Welcome to the first weekend of 2018. The first serving of wonderfulness is largely local fare, so if ever you thought you wanted to get into the best of what this city’s got on tap, now’s the time. While So Stressed is representing Sacramento, California (and are definitely worth your eyes and ears), Portland is representing with local all-stars coming together to pay tribute to (and hospital bills for) a pillar of the music community; Another musical tribute to a local legend; a pair of tributes to worldwide rock legends; a coming out party for Portland’s sludgy, spiky underground, a breakout stand-up returning home, and a chance to ride the MAX with no pants. It’s a busy weekend—hit the links below and load that plate accordingly.
Friday, Jan 5
Help The Hoople: A Benefit for Scott McCaughey – Night 1
This past November, Portland musician Scott McCaughey (the Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, and Filthy Friends) suffered a stroke while on tour with Alejandro Escovedo. Now his friends (including the Mercury’s cannabis columnist Josh Jardine) are rallying together to help raise money for his medical and rehabilitation expenses with the two-night benefit and online auction Help the Hoople. Friday’s show at the Star Theater will feature performances by some big names: Escovedo, M. Ward, James Mercer (the Shins), Patterson Hood (Drive-by Truckers), Justin Townes Earle, along with McCaughey’s bandmates Mike Mills, Corin Tucker, Janet Weiss, and Peter Buck. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Star Theater, $50-100
Pelican Ossman, RLLRBLL, Montgomery Word, Old Demons
Pelican Ossman’s lo-fi folk experiments sometimes recall the early work of Phil Elverum and his K Records comrades, but over the past few years, the Portland band has cultivated an exceedingly weird vibe all its own. On its wonderful new full-length cassette, The Touchstone, Pelican Ossman explores the territory between pop melody and addled chant, and the result is a cult-like conjuring, a sonic lure spun by a cracked guru on the prowl for burnout initiates. Or maybe it’s a bunch of homeschoolers weaned on psychedelia. Or anarchist homesteaders feasting on the fun kind of mushrooms. Or a family band that puts on shows in their basement after church. Whatever the case, there’s something strange happening here—a signal sent from a skewed reality, a wild kind of magic that lights up the places you don’t usually go. CHRIS STAMM
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
So Stressed, Arteries, Shrilltones
When So Stressed started teasing its new album, Please Let Me Know, vocalist Morgan Fox provided a key statement hinting at its direction: “We wanted the last one to be cold and digital-sounding and really harsh to listen to, which I think it is. This one is pretty harsh too, but we also allowed ourselves to kind of do whatever we wanted as long as all three of us liked it and it was fun to play. Ugly noise is cool, but so is melody.” The end result is less hardcore/screamo and more post-hardcore meets pre-Nevermind Nirvana. So Stressed had the ugly noise part figured out, but Please Let Me Know proves they’ve got melodies, too. BEN SALMON
8 pm, The Know
New Move, Ezza Rose, Merō
Portland quintet New Move bring their doo-wop and R&B-inflected pop and rock sounds to the Mississippi Studio stage to help kick-start 2018 on a positive note.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5
Dead Moon Night: A Tribute to Fred Cole
On November 9, 2017, Fred Cole died, the legendary rocker behind foundational Portland bands Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, the Rats, and others. Tonight, some terrific local bands—including the Thermals, the Ransom (featuring Poison Idea’s Jerry A.), and Pierced Arrows drummer Kelly Halliburton doing double duty with P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. and Jenny Don’t and the Spurs—pay the great man homage. NED LANNAMANN
9 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $8-10
Priced Out
Cornelius Swart’s Priced Out assembles a wealth of information about the history of gentrification in the Black neighborhoods of North and Northeast Portland. This film is a follow-up to NorthEast Passage, a documentary Swart, a longtime reporter, co-produced in 2002; that film’s central figure, Nikki Williams, spoke in favor of gentrification. Priced Out juxtaposes Williams’ current perspective with the recent developments that have turned several Portland neighborhoods into playgrounds for white newcomers. It’s as fascinating to watch as it is devastating to comprehend. SUZETTE SMITH
6:30 pm, Portland Mennonite Church
Tallwomen, Towers, Root_DIR, The Thrash Key Kids, GBA
A fresh hit of hardcore punk from this local trio, dedicated to the three-pronged pursuit of bullshit, burritos, and noise.
8 pm, Twilight Cafe & Bar, $5
Speechless
The Siren Theater’s improvised PowerPoint presentation show Speechless is back, with the best kind of organized chaos: a delightful lineup of funny Portlanders making up lectures on the spot—”TED Talk, startup pitch, even a self-help seminar” are all fair game—to accompany surprise slides and placate a team of judges. Next slide! MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Siren Theater, $10
Panio Gianopoulos, Daniel H. Wilson
Panio Gianopoulos reads from his new collection of complicated love stories, How to Get into Our House and Where We Keep the Money. Gianopoulos will be joined in conversation by Daniel H. Wilson, author of The Clockwork Dynasty.
7:30 pm, Powell’s City of Books
Saturday, Jan 6
Shane Torres
When former Portlander Shane Torres takes a break from his quasi-glamorous life in New York to come back to town for a comedy set, you should absolutely go. He’s a goofy, tragicomic, self-effacing performer and one of the few comedians I’ve seen who can make me laugh about the depressing concept of emotional debt. MEGAN BURBANK
7:30 pm, 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $20-28
Club Nitty Gritty
If you’re looking for a dance night that sets the evening on fire, check out Club Nitty Gritty, hosted by the always down for a good time DJ Action Slacks (Shannon Wiberg). She’s been pounding the turntables for years with righteous choices in down-home dirty soul—the kind with raw sax and voices that wail and scratch. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
9 pm, (The World Famous) Kenton Club, $7
Help The Hoople Help The Hoople: A Benefit for Scott McCaughey – Night 2
The party to help raise money for Portland musician Scott McCaughey’s medical and rehabilitation moves over to the Wonder Ballroom Saturday, with sets by the Decemberists, Casey Neill, Dharma Bums, and more. Two reasons you should go: It’s rare to see bills this jam-packed with legendary musicians, and it’s critical to get McCaughey the help he needs to recover. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $50
Tom Petty Tribute Night
Hot on the heels of a pair of tribute shows at the Alberta St. Pub, local musicians John Craigie, Brad Barsons, Jay Cobb Anderson, Tyler Thompson, Lewi Longmire, and Laurie Shook are bringing a special set of Tom Petty tunes out to the Laurelthirst Pub for an intimate encore performance.
9:30 pm, LaurelThirst Public House
Scott Kelly, STAHV
Over the course of three studio records—sandwiched between Neurosis and his many other side-projects—Kelly has perfected his storytelling and music. He’s heavily influenced by Townes Van Zandt, playing apocalyptic country songs that range from barebones to fleshed-out and fully realized with the help of numerous guest musicians (including some of his Neurosis brethren). Kelly has been through the trials and pitfalls of music over the course of three decades—this is where he gets some of it off his chest, and the listener gets an unfiltered take on life as a working musician. MARK LORE
9 pm, Dante’s, $10
Oliver!
DID YOU KNOW: The kid who played Oliver in this late ’60s musical adaptation of the Dickens story grew up, got his black belt in karate, and became the godfather to Michael Jackson’s kids? He apparently cared so much for them that he made news in the late 2000s by volunteering the possibility that the sperm he donated to Michael might have been the sperm that created one of those kids! What a generous guy! Not a lot of people would just suggest such a thing, out loud, in front of the media, for no apparent reason or purpose! Anyway, just something to keep in the back of your head when you watch this weird musical about homeless children being bullied by dainty ape Oliver Reed. BOBBY ROBERTS
2 pm, NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium
BowieVision, SOS
Insisting that they’re a “celebration rather than a tribute,” Seattle’s BowieVision reinterprets the classic works of David Bowie—and does so with a phenomenal amount of verve and charm. ERIK HENRIKSEN
9 pm, Doug Fir, $19
Cool American, The She’s
There’s little doubt that late ’90s indie, emo, and punk crews helped shape Cool American, but that doesn’t mean those specters should define the Portland band. Their first two records melded Nathan Tucker’s smart pop songwriting with lethargic observational malaise, making hook-heavy tracks like “Who’s Got the Next Cut?” (from 2016’s You Can Win a Few) feel eerily bleak. On the four-piece’s new record, Infinite Hiatus, they double down on the peppiness, scorching through fast-paced punk and Malkmus-esque cleverness, echoing the tempo shifts of a Sidekicks tune, and invoking the twitchy peaks and valleys of millennial boredom. Songs as catchy as “Maui’s” and “Seems Insane” provide insight into Tucker’s creative wellspring and proof that there’s likely much more to come from this young band. RYAN J. PRADO
8 pm, The Know
HER: Portland Launch Party
The popular social and dating app for lesbian, bisexual, and queer people announces its arrival in Portland by way of this special launch party, featuring burlesque dancers and music by Lady Jane DJ and DJ KinkyLoops.
9 pm, Holocene, $8-12
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
You know what the trick is to enjoying this endlessly-praised, virtually plotless, depressingly beautiful neo-noir? It’s a trick the members of its cult often learn by their third or fourth viewing—Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard is a giant piece of shit, and he also really sucks at his job. Once you stop expecting anything resembling “heroics” out of him, and realize you definitely shouldn’t be rooting for him, the film’s focus naturally shifts to his shared targets, Roy Batty and Rachel, and that’s when the ponderous, accidental genius of Ridley Scott’s film locks in and takes hold. That all-timer of a score by Vangelis doesn’t hurt, either. BOBBY ROBERTS
Academy Theater, see Movie Times for showtimes
Felipe Esparza
The Mexican comedian known for his recent HBO special, Translate This, brings his raw, real-life stand-up back to Portland for a stop on his “Bad Decisions” tour.
7 pm, Revolution Hall, $32.50-50
Sunday, Jan 7
Torment is Flesh Fest
The final night of the new local music festival focused on bringing some of the harshest, sludgiest, spikiest sounds of Portland’s underground into the light. Read our story on the Torment is Flesh Fest
9 pm, Tonic Lounge, $13-50
No Pants MAX Ride
It’s time for the yearly No Pants MAX Ride! One suggestion: How about along with taking your pants off on a MAX train every winter and doing the can-can, you also make TriMet’s services a regular part of your life? Bus ridership is down and MAX ridership is stagnant, even as our city sees unprecedented growth. Meanwhile, traffic congestion is worse than ever. Public transit has to be part of the solution—pants or no. DIRK VANDERHART
2 pm, Various Locations, $2.50-5
Rufus Wainwright
In an era when feigned lo-fi dominates the zeitgeist and “bedroom pop” has supplanted “indie” as the most spurious and meaningless genre descriptor, listening to Rufus Wainwright is refreshing. The son of Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III—two incredibly accomplished musicians in their own right—Rufus was never one to shun his showy predilections. His self-titled 1998 debut, which spent two years in gestation and cost nearly $1 million to record, established Wainwright’s trademark of entwining operatic bombast with Tin Pan Alley tradition. His newer records are also great—in particular, 2012’s Out of the Game, which cheekily acknowledges and revels in its irrelevance. MORGAN TROPER
8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $60
Emily Wells, Like a Villain
Multi-instrumentalist/composer Emily Wells brings classical elements to electro-pop melodies, allowing strings and hip-hop beats to exist within the same song. Her experimental approach results in lush arrangements that’re orchestral but rooted in solid rhythms. Wells’ last studio LP was 2016’s Promise—an expansive, folksy, meditative, and beautiful piece of art. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Doug Fir, $14-16
Worws, Squalor, Ruined It, No Trial
It’s safe to say that everybody hoped the fire and brimstone of 2016 would improve this year, but 2017 whipped its way through each month with a series of face slaps. Thankfully, this energetic thrashcore lineup can help alleviate our collective angst: Salem’s No Trial will open the show with short bursts of power-violent relief. The blistering hardcore of WORWS will release any pent-up aggression boiling deep down inside, as will shouting along to songs from Squalor’s 2016 album Brain Dead Generation. A few laps around the pit might be just what the doctor ordered.
8 pm, The Know, $6
The Biggest Clothing Swap in the NW
Fact: Your closet is filled with nice but old stuff you don’t wear anymore. That’s why you should bag up your quality goods, and bring ‘em down to the Biggest Clothing Swap in the Northwest. Around a thousand other people will be bringing in their clothing too, so you can rummage through and SWAP clothing and accessories for women, men, and plus-size people—with all leftover clothes going to local charities. Plus there will be music, mimosas, AND Bloody Marys? Prepare to look and feel fabulous! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
noon, Crystal Ballroom, $8-9
DOA Pro Wrestling: Portslamdia
DOA Pro Wrestling sets up shop at Harvey’s Comedy Club to kick-start 2018 with “Portslamdia,” featuring a Lucha Libre Match, a 6-man Tag Team Match, and a DOA Grand Championship bout between Ethan HD and Schaff.
2 pm, Harvey’s Comedy Club, $15, all ages
Sad Horse, The Gutters, Plastic Harmony
Sad Horse makes some of the best punk to come out of Portland since Dead Moon’s heyday. It’s clear Elizabeth Venable and Geoff Soule draw creative inspiration from Fred and Toody—their releases play like short jolts of unbridled weirdness (“You Are Idiots” and “Old Daze”) cut with sweet, jangly duet interludes (“If I Was a Duck”). The pair’s 2015 Greatest Hits LP is a jarring listen; each of its 26 tracks packs a unique punch, with riffs that feel like they shouldn’t be where they are but work anyway (“Coyotes” and “Loafer”). Though Sad Horse hasn’t come out with any new music since Greatest Hits, their elusiveness makes these rare live sets even more special. CAMERON CROWELL
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Florida Project
Awards season is nigh, and headlines are already using “front-runner” and “Willem Dafoe” in the same breath. Dafoe has been lauded for showing his “softer side” as Bobby, a kind but no-bullshit manager of a budget hotel in Sean Baker’s latest indie gem, The Florida Project. The Oscar buzz is understandable—Dafoe is an acting wizard—but the real reason The Florida Project is a breakout success, and the reason everyone should see the film, is the rowdy, previously unknown seven-year-old actor Brooklynn Prince. CHASE BURNS
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes and locations.
Control Yourself 4th Anniversary
JoAnn Schinderle’s stand-up showcase turns four, and to celebrate she’s turning the stage over to her personal favorite established and up-and-comer local comedians.
8:30 pm, Alberta Street Pub, free
Don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!