This week is a good one for making trouble, as Cecile Richards will readily prove. The Breeders are a damn good choice in soundtrack for that aim, too. But if you're looking for something a little lighter to get you through to the weekend, there's the Blazers' season closer against the (bleh) Utah Jazz, Camila Cabello doing her damndest to make sure you're never the same after her show, and Jaden Smith doing... whatever the hell he wants, really. That's only a small taste of the very busy week ahead; hit the links below and load your plate accordingly.
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Monday, Apr 9
Leslie Jamison
Leslie Jamison made her distinctive mark on nonfiction with 2014’s The Empathy Exams, an experimental, pleasingly fragmented look into her experience as a medical actor. Now Jamison’s back with The Recovering, an inquiry into addiction that’s already drawn praise from Stephen King and folds Jamison’s own story into those of David Foster Wallace, Raymond Carver, Jean Rhys, and Amy Winehouse. MEGAN BURBANK
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Yamantaka//Sonic Titan
Good luck trying to figure out exactly what Yamantaka//Sonic Titan is about upon first listen (or look, for that matter). The Canadian six-piece wears Kabuki makeup—a nod to former founding member Ruby Kato Atwood’s Japanese heritage—and plays music that swings between J-pop, heavy metal, and prog rock. Their new record Dirt is equally fantastical; it takes place on a fictional planet called Pureland 10,000 years after a flood and connects these post-apocalyptic themes to the modern world. The music is chaotic—jagging between metal riffs, smooth jazz sax solos, and synthesizers—with pop hooks and shiny production holding it all together. If you’re not intrigued by this point, chances are Yamantaka//Sonic Titan’s allure might be lost on you, but it’s a refreshing dose of mystique and artiness at a time when many bands share what they’re having for breakfast on social media. MARK LORE
9 pm, Doug Fir, $10-12
Marc E. Bassy
The San Fransisco-hailing singer/songwriter and former vocalist for the pop band 2AM Club brings his soulful R&B sounds to the Wonder Ballroom stage in support of his latest album, Gossip Columns.
8 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $20-60
Rancho Notorious
Thanks to his cold-hearted German expressionist landmarks M and Metropolis, Fritz Lang is not a name people readily associate with large-scale Technicolor westerns. But he did make more than a few two-fisted whiskey-swillers during his time as a Hollywood workhorse. The best of them is Rancho Notorious, probably because it’s a pessimistic, mean-spirited, angry little movie about getting old, getting revenge, and how unsatisfying it all is—which is to say, it’s a Fritz Lang movie, all right. BOBBY ROBERTS
7 pm, NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium, $8-9
Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe
Maurice Ravel may have been the greatest orchestrator in history. The French composer transformed Modest Mussorgsky’s piano piece Pictures at an Exhibition into the full-blown orchestral suite we all know and love today, with its famous trumpet fanfare, and for his own Bolero, Ravel arranged a single rhythmic motif and a short, simple melody into a steadily crescendoing edifice of musical suspense. Daphnis et Chloé, commissioned as a ballet by Sergei Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes and premiered in 1912, is a near hour of Ravel’s orchestral splendor, with all members of the orchestra showing off their aural colors like a synchronized flock of exotic birds. The story of Daphnis et Chloé follows the love of a goatherd boy and a shepherd girl amid the company of nymphs and pirates and satyrs, but its pagan revelry is merely a clothesline for Ravel to weave his musical ideas together, each sweep and swoop more decadent than the last. Tonight the full music is performed start to finish, instead of the two excerpted suites most audiences hear today. NED LANNAMANN
7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $24-120, all ages
Batman
While there have been been decades worth of live-action superheroics on the big screen since Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster shaved itself into the back of your little brother’s head, there’s still a special something about Batman that nobody’s been able to replicate. Having Jack Nicholson go apeshit with a clotheshanger shoved in his mouth definitely helps on that front, but for all the corniness and dated decoration curling up around the edges, there’s a still-propulsive, still-mesmerizing, still-fucking-awesome blend of character, design, and action at the center. You can see why executives decided they needed to get back in the superhero game... and you can also see how they learned every wrong lesson along the way. BOBBY ROBERTS
7 pm, Clinton Street Theater, $5
Tuesday, Apr 10
The Breeders, Post Pink
After a 25-year hiatus, the original lineup of The Breeders (twins Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson) is taking its comeback album All Nerve on the road. With haunting harmonies, grungy, mesmerizing baselines and bold lyrics, the alt-rock band has clearly aged well. They’re gracing the Crystal with Post Pink, a punchy punk group dubbed “Best Band” by Baltimore’s weekly rag in 2016. ALEX ZIELINSKI
8:30 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $25, all ages
Cecile Richards, Andi Zeisler
As the outgoing president of Planned Parenthood, the daughter of legendary Democratic Texas Governor Ann Richards, and (I think) the hair inspiration for Claire Underwood, Cecile Richards is one of the United States’ most visible advocates for reproductive rights and gender equality, at a time when Republican attacks make expanding and protecting both especially critical. Richards announced her resignation from Planned Parenthood in January (and will officially leave this spring), but her work is far from done. She’s just published a book, Make Trouble, recounting her experiences watching her mother’s rise to power and starting out her own career in labor organizing. At her book tour stop in Portland, Richards will be speaking with Bitch Media co-founder Andi Zeisler, and OH! TO BE A FLY ON THAT WALL! MEGAN BURBANK
7:30 pm, Revolution Hall, $37
The Residents
You know what's three times as scary as a killer leprechaun?! HUGE eyeball people who wear tuxedos, that's what. Don't miss those legendary weirdoes the Residents as they bring their trippy multimedia shenanigans to town. They'll be sporting new sequin-y, gas mask-y, dreadlock-y outfits, which might be even creepier than those middle-distance-staring eyeball masks. COURTNEY FERGUSON
8:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $32-35
Kung Fu Theater: The Young Master
This month’s installment in Dan Halsted’s ongoing celebration of all things whoop-ass is a rare 35mm print of 1980’s The Young Master, the film that capitalized on a young Jackie Chan’s early promise in films like Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and the original (and much less interesting than its all-timer of a successor) Drunken Master. The Young Master is where Jackie’s blend of comedy and carefree destruction solidly locked into the formula that would make him the biggest action star in the world. In fact, this film and its jaw-dropping final fight was the first to earn Jackie more plaudits—and more importantly to the studios, more money—than the legendary Bruce Lee. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9
Peppa Pig Live!
Peppa Pig and Co. return to the Schnitz with their newest action-packed live show, Peppa Pig's Surprise.
6 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $29.50-59.50, all ages
Devin the Dude, Willy J Peso, M.Dot-80, Stevo the Weirdo
An alum of Scarface's Facemob, Devin the Dude struck out on his own back in '98, wowing underground hip-hop audiences with his blend of quirky, intelligent, and often fall-down funny lyrics ladled atop some devilishly wicked beats. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
9 pm, Jack London Revue, $20-35
Comedy Night at the Portland Mercado
Indulge in some tasty food while taking in a free evening of comedy at the Portland Mercado, with stand-up performances from Kat Buckley, Ben Warren, Brandon Lyons, and Julia Ramos. Hosted by Lauren Schaefer
8 pm, Portland Mercado, free
Wednesday, Apr 11
Camila Cabello
The Cuban-American singer/songwriter who rose to fame as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony brings her own blend of pop, R&B, reggaeton, dancehall, and hip-hop out to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the Portland stop on the "Never Be the Same" Tour.
8 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $30-55, all ages
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz (ugh)
"The final game of the season!" always sounds more portentous than it really is, especially once you've already secured a playoff spot (as the Blazers did awhile ago.) Instead of sturm und drang clouding the arena when the (ugh) Jazz roll through (blech), the atmosphere will be more like a pre-season scrimmage. You'll see the stars—for about five minutes. But you're gonna see a lot of second-stringers getting a lot of run, and that's where the "final game!" fun is. Celebrate the city, celebrate the success, and celebrate the team's unsung heroes as they get some well-deserved on-court shine. BOBBY ROBERTS
7 pm, Moda Center, $19-1112, all ages
The Hague, Cool American, Luna Vista
The Hague play a sprawling, extroverted mishmash of progressive rock, pop, alt-country, and math-jazz.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $8-10
The Minus 5: Therapy Sessions
This past November, Portland musician Scott McCaughey (the Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, and Filthy Friends) suffered a stroke while on tour with Alejandro Escovedo. As part of his recovery process, he'll be taking the LaurelThirst stage every Wednesday in April for happy hour to perform "Therapy Sessions" with a house band rounded out by some LaurelThirst regulars. Together they'll tackle the songs of McCaughey and some of their favorite covers.
6 pm, LaurelThirst Public House, free
Logan's Run
No one over the age of 30 will be allowed to attend this screening. Ha! Just kidding, old people! You can totally go! (But you will be murdered afterward.)
9:20 pm, Academy Theater, $3-4
The Neighbourhood, Health, Field Medic
The Newbury Park, California quintet bring their blend of pop and R&B-leaning alt rock back to the Crystal Ballroom for a headlining show supporting their recently released self-titled full-length.
8:30 pm, Crystal Ballrooom, $33-35
Women at the Center
A celebration of five Portland women considered vital to the city's vibrant arts community, including sculptor Alison Caswell, Oregon Symphony Concertmaster Sarah Kwak, pediatric hematologist-oncologist Dr. Susan Lindemulder, YWCA Executive Director Susan Stoltenberg, and Artslandia publisher Misty Tampales. Musical performances by Rebecca Kilgore, Suzanne Nance, Cary Lewis, Nica's Dream Quartet, Danielle Barker, Dan Gaynor, and the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir
7:30 pm, The Old Church, $20
Thursday, Apr 12
Jaden Smith
Yeah, he's the son of the Fresh Prince, and he was The Karate Kid in the 2010 remake, but most importantly, he's a modern-day shaman of social media with a fashion sense unparalleled, and he definitely knows his way around a beat, as the smash hit "Icon" most definitely proves. He's making his way up to the Hawthorne Theatre for the sold out Portland stop on his "Vision" Tour.
8 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, Good Luck on the Ticket Resale Sites
A Fond Farewell
Third Angle and Hand2Mouth join creative forces to pay tribute to Portland music legend Elliott Smith, with six composers using his discography as inspiration for six new pieces performed on the Alberta Rose stage as a theatrical event.
7:30 pm, Alberta Rose Theatre, $35
Blackwater Holylight, Weeed, Gardener
Local quartet Blackwater Holylight bring their heavy psych-infused sounds out to Mississippi Studios to celebrate the release of their debut self-titled full-length.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $7-10
Faustina Masigat, Birger Olsen
The indie-folk singer songwriter brings her country-tinged style to Alberta Street to celebrate the release of her self-titled debut album.
8:30 pm, Alberta Street Pub, $8-10
Albert Hammond Jr., Pinky Pinky
The further removed we get from the Strokes' heyday, the clearer it becomes whose instincts were sharpest. Because the Strokes were best when they kept it simple and worked as a unit. In that sweet, original, egoless mode, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. soldiers on. His rhythm-first playing still relishes the livened beauty of banging on major barre chords and the ping-pong of pointillist melody without trying to peacock. Furthermore, Hammond's solo stuff ain't jaded, ex-rock star whining—rather, it's bright and bouncy, charming and humble. ANDREW R TONRY
9 pm, Doug Fir, $14-16
Portland Grand Tasting
The Leftbank Annex attempts to hold all the deliciousness of the Columbia Gorge with offerings from over 20 wineries, as well as the opportunity to talk to the vintners responsible, and enjoy light hors d'oeuvres while you drink and discuss.
6 pm, Leftbank Annex, $35-50
Lisa Prank, Darkswoon
Lisa Prank is Seattle musician Robin Edwards’ ebullient punk solo project. The moniker is a punny riff on school supplies demigoddess Lisa Frank—if the name doesn’t ring a bell, surely you’d recognize her psychedelic animal stickers, a staple of ’90s middle school culture. It’s a fitting tribute, since Edwards’ 2016 full-length debut Adult Teen is rainbow unicorn-hued power-pop that’s steeped in nostalgia as she realizes that “Luv is Dumb.” CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Lola's Room, $8-10
Rollerball
One of the very best things about dystopian sci-fi of the 1970s is revisiting them during the years in which they’re set and doing the A/B comparison of fiction and reality. Wyrd War presents this 35mm screening of Norman Jewison’s Rollerball, putting roller skates on James Caan in his Brillo-headed, oafish prime and throwing him into an anti-corporate sports drama with John Houseman and Ralph Richardson. Did Rollerball get anything right about the 2018 we occupy? If we’re grading on soothsaying accuracy, it’s somewhere around a D+. But so what? It still packs a spiked, disorienting punch if you give yourself over to its meandering, weird blend of earnestness and cynicism. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
