Shane Torres
When former Portlander Shane Torres takes a break from his quasi-glamorous life in New York to come back to town for a comedy set, you should absolutely go. He’s a goofy, tragicomic, self-effacing performer and one of the few comedians I’ve seen who can make me laugh about the depressing concept of emotional debt. MEGAN BURBANK
7:30 pm, 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $20-28
Club Nitty Gritty
If you’re looking for a dance night that sets the evening on fire, check out Club Nitty Gritty, hosted by the always down for a good time DJ Action Slacks (Shannon Wiberg). She’s been pounding the turntables for years with righteous choices in down-home dirty soul—the kind with raw sax and voices that wail and scratch. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
9 pm, (The World Famous) Kenton Club, $7
Help The Hoople Help The Hoople: A Benefit for Scott McCaughey – Night 2
The party to help raise money for Portland musician Scott McCaughey’s medical and rehabilitation moves over to the Wonder Ballroom Saturday, with sets by the Decemberists, Casey Neill, Dharma Bums, and more. Two reasons you should go: It’s rare to see bills this jam-packed with legendary musicians, and it’s critical to get McCaughey the help he needs to recover. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $50
Tom Petty Tribute Night
Hot on the heels of a pair of tribute shows at the Alberta St. Pub, local musicians John Craigie, Brad Barsons, Jay Cobb Anderson, Tyler Thompson, Lewi Longmire, and Laurie Shook are bringing a special set of Tom Petty tunes out to the Laurelthirst Pub for an intimate encore performance.
9:30 pm, LaurelThirst Public House
Scott Kelly, STAHV
Over the course of three studio records—sandwiched between Neurosis and his many other side-projects—Kelly has perfected his storytelling and music. He’s heavily influenced by Townes Van Zandt, playing apocalyptic country songs that range from barebones to fleshed-out and fully realized with the help of numerous guest musicians (including some of his Neurosis brethren). Kelly has been through the trials and pitfalls of music over the course of three decades—this is where he gets some of it off his chest, and the listener gets an unfiltered take on life as a working musician. MARK LORE
9 pm, Dante’s, $10
Oliver!
DID YOU KNOW: The kid who played Oliver in this late ’60s musical adaptation of the Dickens story grew up, got his black belt in karate, and became the godfather to Michael Jackson’s kids? He apparently cared so much for them that he made news in the late 2000s by volunteering the possibility that the sperm he donated to Michael might have been the sperm that created one of those kids! What a generous guy! Not a lot of people would just suggest such a thing, out loud, in front of the media, for no apparent reason or purpose! Anyway, just something to keep in the back of your head when you watch this weird musical about homeless children being bullied by dainty ape Oliver Reed. BOBBY ROBERTS
2 pm, NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium
BowieVision, SOS
Insisting that they’re a “celebration rather than a tribute,” Seattle’s BowieVision reinterprets the classic works of David Bowie—and does so with a phenomenal amount of verve and charm. ERIK HENRIKSEN
9 pm, Doug Fir, $19
Cool American, The She’s
There’s little doubt that late ’90s indie, emo, and punk crews helped shape Cool American, but that doesn’t mean those specters should define the Portland band. Their first two records melded Nathan Tucker’s smart pop songwriting with lethargic observational malaise, making hook-heavy tracks like “Who’s Got the Next Cut?” (from 2016’s You Can Win a Few) feel eerily bleak. On the four-piece’s new record, Infinite Hiatus, they double down on the peppiness, scorching through fast-paced punk and Malkmus-esque cleverness, echoing the tempo shifts of a Sidekicks tune, and invoking the twitchy peaks and valleys of millennial boredom. Songs as catchy as “Maui’s” and “Seems Insane” provide insight into Tucker’s creative wellspring and proof that there’s likely much more to come from this young band. RYAN J. PRADO
8 pm, The Know
HER: Portland Launch Party
The popular social and dating app for lesbian, bisexual, and queer people announces its arrival in Portland by way of this special launch party, featuring burlesque dancers and music by Lady Jane DJ and DJ KinkyLoops.
9 pm, Holocene, $8-12
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
You know what the trick is to enjoying this endlessly-praised, virtually plotless, depressingly beautiful neo-noir? It’s a trick the members of its cult often learn by their third or fourth viewing—Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard is a giant piece of shit, and he also really sucks at his job. Once you stop expecting anything resembling “heroics” out of him, and realize you definitely shouldn’t be rooting for him, the film’s focus naturally shifts to his shared targets, Roy Batty and Rachel, and that’s when the ponderous, accidental genius of Ridley Scott’s film locks in and takes hold. That all-timer of a score by Vangelis doesn’t hurt, either. BOBBY ROBERTS
Academy Theater, see Movie Times for showtimes
Felipe Esparza
The Mexican comedian known for his recent HBO special, Translate This, brings his raw, real-life stand-up back to Portland for a stop on his “Bad Decisions” tour.
7 pm, Revolution Hall, $32.50-50
Don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!