ZAP TO IT: Long before Corinne Bailey Rae and her ilk made quirkily husky singing voices all the rage, Marie Daulne, the one-woman band otherwise known as Zap Mama, was plying her own distinctive version thereof. She's made six albums now, all infused with a sort of Afro-Cuban-funky-loungey kind of vibe that's become her trademark. Hear it at Joe's Pub at 10PM.
BIRDS & BEES: Storytelling reminiscence slams are all the rage these days -- hearing grown-ups recount the embarrassing experiences of their childhood makes for an entertaining evening (not to mention reassuring -- thank God it wasn't just us!). Drop tonight's "How I Learned About Sex" event into the pantheon: Performers like Cynthia Kaplan and Claudia Cogan overshare about those awkward coming-of-age moments when you find out what, exactly, this sex business is all about. Happy Ending, 8PM.
GENE THERAPY: He's one of the funniest, quirkiest, sensitive American actors we can think of, so it's no surprise that Gene Wilder's second act -- as a novelist -- has him creating stories full of wit, quirk and heart. Tonight, he reads from his latest, the slim, utterly wonderful The Woman Who Wouldn't, a love story that turns doom on its nose (and drops in Vladimir Nabokov as a peripheral character). Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble, 7:30PM.
