THUR 5/28: Billiards, Bowling, Bogosian, Birds, Bards, Booty-Shaking, Indie/Pop

I couldn't come up with "B" words for everything...

Wow. Thursday arrives so quickly after a three-day weekend.

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THUR 5/28

6pm
Summer Session Pre-Party
at Kings, 50 Dalton St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE / 21+

Kings usually doesn't offer more information besides their flyers, so take a (long) look above.

There is usually a crowd when free stuff is involved, but you might get to bowl or play pool anyway. It looks like Comanchero are going to get jammy around 8:30/9pm. Hey, you might get some Harpoon shwag before their Summer Session party this weekend.

THUR 5/28

7pm
Eric Bogosian, "Perforated Heart": Reading
at Porter Square Books, 25 White St, Cambridge (near Star Market)
FREE

Former Woburn homeboy Eric Bogosian is in town to read from and talk about his new novel about a older writer who finds his own journals and rediscovers the person he used to be. You're probably not going to get "Talk Radio" intensity, but Bogosian was on the radio a couple days ago and seemed open and willing to discuss ideas.

THUR 5/28

7:30pm to 9pm
"Birds & Bards" Kickoff Celebration
Feat: Eduardo del Solar, Valerie Stephens, Brendan Galvin
at Forsyth Chapel, Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Ave, Jamaica Plain
$5 donation

Over the next four days, there's many activities to celebrate and contemplate nature's flying machines at Forest Hills, Arnold Arboretum, and Boston Nature Center.

Nature photographer will present a slide show of local birds in amazing detail. Jazz singer Valerie Stephens performs (and her voice will soar?). Brendan Galvin holds down the "Bard" end of "Birds & Bards" by reading some of his works.

THUR 5/28

8pm
Jukebox the Ghost, Jenny Owen Youngs, These United States
at Cafe 939, 939 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
$10

Jenny Owen Youngs is the star of the night at this show. The singer-songwriter with golden voice and confusing grammatical number caught my ear with a lilting song whose chorus repeats "What the f--- was I thinking?" The new album is good stuff!

Jukebox the Ghost doesn't sound exactly like Ben Folds, but they're in that sphere of upbeat, quirky piano-pop. And they were openers on Folds' tour a couple months ago. You should dig the scruffy indie-rock of These United States.

THUR 5/28

9:30pm
Influenza #3
Feat: Ether Field, Lovewhip, Electric Laser People
at Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston
$10 / 18+

A lot of people are getting bummed out by the thought of an H1N1 pandemic, but the flu isn't always bad. The "Influenza" series gets bands to play sets where half of the songs are covers by artists who have been an influence. (Can you see the story behind the title?) Other shows have been straight-up rock fests, but tonight it's an electro-dance party.

Lovewhip is a funky party in band form, so it should be interesting to hear what covers they'll choose. (Think about horn-tastic tunes since a sax-man is joining Lovewhip tonight.) Interestingly Ether Field is a new project from the electronica guys in Matters & Dunaway, but they're playing in a old-fashioned guitar/bass/drums format. Fun-loving synth-heads and MIT grads Electric Laser People might offer covers from all over the place.

Bodega Girls will be DJ in between bands.