The Stranger

In Cao Fei's video Whose Utopia (2006), factory workers who have moved to the Pearl River Delta to become part of the new Chinese economy appear in dreamlike scenes of their own creations: They dance between glowering pieces of industrial machinery, they adapt their products into instruments, they wear costumes as they go about their work. This is not simply an abstract meditation on power for an art audience; they're cocreating and absorbing its many meanings themselves. Two videos in Business as Usual are by Yang Fudong, whose five-part series Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest (2003–07) was a spellbinding, enigmatic attraction at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Here we'll see the earlier City Lights and Honey. (Henry Art Gallery, 4100 15th Ave NE, 543-2280. 11 am–9 pm, $10.) by Jen Graves

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At first, Audience of One comes across as an amusing lark of a documentary, like a real-life Waiting for Guffman about a megachurch pastor obsessed with filming a science-fiction epic for Jesus. The evangelicals, who have never made a movie before and don't understand the basics of filmmaking, seem like cuddly doofuses—slightly misguided, but well-intentioned. But Audience builds to a phenomenally intense climactic sermon that boldly leaps over the line between typical organized religion and Scientology-level insanity. It's a shocking documentary about what happens when a group of trusting people put too much faith in one lunatic. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863. 5, 7, and 9 pm, $9.) by Paul Constant

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Hollywood has never made a better alien-invasion film than 1953's The War of the Worlds. The creepy aliens (whose "faces" are just eerily lit tiles of primary colors) still inspire an uneasy blend of terror and awe in viewers, and the cinematic destruction—what did they do to the Eiffel Tower?—makes Independence Day's pixilated assaults look just plain silly. Forget about Transformers 2; this is the original Michael Bay extravaganza, even though it was filmed a dozen years before the birth of America's Biggest Directard. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935. 7 and 9 pm, $8.) by Paul Constant

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The holy grail of chips and salsa has been located at Redwood on Capitol Hill. The chips are brought directly from the deep fryer, burning hot, plenty salty, with a squeeze of lime; they're entirely crispy, but they still have enough body that you know you're eating a tortilla. The salsa is pico de gallo–style, fresh and uncomplicated, made with organic tomatoes and onions and pickled jalapeños. Chips and salsa are not usually a thrill. These are shockingly, amazingly good. Your mouth will tell your brain that you're having a life-changing experience. (Redwood, 514 E Howell St, 329-1952. 4 pm–2 am, $4/$3 at happy hour, 21+.)

BETHANY JEAN CLEMENT

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Apparently, headliners Cowboy Junkies still have mad drawing power, as this show is sold out. Nevertheless, if you're near the zoo, cock an ear stageward when openers Son Volt appear. Singer/guitarist/pianist Jay Farrar's veteran group have just released American Central Dust, a beautifully expansive record that could charm even people like me, who usually say "nah" to Americana. Farrar's poignant, foghorn voice soars and chokes up bittersweetly over cosmic- and trad-country tunes of profound yearning and grandeur. (Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave N, 548-2500. 6 pm, $22, all ages.) by Dave Segal

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Local hiphop duo Linda and Ron's Dad don't take much seriously (pun noted, gentlemen), but the music they make is seriously entertaining. Tyler Swan (of Truckasauras/Foscil) and Derek Bourcier realize that crate-digging is an art as integral to hiphop's infrastructure as dope rhymes. Bourcier's predilection for awesome, arcane breaks—and a ballsy willingness to sample major artists—conjoins with Swan's unerring rhythmic mastery, resulting in tracks that revivify funk: a hard task when you consider that funk is approaching middle age. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000. 9 pm, $12 adv/$14 DOS, 21+.) by Dave Segal

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