WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29

JAZZ TOBACCO—So the Mercury's ringing endorsement of legal pot convinced you to VOTE YES ON MEASURE 91, but you want to know more. And you want to laugh, and learn about some good strains before weed becomes legal (because you voted, right?). Check out live podcast Let's Talk About... Pot, a show that features stand-ups Gabe Dinger and Nathan Brannon, local weed luminary Ganja Jon, and the Merc's own Josh Jardine. And vote, damn you. DVH
Hawthorne Theatre Lounge, 1507 SE César E. Chávez, 8 pm, FREE

BLAZERS—This year's season opener, featuring our Blazers taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder, is like Christmas and Thanksgiving for hoop heads in PDX. Granted, Kevin Durant won't be there (you'll get to boo the living shit out of a superstar when LeBron and the Cavs hit town next week), but 'tis a small matter, really. The season has begun. Blazermania prevails. BR
Moda Center, 1 Center Court, 7:30 pm, $25-235, all ages

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30

COMEDY—It takes a certain type of person to appreciate the comedy of Anthony Jeselnik (not judging here). One needs to enjoy dark, cruel one-liners that are constructed with mathematical precision, and presented with a sociopathic glare (with juuuuuust a hint of self-awareness and charm). These are jokes that will make your mother blanch and stare at you disapprovingly—but you're not bringing her along, are you? WSH
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 7:30 & 10 pm, $25, all ages

MUSIC—The jangling rock of Eyelids, with echoes of Flying Nun and the Paisley Underground, boasts the talents of members of the Decemberists and Boston Spaceships, and tonight they celebrate the release of 854, the Portland all-star band's debut full-length. It's packed with short, nuggety bursts of greatness, and tonight's show is rumored to include some surprises. NL
w/the Minders, Denim Wedding; The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell, 9 pm, $8

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31

LECTURE—It's Halloween, so treat yourself to a new level of terror as scruffy philosopher/secret Sound of Music fan Slavoj iek brings his runny nose and terrifying killjoy act to town, in a talk titled "Is God Dead, or Unconscious, or Just Evil?" IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION, SLAVOJ IEK? Another trick is how easily iek makes you feel like a complacent shill for capitalism. Horrors! MB
w/Jean-Pierre Dupuy; PSU's Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway, 5 pm, FREE, all ages

DANCE PARTIES—Choose a decade: the fresh '90s at Holocene's Snap! or the tubular '80s at Video Dance Attack at the Crystal. Now that your Sophie's Choice of retro has been made, dress accordingly and get ready to move your rump. Or! Hit up a good ol'-fashioned warehouse dance night at Nightmare on Madison Street. Just wear something scary, y'hear? CF
Snap! at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 9 pm, $5; Video Dance Attack at Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $12-15; Nightmare on Madison at 66 SE Madison, 8 pm, $25-30

MUSIC—Ash Street Saloon, a necessary rung on Portland's grimy ladder to punk-rock cred, is planning a deservedly special bash in honor of its 20th birthday this Halloween. It's a big enough deal that the legendary Fred Cole (Poison Arrows, Dead Moon, etc.) is planning to take the stage—mere months after open-heart surgery took him down. And with the way things are going in Old Town, let's hope we're able to still celebrate Ash Street in 20 more years. DCT
w/Fireballs of Freedom, Fred & Toody Cole Unplugged, Fruit of the Legion of Loom, the Ransom; Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash, 9:30 pm, $7

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1

MUSIC—Compton rapper YG is the sound of West Coast g-funk circa 2014, offering hard but relaxed jams that are effective slices of life as well as being club bumpers to boot. This year's long-awaited My Krazy Life followed up his many promising mixtapes, and while it doesn't look like his partner-in-crime DJ Mustard will be making the trip this time, YG is the party you don't want to miss. NL
w/Cool Nutz, Mack and Dub and the Smokin Section, Easy McCoy; Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 8 pm, $33, all ages

STORIES—The All Souls/Day of the Dead edition of Back Fence PDX promises to be a warm, sincere, and darkly funny evening, with sets from Moth Mainstage frequenter Brian Finkelstein and author Matthew Dickman, both drawing from recent projects that broach the topic of suicide. Plus it benefits the Dougy Center, the nonprofit that helps youth deal with mourning. MS
Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate, 7 pm, $20

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2

DAY OF THE DEAD—Mexican American singer Luz Elena Mendoza (of Y La Bamba) leads a traditional Día de los Muertos celebration that begins with a black-clad procession through the streets and ends with a party featuring Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Aztec dancing, and sets from local Latino musicians, including the inimitable Edna Vazquez and Mendoza with Los Mariachi Perla de Portland. MS
w/New Move, Boleros, and more; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 5 pm, $10-12, all ages; parade meets at SW 5th & Mill, 4 pm, FREE, all ages

MUSIC—Let's get Sunday rowdy! It's Denver's last show for a while and the country rabble-rousers wanna get whiskey drunk with you. So go kick up your urban cowboy boots, dance the weekend into oblivion, and wave those boys a fond farewell until their next show in town. They'll be honky-tonkin' all night long! CF
w/Houndstooth, Barna Howard; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $10-12

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

BOOKS—When Elly Blue first edited Bikes in Space, her anthology of feminist science fiction—with bikes!—it was intended as a one-off, second in line to Blue's quarterly zine. She's since shelved the zine, turned Bikes in Space into a Kickstarter-funded, annual anthology, and tonight celebrates the release of Bikes in Space Vol. II: More Feminist Science Fiction, which should be the tagline to every sequel. MB
Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne, 7:30 pm, FREE, all ages

MUSIC—Weird, charming, passionate, and funny, musician Zac Pennington is always fantastic to see, as anyone who's been to a Parenthetical Girls show can attest. Tonight, Crying brings together Pennington, composer Jherek Bischoff, choreographer Steven Reker, and the NOW Ensemble from Brooklyn for... something? They're calling it a "new, multidisciplinary musical ensemble," and it's bound to be weird, charming, passionate, and funny. EH
Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta, 7:30 pm, $15-18, all ages

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

MUSIC—True fans of soul music know to bow deeply in the presence of Booker T. Jones—the Hall of Fame inductee best known for his time with Booker T. & the MG's (responsible for such unforgettable soul mainstays as "Green Onions" and "Hang 'Em High")—and he's still pumping out the hits with his 2013 album Sound the Alarm. See him in person, and don't forget to bow deeply. WSH
w/Ural Thomas & the Pain; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $28-30, all ages

FILM—Directed by The Bourne Legacy writer Dan Gilroy and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the much-anticipated Nightcrawler finally hits movie theaters, telling the story of an opportunist who gets sucked into the lurid scene of LA's crime journalism. It's already being compared to Taxi Driver. No pressure. EH
Various Theaters, see Movie Times and our review