Classical

Emerson String Quartet

By way of homage to Count Razumovsky, the commissioner and dedicatee of hisOp. 59 quartets, Beethoven included as themes in his work a few earthy Russian folk songs—just one of the ways he steered the string quartet form away from itsearlier Haydn/Mozart modeling and brought it decisively into the 19th century, in a revolutionary move which at first earned these three works incomprehension and even outright derision. First performed, as best we can tell, exactly 200 years ago this month, the three “Razumovsky” quartets make up the program for the annual appearance here by the Emerson Quartet—without peer among chamber music groups for its combination of clarity, precision, brains, and dramatic commitment. Meany Hall, UW campus, 543-4880, www.uwworldseries.org. $35. 8 p.m. GAVIN BORCHERT

ROMANCE

Freddie Jackson

I was having a drink the other night with one of the Weekly’s new writers, Huan Hsu, when the talk turned—as it so often does with me—to slow jams. And this Huan fellow tells me that he doesn’t actually like slow jams. I just about coughed up my Courvoisier. I mean, this cat’s from D.C., the hometown of Marvin Gaye! WTF? OK, Huan, you do as you please this evening, but when the time comes to get my lady in the mood for some Valentine candy, there’s no place I’d rather be than under the smooth spell of Mr. Freddie Jackson. He’s not into having sex, he’s into making love. And that’s my kind of crooner. Emerald Queen Casino, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, www.emeraldqueen.com. $20–$45. 9 p.m. GREG NICKELS

Music

D&B My Valentine

I don’t know about the rest of you drum and bass fans (all 12 of you—just kidding), but I sure do miss DJ Dara‘s dreads. The Irishman who co-founded the U.S.’s first and still-greatest drum and bass store (in N.Y.C. and online), Breakbeat Science, used to rock some serious style. His musical style, while successfully incorporating itself into the 21st century, frequentlyremains as dark and dirty as those on his ancient (by dance music standards)Moonshine mix albums, which had fans shouting at the devil. Dara’s latest mix, 2004’s The Antidote, expertly blended tracks from futurists like D.Kay and Klute, whose command of the harder edge of drum and bass is rinsed through with psychedelic, celestial effects. With the right folks behind the production, and the right DJ on the decks, the genre cleans up real nice. Locals the Dowlz, DJ Dash, and Aquasion also spin. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000, www.chopsuey.com. $8. All ages. 9 p.m. RACHEL SHIMP

Food

Beer, Bellinis, and Diamonds

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” Blah, blah, blah. How about, “Get in my belly!” Everybody has to eat, all the time, even the heartbroken, even the singletons. Hence our V-Day Foodie Roundup, which includes three downtown events for three very different persuasions. First, the Pike Brewing Company offers absolutely no ambience with its fabulous four-course Beer Lover’s Dinner ($55 per person), in which artisanal charcuterie and dreamy salads (beet, blue cheese, and tomatoes with framboise vinaigrette) prep you for prime rib or crab legs, each choice paired with a suggested premium beer. For dessert, match up a chocolate stout with a chocolate tart, or try “Theo’s aphrodisiac confections.” Over at Tom Douglas’ Palace Ballroom, $110 gets you a rustic Italian dinner—your choice of seared tuna with rose hips and truffles, quail with some Rub With Love, or olive-and-pine-nut-stuffed flank steak—and at least one pomegranate Bellini. Now for the solo fliers, get your bare ring fingers over to the See Sound Lounge for “Diamonds & Dessert.” Enjoy a chocolate torte with raspberry-infused tequila drizzle and a glass of tequila that may—or may not—contain an authentic quarter-carat diamond. Hey, even if you get one of the placebos, it’s a sparkling end to a night of nurturing your most enduring, and important, relationship. Pike Brewing Company, 1415 First Ave., 622-6044, www.pikebrewing.com. Palace Ballroom, 2100 Fifth Ave., 448-2001 for reservations.See Sound Lounge, 115 Blanchard St., 374-3733, www.seesoundlounge.com. RACHEL SHIMP