The Portland Mercury's Highball
Itâs that time of year again, and not a minute too soon! The Portland Mercuryâs beloved annual event Highball is back, offering seven days of $5 cocktails at some of your favorite bars and restaurants! Thanks to our pals at Beam Suntory, weâve got specially crafted (and cheap!) cocktails at over 40 locations, from Bar Maven to Dots Cafe, from the Doug Fir to the Low Brow Lounge, and from the Oaks Bottom Public House to Valentines! Oh, and a bunch of other places, too! PREPARE THY LIVER! (Mon March 18-Sun March 24, various locations, click here for the full cocktail list and participating venues, $5)
Supercrush, Alien Boy, Mo Troper
As frontman of Seattleâs Supercrush, Mark Palmâwhoâs got a history of playing in hardcore, punk, and metal bandsâwrites sugary power-pop songs bearing clear influences from the genreâs forbearers, like Big Star, Redd Kross, and Teenage Fanclub. Later this month, Supercrush will release Never Let You Drift Away, a collection of bonus tracks and previously released singles, including the ultra-catchy standout, âI Donât Want to Be Sad Anymore.â Itâs a masterpiece of a song built from deceptively simple parts, like layered guitar riffs, perpetually crashing drums, and anthemic lyrics about extricating yourself from bummer situations. (8:30 pm, Valentines, $5) CIARA DOLAN
Music Millennium's In-Store 50th Anniversary Party
In addition to a 50th Anniversary Party at the Aladdin Theater, the iconic Portland music store is treating visitors to cake and refreshments to celebrate the important milestone. (Fri 3 pm, Music Millennium, free)
Queer Horror: The Stepford Wives
The Hollywood's bimonthly Queer Horror series is a goddamn Portland treasure, featuring scary flicks with an LGBT bent. March's offering is The Stepford Wives, because... well, let's hear host Carla Rossi tell it: âI actually saw The Stepford Wives for the first time this last December and it blew my mind, thanks to the relationship between Katharine Rossâ Joanna and Paula Prentissâ Bobbie. Their friendship feels so real and earnest and is completely independent of the men in the film, and the destruction of that friendship by their husbands is a gut-wrenching tragedy. For a satirical â70s paranoia thriller it feels shockingly, terrifyingly contemporary, and it only makes sense that Jordan Peele pulled so much from it for Get Out." Part of the Hollywood Theatre's 2019 Feminist March film series. (Fri 8 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $8-10)
Bridge Club 7 year Anniversary
One of Portland's best-known and most-loved queer techno dance parties turns seven, and it's inviting Iranian-born and California-based DJ and artist Mozhgan up to town to oversee the festivities along with support from a full Bridge Club residents roster and visuals from Always Never Yesterday. (Fri 9 pm, Tonic Lounge, $10)
Trashcan Joe, Charming Disaster
Trashcan Joe craft old-timey jazz using instruments made from recycled and found objects. Tonight they'll join forces with Brooklyn-based duo Charming Disaster, who blend murder ballads of the Americana tradition with a bit of cabaret flair. (Fri 9 pm, The Secret Society, $10)
House of Flying Daggers
In the early 2000s, there was a brief love affair between mainstream American cinema and the wuxia epics of China, sparked by the critical and financial success of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and extended through the efforts of director Zhang Yimou, who made Hero and this film back-to-back. Daggers is arguably the most visually striking of the three, and definitely the least coherent. It's to Yimou's credit as a visual storyteller that narrative coherence ain't shit when there's this much kinetic beauty in every frame. None of what's happening really makes any sense, but the intended feelings kick you in your chest all the same. Fri-Sat 7 pm & 9:30 pm, Sun 3 pm, Fifth Avenue Cinema, $4-5) BOBBY ROBERTS
Candi Pop
Candi Pop returns to Holocene to bring you another night of glitter, lollipops, rainbows, unicorns and all the bubblegum pop hits you could ever want. (Fri 9 pm, Holocene, $5-10)
Masonique, Chinese Camp
Portland's own Masonique are becoming increasingly well-known for their sci-fi-tinged dream pop, and they're headed to the Lovecraft for a night of synth-fueled fantasy, with Chinese Camp's gothic fuzz as support. (Fri 8 pm, The Lovecraft, $5)
Cry Babe, Jock Tears, Gardener, Apollo Ghosts
Rising Portland dream punk trio Cry Babe head up a free hometown show at the Firkin Tavern. Vancouver, B.C.'s Jock Tears and Apollo Ghosts round out the bill along with locals Gardener. (Sat 8 pm, Firkin Tavern, free)
Mini Blinds, House of Aura, Mondegreen
Portland indie pop quartet Mini Blinds bring their infectious sounds to the Fixin' To, with help from the House of Aura and Mondegreen. (8 pm, The Fixin' To, $7)
St. Paddy's Day Slabtown ShamRock
Breakside's Slabtown location throws a St. Paddy's day party, with music, a silent disco on the mezzanine, drink specials, a photo booth, and plenty of smooth Irish Stout for the drinking. (8 pm, Breakside Brewery, $5-10)
Buffalo Exchange 45th Anniversary Pop-Up Shop
The SE Hawthorne and Downtown Portland Buffalo Exchange locations host a 45th Anniversary Pop-Up Shop chock full of vintage treasures and one-of-a-kind finds, plus refreshments, Buffalo swag, giveaways, and more. (Sat-Sun 10 am, Buffalo Exchange, free)
Slay
Slay is a hip-hop party for LGBT, minorities, and open minded people, providing yet another safe space to twerk, blow off steam, and be yourself in our little sanctuary city. (Sat 9 pm, Holocene, $10) JENNI MOORE
Fantastic Planet
A 1973 film collaboration between French and Czech animators, Fantastic Planet's based on a science fiction novel by Stefan Wul called Oms en SĂ©rie, but the movie's theme has a lot to do with Czechoslovakia's occupation by Soviet forces in the late '60s, which brought about the close of the Prague Spring era. In the film, a race of blue giants, called Draags, co-exist with the human-like Oms. Oms are either considered by Draags to be mice-like pests or are kept captive as cute little pets, while the Draags are an enlightened, intelligent race with a sophisticated government and extensive rituals of mediation. Yet they consider Oms to be inferior beings, perhaps because of their size. (Cue allegory.) The story holds up completely, but the imagery is what's really amazing: Although the animation itself is choppy and primitive, the drawings are nothing short of spectacular. It's been described as a mixture of Salvador Dali, Hieronymous Bosch, and Terry Gilliam, and that drool-inducing assessment is not far off. There's also a swanky '70s progressive rock score, which is awesome and hilarious at the same time. (Madlib sampled the shit out of it.) (Sat 7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) NED LANNAMANN
Gillian Frances, Lubec, Jessica Dennison & Jones, Yellow Room
Four of the city's finest gather in NE Portland to close out the weekend with a evening of dreamy folk and shape-shifting indie rock at Turn! Turn! Turn! (Sun 8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!, $7)
March Madness at Revolution Hall: Lucky Bracket Party
Revolution Hall throws a March Madness kick-off and lucky bracket party. Fill in your bracket and enter to win a $100 gift card and trophy. (Sun 4 pm, Revolution Hall, free)
Funemployment Radio Live: St. Patrick's Day!
The hosts of Portland's longest-running podcast starring former radio-hosts-turned-daydrinkers take over the Landmark Saloon for what is sure to be a fun, tipsy, insightful, and revealing 2019's St. Patrick's Day! (Sun 11:30 am, Landmark Saloon, $10)
Singin' in the Rain
Itâs the 1920s in Los Angeles, and Hollywood up-and-comer Kathy Selden has come to make a name at a studio. Instead, sheâs going to have to save it. Within this sound stage high above the city, 12 terrorists have declared war. Theyâre as brilliant as they are ruthless. Now, the last thing Selden wants is to be a hero, but she doesnât have a choice. Sheâs an easy woman to like, and a hard woman to kill. Debbie Reynolds in: Singinâ in the Rain. Yippe-ki-yay, motherfuckers. (Sun 7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) ELINOR JONES
Willy Vlautin, Jonathan Evison
A joint reading from two highly acclaimed authors, both celebrating the paperback releases of their latest novels; Vlautin's Don't Skip Out on Me and Evison's Lawn Boy. (Mon 7 pm, Annie Bloom's Books, free)
TeeHees & TaTas
A cabaret-styled evening of entertainment that leans hard into the funnier side of classic burlesque, with Jay Flewelling helping with the ha-has while Judy Patootie, Rob Fullenwider, Holly Dai, Lily Le Fauve, and Vanity Thorn handle the physical magic. (Mon 7:30 pm, Harvey's Comedy Club, $10)
Dogma
This is the one with a shit-demon in it. Or a "Golgothan," if you wanna be anal about it. Ha! Get it? Shit-demon? Anal? HAHA! If you're smiling right now you are this film's target audience. Congratulations. (Mon 7 pm, Clinton Street Theater, $5)
The Apollo Era, Avinoam, Small Field
Santa Cruz-based trio the Apollo Era bring their groovy disco- and surf-infused rock up the coast in support of their debut album, Era. New York's Avinoam and Portland's own Small Field round out the bill. (Mon 8 pm, No Fun, $5)
1 Young Micah, KayelaJ, Sir Nai, DC Capital, CuddiE Whompus, Shrista Tyree
Hot on the heels of his latest album Collage, Portland-via-New Orleans rapper 1 Young Micah heads up a showcase of rising local hip-hop artists along with KayelaJ, Sir Nai, DC Capital, and CuddiE Whompus. Hosted by Shrista Tyree. (Tues 8 pm, Doug Fir, $10)
Joe R. Lansdale
Edgar Award-winning author Joe R. Lansdale returns with The Elephant of Surprise, chronicling the latest adventures of miss-matched P.I.s Hap and Leonard. (Tues 7 pm, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, free)
Mr. Wrong, Cool Flowers, Era Bleak, Ad-Noids
Mr. Wrongâs debut LP, Babes in Boyland, starts throwing flames within the first few seconds. A combination of both new and reworked material, the albumâs nine tracks showcase the Portland three-pieceâs raw talent and combustible energy. (Tues 8 pm, The Fixin' To, $6)
Band of Comerados, Kellen Asebroek
An evening of feel-good acoustic jams with this Portland quartet who are proficient at playing a range of stringed instruments. Kellen Asebroek of Fruition rounds out the bill with his own folk and Americana sounds. (Wed 9 pm, Goodfoot, $8)
Street Fighter V Tournament
Sure, there are other fighting games out there, but there is only one Street Fighter, and even if you haven't chucked a hadoken since 1992, watching some of Portland's best gamers go head-to-head to see who can hand out the most L's is gonna be enthralling. $10 to enter. Spectating is free. Blanka is the worst. (Wed 7 pm, Black Water Bar, free to spectate, $10 to enter)
A Beat Happening: Amenta Abioto, Kokio, Thomas Henry, Emcee Dimension, DJ Tita
Another showcase for the city's best beatsmiths, creating grooves, breaking beats, looping the loops, and generally remixing the night itself for a couple hours. (Thurs 6 pm, Future Shock, free, all ages)
One More Round
Chase Brockett hosts one more round of... of One More Round! With guest storyteller Dan Weber, music by Dim Wit, and stand-up from Brandon Lyons and Riley McCarthey. (Thurs 7:30 pm, Rogue Pearl Public House, free)
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
