THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Lydia Davis is a formal innovator and a thematic
provocateur who’s written several acclaimed books of stories and
contributed a volume to the ongoing re-translation of Proust’s In
Search of Lost Time. Her lecture tonight is a chance to hear one of
the finest short story authors writing in America today. Don’t miss it.
AH
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm,
$30
Today kicks off the Siren Nation Festival, an
annual affair honoring women—particularly Portland women—in
the arts. Spanning the weekend with music, film, and visual
arts, it begins at the gallery space with over 50 artists on
display in a group show themed “The Journey.” MS
Artist reception w/DJs Safi & Tender; Olympic Mills Building,
107 SE Washington, 6 pm, FREE, all ages, see sirennation.org for complete festival
information
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6
KUFO fucked up, firing three of the
best radio personalities in Portland: Rick Emerson, Bobby “Fatboy”
Roberts, and Cort Webber. While the new, dumbed-down KUFO is now dead
to all sane people, Cort and Fatboy refuse to go softly: They’re
continuing their monthly Midnight Movies series, and this month the
film is the Coen Brothers’ classic Raising Arizona!
Expect plenty of Nic Cage ridiculousness, tons of beer, and two of the
funniest guys in Portland as your hosts. EH
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 11 pm, $3, 21+
The Nightclubbing party just got a
triple-whammy of live additions: San Francisco’s Windsurf, Portlander
Honey Owens’ new Miracles Club project with Rafael Fauria, plus Jonas
Reinhardt. If you’ve got any synth left in ya after that, resident DJs
Linger & Quiet will take it to the hoop. MS
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8 pm, $5
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
J Mascis’ slurred vocals, guitar solos
for days, enough volume to puncture an eardrum—Dinosaur Jr.’s
sprawling sound has remained untouched for the past quarter century.
Now reunited with their original and best lineup (Mascis, Lou Barlow,
Murph) the band sounds reinvigorated, and their latest, Farm, is
just as lively and exciting as you’d expect. EAC
w/Lou Barlow and the Missingmen, Violent Soho; Wonder Ballroom,
128 NE Russell, 8 pm, $22-24, 21+
North Portland contemporary art space
Disjecta is hosting an annual auction that, unlike other benefit
auctions, promises to be raucous and well boozed. (Not to mention, it’s
hosted by always-witty emcee-about-town AC Dickson.) Tonight’s the
night to snatch the work of some of the most original and interesting
artists in town. SM
w/DJ Chazz Madrigal; Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate, 7 pm,
$20
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8
All-British, part-Portland band
the Cribs are playing a free record release show to launch their
new Ignore the Ignorant album. Next stop: a Letterman taping,
then a world tour, so this is your chance to see them before they take
over the planet. MD
Fabulous Jackpot Records, 203 SW 9th, 2 pm, FREE, all ages
Hot Little Hands is one of the more visually
engaging dance groups working in the city today. At times incorporating
masks and stunning stagecraft, their new show, a meditation on crisis
and loss, may be what just you need as November settles. PAC
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate, 2 pm, $12
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9
GLOBETROTTER—Bet you’ve never heard anything like
Moomaw before. The Barcelona troubadour (he’s originally from the US)
plays simple country and folk ditties on Hawaiian ukuleles, sounding
like an intimate travel journal come to life. NL
w/Sarcastic Dharma Society, Joel Kraft; Dunes, 1905 NE MLK, 9
pm
I may or may not be the teeniest bit gay for George
Clooney. (It’s cool; my girlfriend and I have discussed it, and
it’s not a problem or anything.) Clooney’s latest, Men Who Stare at
Goats, costars Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey; it’s
based on an ostensibly true story about the US government training
psychic soldiers who KILL GOATS WITH THEIR MINDS. Does this have the
potential to be the greatest movie ever? Yes. It does.
(IloveyouGeorge.) EH
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Heads up! It’s the final entry in the
Grindhouse Film Festival’s Old School Kung Fu Masters series! In 1978’s
7 Grandmasters, a kung fu teacher must kick the
collective ass of seven different masters with wildly different
styles—as well as an evil guy with a weird hat. Hilarious! Fun!
Instructional. WSH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:45 pm, $7
KKKRRAAAOWWW! WAAOOOOOM! That’s the sound of Roger
Miller’s guitar peeling the Doug Fir’s paint. Now that they’ve released
two albums post-reunion, it seems like Mission of Burma is back
for good, but that’s no excuse to miss out. DB
w/Erase Errata; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $15-17
The most precious of the many
delicate folk ensembles that call Portland home, Loch Lomond are
celebrating the release of their latest EP, Night Bats. Ritchie
Young possesses a majestic voice that he’s not afraid to use, belting
out intricate lyrics on this release that features four originals, plus
a Bee Gees cover. EAC
w/Tu Fawning; The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $10-12
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
They Might Be Giants’ two
Johns have earned the love of nerds and their spawn over the years,
with literate humor and kidlet-friendly music. Sadly Portland misses
out on 1990’s Flood played in its entirety (suck it, Seattle),
but we get a reading of their new children’s book Kids
Go!—alas, it’s in the ‘burbs (you can suck it
too, Beaverton). CF
Reading at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar
Hills, Beaverton, 4:30 pm, FREE; show w/Guggenheim Grotto at Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 9 pm, $20-23, 16+
Choreographer Shen Wei has some
pretty unimpeachable bonafides—he contributed to the opening
ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Tonight his 13-person
company performs two works based on Shen Wei’s travels in China and
Tibet. AH
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm,
$20-50