This weekend on a shoestring

Thursday, Jan. 15

In less than a decade, Hush Arbors (Keith Wood) has evolved from soft, subdued folk to loud and unbridled rock ‘n’ roll. Naturally, what he has in store for Harvest Records (415 Haywood Road, 258-2999) is anybody’s guess, but his bio could be some indicator. It reads, “Since 2006 this Virginian son has been living and breathing the London air, but he’s making his way home to see 2011 dawn on home soil. After that, he’s hitting the road with The Two of Us Riding Nowhere tour. The two of us is Wood and Jason Ajemian, Wood’s ‘oldest friend & one heck of a bass player.’ They’ll play separately, they’ll play together, heck, they’ll probably have to sleep together too. In the trunk you’ll find a double-bass, a guitar and one or two things that the border guards might frown upon (Keith’s beard & Jason’s pork chops?).” 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 14

• UNC Asheville hosts an opening reception for Drawing Discourse,” a juried drawing exhibition in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery of Owen Hall. “With this exhibit, we’re examining drawing as it is practiced and defined by today’s artists,” says the exhibit’s coordinator Tamie Beldue in a release for the event. “Our students, like the working artists in this exhibit, are using conventional and innovative methods, sometimes combining different approaches. The art of drawing is alive and evolving, as this exhibit will show.” Juror Alex Kanevsky will hold a lecture prior to the event in the Humanities Lecture Hall at 5 p.m. to discuss his own work and those selected for the exhibit. 6-8 p.m. Free. More info at 251-6559.

• The Screaming Js boast a lineup that includes a host of talent from local bands including Mad Tea Party, Erika Jane & Remember the Bees and the now defunct Blue Rags. They bring their old fashioned boogie-woogie to Craggie Brewing Company. 7-9 p.m. Free.

• The Courtyard Gallery (109 Roberts Street, 273-3332) presents a free screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, a 1979 science fiction film about a journey into a mystical and mysterious forbidden zone. The showing is part of the gallery’s weekly Classic World Cinema Foreign Film Series. Upstairs in the Railroad Library. Donations encouraged. 8 p.m. 

• The Archrivals are masterminded by stephaniesid‘s Chuck Lichtenberger (one of the busiest working musicians in Asheville), which might explain how, in the midst of a weekly Tuesday residency at MoDaddy’s, the the band ended up with a show at Pisgah Brewing Company (150 Eastside Drive, 669-0190). 8 p.m.

• “Bombs Away Cabaret, Asheville’s foremost Cabaret/Burlesque collaborative, will hold a fundraiser to present its third full-length show, ‘Pirate Booty,’ a benefit for the Western North Carolina AIDS Project,” reads a release from the company. “This fundraiser’s $5 cover charge helps the ladies and gents of the Bombs Away Cabaret cover its production expenses for its March benefit production. The Bombs Away Cabaret aims to restore burlesque to its comedic roots through original productions which benefit charitable causes.” Fred’s Parkside Pub and Grill (122 College Street, 281-0920). 9 p.m. More info at 337-7350 or bombsawaycabaret@yahoo.com.

• It’s too late to catch the Man in Black himself, but you can still see his music performed live as Wild Wing Cafe (161 Biltmore Avenue, 253-3066) brings you Project Cash, a local Johnny Cash tribute band. 10 p.m. Free.

Saturday, Jan. 15

• “Periscope Magazine is a quarterly, online publication, that uses reader submissions—in prose, poetry, photography, video and multimedia—to explore our modern, human experience from uncommon vantage points,” reads the publications website. “Submissions are geared in response to each issue’s theme, a conceptual framework chosen by our editorial panel. Every edition of Periscope is shaped by its contributors, who interpret the theme according to their unique viewpoints and then build new material. Through this pursuit, we hope to mirror the characteristics of our literal, underwater counterpart.” The Magazine hosts a release party for its second issue, “Points of Contact,” at Haw Creek Forge (2000 Riverside Drive, 289-9785) with music by Do it to Julia and Melissa Hyman. Free, or $5 for a “bottomless” cup of beer. 8 p.m.

• White Laces’ bio simply states, “Relentless music activity by a real live band.” Not all that informative, but the band lets their complex indie-pop do the talking. See for yourself when they take the stage at Broadway’s (113 Broadway Street, 285-0400). 10 p.m. $6.

• The Carolina Asheville (1640 Hendersonville Road, 274-9500) presents a special, one-night-only screening of Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, “a feature-length documentary which will present a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society,” reads the films website. “This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical ‘life ground’ attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a ‘Resource-Based Economy.’” 8 p.m. $5/$7.

Sunday, Jan. 16

“How We Identify: Gender Subversive, Art & Words is a fundraiser to support Just Us For All and their work around LGBTQ equality initiatives,” says a release for the BoBo Gallery (22 North Lexington Avenue, 254-3426) event. “WE in its prominence stands for the human race. Just Us For All hopes that this show will shed light on queer identity choices and maybe allow everyone the space and capability to take a look at their own gender and how they express themselves.This event is a creative platform for local artists to reclaim and redefine gender binary norms through art, mixed media, personal essays and poetry. The event will also be infused with music and dancing.” Featured artists will include Amy Orenchuk, Jeni Shepherd, Delaney Brown, Ryan Ashley Anderson, Holly Garrell and Sam Soper. 8 p.m. $5. Additional donations encouraged.