THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER

Don't throw away your crusty tube of black and white Halloween face make-up just yet. Save it for the KISS reunion tour, a.k.a. the "Psycho Circus World Tour" coming to the Fleet Center tonight. You can "rock and roll all night" with your favorite 70s freakazoids of black leather garb. 7:30 p.m., Fleet Center (North Station T-stop), 931-2000. Tickets $37.50 to $55.

For those interested in trying their musical talents in front of a crowd but consider Karaoke "beneath them," open mike night at Cafe Soho is the perfect opportunity. Join the ranks of "long-haired ex-hippies, ruffled grad students and frat boys strumming guitars" in the Back Room, but make sure to write your name down when you come in. 8 p.m., Cafe Soho, 11 Springfield St., Cambridge, (near Cambridge St.), 354-7040. $3 Cover.

The Boston Public Library is offering "Booked Flicks," a discussion for young adults about books that have crossed over to the big screen. This week's installment will consider Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 7 p.m. Uphams Corner Branch Library, 200 Columbia Rd., Dorchester. 265-0139. FREE.

The weather outside is just frightful, which means, of course, that it's time to wax those skis and snowboards (as well as that unsightly back hair). Uprising heralds the coming of the season, promising unknown destinations, first descents and the exploration of virgin terrain. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., showtime at 8 p.m., Morse Auditorium, 602 Commonwealth Ave., (near Boston University), (401) 274-0001. Tickets $5.

It'll be worth it to ignore section work tonight. The Boston Conservatory is trotting out the big guns to tickle the ivories with the second installment of the "Piano Masters in Recital" series. Acclaimed Greek pianist Dimitri Toufexis will perform works by Debussy, Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Gershwin. 8 p.m. Seully Hall, 8 The Fenway, Boston. 912-9122. FREE.

FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER

Go to the University Health Services Monks Library and hear Jackie Neely extol the virtues of Echinacea and St. John's Wort. This lecture series called "Benefits of Complementary Therapies" focuses on the now en vogue subject of herbal remedies. It's all about ginseng, baby. Yeah baby. Yeah. 12 p.m., UHS, Holyoke Center, Monks Library, 2nd Floor, 495-9629. FREE.

Tired of the Harvard drama scene? Tonight's a chance to get out of the campus atmosphere and check out the opening night of a "poignant tragicomedy" at the Peabody House Theatre Co-op. The play is Marvin's Room, about a woman suffering from leukemia and dealing with her dysfunctional family. 8 p.m., 277 Broadway, Somerville, 625-1300. Tickets $14, $10 for students.

Put on your Oscar-best and head over to the Museum of Fine Arts for a different sort of awards bash: The World's Best TV Ads 1: The Best of the Cannes Film Festival 1998. Perhaps you'll decide that commercials really are the best part of TV. Then, if this is the case, stay for The World's Best TV Ads 2: The British Advertising Broadcast Awards. Call the MFA at 267-9300 for more details.

Haven't done all your Christmas Shopping yet? Fear not! On Friday the 11th Annual Christmas Festival opens at the World Trade Center. Go bask in the joy of the holiday season and find that perfect gift for everyone on your list at the 350 boutiques which line the walls of the World Trade Center. There are many unique gifts handmade by craftsmen as well as many interesting culinary offering such as chocolate covered cranberries. Friday, 12 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., World Trade Center (South Station T-Stop). FREE (before you pull out mommy's credit card).

Johnny D's Uptown, that outrageously rocking Davis Square hangout, proudly presents Afroblue and Fantcha, two acts that bring African, Caribbean and Latin sounds with them today. The dancing and the music promise to be great. So cast off those bad luck blues and put on those dancing shoes. 8 p.m. Johnny D's Uptown, 17 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville, 776-2004, $9 cover.

The Australians are coming! The Sydney Symphony Orchestra sails into Boston's Symphony Hall to mesmerize New England with what The Evening Sun promises will be a "highlight of Boston's performance season." The program includes Koehne's "Elevator Music," Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat Major," and Richard Strauss's "Symphony domestica." 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 482-6661, Tickets $15 to 35.

SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER

The Javanese gamelan ensemble of the Tufts Music Department and Boston Village Gamelan join forces to close World Music Week at Tufts. 8 p.m. Granoff Family Hillel Center, Packard Ave., Tufts University, Medford, 627-3564, FREE.