Jackpot Records 20th Anniversary Record Show & Celebration
The year 1997 might not have been the most auspicious time to open a record store—vinyl was in a slump, downloads were just around the corner, and all the big players like Tower Records would be gone in a few short years. But Isaac Slusarenko’s independent music shop, Jackpot Records, has stuck it out for 20 long years and become not just one of the finest record stores in town, it’s become a hub of local music, expanding their purview to live performances, special releases on their own label, and even film events. Jackpot’s pulling out all the stops for their 20th anniversary celebration, kicking things off with a giant record sale with more than 10,000 used slabs of wax for sale, and there will be a ton of giveaways throughout the day, too, with swag from the Criterion Collection, Audio-Technica, and more. Finally, there’s a live show with a stacked bill of local luminaries, including the Shivas, the Builders and the Butchers’ Ryan Sollee, and Kyle Craft. And the whole thing’s a benefit for Planned Parenthood, so this is pretty much the greatest possible way to show your gratitude for an excellent shop that’s become a local institution over the past 20 years. NED LANNAMANN
3 pm, Eagles Lodge (F.O.E. #3256), $5-15
10th Letter, Strategy
Signal PDX & Gravitate present a night with Atlanta bass master 10th Letter, supported by Strategy and his dubwise sound. Read our story on 10th Letter.
9 pm, Bit House Saloon, $5-10
Months, The Wild Body, Mujahedeen
Months puts on a noise party, with a buffet of moving parts and an indulgent bevy of layered guitars. With vocals that at times sound like a toned-down Adolescents and at others like Thurston Moore, Months' tone and style can vary greatly within the spectrum of rock 'n' roll. Sometimes they set the mood for a makeout party and sometimes for a crust-punk rager. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, The Know, $6
Love Theme, Mattress, Sun Pack
An evening of sax- and percussion-fueled experimental sound and drone with Love Theme, the new trio spearheaded by Taiwanese-born Canadian musician Alex Zhang Hungtai, known for his output under the Dirty Beaches moniker, as well as his appearance in the new season of Twin Peaks where he performed at the roadhouse along with the fictional bar band, Trouble.
7:30 pm, Holocene, $12-14
Portland EcoFilm Festival
While Trump’s national and international fuck-ups can feel impossible to influence, local environmental battles can be won. And there might be no better way to get started than by checking out this year’s Portland EcoFilm Festival. Now in its fifth year, the Hollywood Theatre’s fest offers four days of curated documentaries, shorts, and filmmaker Q&As—nearly all of which deal, directly or indirectly, with environmental issues affecting Oregonians. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Sept 28-Oct 1, Hollywood Theatre, see hollywoodtheatre.org for titles and showtimes
Kacy & Clayton, The Parson Red Heads
Kacy and Clayton’s Bandcamp profile lists the folk duo’s hometown as Glentworth, Saskatchewan, and Wikipedia lists Glentworth’s population as “52 people 75 cats 37 dogs and 3 horses.” Now, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, but the point is this: There’s a reason the music of Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum sounds like it’s from another time. The second cousins grew up far from record stores or radio, so they picked up influences like Doc Watson, the Carter Family, and Bob Wills on long drives with their grandpa/grand-uncle and his cassette tapes. They experimented with instruments, played live for residents of the local elderly home, and scoured the internet for more contemporary artists—a relative term, in this case, for ’60s and ’70s British folkies like Davey Graham and Shirley Collins. The result: Kacy and Clayton’s music is at once traditionally twangy, gently psychedelic, and touched by the blues. Their new album The Siren’s Song is gorgeous through and through. BEN SALMON
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $13-15
Norska, Maximum Mad, Greenriver Thrillers, Drunk Dad
Yes, Maximum Mad could share the stage with bands like Red Fang or Lord Dying, but their musings have more of a murky catharsis to them. If Red Fang’s riffs were introduced to the ugliness of Unsane or Botch, the result would sound a lot like Maximum Mad. ARIS HUNTER WALES
9 pm, Tonic Lounge, $7-10
Portland Thorns vs. Chicago Red Stars
After spending the entire season sidelined with a lingering back injury, Thorns’ midfielder and 2016 US Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Tobin Heath is finally set to bring her unrivaled flair back to the field at Providence Park. With a home semifinal playoff match booked for the same time next week, the Thorns will look to use this afternoon's meeting with Chicago to jell with their returning star ahead of next week’s must-win game. CHIPP TERWILLIGER
12:30 pm, Providence Park, $14-55
Toadies, Local H
The Toadies are primarily, if not exclusively, known for "Possum Kingdom"—a song that boasts one of the most infectious guitar riffs of all time, even if the rest of the song after the initial "Make up your mind..." is impossible to remember. I'm not gonna argue that the group's canon beyond that is underrated; this is not the Big Star of the post-grunge era (that's a tie between Superdrag and the Gin Blossoms). But the group had a much more rounded and enduring hit with "Tyler," also off the band's debut album, Rubberneck. It's probably the best "Where Is My Mind" ripoff of all time (of which there are numerous). MO TROPER
9 pm, Star Theater, $21
Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest
SONOFABITCH! For 12 straight years the Widmers have taken over Pioneer Courthouse Square with their Oktoberfest extravaganza, and 2017 will be lucky number 13, transforming the city's living room into a celebration not just of the season, but of beer itself, with their regular roster of delicious beers as well as a bunch of special small-batch beers only available at the fest. And providing you some fine drinking music: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats!
2 pm, Pioneer Courthouse Square, $35, all ages
Todd Glass
People who know comedy, know and love Todd Glass. The stand-up legend—who’s also the host of the great The Todd Glass Show podcast and the writer of a critically acclaimed and revealing 2014 memoir about his intense life, the LA comedy scene, and his sexual orientation—brings his trademark high-energy act to town. He’s doing five shows, so you have no excuse not to go to at least one of them. DOUG BROWN
7:30 pm, 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $17-33
Bacon Ball XIII
For 2017, the mad geniuses at Savory Events have decided that in order to top the 8-bit porky wonderland they created last year, they're gonna throw a party that combines the best of bacon and booze with burlesque and carnival-styled entertainment, with music provided by some of the Northwest's best DJs.
8:30 pm, The North Warehouse, $20
Oregon Recovers: Rally for Recovery
Deaths from drug overdoses have rapidly climbed in the US, and Oregon ranks 45th for access to addiction services despite ranking in the top 10 for drug abuse. Rally in support of Oregon Recovers’ launch, and, if you’ve lost someone to addiction, bring an old shoe to be used in a demonstration illustrating the magnitude of loss. EMILLY PRADO
10 am, Shemanski Park, free
Bill Orcutt, Sir Richard Bishop
Bill Orcutt has, for the past eight years or so, primarily stuck to using acoustic guitar on his various albums and small batch releases of improvisation, groaning blues, and tortured free jazz. But he’s never been far from the electric guitar that he throttled rapturously as a member of the trio Harry Pussy. Still, there’s something bracing and fresh about Orcutt’s approach to the instrument on his most recent album, a self-titled effort that he released on his own label Palilalia. His mastery of tone is crystalline on this record, sticking as he does to an unprocessed sound free of effects pedals. There’re just the small breaths of reverb surrounding every note as he pulls fractious melodies and a quiet drone that flutters underneath it all like a cushion. And he’s left ample room for us to cuddle up with him. ROBERT HAM
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn! $12
Becky with the Good Jokes
Becky Braunstein's all-star comedy extravaganza returns to the Funhouse stage with stand-up sets from special friends including Adam Pasi, Joann Schinderle, Jeremiah Coughlan, and Paul Schlesinger, with music from Jenny Conlee, and the premiere screening of the Alaska Video Special.
10 pm, Funhouse Lounge, $8-12
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
