There''s bound to be one or two (OK, maybe more) sad sacks who couldn''t get tickets to the Monterey Jazz Festival. What to do? More specifically, what to do this Sunday?

Rather than staying home and brooding over your stack of warped LPs, we recommend trotting over to Bookworks in Pacific Grove, which has been hosting some eclectic and very wonderful musicians of late.

Singer/songwriter Christine Wedertz is the latest name to cross our radar and we''re only too glad to share her. She founded the group Lackadaisy (R.I.P.), for which she sang lead vocals and played guitar. Now Chris has gone solo, with auspicious results. Her all-acoustic set is made up of mostly original compositions, and is by turns evocative, melodic, unusual, appealing and beautiful. In other words, her sound is hard to pin down and also accessible.

The gig is Sept. 17 at 6:30pm at Bookworks, 667 Lighthouse, in Pacific Grove.

Lament for Lorca

Thursday, Sept. 21, Circo, the literature club at Hartnell College, is inviting members of the literature-loving public to a poetry reading. Mauri- cio Garnica, Circo''s prez, says the club wants to expose students and non-students alike "to some of the greatest writers of our time."

Thus, Circo has dedicated this reading to the work of Federico García Lorca, who was assassinated by a Fascist firing squad in 1936. If you''re already familiar with Lorca''s poems, a fresh look may help clear your head of the world''s more mundane noise. Influenced by gypsy ballads and the Andalusian folk music and poetry of his homeland, much of Lorca''s best work explores themes of passion, love and death. If you''re not familiar with him, be prepared to have your mind blown by the startling and evocative imagery of Spain''s greatest modern poet and playwright.

The reading is at noon, in HCC 116, Hartnell College, 156 Homestead, Salinas.

Music for a Song

The Carmel Music Society begins its 2000-2001 season on Oct. 18, with a performance by Danish baritone Bo Skovhus. The season lasts until April with performances by luminaries such as pianist Arcadi Volodos; chamber music trio Golub-Kaplan-Carr; the Munich Chamber Orchestra; and violinist Pamela Frank.

What makes this series so special is the concern its organizers have about the cutbacks in music instruction in local schools. Instead of just grumbling about the injustice of it all, the CMS has designed and implemented a program to provide free and low-cost tickets to music students. Middle-school, high-school and college students are eligible, and so are students receiving private music instruction in Monterey County. For information on the Student Ticket Program, call 625-9938.

Casting, Casting, Casting

In Thought Entertainment is looking for a few good locals to cast in a 16mm independent feature film to be shot partly in the Monterey and Salinas areas. Producer Alex Ortiz describes the film, called Gentlehands, as a "character-driven romantic drama about two teenagers." To quicken the pulse there is also a murder, a love affair and some dangerous family secrets, though perhaps not in that order.

The two principals are a girl-next-door type of about 19 and a handsome white guy, also 19. Send pics and resume to P.O. Box 642256, Los Angeles, CA 90064. More information can be found on the Monterey County Theatre Alliance Website, www.pblum.com/mcta/ index.html. Click on the link for Auditions and Opportunities.

--Tai Moses