Mercury Things to Do Staff

MUSIC—Where my Canadian tomboys at? Oh, look there they are… Tegan and Sara are back in town for the second time this fall, this time without the confetti wing-ding spectacular of headliner Katy Perry. The adorable twin-sister duo’s synth-pop is infectious, fun, and admired by a fervent fanbase of rabid indie popsters. Go; paint pastel […]

MUSIC—Bow down before one of the undeniable kings of instrumental pop, Herb Alpert! Since the mid-’60s, the salsa-influenced trumpeter (along with his backing band, the Tijuana Brass) redefined cool with their songs “The Lonely Bull” and “Spanish Flea.” Now Alpert is touring with wife and former lead singer of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (!!!), […]

METAL—While you can read all about Atriarch’s new record, tonight’s also the album release for Usnea‘s Random Cosmic Violence, their first for Relapse Records and a four-song steamrolling saga of brutal sludge and doom, violently loud and punishingly slow. Go tonight and witness both bands, along with the ethereal Muscle and Marrow, and see why […]

MUSIC—When you’ve got a good thing, why the bloody hell should you give up the ghost? Blonde Redhead are touring on the strength of their back catalog, a deep well of spacy noise rock. Plus the trio has a new album out called Barragán, a welcome addition to the experimental heap of 20 years of […]

MUSIC—Here’s something to buoy your rain-spackled Pacific Northwest allegiances. For the new compilation All Your Friend’s Friends, Olympia indie label K Records offered up its entire catalog for sampling, then invited dozens of the region’s emcees to christen the resulting beats. The thumping, gray-green love-fest drops tonight at Dante’s, with performances from some of Interstate […]

SIRENS—The fantastic, female-focused Siren Nation music and arts festival is hitting town with a tsunami of quality engagements this week! There are music shows with Edna Vazquez, Swan Sovereign, and Natasha Kmeto, just to name a few—plus a huge visual art group show. Heyyy, ladies! MARJORIE SKINNERThrough Wed Nov 12, various times and locations, sirennation.org […]

COMEDY—Did you know that April 30 is officially Margaret Cho Day in San Francisco? Well, for Portland, it’s today, when the winsome Kim Jong-il impressionist and queen of mouthy broads arrives at Helium to tell some jokes, probably about her mom. Earlier shows on this tour drew angry responses from the Westboro Baptist Church, so […]

MUSIC—Aging gracefully may be easier said than done, but by all reports Slowdive—the English shoegazers who first formed in 1989—have “still got it” on their current reunion tour, where they’re trotting out the old favorites (new material may be forthcoming). Go on, get dreamy. MARJORIE SKINNERw/Low; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $25-30, all […]

MUSIC—True fans of soul music know to bow deeply in the presence of Booker T. Jones—the Hall of Fame inductee best known for his time with Booker T. & the MG’s (responsible for such unforgettable soul mainstays as “Green Onions” and “Hang ‘Em High”)—and he’s still pumping out the hits with his 2013 album Sound […]

BOOKS—When Elly Blue first edited Bikes in Space, her anthology of feminist science fiction—with bikes!—it was intended as a one-off, second in line to Blue’s quarterly zine. She’s since shelved the zine, turned Bikes in Space into a Kickstarter-funded, annual anthology, and tonight celebrates the release of Bikes in Space Vol. II: More Feminist Science […]

DAY OF THE DEAD—Mexican American singer Luz Elena Mendoza (of Y La Bamba) leads a traditional Día de los Muertos celebration that begins with a black-clad procession through the streets and ends with a party featuring Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Aztec dancing, and sets from local Latino musicians, including the inimitable Edna Vazquez and Mendoza with […]

MUSIC—Compton rapper YG is the sound of West Coast g-funk circa 2014, offering hard but relaxed jams that are effective slices of life as well as being club bumpers to boot. This year’s long-awaited My Krazy Life followed up his many promising mixtapes, and while it doesn’t look like his partner-in-crime DJ Mustard will be […]