Pencil This In

MUSIC: Last week Craig Finn made a solo appearance amongst the books at Barnes & Noble, tonight he's with his rock band, The Hold Steady, playing another free show. Joining them are the Old 97’s, and newer band, Illinois. A triple-threat lineup with a can't-be-beat pricetag.

5:30pm // 7 World Trade Center [250 Greenwich St] // Free

READING: Possibly known more for her role on Project Runway than her fashion direction with ELLE magazine, Nina Garcia has a new book out called The Little Black Book of Style. Maybe she should be Tim Gunn's sidekick instead of that boring Veronica Webb..?

7pm // Borders [10 Columbus Circle] // Free

MOVIE: The Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series screens a preview of Silver Jew tonight. The film is about poet, musician and yes, Silver Jew, David Berman. The film focuses on some 2006 shows the band played in Israel. Heavy Metal Jr will also screen tonight, the short follows a Scottish heavy metal band made of youngsters called Hatred.

7pm // Barbés [376 9th St, Park Slope] // Free

THEATER: Buzzed-about playwright Ken Urban’s heady and humorous I Heart Kant, produced downtown last year, was deemed a “sublime experience” by Show Business Weekly. The Harvard professor’s new work is called The Private Lives of Eskimos; it’s a dark comedy “about life after anti-depressants. Marvin loses something he needs to live: his cell phone. When he calls the phone in hopes of recovering it, a mysterious woman answers. The two learn they share a secret. But things are never what they seem in a world of explosions and Spam-speaking Eskimos.” Ain’t that the truth. – John Del Signore

8pm // Linhart Theater [440 Lafayette St] // Tickets cost $18.

COMEDY: Comedy and dating have always gone hand in hand, and there's no better way to break the ice on a first date than with a few laughs. Tonight "Dating It" at Comix will host "young, bachelor(ette) comedians and set them up on dates." Audience volunteers will be called upon for the speed dating set.

8pm // Comix [353 W 14th St] // $12