TODAYMUSICThe key of F, for ‘female’”Voices on...

TODAY

MUSIC

The key of F, for ‘female’

“Voices on the Edge,” Cal State Fullerton’s fifth Women in New Music Festival, will feature Pamela Z, the Ethel string quartet and music by Chen Yi, Pamela Madsen and other composers over four days of performances and discussions.

“Voices on the Edge,” Recital Hall, Cal State Fullerton. 8 tonight. Free (714) 278-3371; www.fullerton.edu/arts/events.

* Also 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Meng Concert Hall, Cal State Fullerton. $20 Friday and Saturday, $15 Sunday.

FRIDAY

MOVIES

Normal day, all mixed up

Two Mexico City teens’ afternoon revelry of unsupervised video-gaming is interrupted by power outages, a cute female neighbor with baking on her mind and a persistent pizza deliveryman in the black-and-white comedy “Duck Season.” Daniel Miranda, Diego Catano, Danny Perea and Enrique Arreola star. Directed by Fernando Eimbcke.

“Duck Season,” rated R for language and some drug content, opens Friday at selected theaters.

EVENTS

Ooo-ee-ooo, so very sci-fi

Evangeline Lilly, Naveen Andrews and Ian Somerhalder of “Lost” head the lineup of celebrities who will be on hand at Grand Slam XIV: The Sci-Fi Summit this weekend to meet their fans and (for a fee) sign autographs. Celebrities from other sci-fi entertainment franchises, including “Star Trek,” Star Wars,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Supernatural,” will also appear along with real-life astronauts Wally Schirra and Alan Bean. For the celebrity schedule, see www.creationent.com.

Grand Slam XIV: The Sci-Fi Summit, Pasadena Conference & Exhibition Center, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Noon to 7 p.m. Friday. $25 to $145; some events have additional charges. (818) 409-0960

* Also 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

POP MUSIC

Could call it rant ‘n’ roll

There’s plenty of camp and bombast in the way the Electric Six mash dance music and arena rock, but on the Detroit outfit’s new album, “Senor Smoke” -- the nickname of former Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Aurelio Rodriguez -- there’s an element of disco politico. Bellowing frontman Dick Valentine rants on all manner of pop culture and world affairs, including a hanging curveball of a rhyme: “Mr. President, make a little money sending people you don’t know to Iraq / Mr. President, I don’t like you -- you don’t know how to rock!”

Electric Six, the Galaxy Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd. Santa Ana. 8 tonight. $13.50. (714) 957-0600.

* Also 8 p.m. Friday, the Key Club, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. $15. (310) 274-5800.

ART

Reaction to abstraction

The latest works by two L.A.-based artists explore the tradition of abstract painting. Takako Yamaguchi’s exhibition “Abstraction in Reverse” features land- and seascapes. Tomas Nakada’s canvases in “Skin Deep” integrate science imagery using transparent layers and clotted impasto.

Takako Yamaguchi and Tomas Nakada at Jan Baum Gallery, 170 S. La Brea Ave., L.A. Opens Friday. (323) 932-0170.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ends April 29.

MUSEUMS

This crowd is colorful

This weekend is the last opportunity for viewers to see “Masters of American Comics,” the two-part exhibition at Hammer Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art. The shows end on Sunday, but the Hammer parties on Friday with the Hammer Bash!, offering extended gallery hours, free admission, a cash bar and a DJ.

Hammer Bash! at Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 7 to 10 p.m. Friday. Free. (310) 443-7000.

SATURDAY

EVENTS

The annual

spout fest

A fountain of spray and an occasional fluke breaking the surface -- typically that’s all that is visible when gray whales swim by. Still, thousands of people are drawn to Southern California peninsulas and harbors at this time of year to witness the annual gray whale migration. Many of the whales have finished breeding off Baja California and are now making their way up the coast to Alaska with calves in tow. Among the most popular viewing spots is Dana Cove Park in Dana Point, where enthusiasts are celebrating the 35th annual Dana Point Festival of Whales.

Dana Point Festival of Whales, in and around Dana Point Harbor. 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Free. (949) 472-7888 or (888) 440-4309. www.festivalofwhales.org* Also 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

SUNDAY

FAMILY

The magic of dreams

Canada’s internationally touring Theatre Sans Fil returns with “The Dream Catchers,” a magical tale of child empowerment set in a world of candy trees, monsters and mythical beasts dreamed up by two young siblings. Performed bunraku style, it features the company’s signature giant puppets, some more than 6 feet tall.

“The Dream Catchers,” La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. $8. (562) 944-9801; www.lamiradatheatre.com

* Also at Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center. 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesday. $12. (805) 646-8907; www.ptgo.org

MONDAY

JAZZ

Jarrett, take 2

Acclaimed jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s last

performance at Walt

Disney Concert Hall with cohorts Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette was more noted for his

pronounced disappointment with that new venue’s acoustics than for the music performed. At one point in the show,

Jarrett turned to his

audience, frowned and asked, “Do you hear that? It must be the sound of ghost cartoon characters.” Regardless, Jarrett will make his first solo appearance in Los Angeles in nearly 25 years Monday evening at the venue. Jarrett’s latest CD, “Radiance,” is a solo effort recorded in Japan and released last year.

Keith Jarrett, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 8 p.m. Monday. $35 to $140. (323) 850-2000.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

Coming ‘Loose’

UCLA Live’s second “British/Irish Comedy Invasion” opens with the West Coast premiere of “Loose,” Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan’s quirky exploration of sex, politics, religion and family.

“Loose,” Macgowan Little Theatre, UCLA (Parking Lot 3), Westwood. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. (310) 825-2101; www.UCLALive.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends April 2.

FAMILY

Princesses: Pay court

Dreams can come true as long as they come with a pair of skates. Disney on Ice offers up a who’s who of princesses through the years in a new touring show that features scenes from Disney’s “Cinderella,” “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Mulan” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Special effects, extravagant sets, classic Disney songs and elaborate production numbers make “Princess Classics” a likely hit with the preteen princess set.

“Princess Classics,” Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $12 to $50. (714) 740-2000.

* Also 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. March 16; 7:30 p.m. March 17; noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. March 18-19.

BOOKS

Sunny at the center

Deep in William T. Vollmann’s sprawling books and essays is one unifying notion, a lust to know everything about a particular patch of Earth and its people. Never one to work small, Vollmann’s latest book, “Uncentering the Earth: Copernicus and the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,” tackles the Polish astronomer’s masterpiece that proposed the sun as the center of the universe, triggering a clash between science and religion.

William T. Vollmann, Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., L.A. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Free. (310) 659-3110.