Can't Miss It: Thursday

INFINITE JEST: David Foster Wallace's suicide in September of last year was a major blow to the literary world. While opinions differ on his major work (this writer didn't particularly like Infinite Jest), Wallace was undoubtedly one of the most influential writers of the '90s and the '00s, equally capable of creating a complex multi-layered short story as he was of delivering a deeply insightful analysis of John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. Tonight, a group of local literary somebodies are getting together to honor Wallace's life and to read from some of his work up at the Hugo House. Featuring the likes of Paul Constant, Cienna Madrid, and David Schmader.

7 p.m. // 1634 11th Ave. // free!

DEFINITELY MURDER: Bloomington, Indiana's Murder By Death roll through Neumo's tonight. It's weird-ass psychedelic noir pop that comes out of the growing tradition in indie rock of multi-instrumental exploration. And they have a hot cellist! What more can we say? With The Builders and the Butchers and Fake Problems.

8 p.m. doors // Neumos, 925 E. Pike // $12, 21+

SCARY WORLD: Abraham Verghese, author of the lauded memoir My Own Country, reads at Elliott Bay tonight from his debut novel, Cutting for Stone. A story of an unusual romance and a odd coming-of-age set against the backdrop of the third world's misery in the mid-Twentieth Century, Verghese's book promises to be dark if nothing else. Definitely a more interesting reading than Aaron Glanz up at Town Hall.

7:30 p.m. // 101 S. Main // free!