T2 on the Water; Poetry Mud Wrestling; Date a Jock; Big Apple Anime Fest; Motherfucker Party; "Mohawk Iron Workers"; Zuco 103

Cinema has its leading lady, and the visual arts had its dissected sharks. But does The First Ever World Champion Poetry Mud Wrestling Match finally answer that crucial question: Is there a literary equivalent to pyrotechnics? Find out tonight, Weds., Aug. 28, at the Bowery Poetry Club. Watch for hipsters in "Omniscient Narrator or Bust" t-shirts, supermodels insisting on the importance of the novel and guitar gods exchanging favorite Greek myths. 308 Bowery (betw. 1st & 2nd Sts.), 614-0505; 8 p.m., $5. If you've always wanted to attend a big soiree where there's no cover charge, with two-for-one drinks until 9 p.m. and a crowd of beautiful, tan muscle studs?you must go to Chelsea's uberchic lounge, xl, this Thurs., Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. The space?with its fabulous sound system, mood-shifting lights and brushed-steel esthetic?is hosting "Win a Date with a Jock," a contest presented by Balls, Boards & Blades. There's sure to be a multitude of he-men at this benefit for Out of Bounds NYC. The infamous Mabel Dawn Davis is the MC for the evening, and besides the chance to win dinner for two with a jock (seven studs will be up for grabs, if you know what we mean), there're also theater and movie ticket giveaways, plus other prizes. 357 W. 16th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 995-1400; free.

Remember seven or eight years ago, when anime was treated as an exotic fringe phenomenon and most major papers didn't even deign to review new titles when they opened? (Back then, it was referred to as "Japanimation.") Boy, how things have changed; now critics fall into two camps?those who pretend they were hip to anime and always liked it, and those who pretend they were hip to anime and always hated it. And its influence can be felt at every level of popular culture, from The Matrix to Web design to videogames. If you're a fan (or if you're just interested in finding out more), check out the Big Apple Anime Fest 2002, which runs Fri., Aug. 30, through Sept. 2 at the Marriott Marquis and in Virgin Megastore's Loews State Theater. The lineup includes screenings of new releases and anime classics (including Jin-Roh, Princess Mononoke and Vampire Hunter D), plus panel discussions and other conventiony stuff. The highlight is the premiere of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, the latest from Shinchiro Wantanabe (who'll be there that night), director of 1995's Macross Plus. If none of these titles rings a bell, we probably won't see you there. Cowboy Bebop screens Aug. 30, 7:45, at Loews State Theater, 1540 Broadway (46th St.), 391-3960; visit www.bigappleanimefest.com for complete schedule of events.

It's September again, and what better way to start off the back-to-school month than getting completely blitzed on booze and boogying your ass off at yet another Motherfucker party. This one is Sun., Sept. 1, and takes place at Club Shelter. The last Motherfucker party we were at rocked, and we got so fucked up all we remember is sitting on some throne listening to the punk and the rock, while everyone called us "your highness." And we weren't kidding. This time New York's best traveling party features a live performance by the Rapture (whoever the hell they are) and tunes spun on the main floor by Justine D. and Michael T. What's with everyone having a single letter for a last name? We dunno. Maybe we'll ask Johnny T. when we get there. Oh, and when you go, tell them New York P. sent you! 20 W. 39th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.), 719-4479; 10 p.m., $10-$15.

An alcoholic uncle once told us that the reason so many American Indians worked on skyscrapers and bridges was that they were born with no fear of heights. Racist nonsense, of course?the reason so many Indians (Mohawks from upstate and Canada, mostly) worked on New York's great boom projects of the 1930s and 1940s is because that's where the jobs and money were. Labor Day might be just the right time to celebrate the handiwork of these sometimes forgotten craftsmen by visiting "Booming Out: Mohawk Iron Workers Build New York," 67 photographs that tell the story of these intrepid working men who quite literally built New York. Just looking at some of these high-steel pictures will turn the back of your knees to jelly. After the exhibition, step outside to admire big-scale projects, like the Empire State Bldg., that they put together rivet-by-rivet. Through Oct. 15 at the National Museum of the American Indian's George Gustav Heye Center, 1 Bowling Green (betw. State & Whitehall Sts.), 514-3700; Fri.-Weds. 10-5, Thurs. 10-8, free.

The pretentiousness of "nu jazz" is reason enough to believe that dance music all too often lodges its tweeky head far up its ass. What's so jazzy about six guys sitting around a computer, programming arrhythmic beats? Amsterdam-based dancefloor jazz trio Zuco 103?led by Brazilian singer Lilian Vieira, German keyboardist Stefan Schmid and Dutch drummer Stefan Kruger?evades comparisons to shallow electronic trends with their second full-length effort, Tales of High Fever, a warm, uptempo funk-fest beefed up with outside percussion, guitars, horns and string sections. The three jazz-trained players stretch their musical imagination around bossa nova disco, raunchy 70s soul, samba-style rare groove and sputtering, bass-crunching breakbeats. Vieira's petal-soft, elastic voice flows over swinging rhythms and candy-sweet chords, recalling the fun-times optimism of early 90s UK acid jazz. Zuco 103 concocts an organic, blood-and-guts sound that should give high-minded computer geeks a run for their money?just don't call it nu. They play Tues., Sept. 3, at SOB's. 204 Varick St. (Houston St.), 243-4940; $18 adv., $20 day of show.