Gun St. Girls Burlesque Show

(T&A) The last time I saw these pulpy femme fatales onstage, a curvy blonde in a Confederate-flag teeny bikini (gotdamn!) sashayed into the spotlight, mesmerizing the crowd with her shimmy. As "Sweet Home Alabama" blasted over hoots and whistles, Miss Gun St. Bombshell gave everyone a greasy dose of Southern hospitality by hurling pieces of fried chicken and cans of Pabst into the crowd. Expect more classic burlesque antics from these luscious ladies--Miss Bella Beretta, Miss Candy Whiplash, and Miss Hangman Lola--who have earned a loyal and much-deserved local following with their arty, erotic, nostalgically retro show and ballsy, busty tribute to the art of strip tease. As Miss Bella Beretta says, "All bets are off, but one thing's certain--I brought the bras, the bullets, and the bourbon." This ain't Déjà Vu, kids. MIN LIAO

Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, 8 pm, $7-$10.

Mates of State

(MUSIC) Take this opportunity to see why Mates of State--a bright, abundantly happy, harmony-laden hetero duo from San Francisco--has worked the nation into a frenzy approaching Beatlemania. Organist Kori Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel belt out excellent harmonies, and while the pair could occasionally stand a bit of restraint, the result is a sweet, emotional sound that goes down well and virtually drips with unabashed love, and happiness. (Even when the lyrics are angry, which is a fair amount of the time.) JEFF DeROCHE

Crocodile Cafe, 2200 Second Ave, 441-5611, 9:30 pm, $7.

Independent Exposure

(FILM) My first viewing of Joel Bachar's monthly independent short film program must also be my last, sadly, and it's only now that I realize that perhaps I've been watching a bit too much television. So while I blew it, you can still show up for 12 short films that are silly, good, weird, creepy, dark, bad, and funny. Even if you manage to hate everything else (you won't), Lyn Eliott's Once and Sean Gallagher's Out of the Water will make things worth your while. Don't make the same mistake I made. JASON PAGANO

Independent Exposure at Vital 5 Productions, 2200 Westlake Ave (at Denny), 322-0282, www.microcinema.com, 9 pm, $5.

James Sturm, Dylan Horrocks

(COMICS SIGNING) James Sturm's artwork was on the cover of last week's Stranger, and his new graphic novel is the final book in his "American historical fiction" trilogy. Set in the 1920s, The Golem's Mighty Swing follows the season of a Jewish baseball team, the Stars of David, and how its players turn to the myth of Golem when times get tough. Dylan Horrocks, who you might remember from his Hicksville (that's Hicksville, New Zealand, mind you) series in the early '90s, has produced a 1,000-page comic book about the life of cartoonist Emil Kopen, from childhood to New York's cartooning sweatshops. A little birdie told me that Bailey/Coy is soon to begin a sizable comics collection to accompany its graphic novels, so this event may be the start of something beautiful. BRIAN GOEDDE

Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.

Strictly Seattle 2001

(DANCE) It seems like every time you turn around there's another dance event featuring an astonishing assortment of our city's choreographers. But Strictly Seattle isn't just a performance, it's the flowering of an intensive three-week workshop that pulls in over 100 dancers who work with the choreographers to create new work that is performed over two days. This sort of pressure-cooker creativity can have amazing results; with such sterling choreographers as 33 Fainting Spells, Pablo Cornejoy, Jana Hill & Matt Mulkerin, Shannon Hobbs, Amii LeGendre, and Wade Madsen at the helm, the promise is even greater. BRET FETZER

Broadway Performance Hall, corner of E Pine St & Broadway, 325-6500. Fri-Sat at 8; $14 general, $12 student/senior/advance sales. This weekend only.

Warren Zevon

(MUSIC) Caustic bastard, whiskey priest, romantic agonist--Warren Zevon is all these and more, but what he mainly is, against all reason, is alive and kicking. His recent album, Life'll Kill Ya (Artemis), while hardly an apotheosis, is full of topnotch Zevon standards that meld his classic piano fighting sensibilities with the nihilistic sarcasm ("I was in the house when the house burned down") and wounded tenderness that made him stand out from his oh-so-moist '70s heyday counterparts. Zevon still sounds vital and youthful, and continues to make records whose artistry belies his journeyman career. SEAN NELSON

King Cat Theater, 2130 Sixth Ave, 628-0888, 8 pm, $27.50.

Wrecking Ball

(PARTY) This is it: the end of the line for ConWorks' old space. Come bid a sad fare-thee-well to the drywall and concrete and celebrate the birth of the new venue. It's the last we'll hear from Matt Richter and Co. for a spell, while they fundraise, renovate, and furiously prepare for the future. There will be the usual party things (food, dance, and drink) plus demolition games and possible nudity--although the invitation suggests "Demolition Formal" or "Elegant Deconstructive," whatever that means. With music by the Makers and La Movida. EMILY HALL

Consolidated Works, 410 Terry Ave N, 381-3218, 9 pm-4 am, $20.

Source

(ART) Catch this neat little show before it closes. It features four artists in three little rooms, and each one's take on architecture and domesticity, on space and the objects inside it. Rachel Johnston's small ceramic houses have video images playing behind them, the flickering blue light reminding you of spying into the homes of others. Using sophisticated technology, Norwood Viviano re-creates antique decorative objects in plastic, creating an unlikely bridge between past craftsmanship and contemporary appropriation. There's also delicate, wavy porcelain furniture from Sarah Lindley and a wall built of luminous and translucent paper bricks by Carrie Scanga. EMILY HALL

SOIL Artist Cooperative, 1205 E Pike St, 264-8061. Through July 29.

Planet of the Apes

(FILM) The main reason to go see Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes this week is not for its splendor as escapist fun, but rather in trying to figure out just what the fuck is going on. To explain: If, somehow, you can explain the "twist" ending--and by "explain," I mean make it scientifically sound, or, if not that, at least somewhat intellectually reasonable--I will give you $100. No kidding. I will fork over $100 in dough-rae-me to the first person who makes me believe the ending makes sense. So there you go. For a measly $8 you could make $100... although I'm not holding my breath. BRADLEY STEINBACHER

See Movie Times for details; e-mail brad@thestranger.com to win.

Diego Piñon

(BUTOH) Not everyone likes Butoh, and who can blame those that don't? It's really peculiar--performers are almost always semi-naked and caked in cracking white makeup and powder, contorting themselves into twisty postures and moving extremely sloooooooooowly; it's often accompanied by abrasive, cacophonous music. Yet this particular idiom of dance is spreading all over the world, growing an intense, cultlike devotion. Diego Piñon is from Mexico, of all places, and has been described in California papers as "a virtuoso of this haunting Japanese modern-dance form" and "a curious animal and a messenger." Maybe the horrific industrial pollution of Mexico City and the post-nuclear horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have found a common point in Piñon; maybe he'll open you up to the perverse and eerie beauties of Butoh. BRET FETZER

Seattle Mime Theater, Oddfellows Hall, 915 E Pine St, Fourth Floor, 320-8363, 8 pm, $12. One night only.

National Poetry Slam

(POEMS) I'm not much of a fan of performance poetry, or as they call it to give it that "oommph," slam poetry. Like opening a shook-up pop can, slam poetry is often a sloppy explosion of shit that's been building up for too long. But, like any good citizen commenting on art, "I like it if it's done well," and at the National Poetry Slam you'll get the cream of the cream from performers who deliver short monologues that will completely envelop you, which can be very impressive. There will probably be some messy moments, but "when done well," as they say, these moments can be entertaining. The whole event ends at the Paramount on August 5; tonight is the kickoff, where poets (yet unnamed) read with the James Whiton Jazz Combo. BRIAN GOEDDE

Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484. Check www.nationalpoetryslam.com for details on schedules and tickets.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

(FILM) Two prisoners share a South American prison cell, one a homosexual (William Hurt) guilty of immorality, the other a dissident (the late, great Raul Julia) guilty of disagreeing with the regime. Though its politics are perhaps didactic and the 1985 film itself a bit dated, the impossibly great performances of two of the finest actors of the 1980s make Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman, freshly re-released this week, a movie that will always be worth seeing. Hurt's role (as the drama queen to end them all) is showier, but it's Julia, fiery, righteous, manly, and stubborn--even as he fades into the soul-killing prison nightmare--who grabs you now. It's hard to believe he's dead. SEAN NELSON

Varsity Theater, 4329 University Way NE, 632-3131. See Movie Times for details.