Events

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 BEER FEST—Beer is a staple in Portland. Hoppy beer is also a staple in Portland. Fresh-hopped beer is an ephemeral thing, arriving only during hops harvest season, with its piney, citrusy taste and delicate fizz. Beer festivals abound in Oregon, but the Portland Fresh Hops Beer Fest is the only fresh hoppy […]

FILM—Making Apocalypse Now set Francis Ford Coppola permanently on tilt, but that madness was perfectly channeled in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, splashing every millimeter of the frame with gothic gorgeousness. Hell, he managed to make rat-eating psycho Tom Waits look stylish. Part of the Fashion in Film series, hosted by Portland Monthlys Eden Dawn and our […]

MUSIC—As much as My Morning Jacket and Jim James’ straight-to-the-heart vocals make me think they’re a band made only for me, I know how wrong I am. They put on one helluva show and the Keller will be throbbing with fellow fans, high on the Louisville band’s kick-ass live set. Maybe, to stave off possessiveness, […]

MUSIC—This month, the Mercury-sponsored Ear Candy catches you slipping. You had no idea Portland had country—good, honest, a little drunken country—tucked in between the punk bands and the indie bands it shows off on a weekly basis. You’re slipping! Tonight’s three-band showcase, headlined by local softies Mission Spotlight, will make that clear. DIRK VANDERHARTw/Roselit Bone, […]

MUSIC—Shapeshifting songwriter Chelsea Wolfe takes bits and pieces from the dark (musical) arts: a bit of heavy metal here, a shard of industrial there, a knife-cold whistle of a forgotten folk song to top it off. This means that her music is spooky and tense, filled with a beauty and weight that makes her one […]

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 OKTOBERFEST—The good folks at Oaks Park asked themselves, “How can we possibly make our amusement park any better (besides giving Erik a lifetime pass so he can ride the Scrambler and Go Karts)?” With their Oktoberfest, that’s how. It’s crammed full of German food, wiener dog races (!), live polka and accordion […]

MUSIC—The hip-hop of Turquoise Jeep may have become famous on the internet thanks to hilarious songs like “Lemme Smang It,” “Mama Bird,” and “Treat Me Like a Pirate,” but it should never be forgotten that this gang of comic geniuses knows how to lay down the wickedest of beats, topped with smart, incisive lyrics. Do […]

BOOKS—Portland’s Lidia Yuknavitch chews up traditional literary forms and spits ’em out, which is a gross way of describing a beautiful thing, most recently on display in Yuknavitch’s genre-fucking sort-of-novel (and big publishing house debut), The Small Backs of Children. Tonight, witness her literary brilliance up close, alongside excellent essayist Liz Prato. MEGAN BURBANKBroadway Books, […]

STORYTELLING—Described as a show “where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share in public,” the popular live show and podcast RISK! is coming to town for two shows. Hosted by Kevin Allison (whom you might remember from the The State), tonight’s show promises “hilarious and shocking” stories on the theme “bewildered.” […]

BOOKS—Joy Williams is the beloved author of countless short stories, and at age 71, she’s still cranking out elegant prose on the shortcomings of American life in her newest collection, The Visiting Privilege. The celebrated writer is darkly funny, which will make her conversation with Swamplandia! novelist Karen Russell for this reading all the better. […]

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 MUSIC—Seattle’s Decibel Festival plugs in its baroque circuitry later this month, but first the electronic music jamboree heads down I-5 to curate an installation as part of this year’s Time-Based Art Festival. Catch Portland noise-maestro Strategy throw down with Seattle’s Raica, plus an overseas visit from Lapalux. Blips! Beeps! DIRK VANDERHARTThe Works […]