THURSDAY MARCH 27
ILL Mitch
(WACK HIPHOP) ILL Mitch says he came to America from Russia with his three favorite things--a skateboard, his boxing bag, and a new rap CD. My friends and I had been laughing at the asinine photos and broken English commentary on his website for months before taking the risk and actually ordering the ILL Mitch CD, Punch While Rap. The disk arrived, personally autographed by the randy Russian, and we've been laughing ever since. I'm not sure if ILL Mitch is even for real, but it doesn't matter. You can't go wrong with tracks like Hey Ladies Fans, and rhymes like "when I board I'm never a loner/on full moon I ride with boner." Freakin' hilarious. (www.illmitch.com.) KELLY O

FRIDAY MARCH 28
Cherrywine
(MUSIC) The former lead rapper of the legendary Digable Planets, Cherrywine (who once went by the name of Butterfly) easily has the most decadent rap voice in all of hiphop. The closest cat to him is MC Solaar, but that's just because Solaar raps in French, which automatically sounds decadent to English ears. Cherrywine, however, is not purely decadent; the actual content of his raps has always been political, utilizing sophisticated imagery and references to form eloquent critiques of urban American life. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324 8000, $10.) CHARLES MUDEDE

SATURDAY MARCH 29
Women Who Rock Photography
(LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ROCK) This pre-Ladyfest rock show event showcases the fabulous photography of numerous local female shutterbugs. Included in this showcase (which has been up at the Vera Project since March 1) are Alice Wheeler (who also has a great display of Kurt Cobain photos at the Greg Kucera Gallery), Bootsy Holler, Victoria Renard, and many other talented women I don't have the space to list here. Featuring a mix of live and intimately posed portraits of musicians, this free event shouldn't be missed, especially when you add DJ Cherry Canoe to the mix. (Vera Project, 1916 Fourth Ave, 956-VERA, 6-8 pm, free.) JENNIFER MAERZ

SUNDAY MARCH 30
Paul Theroux
(READING) As a young intellectual, apiarist, and author, Paul Theroux taught in Malawi, Africa. His new book, Dark Star Safari, returns not only to that country but a span of the continent made famous by Cecil Rhodes (from Cairo to Cape Town) to observe, to rediscover, and to deepen his understanding of the "white man's grave" (as Africa used to be called in Rhodes' time). Though he might frustrate us with his inevitable cultural limitations, a writer as smart as Theroux is hardly the sort to let the reader down at the level of the language--the art of the English language. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, $5.) CHARLES MUDEDE

MONDAY MARCH 31
DeLaurenti
(MARKET) Since DeLaurenti's renovation earlier this month, I've been spending way too much time there--but can you blame me? Now there's a sit-down cafe space, so you can look out onto First Avenue while you enjoy some of the best pizza in town, along with pastas, panini sandwiches, and other antipasti. Also check out DeLaurenti's usual offerings of traditional salumi, various olives, and stinky (read: delicious) cheeses; or geek out on the huge selection of specialty pantry items like San Marzano tomatoes, Italian tuna, European chocolates, and more vinegars and capers than you'll ever know what to do with. (DeLaurenti, 1435 First Ave, Pike Place Market, 622-0141.) MIN LIAO

Tuesday APRIL 1
David Mamet
(LECTURE) Bob: Now you're really being a pussy. Earl: You want to see David Mamet? You seen his movies? Bob: Plays. He writes plays. Earl: I know what he writes. Everyone's shouting. There's all this testosterone. Bob: He won a Pulitzer. Earl: Fuck the Pulitzer. He's a misogynist. Bob: Here we go. Earl: What are you saying? Bob: I'm saying you're a pussy. That's what I'm saying. (Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 621-2230, 7:30 pm, $9-$23.) CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

WEDNESDAY APRIL 2
'Lovely & Amazing'
(VIDEO/DVD) Having stupidly missed Nicole Holofcener's acclaimed second feature during the half-year it spent illuminating Seattle screens, I hereby repent by begging everyone to rent it immediately and watch it repeatedly. Not since Chekhov (or maybe Woody Allen) has a tale of three sisters said so much, so beautifully. Young actress Raven Goodwin anchors this impeccable film with a performance of quiet wit and depth, while Catherine Keener provides the relative fireworks, perfectly embodying her role as an insecure approval-junkie who can't resist telling a fair majority of humanity to just fuck off. (Available for rent at every video store worth its salt.) DAVID SCHMADER