THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3

BANGS FOR YOUR BUCK—Tonight at Holocene, local filmmaker Lance Bangs presents A Few of My Favorite Things, a fundraiser for the Hollywood Theatre! Bangs' favorite things? Old Super 8 films from Bangs and friends, live stand-up sets Human Giant's Paul Scheer and Comedy Death-Ray's Brandon Johnson, DJ sets from Carrie Brownstein and DJ Nightschool, a live set from Mister Heavenly (with Michael Cera!), and a lot more. Then, tomorrow night at the Hollywood, Bangs presents Laughter in the Breeze 1990-2010, a selection of his rare works... and the Mercury's Sarah Mirk will interview him onstage! EH
Lance Bangs' Favorite Things, Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, Thurs 8 pm, $10; Laughter in the Breeze, Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Fri 7:30 pm, $8

ART ART HAM ART!—First Thursday is a doozy of greatness. Firstly: Local comics star Sarah Oleksyk finally celebrates the release of her epic and acclaimed graphic novel, Ivy, at Floating World. Secondly! Crazy awesome photographer Ray Gordon is shutting down NW 13th and filling it with hot rods for his art show Throttled at Wieden + Kennedy. Thirdly! People dressed as presidents and posing with real-life ham at Powell's? Now that's "art." SM
Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th, #101, 6 pm; Wieden + Kennedy, 224 NW 13th, 4 pm; Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 6:30 pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4

A GIRL IN TROUBLE—Holocene wants to get your showboat shakin' with their Girl Trouble DJ night. It's girls, girls, girls, on the turn, turn, turntables. The evening starts off with soul and girl-group pop, finishing up with house and disco beats to make your dancing feet feel all neat. CF
w/DJs KM Fizzy, Magic Beans, Womb Service, & more; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 9 pm, $3 for ladies & dudes w/ladies ($10 for unaccompanied dudes)

PATTON DOWN—The original Comedian of Comedy, The King of Queens regular, star of Big Fan and Ratatouille, and now author of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland—is there anything Patton Oswalt can't do? Get your tix for this stand-up show before they sell out! Also catch his book signing at Powell's on Saturday. VT
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Fri-Sat 7:30 & 10 pm, $25-31;
book signing, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 1 pm, FREE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5

FUN WITH FONTS—After getting some good word of mouth at the 2009 JAW Playwrights Festival, futura is now in full-on production mode at Portland Center Stage. A near-future story follows "one rogue professor's quest to avenge her missing husband—and the lost art of ink on paper," making this a promising show for those who like (A) theater, (B) books, and (C) talking shit about Comic Sans. EH
Portland Center Stage, Ellen Bye Studio at the Armory, 128 NW 11th, Tues-Sun 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm, through March 27, $18 & up, pcs.org

BENDED—It's too much fun for a single weekend, really; the Slabtown Bender makes its sweaty, sozzled annual return with more garage and punk bands than you can handle, including the Paul Collins' Beat, Nobunny, and Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs. The fun starts Friday night and doesn't let up 'til early Monday morn, so prepare your call-in-sick excuses now. NL
Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th, Fri-Sun 6 pm, $14 ($30 for weekend wristband), FREE matinees Sat & Sun 1 pm, full lineup at slabtownbar.net

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6

GAME DAY MEAT UP—I'm a stranger to your football ways, what with your peculiar butt-slapping customs, but you had me at meat raffle. Let us join together in merriment at Saraveza for their third annual Super Bowl Meat Raffle. It's a proud Wisconsin tradition, and Saraveza's raising funds for the Urban Farm Collective. Me, I'm just here to win some meat, drink some beer, and watch the funny commercials. CF
Super Bowl, broadcast on Fox, 3 pm; Saraveza, 1004 N Killingsworth, raffle during halftime, $1/ticket

GUNS. KNIVES. KITTIES.—Once a year, a holy convergence takes place upon the august grounds of the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center: In one area, the Collectors West Gun and Knife Show, "Oregon's largest three-day gun and knife show." In another: The Oregon Cats Classic Annual Cat Show, which is fucking crammed with adorable kitties. This is either a recipe for disaster, or a plan for the best weekend ever. EH
Gun & Knife Show, Fri noon-6 pm, Sat 9 am-5 pm, Sun 10 am-4 pm, $9; Cat Show, Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun 9 am-4 pm, $5-8; Expo Center, 2060 N Marine

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7

IN THE COURT—Yes, it has been a year of difficulties for our Blazers, but we have all known worse times (you haven't forgotten the early 2000s already, have you?). Although we suffered a loss to the Chicago Bulls in November, we'll trust that experience has served us an advantage—with or without our best players. CP
Rose Garden, 1 Center Court, 7 pm, $15-170

PERFECT PICKLE—The intrepid researchers at the Dill Pickle Club spend their days digging up obscure local historical facts for your edification and enjoyment, but tonight they're embracing their briny moniker for a fundraising party and pickle contest. Pickle contenders include DOC and Olympic Provisions, while Mercury Food Editor Tony Perez joins the judging ranks. AH
w/Mikey Kampmann, Marisa Anderson, Orca Team, DJ Cuica; The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel, 403 SW 10th, 7-11 pm, $5 (FREE for members)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

TROMBONER—The high-energy, party-hearty live shows of Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are something of legend—and not only in the musically rich Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. So clear your evening schedule: Shorty's foot-stompin', bottom-shakin' mix of funk, jazz, rock, soul, and a demolition team of horns could happily go on for hours. WSH
w/Los Amigos Invisibles; Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 9 pm, $18

FARMS + BEER—Forget a barn raising, a Portland-style farm social means beer and schmoozing with callous-handed locals who know their way around a turnip field. This month's InFARMation includes all that, plus a talk about food politics statewide this year. Dig in. SM
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 5:30 pm (lecture at 6:30 pm), FREE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

ROOTS—The rambling, rustic folk-blues of Cowboy and Indian are the product of some familiar faces: singer Jazz Mills (from T-Bird and the Breaks) is joined by Daniel James of Leopold and His Fiction, and Jesse Plemons, who's—yep—Landry from Friday Night Lights! Their campfire songs are acoustic Americana at its most fun and approachable. NL
w/Hello Mtn, Ari Shine; The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie, 9 pm, $7

BLOWHARDS—A week after musician Khaela Maricich (AKA the Blow) and conceptual artist Melissa Dyne perform their current "music-based performance piece" at the Doug Fir, they team up again for a lecture about the development of the work, which they're presenting in contexts ranging from rock clubs to museums. AH
The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel, 403 SW 10th, 7 pm, $5-7