BEST BETS Friday 9/29

8pm Jazz

Great vibraphone players are a relative rarity in jazz--every generation seems to produce just one or two. Twenty-six-year-old Stefon Harris fills that bill for his generation. Still garnering raves from last year’s “Black Action Figure” album, he leads his quartet tonight.

* Stefon Harris Quartet, Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. 8 p.m. $25. (310) 456-4522. Also Saturday at El Camino College of the Arts, Marsee Auditorium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. 8 p.m. $21. (8000832-ARTS.

all day

Movies

The football drama “Remember the Titans” tells the true story of the integration of two Alexandria, Va., high schools in 1971. Denzel Washington plays Herman Boone, a black coach brought in to head the program, and Will Patton plays Bill Yoast, a white coach passed over despite having more seniority. The two men work together to turn a group of diverse young men in a volatile situation into a cohesive, winning team. Boaz Yakin (“Fresh”) directs.

* “Remember the Titans,” rated PG for thematic elements and some language, opens Friday in general release.

4pm

Festival

Last year, more than 33,000 crustacean lovers consumed some 20,000 lobster meals at the inaugural Port of Los Angeles International Lobster Festival. This year, the event’s organizers are hoping to attract even more to the three-day event at Ports O’ Call Village in San Pedro. A children’s lobster-calling contest will take place Friday. The festival will offer craft booths, kids’ games, rides, an art exhibition and continuous live entertainment (including Latin jazz, country rock, zydeco and swing dancing). The most popular food item at the festival is a whole steamed Maine lobster meal (including salad, roll and butter), which costs about $10. But non-oceanic cuisine such as ribs and Mexican and Thai food also will be available.

* The Port of Los Angeles International Lobster Festival, Ports O’ Call Village, the intersection of 6th Street and Harbor Boulevard, San Pedro. Friday, 4 p.m.-midnight; Saturday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. $6; ages 12 and under, free. (310) 366-6472.

8pm

Theater

Ruby Nelda Perez performs her solo show, “Don~a Rosita’s Jalapen~o Kitchen,” about a woman hosting a “last supper” for assorted characters on the eve of her restaurant/home’s destruction to make way for a shopping mall.

* “Don~a Rosita’s Jalapen~o Kitchen,” El Teatro de la Esperanza at El Camino College Center for the Arts, Campus Theatre, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. Friday, 8 p.m. $21. (310) 329-5345, (800) 832-ARTS.

8pm

Theater

Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera presents the West Coast premiere of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” David Levy and Leslie Eberhard’s new musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s horror classic, with musical stage veterans Ray Benson as gentle Dr. Jekyll and Jeffrey Rockwell as the handsome and devilish Mr. Hyde.

* “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Granada Theatre, 1216 State St., Santa Barbara. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m.; also Oct. 4, 3 p.m. Ends Oct. 15. $10-$45. (800) 366-6064, (805) 966-2324.

9pm

Pop Music

Back in the early ‘90s, Lemonheads leader Evan Dando looked like a sure thing, with his winsome songs and MTV pinup looks. But things soon derailed for the singer, in part because of the habits he recounted in his striking song “My Drug Buddy.” Now Dando is showcasing new material in his first major-city appearance in four years--an effort to show that he still has the touch.

* Evan Dando, with Jon Brion & Friends, Friday at Largo, 432 N. Fairfax Ave. 9 p.m. $15. (323) 852-1073. Also Saturday with Neal Casal, at McCabe’s, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. $13.50. (310) 828-4403.

FREEBIE

For the 18th year, the Laugh Factory hosts services for the Jewish High Holy Days for comedians, actors and others, with a Rosh Hashana service Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 8001 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Reservations are required: (323) 656-1336.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Young and Innocent” and “Jamaica Inn” screen at USC’s Lucas Theater as part of the Hitch 101 Film Festival, 5 p.m. Reservations: (213) 740-2167.