FILM: During a time in which the military is desperate for new recruits, unless you're openly gay, Ask Not exposes the tangled political battles that led to the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its 1993 passage. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how the policy has affected them during their tours of duty as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust.

6 p.m. // Koret Auditorium, SF Main Library (100 Larkin St) // free

SALON: Tonight's salon, Coping With The New Economy, marks the start of a brand-new, bi-weekly series at Samovar's Hayes Valley location. Some of the finest Bay Area minds in finance, spirituality, technology, entrepreneurialism, self help, and the environment are brought together in an interview/forum format, moderated by Samovar owner Jesse Jacobs and events associate Jennifer Sauer (author of The Way to Tea: Your Adventure Guide to San Francisco Tea Culture).

7 p.m. // Samovar Tea Lounge (297 Page St) // $12

MUSIC: The New Century Chamber Orchestra's Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg premieres a new violin concerto by featured composer Clarice Assad at Shadows and Light. "The orchestra leads a journey through sweet dreams and nightmares, from the lighter tones of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Borodin’s Nocturne to the terror of Bernard Herrmann’s gripping Psycho Suite. The pinnacle of the evening is Mats Lidstrom’s string orchestra arrangement of the overture to Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, a hilarious opera of love and revenge."

8 p.m. // Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Ave) // $32