The Stranger

In a Cave, the latest album from Elf Power (veteran members of the Elephant 6 collective), is a seamless, fuzzed-out, indie-pop gem. At times, that seamlessness threatens to turn into hypnotic repetition, but Andrew Rieger's lyrics about dreadful psychedelic romances or precariously hopeful godlessness keep things interesting. Elf Power are lesser gods in the E6 pantheon—not as crazy-genius as Neutral Milk Hotel, not as cartoonishly pop as Apples in Stereo, nor as glamorously fey as Of Montreal. But, by mortal standards, they're still pretty freaking great. (High Dive, 513 N 36th St, 632-0212. 8 pm, $10 adv/$12 DOS, 21+.) by Eric Grandy

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Chronicling a couple years of life swirling around the aging Broadway star Margo Channing—the great Bette Davis in her greatest role—All About Eve is the rare star vehicle that's also a flat-out masterpiece. Writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's script remains the Platonic ideal of the dialogue-driven screenplay, enabling an array of rich, twisty performances. But towering above all is Davis, whose immersion into the profound grotesquerie of Margo Channing is total. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935. 6:30 pm, $5–$8.) by David Schmader

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In case you missed my 4,000 words on the subject in last week's issue: I'm totally gay for Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie. Same goes for tonight's headliner, Why?. Both bands write songs about existential worry and wonder, but while Mount Eerie find solace in the natural world, Why? get nauseated in the Whole Foods parking lot. Their dark, hiphop-inflected lyricism is airtight, telescoping from minute detail to overwhelming dread in the turn of a phrase, and the band's rhythms and melodies are equally agile. (Vera Project, Seattle Center, 956-8372. 7:30 pm, $9/$8 with club card, all ages.) by Eric Grandy

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It sounds like a disorienting dream: heavy metal, Melville, modern dance, and nuns pouring drinks. Rafe Wadleigh, a music teacher at a Catholic girls' school in Seattle, adores Mastodon—the prog-metal band whose most famous album, Leviathan, is a 45-minute tribute to Moby Dick. Wadleigh assembled a Mastodon cover band (with one of his students on bass) to play the entire record and invited choreographers to set dances to its 10 songs. The evening is also a benefit for AIDS relief in Lesotho. Says Wadleigh: "This is for the sisters in the trenches." (Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University, lucasd@seattleu.edu. 7:30 pm, $15, all ages.) by Brendan Kiley

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Brothers Eli Hansen, a glassblower, and Oscar Tuazon, a conceptual artist preoccupied with makeshift architecture, have sprung into view over the last year. In 2007, Tuazon won the Betty Bowen Award and Seattle Art Museum collected their glass-and-wood sculpture Crystal Math; now they have concurrent shows at SAM and Howard House. The noon talk at the gallery is intimate and free. (Howard House, 604 Second Ave, 256-6399. Noon, free.) JEN GRAVES by Jen Graves

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Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani's last feature, Man Push Cart, was beautiful but overwhelmingly bleak (the tragic overfeeding of a kitten was involved). But with Chop Shop, Bahrani hits the sweet spot at the intersection of relentless oppression and indomitable human will. Alejandro is a NYC street kid who lands a job at a black-market mechanic in Queens—but his pretty older sister, Isamar, and carefree buddy Carlos don't share his obsessive work ethic. Chop Shop is the best American indie so far this year. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 267-5380. 3, 5, 7, and 9 pm, $5–$8.50.) by Annie Wagner

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