WED Wed. 6/11 Jeff Black Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jeff ...

Jeff Black

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jeff Black cut his teeth (and earned himself a mighty cult following) with his 1998 album, Birmingham Road, a gorgeous collection of songs powerful and honest in a way most of your singer-songwriters nowadays only pretend to be. On his latest, B-Sides & Confessions, he strips things down considerably, scales back a bit, lets his voice do most of the work, and the results are incredible. His tunes about losers, loners, wanderers and dreamers are both tough and tender, infused with what sounds like a well-earned wisdom. We're especially fond of "Bastard." The Cutting Room, 19 W. 24th St. (betw. B'way & 6th Ave.), 212-691-1900; 11, $10.

Thurs. 6/12

Shojin cooking

By now you've tried every diet in the book. Lost a few pounds on the Atkins, gained a few when you broke down and gorged on carbs. Lost a few with Weight Watchers, gained them back when the program got too expensive. It's time for something that's healthy for both body and soul. The vegetarian Shojin cooking, derived from a Buddhist tea ceremony, treats food as part of the path to enlightenment. If you're just coming off yet another yo-yo cycle, or even if you just want to improve your eating habits, this might be the thing. Find out in this lecture by Toshio Tanahashi, who runs a shojin restaurant in Tokyo. Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), 212-715-1253; 6:30, $10.

Fri. 6/13

Los Hermanos Rodriguez

In celebration of their debut album LHR, the three post-punk boys from Washington, DC, know a thing or two about throwing back drinks and bringing the definitive two-minute pop song back into our radar screens. Imagine if the Buzzcocks switched off the distortion, moved to the U.S. back in '77 and let their drummer sing a song about "American Beauty." (And Pete Shelley stopped whining about his breakups, and was reincarnated as LHR's David Ridgeway.) Only then would we suspect they were kicking it live as Los Hermanos Rodriguez. We'll be swimming in our audio-sweat, so to speak. Continental, 25 3rd Ave. (St. Marks Pl.), 212-529-6924; 9, $5.

The Future of the Peace movement

Can grassroots work still effect progressive change in the world? What is the viability of revolution in an era of Enron, Ashcroft and preemptive strikes? Tonight, join a slew of well-known veteran activists for an evening discussion of these and other questions with Revolution and the Future of the Peace Movement. Panelists include former Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver, former Weather Underground members Brian Flanagan and Cathy Wilkerson and student activists from Students for Global Justice, Jews Against the Occupation and Hunter SLAM. Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Sq. S. (betw. Thompson & Sullivan Sts.), 917-374-7087; 7, free.

Sat. 6/14

Blackalicious

In what some of us think a very, very good thing, Mos Def has been removed from tonight's Celebrate Brooklyn! 2003 program. In his place? The dazzalicious Blackalicious?once again performing with the silver tongue of founding member Tim Parker, aka Gift of Gab. Expect a night of good vibes courtesy of the pipes and hands behind some of the sharpest, most soulful rhymes of the last decade. Poet and musician Sekou Sundiata opens the night. Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park W. & 9th St.), Park Slope, 718-855-7882; 7:30, $3 sugg. don.

Rollins Band

If you see Henry Rollins on the street, you'll notice that the king of spoken-word rage is something like five-feet tall and four-feet across. It makes sense that he screams like a prisoner working on his third day of solitary?he keeps enough anger for five guys in one bulked up lil' body. Tonight, he puts his solo repertoire aside in favor of the fist-in-the-face directness of the band that made him a star. Rollins and his little gang of merry men are joined by two other eightysomething-year-olds from the original Black Flag to play an all-Black Flag show. The concert is in support of the West Memphis 3, the teenage subjects of cable-tv documentary Paradise Lost, who are accused of murder. Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl. (15th St.), 212-777-6800; 8, $22, $20 adv.

Dixon Place

It might not have a place of its own at the moment, but it's taking advantage of its transition to spread the word all over town. This week the Upper West Side gets the treatment as Dixon Place hosts its annual festival of new musical theater. Low-budget, high-intensity and entertaining all around, not to mention inexpensive, it would be hard to go wrong with any of the six programs. As the show's creators say, you're not liable ever to see any of this on Broadway or at the Met, but that's exactly what's so great about it. Makor, 35 W. 67th St. (betw. Columbus Ave. & Central Park W.), 212-601-1000; 9 & 10:30, $15, $10 st./s.c.

Sun. 6/15

Richard Price Reading

If his books were half as long and twice as cool, Richard Price would be the heir apparent to Elmore Leonard. Price writes crime fiction with grace, elegance and grit. His credits include the book and screenplay for Spike Lee's underrated Clockers and Michael Jackson's "Bad" video. (He wrote "you ain't bad, you ain't nothing.") His most recent novel, Samaritan, reads like a cross between Boyz N the Hood and Welcome Back Kotter. It's a dirty good time that'll make your commute seem five minutes shorter. Also, judging from his author photos, in person he'll look either like an emaciated Sylvester Stallone or Lou Reed's unhip younger brother. KGB, 85 E. 4th St. (betw. 2nd Ave. & Bowery), 212-505-3360; 7, free.

Can't Let Go

Fans of actor-playwright Keith Reddin and Broadway ingenue Rebecca Luker (and they are legion) will be out milling in the streets when word gets out about the world premiere of Can't Let Go, Reddin's infectious new workplace comedy of bad manners, which the Keen Company is presenting under the direction of its inspired leader, Carl Forsman. The divine Luker, entrancing in her first non-singing role since?well, probably since puberty?plays a slow-to-rile office worker besieged by a constant stream of unreasonable would- and won't-be lovers, all of whom have an unnerving tendency to burst into beautifully choreographed and lip-synched musical numbers. Oleanna meets The Singing Detective? We're just waiting for the soundtrack album. The Connelly Theater, 220 E. 4th (betw. Aves. A & B), 212-868-4444; 5, $15.

Mon. 6/16

Apologize to Dad Day

Yesterday was Father's Day, and you forgot. Again. Call him up and say you're sorry. Tell him you were at the laser doctor's getting that Slayer tattoo removed. Tell him you really appreciate being alive and everything and can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving. Tell him whatever you want, but do give the guy a call. He's getting old.

Tues. 6/17

Chocolate exhibit

Whether you're licking it off your partner's navel or buying it for a Father's Day gift, chocolate drips into every crevice of our lives. Come learn about its 2000-year-old history in the Chocolate exhibit, which includes everything from Mayan pottery to 19th-century cocoa tins. But don't touch the chocolate sculptures?they'll melt in your hands. American Museum of Natural History, Central Park W. (79th St.), 212-769-5100; 10-5:45, $19, $14.50 st/s.c., $12 child.

Contributors: Mimi Kramer-Bryk, Adam Bulger, Katharine Crane, Art Janik, Mallory Jensen, Jim Knipfel, Andy Wang, Alexander Zaitchik.