TUESDAY, JULY 23 2013 >>>

1. Coming from the mountain town of Bishop, Calif., the cello-and-banjo duo The Littlest Birds does well in capturing the sort of humbly catchy Dust Bowl-era folk that used to dominate lonely radio stations on long stretches of desolate country road. David Huebner's utilization of the cello is particularly inspired, capturing as it does both the sound and feel of the genre's requisite fiddle, while lending a certain depth that would have been lost without an upright bass or something similar. Catch themat 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. The film In The House centers on Germain (Fabrice Luchini), a high school literature teacher who regards his students as "barbarians" who can't write. But as he's grading papers one day, Germain reads the essay of a teenager named Claude (Ernst Umhauer), who captivates his instructor with a well-written piece about a classmate and his house: For a long time, Claude used to sit in the park across from the house, admiring it and its "holy family." He wants to see what life is like inside, so he befriends the classmate, Rapha (Bastien Ughetto), by offering to tutor him in math. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy's intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events. The film screens at 1:40 and 6:55 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

3. Add Victorian style to your correspondence by creating a steampunk greeting card with paper crafter Rachel Collins from 3-5 p.m. at the Summit Library.

4. The Beatniks, Seattle's most famous cover band ('60s-'80s) will perform an outside concert at Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor beginning at 6:30 p.m.

5. Every Tuesday night at Stonegate Pizza on South Tacoma Way Leanne Trevalyan hosts an acoustic open mic at 8 p.m.

LINK: Tuesday, July 23 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area