Welcome to the first full week of February, which will likely feel a little like a hangover due to America’s third-most important (unofficial) holiday —The National Football League’s Patriotic Tribute to Gluttony (and Corporate Marketing Expo)—having occurred just this last Sunday. But like any good coach would tell you, the best way to shake off those cobwebs is to just get back out there, and lucky for you this week’s got a lot of greatness to indulge, not least of which being the Portland Black Film Festival kicking off, as well as the return of both Kurt Braunohler and Yacht, as well as the I, Anonymous Show taking the stage yet again, and some wonderful, fashionable Unmentionables being showcased on the runway. It’s a busy week ahead; hit the links below and load your plate accordingly
Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Monday, Feb 5
Portland Black Film Festival
For years, the Hollywood Theatre’s Portland Black Film Festival has brought some fantastic films to town—films from African American filmmakers, films that focus on Black lives and experiences, and films that are worth a look from everybody. The 2018 edition, curated by local comics writer, filmmaker, and educator David Walker, is no different, filling February with a wide-ranging selection of movies… and the great Joe Morton, the festival’s guest of honor. Perhaps best known from his role on Scandal and for causing the robot apocalypse in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (THANKS, JOE), Morton will be in attendance for a 35mm screening of his 1984 comedy classic Brother From Another Planet, in which “The Brother” (Morton) lands on Earth and gets an apartment in Harlem (screens Sat Feb 24). There’s a bunch of other must-see stuff too, including a showcase of shorts made by local Black filmmakers (Sun Feb 25); a screening of 1973’s The Spook Who Sat by the Door (Sat Feb 17); Afrofuturism, a collection of sci-fi and horror shorts (Sun Feb 11); a 20th anniversary screening of Blade, in which Wesley Snipes teaches vampires what’s what (Thurs Feb 8); a tribute to filmmaker and photographer Elijah Hasan (Wed Feb 21); and screenings of Lena Horne’s Stormy Weather (Mon Feb 5), Charles Bradley: Soul of America (Thurs Feb 22), and more. You should go to a lot of these things, or else Blade will fucking kill you. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Various Times, see hollywoodtheatre.org for titles and showtimes
David Dondero, Adam Ostrar, Birger Olsen
Each of David Dondero’s songs are like open wounds, raw and pulsing with life but extraordinarily painful to stare into for long periods of time. Still, tunes like “Pornographic Love Song” and “Rothko Chapel” are masterpieces, the work of one of America’s best living songwriters. NED LANNAMANN
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
Prettiest Eyes, Bombay Beach, Memory Boys, Pennymart
Prettiest Eyes’ 2017 LP, Pools, didn’t make a single year-end list I looked at, and I looked at a lot of those lists. I made one of those lists. Prettiest Eyes was not on it. The whole damn system is broken if something as powerful and pure as Pools is slipping through the cracks. The album opens with hypnotic synth stabs and echoing vocals that recall Suicide, but within a minute, Prettiest Eyes ditches the menacing groove for the primal release of punk chaos. The rest of the album pursues variations on that theme: the Los Angeles trio will lay down a deep, head-bobbing throb before ascending into feral oblivion that is all fog, strobe lights, and stinging sweat. Bands have been chasing the unholy magic of the Screamers for decades now, but few have come this close to actually capturing it. CHRIS STAMM
8 pm, The Know
4th Annual Crab Feast
King Estate wines goes really well with this special four-course meal that Seasons & Regions isn’t afraid to describe as “decadent.”
Seasons & Regions, $6 pm, $75
Malcolm X
Spike Lee fought like hell to adapt The Autobiography of Malcolm X after a long and troubled production history that saw the project pass through the hands of creatives including James Baldwin, Sidney Lumet, Norman Jewison, David Mamet, and more over the course of 20-plus years. “I was born to make this movie,” he said, and he wasn’t lying. It could be argued he’s made better films (Do the Right Thing and 25th Hour, specifically) but it can’t be argued that this is the film that meant the most to him, and the results are visible, palpable, and powerful. BOBBY ROBERTS
7 pm, Clinton Street Theater
Tuesday, Feb 6
The Night Before Dilla
Drummer/producer Daru Jones (Jack White, Talib Kweli, Black Milk), xylosynth player/beat maker Galaxe (Yak Attack, Ghost-Note), and an array of special guests pay tribute to the legendary Detroit-hailing producer with a special performance benefiting PDX Youth Music Education.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $10
Yacht, French Vanilla
Yacht’s relocation from Portland to Los Angeles hasn’t soured their hometown one bit. The multi-pronged art conglomerate followed up their 2015 LP I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler—the band’s first for Downtown Records—with the bouncy electro-pop of 2017’s Strawberry Moon EP. This newest offering forges the danceable production of Jona Bechtolt with Claire L. Evans’ playful pop vocals. Above all, though, it’s just fun. Yacht appears to have addressed its almost universally negatively critiqued sex-tape hoax of 2016 with “Shame,” the super-catchy manifesto of contemporary social media metaphysics that dares a generation to escape their “thingness.” Whether you can claim to have seen them play a party to, like, 15 people in someone’s basement in 2004, or whether you’d heard of them before you even moved here makes no difference to the band, probably. RYAN J. PRADO
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $15
Cheston Knapp, Jon Raymond
The the managing editor of Tin House reads from Up Up, Down Down, a collection of linked essays that combine together as a coming-of-age story. Knapp will be joined in conversation by Jon Raymond, author of Freebird.
7:30 pm, Powell’s City of Books, free
Alltar Alltar, Wolflaut
Alltar Alltar and Wolflaut headline the latest installment of the Tonic Lounge’s “Heavy Tuesdays” series, bringing you sets from a pair of local rock/psych/sludge/metal acts, with $2 entry and $2 beers to sweeten the deal.
9 pm, Tonic Lounge, $2
B-Movie Bingo: Angel of Fury
Your monthly opportunity to literally check off a bingo card full of B-movie clichés! This month features the clock-cleaning queen of cock-knock Cynthia Rothrock, a shlock cinema force needing only the barest of plots to start a path of destruction that leaves lumpy trails of broken stuntmen in her wake. 1992’s Angel of Fury is a perfect example—the story is some flimsy shit about a group of terrorists trying to jack her for the computer she’s trying to transport. The plot is not there for you to care about. It is there to provide an excuse to send waves of sweaty idiots face- (and crotch-) first into her feet and fists. Enjoy. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9
Wednesday , Feb 7
Unmentionable: A Lingerie Expedition
One of the most popular runway shows of the year is Unmentionable: A Lingerie Exposition produced by Elizabeth Mollo and Cassie Ridgway, and hosted by Marissa Sullivan (AKA the wickedly knowledgeable Mercury fashion squad). Emphasizing body positivity and great design, you’ll see some of the most creative collections of awesome underthings from Lille Boutique, Altar Houseline, Copper Union, Thunderpants, KD Designs, and many more. Plus, a portion of proceeds will be going to Planned Parenthood! Truly, everybody wins. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
8 pm, Mission Theater, $15-25
The I, Anonymous Show
Sure, the Portland Mercury is the world’s greatest newspaper, and reading it is the only reason you get out of bed in the morning. BUT! Did you know we also put on the I, Anonymous Show, a hilarious live event inspired by our eternally popular I, Anonymous column? Well, we do. Now you know. This week, the I, Anonymous Show features beloved local comedians Caitlin Weierhauser, Jeremiah Coughlin, Erin Ingle, and Neeraj Srinivasan, who’ll go deep in discussing the latest, weirdest, creepiest, rantiest, sexiest, and anonymous-iest I, Anonymouses! This show’s always a blast, and with this lineup, this one will be especially fun. ERIK HENRIKSEN
7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $10
Boink, Toothbone, Surfer Rosie
The Doug Fir hosts a double release show, with local indie rock trio Toothbone and sprawling art-punk ensemble Boink unleashing their latest projects into the world.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $8-10
Miss Rayon, Planet Damn, Cool Flowers
Mississippi Studios invites you to come out and get acquainted with a dynamic array of up-and-coming punk, post-punk, and no wave talent on the cheap.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5
Queer Commons: The Topp Twins—Untouchable Girls
This month’s installment of the Hollywood’s queer-focused series is Leanne Pooley’s documentary (the highest grossing doc in New Zealand’s history) about the world’s most successful comedic country-and-western yodeling lesbian sibling duo. They are also the world’s only comedic country-and-western yodeling lesbian sibling duo.
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9
Thursday, Feb 8
Kurt Braunohler
Comedian Kurt Braunohler is wonderful, weird, and ever so likable, with jokes about the particular sadness of being a ginger going blonde with age, and the best goddamn impression of a beaver you’ll ever see in your life. It’s just really cute and great and defies all description. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true, and if you want to understand why, you’ll need to see it for yourself MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $17-33
Seafood & Beer Dinner
Are you reading this and thinking “Yunno, seafood is delicious, and beer is also delicious, and a dinner that combines the two would pretty much be perfect,” Migration Brewing’s got you: Chef Casey Gipson has planned an eight-course menu that stops in every single one of the Earth’s oceans for inspiration, paired perfectly with specially-made brews.
6:30 pm, Migration Brewing Co., $70
Think Out Loud at 10
OPB’s daily radio show Think Out Loud is turning 10 years old and to celebrate the show is recording a series of one-on-one interviews with host Dave Miller and an array of notable Oregonians. Guests include Cheryl Strayed, Han Ly Hwang, Holly Andres, Aida Valentine, Max Williams, and Ural Thomas.
7 pm, Alberta Rose Theatre, free w/ rsvp
Kimbra, Arc Iris
Best known for her soaring, plaintive vocals in Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Kimbra is so much more. Mixing jazz with R&B/funk stylings and ladling on dollops of hiphop, disco, and experimental pop, Kimbra’s expansive sound will surely inspire asses to shake, and mouths to gape. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
8:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $25-30, all ages
The Belle Game
Fresh off a tour with Canadian indie giants Broken Social Scene, Vancouver-based quartet the Belle Game bring their own blend of pop-tinged indie rock back down the West Coast for a headlining show supporting their latest full-length, Fear/Nothing.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $10
Don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!