THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20

HUMAN FUN—Fresh off a stint filming a Comedy Central documentary about South Park, local writer/producer Arthur Bradford helms a stellar lineup of the Entertainment for People variety show that also includes ubiquitous local funnyman Ian Karmel and the always-charming artist Nicole Georges. AH
The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $14-16


PICKLE KING—Cupcake baking contests and pie-offs are for softies. The real pros go for piss and vinegar: pickles, pickles, pickles! Sample over 30 types of fermented foods (krauts! kimchee!) and drinks (kombucha!) at the third annual Portland Fermentation Festival's celebration of our favorite kick-in-the-pants kinds of foods. SM
Ecotrust, 721 NW 9th, 6-8 pm, $5


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21

DREAM GOTH—Are you viewing things in slow motion? Or calmly sipping a drink on the way to outer space? You are primed to listen to Blouse, dude. These North Portland bliss-synthers are about to release their self-titled debut album, and imagining them at the center of the Mississippi Studios sound system is giving me chills. SS
w/Vice Device, Hausu; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $5-7


¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!—The Miracle Theatre's annual Day of the Dead show is community theater at its finest. This year's show focuses on the women who fought in the Mexican revolution—plus music and dance that even the most monolingual gringo can appreciate. AH
Miracle Theatre, 525 SE Stark, 236-7253, Thurs 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 13, $15-30, milagro.org


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22

HARK! A VAGRANT—Tonight, the live radio show Live Wire! welcomes a slew of impressive guests: Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen, Snow Falling on Cedars author David Guterson, and Typhoon. The real draw, though? Cartoonist Kate Beaton, whose phenomenal web comic Hark! A Vagrant is probably the best thing on the internet. EH
Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta, 7:30 pm, $18-30, all ages


ENJOY YOUR BURRITO—If you love podcasts but loathe their complete lack of visual accompaniment, then you are in luck—the usually all-audio geek-comedy-interview show Nerdist is coming to Portland for a live gig! Host Chris Hardwick (of Web Soup and Singled Out, remember that?) will bring the geek love with sidekicks Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. MJ
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $25, all ages


SHRED—Celebrating women guitarists and musicians, the first-ever Shred Fest collects a bunch of kickass bands to raise funds to start She Shreds, a forthcoming magazine devoted to lady guitarists. With bands like Tender Forever, Reporter, Stag Bitten, Palo Verde, and tons more, this all-day affair won't leave a single stone unshredded. NL
Troubadour Studio, 1020 SE Market, 3 pm, $7-10, all ages


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23

UNDEAD—I really do appreciate life's little surprises. Case in point: a screening of F.W. Murnau's genuinely creepy silent vampire film Nosferatu in a church—accompanied by live pipe organ. The only thing that could make this any better would be to combine it with their regular mass and call it subversive performance art. WE
Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, 6161 SE Stark, 4 pm, FREE


BATHTUB GIN—Attention fancy-pants boozehounds! Fifty artisan distillers are converging on Portland this weekend to twirl their mustaches, brush their tweed hats, and, oh yeah, dish up samples of their unique gins, whiskeys, and bourbons for the Great American Distillers Festival. Drinking hasn't felt this delightful since Prohibition. SM
Leftbank Annex, 101 N Weidler, Sat & Sun, 1-7 pm, $10 ($16 for both days)


MONDAY, OCTOBER 24

TOMMY SR.—Rock legend and lead singer for the Who, Roger Daltrey, visits Portland to sing the songs of his band's most famous work, the rock opera Tommy. Will the jaunty 67-year-old be swinging his mic stand around with reckless abandon, or scooting around on a Rascal croaking "Pinball Wizard"? Let's assume the former. WSH
Rose Garden, 100 Winning Way, 7:30 pm, $40.50-$100, all ages


A MATTER OF GRAY—Zombie novels come with a fair amount of brains, but they're mostly for eatin'. Colson Whitehead's newest novel Zone One promises more than just brain tapas with a smarty take on the living-dead genre. As an endemic plague retreats, the uninfected are trying to retake Manhattan from the infected zombies' cold, dead hands. CF
Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm FREE


TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25

BLUE SKIED AN' CLEAR—Even as rock music constantly seems to reinvent itself, writers may never tire of Springsteen and Dylan comparisons. The War on Drugs take those expectations for a ride into shoegazer territory, and the results on their newest album, Slave Ambient, are inspired and anthemic. WE
w/Purling Hiss, Carter Tanton; Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water, 9 pm, $10-12


FLESHED OUT—This week, OMSI opens the traveling Body Worlds exhibit, featuring more than 200 human bodies peeled, prodded, and protruding for all the world to see. Providing an intensive look at human brain development, the show also showcases the "beauty of the human body." Take a peek. AZ
OMSI, 1945 SE Water, 9:30 am-5:30 pm, through March 4, $16-25


WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26

LOCKOUT—Dry those tears, basketball fans. While it doesn't look like the Trail Blazers are going back on the court anytime soon, you can smother that sadness with a screening of 1978's Fast Break, a vérité-style documentary of the championship '77 team, and remember the days that used to be. Rip... (sniff) City...? Sob. NL
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:15 pm, $7


THIS IS HARDCORE—The frenzied, filthy, insane shows of Seattle's provocatively named Tit Pig are quickly becoming the stuff of legend. Tonight the hardcore band—named after a gay porn star—takes over the Know on a bill put together by Green Noise Records, and you're probably not gonna come out of it the same. NL
w/the Bi-Marks, Doom Patrol, DJ Ken Dirtnap; The Know, 2026 NE Alberta, 8 pm