades either pushing relentlessly forward into unexplored frontiers of electronic music or camping out in the hinterlands between extant genres—industrial, hiphop, techno—adopting and adapting as they go. Their trajectory from one release to the next is often baffling, though their latest, Quaristice, is as easy an introduction to their music as they've ever recorded. Live, they re-create their deeply composed computer music using live drum machines and synths. With Massonix and Rob Hall. (Neumo's, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, $15, 21+.) by Eric Grandy

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Now and then this world of ours produces a jazz singer with a voice that can melt the coolest soul. Such a person is Sophie Milman, a young jazz singer based in Canada. She is the point at which the lines of three rich traditions meet: Russian spirit, Jewish intensity, and black American swing. If the goal of your evening is romance, there is no better place to go than this little jazz show. (Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729. 7:30 pm, $21.50, all ages. Also Wed April 9.) by Charles Mudede

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This enviro documentary has its pretensions (I could've done without Wendell Berry intoning poetry), but the 30-year drama it describes couldn't be more timely. Developers want to build gigantic new communities in the hill country outside Austin, Texas; activists want to prevent the pollution of the local aquifer and, more to the point, the beloved community swimming hole. Meanwhile, deregulation of financial institutions is playing havoc with the economy, and George W. Bush is running against Ann Richards for the governorship of Texas. The echoes are deafening. (See www.thestranger.com for movie times.) by Annie Wagner

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The EMP Pop Conference is for music nerds: four days of panels, presentations, and round-table discussions, featuring luminaries (Robert Christgau, Greil Marcus, and Ann Powers), Stranger hacks (Charles Mudede, Michaelangelo Matos), and a lunchtime performance by Blue Scholars. This year's theme of "Shake, Rattle: Music, Conflict, and Change" explores the intersection between pop music and political struggle, including such topics as the all-ages movement, rave's response to England's Criminal Justice Act, and protest music. Get your geek on. (Experience Music Project, 325 Fifth Ave N, 770-2745, www.empsfm.org. Times vary, free with registration, all ages. Through Sun April 13.) by Eric Grandy

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I first fell for Varla Jean Merman in Girls Will Be Girls, the camp-cinema classic in which the voluptuous ingenue-for-life blows johns, eats lots, and lights up the screen like the illegitimate love child of Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman (which she claims to be). Tonight, performer Jeffery Roberson brings Varla's one-woman show to Re-bar. What she can do with Cheez Whiz will astound you. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, brownpapertickets.com. 8 pm, $25, 21+. Also Sat April 12.) by David Schmader

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