GERRITT, Koufar, Nick Hoffman @ Metal Shaker

A very special night of extreme electronics, diatribe, and performance art tonight at Metal Shaker (3394 N. Milwaukee), featuring the very first solo performance in Chicago by California noise artist Gerritt Wittmer (Gerritt, Deathroes, Ginnungagap), as well as support by local Lebanese Power Electronics act Koufar, Katchmare's Nick Hoffman, and DJ support by Slow Electronics. $5 admission, and the first 20 attendees will receive a free copy of the limited-edition-of-50 cassette entitled Drenched Hands, featuring a Gerritt remix of Locrian's Drenched Lands LP. More information at Transmission.

Mayer Hawthorne @ Darkroom

Ann Arbor native Mayer Hawthorne sounds like a man born in the wrong decade. To listen to his smooth soul music, one would think it was written by Holland/Dozier/Holland and recorded by a Motown sessions band. But, in fact, it's all the young Hawthorne from the pen to the instruments. At first, it may seem off for him to be on the hip-hop Stones Throw label, but the breakbeats on his A Strange Arrangement album compare with any of those from 40 years ago that hip-hop has revived. Mayer Hawthorne and JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound perform at Darkroom for $12. Doors are at 9PM and the show's for ages 21 and up.

Sharon Gless in Hannah Free @ Gene Siskel Film Center

It's Cagney & Tracy -- Tracy Baim, that is, founder of veteran LGBT newspaper Windy City Times), at Siskel Film Center today through Oct. 1. Baim's debut feature film project as executive director is Hannah Free, written by Victory Gardens playwright-in-residence Claudia Allen, directed by Wendy Jo Carlton, and starring Emmy-awardee Gless, in a "passionate lesbian drama...about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home." Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 164 N. State. Times vary; see the website for showtime and ticketing details.

Raise High the Roof Beam @ Quenchers

Fun-loving bands Jaguar Club and Raise High the Roof Beam are teaming up for their show at Quenchers Saloon tonight. NYC band Jaguar Club has been blowing up since their single earlier this year, and will be on tour supporting the release of their first full-length release And We Wake Up Slowly. Chicago act Raise High the Roof Beam has also been slowly garnering attention with their adorable yet mature style of music. Expect lots of confetti and balloons. The show starts at 9pm and there's a suggested donation of $5. Sorry kiddos, it's 21+. Supporting the bands are locals Tin Tin Can.

Miike Snow @ Empty Bottle

Miike Snow is a band, not a person. It's also not a typo. Now that that's out of the way - the band consists of multi-instrumentalist and singer Andrew Wyatt and the Swedish production team Bloodshy & Avant, who've worked with Britney Spears (winning a Grammy for "Toxic"), Madonna and Kelis, among others. The band veers from their outside production work by being more in tune with an electronic Peter Gabriel for the 2000s than chart-topping female pop singers. On record, the music is rather sedate. Live, like when they killed it at Lollapalooza 2009, they deliver a much richer sound. Miike Snow plays the Empty Bottle at 7:30 and 10:30. Jack Peñate opens both shows. The late show is sold out, but tickets for the early show are still available for $12 to those 21 and older.

Anatomie Trunk Show @ Equinox

The Shop at Equinox's Anatomie trunk show continues today Friday September 25th from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Stop by to see their new line of women's work out clothes. For more information, call 312-254-4000.

Preservation Chicago Benefit @ Elks National Veterans Memorial

Preservation Chicago's 2009 Autumn Benefit will be held at the amazing Elks National Veterans Memorial (2750 N. Lakeview Avenue) tonight from 6PM to 9PM. Preservation Chicago promises "superb hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, a big band, a silent auction of unique Chicago memorabilia ... and a guided tour of what has been described as one of the most magnificent war memorials in the world." Tickets are $75 in advance and $95 at the door, with valet parking included. For tickets and additional information visit the organization's website.

The OTHER Dance Festival @ Hamlin Park Fieldhouse

Since 2002, the Chicago Moving Company has been providing an annual venue for Chicago dance companies to present their work, and for Chicago audiences to sample more than a dozen different artists and groups at The OTHER Dance Festival. This weekend's performers are: Breakbone DanceCo, Cindy Brandle Dance Company, Dance COLEctive, Matthew Hollis, Mordine & Co. Dance Theater, and Janet Schmid.

$12-$15, 7:30 p.m., Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne. Click here or call 773.880.5402 for tickets.

39th Annual Pilsen East Artist's Open House

Put on your walking shoes. It is time for the Annual Pilsen East Artist's Open House, a self-guided walking tour of the world of working artists. Art lovers are welcome to visit the homes, studios, theaters, dance spaces, and galleries of over fifty artists that will be participating in the event. They will also be available to discuss their work and share their creative process. The event will feature work from established and emerging artists in the Chicago area. The location spans approximately six blocks, with the central area at South Halsted and 18th Street. The event hours are Friday, Sept. 25, 6-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27, 12-7 p.m. For more information: 312-738-8000.

The Chicago Huddle @ ESPN Zone

Bears tight end Desmond Clark, along with running back Jason McKie, will join ABC 7 sports reporter Ryan Chiaverini for a taping of "The Chicago Huddle", a weekly Bears pre-game show taping today, 4 p.m., at ESPN Zone, 43 E. Ohio Street. The taping will feature live music from Chicago band "Lee DeWyze Band," spot-on studio analysis from ESPN 1000 Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson as well as new spokespersons Jennifer Wicks and Shae Peppler. The actual show will air Sunday, 10:30 a.m., on ABC-7.

Chicago Dance Crash's The Drawing Board @ Ruth Page Center

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts will host Chicago Dance Crash's final main stage production of the year, and the final full-length offering of outgoing Artistic Director Kyle Vincent Terry. You're in for a treat: Crash fans and average Joes alike have been logging onto Crash The Drawing Board since January 1st and pitching some of the most ridiculous ideas conceivable.

The Drawing Board premiers at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, located at 1016 N. Dearborn. The performance is at 8pm. Tickets are $18 advance, $20 at the door. For ticket reservations, contact the Ruth Page Center for the Arts at (312) 337-6543 or visit their site here.

An Apology ... @ The Chopin Theater

The man most famous for selling his soul to the devil for a little insight comes off as "irritated, whining, drunk, and repentant of nothing save his failure to keep a proper diary" in the tragicomic version of the Faustus story, An Apology for the Course & Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening. Hear the fantastic tale of his life, which doesn't mince on vast and immeasurable evil.

Theater Oobleck's tenth anniversary production opens Sept. 25 and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 (more if you've got it, free if you're broke.) For reservations call 773-347-1041 or reserve here.

Crip the Mass!

Are you hell on wheels? Then you need to join wheelchair users today as they Crip the Mass! at Daley Plaza. Critical Mass is awesome, but it's sure to get more interesting when a mass of other folks on wheels shows up. The fun starts at 5pm; more details in Slowdown.

Proximity Magazine Release Party @ Co-Prosperity Sphere

Proximity Issue 005 Release Party
Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S Morgan St.
Friday, September 25, 9pm - 1am

A celebration of the release of the fifth issue of Proximity magazine, Chicago's very own international arts publication. Very special performances by Magical Beautiful, Christo Mofisto, the debut of The Gaze , and sounds and mischief by Hunter Husar.

Admission: $10 for magazine and performances. $5 for performance only.

More information can be found here

GB Get-Together @ Clark Street Ale House

Join the Gapers Block staff for drinks and merriment at Clark Street Ale House, 742 N. Clark St., tonight from 8pm to 11pm. It's free to attend, provided you're 21 or over.

Reset. Play! Art Opening @ Fountainhead Lofts

Firebelly Design and within(Reason) co-host their second annual group benefit show tonight at the Fountainhead Lofts building (1932 S. Halsted, Unit 100). Part of the Pilsen East 39th Annual Open House Weekend, Reset. Play! opens from 6 to 10 pm and exhibits again on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5 pm. This year, all proceeds from sales of the work will benefit two nonprofit endeavors: Reason to Give and The Hope Library.