THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10
Even if you don’t know Stumptown
Printers, you’ve seen their work. Those gorgeous cardboard CD sleeves
used by a heavy majority of Portland musicians are the calling card of
this local iconic letterpress operation. In honor of 10 years of
ink-stained hands, the shop is celebrating with a few great bands
synonymous with their customized packaging, including Norfolk &
Western, Karl Blau, and tons more. EAC
w/LAKE, Ilyas Ahmed, Foghorn Duo, DJ Hometapes; Holocene, 1001 SE
Morrison, 8 pm, $10
The polyrhythmic Afro-Caribbean flair of the
Oxford-shirted boys of Vampire Weekend may be just the thing you need
to kick those cold holiday blues. Dream yourself away to warmer climes
and bounce around like a drunken frat boy on spring break. PAC
w/White Rabbits; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $25, all ages
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11
It’s time for another Portland
show from everyone’s favorite band named after an eating utensil
(Runners-up: the Knife and EXFORK). Hopefully, Spoon will be giving us
a series of sneak previews of their new record, Transference,
which is due out next year. RN
w/Black Joe Lewis; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $25,
all ages
On the eve of Richmond Fontaine’s CD
release show in October, frontman Willy Vlautin was too sick to
perform. Now, a couple months and one healthy immune system later, the
band will have a proper release celebration for their
not-quite-brand-new album, still easily one of the best releases of
2009. EAC
w/Dolorean, Michael Dean Damron; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9:30 pm, $8-10
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12
Youth political action squad the Bus
Project, along with the Mercury, are throwing a holiday
party of scandalous proportions! Come dressed as your favorite
scandal. (Carpetbagger! Little blue dress! Good ol’ Tricky Dick!) Take
your seat on Santa’s lap between a HO-HO-HO variety show and sips of
New Deal vodka specials. SM
Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th, 7-10 pm, FREE
Holiday shopping can be painful, so
it’s important to take it easy on yourself by lubricating the process
with the Rock ‘n’ Shop, where you can give the gift of music from local
record labels, as live music (from Boy Eats Drum Machine, Illmaculate,
Mean Jeans, and more) soothes your frazzled nerves. MS
w/No Go Know, Graves, the Ax, Winterhaven, the Pity Fucks;
Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th, 3 pm, FREE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13
What if your flat, boring drawings were in
THREE DIMENSIONS?! With the 3D Dddoodle Daze, the 3D Center will show
you how to dddo it (hint: special glasses + two colored pencils + lots
of extra Ds) and hang your art up in their gallery! My entry: Jim
Carrey as Scrooge dddry-humping Angelina from Beowulf. DB
3D Center of Art and Photography, 1928 NW Lovejoy, Thurs-Sat 11
am-5 pm, Sun 1-5 pm, $5 (children FREE), through Jan 3
Wind down your weekend with the spacious,
easygoing tunes of Inside Voices, which are reminiscent of Low’s
minimalist slowcore but have a much brighter tone. Warm your wintry
bones inside Rontoms’ faux living room, and warm your heart with their
very real alcohol. NL
w/White Hinterland; Rontoms, 600 E Burnside, 9 pm, FREE
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14
In Kurosawa’s 1950 classic, a crime is
recounted by several different witnesses—only none of their
stories exactly match. Sure, Rashomon is a fascinating
exploration on the subjective nature of memory. It’s also indisputably
one of the greatest films ever made. NL
NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park, 7 pm, see Movie
Times for more showtimes, $8
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15
Sergio Rodríguez’s tenure as
a Portland Trail Blazer never quite worked out. His sporadic flashes of
greatness were eclipsed by panicked turnovers and a jump shot that
rarely found its way into the net. Tonight, the man who used to carry
Rudy Fernández’s luggage seeks his revenge against the team that
(thankfully) cast him off to the Sacramento Kings. EAC
Rose Garden, 1 Center Ct, 7 pm, $9-135, broadcast on KGW
For a holiday season with a little
extra “loco,” don’t miss the always hilariously fun El Vez’s
¡Viva Christmas! show! As usual, El Vez will thrill the crowd
with español-flavored holiday tunes, and will be joined by the
lucha libre mask-wearing surf-twang band, Los Straitjackets, as well as
the sexy, sexy El Vettes! Ho, ho, ho yeah! WSH
w/Jesus Presley; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $15-20
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16
Dick Dale is older than the ocean from which
he took his tumbling, watery sound. But like the ocean, his guitar
licks can be savage, soothing, and rocking. Let it wash you at away at
Dante’s tonight. PAC
w/Tana & the Fascinators; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm,
$20-25
Nearly 15 years ago, Quentin
Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez teamed up to make a grindhouse
action/horror/comedy starring some dude from E.R., Jim Clooney
or something? Anyway, From Dusk Till Dawn is bloody and gory and
skeezy and loud and funny and great, and its demonic bloodsuckers are a
welcome respite from all this Twilight and True Blood bullshit. EH
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, see Movie Times for showtimes, $4-6