New York Times bestselling author Augusten Burroughs just released a new book, A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father. But while his oddly comedic Running With Scissors amused a hefty following of voyeurs — and scored a movie deal starring Annette Bening and Gwyneth Paltrow and, oh yeah, elicited charges of fabrication — Burroughs’s latest chronicle carries a darker tone. We talked to him about reliving memories, writing about the past and being called a liar. Catch him at the Free Library this Saturday. — Cheryl McEvoy

The new book — about your distant, alcoholic father — is being touted as a much more serious book than Running With Scissors. Do you think fans will miss the laughs?
I think some fans will and others will embrace the tone. A lot of people don’t have great fathers. The statistics on abuse are just incredible … But it’s a darker book, it’s a more intense book … It was just bald earnestness. I think some people may shake this book and say, “Hey, the funny’s broken,” but I think far more people will relate to it.

Are you trying to give people hope?
A good memoir, I believe, is when you come across a passage that explains exactly how you felt, it makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world and immediately connected … But I always write for myself. I don’t write what I think readers will like. And people nod at the truth.

Your new memoir is already being scrutinized for falsified facts. How do you deal with that?
Frankly, I welcome the scrutiny … I think [fabrication] cheapens the memoir, especially for people who are trying to write about their experiences and the truth. I think the press, what they do is miss the forest and the trees and just look at the bark. Like “You said you wore blue pants, but we called the manufacturer, and they only make the pants in brown and green.” But I have a good memory … I’ve had a crazy life — I don’t need to make things up.

Your website contains pictures from your childhood. Kinda eerie, actually. Do you find it hard to put your life on display?
It’s counterintuitive, but I don’t — only because I’ve written so many memoirs. There are stories I wish I hadn’t wrote … But for every [story], people come up to me and say “Me too, me too, me too.” Some people see me as a freak, but some people relate to it. People are very embracing of honesty.

Any regrets? Do you feel like you’re exploiting people from your childhood?
I don’t regret anything I’ve written. I regret the way I come off sometimes. There’s a distinction there … Whenever you write about family, you accept the risk that they may lash out. You don’t know how people will respond. But I feel I have the right to write about my life. What makes it worth it is getting to that human truth.

How do you deal with the emotions that bubble up when you’re writing?
It can be harrowing. Writing A Wolf at the Table was a very physical process. It was draining. My hands were cold and shaking like I was outside. I spent many years of my life trying to avoid discomfort and to avoid memories, but you just have to fly into like a hurricane. My memory is a double-edged sword — I can remember being eight months old … but the memories are also very vivid. When I’m writing, I don’t leave the house if I don’t have to. Maybe it’s my nature from when I used to drink — I become consumed by it until it’s done. And then I don’t write at all.

Long before their breakthrough HBO series, Canadian troupe The Kids in the Hall comedy-sketched their way across theater stages, in front of live audiences. Tonight, they get back to those basics at the Keswick in Glenside, where very limited seating is available. Need a refresher? Watch this clip of the Inexperienced Cannibal. $39.50 to $45; 8 p.m.

The South Street Headhouse District’s 8 Days of Eats celebration (think Restaurant Week, but all South Street-area restaurants) kicks off tonight with samples from places like Django, Xochitl, and Zot from 7-9 p.m. at Headhouse Square (2nd Street, between Pine and Lombard). At 8 p.m., the French will flood Verizon Hall for a performance by Orchestre National de France ($33-$115). And on the Main Line, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute hosts a special screening of King Corn, a documentary about Public Enemy Number One: corn. Yes, the vegetable.

Jewels and Binoculars plays jazz improvs based on the music of Bob Dylan, without a guitar in sight (though there are plenty of reed instruments). Seems downright sacrilegious, though the New York Times’s Ben Ratliff just gave it his stamp of approval. Tonight, they celebrate the release of their new album, Ships With Tattooed Sails, at the International House. $12; 8 p.m.

$25 a laugh … Three hundred and twenty-five bucks to see Billy Crystal at the Borgata? Sheesh. I always knew I was in the wrong line of work, but this is ridiculous. Should your pockets not run quite so deep but you still need a few laughs, master impersonator Frank Caliendo — also at the Borgata — comes in at a much more reasonable $39.50. Both gentlemen perform Friday and Saturday night, as does Jimmy Shubert (King of Queens, Comedy Central Presents …), whose Helium shows will set you back a mere $30 for a reserved seat ($25 unreserved).

Both gay but in totally different ways … And now from the department of Back from the Dead, I give you the Moody Blues, who are unique in that they achieved success while completely eluding coolness, on any level. The Tower seems like the perfect place for a little “Nights in White Satin.” I do hope they recite the poem at the end — you know: “Breathe deep the gathering gloom …” But it’s my birthday, and the Moody Blues are far too serious for birthday galavanting. Perhaps the B-52s at the Electric Factory will do the trick. The Blues and the Bs both play tonight, so if you are part of the nonexistent demographic that would have a hard time choosing which of the two shows to attend, I guess you have something thinking to do.

A little local talent … Saxman Bootsie Barnes blows at Chris’ Jazz Cafe tonight. Folksy Linda Cohen, who was something at one time, sees if she still is with a Sunday gig at Tin Angel. And for those who like their music loud and jumpy, punk/funk Black Landlord takes the Khyber on Saturday.

My boss made me do it … All the old guys in my office talk about former Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez, who apparently was at one time the great savior of Philadelphia journalism. Steve Lopez this, Steve Lopez that. And it’s always “Steve Lopez,” full name. Never “Steve” or “Lopez,” which in this business is a level of respect afforded to few. It kind of feels like when my dad gets all teary-eyed over Tom Landry. Anyway, Steve Lopez recently wrote a book called The Soloist, about a homeless musical genius in Los Angeles, which Steve Lopez now calls home. And it sounds like Steve Lopez is doing all right for himself, since they’re now making a movie of the book starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. Not too shabby. On Saturday, my boss — Larry Platt — will drool over interview Steve Lopez about all of this at the Free Library.

From drag queens to Orwell … Lots of new plays to consider. The short list: Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Latvian Society (reviewed by our new critic, MB Case); Animal Farm at Mum Puppettheatre (the Inquirer called it “just right”); and Bug by Tracy Letts, who just won the 2008 Pulitzer for drama, at Christ Church.

And for the little terrors … Seems like a perfect weekend to visit Longwood Gardens, where spring is out of hand. On Saturday, they debut three brand-new tree houses — Lookout Loft, Canopy Cathedral, and the Birdhouse — with lots of educational activities for your budding arborist, though I might steer them more in the direction of “tree surgeon,” given the price that this guy quoted me recently to save my dying tree. (I cut it down with a chainsaw.)

If you want to avoid the scalpers and Craigslist scams, consult this handy guide to the shows soon to go on sale …

Snoop Dogg, the man who brought us “Gin and Juice” and the suffix “-izzle,” brings the honeys and suitcases full of weed (and, oh yeah, bands Fiction Plane and 311) to the Festival Pier on July 17th. $49.50. On sale this Friday, 10 a.m.

A picnic-perfect show: Sheryl Crow with James Blunt and Toots & the Maytals at the Mann Center on August 2nd. $49.50-$85. On sale this Saturday, 10 a.m.

Love ’em or hate ’em (I fall into the latter category) Steely Dan does the Borgata on June 27th. Ticket prices not published yet, but you can bet it will be expensive, and it will sell out, just like everything else at the Borgata. UPDATED: Tickets are $75 to $125. On sale this Saturday, 10 a.m.

And the born-in-Philly Paul Green School of Rock throws its annual festival, this year with the Dropkick Murphys, the Butthole Surfers and, yes, Devo! Festival Pier and the Electric Factory, June 27th through 29th. Individual shows $25 to $37.50. Two- and three-day discounted passes available. On sale this Saturday, 10 a.m.

Our new theater critic MB Case takes a look at Azuka’s stab at cult classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It should be noted that the performance she attended was a preview. The play opens tonight.

Take a musical about a fictional glam rock band fronted by a transgendered singer who has an “angry inch” thanks to a botched sex-change operation, throw in Dito van Reigersberg – one of Philadelphia’s most beloved actors and drag queens – and expect, rightly in this case, a good show. Azuka Theatre’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, under the direction of Kevin Glaccum, delivers in this rock opera that has been a cult favorite since its off-Broadway debut in 1998.

(more…)

A pretty good way to blow the next ten minutes would be to watch Jimmy Shubert’s (King of Queens, Comedy Central) Conjoined Twin Country Singer routine. He returns to his hometown for a four-night run at Helium. $10 to $15; 8 p.m.

Downstairs at World Cafe Live, there’s Colin Hay, whom you’d probably best remember as the man who brought you “Who Can It Be Now” and “Down Under” (remember what you looked like when this video came out?) as lead singer for 1980s ensemble Men at Work. $30; 7:30 p.m.

You know the country is in dire straits when most of your friends are going to election return parties. If you just can’t figure out what to wear to such an event and would prefer to avoid it altogether, I give you …

• Why watch the talking heads on TV when one of the best is at the Free Library tonight? Cokie Roberts should have a few things to say, other than just about her new book, Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation. $7 to $14; 8 p.m.

• Politically minded French ska/swing/punk/reggae 10-piece Babylon Circus at World Cafe Live. They are lots of fun, and Communist sympathizers to boot! $25 to $35; 7:30 p.m.

• First Person Arts presents its monthly Story Slam at L’Etage. Think of a poetry slam, but one where you get up and tell a true story about yourself corresponding to the theme, which this month is “An Awkward Pause.” If you’re too shy to tell a story, sign up to be a judge. Get there early — these normally sell out. $5 to $10; 8:30 p.m.

Thank God there is something to do tonight other than sit at home and watch George-effin-W-Bush’s guest appearance on Deal or No Deal. If the contestant that apparently idolizes our Commandant-in-Chief wins the million, you know the fix is in. For sure … Without further ado, Alicia Keys has won 11 Grammys, sold many millions of albums, and has just about as many looks, all of them divinely beautiful. See which one she pulls out tonight at the Liacouras Center. $49 to $126; 7:30 p.m.