The Stranger

Patton Oswalt is a funny little squeezy-toy of a person whose standup—cheerfully brutal, sprawling yet precise—is among the best in the world ever. In the grim almost-comedy Big Fan, Oswalt plays Paul Aufiero, a Staten Island parking-lot attendant whose life, wife, god, sun, stars, and reason to eat, poop, and breathe is the New York Giants. When, thanks to alcohol and overexuberance ("fan" is short for "fanatic," right?), he gets the shit beaten out of him by his favorite player, Aufiero's life plummets to dark, low, surprising places. Big Fan makes the most of Oswalt's chubby pathos while excising any hint of healing irony. It's tough and good. (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film.) by Lindy West

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Two weeks ago, Ryan Boudinot read from his debut novel, Misconception, at Elliott Bay Book Company. Somewhere in the middle of the first chapter, around the part when the main character describes his own sperm as seen in a microscope as "each a tiny exclamation point carrying my half of what could have been a human being," an offended woman stormed out of the reading, which made the evening feel even more exciting. We can only hope that Boudinot manages to alienate even more uptight grannies with his hilarious, pervy stories tonight. (University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400. 7 pm, free.) by Paul Constant

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Like Interiors, Crimes and Misdemeanors indulges Woody Allen's oddly romantic view of WASP life. Like Hannah and Her Sisters, it's a great Woody Allen movie featuring the man in a supporting role. Unlike either, 1989's Crimes and Misdemeanors involves a murder, and though the hand of the writer/director can feel exceedingly heavy, the big ideas, great performances, and sporadic bursts of comedy make this one of the man's best. (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film.) by David Schmader

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Many recognize her as the scene-stealing drag queen from the films Trick and Girls Will Be Girls, but only in her solo stage shows does Miss Coco Peru bloom in full. Her 2008 Re-bar performances were unforgettable stunners—it's not often a drag queen scares you with her intellect, but Miss Coco Peru isn't just any drag queen. Hers is a deep, dark drag performance designed for people who are sick of drag. Don't miss it. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, www.brownpapertickets.com. 7 pm, $22.50 adv/$25 DOS, 21+.) by David Schmader

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Britain's Sian Alice Group follow in the hallowed tradition of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized's elevation-through-downer-chord-progressions approach to music making. On albums like last year's 59.59 and the new Troubled, Shaken, Etc., the band's subdued siren, Sian Ahern, emotes at an even keel with solemn, diaphanous white-girl soul. Sian Alice Group err on the eerie side of psych-rock songcraft, sometimes drifting into orchestral beauty, other times dispersing into interstellar abstraction, and yet other times evoking Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, 784-4880. 10 pm, $8, 21+.) by Dave Segal

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If the old weird is the new normal, then what is going on? The Old, Weird America: Folk Themes in Contemporary Art, organized by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, is a much-loved traveling circus of contemporary art's fascination with folk techniques and traditions (the title is taken from Greil Marcus's book on Bob Dylan's basement tapes). In Seattle it comes to the Frye, which has old/new, weird/normal dynamics all its own. The artists are popular favorites: Kara Walker, Dario Robleto, Matthew Day Jackson, Jeremy Blake, and more. (Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, 622-9250. 10 am–5 pm with curator lecture at 2 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

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An adaptation of a favorite book is almost always a colossal letdown. How can it compete with the version in your heart? Book-It's production of A Confederacy of Dunces is exceptional: It is absolutely, unbelievably anti-disappointing. Brandon Whitehead deserves a Nobel Prize for his embodiment of flatulent, grandiose grump Ignatius J. Reilly. The rest of the cast is just fantastic. Mary Machala, the director and scriptwriter, should be the patron saint of adapters. This is funny, funny stuff! You must go. (Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, 684-7200. 2 and 7:30 pm, $35. Through Oct 11.) by Bethany Jean Clement

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