10/3/13: Today’s Tips: Thursday

ART/FUNDRAISER: Art Saves Animals @ the Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy. The ninth annual one-night-only live and silent auction of Local 518 artists to benefit the Hudson Mohawk Humane Society. Music by Peg & Bill Delaney. Live auction conducted by WNYT-TV’s Jason Gough. Open beer and wine bar. Fun for all… 5:30-8:30pm. $45.

MUSIC: Jill Sobule @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs. Yes, she sang about kissing girls long before Katie Perry, but if that’s all you know her for, well, you’re missing the big picture. Her songs are topical, funny and poignant all at once, and she’s an utterly charming performer. With MaryLeigh Roohan. 7pm. $22.

TALK: Jonathan Franzen @ Skidmore College’s Gannett Auditorium, Saratoga Springs. The acclaimed author of “The Corrections” and “Freedom” (which landed him on the cover of Time magazine with the headline “Great American Novelist”) will present the Frances Steloff Lecture, “The Novel and the World: A Reading and Discussion.” 8pm. FREE.

MUSIC: Walt Wilkins & Tina Mitchell Wilkens @ WAMC-FM’s The Linda, Albany. The acclaimed Texas singer-songwriter wowed the crowd at The Linda last year with his full band. This time around, he offers a more intimate performance with his wife. Host Michael Eck opens the show with fiddler Mat Kane of the Railroad Boys. 8pm. $15.

THEATER: “Mercy Killers” @ Steamer No. 10 Theatre, Albany. Michael Milligan’s raw, devastatingly honest one-man play is an emotional examination of the destructive personal impact of the American health care system. 7pm. Free; donations accepted.

MUSIC: The Midtown Men @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. Four star from the original cast of Broadway’s “Jersey Boys” – Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer and Tony Award winner Christian Hoff – sing the music of the ’60s. UPDATE: This concert has been postponed to Friday, February 28.

THEATER: “Venus in Fur” @ Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany. It’s the regional premiere of David Ives’ sexy, funny, Tony Award-winning dramedy, directed by Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill. 7:30pm. Tickets range from $20 to $60. Through October 20. GO HERE for more info…

MUSIC: Kung Fu @ Red Square, Albany. Funk-electro fusion. 9:30pm. $15.

MUSIC: Mihali Savoulidis @ Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs. The Twiddle front man performs a special solo acoustic show. 9:30pm. FREE.

THEATER: “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” @ UAlbany’s Performing Arts Center, Albany. 29 years old and forbidden to leave his country, playwright Nassim Soleimanpour distilled the experience of an entire generation in a wild, utterly original play about contemporary Iran and those born amidst the hardship of the Iran-Iraq war. He turns his isolation to his advantage with a play that requires no director, no set, no rehearsal and a different actor for each performance – tonight it’s Benita Zahn. 7:30pm. $20; $15 students & seniors. Through Saturday.

MUSIC: Snorri Helgason @ the Half Moon, Hudson. With Passerine. 8pm. $5.

MUSIC: Picky Bastards @ Mission Bar + Tapas, Pittsfield. A collective of rotating local musicians playing your favorite folk, rock and Americana tunes. 8pm. FREE.

MUSIC: Above & Beyond @ Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park. British EDM trio. 9pm. $30.

MUSIC: Tommy Verrigni Trio @ the Stockade Inn, Schenectady. 7pm. FREE.

FILM: “Hannah Arendt” @ Saratoga Arts Center, Saratoga Springs. Margarethe von Trotta directed this compelling look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann. 7:30pm.