We’re back! This week, the Crystal Ballroom becomes a portal for both shark innards and Y2K-era heartbreak—who knew such a mash-up was possible? A Ghanian highlife legend and Pattie Gonia’s environmental drag will keep things particularly sparkly, too, and Moment's garden gathering of experimental musicians offers a soothing sonic balm. But before that, Ari Aster's Eddington asks an uncomfortable question: Is anyone reeeeally ready to revisit the COVID-19 pandemic on a big screen?
Read on for the deets on these, plus more events that'll pair nicely with a trip to the river.
Monday, July 14
Macy Gray
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of her 1999 opus, On How Life Is—truly one of the greatest albums of the Y2K era—Macy Gray will be playing the monolith in its glorious entirety. There’s sex, there’s murder, there’s God, and there’s the eternal battle of good and evil, love and devastation, all delivered by Gray’s unmistakable raspy soul vocal stylings. Without hesitation I can say this is one of my favorite albums of all time, truly zero skips across the entire release. That said, Macy Gray did spout off some ignorant transphobic malarky back in 2022 that she has since walked back, going public with an apology saying that she has learned from the experience and will continue to educate herself. How very “I Try” of her. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $50.50, tickets here, all ages) NOLAN PARKER
Tuesday, July 15
Shark Dissection
When you read the words "Shark Dissection," you might assume that this is going to be a concert for a grindcore band you've never heard of. But somehow, you would be wrong. Instead, Crystal Ballroom is playing host to an actual shark dissection, thanks to the brains and guts of Oregon State University's Big Fish Lab. Shark scientists will project the dissection onto a big screen, creating what will no doubt be the most visceral imagery to ever grace the venue. Before the dissection, an exhibit and presentation will educate attendees on the predatory fish. And sure, it will be a little quease-inducing, but at least this apex predator can't bite. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 6 pm, $15–$20, tickets here, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Wednesday, July 16
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley / Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group
Listening closely to Gyedu-Blay Ambolley’s incredibly infectious 1982 single “Highlife,” you’ll clock Ambolley embracing funk, disco, calypso, and reggae as offshoots, contributors, and styles of highlife—a subgenre of African music cultivated in Ghana. And he’s right, highlife is an expansive music style first taking shape in the late 19th century that has continued to evolve to this very day. Wow, how refreshing that baked right into a genre of music is acceptance of change and new voices! Ambolley’s been doing it since the early ’70s, incorporating wild vocal inflections that can only be described as a purr but with an ‘h’ instead of a ‘p.’ The man’s 78, do not miss this show. Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group bring their Black joy and love to the opening slot. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $38.11, tickets here, 21+) NP
Matmos / Arch Cape
Metallic Life Review, Matmos’ fifteenth studio album released in June, feels like the third in an unofficial triptych the duo have been creating with this and their previous two albums, Regards/Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffer and Return to Archive. On Regards, the pair built the album by sampling the Polish composer Bogusław Schaeffer; while on Return to Archive they sourced non-music material from the Smithsonian Folkways archive. Now on Metallic Life Review, the band has chosen to sample metal objects to construct the new album—deconstructing preconceived notions about what music is, what can be used as instruments, and how the listener interacts with metal music. Portland’s Arch Cape tone-sets the evening with their simple production and ethereal vocals. (Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8 pm, $31, tickets here, 21+) NP
Related: Matmos will also be appearing July 17 at Synth Library Portland for an artist talk. Tickets and info here.
Thursday, July 17
Eddington
Ari Aster has a habit of sending messages before we're ready for them. Hereditary didn't wait for you to adjust to the darkness before it struck a decidedly freaky match. Then, Midsommar dragged horror back into the daylight and spawned a thousand flower crown costumes. Though not a horror film, Eddington channels a similar discomfort as one of the first narrative features set during the COVID-19 era. Are you ready? The film follows Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal as a sheriff and mayor in small town New Mexico, where in May 2020, a new virus propels a darkly comedic standoff. Aster looked to traditional and revisionist Westerns like My Darling Clementine and Unforgiven to inspire the movie's style. (Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st, opens July 17, $8–$11, tickets here, R) LC
Bike Play
Now on its 16th production, Bike Play's sheer longevity speaks to its quality as clearly as any review could. At opening night of the latest staging, Up Shift Creek, at least half of those attending were returning fans. Like previous years, the show unfolds via a series of interconnected skits, performed at stop-offs along a 4-5 mile bike route. The well-corked ride is kid-friendly, as long as your kids can hear passing jokes about forest-dwelling cults and the trippy, unidentified mushrooms. Shift Creek contains an engaging variety of performance: from synchronized dances to pun-laced lines to wordless sunset ballet. Watch Bike Play once, and you'll want to do it every year. (Leaves from Gammans Park, N Buffalo and N Burrage, July 17-19, 7 pm, suggested donation, bikeplaypdx.com, all ages) SS
Pattie Gonia Presents: SAVE HER! - An Environmental Drag Show
Environmentalist, drag queen, and community organizer Pattie Gonia is mother, but she's also on a quest to save Mother Earth. Pattie blends the campiness of drag with actual camp-inspired lewks, so you can expect some outdoorsy slay at this solution-seeking, climate change-centric show. The lineup also includes drag royalty VERA!, Sequoia, Nini Coco, and SURPRISE LOCAL GUESTS who "will leave you saying 'it’s getting hot in here.'" (Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 8 pm, $43.76–$162.49, tickets here, all ages) JANEY WONG
Friday, July 18
Days of Heaven in 35mm
If Andrew Wyeth’s painting "Christina’s World" were put to celluloid, it might become Days of Heaven: sun-soaked, light dappling strangely across wheat fields, evoking all of the loneliness and simmering longing of old, weird Americana. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Terrence Malick’s 1978 pastoral might be the most beautiful film ever made. Every frame is painterly. You might’ve seen Malick’s Badlands, which predates Days of Heaven by five years and feels like an exercise in developing this film’s mythic central tensions. If so, Days of Heaven is required viewing. Or maybe you’ve never seen a Malick film, in which case this 35mm screening is the perfect opportunity to experience the rapture of his work where it belongs: in a dark theater, as light moves across the prairie. (Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:30 pm, $12, tickets here, all ages) LC
Rebound presents Zodiac Rainbow Kiki Ball 2
You may remember Rebound PDX as the monthly kiki that popped up in a clandestine techno club beneath a rehabbed bank downtown—was there ever a more ballroom thing? She was living and thriving, giving face in the shadow of collapsed capitalist might. When that club moved on, Rebound did something even more typical of ball culture: successfully moved and rebuilt. Distinct from drag in a plethora of ways, ballroom culture was pioneered and popularized by trans and queer communities of color in ’80s East Coast and Midwest cities. Portland’s scene is small but strong. At Zodiac Rainbow Kiki Ball 2, your Zodiac sign is your house, and further lewk directions dictate: earth signs wear camo, fire signs are in animal print, water is in denim, and air should figure out something metallic. (The Get Down, 680 SE 6th, 9 pm, $15–$20, tickets here, 21+) SUZETTE SMITH
Also worth it:
In The Mood for Love: 25th Anniversary, opening July 18, tickets here
Saturday, July 19
Certain Women
Oregon’s favorite director Kelly Reichardt is best known for her Pacific Northwest-based storytelling (Old Joy, Showing Up, Wendy and Lucy, the list goes on), but as a fellow Portlander-by-way-of-Florida, I feel a special kinship with her slow cinema style—it mirrors the languid, heat-heavy pace of an afternoon in her hometown Miami. Certain Women (2016) is a particularly beloved Reichardt film, shifting away from the PNW into the stillness of small-town Montana. Its landscape feels both boundless and quietly suffocating on screen. Adapted from three Maile Maloy short stories, the film follows a stacked cast (Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Lily Gladstone in her breakout role) as they navigate the shifts and fissures in their self-image. Certain Women is restrained and subtle, as all Reichardt films are. But therein lies the key to her storytelling: It occupies a space beyond Hollywood bluntness and the solipsism of some indie fare, instead revealing a secret third thing. (Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 7 pm, $15, tickets here, R) LC
Judy on Duty
Someone once told me that you either go to Judy on Duty to start something or to finish something. Honestly? Too real. A cornerstone of queer nights out since way back in 2014, going to Judy feels like participating in an age-old queer rite: pulling a little look, bumping into at least two of your exes, yapping outside in a circle of your friends instead of dancing, then waking up the next morning in a group text discussing who kissed whom. (White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th, 8 pm, $12–$20, tickets here, 21+) JENNA FLETCHER
Also worth it:
Ray Anthony Barrett: Who by Fire at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Thurs-Sun July 12–Aug 9, more info here
Sunday, July 20
Chai & Roses Pride Party
The first time I went to a tea dance, I tried to wear a bonnet, and my friend was like “...no.” Plenty of tea dances are indiscernible from any other DJ party. But of the tried and true things to do on Portland’s parade weekend, this Sunday Tea Dance may have the most interesting vibes—and it’ll certainly have the best jams. Co-hosted with PDX Queer Asians, Chai & Roses boasts DJ Suavecito and DJ Anjali on the decks with Blossom Drearie and Chiffon Chérie taking additional shifts. Not every tea party sticks to the convention of snacks, but this girl did with small batch desi pastries from Chaiwallah PDX. (Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 7 pm, $21.27, tickets here, 21+) SS
Moment presents Ana Roxanne, Golden Retriever, Akila Fields, Pete Swanson
The decentralized music event Moment has done it again by hosting their next event at Leach Botanical Garden featuring live performances by Ana Roxanne, Golden Retriever, Akila Fields, and a DJ set by Pete Swanson of Yellow Swans. Nevermind that Ana Roxanne is an incredible synth minimalist whose star has only continued to rise since the release of her serene 2019 debut EP, but Golden Retriever is playing live and Pete Swanson is playing a DJ set? IN A LUSH SUN-DAPPLED GARDEN?? Let us not forget the cherry on top of this experimental ambient sundae Akila Fields—aka Palm Dat—offering a lackadaisical take on soul and R&B wholly Akila’s own. (Leach Botanical Garden, 6704 SE 112nd, 4:30 pm, $30, tickets here, all ages) NP
Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut.
