THURSDAY, MAY 6
WIN—Former Mercury Art Director Jen Davison Wick curated The Awards Show with some of P-town’s hottest graphic design talent, including her predecessor Sean Tejaratchi of Crap Hound fame, Portland Monthly‘s Jason Blackheart, Jennifer Armbrust, BT Livermore, Amy Ruppel, and more, all tasked with interpreting the theme “awards.” MS
Opening reception at Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 6-9 pm, FREE, through May 31
HIPHOP—Best known for being featured on Kanye’s “Touch the Sky,” and his rap ode to skateboarding, “Kick, Push,” Lupe Fiasco has an entire catalog of fresh, innovative songs teeming with soulful production. Also along for the tour is B.o.B. whose frenetic, club-snappin’ rhymes will prime the pump for a very fun night at the Roseland. WSH
w/Dosage; Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 8 pm, $30, all ages
FRIDAY, MAY 7
MODERN LOVER—Rumor has it that the Jonathan Richman was strolling down NE Alberta last summer, swung open the door to the Know, fell in love with the place, and demanded to play there. You don’t say no to the former Modern Lovers frontman, so Richman is back in town for a pair of sold-out nights in the cozy dive bar. EAC
The Know, 2026 NE Alberta, Fri & Sat, 8 pm, $10
DO—Don’t miss Open Season, the sixth annual Mercury spring fashion show! Each year we present a selection of Portland’s hottest talent, making for one of the most exciting events of the season, and this year’s design stars are no exception. Plus, check out clothing installations up close, and bob to DJ Beyonda! MS
w/emcee Matt Davis; Bossanova, 722 E Burnside, 7 pm installation reception, 9 pm show, $12-15, all ages
NIHILISTS!—God knows you’re gonna watch the Coen Brothers’ brilliant The Big Lebowski sometime this year. The best way to do it? At Cinco de Lebowski, the annual Lebowski celebration hosted by podcasters Cort and Fatboy! There’ll be a costume contest, live music, and naturally all the White Russians you can drink. EH
w/the Troublemakers, the Lord’s Own Choir; Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 9:30 pm music, 11 pm film, $3
SATURDAY, MAY 8
PARADE BEST—Teenagers waving from classic cars! Random people on horses and/or unicycles! Bored politicians pointing at people in the crowd! The St. Johns Parade is the best! The charming North Portland fest kicks off at noon, then stick around for the St. Johns Bizarre, a street fair (with beer garden) and music from Pierced Arrows and Explode into Colors. SM
N Lombard & Burr, parade at noon, Bizarre, 10 am-6 pm
W00T—Traveling nerd roadshow w00tstock hits Portland tonight in a blaze of geekery! The lineup: hee-larious musicians Paul and Storm, MythBusters host Adam Savage, and Wil Wheaton, who was once Star Trek‘s l’il Wesley Crusher but now rules as King of the Internet, showing up on The Guild and The Big Bang Theory when he isn’t running his super-popular blog and Twitter feed. EH
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 7 pm, $25-27, all ages
SUNDAY, MAY 9
MOTHER LOVING—If mom ever fed you a home-cooked meal, treat her to a special brunch at Urban Farmer or a lovely mannered tea at Camellia Lounge for Mother’s Day. If she starved you, take her to see Rob Schneider. That’ll teach her! PAC
Urban Farmer, 525 SW Morrison (8th floor), 9 am-2 pm, buffet $49, children $19 (under 4 are FREE);
Camellia Lounge, 510 NW 11th, 11:30 am, $18.95;
Rob Schneider, Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 7:30 pm, $25-28, all ages
FLASHBACK—The year was 2008. The president was white. The iPad was just a glimmer in the eye of Steve Jobs. And local avant-prog four-piece Hosannas was a trio called Church. Celebrate the re-release of their excellent pre-name-change material at tonight’s show for their Hush Records compilation Then & Now & Then, and cherish the memories. NL
w/Tu Fawning, Ah Holly Fam’ly; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $6
MONDAY, MAY 10
MONDO MONO—Japanese instrumental band MONO actually takes full advantage of the stereo spectrum, offering epically sweeping sound tapestries that rise, pummel, wash, and ebb—drawing in equal parts from classical composers and deafening shoegazer rock. NL
w/the Twilight Sad; Berbati’s Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $13.50-15
ALIENS & BEER—Stop by the OMSI Science Pub’s Searching for Other Earths presentation to hear NASA astrophysicist Ruslan Belikov answer all of your questions about aliens and the possibility of life on other planets. Eat food, win prizes, and drink beer while becoming a genius! BT
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 7 pm, $2 suggested donation
TUESDAY, MAY 11
DRINK ‘N VOTE—Did you get a ballot recently and scratch your head wondering what election is even going on? Well bring that ballot to Backspace tonight for $1 off beer and some loving help from the Mercury and youth political group the Bus Project. Ninaski, nachos and nitpicking politics: come support drunkocracy! SM
Backspace, 115 NW 5th, 7 pm, FREE, all ages
F’D UP—Bid adieu to your cozy preconceived notions of what punk rock should be and welcome Toronto’s Fucked Up into your heart. On the grand The Chemistry of Common Life LP the band expands the ranges of hardcore and creates their masterwork—and possibly the most exciting punk recording in quite some time. EAC
w/Burning Leather, Abandon, Dr. Loomis; Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th, 8 pm, $12, all ages
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12
SOOKIE!—The indefensibly entertaining True Blood is based on a just plain indefensible book series by Charlaine Harris, who tonight reads from the newest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead in the Family. Forget glittery Mormons—Harris’ vampires are pure Southern-gothic trash. AH
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 7 pm, $26 (includes copy of book)
THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’—Prematurely dressed up for Fleet Week with no place to go? Not to worry: Portland flies into the danger zone with tonight’s opening of Hot Gun, the gay musical adaptation of ’80s flyboy classic Top Gun. And yes, we are also hoping that the dogfights are choreographed as dance routines. ND
w/Diamond Tuck & the Privates; Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $10-12
Wait, the original Top Gun was’nt gay? Could have fooled me. Incidentally pizza is’nt the issue although I agree school menus are awful. The issue is that kids are not required to attend PE or at least have some type of exercise or sport . Which explains why many of them are in wretched physical shape
I love gay pizza
Wait, since when are children not required to attend PE? And when school meal guidelines say that brown rice does not count as a grain serving, but pizza does… then yeah, pizza is kind of the issue. Exercise is critical, but so is learning good eating habits young.