THURSDAY, JULY 21
GIRLS ON STAGE—This special edition of storytelling series Back Fence PDX is a fundraiser for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls—and as an added, adorable bonus, one featured storyteller is a 12-year-old drummer, who will share her true story alongside local favorites like Jimmy Radosta and Kerry Cohen. AH
Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, 7:30 pm, $15, 21+, backfencepdx.com
MOON LANDING—The Filmusik folks provide a live soundtrack, with music and dialogue, to the wretchedly inept (and super fun) 1958 sci-fi camp-fest Missile to the Moon, a perfect kickoff to the NW Film Center’s Top Down: Rooftop Cinema summertime series of movies and music on the roof of the Hotel deLuxe parking garage. NL
w/Edibles; Hotel deLuxe parking garage, 729 SW 15th, 8 pm, $9
FRIDAY, JULY 22
MY TWO BRAINS—Tonight’s fun-tastic concert requires a “two-brain” approach: Use Brain #1 (smart brain) to enjoy the intelligent soulful pop of the wildly underrated Robyn, and use Brain #2 (dumb brain) to enjoy the hilariously simplistic but undeniably hooky songs of professional fun gal Katy Perry. WSH
w/Rye Rye, DJ Skeet Skeet; Rose Garden, 1 Winning Way, 7:30 pm, $25-45, all ages
NEW DIGS—The eighth incarnation of PDX Pop Now! turns up at a brand-new location. It’s still in the Southeast industrial neighborhood, and it’s still all local, all ages, and all FREE, so don’t miss Portland’s best summertime party with 44 rad local bands. SS
Refuge, 116 SE Yamhill, Fri-Sun, FREE, all ages, pdxpopnow.org
SATURDAY, JULY 23
SKATE—Infiltrator/artist Chris Johanson and photographer/hipster hero Patrick O’Dell bring their bicoastal skate-video time machine, Super Skate Summer 2011, to the Hollywood Theatre, including Fucktards on Friday, graffiti artist Neck Face on Saturday, music from No Age on Sunday, and much more. MH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Fri-Sun, 7 pm, $7
MY NAME IS DAVID—Toronto’s Fucked Up have always been on the cutting edge of hardcore punk, but their stunning new record David Comes to Life raises the bar to heroic heights. Told in four exhilarating parts, it’s a concept album (or rock opera—but don’t worry, it’s no American Idiot) unlike anything you have ever heard before. EAC
w/Archers; Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th, 9 pm, $15, all ages
SUNDAY, JULY 24
BEAR BUBBLES—Move “wash car” from your list of mundane chores to the top of your Sunday fun list instead: The Oregon Bears‘ll wash it down for you at their annual Suds ‘n’ Studs Car Carwash & Celebrity Dunk Tank fundraiser, which is exactly as awesome as it sounds. MS
w/DJ BradPDX; Starky’s, 2913 SE Stark, noon-4 pm, py-what-you-will donation
SUMMER—Paring down the frenzied ambition of her band the Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger‘s inviting new solo record, Last Summer, emphasizes the idiosyncratic singer’s sometimes concealed warmth, and seeing her under the summer sun on the Doug Fir patio—for free!—will be nothing short of compelling. NL
w/Death Songs; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 3 pm, FREE
MONDAY, JULY 25
WOODSY—Over the course of their past three records, including the recent Sun and Shade, Woods have proven their dexterity in the realm of fuzzy, trippy, cheerful rock, which is the very thing you want coming out of your speakers on the way to your next excursion into the wilderness. MS
w/the Fresh & Onlys, Pacific Nightlife Vision Band; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12-14
POLLOCK—Donald Ray Pollock made a critical splash with his gritty, grimy story collection Knockemstiff. His first novel, The Devil All the Time, promises more of the same—it, too, is partially set in the small Ohio backwater of Knockemstiff. AH
Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm, FREE
TUESDAY, JULY 26
DEMON FISH—Five short days before Shark Week, OMSI’s Science Pub hosts Washington Post environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin to discuss her new book, Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks. Examining the ways humans and sharks can live in peaceful, eco-friendly harmony, Eilperin offers a lecture with some bite. CD
Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, 7 pm, $5
FRANKLY, MR. SHANKLY—The backscrubbers in This Charming Man know a club, if you’d like to go. Just make sure to wear black, ’cause that’s how you feel on the inside—but don’t kill the DJ, okay? Because it’s none other than OPB’s Jeremy Petersen on the mic singing all your favorite Smiths hits. Come dance to the songs that saved your life. CF
Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water, 10 pm, FREE
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
FAVE THINGS—Musical mastermind Mike McGonigal (of Yeti magazine) curates tonight’s dizzying A Few of My Favorite Things celebration. Included on this wildly diverse bill are underground icons Pierced Arrows, the debut performance of Stay Calm (members of Parenthetical Girls and Explode into Colors), and more DJs than you can toss a Technics turntable at. EAC
w/Ilyas Ahmed, Golden Retriever, Sad Horse, Orca Team, & more; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8 pm, $7
HEROIC BLOODSHED—In 1989, director John Woo blew away audiences with the action epic The Killer, starring Chow Yun-fat as a (sort of) good-hearted assassin. Three years later, he impressed again with Hard Boiled—starring Chow as “Inspector Tequila,” the most badass cop in cinema history. These films are two of the coolest, craziest, most melodramatic action masterpieces ever made—and now you can see ’em both on 35mm as a double feature! EH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Tues-Wed, Hard Boiled 7:15 pm, The Killer 9:30 pm, $7 for both films