Can't Miss It: Thursday

BLACK LIPS SINK SHIPS: and plant flowers and play with clowns and light fires. And you should see what they do on stage. The Atlanta band places rock, blues, country, garage, folk, punk, and lo-fi what-have-you into a blender, hits grate and voila. The result is a battery-tasting energy drink that will push you against a wall and let you push right back until the next thing you know a song like "Bad Kids" is blaring from the speakers and the always shabby words are summing up every unhinged, celebrating soul in the room. With Cerebral Ballzy and Grave Babies.

8:00 p.m. // Neumos // $13

TAXI!: Beijing Taxi documents three taxi drivers in Beijing leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. A 50-something man who grew up during the Cultural Revolution, a 30-something optimistic traditionalist man, and a 30-year-old financially driven mother, working toward a more comfortable life. A study of three unique lives, the film also studies China's capital metropolis. Tonight's shows are the last in Beijing Taxi's Seattle run. View the trailer here.

7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. // Northwest Film Forum // $6-$9

WONDER WOMAN: Bestselling novelist and memoirist Ann Patchett will speak this evening at Town Hall as part of the Seattle Arts and Lectures series. Patchett's newest novel, State of Wonder, released June 7th, tells of a pharmaceutical researcher's journey into the Amazon to find both the remains of a deceased colleague and a doctor who has discovered the secret of perpetual fertility. Patchett's 2002 award-winning novel, Bell Canto, set her in the literary limelight, and the 2005 memoir Truth and Beauty proved her versatility. Perhaps she'll reveal her secrets tonight.

7:30 p.m. // Town Hall Seattle // $15-$30

RE:TAKEOVER: Each week, rephotographer Rob Ketcherside brings Seattlest his awesome brand of comparison shots, offering a "then and now" look at our City and its roots. Tonight, MOHAI, along with KCTS 9, the Seattle Public Library and HistoryLink are presenting History Cafe, with Paul Dorpat, a discussion about rephotography, at Roy Street Coffee & Tea (yes, that's Stealthbucks, but we can forgive). Rob, who's recently been featured in the PI for his re-shoots, will be there to answer your questions and chat about Seattle, then and now.

7:00 p.m. // Roy Street Coffee & Tea, // 700 Broadway Ave E // Free