My, What A Busy Week!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

MAN KILLERS—Get ready for the Grindhouse Film
Festival’s double dose of awesome! The hilarious Alligator stars
Robert Forster as a badass cop hunting down a giant gator lurking in
the streets, sewers, and wedding receptions of Chicago (plus, it’s
written by arthouse fave John Sayles!), while Chained Heat stars
Linda Blair in a women’s prison that’s filled with two things: violence
and lesbians! EH
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, Alligator at 7 pm, Chained Heat at 9 pm, $8 for both movies

RENAISSANCE MAN—When he’s not writing songs that
inspire breathless reviews from music critics (see Feature), Willy
Vlautin’s writing novels that inspire breathless reviews from book
critics. Vlautin’s newest doesn’t come out until spring, but tonight
he’ll read from his excellent sophomore release Northline, about
a young woman rebuilding her life after a relationship ends in
violence. AH
w/Hannah Tinti; Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm,
FREE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

COMIX ‘N’ SOCIALISM—Get over to Floating World tonight
for the debut of Floating World’s display of underground Chinese
comix—a perfect way to kick off a Chinese art-filled weekend,
coinciding with Saturday’s opening of the Portland Art Museum’s fall
exhibit China Design Now. SM
Chinese comix at Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th, #101, 6 pm, FREE;
China Design Now at the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW
Park, opens Sat Oct 10, $15

HAPPY BEERTHDAY—For the last year, Brewpublic.com has been striving to get
new and exciting beers into your hands through insightful news and
reviews. Tonight they celebrate their one-year anniversary with cake, a
video installation, and special pours from Lagunitas. PAC
Saraveza, 1004 N Killingsworth, 6 pm, FREE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10

FASHION—Portland Fashion Week is already in full swing,
and for bicyclists who insist on riding in style, the Ready to Roll
Fashion Show is the event for you! Benefiting Oregon Manifest, you’ll
see the latest and greatest runway styles from a ton of design
companies including Nau, Cyclelogical, Queen Bee, and more! WSH
Vigor Industrial Shipyards, 5555 N Channel, 3-5 pm, $20

FIVE YEARS—Happy fifth birthday, Doug Fir! You don’t
look a day over four. It’s tough to imagine this city without ye olde
Doug Fir, and all week the venerable rock club hosts a series of shows
to celebrate, including tonight’s show with the sumptuously epic sounds
of Japan’s Mono and the autobahn dance-rock of Athens, Georgia’s
Maserati. It’s going to be a party down in here! NL
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12-14 (or $25 week-long
pass)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

SPITFIRES—A vanload of ladies have been peddling their
bookish-minded wares with the queertastic program Sister Spit.
Featuring readings and performances by Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Ariel
Schrag, and many more, this evening promises “rowdy, raucous literary
adventures”—in other words, the cherry on top of your Wordstock
weekend. CF
Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $10-12

RIDE THE METRO—With band members that are literally
costumed in light, Metronomy’s live show doesn’t skimp on the
visual presentation. Despite Sunday being the lord’s day and all, we’re
certain Holocene will be packed and sweating to the electro-dance
heartbreak of frontman Joseph Mount, which sounds like your
favorite ’80s memory tangled up with bizarre alien sounds from the
future. NL
w/Fool’s Gold, DJ Lifepartner; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8:30
pm, $10-12

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12

AFTER WORDS—Today marks the 11th anniversary of Matthew
Shepard’s death and the international debut of The Laramie Project:
10 Years Later. This epilogue to the play about the infamous
Wyoming hate crime will premiere at nearly 100 theaters in the US and
around the globe, and the New Century Players tackle it in Portland.
AR
Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm, $23-57.75

CLOSE UP—If you ever wanted to cuddle up with
post-punk/prog-rock stalwarts …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of
Dead, you’re in luck! The sextet is playing at Dante’s tonight, which
means that everyone can get close enough to the stage for a communal
face melting. DB
w/Future of the Left; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $15-18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13

THREE WAY—There is not an ounce of fat on this bill,
with the ever-winding hymns of instrumentalists Au—perhaps the
most reliably stunning band in town right now—joined by the
exhilarating motorik race of Nice Nice and the who-needs-a-map sonic
explorations of Brainstorm. NL
Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $8

LEGENDS—All-female post-punk band the Raincoats are
about as legendary as it gets—the British group influenced a
generation that included Kurt Cobain and the riot grrrl movement.
Tonight’s once-in-our-lifetime show is in one of Portland’s smaller
rooms, with a couple of local favorites—openers Explode into
Colors and Panther, who must be losing their shit right about now.
AH
w/DJ Magic Beans; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8:30 pm,
$15-18

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14

AMATEURS & PURITANS—Here’s a tough decision: Haul
ass out to Beaverton to see the indefatigably entertaining Sarah Vowell
read from her latest work of pop history, The Wordy Shipmates,
or stay in town and visit the real Powell’s to see the Pulitzer-winning
Michael Chabon read from his new collection of memoir-y essays,
Manhood for Amateurs. However you choose, this is a win-win.
EH
Sarah Vowell at Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar
Hills, 7 pm, FREE
Michael Chabon at Powell’s City of Books,
1005 W Burnside, 7:30, FREE

BLEEP FWOOP!—Blurp dwurdle dwoop! Bweeeerp beep doop
dwooooo! Bleep boop, Star Wars in Concert dweep blorp Rose Garden,
tweet fweep full symphony, Anthony Daniels (C-3PO!), doop bloop
costumes bloop props! Bweep blorp blorp blurp! Dweeeeeeep! R2-D2
Rose Garden, 1 Center Court, 7:30 pm, $35-69, all ages