Pencil This In

READING: The Montauk Club is hosting a night of literature featuring Jessica Hagedorn and Nelson George tonight, as part of their new reading series. Use this as an opportunity to check out the historic 120 year-old Ballroom at the club, as the authors read from their recent work. The readings will be followed by a panel discussion with a cocktail hour and tour of the club's landmark building afterward (it's real pretty).

8 p.m. // The Montauk Club [25 8th Avenue, Brooklyn] Free for members, $5 for non-members

MUSIC: We simply adore Sam Amidon, so we highly recommend checking him out tonight at Mercury Lounge, where he'll be celebrating the release of his fourth solo album, I See The Sign. "Amidon transforms age-old secular ballads, gospel, folk songs and hymns through his direction, vision, vocals, banjo, guitar and contributions from Shahzad Ismaily, Nico Muhly, Beth Orton and Valgeir Sigurðsson."

6:30 p.m. // Mercury Lounge [217 E Houston St] // $12

THEATER: The Brick Theater's "Too Soon" Festival is almost so over. Consisting of all-original shows created around the titular theme, the festival asks audiences: "Is the future happening now? Is the world whizzing past at a dizzying pace? Are you both running to catch up and hiding away from it all?" Tonight's double bill presents your last opportunity to see Death Is a Scream, Esther Crow's one-woman variety show that asks, "What if you could choose your own 'ending'? With the help of a highly skilled Death Agent, you can! And after you buy the farm, a Corpsetologist' will make you look like your favorite celebrity, model, or head of state." Sounds like a tough act to follow, but if anyone's up to the task it's playwright Matthew Freeman, whose new play That Old Soft Shoe is described as a "redacted" comedy about "a Senator from the Pacific Northwest arrives to inspect the goings-on in an undisclosed location, throwing the staff into turmoil."

7 p.m. & 8:45 p.m. // The Brick Theater [575 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg] // Tickets

Newsletter contributions from John Del Signore and Jen Carlson.