Musician James Ilgenfritz (above) wants you to try pronouncing his last name three times really quickly.

– Go ahead, get out of the nightclub rut and open your mind to something more experimental. The always surprising Object + Thought gallery on Tuesday (Aug. 28) will host another avant garde music event with an international flavor. Radio 1190 and Creative Music Works present Chinese composer Wu Fei, New York acoustic bassist and composer James Ilgenfritz (as part of the Mystery Cabal series) and local contemporary group the Playground at the intimate space. 7 p.m. 3559 Larimer St., $5 suggested donation. All the details are here.

Kat Valentine checks in with this note about a trippy event on Friday:

Follow the white rabbit to the Sutra Room (1109 Lincoln St.) on Friday for an “Alice in Wonderland” theme party to celebrate the birthday of VIP hostess Tobi Renee. Living playing cards will serve up “eat me” mini cakes and “drink me” specialty shots, with Cirque du Soleil-style performers and DJ Amen’s mash-ups adding to the atmosphere. Ladies drink free from 5 to 8 p.m. on the front patio every Friday, and tonight they’ll offer bottle service specials on Pravda vodka. Call 720-933-6500 for table reservations.

I could make some lazy joke here about a big hose, but I won’t.

– It’s been a steamy August so far in Denver, and it’s about to get steamier. On Thursday the 2008 Colorado Firefighter Calendar will debut at Rise Nightclub with a runway show and Firefighter Bachelor Auction to benefit the Children’s Hospital Burn Center. The popular fundraising calendar – the past two have raised nearly $200,000 – features our flame-dousing heroes (14 men and one woman) in various sweat-inducing poses. If you’re looking for a hot night out, this is it. 8 p.m. 1909 Blake St., $25 general admission, $55 VIP.

This woman’s legs may or may not be at Orange Cat Studios this evening.

– In this crazy, mixed up world where the iPhone will soon be ruling us like an alien overlord, who has time for things like narrative and character development? Not I. That’s why I like the looks of tonight’s 5 Minute Film Fest at Orange Cat Studios. Johnny Morehouse’s quarterly event collects the best short subjects in comedy, experimental film, ummm… comedy — you name it. Popcorn? Beer? Short attention span entertainment for ADD crackheads? Check, check, check. Head over to 2625 Larimer St. at 8 p.m. with $5 for the goodness.

Cheap dates — pay attention!

I spent about five years in Albuquerque during the 1990s and thrilled to two types of restaurants that seemed to decorate every other block in the city, and which I hadn’t before encountered. One was the New Mexican cafe, complete with carne adovada (red-chile marinated pork), green chile on everything, and sopaipillas; the other, Japanese fast food, featuring bowls of white rice with steamed vegetables and teriyaki meat.

After Albuquerque? South Florida. Then Washington, D.C. Then Baltimore. No New Mexican cafe, no Japanese fast food. Now Colorado, and I’m back in business…