REMINDER: Tickets are still on sale for this Saturday's music tribute to Arthur Russell at The Kitchen. You can purchase them here. EVENT: Today's interviewee, John Darnielle, brings his band The Mountain Goats to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple tonight. Joining him for the AIDS Walk NY Benefit are the Daily Show's John Oliver, comedian Dave Hill and Toronto band Rock Plaza Central. Tickets are still on sale. Friday // 7:30 p.m. // Brooklyn Masonic Temple......

BENEFIT: Come join in on a benefit concert for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn tonight, with a handful of Brooklyn-based singer/songwriters (including Clare & The Reasons, John Wesley Harding, Richard Julian, and Jolie Holland) taking the stage. The show will be "raising funds and awareness for DDDB in its legal battles against eminent domain abuse in the proposed Atlantic Yards development, the concert series will also highlight how such irresponsible development could threaten the artistic community......

BENEFIT: Tonight go out in the name of pot, at the New York Benefit to Celebrate Recent Medical Marijuana Successes. The evening includes music and comedy with the hopes of pushing the cannabis campaign to victory! The Marijuana Policy Project will host the spring soiree, which benefits its "efforts to protect seriously ill New Yorkers from arrest and jail if they use medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation." Some of the bold face names on......

COMEDY: Demetri Martin (pictured) and some (we hear, A-list) friends will be delivering some new material tonight at Rififi. Can't make it? He'll be back the 20th, 27th and June 3rd. 10 p.m. // Rififi [332 E 11th St] // $5 EVENT: Sure, YouTube is good for a laugh or two during the workday, but as an artistic muse? Artists Sue de Beer, Matthew Higgs and Matthew Ronay have all (against all odds) found art......

THEATER: One of the most anticipated theatrical events of the year comes to DUMBO next month when St. Ann’s Warehouse presents a highly acclaimed production of Macbeth by the Polish company TR Warszawa. Staged for just 12 performances at an outdoor theater in the Civil War-era Tobacco Warehouse across the street from St. Ann’s, the bold production “reinvents the classic with a dramatic two-story set, video walls, special effects, and an extraordinary, layered soundscape.” Tonight......

ART: We've been loving the Love=Love show at Jen Bekman Gallery, which just opened earlier this week. The exhibition by Kent Rogowski is comprised of six large-scale photographic prints based on altered puzzles, as well as a selection of the original objects. Think of a puzzle collision resulting in collage art; also: see pictured. Friday and Saturday // Noon to 6 p.m. // Jen Bekman Gallery [6 Spring St] // Free DESIGN: This weekend brings......

FUNDRAISER: Design on a Dime opens tonight; the Housing Works event will be kicked off with a special event this year before opening to the public for free tomorrow. This is the fourth annual fundraising event, and tonight ticket holders "will view the room vignettes, enjoy exclusive preview shopping, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction and live entertainment." 6 to 8 p.m. // The Metropolitan Pavilion [125 W 18th St] // Ticket Prices Vary MUSIC:......

THEATER: Broadway’s best show, the critically acclaimed Passing Strange, is still open for business, though struggling to compete against the usual insipid pabulum like Legally Blonde. Producers of this phenomenal rock musical were dealt another blow this week when CBS refused to broadcast their performance in the Tony Awards preview show. (The number, “We Just Had Sex,” is a cheeky, PG-13 homage to free love.) So if you haven’t seen Passing Strange yet, for crying......

MOVIE: Jean-Luc Godard's Two or Three Things I Know About Her is playing at the Film Forum. The docu-drama exaggerates "the emotionless lives of characters in the new Paris of the 60s, where commercialism mocks families getting by on small incomes, where prostitution is a moneyspinning option, and where people are coldly resigned and immune to the human nightmares of Vietnam, and impending Atomic war." Various times // Film Forum [209 W Houston St] //......

In case you missed it, here's our list of ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo around town; if you aren't in the mood for margs tonight, here are some alternatives: EVENT: NonsenseNYC points us to a Potluck and Horseshoe Crab Mating Bike Ride. Need more details? "For over 300 million years, when high-tide, the full moon and springtime collide, horseshoe crabs have been gathering by the thousands to spawn. These little dinosaur tanks are expected......

EVENT: It's another First Friday at The Bronx Museum, where there will be free beer, music and of course art. Tonight's a "New York City rock and roll extravaganza; a musical exploration of up and coming urban rock and roll superstars with The Bangers and Dragons of Zynth." Friday // 6 p.m. // Bronx Museum of Art [1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx] // Free MUSIC: Studio B is opening their controversial rooftop tonight with their (expensive)......

ART: The 6th annual IMAterial, put on by Hunter College's MFA in Integrated Media Arts program, starts up their 3-days fest of digital and new media art (including video, interactive, installation, performance, games and web-based art) produced by students and faculty of the IMA-MFA program. "Projects in the program have ranged from public exhibitions, performances and screenings, to online networked game environments, to rich media for PDAs and cell phones. From intimate personal stories with......

FOOD: The 12th Annual Brooklyn Eats food orgy goes down tonight at a new venue in the Brooklyn Navy Yard with spectacular views of Manhattan. Of course, that island takes a back seat at tonight's celebration, where for $115 you can go on a feeding frenzy with tastings from some of Kings County’s finest restaurants, ranging from Park Slope’s homey Aunt Suzie's to Williamsburg’s Michelin-starred Dressler and the French/West African fusion restaurant Korhogo 126.......

SALE: The Cooper Union kids are hosting their first annual Yard Stimulus Package, or what the rest of us call a Yard Sale. Expect end-of-year, residence purging items -- from IKEA furniture to artwork to used books. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. // Cooper Union Great Hall [7 East 7th St] // Free READING: Augusten Burroughs reads from his latest, Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, tonight at Barnes & Noble.......

MUSIC: Tickets are still on sale to see The Verve (pictured) tonight. While "Bitter Sweet Symphony" may be the song you remember best, they had about three albums worth of tunes that received much adoration. Over the weekend they Brit-pop rocked Coachella, so they're all warmed up from the west coast. 7 p.m. // WaMu Theater [4 Pennsylvania Plaza] // $40 READING: Former President Jimmy Carter hits up Barnes & Noble tonight to read......

FESTIVAL: The Bent Festival is coming to town this weekend! The annual art and music festival celebrates DIY electronics, hardware hacking, and circuit bending. "Each year we invite artists from across the country and around the globe to perform music with their home-made or circuit bent instruments, teach workshops to adults and children alike, create beautiful art installations and to generally come together, face to face, and showcase the state of the art in......

IN-STORE PERFORMANCE: To celebrate Lord & Taylor's re-launch of using roses in its branding, cast members from the acclaimed current Broadway production of Gypsy are performing at the Fifth Avenue store tonight. Everything's coming up roses, you know! 6 p.m. // Lord & Taylor [424 Fifth Avenue at East 38th Street] // Free EVENT: When you hear "Dharma" does your mind turn to Lost? While the show returns to the air tonight, check out......

MOVIE: Following Earth Day, Screening Liberally is screening Everything's Cool, a film about "America finally 'getting' global warming in the wake of the most dangerous chasm ever to emerge between scientific understanding and political action. While industry funded nay-sayers sing what just might be their swan song of pseudo- scientific deception, a group of global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic image, the magic language, the points of......

AUDITIONS: Calling all street performers, today is the Annual Street Performer Auditions at South Street Seaport. It promises to be better than reality television (but then again, what isn't?), so spectators are welcome too. The annual competition is a rite of Spring, of sorts, and will determine which 25 performers get to "become part of the street performer program at South Street Seaport. Those selected entertain and wow the thousands of visitors who stroll......

EVENT: David Mamet will be on hand at a screening of his latest project, titled Redbelt, tonight. The story follows a a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who, through a series of events, lands himself a job in the film industry -- and later forces him into a prize fight. Expect lots of action, "Mametspeak," and...Tim Allen. 8 p.m. // Walter Reade Theater [165 W 65th St] // $30 READING:Former presidential candidate John Kerry, and his wife......

MUSIC: High Places, Ecstatic Sunshine (pictured), Cex and Evangelista raid and rock the Harket Motel tonight. The DIY venue is sure to be hot following such a sunny day, so leave the jacket at home and get ready to dance...or stand disaffectedly. Friday // 9:30 p.m. // Harket Motel [1142 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn] // $8 FAIR: Spring has sprung and Earth Day is just around the corner. To celebrate, "the 6th annual EarthFair will......

EVENT: Tonight the Brooklyn Art Project and BAM present Connected Unconscious, "a collaborative exhibition celebrating the creative possibilities of our web 2.0 connected world." 15 original pieces of art will be on display from artists worldwide, as well as video and music remixes. Bonus: free cocktails courtesy of BAM. 6 to 8 p.m. // BAM Natman Room [30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn] // Free MUSIC: Dan Deacon and The Ed Schrader Show hold court at......

MUSIC: Lead-Decemberist Colin Meloy is in Brooklyn tonight, ready to weave tales of the high seas and lost loves. Laura Gibson opens the show...and tickets are still on sale! Hopefully he'll find the venue, when we interviewed him back in 2005 he noted, "I've ridden on many of the world's metro systems and I have to say that the NYC subway makes the least amount of sense." 7 p.m. // Music Hall of Williamsburg......

EVENT: Everyone's favorite members of the Top Chef judges table will be at Barnes & Noble tonight signing the series' new book. Get up close and personal with Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio (pictured); be sure to bring them a Waldorf Salad and get your cookbook signed. 7 p.m. // Barnes & Noble [33 E 17th St] // Free PARTY: The weather is warming up so it's time to cool down, yes? Head over......

MUSIC: While you're in Park Slope checking out Jukebox the Ghost at Southpaw tonight, make a detour at nearby Union Hall for a bill fit for Marla Hansen (pictured). The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter will be sharing the stage with Cat Martino and Sharon Van Etten for an early show. 6:30 p.m. // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $7 SHOW: It's time to channel your inner-elementary-schooler and join in on a Show and......

DISCUSSION: The New York Public Library invites Pico Iyer, Time correspondent, friend of the Dalai Lama and author of The Open Road: The Global Journey of the XIV Dalai Lama, to sit amongst the books tonight. The conversation is to cover the latest news on Tibet and the Dalai Lama's complicated involvement in the struggle. Friday // 7 p.m. // Humanities and Social Sciences Library [5th Ave and 42nd St] // $15 MUSIC: AIDS......

ART: Get up close and personal with the B&T; crowd tonight as Tom Birkner opens his Jersey Girls exhibit. The Garden Stater explores his Jersey landscape through paintings of tailgating, the Shore, cruising, etc. Pictured: Tina! 6 to 8 p.m. // DFN Gallery [210 11th Ave, 6th Floor] // Free EVENT: At tonight's "Upstairs in the Square'' you'll get a serving of Min Jin Lee and her debut novel, "Free Food for Millionaires,'' as......

TRIBUTE: "The Random House Publishing Group and the family of Norman Mailer (pictured) will present The Time of His Time: A Celebration of Life of Norman Mailer" today at Carnegie Hall. Charlie Rose will serve as the Master of Ceremonies, and the speakers will include Joan Didion, Don DeLillo, William Kennedy, Lonnie Ali, Tina Brown, and Sean Penn. His nine children, wife and sister will also be on hand. The event is open to......

READING: Tobias Wolff (pictured), Stanford professor and PEN/Faulkner Award recipient, will be at Barnes & Noble tonight to read...just for you. He'll be reading from his latest, Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories. 7 p.m. // Barnes & Noble [2289 Broadway] // Free MUSIC: Tapes n' Tapes, coming down from their Best New Music climax, have released their sophomore album and will be at the Virgin Megastore tonight performing some tunes from it.......

FILM: The Seward Park Branch of the New York Public Library is running a little free film series out of their basement. Expect to see some old 16mm prints of short films ranging from sci-fi to 1970's educational films. One librarian at the branch tells us, "we're kind of recreating that feeling of school back in the day, when the a/v dude would roll in the movie projector on a cart, and you'd get......