Happening Tuesday: Katy Perry, Lucinda Williams and more

MOVIES

This Is Where We Take Our Stand This documentary chronicles three days in March 2008, on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, when 250 veterans and active-duty soldiers gathered in Washington, D.C., to share their personal experiences and protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 443-7000. hammer.ucla.edu

MUSIC

Katy Perry Perry’s music is a prompt to PG-13 behavior but with a deep wink at the ways having fun is often a performance. In her single “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” she may lament that “pictures of last night ended up online, I’m screwed,” but who is she kidding? This is the generation of “Pics or it didn’t happen.” From the little lyrical pause in “Let’s go all ? the way tonight” in the unimpeachable “Teenage Dream” to the burlesque-y deconstruction of “I Kissed a Girl,” Perry proves adroit at navigating the little things that make a good song great or a decent one much more interesting. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Wed. $37.50-$49.50. www.staplescenter.com.

Lucinda Williams The singer-songwriter has made a career on searing, whiskey-soaked tales of bad love and bad decisions. But her new album “Blessed” is unexpectedly uplifting and redemptive in a way that wholly suits her. Produced by Don Was, its 12 vignettes interlock to form a compelling whole that proves Williams’ worst demons are behind her. El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. $40. theelrey.com.

BOOKS

Alan Kaufman In the annals of drinking memoirs, Kaufman’s “Drunken Angel” might be one of the more harrowing. Having spent half his life reeling from post-traumatic stress disorder and trying to calm it with booze, he finally cleaned up at 40 and lived to tell this lucid, moving tale of taking responsibility and finding a kind of peace. Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. www.booksoup.com