THURSDAY, AUGUST 19

GO GO GAGA—Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah! Romah ro-mah-maaaa! Gaga ooh la-la! I'm caught in a bad romance with Lady Gaga, and I don't want out! Say what you will about Gaga (perhaps that she's a shameless, faux-artsy Madonna knock-off?), but spectacle-wise, she's still the best thing we've got going these days. WSH
Rose Garden, 1 Center Court, 8 pm, $49.50-175, all ages

BEST WORST MOVIE—A piece of colossal cinematic ineptitude, 1990's Troll 2 tells the story of murderous vegan goblins—not trolls, mind you—who magically turn their victims into plants so they can be eaten. The terrible, hilarious film screens tonight on a downtown roof as part of Northwest Film Center's Top Down series. NL
w/Deer or the Doe; Hotel deLuxe parking garage, SW 15th & Yamhill, 8 pm, $8

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20

KILLER PARTIES—So what if Heaven Is Whenever isn't the Hold Steady's finest record? The Brooklyn-via-Minnesota band has been untouchable since they drunkenly stumbled from the ashes of Lifter Puller, and few experiences are better than raising a sloppy, mid-song toast to Joe Strummer along with frontman Craig Finn. See you in the party pit. EAC
w/Jaill; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 9 pm, $23-25, all ages

FINE LINE—The Helium Comedy Club is still brand new, but Bill Burr has been polishing his Boston wise-guy act on Comedy Central and HBO for years. He skewers the idea that white people can't be funny about black people, and revels in the fact that we're all just a couple degrees away from deranged. SK
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sun 8 & 10:30 pm, $27.50

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21

ENDLESS SUMMER—There are parties, and then there is the Summer Slam. This indoor/outdoor event is flying off the top rope with two stages of performers (including the sensational Flosstradamus), DJs galore, plenty of food carts, and even some shaved ice to cool down with. Your summer peaks tonight. EAC
w/Rude Dudes, Sistafist, & more; Rotture, 315 SE 3rd, 9 pm, $10-12

CAN'T BEAT IT—This year's Alberta Street Fair claims to be the "best ever," and with 150 local vendors, a parade, and a beer garden, it stands a fair chance. It's also a good time to enjoy the Alberta community without the insanity of Last Thursday. SH
NE Alberta between NE 10th & 30th, 11 am-9 pm, FREE

WATTAGE—Once a year, Live Wire! brings their show to the Gerding Theater at the Armory, and for this installment, their guests include Menomena and musician/funnyman/furball Reggie Watts. Fresh from opening Conan O'Brien's tour, Watts is all stream of consciousness, but with samplers and effects pedals. DT
Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW 11th, 8 pm, $16-30, all ages

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22

FLYING HIGH—To celebrate its 10th year of performing fearless aerial dance, Pendulum Aerial Arts teams up with the Portland Art Museum to present High Art: A Surreal Portrait of the Soul, a multimedia work of dance, music, and visual art inspired by the likes of Dalí, Degas, Klimt, and others. ND
Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park, Thurs-Sun 8 pm (plus Sat-Sun 2 pm), $20-55

PASSIONATE KISSES—Country-rock legend Lucinda Williams has built up her own genre of music: poetic, dark, rock 'n' roll country. Starting in the '70s as a folk singer, she was signed by Rough Trade, not your typical Americana label, and she's remained an exceptional and unique songwriter over the years. CP
w/Sera Cahoone; Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 8 pm, $30

MONDAY, AUGUST 23

MOCKINGJAY—If you're a Harry Potter fan who sneers at the Twilight series, then not only are you clearly a discriminating consumer of YA fiction, but I hope you're hip to Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy. Like Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret meets Battle Royale, Collins' smart, gritty series follows a scrappy heroine pitted against an oppressive dystopian regime. Powell's celebrates the release of the much-anticipated final book, Mockingjay, with a midnight release party, costume contest, trivia, and games. AH
Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 9 pm, book on sale at midnight

EXPERIMENT—A double whammy of excellent modern psychedelia hits town with Brooklyn's Oneida teaming with our own native AU for a night of mind-warping non-linear experiments that don't ignore the past 30 years of musical progress. No wavy-gravy dancing required. MS
w/Lights; Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $10-12, all ages

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24

ANALOG ART—Artist-writer-human Mark Searcy used to be the art director for the Mercury until he left last year to focus on "making art." All this month, his work appears in an exhibition at Reading Frenzy. Rejecting his (and everyone's) dependency on computers, Searcy's Small Things Can Make You Feel Smaller features multi-dimensional minimalist collages made with vintage magazines. AM
Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, Mon-Sat 11 am-7 pm, Sun noon-6 pm, through Aug 31, FREE, all ages

FULL BORE—The sludgerific metal of Japan's Boris is big, heavy, loud, and trippy as hell, but there's more than meets the eye: Embracing drone, noise, and psych, they make music that's arty and expansive, but isn't boring for a second—and it never forgets to rock. NL
w/Red Sparowes, Helms Alee; Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th, 8:30 pm, $15-17, all ages

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25

NINJAS—Tonight the Grindhouse Film Fest presents the 1982 kung fu classic Five Element Ninjas! Directed by Chang Cheh and starring the Venom Mob—and presented in Shaw Scope, natch—this rare 35mm screening will contain enough bloody, awesome, chop-socky action to delight even the most discriminating kung fu fan. EH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7 pm, $7

OPERATOR—The bluntly titled Phone Whore is Boston-based comedian Cameryn Moore's one-woman show about working as a phone sex operator, and the intimate Back Door Theater is an ideal venue for a show that promises both an explicit earpiece on a sex worker's patter, and a behind the scenes glimpse of what phone sex really looks like. AH
Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne, 10:30 pm, $12-15, through Aug 28