Mercury Things to Do Staff

MUSIC—Tonight you can see two legends of metal in their acoustic guises: Scott Kelly of Neurosis makes chillingly dark folk with his outfit the Road Home, while Yob’s Mike Scheidt marries the pastoral and geological in his elemental, classically informed solo work. This is hushed, intense, winter-weather music. NED LANNAMANNHawthorne Theatre Lounge, 1507 SE César […]

Steward by Nasalrod MUSIC—Kill Rock Stars picked the bands for tonight’s Red Bull Sound Select show, and it’s a doozy, with the dirty-denim rawk of the Shrine, the blacklight metal of Danava, and the frenzied operatic punk of Nasalrod. Be prepared for a righteous bangover tomorrow morning. NED LANNAMANNDoug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, […]

FILM—The latest from brilliant director Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner stars the perennially underrated Timothy Spall as romanticist painter J.M.W. Turner. There’s a reason both Leigh’s film and Spall’s performance are getting rave reviews and awards buzz: They’re really, really good. ERIK HENRIKSENCinema 21, 616 NW 21st, see Movie Times at portlandmercury.com/movietimes, $7.50-9.50 DANCE—Call me crazy, […]

ATHLETICS—Today, three ostensibly unaffiliated events cohere to make an airtight argument for the supremacy of American sport. In Puppy Bowl XI, we’ve got Team Ruff vs. Team Fluff. Kitten Bowl II brings three squads to the field: the Northpole Panthers and the Hallmark Hearties and Mountain Lions. And Super Bowl XLIX? Just the Seahawks against […]

ROLLER DERBY—The Rose City Rollers have a weekend filled with hard-hitting derby action. Friday, the up-and-comers of Portland’s league take on the Gorge. Saturday, it’s the High Rollers duking it out against last year’s champs the Break Neck Betties in the main event. And Sunday, the gals of the junior league will face a frosty […]

MUSIC—Composer Michael Giacchino has scored everything from Lost to The Incredibles, from Fringe to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. His best score, though, remains the one for J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek. Rousing and evocative, it occasionally riffs on the sounds of the classic TV series, but is far more interested in pushing […]

COMEDY—The reliably hilarious Patton Oswalt has a busy night tonight—one ending with a sold-out performance at the Newmark Theatre. But you know what isn’t sold out? His appearance just before that, at Powell’s, where he’ll be reading from his new memoir, Silver Screen Fiend, which charts both his early days as a stand-up and his […]

MUSIC—It’s unclear what “unplugged” means to the Blow. For this “unplugged” show, they claim their instruments will “employ a fair number of plugs, as well as a good amount of electricity. A lot of plugging and unplugging will be happening.” But because the duo of Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne make heart-stopping dollops of pop, […]

FILM—When it comes to action auteurs, there’s a godfather looming above all others: John Woo, whose hyper-kinetic Hong Kong action epics still stand as masterpieces. Tonight, the Hollywood’s showing a double feature of Woo’s two best movies, both starring the 100 percent badass Chow Yun-Fat: 1989’s noir-tinged The Killer and 1992’s ludicrously goofy Hard Boiled. […]

MUSIC—If the incredibly charming Vaselines were good enough for Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, back during their halcyon days in the late 1980s, then the Scottish garage pop duo’s expanded, grownup incarnation ought to be good enough for you, too. Especially in a cozier venue like the Doug Fir. DENIS C. THERIAULTw/Loch Lomond; Doug Fir, 830 E […]

GO-GO DANCE—Hope you’ve been polishing up your Batusi since last year’s swinging ’60s Batman-themed dance night Gotham a Go-Go. At the very least, you should be versed in the Batdance. Dress campy mod or as your favorite Catwoman (dibs on Julie Newmar!), watch the go-go dancers, and dance the night away to DJ Gregarious, the […]