THUR 9/29: Words & Music

Did you get your free coffee this morning? I tried to tell you.

Like last Thursday at The Pour House, there's a good chance to get a free Miller Lite at An Tain from 6pm to 8pm. Just saying...

PS: Most cheapness that's going to make the calendar between now and Sunday is already there. Make your weekend plans -- and think Honk!

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THUR 9/29

6pm
Randall Kennedy, Touré, Henry Louis Gates Jr: Conversation
at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$5 (tix available at Harvard Book Store or 617-661-1515)

Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy will discuss his new book, "Persistence of the Color Line" that's complemented by Touré's new book of interviews, "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?" One of the subjects, Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr, will moderate the discussion with his usual aplomb.

THUR 9/29

6:30pm to 8pm
"From the Government and Here to Help": Panel Discussion
at C. Walsh Theater, Suffolk University, 55 Temple St, Boston (Beacon Hill)
FREE

Feat: Dr. Yaron Brook, Dr. David Callahan

Tonight's debate regarding the degree of government power pits the Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute against the Co-Founder of an advocacy group that believes the the public sector can be a positive force in overall society.

We can do 'fair & balanced' in Massachusetts! To assist the Randians, a republican strategist will moderate...

THUR 9/29

7pm to 8pm
Tom MacDonald, "The Charlestown Connection": Reading & Signing
at Harvard Coop, Level 3, 1400 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

Sure, it's a crime/mystery that begins with a murder in a Charlestown parish food pantry that gets much deeper than expected. They say to write what you know, so you can't fault the author who also happens to work at parish food pantry in Char... I'll let you guess.

THUR 9/29

8pm
Marching Band Mayhem: A Benefit for the 2011 HONK! Festival
at Club Oberon, 2 Arrow St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$10 standing room / $15 table seats

Feat: Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, The Extraordinary Rendition Band, plus 2 other Honk! bands

One of the best free events of the year is HonkFest, when the spirit of social justice and the soul of New Orleans meet in Davis Square for a day of horntastic street bands on Saturday and a parade to Harvard Oktoberfest on Sunday.

Many bands come from around the country, and there are various expenses. If you can't wait until the weekend and you want to help out with a few bucks, it's going to be a good time. (Who wants to sit anyway?)

THUR 9/29

Old Abram Brown (11:45pm), Friendly People (10:50pm), Boy Without God (9:55pm), You Won't (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$8

An abundance of tuneful and/or folkish indie-rock overflows with this lineup. Listen to each group, and you'll likely feel enriched.

THUR 9/29

Reverse (11pm), Axemunkee (10pm), Cropduster (9pm)
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$8 / 18+

If you're looking to rock out tonight, you should scoot down to the Fens. On and off, the Reverse guys have been laying down ridiculously clever, hard, heavy rock for years. It's good to see them "on" at the moment. Axemunkee is helmed by Cathy Capozzi who plays like a guitar hero without going over the top -- think Beck or Satriani without the urge to show off. They've got a new CD, and it sounds like a mix of originals and twisted covers. ("Love Story"?!) Cropduster opens with a modern-vintage of trippy rock.