2nd Annual NW Black Comedy Festival
The NW Black Comedy Festival is back for a second year, with a new location—the Billy Webb Elks Lodge, a major center of Portland’s Black history—and a fantastic lineup including local improv geniuses Broke Gravy; a live episode Merc columnist D Martin Austin’s comedy-dissecting podcast Your Fault for Listening; and a special edition of Minority Retort, the city’s only showcase for comedians of color (and one of its best, period). MEGAN BURBANK
Feb 16-18, Fri-Sat 6 pm; Sun 5 pm; Billy Webb Elks Lodge, $10-150
Sabertooth Micro Fest
Sabertooth Micro Fest returns this weekend to host three nights of mind-melting psychedelic stoner rock. This year’s lineup includes the occult heavy metal forbears of Coven, indie rock guitar hero Jay Som, and local favorites like Cat Hoch and Lavender Flu. CIARA DOLAN
Feb 16-18, 7:30 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $25-30, all ages
Giants in the Trees, Skull Diver, Mere Mention
The first thing you’ll probably hear about Giants in the Trees is that the band’s bassist/accordionist is none other than Krist Novoselic of Nirvana. But musically, Giants in the Trees shares little (if anything) with Novoselic’s famous past—after meeting at their local Grange in Skamokawa, Washington, late last year the four-piece released their swamp-rocky self-titled debut and has since been playing shows around the Pacific Northwest. The band’s true star is singer/guitarist Jillian Raye, whose enchanting, Stevie Nicks-esque vocals and sultry runs buoy songs like “Sasquatch” and “The In-Between.” Giants in the Trees strays into quirky realms on the zydeco-influenced “Ode to Pacific Anarchism,” but pop explorations like “Paper Life” cut the occasionally strange tracks with magically melodic rock. RYAN J. PRADO
8 pm, Mission Theater, $15, all ages
It’s Not You, It’s… OK, Yeah It’s You
A special night for those who don’t have the rosiest of outlooks on Valentine’s Day, starring singer and storyteller Stephanie Schneiderman, with support from true tales by Shelley McLendon, Anthony Kell, and Chris Williams.
8 pm, Siren Theater, $14-16
Strange Ranger, Cool American, World Record Winner, Stella Walker
Ever since releasing their monumental, 72-minute-long debut LP Rot Forever in 2016, signing with East Coast indie label Tiny Engines, and putting out the phenomenal sophomore album Daymoon last year, Strange Ranger has showed no signs of slowing down. Despite comparisons to indie rock torchbearers Modest Mouse and Built to Spill, the Portland band has carved out an identity all its own. Perhaps most distinct about Strange Ranger’s sound is Isaac Eiger’s vocals—sometimes he’s screaming, other times he’s whispering introspective lyrics. That’s what makes them one of my favorite bands in the Northwest and beyond. Tonight they’re kicking off their US tour with an all-ages show at Black Water Bar with fellow local acts Cool American, World Record Winner, and Stella Walker. DELANEY MOTTER
7:30 pm, Black Water Bar
Drunk in Love: Beyoncé vs. Drake
Ante Up PDX and Tribute Night throw a Valentine’s party for people who prefer to express their love and affection in the form of hitting the dancefloor and staying there all damn night, and Doc Adam will be doing his best to keep them there by pulling from hits, remixes, b-sides and deep cuts from the Queen Bee and that one dude with all the ghostwriters.
9 pm, Holocene, $10
Holiday Friends, Paper Brain, Siren & the Sea
Holiday Friends, from Astoria, take straightforward pop-rock songs and dress ’em up with synths, programmed rhythms, and other future-stuff.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $10
DJ Manny, DJ Taye, Sonic D, Eric Fury, Monster Eats the Image
Chi-Town takes over PICA for this night of footwork featuring DJ Manny and DJ Taye, two producers who helped create and define the subgenre in the early 2000s with the now-global Teklife collective. Synthesizing influences from ghetto house, Detroit techno, and beyond, footwork is also a style of dance with lightning-fast moves that bring to life the sound’s intricate rhythms. This event features DJ sets, performances, a dance workshop led by Manny and Taye, plus a screening of the 2014 documentary I’m Tryna Tell Ya, which gives an intimate glimpse at the close-knit Teklife crew and key figures like DJ Spinn, RP Boo, Traxman, and the late legend DJ Rashad. Sonic D of Los Angeles’ hardworking Juke Bounce Werk collective will open the show, along with DJ Eric Fury and live act Monster Eats the Image. Neybuu—a Portland producer of experimental footwork—will provide visuals. DANIELA SERNA
7 pm, PICA at Hancock, $10-15
Mortified Portland: 10th Anniversary
Portland storytellers take to the stage to share stories from their adolescence that absolutely shouldn’t be shared with anyone because the secondhand awkwardness and embarrassment could be hazardous to your sanity. For this 10th anniversary celebration, each show will feature a different line-up of Mortified performers from the past 10 years.
Feb 16-17; Fri 7 pm, Sat 6 pm & 9 pm; Alberta Rose Theatre, $16-23
Black Belt Eagle Scout, Pools, Layperson
Olympia-based duo Pools bring their dreamy bedroom pop sounds down the I-5 for a Portland show featuring support from stand-out local acts Layperson and Black Belt Eagle Scout.
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!, $5
And And And, Tribe Mars, Melt
Along with their new album Idiot, local rock ’n’ roll heroes And And And are releasing a manifesto of sorts to explain why they’re keeping it off all digital streaming platforms and instead offering unlimited streaming and free downloads exclusively through their website (plus on vinyl). The gist is this: The internet is bad for us, both as individuals and as a society, and it becomes more powerful every day, thanks in part to our social media and streaming activity. And streaming platforms are bad because they devalue music and take control of how it is presented away from artists. The manifesto is, ummm, colorfully written—And And And has apparently named the internet “Bragi,” and a recent photo of the band shows them all wearing tinfoil hats—but the thing is absolutely oozing with truth. Which is why you should delete your Spotify account, visit And And And’s website, and check out the band’s nervy, dynamic guitar-rock, which buzzes and crunches and thumps and squeals in a way that’s both comfortingly familiar and a little bit chaotic. BEN SALMON
9 pm, Doug Fir, $10-13
Don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!