Music

Math and Physics Club

Seen at Bumbershoot, heard on KEXP, andnow playing to the kids: The Math and PhysicsClub, a fave of the Seattle indie popsters, bring their gentle music to Town Hall. The price of admission is steep: Adults will not be admitted without a child. The band, with two acclaimed EPs out now, spent much of last year recording its first full-length, proving there has been good music writtensince Belle & Sebastian’s first album oh these 10 long years ago. Pack up the kids, head for one of the two hour-long concerts, and start your transition into the here and now. Presented by KEXP and Parent Map. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255; 800-838-3006, www.brownpapertickets.com. $5 adults, kids under 12 free. 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. JOANNE GARRETT

Animals

Octopus Week

My favorite octopus fact: The only hard part of their body is their beak, which means they can squeeze through any aperture that can accommodate it, flattening the rest of their body. (For a totally cool video of one oozing through a 1-inch hole, see: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4007016107763801953). And diver friends who’ve seen them close up in Elliott Bay say their eyes are unbelievably humanlike and full of personality. Learn more about the planet’s smartest invertebrates (as smart as cats, say some experts) as the Seattle Aquarium celebrates a week of octopus fun. Alongside the daily feedings, talks, and activities for kids, the week’s main event (Saturday, Feb. 17 and 25, at noon) is the release of the aquarium’s octopuses into Elliott Bay, where they’ll take up permanent residence; you’ll be able to watch the underwater release live via video monitors. Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way (Pier 59), 386-4320, www.seattleaquarium.org. $8.50–$12.50. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily. GAVIN BORCHERT

Music festival

Brazilian Carnaval/Mardi Gras

Whether you discovered it in your parents’ LP stacks or on your own as a winning alternative to Let’s Get It On, 1964’s Getz/Gilberto remains the singular jazz-samba fusion record you must own. Pianist-songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim, who wrote most of the album’s enduring classics, like “Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars),” would’ve been 80 this year, and his life will be honored by Eduardo Mendonça and Show Brazil! at this 13th annual Carnaval celebration. Playing bossa nova “in a Mardi Gras way,” acclaimed vocalist-percussionist Mendonça leads a full troupe of musicians and costumed dancers at this sure-to-sell-out party. As “Tom” Jobim wrote, “Só Danço Samba.” The Mountaineers Club, 300 Third Ave. W., 425-254-1616 for tickets, www.showbrazil.com. $15 adv./$20. 8:30 p.m. RACHEL SHIMP

Literary

(pro)text

What’s the worst thing about reading? Paper cuts, sure. And then there are some fundamentally depressing stats—in 2006, for example, the majority of books sold in the U.S. were released by five corporate monoliths. For respite from this brain-aching dose of reality, there’s (pro)text: an Independent Press Fair. Sponsored by lit journal Cranky, the parenthetical—but not marginal!—fair will feature 38 of the most eclectic presses, reviews, and chapbook series in the Northwest, and there’s bound to be great, off-the-beaten-press works you won’t find at Barnes & Noble. The day is capped off with “The Purpose of Chap/book Contests: What’s Love Got to Do With It?,” moderated by Cranky editor Amber Curtis. Here’s a sneak preview of what love has to do with it: a lot. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 322-7030, www.hugohouse.org. Free. 12 p.m.–5 p.m. KARLA STARR

Graphic Art

Drawn & Quarterly

Despite the success of adult-themed graphic novels like the Pulitzer Prize–winning Maus and Craig Thompson’s Blankets, a first-love story that won raves in 2003, going public about your love of graphic novels still might make you feel dorky and weird. (Unlike in Japan, where businessmen and schoolkids read manga on public transit, we seem to associate the graphic novel with neurotic collectors). Three artists from Montreal-based publishing house Drawn & Quarterly may hold the power to turn the reputation of the graphic novel around. Endearing N.Y.C. cartoonist Gabrielle Bell imparts her woes, wins, and daily happenings in Lucky, a collection of three editions that span one year from May 2003 to 2004. Whether she’s chronicling her romantic struggles or the frustrations of paying the bills, the minimal text paired with the simple, sweet illustrations conveys more even than other more long-winded forms of literature. Anders Nilsen, the man behind the heartbreaking Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow, evokes unavoidable swells of emotion as he takes the reader through his fiancée’s losing battle with cancer via postcards, notes, drawings, and writings. And Kevin Huizenga’s Curses twists the everyday tightly with the out-there, exploring territory that ranges from evil monkey hallucinations to hunting down a giant bird whose feathers hold the key to curing infertility. D&Q has sent these comic genuises out on the road together, spreading the gospel of the graphic novel to the masses. Also: on display in the gallery until March 7, “25 Years of Love & Rockets,” featuring original comic pages from authors the Hernandez brothers. Fantagraphics, 1201 Vale St., 658-0110, www.fantagraphics.com. Free. 6 p.m. AJA PECKNOLD