Dodi Benefit
(VERY WORTHY CAUSE) If you don't know Dodi, two things are for sure: You don't get out much, and your liver is purer than most. As the expert bartender/woman with infinite patience/ray of sunshine behind the bar at the Rendezvous, Dodi has been a fixture in Seattle for over 30 years. Unfortunately, she recently suffered a rather serious ailment, and being without insurance, the bills are stacked high. To help alleviate this burden, a special benefit is being thrown, featuring a reunion show of the band Dodi (named after her, of course), along with Elvisbeth I, Downsound, and DJ Tim Paul. Be a good person and go. (Rendezvous, 2320 Second Ave, 441-5823, 9 pm, $8.) BRADLEY STEINBACHER
Anthony Ausgang, Yumiko Kayukawa
(ART) Call it what you like--lowbrow, pop surrealism, retro-comic-swank. Whatever it is, Kirsten Anderson's Roq la Rue is the only Seattle gallery consistently showing such a weird, sexy, creepy, scary, stylish hybrid. This opening, with trippy comic-book-style paintings from Anthony Ausgang and Japanese fantasy girls from Yumiko Kayukawa, marks the first show in Anderson's big new gallery, a haven for cultural signs and eye candy alike. (Opening reception Fri Sept 6, 6-10 pm, Roq la Rue, 2316 Second Ave, 374-8977. Through Sept 30.) EMILY HALL
The Spits
(MUSIC) I'm drawn to the simple punk style as much as I am to the more adventurous strains of noise, and the Spits show that a freakish sense of humor and three-chord anthems go a long way. I'm also a sucker for costumes, and the themes this band comes up with (stuffed animals, French fries) force even the most jaded punk fans to crack a smile. Between the power the Spits have to rile a crowd and their pogo-friendly pop punk, the band members are like crazy, drunken little brothers to Seattle's other big weirdoes, the Briefs. (And if you're hanging out in Belltown early, check out zinester/social agitator Jim Goad, author of Answer Me! and Shit Manifesto, reading at 7 pm at Confounded Books across the street.) (Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave, 440-5611, $7.) JENNIFER MAERZ
Strombolli's Island of Donkeys & Dolls
(PERFORMANCE EXTRAVAGANZA) Now blazing a trail of indie-art destruction across the U.S., this genre-bending carnival sideshow brings together an impressive array of alterna-stars--including transgendered writer/clown Morty Diamond, queer hiphop crew the End of the World, poet Bucky Sinister, and writer (and Sister Spit mastermind) Michelle Tea, among others--for a one-night-only tornado of comedy, poetry, confession, clowning, and music. Inspired in part by Pinnochio's soul-searching journey to Pleasure Island and the broken-down playthings of the Isle of Misfit Toys, Strombolli's promises "a candy-colored celebration of misfits and underdogs in art, music and literature." Yum-E. (Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S Alaska St, 8 pm, $7.) DAVID SCHMADER
Urban Tongue
(LIVE SOUL) Hosted by the gifted singer Christopher Glenn, Urban Tongue is a downtown venue for live R&B and hiphop acts. Young local cats (singers and rappers) take to the stage and test original material or vocal skills on a very casual crowd. True, not all of the acts are successful, but it's the imperfection, the unexpected ups and downs of the show, that make it honest and worthwhile. (Contour, 807 First Ave, 297-8995, 9-11 pm, $5.) CHARLES MUDEDE
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
(BRILLIANT DOCUMENTARY) Aside from sporting one of the best titles of any film ever, this film about Wilco's battle to record and release its Yankee Hotel Foxtrot LP joins Don't Look Back and Cocksucker Blues in the ranks of music documentaries that validate (and possibly define) the musicians they document. Shot in grainy, beautiful black and white, the film catches the band at the peak of its powers and the height of its corporate hassles. It's also loaded with tunes, but don't let that scare you; if you're not a fan going in, chances are you will be coming out. Coincidentally or no, Heart inaugurates the film production division of EMP, proving that if you throw enough money around, sooner or later it'll stick to something wonderful. (Plays daily at Uptown Cinemas, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, 285-1022; and Big Picture, 2505 First Ave, under El Gaucho, 256-0572.) SEAN NELSON
Aerosol Kingdom
(BOOK) This big book looks back at the days when graffiti writers used, with great risk, New York City's subways as their canvas. It's filled with pictures hiphop lovers can't get enough of: young black, white, and Puerto Rican artists posing in front of their work or with their equipment, next to the trains they "bombed," and in the bombed-out neighborhoods where they lived. There's also lots of interviews of the important artists of the era, and a great introduction to the scene that transformed the way we experience not only New York City but every city (streets, buildings, mass-transit systems) in the Western world. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, $30.) CHARLES MUDEDE
