Singer, actress, and performance artist Ann Magnuson has led a fascinating and unique life in which she’s achieved success and acclaim in both mainstream entertainment and the deepest recesses of the underground. Most people know the 52-year-old West Virginia native from her extensive film and television career– she starred opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the ’90s sitcom Anything But Love, and has had prominent roles in such movies as Desperately Seeking Susan and Clear and Present Danger. But for years she simultaneously sang in the avant-garde cult band Bongwater, too. The duo of Magnuson and Shimmy Disc honcho Kramer made a handful of freaky art/noise-rock discs (1988’s Double Bummer and 1990’s The Power of Pussy are particularly amazing) before splitting acrimoniously in 1992. Since then, Magnuson has continued to act regularly, has staged one-woman performances, and sporadically records solo albums- her most recent is 2006’s theatrical, acerbic Pretty Songs and Ugly Stories. For tonight’s special Seattle appearance, she’s promising to play songs from her entire career, backed by a full band of surprise players “culled from a pool of local Pacific Northwest talent.”

Wed., Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m., 2008