Friday, October 1
Catch K Records’ Mirah at the Texas Ballroom (3012 S. Archer Ave.), touring in support of the fantastic C’Mon Miracle. Tara Jane O’Neil will be opening. 8 p.m., $8, all ages.
Eleven current MFA students at Chicago will be displaying their work encompassing “a diverse range of media and forms” in an exhibition entitled 11 Pack*, which opens today with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. The event is at 4Art Inc. (1932 S. Halsted, unit 100), and the exhibition will be open until October 21.
Oktoberfest at Coq d’Or (140 E. Walton) brings you authentic German food and Jimmy’s Bavarians start playing at 7 p.m. (11 a.m. to 2 a.m., free, all ages).
Saturday, October 2
The Mountain Goats are playing an all-ages show at the parachute-bedecked OpenEnd Gallery (2000 W. Fulton), Will Johnson and Jon Vanderslice will start it off at 9:30. Tickets are still available for $12 at www.emptybottle.com. We advise getting your tickets online beforehand as this will probably sell out. The Mountain Goats and Vanderslice will both be at the Empty Bottle the next day, same time, same price.
New Photography from China opens at the Smart Museum, coinciding with a free symposium there on experimental Chinese photography and film. Visit http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/chinesephotography/symposium for a schedule of events. The exhibition continues through January 16.
P.J. Harvey at the Riviera ($30, tickets available through Ticketmaster).
Sunday, October 3
Illinois Arts Week kicks off. As part of this week-long celebration of the arts, take part in the 34th Annual Artists Open House in Pilsen (18th and S. Halsted). More than 80 artists will be displaying their work. Both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.
Monday, October 4
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is at Court Theatre, remember? (7:30 p.m., $8 for the cheapest seats)
Tuesday, October 5
Pluffy indie singer-songwriter Damien Jurado headlines a show at Schuba’s (3159 N. Southport) with country/folk artist Richard Buckner in support (8 p.m., $15, 18+, schubas.com).
A new print of The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1965 film on the events leading to Algerian independence, is at Doc tonight. Discussions will follow all films in Doc’s Tuesday “Occupation, Colonialism, Human Rights” series (7 p.m., $4).
Wednesday, October 6
The Faint, TV on the Radio, and Beep Beep are at the Metro (3730 N. Clark) (9 p.m., $15, 18+).
Instead of pretending you know who Kenji Mizoguchi is, why don’t you just go see one of his movies? The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums is playing at Doc (7 p.m., $4).
Thursday, October 7
Second City (1616 N. Wells St.) tickets are only $17 on Thursdays for Doors Open on the Right, so this might be a good day for first-years to make their first foray to the famous comedy club (8:30 p.m., $17, all ages).
