WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6

MUSIC—Tonight, local pop favorites/mad scientists/delicate weirdos Parenthetical Girls kick off their nationwide tour in support of their excellent latest, Privilege, out on Marriage Records. Expect rich, soaring melodrama, reliably creepy/sexy showmanship from frontman Zac Pennington, and so many emotions. EH
w/PWRHAUS, Stay Calm; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8:30 pm, $8

FILM BENEFIT—If you support community radio (and you should!) don't miss this special benefit presentation of the unintentionally hilarious 1990 flick Pump Up the Volume, starring Christian Slater! A teenage DJ hijacks the airwaves to vex the FCC, and make sweet horny time with Samantha Mathis. Tonight's show benefits the soon-to-launch XRAY.FM radio station that's dedicated to emerging music from the Portland scene! WSH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7 pm, $7

THURSDAY, MARCH 7

COMICS READING—Comics Underground, hosted by the Mercury's Alison Hallett and Erik Henriksen, is really swinging for the fences with this edition of the comic-book reading night. With huge comic-book names like Matt Fraction and Brian Michael Bendis, this Will Eisner-themed show is a slam-diddly-unk, a guaranteed fun night of drinking and merriment. CF
The Jack London Bar at the Rialto, 529 SW 4th, 8 pm, $3-5

COMEDY EXPERT—Usually, know-it-alls are insufferable assholes. The Daily Show comedian John Hodgman is no asshole and he is highly sufferable. His is the kind of comedy that blends together the best elements of Carl Sagan and Bob Newhart. Have yourself a delightful evening with the man who knows everything. BR
Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 7 pm, $25, all ages

FRIDAY, MARCH 8

POST-HIPHOP—The avant-garde rap of Seattle's Shabazz Palaces has everything you need: fat bass, ass-moving beats, and brain-tangling lyrics. But the team of Ishmael Butler and Tendai Maraire have totally flipped the hiphop model on its head, making strange, seductive music that sounds like it's beamed from outer space. They're playing the Masquerade Ball at Reed Arts Week. NL
w/OCnotes; Reed College Student Union, 3203 SE Woodstock, 9 pm, $20, reed.edu/raw

MUSIC—Whether you remember Morrissey from the first time you got high with your boyfriend in the seventh grade, or from the tough dudes down the street that blast him from their lowriders, we all think of him fondly. Tonight, he'll be crooning and swooning at the Schnitz. Don't miss out—not every day is like Friday! RF
w/Kristeen Young; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 9 pm, $53.50-68.50, all ages

SATURDAY, MARCH 9

FILM FEST—The Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival is pretty badass, with four straight days of parties and films, and this year's guest of honor, Penelope Spheeris—responsible for cult classics like Wayne's World—pretty much takes the cool cakes. Tonight, catch back-to-back screenings of her other masterpieces, Suburbia and The Decline of Western Civilization III, complete with live Q&A. MS
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Suburbia 7 pm, Decline 9 pm, $10 for both films, powfest.com

BURLESQUE—With Dick Dale and Burt Bacharach on the hi-fi, the groovy gals at Orchestre L'Pow! are peeling it off '60s style. Expect a lot of go-go, some hep hip shimmies, and more va-va-voom than you'll know what to do with, because burlesque hottie Bettina May is performing at Shimmy! Shake! Shindig! Can you dig it? CF
Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside, 8 pm, $10-40

SUNDAY, MARCH 10

GOSPEL MUSIC—Originally formed in 1939 at a school for blind African Americans in Talladega, Alabama, the Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized as living legends of gospel music. They've worked with musicians as varied as Bonnie Raitt and Lou Reed, and garnered five Grammys. Join them for an evening of gospel tunes at Mississippi Studios. NG
Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $40-45

MOVIE—The infamous story of the West Memphis Three has always been about two tragedies: the botched prosecution of three innocent teens and the (officially) unsolved murder of three eight-year-old boys. Many films and books have plowed this ground before, but none manage it so sensitively as Amy Berg's West of Memphis—produced by Peter Jackson, whose Lord of the Rings fortune helped fund the legal defense that finally sprung the three wrongfully accused. DCT
Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st, see Film Times, $7-9

MONDAY, MARCH 11

READING—Supernatural romance is such a trendy genre that even Joyce Carol Oates is doing it. Well, sort of—the newest novel from the venerable writer, The Accursed,is half historical fiction set in the early 1900s, half gothic freakshow featuring vampires, ghosts, and trysts with the devil. AH
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills, Beaverton, 7 pm, FREE

PET SCIENCE PUB—Interested in genetically engineering your pug so it doesn't look so goddamn ugly? Check out this fascinating OMSI Science Pub called "Frankenstein's Cat," in which author/journalist Emily Anthes explains how biotechnology is shaping (and reshaping) the animals of now and the future! Added bonus—since it's a science pub: beer! WSH
Bagdad Theater 3702 SE Hawthorne, 7 pm, $5, all ages

TUESDAY, MARCH 12

FILM—The greatest invention ever? That'd be the flying guillotine, which is like a hat! On a string! You can throw it at people! AND IT CUTS OFF THEIR HEADS. 1977's Fatal Flying Guillotine is a prequel to one of the greatest kung fu flicks ever (1976's Master of the Flying Guillotine), and here's your chance to see it—on the only known 35mm print in existence. EH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:30 pm, $7

READING—Sherman Alexie was the Multnomah County Library's 2013 "Everybody Reads," meaning that people all over the city have enjoyed the great novels The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Ten Little Indians. Tonight, celebrate books and your community with a night with Alexie, one of the smartest, funniest, and bravest authors of his generation. AH
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 7:30 pm, $20-51.75