Jangle on A founder of the seminal 1980s power-pop combo the dB's (recently reunited), Chris Stamey always added an avant streak to his jangly guitar pop. He plays at 8 p.m. at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Tickets are $14. Call 215-222-1400.
Monday
A little Mass Rossini's wonderful Petite messe solennelle was written during his long retirement from opera. The elegant work is performed by artists from the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists and Juilliard's Marcus Institute, with the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, Ken Noda and Cecile Licad on piano, and Michael Stairs on harmonium, at 8 p.m. at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater, Broad and Spruce Streets. Tickets are $25. Call 215-569-8080.
New work The Philadelphia Theatre Company's festival PTC@Play, begins with a staged reading of Bruce Graham's Stella & Lou, about middle-aged love in a South Philly bar. The show goes on at 7:30 p.m. at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets. Admission is free. Call 215-735-7356.
Tuesday
Fantasy life When author Robert Jordan died in 2007, his massive series The Wheel of Time was unfinished - but the author left detailed notes to allow another writer to complete the last volume. Jordan's wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, selected acclaimed young novelist Brandon Sanderson ( Mistborn) for the task. The one-book assignment turned into three volumes, with the concluding tome, A Memory of Light, just published. McDougal and Sanderson discuss their work at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Library, 1901 Vine St. Admission is free. Call 215-567-4341.
Wednesday
Budget spectacle Michel Auder's 1970 downsized epic Cleopatra took off from the notorious 1963 Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton extravaganza, which his actors - Warhol Factory vets Viva, Gerard Malanga, Ultra Violet, Nico, and Louis Waldon - recreated in scene-by-scene improv. Upstate New York stands in for Egypt, snowmobiles are horses, Italian police are charmed into becoming extras, and wretched excess is the aesthetic. The film, left unedited after a fight with the producers and long thought to be lost, screens at 7 p.m. at International House, 3701 Chestnut St. Tickets are $9; $7 for students and seniors. Call 215-387-5125.
Black is black The founder of the influential late-1980s alt-rock band the Pixies, Black Francis, plays an acoustic set at 8 p.m. at the Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville. Tickets are $21.50 and $29.50. Call 215-257-5808.
Thursday
Smart pop The Brooklyn quintet Isadora presents its fractured rock musicology at 8 p.m. at Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. Tickets are $8. Call 215-291-4919.
Friday & Saturday
Grumpy old man Comedian Lewis Black has the only reasonable reaction to contemporary events: Everybody get off my lawn! He performs at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Streets, at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $39.50 to $65. Call 215-893-1999.
Dance minded Visionary choreographer and author ( A Choreographic Mind) Susan Rethorst presents a new piece, Behold Bold Sam Dog, at Bryn Mawr College's Goodhart Hall, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $20; $18 for seniors; $10 for students; $5 for children under 12. Call 610-526-5210.
A complete guide to events in the region over the coming weekend will appear in the Weekend section in Friday's Inquirer. Send notices of events for "7 Days" to Michael Harrington at mharrington@phillynews.com.
