Debate Watch @ Chicago Historical Society

You can watch tonight's final Presidential Debate, at the Chicago Historical Society's Debate Watch. President Bush and Senator Kerry will debate domestic issues in their final showdown, in Tempe, Arizona. The CHS event will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception and a discussion by Don Wycliff, public editor, Chicago Tribune and Alan Gitelson, professor, Loyola University with moderator Mark Jacob, editor, Chicago Tribune, followed by a viewing of the debate at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door and students get in free with ID. The Historical Society is located at the intersection of Clark Street and North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614. Call them at 312-642-4600.

Rufus Wainwright @ The Vic

Sultry, sexy, and always beautiful Rufus Wainwright plays a solo show at The Vic Theater tonight! General Admission tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster for $29 and up or with cash at the box office. The Vic is located at 3145 North Sheffield, Chicago near Belmont Ave. David Berkeley opens. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Emtpy Bottle Jazz Series: What We Live

Tonight, the Empty Bottle Jazz Series presents: What We Live featuring Saadet Turkoez (Turkey) with Donald Robinson, Lisle Ellis, Saadet Turkoez and Lawrence Ochs. What We Live is a trio that features former Cecil Taylor bassist Lisle Ellis, Rova Sax Quartet founder Lawrence Ochs and percussionist Don Robison. The three will be joined by Turkish free music vocalist Saadet Turkoez. This will be the first extended tour of the U.S. for Turkoez, and her first stateside performance with a jazz-based rhythm section. Tickets are $7 (by on Music Today or by calling 1-800-594-TIXX) and doors open at 9:30 p.m. The Empty Bottle is located at 1035 N. Western Ave. Call 773-276-3600 for more information.

Art Spiegelman @ Quimby's

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Art Spiegelman signs In the Shadow Of No Towers, his first new book of comics since the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus" at Qumby's Bookstore, located at 1854 W. North Avenue, Chicago. For more information, call 773/342-0910.

Poets from Slovenia & Poland @ Danny's

Tonight Primoz Cucnik, Gregor Podlogar and Adam Wiedemann read at 7:30 p.m. sharp (21 and over) @ Danny's Tavern located at 1951 W Dickens (in Bucktown, near Damen and Dickens). Cucnik was born in Ljubljana in 1971. His first collection of poetry, Two Winters, was published in 1999 and received Best First Collection Award. His most recent books are Rhythm in hands (2002), Chords (2004) and Ode on Manhattan Avenue (2003), which he co-wrote with Gregor Podlogar. Podlogar was born in 1974 in Ljubljana, where he currently lives. He has published three books of poetry, States (1997), Joy in Vertigo (2002), and Ode on Manhattan Avenue (2003, co-written with Primoz Cucnik); his poetry has also appeared widely in magazines in Slovenia and abroad. Wiedemann was born in 1967 in Krotoszyn, Poland, and has lived in Kraków since the mid-eighties. His first book of poetry appeared in 1996 and he has since published five others, most recently Calypso (2004). His two books of short stories, The Ubiquity of Order (1997) and Cinq Pièces Brèves (1998) were each nominated for the highly respected "Nike" award, and he received the coveted Koscielski Prize in 1999.