THURSDAY MARCH 20

Charles Cross

(READING) I must admit that I really have enjoyed reading Charles Cross’ biography of Kurt Cobain; it adequately feeds my secret and profound obsession with the dead rock star. Cobain was more than gifted–he represented one of the city’s rare authentic moments and expressions. Only that time and this place could have made him possible. Cross’ prose is not the stuff of magic and wonder, but his subject escapes the prison house of the ordinary language and satisfies our soul with the fullness of his story. (Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7 pm, free.) CHARLES MUDEDE

FRIDAY MARCH 21

James Turrell

(ART) The ground has been broken for Skyspace, Turrell’s permanent installation at the Henry, but it won’t be done until this summer. Until then, you can satisfy yourself with this exhibition of new light installations, with models and drawings from his literally monumental Roden Crater–a volcano in Arizona he is resculpting in order to, in his words, “reshape the sky.” Turrell is largely thought to be one of the greatest, most ambitious artists of our time. Miss this, and you’re a real asshole. (Opening reception Fri March 21, Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave NE and NE 41st St, 543-2280, 9 pm-midnight, $10.) EMILY HALL

SATURDAY MARCH 22

Gogol Bordello

(MUSIC) My New York friends swear by the theatrical musical collective known as Gogol Bordello. The Big Apple-based act comes via Ukraine, Austria, Israel, and other far-off lands, melting together a punk Crock-Pot of bizarre Ukrainian folklore and gypsy cabaret antics, garnering write-ups in the New York Times, Paper, and the Wall Street Journal, and scoring a spot in the Whitney Biennial. Combining instruments like the fiddle, the accordion, and the saxophone with guitars, drums, a dance troupe, and a frontman who takes from both Charlie Chaplin and Iggy Pop, the band meshes postmodern vaudeville with an artistic underground ethic, creating an energetic, eclectic performance that’s half sloshed sideshow and half freak genius. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison, 324-8000, 9 pm, $10.) JENNIFER MAERZ

SUNDAY MARCH 23

Thomas Arthur

(JUGGLER EXTRAORDINAIRE) For 20 years now, self-proclaimed “lyrical juggler” Thomas Arthur has thrilled audiences around the world with his one-of-a-kind synthesis of choreographed juggling performance and live music. This weekend, Arthur brings it all back home to Seattle with a veritable greatest-hits show incorporating Arthur’s favorite routines from the past two decades, along with a sampling of new work (involving “an enchanted clan of sticks, roots, and stones”), all set to live acoustic music by Paul Ely Smith. (Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, 325-6500. $7-$18. Fri-Sun at 8 pm, Sat matinee at 2 pm. Through March 23.) DAVID SCHMADER

MONDAY MARCH 24

The Slynx

(BOOK) The Slynx is a new novel by Tatyana Tolstoya, Leo Tolstoy’s great-grandniece. It is a very strange, dark, and cold book that bears similarities to the opening story of her second collection of short stories, Sleepwalker in a Fog (1993). Though I highly recommend The Slynx, her only novel, it must be enjoyed only after reading her first collection of short stories, On the Golden Porch (1989). There are few books in modern fiction that can match the pace of Porch‘s humor and the iridescence of its prose. Long live Tatyana Tolstoya. (Available at Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600.) CHARLES MUDEDE

TUESDAY MARCH 25

Keaton vs. Chaplin

(BRILLIANCE) This may be a stretch–but what the classic Rolling Stones vs. Beatles debate may do for music-heads, Buster Keaton vs. Charlie Chaplin does for cinephiles. To pigeonhole: Keaton fans are the cool kids, Chaplin fans the unhip. This, of course, is completely unfair (Chaplin fans can be cool, too!), but anyone who’s seen Buster Keaton’s masterworks–and Steamboat Bill, Jr., which is showing at the Grand Illusion along with a program of Chaplin shorts, is certainly one of them–knows deep down that Keaton busts the ass of the Little Tramp any day. (Fri-Thurs Mar 21-27, Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935, Chaplin at 7:30 pm, Keaton at 9:30 pm, $7 general/$4.50 members.) BRADLEY STEINBACHER

WEDNESDAY MARCH 26

Visqueen

(MUSIC) It’s the opening night of Ladyfest Seattle, and the organizers couldn’t have picked a better band than Visqueen to headline a show at the Crocodile; it’s a super-charged kickoff for the five-day festival. Between Visqueen (who are riding high after the recent release of their debut, King Me, and shows at SXSW) and bands like Ms. Led, the New Candidates, and the Reputation, the energy level will be sky-high all night. I recommend a good long nap before the doors open, so you can bop around and keep up. (Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave, 441-5611, 7 pm, $8, all ages/bar with ID.) AMY JENNIGES