It's pleasantly shocking that the most basic art of storytelling — people gathered in one place to listen to some interesting blowhard — hasn't changed much over the millennia, and that someone with something interesting to say can hold audiences and auditoriums under his or her sway. The latest manifestation of charitable storytelling braintrust The Moth flits into town with its “Rush: Stories of Ticking Clocks,” and the wildly varied cast of storytellers swelling its ranks, like a party full of friends you haven't seen in years but are happily surprised to know that they know each other. Comedian and raconteur Rudy Rush of Showtime at the Apollo hosts UCLA hand surgeon (!) Kodi Azari; poker champ Annie Duke; Upright Citizen's Brigadier Brian Finkelstein; and legendary raconteur Jerry Stahl. It's like a literary Legion of Doom, filled with storied superhumans who use their powers for niceness, not evil. UCLA Royce Hall, Wstwd.; Thurs., March 1, 8 p.m.; $20, $15 UCLA students. (310) 825-2101, uclalive.org.

Thu., March 1, 8 p.m., 2012

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