Sharon Van Etten at Mercury Lounge In anticipation of the Brooklyn-based folk songstress's highly-anticipated forthcoming third album, Tramp (out Feb. 7 and produced by The National's Aaron Dessner), Sharon Van Etten is playing an intimate gig tonight at Mercury Lounge.
Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. 7 p.m. $18.
Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman at Barnes & Noble
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)'s latest, illustrated by the wonderful Maira Kalman, takes on junior high romance/sadness. Why We Broke Up takes the form of a letter, written by a young girl named Min Green as a way to explain to her ex-boyfriend Ed Slaterton why things had to end, and the specific items (a movie ticket stub, a protractor, a box of matches) that led to their break-up.
Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th St. 7 p.m. Free.
Spanky and Nina "Drawings and Sculpture" Opens at Fuse Gallery
Friends and collaborators Kevin "Spanky" Lang and Nina Milner have come together on a joint show to examine "their diverse creative origins through a practice of visual dialogue." Lang, known primarily as a professional skateboarder, paints fantastical critters. South African-born Milner is an abstract sculptor, constructing pieces out of resin and cotton.
Fuse Gallery, 93 Second Ave. Opening 7-10 p.m. Through Feb. 15.