THURSDAY FEB 13
Pre-Valentine's Day Bash
(EVENT) For the single and/or lonely and/or recently dumped, Valentine's Day can be a yearly lesson in misery, which is why we here at the ever-caring Stranger have thrown our Pre-Valentine's Day Bash at Re-bar for the past five years. The premise is simple: Single folks bring mementos--be they gifts or CDs or copies of Geek Love--from failed relationships to our little soiree, and our own Dan Savage mercilessly destroys them on stage in violent and sick ways. The result is a cathartic, hilarious evening, filled with tales of woe and possible lust. Possible lust? Yes, since the event is, after all, intended for singles. If you are alone this Hallmark holiday, bring an item from a past relationship and come on down to help with the healing. And who knows? You might just get laid. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 233-2973, 7 pm, $5--or free with a filled-out Stranger Personals ad.) BRADLEY STEINBACHER
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14
Filter
(ART/PARTY) It's been a lonely few months, what with the darkened galleries at Consolidated Works making a kind of hole in the city. Tonight, celebrate the opening of a new Consolidation Series--called Filter, in honor of all the layers that stand between us and the truth--with food, drink, music, video graphics, and a kissing booth. There are two art shows, one of which is called Sorta and honors the artistic tendency to collect and sort, to categorize, to put like with like, featuring work by Carl Fudge, Pat Boas, Jeremy Boyle, Larry Cwik, Jesse Paul Miller, Phil Roach, and the wonderful, undershown Sarah Morris. (Valentine's Day Opening Gala, Fri Feb 14, Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, 860-5245. Artists' reception 6-8 pm, free; gala opening party 8 pm-2 am, $7.) EMILY HALL
SATURDAY FEB 15
Oneida
(FREAKY ROCK) Brooklyn's Oneida is one of those great, style-boundaries-under-a-jackhammer bands, the kind that you start out with an "avant" descriptor and then throw in a little "art rock," "psychedelic," "synth-pop," and "noise" along the way. They recently released a split EP with their freakish sonic siblings the Liars, called Atheists, Reconsider, that is the punk prog release of 2002. Personally, though, I love 2000's Come on Everybody Let's Rock, which sounds, at moments, like Thin Lizzy reinterpreted by Drunk Horse on lots of acid, with excellent lyrics like, "Don't waste your breath. If your ass can't cash it, don't write a check." Sage advice from an excellent act. (Graceland, 109 Eastlake Ave E, 262-0482, 9:30 pm, $8.) JENNIFER MAERZ
SUNDAY FEB 16
Neil Finn
(MUSIC) As he becomes known to a new group of fans as a singer/songwriter who collaborated with Eddie Vedder and Johnny Marr, among others, former Split Enz and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn endures while serving as a fine example of what shining pop vocals are all about. On his last swing through town, Finn was joined on stage by Vedder, and Margaret Cho (a huge Finn fan) worked the backstage area. Tonight may or may not feature equally talented guests in the house. (Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, $22.50, 8 pm.) KATHLEEN WILSON
MONDAY FEB 17
'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'
You've already seen it, right? Well, see it again. The troika of George Clooney (director), Charlie Kaufman (screenwriter), and Sam Rockwell (star of all stars) has created a true gem of a film, full of hilarity, paranoia, and sex. Best of all, it's a "meditation on celebrity" (this decade's newest genre) that offers a genuinely original view, from within the dangerous mind of a man stuck in a kind of fame that Faust himself wouldn't have known what to do with. It'd be shocking if a better film came out this year. SEAN NELSON (Metro Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave NE, 633-0055; Meridian 16, 1501 Seventh Ave, 223-9600.)
TUeSDAY FEB 18
Francine Prose
(READING) If you are young and have no idea what you are going to do with the rest of your life, you might say to yourself, "This means only one thing: I must be a writer." Most often this is a big mistake. Very few end up like Francine Prose, who when young thought to herself, "I do not know what to do with my life--this means I must be a writer," and was proved correct by time. Over the years, she has published nearly 20 novels and established herself as a prominent American writer. But hers is a rare, rare case; if you don't know what to do with your life then just do nothing at all. (Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4800, 7:30 pm, free.) CHARLES MUDEDE
WEDNESDAY FEB 19
'Lolita'
(FILM) Light of my life, bane of my search engines, Lo-lee-ta. Stanley Kubrick's film based on the book whose title has become the scourge of the Internet morality squad (and by the way, Pete Townshend is INNOCENT) plays just in time for Valentine's Day, though it's hardly a romance. Lolita, which features James Mason, Peter Sellers, and especially Shelley Winters in peak form, is a story of impotence, delusion, corruption, and despair. Oh wait, maybe it is about romance after all.... (Fri-Sun Feb 14-16, Tues-Thurs Feb 18-20 at the Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935, $7/$4.50 members.) SEAN NELSON
