THURSDAY 8/26

RHYME AND REASON—Need a quick primer on Portland's sadly neglected hiphop scene? Start here. Chicharones are the dream-team collaboration between Josh "the People's Champ" Martinez and the fastest emcee in the land, Sleep. Joining them is up-and-comer Cloudy October, who's been known to steal the show every time he sets foot onstage. EAC
w/Rafael Vigilantics, Eddie Valiant; Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 8 pm, $6-8

AMA-ZINE!—Small press artists and writers take over Portland this week for the 10th annual Zine Symposium, a weekend-long festival featuring 230 tables of DIY art, stapled punk manifestos, and homemade comics. The cra-zine-ness kicks off tonight with Zines on Toast, a traveling cadre of local and UK radicals ready to regale you with tales of the British zine scene. SM
Zines on Toast at Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 7 pm, FREE; Zine Symposium at Portland State University Stott Gymnasium, Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun 10 am-4 pm, FREE

FRIDAY 8/27

STRIKING A CHORD—Powell's workers celebrate 10 years of union book slinging with Rock Out to Walk Out, a concert raising some cash for their strike fund (don't worry, they're not quitting the bookstore anytime soon!). The real show is Powell's employee bands performing folksy union songs—also, there will be dancing. Book nerd dancing. SM
w/DJ Anjali, the Incredible Kid, & more; Cleaners at the Ace Hotel, 403 SW 10th, 5 pm, $5

NW PASSAGE—Yes, kiddos, Portland has a music scene that predates Elliott Smith. Local research nerds the Dill Pickle Club teamed up with a handful of other arts orgs (from PDX Pop Now! to the Oregon Historical Society) to produce a book and CD project investigating that history, Northwest Passage: 50 Years of Independent Music from the Rose City. AH
w/DJ Hwy 7; Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 7 pm, FREE

SATURDAY 8/28

OLD TOWN—The second annual Old Town Block Party is upon us, with another rippin' lineup of bands (Deelay Ceelay, the Joggers, the Mean Jeans, Lovers) and DJs, plus local vendors shilling food and other goodies. Like beer. MS
w/the Fix DJs, Matt Nelkin, DJ Nature; NW 4th & 5th between Couch & Davis, noon-10 pm, FREE, all ages

GOLDEN HITS—The raucous, brawling duo of Pure Country Gold are ready to foist their new album Tough Tuesday upon the world, and for the release show they're inviting all their closest friends to get blind drunk at their favorite watering hole. That includes you, so booze up and watch 'em blast the doors off legendary Northeast dive Club 21—which is just a stagger away from the legendary Northeast Mercury offices. Guess we're not driving. NL
w/Old Growth, DJ Hwy 7; Club 21, 2035 NE Glisan, 9 pm, FREE

SUNDAY 8/29

CETI ALPHA V—If you weren't able to get decent seats for the crazy popular, crazy fun Trek in the Park—in which local theater group Atomic Arts reenacted the classic Trek episode "Space Seed" in Woodlawn Park—don't worry! For one night only, Trek in the Park performs "Space Seed" at the Bagdad, followed by a big-screen showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the great 1982 film that picks up where "Space Seed" ends! KHAAAAN!!! EH
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 8 pm, $6

LEGEND—Okay, his best years are behind him. Sure, his voice is a wreck. But look: it's Bob fucking Dylan, as monumental a figure as exists in American music. Would you turn down the chance to see Shakespeare write a play in person? Or watch Picasso paint a picture? Dylan's in the same category; don't miss the chance to witness a legend in the flesh. NL
w/John Mellencamp, the Dough Rollers; Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, Sat & Sun, 6 pm, $64.50, all ages

MONDAY 8/30

BEER-STORY—In a near-meta twist, the Oregon Historical Society's History Pub takes on the history of the Oregon brewpub, with an incredible panel of brewers, writers, and legislators who made Portland's beer paradise possible. PAC
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 7 pm, FREE

COWABUNGA—Tired of landlocked living? Slip on your best Jams and flipflops and cruise over to Holocene for the first annual Beach Bunnies Get Bent: A Surf Night. Vintage surf films, a rare DJ set from those beach honeys in Dum Dum Girls, plus enough live music to make you shred the gnarl. (I have no idea what that means, but I think it's a good thing.) EAC
w/Guantanamo Baywatch, Orca Team, the Reservations; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8:30 pm, $5

TUESDAY 8/31

SMOOTH SAILING—Longing for summers spent sailing off the shore of Cape Cod before heading back to your Ivy League university? Vampire Weekend will help you reminisce—or imagine—those simpler, preppier times as summer winds down to a close. Don't forget to bring the horchata. SH
w/Beach House, Dum Dum Girls; Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, 6 pm, $35, all ages 

LITERARY HEAT—Two of Oregon's dreamiest authors (yes, that is an official designation of literary merit) join forces tonight: Matt Love explores his personal history as a teacher and an advocate for Oregon's public beaches with Gimme Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker, while Willy Vlautin investigates Portland's seamier sides with Lean on Pete, a coming-of-age story largely set at Portland Meadows. Swooooon. AH
Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 7 pm, FREE

WEDNESDAY 9/1

MAKE 'EM LAUGHComedy is OK returns for another bout at the brand-new Helium Comedy Club with a night of hand-picked stand-up from Portland's comedic darlings Andrew Michaan (who moonlights as a Mercury intern) and Mikey Kampmann. ND
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, 8:30 pm, $5

SHE BOP—For just a girl who wants to have fun, Cyndi Lauper has certainly done well for herself. After 25 years and tons of record sales, Lauper has shown herself to be a multifaceted singer/songwriter who is also an actress, a sly feminist, a gay rights activist, and now with her latest album, Memphis Blues, a soulful Southern belle. CP
w/Charlie Musselwhite; Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon, 7 pm, $27, all ages