Going out

        Country fest: Riverbend Music Center kicks off its 2001 season with a mighty big twang — Volunteer Jam, the Southern rock extravaganza filled with such classic acts Charlie Daniels Band and 38 Special, along with the soon to be classic Dickey Betts Bandand Trent Summar and the New Row Mob. 7 p.m. today, $17.75-$27.75. 562-4949.

        House tours: It's a slice of Victoriana and a look over your architectural shoulder at Hamilton's Dayton Lane Historic Area May Promenade — restored homes, carriage rides, live music, too. 1-5 p.m. today, $10, benefits neighborhood projects. (513) 868-8650.

        Theater: Ensemble Theatre turns its interns loose on a showcase — the dramatic anthology Back Story, a modern piece by 18 playwrights exploring decades of sibling loyalty, love and rivalry. 7 p.m. today-Tuesday, ETC, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. Free. 421-3555.

        Eddie Daniels: The legendary jazz clarinetist takes a deep breath and toots away with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble and faculty artists in an afternoon of new and classic jazz. 2 p.m. today, UC's Corbett Auditorium, $35 benefits the William Lawless Jones Jazz Fund. 556-4183.

Staying In

        TV picks: ABC has saved the best for last, airing Anne Frank (9-11 p.m. today and Monday) in the final week of May sweeps. Fourteen-year-old Hannah Taylor Gordon stars as the Jewish girl in Amsterdam in the film based on the book by Melissa Muller.

        • Critic John Kiesewetter also says Anne Frank viewers may want to set the VCR at 9 p.m. for the season finales of The Sopranos (HBO) and The X-Files (Channels 19, 45).

        Radio note: Brian Douglas broadcasts live from Pearl Harbor on WKRQ-FM (101.9) 6-8 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday with stars of the new Pearl Harbor movie.

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: Opera goes a'rapping when Mary Jane Phillips-Matz talks about “The Life of Giacomo Puccini and Madame Butterfly,” part of Cincinnati Opera's “Opera Raps” series on the 2001 summer festival. Noon Monday, Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., downtown. $5 (reservation required). 621-0717.

        48 hours out: Kobie Kruger signs and discusses The Wilderness Family, her gritty memoir about raising three children in South Africa's Kruger National Park. 7 p.m. Tuesday,Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        72 hours 'til Wednesday: Country guitar legend Junior Brown does his strummin' and twangin' thang. 8 p.m., Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport. $16-$20. 779-9462.

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