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SUN
NOV 30, 2008
'The Dina Martina Christmas Show' THEATER / JOY
'The Dina Martina Christmas Show'

After a decade and a half as Seattle's most beloved psycho-drag performer, Dina Martina now belongs to the world. But no matter how many superstar fans she acquires or continents she conquers, she always comes home for Christmas. If Dina's latest Christmas show is anything like its mighty predecessors, it'll be a glorious explosion of brain-twisting oddness and weep-worthy comedy (sample topics: pink eye, camel toes, "rump cancer") that'll fill you with something freakishly close to the holiday spirit. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, www.brownpapertickets.com. 7 pm, $20, 21+. Through Dec 31.) by David Schmader

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MON
DEC 1, 2008
Jon Meacham BOOKS / READING
Jon Meacham

As Sarah Vowell has demonstrated, nothing is sexier than an obsession with long-dead presidents. And Andrew Jackson, the subject of Jon Meacham's new book American Lion, is perhaps the most obsession-worthy commander in chief not named Obama. He was feisty (Jackson's inauguration party resulted in a drunken trashing of the White House and he threatened to kill his own vice president), and he was an evil sonofabitch too (both the forcible annexation of Florida and the Trail of Tears took place under Jackson's reign). (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 800-838-3006. 7:30 pm, $5.) by Paul Constant

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Wu-Tang Clan OTHER

In their mid-'90s heyday, the Wu-Tang Clan were a monolithic, mythological brand with a reach unrivaled by any hiphop group before or since. In the teenage suburbs, it seemed like every trunk rattled with RZA's gothic, digital beats and the Clan's Shaolin styles. Even the punk rockers could recite the "Torture" skits verbatim. Since those days, the Wu have weathered ODB's death (RIP), How High, spotty solo projects, and highly publicized inter-Clan beef, only to reemerge in 2008 as close to their days of "Triumph" as we'll probably ever see again. (Showbox Sodo, 1700 First Ave S, 628-0888. 7 pm, $35 adv/$40 DOS, all ages.) by Eric Grandy

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Also Suggested Today: Jon MeachamWu-Tang Clan
TUE
DEC 2, 2008
'Setting Fire to the Visual Arts' OTHER
'Setting Fire to the Visual Arts'

Christine Göttler, UW professor of art history, wrote a book about Rubens, teaches about the art of the afterlife, and is giving a talk on something deliciously obscure: Jan Brueghel the Elder's paintings of fires, demons, and heroes, based on his experience visiting the newly discovered catacombs in late 16th-century Rome. (He may have even signed his name there in a graffito!) These little paintings on copper are tunnels to faraway underworlds. Put your eye up to them and get out of here. (Henry Art Gallery, 4100 15th Ave NE, 616-6544. 6–7:30 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

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WED
DEC 3, 2008
'Slumdog Millionaire' FILM
'Slumdog Millionaire'

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant, whooshing spectacle: A teenage boy, about to win a historic jackpot on the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, is accused of cheating and leads his interrogators, via flashback, through the snarled strings of fate that delivered him to each correct answer. Turns out, Slumdog Millionaire is a straight-ahead fairy tale, complete with riddling sphinxes, giants to be slain, and princesses in need of rescue—adapted to the Technicolor grime of modern-day Mumbai. (See movie times, www.thestranger.com, for details.) by Lindy West

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THU
DEC 4, 2008
The Thermals MUSIC
The Thermals

The Thermals will release their fourth album, Now We Can See, on April 7 via Kill Rock Stars, and if you have ears, a heart, and a head, you should be eagerly counting the days until then. If past releases are any indication, the Thermals' new one should be another too-short (they're always too short) burst of concisely cutting lyrics set to hard-charging, hook-heavy pop-punk given to moments of transcendent uproar. The band should debut a shitload of new material at this show, despite their guitarist/singer's recently busted finger. With the Shaky Hands and Champagne Champagne. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 8 pm, $14, all ages.) by Eric Grandy

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Found Footage Festival FILM

NYC smart alecks Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett return with an all-new installment of their Found Footage Festival, in which a well-curated crop of found videos—from psychotic employee-training tapes to public-access talent shows gone horribly wrong—are screened for the howling delight of gathered masses at Central Cinema, which, obligingly, serves beer and wine. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, www.brownpapertickets.com. 7, 9:30 [both sold out], and 11:45 pm, $10, later shows 21+.) by David Schmader

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Also Suggested Today: The ThermalsFound Footage Festival
FRI
DEC 5, 2008
'Great Speeches from a Dying World' FILM
'Great Speeches from a Dying World'

Ostensibly, Great Speeches is a documentary about homeless people in which they recite speeches by Chief Sealth, Bobby Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, et al. Deep down, the film (by local director and Stranger Genius Linas Phillips) is really about language—its subjects' hard-luck stories about drugs, rape, and death are a means to understanding the speeches. (A guy who has attempted suicide seven times, for example, gives a heartbreaking recitation of Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech from a hospital bed.) The film strips the crust of history away from the words, making them unsettling and dangerous all over again. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863. 7 and 9 pm, $9.) by Brendan Kiley

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SAT
DEC 6, 2008
The Pajama Men THEATER
The Pajama Men

Most comedy just reflects the world. The Pajama Men—a duo from Chicago—make fast, tight fictions that imagine new realities. They rethink the world. A father and his angry daughter explore a haunted hotel. A horse wants to kill, but cannot bring himself to kill, his rider. Two old people walk through a park, verbally abusing each other like peevish teenagers. The Pajama Men have crazy discipline; these shape-shifters understand precisely how long an audience's attention will follow one idea before swooping into another with a smart, bizarre segue that'll make your head spin. As writers, actors, and comedians, the Pajama Men rule the school. (Annex Theatre, 1100 E Pike St, 800-838-3006. 8 pm, $18.) by Brendan Kiley

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