The sixth installment of Grudge Rock is tonight at Re-bar with the Girls taking on the Blank-Its in a Family Feud style combat. In this week's paper, I interviewed Grudge Rock founder and host Jake Stratton and found out exactly what it takes to be one of the best gameshow hosts in the city:

Stratton says the inspiration for his hilarious Grudge Rock persona is legendary Family Feud host Richard Dawson.

"The Richard Dawson era is the best," Stratton says. "My preparation for becoming a game-show character is to go 'pinkies out.'" He laughs and daintily sticks his right pinky out. "It's the Dawson way. The entire day, leading up to the show, I'm pinkies out when I drink, when I ring people up on the cash register at my day job—and that's how I hold my microphone during the show. I'm collecting pinky rings to help me with that."

Beyoncé
(KeyArena) Fact #1: We will spend the rest of our lives looking at Beyoncé, a self-made superstar of the first (or at least second) order. Fact #2: The video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"—black-and-white, dance-packed, meticulously delivered—may stand forever as the woman's greatest work. From the flowing back and forth between Broadway dazzle and sex-drenched street moves to the gloriously odd off-key buzzing that swells under what would otherwise be a mercilessly repetitive chorus, the song-and-video combo makes for an endlessly watchable classic. Underlying everything—the shocking bursts of athleticism, the gold-star precision of the execution—is the fact that Beyoncé is a glamorous zillionaire who never needs to lift a leg again if she doesn't want to. But as a self-made superstar of the first (or at least second) order, she lives to please and dazzle and thrill us, and she'll do all three tonight at KeyArena. DAVID SCHMADER

Eugene Mirman, John Wesley Harding
(Tractor) Eugene Mirman, the funniest Eeyore in New York, is coming to town to shill his new book, The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life. Either before or afterward, English singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding will play some folky rock songs or rocky folk songs. Depending on what stratum you're slicing from Harding's career, he can be funny like Jonathan Coulton, rollicking like the Mekons, or even sparkly like Bowie. Between Mirman and Harding, it should be a highly entertaining evening. BRENDAN KILEY

Many more Wednesday night opportunities await you in our online listings.

Grudge Rock photo by Invisible Hour.