THURSDAY, MAY 21
FIESTA—¡Ay caramba! At tonight’s Sabor a
México event, eight of the city’s best Mexican restaurants dish
up margaritas, tapas, a flaming taco grill, and classy salsa music to
raise mucho dinero for Latino immigrant education grants. The more you
drink, the more they learn! SM
w/Caña Son, Art Villoria; Jupiter Hotel, 800 E Burnside, 6
pm, $30
XO—It’s impossible for this Oregonian to
describe Elliott Smith’s impact without sounding sappy or hyperbolic,
so I’m not even going to try. Just know that tonight at Reading Frenzy,
Matt LeMay introduces his reflections on Smith’s 1998 major label
debut, XO, in the newest installment from Continuum’s 33 1/3
series of pocket-sized books about seminal albums. AH
Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 7 pm, FREE
FRIDAY, MAY 22
PICKIN’—Newly backed by Columbia Records and the Midas
touch of über-producer Rick Rubin, the Avett Brothers have fully
launched their energetic, heartfelt, bluegrass-twinged roots rock into
the big time. Listen to songs from the eagerly anticipated I and
Love and You (due out August 11) as they play a two-night stand
right here in Bridgetown. NL
w/Jason Webley, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, Fri May 22 & Sat May 23, 9 pm, $20-22,
all ages
42—Half of Black Star (alongside Talib Kweli) and the
Brooklyn-born mastermind behind Black on Both Sides, Mos Def
might be better known now as the dude from Michel Gondry’s Be Kind
Rewind and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Despite his
presence on movie screens, though, he’s still got it as a quick-witted,
charismatic emcee. EH
w/the Knux, Lilla D’Mone, Gen.Erik, DJ Wels; Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 8
pm, $30, all ages
SATURDAY, MAY 23
COOKIE MOUNTAIN—If you missed out on past Portland
performances, don’t sleep on the mighty TV on the Radio this time
around. Conducting their victory lap after releasing the flawless
Dear Science, the Brooklyn-based band still wears the crown as .
But if any band can knock them off that throne, it very well might be
tonight’s openers Dirty Projectors. EAC
Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 9 pm, $20, all ages
S.O.V.—To the uninitiated, a tiny, 23-year-old white
Londoner named Lady Sovereign might not seem like one of the most
distinctive and talented voices in hiphop—but with her vivacious,
smart, funny, and insanely contagious debut, Public Warning (2006), she established herself as just that. While her new album,
Jigsaw, isn’t as good, you’d be a fool to pass up this show,
which’ll be as much fun as you’ll have all week. EH
w/Chester French, Hollywood Holt; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm,
$15
SUNDAY, MAY 24
PICTURE BOOKS—Before they were movies, they were books
that required you to read. See iconic works of filmerature like
Midnight Cowboy, Jaws, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and
more, as part of the Wordstock Book-to-Film Festival screening at
various McMenamins theaters all weekend—and impress your friends
when you snobbily insist the book is better. JC
Mission Theater, Kennedy School, Bagdad Theater; Sat May
23-Sun May 24, $3, see Movie Times on pg. TK for complete
schedule
PARTY PIT—Few bands have experienced a meteoric rise to
prominence like Boston’s Passion Pit. If you think the band is on an
upward swing now, just wait until more people hear their masterful
full-length, Manners. The band’s wild, glitchy bedroom
electronic sound is capped by helium-voiced singer Michael Angelakos
and his adorable lovestruck lyrics. EAC
Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell, 9 pm, $12.50-15, all ages
MONDAY, MAY 25
HE CARES—At his last Portland show, King Khan punched
out a member of the audience for acting like a jackass. See? Khan not
only busts out heavy, grimy garage rock with his German backing band
the Shrines—he cares about the quality of his swingin’ soul revue
enough to take matters into his own hands. NL
w/Mark Sultan, the Fresh & Onlys; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm,
$10
DRAMATIS PERSONAE—You might know Annie Clark as the ace
shredder in Polyphonic Spree, but as St. Vincent, the Dallas-raised
wunderkind weaves two tattered music idioms—singer/songwriter and
prog-style noodling—into a textured whole. Tonight, Clark returns
to Portland on the heels of her second album, the darker, craftier
Actor. AS
w/Pattern Is Movement; Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm,
$15, all ages
TUESDAY, MAY 26
MUSICAL—Grey Gardens mania continues in the wake
of the Drew Barrymore/Jessica Lange film based on the original
documentary, with Portland Center Stage’s production of Grey
Gardens, the musical! Eccentric and glamorous cat
ladies, your ship has come to port. MS
Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW 11th, 7:30 pm, $30.50-67,
through June 21
DOLLHOUSE—Still around and kickin’ (some of ’em,
anyway), grandpappies of punk/glam/new wave the New York Dolls are
back, and touring the world in support of their newest release,
Cause I Sez So. Don’t miss the band that influenced the Ramones,
Blondie, Kiss, the Clash, Morrissey… shall I go on? Or shall you just go? WSH
w/the Cliks; Berbati’s Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 8:30 pm, $22-25
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27
FLYING SAUCERS—Catch a camp classic with a soundtrack
of live strings, electronica, and voice actors! Tonight, the Filmusik
ensemble—who did a similar thing with vintage Superman cartoons some months back—takes on the legendarily awful
Plan 9 from Outer Space, complete with live sound
effects. MD
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Wed May 27 & Fri May 29, 7
pm, $10
MYSTERY—A dead waitress behind a dumpster, autopsies,
perfectly managed facial hair, and beer—OMSI After Dark will let
you drink while you solve a grisly mystery in the new CSI exhibit, where DNA analysis is always right and only takes a matter of
minutes! BYO sexual tension. PAC
OMSI, 1945 SE Water, 6-10 pm, $10, 21+