MUSIC--For metal/hardcore fans, this Mercury/Thrasher Low Dough Show is some serious shred for your buck. Tonight Roadrunner Records showcases 3 Inches of Blood, a band whose vocalist sounds something like Judas Priest's shrieking Rob Halford. Plus: Still Remains, who torture their guitar strings while bitching, mumbling, and growling, and metalheads the Agony Scene and Trivium. All this anger for only five bucks. KS
Dante's, 1 SW 3rd, 8:30 pm, $5
GRIME--As Dizzee Rascal, East Londoner Dylan Mills had a top 20 UK hit for a track he recorded at 16, won the Mercury Prize at 18, and opened for Jay-Z at 19. At the tender age of 20, he's the international figurehead for the Grime scene, a cockneyed marriage of UK Garage and hiphop that's quickly becoming England's most formidable export. ZP
w/DJ Wonder; Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $16
FRIDAY, APRIL 1
METAL--This weekend, those disgruntled, neck-tattooed rock lovers at Sabala's host an all-weekend metal fest starring the likes of throaty barkers Engorged and their cohorts the demented rockers Lord Gore. Prepare to be marvelously and addictively disgusted. KS
Sabala's Mt. Tabor, 4811 SE Hawthorne, 9 pm, $7, fest runs Fri-Mon, check sabalasmttabor.com for full schedule
SIGHT & SOUND--Ain't nothin' cooler than cartoons, except maybe music. So a marriage of the two can only be perfect, right? Check out Noir, which tonight not only boasts performances from bands Dat'r, The Maybe Happening, and The Vinos, but is complimenting their sets with feature-length anime films and the work of 15 animators, from both near and far. EH
Noir, 203 SE Grand, 8:30 pm, $3
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
FAUX FILM--From fake ads to fake movies to fake porn, the first annual Faux Film Festival celebrates all that's great about parodies, spoofs, and generalized smartassery. It could be groan-inducing, or it could be great--but considering tonight boasts William Shatner Lent Me His Hairpiece and Here Comes Private Investigator Kengo Kohiyama, I'd wager on the latter. EH
The Hollywood Theater, 4122 NE Sandy, 7 pm, $8, runs Fri-Sun, www.fauxfilmfestival.com
EASYRIDERS--If you love a hot bike as much as I do, then join me at the Easyriders V-Twin Bike Show. The Convention Center will be overflowing with the sexiest custom motorcycles, tons of booths featuring all sorts of biker paraphernalia, and a fashion show by the Purrfect Angelz! WSH
Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK, 10 am - 10 pm, $15
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
MUSIC--Super producers Prince Paul and Dan the Automator have teamed up once again, bringing to town their geeky and beloved hiphop side project, Handsome Boy Modeling School, for another go-around. Riffing on a key episode of Chris Elliott's expired TV series Get A Life, the dynamic duo pretend to be sexy male models--a ridiculous premise that we forgive them for because the music they spin is so damn good. JWS
w/Libretto, Rondo Brothers; Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 8:30 pm, $15
MONDAY, APRIL 4
ROCK N' REEL--It's time once again for Jackpot Records' second annual film fest, a five-day feast of movies about music (Mon-Fri)! Today check It Takes a Nation: London Invasion 1987, a documentary that examines Public Enemy's supercharged performances during that politically torpid year. Plus, not one, but TWO amazing pieces on James Brown. Need MORE incentive? Then check this: it's all FREE! JWS
Hollywood Theater, 4122 NE Sandy, 7 pm, jackpotrecords.com, FREEEE!
BRITPOP--Though falling perhaps a little short of his nick-namesake, Toronto's "Black Morrissey" (what the British press have taken to calling singer Murray Lightburn) certainly pours on the English charm with his Dears, a band that sounds infinitely more like a maudlin Blur than Sir Mopes-A-Lot. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. ZP
Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 8:30 pm, $10
BASKETBALL--MARCH Madness is probably more exhausting for the fans than it is for the NCAA basketball stars, what with 61 total games and 64 teams to follow and cheer for. But tonight it all ends with the blowout championship! Sports bars all over town will be airing the big game, but the Mercury recommends cozy, old-fashioned Claudia's, where the nachos and beers are cheap, and the fans are loud. PB
Claudia's, 3006 SE Hawthorne, broadcast begins at 6 pm
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
READING--Is it possible for a fresh take on the heady and hefty topic of race in America? In his breakout novel, Adam Mansbach definitively answers: Hell ya! A lyrical and ass-kicking romp, Angry Black White Boy is about a suburban white boy who gets swept into the world of black culture and politics, and goes on a Robin Hood-like crusade. PB
Powell's, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm, free
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6
NEW FREE MUSIC--Berbati's presents a "new monthly curated band party," Housewarming, at which one lucky music aficionado chooses their fave bands and DJs, and lucky you dances and sees great new music for FREE. This month's "curator" is Jessica Jones (of Stop n Rewind Records), who has selected We Quit, Better to See You With, Chevron, Ikn, and DJ I-Train (the hottest new import from NYC). WSH
