Leave Town!

(HEALTH TIP) Those who value their eardrums and/or sanity might consider getting the hell out of town this weekend--before the dreaded U.S. Navy Blue Angels arrive for their annual reign of sonic terror. In the Gig Harbor area you can enjoy the Renaissance Fantasy Faire (Aug 5-6 & 12-13, 800-359-5948). Or, head north to Ferndale for the Hullaballoon festival (Aug 3-6, 360-384-3042), featuring 26 hot-air balloons. The truly antsy can escape all the way to the coast for a pig-out benefit (promoting clean water) at Brady's Oyster Feed (Aug 5, 800-572-3252), just west of Aberdeen; or check out the International Wood Sculpture Competition (Aug 3-6, 800-572-0177) in Westport. For the full-blown festival experience, travel south to the Clark County Fair (Aug 4-13, 360-397-6180) in Ridgefield, where you can marvel at duck races, donut-eating competitions, demolition derbies, and more! MELODY MOSS

The Blue Angels relentlessly pound your eardrums beginning Thursday morning and continuing through Sunday afternoon.

Nicola Vruwink

(ART) You might already be familiar with Vruwink's work--her drawings in Kool-Aid powder, maybe, or her sports trophies ornamented with nail polish and glitter. She's still mining (and slaying) the world of appearances with her trademark wicked wit, but never one to rest on her laurels, she has struck out in a whole new world of materials and media. This exhibition of new work includes tatted Easter grass, flower petal-covered shapes, and a video installation (similar to, but not the same as her piece currently on view in the Bellevue Art Museum Annual) featuring the artist's patient daily application of makeup. Few artists so pointedly remind us that how we see is as important as what we see. EMILY HALL

James Harris Gallery, 309A Third Ave S, 903-6220. Opening reception Thurs Aug 3, 6-8 pm. Through Aug 26.

A is for Arson

(LIVE MUSIC) Recently the home of local all-ages music supporter Kate Becker was torched with gasoline by some jerks who like to see things burn. Becker and housemate Adam Baldwin got out safely, as did their kitties, but the house and their possessions were badly damaged by the fire. Two benefit shows have been scheduled, the first on Friday, August 4 at Graceland with Blöödhäg, followed by Raft of Dead Monkeys, the Vogue, the Recursers, and Logic Probe. Also, there is a $7,500 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the pyro jerks. Call 1-800-55-ARSON if you saw any suspicious behavior around Becker's residence on Monday, July 10 around 4:30 pm. KATHLEEN WILSON

Graceland, 109 Eastlake Ave E, 381-3094, 9 pm, $8. (Second show Fri Aug 11 at the Old Fire House in Redmond)

The Fall-Outs

(LIVE MUSIC) John Haskell of Duvall was appalled that one of his favorite bands was missing from a recent book on Northwest music. So he sent a letter to local counterculture zine The Iconoclast and vented, "WHERE WERE THE FALL-OUTS!?!" It's unfortunate that underrated mod rockers the Fall-Outs are not immortalized in yet another Northwest rock 'n' roll retrospective. But thankfully, the thoroughly underground, biannually performing local legends are playing tonight (after taking nearly two years off, apparently to recuperate from their last show). Also playing is Super Electro labelmate Holly Golightly (of Thee Headcoatees fame), rounding out a lineup that promises to make this show better than any old stinking book anyway. ALLIE HOLLY-GOTTLIEB

Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484, 9 pm, $8.

Cirque de Flambé

(BLAZING SPECTACLE) People sure do love that fire. Watching those bright flames lick the night sky like a bunch of orange and yellow tongues--it's downright sexy. But it can also get a little dull over time, which is why Cirque de Flambé perks things up with a live band (Tiny Giants) and acts like Pyro Boy and the Amazing Human Comet. The Cirque is about to be the featured act at the largest fringe festival in North America, the Edmonton Fringe; with One for the Road they promise to give everyone a sneak peek at some special surprises they've cooked up for this, their first international appearance. Don't be chicken--stand in front and feel the heat on your skin. That's the whole point of fire. BRET FETZER

In the parking lot behind the Wildrose Tavern and Caffe Vita, next to the Union Garage; 1420 10th Ave, between Pike and Union, 10 pm, $12.

Croon!

(KARAOKE LOVEFEST) If you've never experienced the magic of The Stranger's own Wm.™ Steven Humphrey with a karaoke mic in his hand, you don't know what you're missing. Wedged into ham-huggin' pants and belting out ditties like a honky Ohio Player, the violently sexy Humperella can single-handedly transform a roomful of cooler-than-thou stand-and-posers into a sweaty, gyrating mob of karaoke-singing fools. This particular evening is sponsored by Stranger Personals, which means that in addition to karaoke thrills, you'll have the chance to fill out sexy personal ads, win glamorous prizes, and, perhaps, meet the love of your life. Mine, however, will be up on stage, shaking his superfine honey-baked ham. DAVID SCHMADER

Breakroom, 1325 E Madison, 860-5155, 9 pm, free.

Nicole Blackman

(READING) Ordinary disappointments open up vast black holes of angst in Nicole Blackman's poems; she reads them with an Anne-Sexton, sultry-voiced, deadpan humor. Blackman's collection Blood Sugar seems burned by life's slow heat, sticky with terrible possibility. She addresses the way female sexuality draws violence like flies; the way strength might come out of a friendship that makes no sense. Blackman's young feminist sensibility shocks with its refusal to play nice--and shocking poetry read by a crimson-lipped intellectual is always a good bet for a Saturday night. TRACI VOGEL

Elliott Bay Books, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free (advance tickets available at store).

Superbad

(ART) Winner of a Whitney Biennial award, the pop culture website www.superbad.com features a mind-boggling, nonlinear maze of random images and text, with a seemingly infinite number of pathways through the visual links. You might encounter Hello Kitty, "Captan America," tips on good posture, a description of eating foil, or "The Beef Brief" from the National Cattlemen's Association. Then again, you might not: web designer Ben Benjamin makes changes to the site every day. MELODY MOSS

Easily spend an hour of your time aimlessly navigating Superbad's art labyrinth.

Make a Home Movie

(FILM) Super 8 film is memory--which is vastly different than video, which is history. Memory is concise: poetry and mood, while history is more a compendium of facts and actions recorded. In fact, the primary joy of Super 8 film is that, unlike video, there are only three precious minutes of it per $15 reel. So go buy a Super 8 camera--Jim's Cameras in the U-District (1313 NE 43rd) or try calling Illovox Studios at 760-0462--or, if you're not sure, rent one from WigglyWorld ($15/weekend for a primo machine with time-lapse!). Then grab some film from Glazer's (430 Eighth Ave N) or Forde Motion Picture (306 Fairview Ave N) and shoot like the wind!! If you return the film to Forde by 1 pm, it will be ready the next morning by 8 am! Or, if you shot with Kodachrome, you can drop it off at Bartell's (though be patient--they'll have to look in their books for the addresses and stuff). What you'll end up with is the sweet memory of a great day that you can cherish forever. Ain't that sweet? JAMIE HOOK

Yes, in fact, it's sweeter than a caramel-covered kitten. Get to it.

Coyote Ugly

(FILM) God bless Jerry Bruckheimer. The film-production powerhouse behind such classics as Top Gun, The Rock, Con Air, and Armageddon now brings us Coyote Ugly, an uplifting tale of hard work, hard knocks, and hard nipples. Twenty-one-year-old Violet, who really wants to be a singer, leaves her small town in New Jersey and heads for Manhattan, where she hopes to make her dream come true... but first she needs a day job. Violet gets hired at Coyote Ugly, where she works with Lil, Zoe, Rachel, and Cammie; the girls dance on the bartop, squirt water at people, and sass their adoring male customers while wearing tight jeans and even tighter tank tops. The Dilemma: Will life at Coyote Ugly get in the way of Violet's music career? Can she find true happiness shaking martinis (and her ass)? LUCY SWANK

Treat your brain to a vacation; see Movie Times for details.

The Golden Tickets

(LIVE MUSIC) A quick refresher course in one chapter of local punk history: It all began with Area 51, which featured Spencer Moody on backing vocals. Then came Death Wish Kids, which featured everyone else from Area 51--Andrea Zolo (vocals), Dann Gallucci (guitar), Derek Fudesco (bass), and Sterling, a man whose last name no one on god's green earth knows (drums). Moody, Gallucci, and Fudesco went on to form Murder City Devils, and Sterling can now be heard in the Golden Tickets, another sassy girl-fronted band that likes its punk on the rock side. KATHLEEN WILSON

Hi*Score Arcade, 612 E Pine St, 860-8839, 8 pm, free.

KRS-One

(LIVE MUSIC) This guy is as serious as cancer. His website states in no uncertain terms, "KRS-One is beyond rap. He is a manifestation of hiphop culture." And he has certainly chosen to represent on many levels: cofounding Boogie Down Productions, and later, Stop the Violence; writing op-ed pieces for The New York Times; lecturing at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia; collaborating with the likes of R.E.M., Shabba Ranks, and Ziggy Marley--and putting out more than 10 records in the meantime. Unfortunately, all this hiphop-as-politic can translate into overly didactic and preachy shows. Here's hoping he sticks to the pure joy and flow of the music, which is quite capable of standing alone. LEAH GREENBLATT

Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, 8 pm, $20.