With sweet, girly vocals and sexy percussion that teeters between bright and sunny and dark and sultry, Brooklyn, N.Y., trio Gang Gang Dance brings on the beat with interesting instrument combinations that’ll make you want to get up and get down. 10 p.m. $10. The Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore. 410-662-0069.
MUSIC
Legendary pianist Leon Fleisher is the guest of honor at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall tonight, celebrating his 80th birthday and a career spanning more than 60 years. Displaying his versatility, Fleisher will conduct and perform on an all-Mozart program with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Works include Mozart Symphony No. 35, “Haffner,” Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, and Mozart Symphony No. 40. 8 p.m. $25-60. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall at Cathedral and Preston streets, Baltimore. 410-783-8000.
Blurring the lines between fusion, contemporary jazz and chamber music, Metaphor comes to town to promote its new album “Temporary Suspension,” which features African, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, straight-ahead, and rock grooves. The ensemble feature Jacob Yoffee, saxophone; James Johnson, III, drums; Mike Murray, piano and keyboards and Jeremy McDonald, bass. 8 and 9:30 p.m. $5-10. An die Musik Live, 409 N. Charles Street, Baltimore. 410-385-2638.
Huntington Beach, Calif., indie artist Matt Costa rocks the keyboard with earnest songs á la the James Blunt school of rock. 8 p.m. $18-20. Recher Theatre, 512 York Road, Towson. 410-337-7210.
The Friday Night Seafood JazzFest features music by Larzine and exciting giveaways, including an overnight stay at the Marriott and free Sunday Brunch passes. 6 to 9 p.m. Free. The Marriott Inner Harbor’s Cafe Promenade, 110 South Eutaw St., Baltimore. 410-962-0202.
THEATER
Check out The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s “Forever Plaid,” which tells the story of four high school friends who meet in the early 1950s and form a four-part harmony singing group. The play begins when they return from the afterlife after a freak car accident for one last chance at musical fame. 8:30 p.m. $15-18. Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, 143 Compromise St., Annapolis. 410-268-9212
FILM
See “Some Like It Hot,” the tale of Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood Campus hosts Hopkins Summer Outdoor Films night. Bring your own blankets (no alcoholic beverages allowed). 7:30 p.m. Free. Keyser Quadrangle at Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus, at the intersection of Charles and 34th streets, Baltimore.
Bring the whole family out tonight to see the kid-friendly adventure story “The Golden Compass,” adapted from Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy, on the big screen at dusk. 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Free. Columbia Town Center Lakefront (Lake Kittamaqundi) at Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. 410-715-3161
Head to Little Italy Open Air Film Festival for a showing of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” the 2002 feel-good love drama written by Greek-American writer (and star) Nia Vardalos. 9 p.m. Free. At the intersection of High and Stiles streets, Baltimore.
WINE & DINE
Celebrate all things French at tonight’s Bastille Day Wine Tasting and Fundraiser for Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. A generous selection of wines, hor d’oeuvres, live music and a silent auction await. 7:30 to 11 p.m. $50-60. Elkridge Furnace Inn, 5745 Furnace Ave., Elkridge. 410-379-9336
EVENTS
Get nostalgic when Baltimore radio talkshow hosts reuinte for Marc, Troy, and Marva’s Big Phat Reunion Benefit Crabfeast and Party to raise funds for Baltimore Citywide Youth Football and Association of Black Media Workers Scholarship Fund. 7 p.m. $65. Martin’s West, 6817 Dogwood Road. 410-599-9159.
SATURDAY PREVIEW
An die Musik hosts the Jane Frank Birthday Concert Celebration, the 90th birthday tribute to Baltimore artist Jane Frank (1918-1986), a master of improvisation, song, poetry and toy piano music. Musicians playing in her honor of the late Frank include Rob Reid, drums; Will McEvoy, bass; Jon Leichty, Ruth Rose; Mark Hanson Williams, piano and toy pianos; Jessica Lennick, soprano and others. 8 and 10 p.m., $10. An die Musik Live, 409 N. Charles Street, Baltimore. 410-385-2638
Dr. Robert Steven Bianchi, Chief Curator, The Learning Center Museum in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art, Japan leads the presentation “Treasures from the Realm of the Queen of Sheba.” This fully illustrated lecture presents what is known about the Queen of Sheba and her legendary realm, which some scholars have placed in Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. 2 p.m. Saturday, $10. Graham Auditorium at The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore.
