Hard Boiled anniversary party @ Four Moon Tavern

Hard Boiled, the excellent new & used record & video store in Roscoe Village, is celebrating its 10th anniversary tonight at Four Moon Tavern, which is just a block east of the record store. The party runs from 7:00 to 9:00 tonight, there will be free gifts for everyone who attends, and a portion of the money spent at the bar will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. So it's a benefit as well as a celebration! Win-win! Hard Boiled: 2010 W. Roscoe. Four Moon Tavern: 1847 W. Roscoe.

The Drones, Favourite Sons and The Devastations @ Empty Bottle

Who had a bad weekend? Shake it off (or at least wallow a bit) with some serious confessional rock at the Empty Bottle tonight brought to you by three different countries. Leading the way is Austrailian band The Drones whom magazine The Age has called the "the most important rock band in the country." Sandwiched in the middle is Brooklyn-based Favourite Sons (yup, spelled that way) who'll be bringing the broken-hearted (but not sappy) rock to the floor alongside their new album Down Beside Your Beauty. Starting the evening off is the UK trio The Devastations (band's page is down, but a review is here) on their very first visit to this fine Chicago music venue. Make them feel welcome and show up early. Doors open at 9:30pm, tickets are $10.

Audition for "Too Hot Choir" @ Old St. Patrick's Church

The Auditorium Theatre is looking for singers to join them on stage in the "Too Hot Choir", a vital part of "Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah". (Performances will take place January 13 at 7:30pm and January 14 at 3pm in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.) From the Auditorium: "'Too Hot' is an uplifting and dynamic take on Handel's Messiah, arranged by Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson. Read a review, here. Please call (312) 831-9353 for more information about the auditions and the "Too Hot Choir". Auditions will take place tonight from 7—9:15pm at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 W. Adams Street.

Rail-Volution

Rail-Volution was born out of the Portland, Oregon, light rail implementation more than 15 years ago but centers around all kinds of transit, including bicycles, car-sharing, and streetcars; and covers environmentally sound planning, building transit-oriented communities, and strategies for funding. The conference runs through Wednesday at the Marriott Mag Mile, 540 N Michigan. For more information, visit the website.

Cooking with Organics @ MCA

Join Jim Slama, founder of FamilyFarmed.org and Conscious Choice magazine, and a chef from Wolfgang Puck's for a hands-on cooking workshop. Create an organic dish and discuss the health, ecological benefits, and practical concerns of using organics in the kitchen. This evening from 6-9pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E Chicago Ave).

Presented in conjunction with Massive Change: The Future of Global Design (through Dec 31) and Sustaintainable Architecture in Chicago: Works in Progress (through Jan 6). For more information call 312-397-4010 or visit the website.