MUSIC: RSVP now to attend a free outdoor show featuring an acoustic performance by local, Kill Rock Stars duo, Thao & Mirah, at Americano at Hotel Vitale as part of the Soundcheck 2011 Music Series. The band is a collaboration between the two artists, which NPR News says "captures both creative immediacy and a fruitful collaboration!" (5 to 8 p.m., Americano at Hotel Vitale, 8 Mission Street)

SCIENCE: At Infinite Reality, Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Virtual Human Interaction Lab and Associate Professor of Communication at Stanford University, will talk about how the latest advancements in our understanding of how the brain works, combined with the latest immersive digital technology, will make it possible for our great-grandchildren to know and have conversations with us in the future "in a virtual setting indistinguishable from reality." (6 p.m., The Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor)

CABARET: Have you stopped in at Martuni's lately? Dororthy's Closet has found yet another fun event: The Guerrilla Cabaret open mic promises "an evening of spontaneous, raw and unexpected vocal performance" accompanied by the Tom Shaw Trio performing jazz, swing, Latin, blues, standards and more. (7 p.m., Martuni's, 4 Valencia Street)