Portland Podcast Festival: Night 2
Portlandâs celebration of all things gabby and earbud-y enters its second year, as the Portland Podcast Festival takes over your weekend with conversation, jokes, and more. Lots of great, locally made shows (including the Mercuryâs I, Anonymous podcast!) will be doing live tapings, so come out, catch your old favorites, and discover some new ones. Your ears will thank you. (5 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, $20-25) NED LANNAMANN
Portland Book Festival
Formerly known as Wordstock, the Portland Book Festival is now saddled with a stultifyingly boring nameâbut itâs still crammed with great authors and events, so weâll allow it. This yearâs fest features eight billion booksellers and publishers selling their wares (from Southwest Portlandâs Annie Bloomâs Books to San Franciscoâs McSweeneyâs), plus readings, discussions, lit-centric recordings of OPBâs Think Out Loud and State of Wonder, and appearances from local authors Daniel H. Wilson and Mercury columnist Courtenay Hameister, Wait Wait⌠Donât Tell Me!âs Peter Sagal, and literary bigshot Jonathan Lethem. Also in attendance: Tom Hanks, whoâll be talking about his short story collection Uncommon Type with New York Times book critic Parul Sehgal, and Broad Cityâs Abbi Jacobson, whoâll be onstage with Shrill author Lindy West to discuss Jacobson's new book, I Might Regret This! (9 am, Portland Art Museum, $15-20, all ages) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Ruston Kelly, Katie Pruitt
Ruston Kellyâs debut LP Dying Star is as tuneful and compelling a roots-related recording as youâll hear this year. Its 14 tracks simmer with the kind of slow-burning twang-pop that will appeal to fans of old alt-country mainstays like the Jayhawks and Whiskeytown, as well as fresh-faced folk faves Mandolin Orange. Kelly excels at writing downcast songs about being fucked up and hard to love, and injecting most with a gut-punch turn of phrase or an unexpected melodic idea. The result is an album thatâs strong from top to bottom, and that rewards repeated listens. (9:30 pm, Bunk Bar, $14-16) BEN SALMON
Rubblebucket, Diet Cig, TĹth
Listening to Rubblebucketâs new album Sun Machine is like getting mercilessly punched in the face with positive energy. I have no idea what the Brooklyn art-pop duo is singing about half the timeâthe contagion of their sugary, electric melodies has overtaken my feeble brain. Thereâs lots of sparkling synth, joyful yelping, saxophone (plus other assorted horns), and drums that wordlessly command you to âDance, silly human, DANCE.â Sun Machine delivers bright, happy songs that bounce and bubble over with glee like baby animals who havenât yet been corrupted by the world or the memes therein. (9 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $18-20, all ages) CIARA DOLAN
Masters of Practical Effects
The Hollywood Theatre is celebrating a wondrous cinematic art form: practical special effects. For decades, makeup artists and effects geniuses Rick Baker and Chris Walas have been responsible for the jaw-dropping visuals of movies like Videodrome, The Fly, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Hellboyânot to mention Harry and the Hendersons, Gremlins, and An American Werewolf in London. With the weekend-long Masters of Practical Effects, the Hollywood is showing those last three moviesâin 35mm and on their big screenâand theyâll have Baker and Walas in attendance to discuss their astonishing work! These two are responsible for some of the weirdest, funniest, and creepiest visuals in all of cinemaâand hearing them talk about their craft will be a rare and unmissable treat. (Sat-Sun, Hollywood Theatre, $12) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Lucero, Strand of Oaks
For a band with a sound so deeply rooted in their home city's musical past, Memphis alt-country and punk rock outfit Lucero sure spend a lot of time on the road. Tonight they swing back through Portland for an intimate show at Dante's. (9 pm, Dante's, $25)
Oshun, Amenta Abioto
Named for the Yoruba goddess of love and prosperity, Oshun is the NYC-based R&B duo of Thandiwe and Niambi Sala, who describe their music as âthe sonic manifestation of Afrofuturism.â Throughout their recent debut LP Bittersweet Vol. 1, the two women rap and sing about their spirituality and search for inner peace over hypnotic beats and interstellar sound effects that will appeal to fans of THEESatisfaction and Shabazz Palaces. Standouts include âMy Worldâ (featuring Jorja Smith) and the 2017 single âNot My President.â Part of the 2018 Siren Nation Music and Arts Festival. (5:30 pm, Holocene, $12-14) CIARA DOLAN
The 29th Annual Holiday Food & Gift Festival
Hundreds of exhibitors pack Hall C of the Convention Center in the hopes your holiday shopping will be done in a way that can't be replicated by simply hitting a mall or clicking your fingers off on Amazon. (Sat-Sun 10 am, Oregon Convention Center)
Cascadian Beer Fest
The inaugural installment of the Cascadian Beer Fest comes to Vancouver's Hopworks Urban Brewery, with a dozen breweries from up and down the Cascadian Region serving up an array of special beers inspired by Cascadia and brewed with ingredients from the region. Admission includes a HUB Chalice and 5 drink tickets for 8oz pours. Additional tickets can be purchased for $3 each. (4 pm, Hopworks Urban Brewery Vancouver, $20)
Kira Soltanovitch
The How to Be a Grownup regular takes the Siren stage for this one-night-only stand-up showcase. (8 pm, Siren Theater, $15)
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!