Ed Ward's "Stories, Stories, Bring Your Stories" 

A flaming washing machine rockets through the air and embeds itself in the side of a house. A woman contemplates her own demise while wearing a crotchless body suit. Robert Ripley from Ripley’s Believe It or Not has a massive coronary during a performance of “Taps.” These situations don’t have much in common, but they do have this: They’ve all been featured in Stories, Stories, Bring Your Stories.

That title, actually, is a bit of a misnomer: The point of the evening is not really to bring stories, but to listen to them. “This is a partici-patory thing,” clarifies host and curator Ed Ward, “but it’s not an open mike. You’ve got to get past my ego to get on my stage.” And it’s not a modest ego, either: Ward characterizes NPR’s The Moth series as “wimpy” in comparison to Stories, Stories. But he’s also a long-time fixture on Denver’s literary scene, and he’s got the cred to back it up. Tonight’s performance, for example, features Max Donaldson, a professional storyteller who used to be Frank Zappa’s drummer — and, really, how cool is that?

The program starts at 7 p.m. tonight and every fourth Tuesday at the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street, and admission is free. For more information, call 303-294-9281 or visit www.mercurycafe.com. — By Jef Otte

Price: Free