This week, our arts critics have recommended the best events in every genre—from the Bushwick Book Club's rendition of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to an On the Boards performance about the 2011 revolution in Cairo to the opening reception for Rick Araluce's replica of The Great Northern train tunnel. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.

Want this in your inbox? Sign up for the Stranger Things To Do newsletter.

---

Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

---

MONDAY
MUSIC
Sasquatch! Launch Party
Along with host Luke Burbank, renowned rockers Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaries perform, plus a DJ set by excellent funk empress SassyBlack, to celebrate the lineup announcement of Sasquatch.

FOOD & DRINK
Meatless Monday
"Every Monday, as part of the global Meatless Monday movement that reminds us that eating just a little less meat each week is better for both our health and the planet’s health, Tallulah’s creates a new vegetarian special." -Angela Garbes

COMEDY
Collide-O-Scope 6th Anniversary
Created and hosted by Michael Anderson and Shane Wahlund, Collide-O-Scope is the cavalcade of curated video delights that takes over Re-bar twice a month. The show keeps getting better, with thematic suites, hallucinatory repetition, and inspired guests. In honor of the anniversary, they'll have free snacks, prize drawings, and bacon-flavored popcorn courtesy of Sylvia O'stayformore.

TUESDAY
DeVotchka
"The acoustics of the Benaroya Hall should greatly benefit the soaring, emotive, and possibly overly earnest rock of DeVotchka, whose multi-instrumental proclivities and generally Slavic/Balkan bent should have been collecting royalties from Beirut for years now." -Kyle Fleck

Battalion of Saints
"San Diego's Battalion of Saints have been raining metallic hardcore flame from on high for over 30 years. That ought to sound impressive, but let's be honest: Legendary California punk and metal acts roll through town all the time and most of them suck. Well, here's some reason to be optimistic about the Battalion: They're currently signed to Greg Anderson's Southern Lord Records, the same label that puts out Black Breath's records—they know what a good riff sounds like." -Joseph Schafer

COMEDY
Comedy Nest Open Mic
Comedy Womb has become Comedy Nest in the name of inclusivity, and unsurprisingly, they write that "although the name has changed the mission is still the same." The rules of this pro-lady stand-up night are refreshing in their simplicity: no misogyny, racism, homophobia, hatred, or heckling. This week's show features Emmett Montgomery.

WEDNESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Kara Platoni: Making Sense of Human Perception
"In her debut collection of reports, We Have the Technology, Kara Platoni asks scientists about our senses, looking for answers to questions about how we perceive reality through our seers and hearers and feelers. She also talks with people who are working to tweak our sensory organs, to make eyes that can see a wider spectrum, ears that can hear what dogs hear." -Rich Smith

January Castalia
Members of the University of Washington MFA program in creative writing gather to share their work at this monthly event, from graduate students to faculty to notable alumni. In January, hear from Erin Lynch, Natalie Bicknell, Rachel Edelman, Scott Driscoll, and Richard Kenney.

MUSIC
Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco, one of the most popular rappers in the country, has released a divisive album in the midst of a hot streak, titled Tetsuo & Youth. Here's what our freelancer Todd Hamm had to say about it: "The album lacks much of the pop appeal from his past works, which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but the songs often wander without direction. Lupe’s streakiness is partially fallout from his growing adventurousness, though, so his set list could potentially take on many forms."

Tribute to Woody Guthrie
"Woody Guthrie was Bob Dylan’s hero, muse, and ever-flowing well of inspiration. Shit, if that’s not enough to entice you, who knows what will. America’s first commie’s songbook is overflowing with punk spirit, proto-hippie generosity, and enough pop sensibility to educate the basest of you." -Kyle Fleck

Aesthetic Mess
"Aesthetic Mess has quickly become a beacon in Seattle’s surfeited DJ nightscape. Headed by acute, vinyl-playing diggers DJ Goo Goo (occasional Stranger freelancer Travis Ritter) and DJ Jermaine (new guitarist for arty punk brutes Steal Shit Do Drugs), Aesthetic Mess airs the upper echelon of below-the-radar post-punk and minimal-synth jams by the likes of 39 Clocks, This Heat, and Mathématiques Modernes." -Dave Segal

THEATER
The Motherfucker with the Hat
"The play, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, involves a love triangle between a young woman struggling with addiction, a man recently released from prison, and a dried up friend of theirs. The discovery of some motherfucker's hat sets off the action, and a tale of moral relativism (and lots of cussing) unfolds." -Rich Smith
(Today and tomorrow are pay-what-you-can previews, and Friday is opening night)

QUEER
The Children of Fatima
"Look, I'll be straight with you: I have no idea what the fuck this is going to be, but I know an adventure when I see one. This particular journey promises an appearance by Vinsantos, a musical drag queer witch artist. (What?)...The realm of faerie beckons—don't refuse the call." -Matt Baume

FILM
Rear Window
The Photographic Center Northwest and Northwest Film Forum present the 35mm print edition of Hitchcock's classic.

ART
Mindfulness Meditation at the Frye
As distractions swarm around us, the importance and elusiveness of focus becomes increasingly evident. Reclaim your brain at the Frye with this free 30-minute meditation session.

THURSDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Ashraf Fayadh: A Global Reading in Solidarity
This reading of Palestinian poet and artist Ashraf Fayadh's work is part of a worldwide response to his incarceration and impending death sentence in Saudi Arabia, issued due to Fayadh's defiant estrangement from religion.

PERFORMANCE
The Life Model
"What did the 2011 revolution in Cairo look like from the perspective of a young Egyptian leftist? Or an Egyptian video artist struggling with the decision to leave the country? A plastic surgeon from Rio? An American studying Islamic art? Jeffrey Fracé, a local playwright/actor/professor of drama at UW, has teamed up with a group of international artists to create a story that draws on these perspectives. The performance incorporates video, movement, music, and language to create a multifaceted portrait of Cairo before and during the revolution." -Rich Smith (Through Sat)

King Kirby
King Kirby, written by Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente, takes on the story of comic book creator Jack Kirby, from his childhood in New York, to his army service in World War II, and finally, to his moment standing accused on the Senate floor.

Proof
The Edmonds Driftwood Players present Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play Proof by David Auburn, about the daughter of a late University of Chicago professor and mathematical genius.

FILM
Outdoor Movie Night: Out Cold
There may not be a better place to combat the dark Seattle winter than drinking at Peddler Brewing Company's covered (but outdoor) beer garden, where you can listen to the rain coming down with a pint to warm you up, and watch the sexy snowboarding comedy Out Cold. Plus you can bring your dog.

ART
Capitol Hill Art Walk
The monthly art walk on Capitol Hill, featuring opening exhibitions, excellent art, and free drinks.

Critical Issues in Contemporary Art Practice: Martine Syms
Martine Syms, who ran Golden Age and currently works as director of Dominica Press, comes to Seattle as a part of The University of Washington's CICAP (Critical Issues in Contemporary Art Practice) lecture series. Syms has eloquently tackled social and political issues through artistic media like film, publishing, and performance.

Mindfulness Meditation at the Henry
A busy, restless mind is like a dirty carpet, and meditating is like vacuuming. No registration is required for this drop-in meditation session among the art.

Andrea Geyer: Travels on a Slender Thread
The New Foundation Seattle, led by Yoko Ott and Jessica Powers and founded by Shari Behnke, presents this exhibition of new and recent work by Andrea Geyer, curated by Kristan Kennedy—and naming these names is deliberate and noteworthy. Geyer, who is based in New York, has made it her practice to reclaim the histories, memories, and, yes, simply the names of the women behind modern art. (Closes Sat)

MUSIC
Mackned
"Thraxxhouse is nothing if not inclusive. Reportedly counting over 40 members worldwide, the music and art collective cofounded by Seattle musicians Mackned and Key Nyata has fostered the growth of a wide array of curious creative types, from rappers and producers like Mackned to sing-songy trap philosophers Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and Horse Head." -Todd Hamm

T.S.O.L.
"T.S.O.L.'s jams are shaded with Raw Power-era Stooges, filtered through the cotton balls of the early-’90s hard rock; like, their songwriting would’a made the fellers in the Fluid jealous. Also, Cali pop-punks, and Warped Tour vets Left Alone are also on the bill." -Mike Nipper

Shemekia Copeland
"Grammy-nominated blues wailer Shemekia Copeland is touring behind her exemplary eighth album, Outskirts of Love, as solid a mission statement to be issued by any blueswoman in our fraught 21st century. Daughter of Johnny Copeland and a powerful belter in her own right, Shemekia Copeland updates the history of blues with her own idiosyncratic take on the genre: opening it up to modernity without undermining the earnestness and humor inherent to the genes of the thing." -Kyle Fleck

FRIDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Seattle StorySLAM
A live amateur storytelling competition much like The Moth, hosted by Lindy West, in which audience members who put their names in a hat are randomly chosen to tell stories on a theme. This week: bravery.

COMEDY
Andy Kindler "Live and Impersonal"
Bitter, acerbic comedian Andy Kindler (Everybody Loves Raymond, The Daily Show) headlines a comedy show at El Corazón.

PERFORMANCE
14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival
"True to its name, the 14/48 Festival turns around 14 brand-new, theme-based, 10-minute plays in two days. The high-pressure nature of the event produces an evening of surprising theater for the audience, who arrive in their seats charged with expectation and anxiety for the performers. ... Expect shit to get weird." -Rich Smith (Through Sat)

FILM
Saturday Night Fever
"The thing about Saturday Night Fever is that it’s a very realistic film. The New York accents, the cars, the clothes, the restaurants, the life on the streets are carefully matched with the actual world of that movie’s times, the second half of the 1970s. The music and dancing in the nightclub are not what make SNF an important work, but its mundane details and attention to class differences." -Charles Mudede (Through Sun)

Shampoo
Scarecrow Video plays Hal Ashby's 1975 romcom/drama about the day Richard Nixon was elected.

ART
EVOLUTION: Art, Science & Adaptation Opening Reception
W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory (a Victorian-style hothouse) hosts this embedded group show on the nature of evolution, exploring its varied facets: physical, artistic, biological, and cultural. Tonight is the opening reception.

Joan Tanner: The False Spectator
"For many years, based in California, Joan Tanner has created structures out of discarded materials that have their own stories of destruction, decay, rebirth, and resemblance. At Suyama Space she'll respond directly to the dramatic room of the gallery with vertical structures: "troughs, columns and step constructs made of wood, sheet metal, plastic webbing, and a variety of other materials." -Jen Graves

FOOD & DRINK
All-Star Women's Blues Jam
The neighborhood of Hillman City is home to Spinnaker Bay Brewing, Washington’s only 100-percent women-owned microbrewery. Owners Janet Spindler and Elissa Pryor don’t hold back, brewing robust, flavorful—and strong—beers. The brewery’s monthly All-Star Women’s Jam features a rotating roster of female blues musicians.

MUSIC
Malaa
"The fact that Malaa’s done a remix for Major Lazer & DJ Snake’s massive hit 'Lean On' indicates that he has a keen aptitude for populist grooves, but he also shows an intense focus on funky bass lines and ear-prickling textures that suggest comfort in underground-club zones. The man is highly adept at making house music that straddles the line between debauched and menacing, and that’s an impressive feat, ski mask or no." -Dave Segal

Bushwick Book Club Presents: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
"If, like many of us nerds, you’ve immersed yourself in the galaxy of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 has special significance for you. The Bushwick Book Club, known about town as a force for literary/musical good, have taken it upon themselves to translate Adams’s mythical vision into hummable four-minute pop songs, and if their history is any indication, they’ll do it justice." -Kyle Fleck

SATURDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Scavenger Hunt of Pike Place and Cooking Competition
"If you’ve spent any time wandering around Pike Place Market, you know its labyrinth-like structure is filled with a tremendous array of food items: Oysters! Sausages! Lacto-fermented pickles! Truffles! Cheese! It’s as overwhelming as it is thrilling. What if you were set loose to pillage the market and create something delicious? That’s exactly the opportunity Eat Seattle, a company that offers chef-guided food tours and cooking classes, is giving you with this scavenger hunt and cooking competition." -Angela Garbes

READINGS & TALKS
Red Pine
After traveling in China, Red Pine, an "eminent translator of old Chinese poetic and spiritual texts," returns to Elliott Bay to read from his most recent book.

FILM
The Sprocket Society presents Saturday Secret Matinees
Watch the entirety of the highly regarded serial Spy Smasher over the course of twelve weekly installments. Each screening will feature one episode, plus a secret feature film that follows a monthly theme. In January, it's classic comedies.

Yeti: The Giant of the 20th Century
Scarecrow Video plays Gianfranco Parolini's esoteric Italian film from 1977.

MUSIC
Research
"Detroit club mainstay Mike Huckaby is one of the last of the vinyl-centric techno/house DJs. Format may not seem important to most clubbers, but to this long-time appreciator of DJ sets, more respect is due to those who mix and beat-match with their hands in real time with the original tools of the trade, unaided by computer software." -Dave Segal

Hollow Earth Fundraiser
"Community-run DIY station Hollow Earth has been granted LPFM status—which means you'll be able to listen to it on the FM dial hyper-locally in Seattle—but it needs to build a tower and meet all the city ordinance requirements. Tonight's show is a fundraiser for Hollow Earth to help meet its $25,000 goal, and it’s packed with diverse local talent." -Brittnie Fuller

The Tom Price Desert Classic
"Since Tom Price, a masterful minimalist, was never part of Seattle’s pop, metal, or grunge scenes, it’s easy to take him for granted, but that would be a mistake. From the U-Men to Gas Huffer to Monkeywrench, the singer-guitarist has stayed true to his garage-punk roots: no sellout moves, no major-label deals." -Kathy Fennessy

SUNDAY
ART
Rick Araluce’s The Great Northern Opening Reception
"The Great Northern train tunnel was built under downtown Seattle in 1904 by hundreds of men with pickaxes. And at the time, it was the highest and widest tunnel in the country. (It's still in use.) Rick Araluce, the Seattle sculptor (who is also lead artist at Seattle Opera), typically creates and builds miniature hyperrealistic interiors, but The Great Northern is colossal in comparison. It's a just-less-than-half-scale replica of the actual Great Northern tunnel entrance under Third Avenue, with light and sound suggesting an actual train running in the 40-foot-long black tunnel in the gallery. You'll want to enter it, so you will, with your mind." -Jen Graves

MUSIC
Sugar Candy Mountain
"Song-based psychedelia continues to thrive in the twenty-teens, as this bill proves. Oakland’s Sugar Candy Mountain live up to their name with songs that soar with a sweet assortment of distorted organ whirs, rippling and fizzing guitar effects, and vocals that sound like they’re emanating from Mount Shasta’s peak." -Dave Segal

Sophistafunk
"Don’t judge a book by its cover, they tell you. But when you call yourself Sophistafunk, you invite a certain degree of scrutiny. New York’s Sophistafunk unfortunately hew close to the 'intelligent bro' sound implied by their chosen moniker: a tight yet derivative brew of 1970s-aping drum breaks, Rhodes keys, blustery bass, and Jamiroquaian toasting and boasting." -Kyle Fleck

Venom Inc.
"If you've heard the term 'black metal,' then your life has been touched by UK metal band Venom. The power trio coined the term in 1982 to describe their rapid-fire and satanic approach to heavy music. Ten years later, that term became a rallying cry for controversial, avant-garde, and sometimes violent musicians dedicated to the most extreme music guitars can make." -Joseph Schafer