Whassup: Gridiron Edition

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You guys are super excited for the start of football season, aren't you? Oh, sorry, forgot this was Park Slope. Let me rephrase: You guys are super excited for the start of pumpkin latte/organic soup/harvest beer season, aren't you? Such a great time of year. You can root for your favorite pumpkin spice craft beer every Sunday, toss the old decorative gourd around, and pull on your trusty fall-palette sweater. Yes, August may be in the rearview now, but there remain things to be drunk and shows to be clapped at. Welcome to Whassup: Gridiron Edition:  

* Saturday, Sept. 7: Shaky Pollack's Opening, Jalopy (Red Hook): Shaky Dave is the entertainingly manic harmonicartist who is often the best part of the show for Slope-area musical institutions Alex Battles & The Whiskey Rebellion and the M Shanghai String Band. But the Shaky One also works in paint -- or "the pigment harp," if you will. A set of his Pollack-esque pieces will adorn the walls of string emporium Jalopy Theatre, opening today. Come, ahem, shake the artist's hand. 5pm-8pm, FREE.

* Saturday, Sept. 7: Exquisite Celebration, powerHouse Arena: Slice Literary is hosting a reading from one of my favorite writing games: exquisite corpse. If you don't know, exquisite corpse happens when one writer starts a story, then folds over the paper, leaving only the final sentence he or she wrote revealed. The next writer must then continue the story, and then the process repeats for the next writer in line. Weird, silly, perhaps even serendipitously moving things can happen. It's sort of like high-class Mad Libs or telephone. Sort of. Readers include Scott Cheshire, author of "High as the Horses' Bridles," Fiona Maazel, author of "Woke Up Lonely," and more. All of that, plus free beer from Sixpoint. 6:30pm, FREE.

* Saturday, Sept. 7: M Shanghai, Jalopy (Red Hook): After the art opening, see Shaky Dave in his natural habitat, shaking (and all-out killing it on the blues harp) with M Shanghai. The raucous, 10-person folk band will play two sets.  9pm, $10.

* Saturday, Sept. 7: '90s Alternative Sing-Along, Union Hall: Wash that *NSYNC reunion aftertaste right out of your mouth with that big catch-all for the music that "Nevermind" made possible: "Alternative." Forget that alternative came to mean nearly everything and really nothing by the end of the decade; if you were there, you still know the patina of artistic merit the term could lend to the music you liked. It meant not-corporate (even though the very same corporations that peddled Motley Crue were now selling you your smashed pumpkins and piping hot peppers). Anyway, the music still holds up: belt out hits by Counting Crows, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Alanis and more -- all with your newest best friends: an audience of like-minded singer-alongers. 10pm, $8.

* Starting Monday, Sept. 9: Monro Pinball Wizards: South Slope pub Monro is joining the Pinball NYC competition, and looking for team members. Do you possess the requisite wizardry? Can you thrust your hips against the machine as though you are making violent love to it FOR THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE DOING!? You can also register your own team at pinballnyc.com. 

* Monday, Sept. 9: Ask Me Another, Bell House: NPR's quiz show returns in all its charm to Bell House for another set of live tapings. The usually delightful Ophira Eisenberg hosts, with guest Tom Ruprecht, a former "Late Show" writer who has just composed an oral history of J.D. Salinger. He's probably not a big phony. 7:30pm, $15.

* Wednesday, Sept. 11: Aimee Mann + Ted Leo, Bell House: Really not sure how this is not sold out, but I guess y'all just aren't as excited as I am about Aimee Mann teaming up with Ted Leo, performing and recording as "The Both." So what do you get when you combine one part super-sad/pretty folk from Mann and OG punk from Leo? You get some awesome is what you get. From what I've heard, "The Both" melds Mann's ridiculously pretty vocals to spacey guitar work by Leo, along with some smooth harmonies. And the two have a funny, ball-busting stage banter with each other. (Also, apparently their collaboration came about in part through mutual admiration for Thin Lizzy. So there's that to love as well.) 9pm, $25.

* NOW OPEN: Meltkraft: Last week, something wonderful and gooey happened on 9th Street: Meltkraft, a gourmet (artisanal? probably artisanal) grilled cheese shop opened. It's in the former Almondine space next to the subway entrance at 9th St. and 7th Ave. So go on and love ya some cheese.  

* COMING UP: Sept. 22: Walk/Run for Animals, Prospect Park: Brooklyn realtors Temple Tomorrow want to make your legs help the furriest among us. On Sept. 22, they're hosting their first in a series of "fun" runs (because there's nothing more fun than exercise!) on behalf of various charities. This one will benefit Sean Casey Animal Rescue, which saves and houses pets. Meet at the 15th St. entrance to the Park, and proceed on a casual run/walk around the Prospect, ending with a BBQ at Temple's offices. Minimum donation is $25 (you can also just donate and come to the BBQ). 12pm, $25.