MUSIC—Revolution Hall, the new venue in what was once Washington High School’s decrepit auditorium, is calling this its “preview weekend” before it officially roars to life this spring. It’s a goddamned beautiful sign of things to come. Dream-folk wizards Alialujah Choir are celebrating their new album with co-headliners Wild Ones, followed by Dan Savage on Friday and Live Wire!‘s season opener on Saturday. DENIS C. THERIAULT
Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 8 pm, $15, all ages
TALKING—TED Talks are so sloppy. The Japanese, in painstakingly structured fashion, have come up with a better way to get information from complete strangers. In PechaKucha, speakers offer up 20 slides, at 20 seconds apiece, for 400 seconds of potential genius or floundering failure. Tonight at Holocene, catch invited speakers’ ruminations on “Design for Survival.” DIRK VANDERHART
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 7 pm, FREE, RSVP at designmuseumportland.org