THURSDAY, AUGUST 2

BANGABLE!—The hysterical, wordplayful Scott Aukerman is taking his popular podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! and his great new IFC show of the same name on the road! With a host of funny-as-hell friends of the show—Paul F. Tompkins, James Adomian, and Kurt Braunohler—this is going to be a character-filled laugh fest. CF
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $20-25, all ages

COMICS + DRINKING—Drinking in a basement bar with comics nerds? Yes, please! Four Portland comics artists—including Matt Fraction, Sara Ryan, Suzette Smith, and Ben Dewey—present new work at this installment of Comics Underground, a semi-regular gathering of awesome people hosted by the Mercury's Erik Henriksen and Alison Hallett. SM
Jack London Bar, 529 SW 4th, 8 pm, $3

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3

BMMD OUT—The annual SMMR BMMR is upon us, and it's time to get bmmd out by punk, garage, and dirty pop from the likes of Personal and the Pizzas, Kepi Ghoulie, the Memories, the Bugs, Terry Malts, and tons more. Wait, two days of crazed rock 'n' roll goodtimes? That doesn't sound like a BMMR to me. Ah, wordplay! NL
Plan B, 1305 SE 8th, Fri-Sat, $13/day, $22/weekend

FUNNY GUY, EH?—Maybe you've seen the heeeeelarious Todd Glass on Last Comic Standing, Louie, Mr. Show, or perhaps you're a big fan of his podcast, The Todd Glass Show. If you know him, you already love his smart, acerbic humor, and you won't want to miss this gut-bustin' stand-up stint at Helium! WSH
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 & 10 pm (live podcast on Sat 10 pm), $15-25

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4

THAT VOICE—Pickathon will spoil you (see here for more on that)—good food, zero douchebags, and music memories you'll treasure for life will do that. Tonight the incomparable Neko Case will play her first set of the weekend on the impossibly intimate Woods stage. I challenge you not to cry when the cathedral timbre of her voice rattles your bones. MS
Pendarvis Farm, 16581 SE Hagen, Happy Valley, Fri-Sun, $190/best weekend of your summer, pickathon.com

BOLDLY GO—One of the highlights of every Portland summer, Trek in the Park is finally back—with a live, super fun performance of the classic episode "Journey to Babel"! And due to the show's ridiculous popularity, it's now at the significantly more spacious Cathedral Park! (But you should still probably get there really early.) EH
Trek in the Park, Cathedral Park, N Edison & Pittsburg, Sat-Sun 5 pm, through Aug 26, FREE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5

THE MUPPET SHOW—Last year's The Muppets was one of the most joyful, clever, and heartwarming films in recent memory—in fact, just about the only thing that'd make it better is watching it for free underneath the stars. Say, what's this? The Muppets is screening for free at Sellwood Park? Well, great! EH
Sellwood Park, SE 7th & Miller, dusk, FREE

PARTIO—While away the rest of your weekend in the best possible fashion with a free afternoon show on the sunny Doug Fir patio. The lineup for this one is killer: lonesome, gorgeous folk from Dolorean, plus mind-expanding rock from Houndstooth. With food and drink specials, this just became a high holy day of the most relaxing kind. NL
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 3 pm, FREE

MONDAY, AUGUST 6

DTF—The monthly comedy showcase Down to Funny emerges from East Burn's basement for a showcase in the big room upstairs—dragging some of Portland's best comedians into the light along with it, including Gabe Dinger, Tynan DeLong, Shane Torres, and sandwich whisperer Ian Karmel. AH
East Burn, 1800 E Burnside, 9 pm, FREE

BOOGIESAURUS—Have you ever seen a dinosaur two-step? You probably never will, but you can see Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs perform funky two-step electro-pop. Their newest release Trouble is infectious. It's all sugar and fun; so, get it while it's hot! ZP
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $13-15

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7

SERIAL AUTHOR—Former Merc contributor, now hot-poop thriller writer Chelsea Cain returns with her newest scare-fest, Kill You Twice, in which her creepy female serial killer Gretchen Lowell continues to haunt Portland cop Archie Sheridan. Cain will be reading selections, so plan on sleeping with the light on! WSH
Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm, FREE

HEART HEART HEART!—The Mercury's love of Maria Bamford is well documented—because we know what we're talking about! She's the funniest stand-up out there. Go see her record an upcoming album for Comedy Central and laugh your face off at her musings on snarfling pugs, overbearing family, and life's unfair travails. CF
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Tues & Wed, 8 pm, $23-28

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8

TRAMP—If you don't already know how great Sharon Van Etten is, you are in desperate need of two things: a clue, and a ticket to her upcoming show. The moody songstress is guaranteed to wrap her voice around your heart, and make you feel really sad and really moved all at once. ZP
w/Tennis; Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 9 pm, $18, all ages

SPEKTOR—Russia-born songstress Regina Spektor marries guilty-pleasure girliness with astute, offbeat lyrics and melodies irresistible to anyone with the slightest fondness for pop music. She's touring on her latest, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. AH
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 8 pm, $35.75-57