What's Coming...

February

28 Hello/Super Nature Is there yet more to be said about Kurt Cobain? Gretchen Bennett's "Hello" will turn digital images into hand-crafted observances. Known for her own unnatural landscapes, Bennett will also curate a show of seven NYC artists exploring ideal ones. Howard House. AG

28–March 8 Performance Memoirs If you didn't get enough motel-room exhibitionism at last fall's "art event" at the Bridge Motel, now there's Seattle artist Laura Curry's Performance Memoirs, which casts the audience as voyeurs while the dancers explore the revelatory aspects of mundane behavior. Hotel Max, www.myspace.com/performancememoirs. SK

29 The Hands Frontman John Healy looks like Jeff Daniel's mini-me, but he's got a whole band of abiding dudes behind him, kicking out fist-pumping, whiskey-fueled garage rock and roll. Tonight marks the release of their self-titled debut full-length, brimming with blazing-hot and dirty sides that explode the senses like a swig of expired milk. Only sweeter. Neumo's. AP

29–March 13 Who Is Phil Karlson? The GI salutes an overlooked, low-budget auteur of the '50s (Five Against the House, Scandal Sheet, etc.). Extra bonus: Kim Novak in all her glorious inertia. Grand Illusion. BM

29 Bruce Barcott The longtime Outside mag contributor (and former SW staffer) spent months in Belize researching his The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird. Perhaps you caught the rave on the cover of last Sunday's New York Times Book Review? Elliott Bay Book Co. MDF

29 Dawn Upshaw The world's coolest soprano sings Osvaldo Golijov's song-cycle Ayre, in which the cultural crossroads that was Renaissance Spain meets electronic effects and dance beats. Benaroya Hall, www.seattlesymphony.org. GB

29 Dan Kennedy In his disappointing Rock On: An Office Power Ballad, Kennedy picks up where his hilarious memoir, Loser, left off, relating how he joined the music biz just as it began its MP3-induced collapse. Sunset Tavern, www.bookstore.washington.edu. BM

March

1 Chuck Close Known for his hyperrealistic portraiture, Close shares 15 daguerreotypes of associates such as Laurie Anderson, Cindy Sherman, and Philip Glass, paired with verse by poetry-slam innovator Bob Holman. Tacoma Art Museum. RS

2 New York Dolls It's probably not as bad as that bunch passing themselves off as Lynyrd Skynyrd these days, but when the New York Dolls consist only of singer David Johansen, guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, and a bunch of poseurs who weren't in the original band, is it really the New York Dolls? I mean, really....El Corazon. BJB

2 I Heart Rummage The Croc-Suey union continues as the Chop (which has absorbed the now-closed club's former booker and head of security) plays host to the beloved indie craft market that got its start at the Crocodile. Trade the Croc's Cajun Benedict for an egg roll from the new spot's Soy Cowboy Cafe and scope the kitschy wares of independent artists. Chop Suey. AP

4 Gutter Twins To many, the appearance of the Gutter Twins in Seattle means one thing: Mark Lanegan's back! Something of a Pacific Northwest Johnny Cash (he's a native of Ellensburg), his local appearances are rare. On this stop, he'll be supporting the new album he made with his "gutter twin," former Afghan Whig Greg Dulli. The two play dark, moody music with plenty of skeletons in the closet. Showbox at the Market. BJB

6 Alden Mason: Burpee Garden Revisited A peek at the Northwest artist's best-known work, dating from 1973. Lush palettes and a generous hand give these works in oil a visceral feel. Greg Kucera Gallery; recent work at Foster/White Gallery. AG

6–13 ByDesign Attention, font queens: the documentary Helvetica will anchor this annual weeklong confab. Get ready to discuss Charles Eames, Saul Bass, and company, and to meet Pixar legend Alvy Ray Smith. Northwest Film Forum. BM

7–28 Rome on Film Rossellini, De Sica...Ridley Scott? Five titles including Umberto D. and Gladiator celebrate Italy's unruly capital, in concert with SAM's current blockbuster show. Seattle Art Museum. BM

8 The Helio Sequence These two boys next door are our neighbors to the south, and have returned with a granite-solid release, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, after triumphing over singer Brandon Summer's harrowing bout with stubbornly silent, uncooperative vocal chords. He switched out the whiskey for Throat Coat and started jogging and having band practice at 9 a.m., and lo! the universe bestowed upon him the power to churn out a gloriously lush pop/folk/electronic creation that comes close to eclipsing anything the band's done before. Let that be a lesson to you all. Ben Franklin would be proud. Neumo's. AP

8 Georgetown Art Attack! A wandering open house from the little neighborhood that could. Only in its second month. Georgetown, various locations. AG

12 The Miser More Molière? Seattle must be waking up from its long satire slumber. This masterful comedy features the eternally interesting Todd Jefferson Moore in the role of a man who loves his money so much, he's wary of stealing it from himself. Seattle Shakespeare Company. JL

13 How? How? Why? Why? Why? NPR commentator Kevin Kling veers off into a new direction for a guy who normally relates anecdotes about eccentric relatives and Midwest culture. This solo piece recounts his near-fatal motorcycle accident back in 2001, a trauma that left him partially paralyzed, and provides some reflection on what tragedy does, and doesn't, teach us. Seattle Repertory Theatre. JL