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Monday, April 1

Tommy Genesis
With a smooth, almost too-cool drawl, Tommy Genesis—the Vancouver, BC, “fetish rapper”—spits boastful rhymes about sex, having fun, and bossing around. Currently touring her self-titled 2018 album, Tommy takes on the tone of a hyper-sexualized Britney circa 2000, with lots of undeniable, girl-positive flexing. This album is brimming with delicious bangers such as the Charlie XCX remix “100 Bad,” which celebrates the many “bad bitches” of the city who work it “up and down the stick/In the whip real low in the schoolgirl fit.” Later, Tommy takes on the role of boss again in the sex positive, electro-poppy “Play with It,” with an instantly sing-able chorus that entreats her partner to “Play wit' the pussy, wanna play wit’ the pussy/Come get a hooky, baby, come get a hooky.” Now that’s a hook that’s simultaneously danceable, liberating, and hot—a description summing up everything good about Tommy Genesis. (8 pm, Holocene, $15-18) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Babehoven, No Aloha, Sufer Rosie
“Icelake”—the staggeringly pretty lead single from Babehoven’s new EP, Solemnis—is already one of my favorite songs of the year. Tonight, the superbly named “sad girl pop” band plays their first show since the EP’s release, and according to this crystal ball I bring to work every day, you’ll regret missing it, since Maya Bon is a seriously great songwriter and will probably be filling much bigger venues very soon. (9 pm, Doug Fir, $10-12) CIARA DOLAN

Spiritualized
Someone saying that a shoegaze album is better than My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless is usually contrarianism along the same lines as “The Beatles suck” or “RC is better than Coca-Cola.” However, the case could be made that Spiritualized’s 1997 masterpiece Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is at least more illustrative of the dream-pop credo. While Loveless is essentially a collection of conventional pop songs gussied up in £250,000 worth of special effects, Ladies and Gentlemen is organically massive, leaving no sonic stone unturned. Over the course of 70 minutes, songwriter Jason Pierce crafts somnolent pocket symphonies using everything from guitars and vintage keyboards to accordions, violins, flutes, flugelhorns, and a full choir. Somehow, Ladies and Gentlemen manages to sound both perfectly realized and completely aimless. It’s British dream-pop’s self-indulgent apogee. (8:30 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $29.50-35, all ages) MORGAN TROPER

Kansas City Bomber
During the height of roller derby in the '70s, there were piles of cheesy films documenting the craze. Most were B-grade fare, banking on cat fights, skimpy roller girl outfits, and daring spills on the racetrack. Kansas City Bomber honors that derby-film tradition by showcasing torrid affairs and bitter rivalries, but steps it up a bit dramatically. Raquel Welch's acting isn’t nearly as awful as most derby flicks (even a teeny Jodie Foster makes an appearance as Welch's daughter), and—most importantly—it's set in Portland! In fact, this movie is why the Kenton Club has their well-earned "world famous" title. (7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) AMY J. RUIZ

Pink Martini & Meow Meow
Pianist Thomas Lauderdale and his legendary Portland-based jazz and classical pop ensemble share the stage with Australian cabaret star Meow Meow and the Oregon Symphony to perform a set of Pink Martini favorites and a new songs off Meow Meow and Thomas Lauderdale's new album, Hotel Amour. (7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $35 & Up)

Ranky Tanky
The Charleston, South Carolina-hailing quintet bring their jazz-infused arrangements of traditional Gullah music to the Newmark Theatre stage for the Portland stop on a tour supporting their acclaimed self-titled debut. (7:30 pm, Newmark Theatre, $25-35)

James Acaster
Fresh off the success of his four-part Netflix stand-up special Repertoire, acclaimed English comedian James Acaster brings his latest show, Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999, through Mississippi Studios to reflect on the best year of his life and the worst year of his life. (8 pm & 10:30 pm, Mississippi Studios, $20)

Tuesday, April 2

Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour
Acclaimed vocalist CĂ©cile McLorin Salvant swings through the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Monterey Jazz Festival with a backing band rounded out by saxophonist Melissa Aldana, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, trumpeter Bria Skonberg, and drummer Jamison Ross. (7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $35-65)

Morgan Parker
The author of There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé returns with Magical Negro, a new collection of poems exploring Black American womanhood. (7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)

Lee & the Bees, Arlo Indigo, The Forever Agos
Portland-based singer/songwriter Lee Aulson (of Bevelers) swings through the Doug Fir with her infectious indie-folk and pop project to head up a farewell show for Arlo Indigo. The Forever Agos round out the proceedings with a set of American and Motown sounds pulled from the '50s, '60s, and '70s (9 pm, Doug Fir, $10-12)

QueensrĂżche, Fates Warning
Seattle heavy progressive giants QueensrĂżche bring their heavy sounds down the I-5 and through the Crystal Ballroom for the Portland stop on a tour supporting their latest full-length, The Verdict. (8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $35-40)

B-Movie Bingo: American Ninja
Your monthly opportunity to literally check off a bingo card full of B-movie clichĂ©s! This month is a celebration of the year Golan Globus bestowed upon the '80s one of its most amazing gifts, and created a demarcation point in film history: Films made before Michael Dudikoff became the American Ninja, and films made after. Stepping into the role of Private Joe Armstrong after Chuck Norris deemed it beneath him (fuck Chuck Norris), Dudikoff and director Sam Firstenberg launched what would become a decade-spanning series of super-plotty, silly-as-shit action films that contained no shortage of impressive stunts for the time. This film is embarrassing in more than a few ways, absolutely—but you know what makes it really fun? Pretending this is a Street Fighter prequel and "Joe Armstrong" is a codename for Guile. (7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) BOBBY ROBERTS

Against the Current
Holocene hosts an all-ages show with the Poughkeepsie-hailing pop-rock trio who are currently making the rounds in support of their Fueled by Ramen-issued 2018 album, Past Lives. (7 pm, Holocene, $17-20)

Variform Spring Series
Two nights of sonic experimentation, featuring performances from headliners PITA, and support from Daniel Menche, Jamondria Harris, Myles de Bastion, Strategy, and Chloe Alexandra Thompson. (Tues-Wed 7:30 pm, Disjecta, $8-12)

Wednesday, April 3

Stella Donnelly, Faye Webster
Australian singer/songwriter Stella Donnelly broke through to a bigger audience in 2017 on the strength of her Thrush Metal EP, a collection of plainspoken stories set to pretty folk music and wrapped up in some lovely lo-fi intimacy. Now she’s back and ready to conquer the rest of the world with her new album Beware of the Dogs, which ditches DIY hiss in favor of lush production—a move that highlights Donnelly’s considerable melodic gifts and, in turn, her blistering lyrics about all the different ways shitty dudes are shitty. (8 pm, Polaris Hall, $12-14) BEN SALMON

The I, Anonymous Show
The Mercury’s very popular I, Anonymous column and blog features the wildest, weirdest, and most candid rants and confessions submitted anonymously from our readers. Now you can see the craziest of these submissions read live on stage at The I, Anonymous Show, hosted by the always hilarious Kate Murphy and this month’s panel of certified luff-makers, Adam Pasi, Dylan Carlino, and special guest, Seattle’s own Andy Iwancio! Things are guaranteed to get NUTZ and REAL. (Maybe too real? You be the judge!) (7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $10) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Two-Lane Blacktop
While Easy Rider gets all the attention for ushering in a new era of American cinema, Monte Hellman’s Two-Lane Blacktop, a quiet B-movie from Universal, is just as potent an example, and maybe a little more impressive due to how unlikely a success it was. It starred non-actors/musicians (James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson), it cast the forever-malevolent Warren Oates as a pathetically dandy sociopath, and through very little dialog and a lot of atmosphere, it subtly captured the last days of a terminal Americana—at least until George Lucas cleverly revived it as a golly-gee nostalgia trip a year later with American Graffiti. Blacktop isn’t a direct commentary on the spoiled idealism of Baby Boomers as the ’60s slipped into the ’70s like Easy Rider is, but the sense of futility (sometimes noble, mostly not) is still strongly felt. (7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) BOBBY ROBERTS

Broods
The New Zealand indie pop duo headed up by multi-instrumentalist Caleb Nott and his sister, lead vocalist Georgia Nott returns to town for an all ages show supporting their recently released album, Don't Feed the Pop Monster. (8:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $23-25)

Brett Young
The college baseball star-turned-country pop singer/songwriter from Orange County swings through town to head up an all-ages show supporting his recently released sophomore album, Ticket to L.A.. (8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $39.50-45, all ages)

Laila Lalami
Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami returns with The Other Americans, about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant and the reverberations it leaves behind. (7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)

Thursday, April 4

Craig Robinson
Comedian/musician Craig Robinson is a fixture of classic shows like The Office (Darryl Philbin) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (the Pontiac Bandit), and this weekend he’ll be in the house cracking wise and tickling the ivories, so don’t miss your chance to see one of the funniest folks in the biz. (8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $33) JENNI MOORE

Natasha Kmeto, Noche Libre
Portland Center Stage celebrates First Thursday with this free showcase for local all-star Natasha Kmeto and her blend of electronic music, soul music, and dance, supported by DJ Black Daria and DJ Mami Mami of the Noche Libre collective. (5 pm, Portland Center Stage, free)

Portland Comic Book Month 10th Anniversary Celebration
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly hosts this 10th anniversary party for former Mayor Sam Adams' declaration of April as Portland Comic Book Month, a party that will transform City Hall into a mini comic-con, with 20 tables featuring offerings from local creators, publishers, educators, non-profits, and collectives, and pizza from Sizzle Pie. Participants include Dark Horse Comics, The Nib, Portland Zine Symposium, Helioscope Studios, Multnomah County Library, David F. Walker, Portland Indie Con, Sophie Franz, and more! (5 pm, City Hall, free, all ages)

The Thesis
When asked about the showcase’s April lineup, Mac Smiff said it’s about to be a “very sultry Thesis,” with three soul-oriented artists on the bill, including Long Beach, California, singer Mickey Taelor, whose neo-soul/reggae/experimental style is inspired by luminaries like Lauryn Hill, Billie Holiday, and Erykah Badu. Also in attendance: rapper/singer/producer Mal London, a Seattle-to-Portland transplant I’ve been wanting to see for a while now due to his excellent recorded material, like the songs “New Leaf” and “Wayvmode.” Label and artist collective It’s Future Time will put together a set, in addition to Portland-based R&B/pop songstress Blon, who will likely perform tracks from her debut EP, The Water Tape. A sultry night indeed. (9 pm, Kelly's Olympian, $10) JENNI MOORE

They Live
There are more than a few theaters across the country who have screened 1984 in response to the continued tenure of our corrupt, racist, slumlord sex offender of a president. But while familiarizing yourself with Orwell is always a good idea, John Carpenter’s last bonafide classic—1989's paranoid, left-wing, grindhouse sci-fi satire They Live—is a much more appropriate film for the strange, bewildering time we occupy. And for as good as John Hurt was in 1984, if we’re heading into a debased apocalypse of a future, I’d rather have Rowdy Roddy Piper as my avatar, kicking ass, chewing bubblegum, and—if he has to—literally beating some sense into you. Put the fuckin’ glasses on. (9:25 pm, Academy Theater, $3-4) BOBBY ROBERTS

Lee Corey Oswald, Loose, The Co Founder, Disappointed
Portland punk stalwarts Lee Corey Oswald head up a hometown show along with fellow Pacific NW-based rockers The Co Founder and locals Loose and Disappointed. (8 pm, High Water Mark, $8)

Jacqueline Woodson
The 34th season of Literary Arts Portland Arts & Lectures series closes out with a presentation from Jacqueline Woodson, author of the National Book Award-winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming and the New York Times bestselling novel Another Brooklyn. (7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $90-345)

Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!