Absolutely fabulous
Ever since Go!'s harrowing interview with the Hidden Cameras, in which front man Joel Gibb's response to every question was a dismissive ''What are you talking about?," we've been a little leery of hipster bands like Xiu Xiu. It's not that we don't love Xiu Xiu's music, because we do. It's more that we're not quite sure why we like it, and we're terrified we'd sound like a moron when talking to the band's high-minded leader, Jamie Stewart. Like Gibb, Stewart is a prolific musician, except his visceral, postpunk musings on life's hardscrabble moments are almost too painful to bear. Xiu Xiu's music is sometimes called avant-folk. Xiu Xiu is with Providence rockers Get Him Eat Him at the Cambridge YWCA at 8 p.m. $9 for tickets. 7 Temple St., Cambridge, 617-491-6050
SOUNDS
HELL HATH NO FURY Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theatre Company gets mad props first for naming their latest production ''Hell Meets Henry Halfway" (below). Go! has often felt the same way, mind you. The play is based on Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz's gothic mystery novel ''Possessed." In today's final performances at the Loeb Experimental Theatre, you'll learn all about a coterie of sordid characters, including a sadistic tennis couple sporting short-shorts and a prince trapped in his tower. Or as Pig Iron describes the play: ''a tournament of malcontents, a competition of deadly backhands, and screaming tantrums in a battle to prove who cares least and who laughs last." Performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are free, though it's advised you pick them up early at the Loeb Drama Center's box office. 64 Brattle Street, 617-495-8676.
DEAR DIARY At the start of the cinematic saga ''Diary" (below), director David Perlov intones, ''Professional cinema does no longer attract me. To look for something else, I want to approach the everything. Above all, the anonymity. It takes time to learn how to do it." Let's just say that's an understatement. We knew it was quite an undertaking to watch all six chapters of the film, so Go! freed up the 5 hours (!) we would normally spend watching Angela Lansbury's ''Positive Moves" exercise video for senior citizens (thank you,
SIGHTS
ZINE FIENDS Go! always wanted to start its own zine. (For all you neophytes, that's short for a self-produced magazine usually devoted to some kind of subculture.) But we just couldn't imagine anyone else would be interested in an entire publication about Shelley Winters's horror films from the '70s. Well, no one except maybe Rick Berlin. If you've harbored your own secret thoughts of starting a zine, today the folks at the Boston Zine Fair offer a tutorial of sorts at the Massachusetts College of Art. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., drop by information tables where you can peruse people's zines and converse with the pros. Workshops, on everything from starting a political zine to learning the tricks of bookbinding and screen printing, run from noon to 6 p.m. Finally, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., there's a spoken-word performance. The free fair continues tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m., with more tabling and workshops. Check out www.bostonzinefair.org.. 621 Huntington Ave., 617-879-7000.
BITES
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Blunch. A noun. ‘‘A menu showcasing the best of breakfast and lunch, with particular emphasis on savory, hearty dishes.’’ So says the handy website for Perdix, the South End restaurant that’s spicing up its menu tomorrow with its Bellini Blunch at noon. Start with a Bellini, Hemingway’s favorite brunch punch, or coffee and juice. The three-course menu includes your choice of warm ricotta blintzes with bourbon fruit compote and granola; or cod cakes and beans with braised fresh bacon. For the third course, it’s either huevos rancheros with chipotle-braised carnitas or chicken and ham Monte Cristo, with fontina, maple butter, and apple jam. At $39 a person, it’s a wee bit pricey but these aren’t PB&J sandwiches. Space is limited, so reservations are recommended. 560 Tremont St., 617-338-8070.
