What You're Doing Tonight: Feb. 18

HE EVEN PLAYS THE GLOCKENSPIEL: We like an indie-folk rock star who knows his way around a guitar. But throw in a host of other quirky/old-fashioned/beautiful instruments, and let him show his expertise, and we're definitely on-board. Bird's album "Noble Beast" recently bowed in January, and we'd make a tie-in between beasts and birds here, but really, we think the music should rise above wacky wordplay. At least on occasion. Wednesday, February 18. The Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, Los Angeles.

ANSWER B!TCH LIVE! While we like a musician who can glockenspiel, we also like an exclamation point incorporated into a nickname, like E Online! celebrity gossipstress Leslie Gornstein -- aka the Answer B!tch -- does. Now that we think of it, E! does as well. Why don't we? Food for thought. But back to Ms. Gornstein -- she is very smart about this starry town, and at times cutting, and boasts oodles of razor-sharp insight into what makes Tinseltown tick. And she's detailing her know-how in "The A-List Playbook," and chatting about said playbook at Book Soup. Wednesday, February 18, 7PM. Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood. 310-659-3110

PLUS: The ethereal, clown-y Cirque Dreams tumbles into Segerstrom Hall through Saturday. Oh, and just when we were needing a dose of acrobatic magic this slow, oh-so-damp midweek...