BEAT IT
The theme of this year’s ArtBeat, Somerville’s annual nod to the arts, is “green” (natch), and the curators have put together exhibits and demos centered on eco-friendly practices like riding bikes and looking to Priuses and Smart Cars (pictured), now the official car of Somerville, per Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. The “Different Spokes” Exhibit, positioning bikes as art, will be on display along with green tip demos and helmet decorating funshops. The Conference Bike, a Dr. Seuss-looking contraption you may have seen hurtling tourists through downtown Boston, will be on hand, too, care of the Somerville-based Dutch Bicycle Company. ArtBeat, in and around Davis Square (MBTA: Red Line to Davis), kicks off Friday, 6 to 10 p.m., with live sets by mic man Akrobatik, Italy’s Rota Temporis and new-wavers Freezepop at Seven Hills Park (adjacent to the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square). The music continues Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Knuckledusters, The Sneaks, Township, David Wax Museum and more. Suggested donation is $3; call 617-625-6600 or go to www.somervilleartscouncil.org for more info. 

ENTERTAINMENT

“Ekusute Exte (Hair Extensions)”
Friday, 5, 7:15, 9:30 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday, 2:45, 5, 7:15, 9:30 p.m.
Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
$7.50/$9.50, 617-876-6837
www.brattlefilm.org
In “Ekusute Exte” (that’s “Hair Extensions” in Japanese), the TressAllure-demanding clients at the local salon are in for more than a scalp burn. A corpse whose possessed locks won’t stop growing sits at the absurdist center of this wired horror parody helmed by Sion Sono (“Suicide Club”) and starring ingénue Chiaki Kuriyama (“Kill Bill” and “Battle Royale”).

Jay Manuel
Tonight, 6 p.m.
Lord and Taylor
Prudential Center
800 Boylston St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Copley
Free, 617-262-6000
www.lordandtaylor.com
As a shoot coordinator and judge on “America’s Next Top Model,” Jay Manuel knows a thing or two about making the everyday girl look good. Because, yes, Adrianne, Yoanna, CariDee and Whitney were everyday girls before Tara and Co. got their “fierce” hands on these mall rats. Tonight, Manuel teams up with Calvin Klein underwear to dish out Fashion Survival tips (one: toss those ratty bras. And oh the Uggs, too. They make us want to murder.)

Maggie Jackson reads from “Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age”
Tonight, 7 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith
279 Harvard St., Brookline
MBTA: Green C Line to Coolidge Corner
Free, 617-566-6660
www.brooklinebooksmith.com
In this sociologically bent tome, Jackson posits that our attention span and, in turn, our culture is on the decline (hence “the Coming Dark Age” in the subtitle) thanks to technological advances and online quagmires like Facebook and Second Life. We’re going to dial into the reading via WebEx, scour maggie-jackson.com/blog, then download the i-version of the book from Amazon.com and sound off on Shelfari. Oh wait, it’s our turn on Scrabulous!

“Mean Girls”
Tonight, dusk
Seven Hills Park
Adjacent to 55 Davis Square, Somerville
MBTA: Red Line to Davis
Free, www.somervillema.gov
Tina Fey’s silver screen writing bow — starring Lindsay Lohan as a high school clique invader — shows as part
of the Somermovie Fest. 

MUSIC

!!!
Tonight, 9 p.m.
Middle East Downstairs
480 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Central
$18, 18+, 617-864-EAST
www.mideastclub.com
Brooklyn’s seven-man monstrosity !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk) come back around with their Clash-circa-“Sandinista” hit-and-run dance platter, “Myth Takes.” Dragons of Zynth kick off the boogie down production. 

Squirrel Nut Zippers
Friday, 9 p.m.
The Paradise
967 Comm. Ave., Boston
MBTA: Green B Line to
Pleasant St.
$20, 18+, 617-562-8800
www.thedise.com
Raleigh’s Squirrel Nut Zippers were unlikely left-field radio faves (who went platinum) in 1996, then promptly imploded. A new generation found the dustbowl-spackled combo thanks to Andrew Bird’s associations and the group reformed last year. Look for Nolan Gawron’s story tomorrow in Metro. HUMANWINE opens. 

Unity Tour with 311 and Snoop Dogg
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Comcast Center
885 South Main St., Mansfield
$27.50-$37.50, 617-931-2000
www.ticketmaster.com
Some promoter has had one too many bong hits — 311 and Snoop Dogg, with special guests “Fiction Plane” (aka Sting’s kid’s band). Well, the rap-rock of 311 ain’t our thing but we can get with just about any Dre groove and Snoop delivers those in green spades. Tour reviews reveal he’s churning out all the best dingers — “Next Episode” to “Who Am I (What’s My Name).”

BIG COUNTRY
We never need an excuse to go out west. Massachusetts west, that is. The trees, the quiet, the oh darn I can’t get cell reception of it all. This weekend the Green River Festival provides more than a few reasons. The three-day music and hot air balloon fest kicks off tonight at 6, with Richard Shindell, Mark Erelli and Caroline Herring in a free night curated by Northampton’s Signature Sounds label. The Red Stick Ramblers, Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys and Eilen Jewell join Friday’s headliner, Jimmie Vaughn and Lou Ann Barton, while Lucinda Williams, Mavis Staples and Los Straitjackets hold up the closing night Saturday. That’s at Greenfield Community College (College Drive, Greenfield). Weekend passes are $40 in advance/$60 at the gate; single day tickets are $25 (Friday) and $45 (Saturday). Call 413-773-5463 or go to www.greenriverfestival.com.

LOCAL

Life Is  Good
Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Boston Common
MBTA: Green or Red Line to Park Street
Free (donations encouraged), 888-339-2987
www.lifeisgood.com
Conscionable gear guys Bert and John Jacobs have turned a short run of 48 t-shirts into a do-gooder empire and this weekend they continue their give-back ways with the annual Life is Good Festival. Moving from Fenway Park over to the Boston Common, the all-day party features live music from the man of steel, Robert Randolph and the Family Band; Melvin Sparks of Blue Note fame; and Electric Youth, a sing and dance troupe. Or you can satisfy your jock itch with serious match-ups at the Athletic Village (we are talking watermelon seed spitting contest and a Wiffle Ball homerun derby!) All proceeds benefit the Life is Good Kids Foundation.

Fetish Fair
Saturday, noon-6 p.m.
Cyclorama @ Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St., Boston
MBTA: Orange Line to Back Bay
$10, 617-426-5000
www.nelaonline.org
Mom cover your eyes! The annual Fetish Fair and Flea goes down (errr) Saturday with workshops in Whip Cracking 101, Face Slapping and Knife Play. Bargain Leather Gear, Rapture Flogger and The Kink Academy are among this year’s — reow!!! —vendors.

Boston French Film Festival
Through July 27
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Ave., Boston
MBTA: Green E Line to Museum
$10, 617-267-9300
www.mfa.org
The 13th edition of the Boston French Film Festival continues this weekend with screenings of “The Girl Cut in Two,” “Actresses,” “Romance of Astrea and Celadon,” “Conversations With My Gardner” and “Shall We Kiss?” The series closes out next week with Abdellatif Kechiche’s hotly tipped “Games of Love and Chance,” Gérard Depardieu in “Michou d’Auber” and Audrey Tatou in “Hunting and Gathering.”

GospelFest
Sunday, 5-8 p.m.
City Hall Plaza
Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Government Center
Free, 617-635-3911
www.cityofboston.gov/arts
Traditionalists and contemporaries come together for this year’s GospelFest, sponsored in part by Metro. Get your hallelujah on with Israel and New Breed,  LeRoy Streat & Grace and Major Choirboy. 

CULTURAL

“Rare Political Works of Dr. Seuss” Exhibit
Through July 30
Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Newbury Fine Arts
29 Newbury St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Copley
Free, 617-536-0210
www.newburyfinearts.com
In response to his controversial Cold War illusions in “The Butter Battle Book,” Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) responded, “I’m not anti-military — just anti-crazy.” Oh, how the times haven’t changed. His politically-minded illustrations, including “Fooling Nobody” (shown), along with a handful of personal charms, are on display as part of this “Marvelous he” exhibit.

“Island of the Great White Shark”
Tonight, 7 p.m.
Harvard Museum of Natural History
26 Oxford St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
Thursday half-price night: $4.50 adults/$3 students
617-495-3045
www.hmnh.harvard.edu
Can’t wait for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week? Get an advance fill as Harvard Museum of Natural History screens “Island of the Great White Shark,” which follows research excursions off Guadalupe, Mexico. No fake sightings allowed. 

SPORTS

Boston Lobsters
Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m
Ferncroft Country Club
10 Village Road, Middleton
$25-$60, 877-617-LOBS
www.bostonlobsters.net
The Lobbies set up for two home matches, Friday facing off the Washington Kastles and Saturday Martina Navratilova leads the team against the Newport Beach Breakers. 

COME ON BABY, LIGHT MY FIRE
Still mourning the immeasurable losses of some of our greatest talents – George Carlin, Tim Russert and Harvey Korman? OK, how about grandpa or your great aunt Harriet, the one who snuck you the family’s secret spaghetti sauce recipe? You can send a message to the other side, as part of the 10th annual Lantern Festival, a Buddhist-owing ritual, tonight, 6 to 9 p.m. at Lake Hibiscus in the Forest Hills Cemetery (95 Forest Hills Ave., Jamaica Plain. MBTA: Orange Line to Forest Hills). Entry is free; suggested donation of $10 per lantern. The opening reception ($45 includes wine and nosh) kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Call 617-524-3354 or go to www.foresthillstrust.org for more info.