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Monday, April 29
Revolution Comedy: Goodbye Andie Main
For years now, Andie Main has been using her stand-up showcase at the Curious Comedy Stage as a way to raise funds for social justice programs and awareness for Portland audiences. Unfortunately, she's leaving Portland and moving on to Denver, Colorado, so this Revolution Comedy is her farewell to the city. But so far as goodbyes go, this promises to be a great one: Stand-ups include Chris Johnson, Corina Lucas, Steven Wilber, Shain Brendan, and Alex Rios, and beneficiaries of your donations include not one, but three worthy organizations: Don't Shoot PDX, Nasty Women Get Shit Done, and the Portland Resistance. (7 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $5)
Bass Drum of Death
Mississippi-hailing musician John Barrett brings his fuzzed-out garage and glam rock back to the Doug Fir for a headlining show supporting his band's latest album, Just Business. (9 pm, Doug Fir, $13-15)
Mordecai, Stephanie Mae, Rain Ezra
Portland's Mordecai bring their shape-shifting blend of modern pop and R&B music through Turn! Turn! Turn! for an intimate hometown show featuring support from Stephanie Mae and Rain Ezra. (8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!, $5)
Mo Welch, Stacey Hallal
How to Die Alone is stand up comedian and cartoonist Mo Welch's new illustrated guide to not helping yourself, written for all those who aspire to spend every weekend in sweatpants and curled up on the couch. Welch will be joined in conversation by comedian Stacey Hallal, founder of Portlandâs Curious Comedy Theater. (7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)
Nick Waterhouse, Ben Pirani
The cool, smoky R&B of Nick Waterhouse has all of its vintage accoutrements perfectly on display, but Waterhouse is no blast from the past. By injecting his soul shakedowns with sweat, tears, and even a little blood, these lost-in-time sounds have never sounded more alive. (8 pm, Mississippi Studios, $17.50-20) NED LANNAMANN
Gomme, Deathlist, Collate
The Fixin' To welcomes some post-punk from Paris to their Portland stage, with support from locals Deathlist and Collate. (8 pm, The Fixin' To, $7)
The Parson Red Heads, LiquidLight
The beloved local folk-rock outfit help say goodbye to the Mission as a music venue with a night of new songs, old goodies, and support from their friends in LiquidLight. (9 pm, Mission Theater)
Tuesday, April 30
SWMRS, Beach Goons
Oaklandâs SWMRS sound exactly like youâd expect: fuzzed-out pop with boppy surf rock undertones. The band's apolitical punk features lyrics about everything from typical millennial angst to their not-so-subtle obsession with Miley Cyrus to the vapid nature of the commercial music industry (perhaps inspired by their connection to Green Dayâthe drummer is Billie Joe Armstrongâs oldest son). (8 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $19-21, all ages) DELANEY MOTTER
Ariana Grande, Normani, Social House
Iâll admit that, in the past, Iâve gazed upon Ariana Grande with a certain amount of suspicion. (Former kid show star, the doughnut licking incident, the CAT EARS.) That said, not only is Grande a pop song juggernaut, sheâs been through A LOT in the past two years (Google it) and yet has emerged from her despair by producing one of the most exciting, smart, and witty albums to come down the pike in quite a while, thank u, next. Armed with pitch perfect pipes and a smart, feminist message, Grande is quickly becoming a next gen diva, so donât be surprised or ashamed when your ears suddenly start perking up. (And yes, itâs okay if theyâre cat ears.) (8 pm, Moda Center, all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Henry Thomas
The actor and musician best known for portraying Elliott in E.T. reads from his debut fantasy novel, The Window and the Mirror, the first installment in the "Oesteria and the War of Goblinkind" series. (7 pm, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, free)
Cool Kids Comedy
Portland comedian Andie Main has moved away to join the Denver scene, but her recurring stand-up showcase at the Doug Fir lives on with new host Nariko Ott taking the reigns. Tonight's installment features sets from Adam Pasi, Marcus Coleman, Corina Lucas, and Dylan Jenkins, along with music by DJ Deena Bee. (8 pm, Doug Fir, $8-10)
Thank You Scientist, Kindo, In the Presence of Wolves
Montclair, New Jersey's Thank You Scientist bring their jazz- and metal-infused progressive rock through the Hawthorne Theatre for the Portland stop on a North American tour with Kindo and In the Presence of Wolves. (7:30 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, $16.50-20, al ages)
Cat & Nat: #Momtruths Live
Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer bring their popular YouTube series that talks openly about the realities of parenting to the Revolution Hall stage. (7 pm, Revolutoin Hall, $25-100)
Shvvvr
Portland composer and guitarist Adam Carpinelli and his backing band bring their worldly blend of funk and jazz to SE Portland to perform a par of sets at the Bit House Saloon. (8 pm, Bit House Saloon, $8)
Wednesday, May 1
The Nib Release Party: Empire
A May Day release party for the third printed collection from editorial cartoon and comics journalism site The Nib, which was founded by cartoonist Matt Bors. You see Bors' comics in our paper every issue, and you could be reading a heckuva lot more at The Nibâs website, or if you drop by to pick up this Empire-themed collectionâwith its shudder-inducing cover depicting four Trump faces atop Mount Rushmore. (6 pm, Books With Pictures, free, all ages) SUZETTE SMITH
The I, Anonymous Show
Look, we have no delusions of grandeurâwe know that 90 percent of the reason you pick up the Mercury is to read I, Anonymous, in which anonymous readers share their deepest and funniest and grossest and sexiest seeeeecrets! (Okay, the sexiest ones are pretty rare, but still.) Thatâs why we also present one of the best live shows in Portlandâthe I, Anonymous Show, featuring the funniest people in town, who readâand judgeâthe best I, Anonymous entries! This time around, host Kate Murphy will be joined by the hilarious Wendy Weiss, Jeremiah Coughlan, and Randall Lawrence! Get ready for a whole lot of laughs and a whole lot of seeeeecrets. (7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $10) ERIK HENRIKSEN
The Cactus Blossoms, Jack Klatt
The Cactus Blossomsâ 2016 album Youâre Dreaming is one of the best easy-like-Sunday-morning records around. Itâs gentle and warm, but not at all sleepy, the perfect thing to ease you into a day of recharging and relaxation. Brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum wield harmonies that rival the Everlys and Louvins for sheer symbiosis, traversing the ghost radio waves of Americaâs past, when AM broadcasts would spread country tones and folksong storytelling to broad swaths of the nation, reaching big city apartments and faraway farms in tiny hamlets alike. (9 pm, Doug Fir, $14-16) NED LANNAMANN
May Day is for Everyone: A Festival of Resistance
Simply existing on this earth is work. Whether work for you means washing dishes, teaching preschoolers, making art full-time, or doing the hard work of healing, youâre invited to join a May Day celebration and rally thanking and honoring every and all workers. Food provided with donations accepted. (4 pm, Holladay Park, free) EMILLY PRADO
ionnalee, Allie X
Swedish audiovisual artist and synth-pop singer/songwriter ionnalee makes her Portland debut when she rolls through Holocene in support of her latest album, Remember The Future. Canadian singer/songwriter Alexandra Ashley Hughes, better known by her stage name Allie X, rounds out the bill with her own indie pop sounds. (8:30 pm, Holocene, $20-25)
Michele Filgate, Lidia Yuknavitch, Nayomi Munaweera, Rene Denfeld
Michele Filgate's shares excerpts from a new anthology based on her Longreads essay, What My Mother and I Don't Talk About, in which fifteen writers explore the issues they donât talk to their mothers about, and reflect on how it affects them, for better or worse. Filgate will be joined in conversation at the event by Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Book of Joan, Nayomi Munaweera, author of What Lies Between Us, and Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder. (7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)
Tom Segura
After selling out a run of shows at Revolution Hall his last time through town, stand-up sensation and beloved podcast host Tom Segura takes over the Keller Auditorium for a two-night Portland stop on his "Take it Down" Tour. (Wed-Thurs 7 pm, Keller Auditorium, $29-89)
Thursday, May 2
Princess
Itâs been three years since Prince departed this mortal coil, but his funky spirit lives on with Princess, the Prince cover band led by best friends Gretchen Lieberum and former SNL cast member Maya Rudolph. Before his untimely death, the Purple One apparently gave Princess his blessing (he even had their 2012 Tonight Show performance saved on his DVR). That means if you were lucky enough to nab tickets to tonightâs sold-out show, youâll be experiencing Prince-approved Prince covers. Nothing compares 2 that. (8:30 pm, Revolution Hall) CIARA DOLAN
Telekinesis, Sontalk
Across five fantastic albums, Seattleâs Michael Benjamin Lerner hasâunder the name Telekinesisâdelivered poppy, perfect tunes with the consistency of a powerhouse pitcher. Telekinesisâ newest, Effluxion, is the work of an assured artist entering a phase of confidence and maturity, but donât be fooled; Lernerâs immaculately constructed tunes are still catchy as all get-out. (9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $13-15) NED LANNAMANN
QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival
Each year, QDocâPortlandâs queer documentary film festivalâcollects some of the best and most interesting films of the year. This yearâs lineup boasts Gay Chorus Deep South, which follows the San Francisco Gay Menâs Chorus on a journey through the American South; XY Chelsea, a portrait of Chelsea Manning; Scream, Queen!, which follows Nightmare on Elm Street 2 star Mark Patton, who dealt with homophobia and more following the release of the (very gay) slasher flick; Cassandro, the Exotico!, about the âLiberace of Lucha Libreâ; and The Coming Back Out Ball, which celebrates Melbourneâs LGBTI elders. Thereâs plenty more, too, and itâs all worth a look. (Thurs-Sun, Hollywood Theater, click here for titles and showtimes) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Anna Tivel, Jacob Miller
It makes perfect sense that the release show for Anna Tivelâs new album is happening at OMSIâs planetarium. After all, the Portland folk singer takes horizon-wide thoughts, confessions, and questions and whittles them down into beautiful little packages of words, melodies, and guitar strings. Tivelâs last album, Small Believer, was one of the best local releases of 2017, and her new oneâaptly titled The Questionâcame out April 19 on local record label Fluff & Gravy. Through and through, itâs typical Tivel: quiet but strong, catchy as Velcro, and deeply rooted with eyes wide open. (8 pm, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, $15) BEN SALMON
Art Alexakis, Chris Collingwood, Max Collins, John Wozniak
Art Alexakis of Everclear heads up a night of stories and songs at the Crystal Ballroom, with Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne, Max Collins of Eve 6, and John Wozniak of Marcy Playground all joining in on the proceedings. (8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $30-35)
Peter Bjorn And John, Jonathan Something
The Swedish indie pop trio best known for their breakout 2006 single "Young Folks" make their way back to Portland to head up an intimate show at the Doug Fir in support of their latest album, Darker Days. (9 pm, Doug Fir, $22-25)
MorMor
Up-and-coming Toronto-based pop and R&B singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Seth Nyquist (AKA MorMor) makes his way through Portland for a headlining show supporting his debut EP, âHeavenâs Only Wishful.â (8 pm, Holocene, $15-17)
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
