US – Wednesday, March 17
Updated 21:01, April the 1st, 2009
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BATTLE ROYALE Sussing out the local music scene can be like finding a needle in a haystack. If you like your needles — uh, we mean bands — shiny and sharp (as opposed to rusty and dull), WBCN’s Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble is a great place to start. The annual event — which has seen Girls Guns and Glory, Township and the Dresden Dolls taking the top prize in recent years — features the city’s top talent and offers a sonic something for everyone. Things kick off Sunday with roots-rockin’ Angeline (pictured), the glam-chester Logan 5 and the Runners, heavy-hitters the Deal and Brit beauties the Luxury. The preliminary round continues through April 11 as the 28 bands vie for a spot in the semifinals April 16 and 17 and the $3,000 prize in the finals April 24. That’s all at the Middle East (472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. MBTA: Red Line to Central). Tickets $9, 18+; call 617-864-EAST or go to www.mideastclub.com for more info.BATTLE ROYALE

Sussing out the local music scene can be like finding a needle in a haystack. If you like your needles — uh, we mean bands — shiny and sharp (as opposed to rusty and dull), WBCN’s Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble is a great place to start. The annual event — which has seen Girls Guns and Glory, Township and the Dresden Dolls taking the top prize in recent years — features the city’s top talent and offers a sonic something for everyone. Things kick off Sunday with roots-rockin’ Angeline (pictured), the glam-chester Logan 5 and the Runners, heavy-hitters the Deal and Brit beauties the Luxury. The preliminary round continues through April 11 as the 28 bands vie for a spot in the semifinals April 16 and 17 and the $3,000 prize in the finals April 24. That’s all at the Middle East (472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. MBTA: Red Line to Central). Tickets $9, 18+; call 617-864-EAST or go to www.mideastclub.com for more info.
 

Entertainment
‘Schlock Around the Clock’ Movie Marathon
Saturday, 9 p.m.-Sunday, 10 a.m.
Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
$20/$15 students
617-876-6837
www.brattlefilm.org
Man, there’s nothing like a 36-foot reptile to eff up your day. John Sayles’ wonderfully earnest “Alligator” anchors the Brattle’s beautiful 13-hour romp that also includes “Dragon Princess,” “The Man with Two Brains” and “Teenage Mother,” a scared straight-style flick about a 15-year-old “real tease” who ends up preggers. Guess Palin forgot to slip this one in Bristol’s stocking.

‘Repo! The
Genetic Opera’
Saturday, midnight
Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard St., Brookline
MBTA: Green C Line to Coolidge Corner
$10, 617-734-2500
www.coolidge.org
Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II”) delivers this over-the-top rock opera — starring Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Paris Hilton and Sarah Brightman —  set in a futuristic world where a viral epidemic forces a norm of financed organ transplants. Skip a payment on that liver and your heart belongs the repo man.

Music
Youth Group
Sunday, 9 p.m.
T.T. the Bear’s Place
10 Brookline St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Central
$8, 18+, 617-492-BEAR
www.ttthebears.com
Sydney quartet Youth Group touch down stateside for a monthlong run of residencies in NYC, Boston and Philly to support their new disc, “The Night Is Ours,” which melds shimmery Nada Surf melodic touches with Smiths affect. Curtain Society and the Laughing kick things off.

Miss Tess
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar
@ the Charles Hotel
One Bennett St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
$12, 21+, 617-661-5000
www.regattabarjazz.com
Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade celebrate the release of their new album, “Live on the Road,” a stellar mix of standards and originals that play to Miss Tess’ biggest strength — a sepia-toned croon that recalls Jolie Holland and Bessie Smith.

Local
Boston Comic Con
Saturday and Sunday
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Back Bay Events Center
200 Berkley St., Boston
MBTA: Orange Line to Back Bay
$10, 508-320-1440
www.bostoncomiccon.com
Legendary artist Dick Ayers (“Fantastic Four,” “The Avengers”) tops the Boston Comic Con bill, along with “Madman” man Mike Allred, “New Avengers” pusher Jim Cheung and more than 50 other pencilers, inkers and illustrators from the world of comics and graphic novels.

Oyster Shucking Lessons
Saturdays, 1-3 p.m.
Mercato del Mare
99 Salem St., Boston
MBTA: Green or Orange Line to Haymarket
Free, 857-362-7477
www.northendfish.com
Elizabeth Ventura and Keri Cassidy, the ladies behind Mercato del Mare, the North End’s sole fish market, host free oyster and clam shucking lessons on Saturday afternoons. You might not be able to take top prize at Wellfleet, but you will learn how to prepare a tasty raw bar spread without hitting a major artery.   

‘Cochon 555’
Heritage Pig Tasting
Sunday, 5-8 p.m.
The Liberty Hotel
215 Charles St., Boston
MBTA: Red Line to Charles/MGH
$125, 21+, 404-849-3569
www.amusecochon.com
Five chefs — Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, Jamie Bissonette of Toro, Matthew Jennings of Farmstead, Jason Bond of Beacon Hill Bistro and Joseph Margate of Clink — go head-to-head in this head-to-toe oink-off. Proceeds benefit Farms for City Kids.

Culture
‘Design as Social Agent’ Symposium
Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave., Boston
MBTA: Silver Line to World Trade Center
$25, 617-478-3100
www.icaboston.org
This full-day event features designers waxing on art’s effect on social change. In conjunction with the Shepard Fairey exhibit, the ICA and AIGA will offer lectures like “The Obama Effect: What Art Did for Advertising” and “The Many Mutations of Viral Marketing,” along with artist talks by the likes of Cambridge street-art man Caleb Neelon.

‘The Birthday Party’
Friday, Saturday and Sunday 7:30 p.m.
Through April 11
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
Free, www.hrdctheater.com
Harold Pinter’s first play, “The Birthday Party,” a dramedy take on a piano player hopelessly ensnared by a pair of boarding house mistresses, is staging for free, care of Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club. E-mail   to reserve a pair.     

CLEAN UP YOUR ACT Down2Earth, a sustainable living expo, kicks off tomorrow, 5-9 p.m., at the Hynes Convention Center (900 Boylston St., Boston. MBTA: Green Line to Hynes) with the Local Bites Preview Party ($20), which will highlight certified green Boston eateries like  Upstairs on the Square and The Fireplace, along with offerings from the New England Aquarium’s sea-friendly dining series. The fair continues Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets $10; call 617-266-6540 or go to www.d2eboston.com.CLEAN UP YOUR ACT

Down2Earth, a sustainable living expo, kicks off tomorrow, 5-9 p.m., at the Hynes Convention Center (900 Boylston St., Boston. MBTA: Green Line to Hynes) with the Local Bites Preview Party ($20), which will highlight certified green Boston eateries like  Upstairs on the Square and The Fireplace, along with offerings from the New England Aquarium’s sea-friendly dining series. The fair continues Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets $10; call 617-266-6540 or go to www.d2eboston.com.
 
 
 
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