‘RIGHT BETWEEN THE EARS’

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Abu Ghraib,” Donald Rumsfeld’s “image” problem, Barbie and Ken break up and Bob Dylan does TV commercials are among the sketches one can expect from Kansas Public Radio’s “Right Between the Ears.” The comedy troupe will broadcast its spoof-oriented, song-filled shows live on KPR stations while performing 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.

THE ROUNDERS

Four years ago, a rock quartet based out of Norman, Okla., called Common Ground (no relation to the long-standing Lawrence reggae act) decided to throw away its Gov’t Mule T-shirts, burn its Black Crowes’ albums and become a blues band. Reformed as The Rounders, the group is a true tapestry of American roots music — piecing together acoustic blues, Southern folk and ragtime melody. The Rounders play 11 p.m. Saturday at The Jackpot Saloon, 943 Mass.

ARCHITECTS

The Gadjits may have changed their name, but the group’s show-stopping revival rock remains in full effect with Architects. Less consciously hip than any of the “The” bands of ’02 (Strokes, Hives, Mooney Suzuki) but nearly as capable, Architects deliver some big-league goods on their debut, “Keys to the Building.” (The band signed with RCA but was promptly shown the door when the label consolidated … what was Clive Davis thinking?) Architects join Shaggy Haired Outcasts and Jordan Geiger 10:30 p.m. today at The Jackpot Saloon, 943 Mass.

Poetry readings

Poet and editor Brian Daldorph says of “Vanishing Point,” Mickey Cesar’s new poetry collection: “These are poems of Saturday nights alone and Sunday morning cafes full of cigarette smoke, coffee gone cold and longing. An angel descends from heaven to sit on a barstool next to a lonely man, then leaves him to another ‘ashtray morning’ on dirty sidewalks, ‘when love dies like a forgotten melody.’ Cesar, a Lawrence poet who’s on two-week’s leave from his Army Reserve unit in Kuwait, will read from his book during release events 8 p.m. Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H., and 3 p.m. Sunday at Prospero’s Books, 1800 W. 39th St., in Kansas City, Mo.

‘Affluenza!’

American Heartland Theatre tonight opens James Sherman’s comedy “Affluenza!” the story of a man who lives quietly in a high-rise with his loyal assistant and $650 million. Everything changes when he falls in love with a young woman who others believe is only after his money. To complicate matters, the man’s nephew falls for the woman, too. Who gets what and who ends up with whom is revealed in surprise after surprise. The show plays at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at American Heartland Theatre, Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.