The world's just not as much fun as it used to be, what with all the global warming, credit crises, genocide, and other assorted world events that get us down, bum us out and convince us that, yeah, totally—the sky is falling. Thank goodness for Joe Hartman's new one man show, Overwhelming Underdogs, in its second strong week at Arts on Real. Hartman's writing and acting, Kirk German's directing, and maybe a glass of wine from the in-theatre bar is the perfect antidote to thinking about all that other stuff....

Saturday night at Stubb's will likely be awfully warm (the forecast shows around 90 degrees), but it's worth braving the August heat for this strong of a bill. For reasons unknown to us, Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case are both playing at Stubb's, a venue that either performer could likely play on their own. Rufus Wainwright is the moody, theatrical brother in the musical Wainwright clan, which includes father Loudon Wainwright III, sister Martha,......