Nuggets Night Farewell Freaker
For 12 years, Nuggets Nights have featured Portland bands performing the garage-rock classics from the â60s that appeared on Lenny Kayeâs legendary Nuggets compilation album and its countless sequels. Raise a glass, for this weekend is the Farewell Freakerâthe final Nuggets Night celebration ever, with proceeds going to House of Sound. For two nights, local bands like the Pynnacles, Matt Rogersâ Miracle Workers, Dartgun and the Vignettes, and tons of others will play those loud, legendary, rude, rockinâ tunes that have made garage rock one of the most undying genres ever. (Fri-Sat Oct 18-19, 8:30 pm, The World Famous Kenton Club, $5) NED LANNAMANN
Requiem for Vaseline Alley
Beloved Portland artist Anthony Hudson (in drag, as Carla Rossi) heads up this performative walking tour of downtown Portlandâs Harvey Milk corridor, formerly known as âVaseline Alleyâ. Meet at the corner of SW 10th and SW Stark (in front of Living Room Theaters) and venture out on an extensive tour exploring the region's now-vanished spaces for Queer embodiment and culture. (Sun Oct 19, 6:15 pm, Living Room Theaters, free)
Amulets, Derek Hunter Wilson, Hugo Ra Paris
Three artists on local record label Beacon Sound will celebrate the release of new works at this show. All are worth investigating, but for now letâs focus on Amulets, a project of Portland-based audio/visual artist Randall Taylor, who combines tape loops, field recordings, and live, processed guitar to create dynamic, layered drones. The resulting music sounds like itâs living and breathing and sad and hopeful and slowly growing more beautiful by the moment. Tonight, Taylor will celebrate not only his new album Between Distant and Remote but also joining the Beacon Sound roster after moving to Portland from Austin, Texas last year. (Wed Oct 23, 8 pm, Holocene, $8-10) BEN SALMON
PDX Broadsides, Kielen King, Rad Max
Quarterworld livens up their glowing, button-mashing Friday nights with a trio of local artists exciting the air while classic games excite the phosphors, headlined by the pirate-y folk of the PDX Broadsides, the sci-fi infused hip-hop of Kielen King, and the neon heart beating under Rad Max's chest. If you visited the Retro Gaming Expo earlier in the day, this show is the perfect nightcap. (Fri Oct 18, 8 pm, Quarterworld, $3)
Sunbathe, The Mistons, Glass Curtains
Maggie May Morris has a catchy-as-hell name to go along with her natural ability to write a catchy-as-hell song. While you may be familiar with Morris from her position at the helm of Genders, you might not be aware that her solo efforts are as just as mesmerizing. With her current project, Sunbathe, Morris reminds us that catchy doesnât always have to be equal to sunny or saccharine. Sheâs got the distinct ability to write a song so devastating youâll flop to the floor while listening, but also so warm and familiar that youâll find yourself attempting to hum along even before youâve finished indulging in it for the first time. (Fri Oct 18, 9 pm, The Fixin' To, $8) JENNA FLETCHER
The Jackson County Kills, Matty Charles & Katie Rose
Dish yourself up some pipin'-hot honky-tonk rock 'n' roll when the Jackson County Kills swing through the Laurelthirst Pub to head up a Friday night dance party. Matty Charles and Katie Rose get the evening underway with a set of harmony-driven classic country echoing the likes of the Louvin Brothers, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris. (Fri Oct 18, 9 pm, LaurelThirst Public House, $5)
Gourmet Apple Tasting
Every year right around this exact time, the Portland Nursery invites the whole city to come sample and celebrate the abundance of tasty apples and pears in the region, with over 60 varieties to choose from, as well as fresh-pressed cider demonstrations and tastings, and kid-friendly activities for the little ones. (Fri-Sun Oct 18-20, 9 am, Portland Nursery, free, all ages)
Love You to the Max: A Tribute to David Berman & Silver Jews
The Fixin' To pays tribute to the life and works of singer/songwriter and poet David Berman (Silver Jews, Purple Mountains), with performances from The Wild Kindness (featuring members of Old Growth/Jr., Sleeptalker, Woodge, Bad Assets, and RRAG), The Whirlies, Nate Wallace (Hearts of Oak), and DJ Sputnik, along with readings by Ryan Newton, Jon Nystrom, and Jen Denrow. All proceeds will benefit for The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (Sat Oct 19, 8 pm, The Fixin' To, $8)
Sea Moss, Indira Valey, Darcy Neal, J$Fur
Speck's presents an early, all-ages show featuring an array of ambient, noise, soundscapes, and interactive performance art from Portland experimental acts Sea Moss, Indira Valey, Darcy Neal, and J$Fur. (Sat Oct 19, 6 pm, Speck's Records and Tapes, $5-10, all ages)
Holly George-Warren
Janis is award-winning author Holly George-Warren's in-depth portrait of the remarkable life and career of rock & roll pioneer Janis Joplin. (Sun Oct 20, 7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)
Turn! Turn! Turn!'s Monthly Market
The latest installment of Turn! Turn! Turn!'s monthly market doubles as a clothing and costume swap for anyone still looking to prepare for Halloween. Vendors include Barney + Flo(w), Snowmade, Miranda's All-Natural Body Products, Rose Frantic Studio, and Crystals Candles. (Sun Oct 20, noon, Turn! Turn! Turn!, free)
The Wicker Man
This is a screening of the 1973 original, meaning you will not be seeing Nicolas Cage in a bear suit socking up women and swallowing gallons of CGI bees. Instead, you will be immersed in the off-kilter world of this slow-burning British cult classic, starring Christopher Lee at his confidently creepiest, where the horror isnât contained in loud orchestral stabs and brutal bursts of bloody gore, but in the careful peeling away of idyllic island life to reveal the placidly unnerving and profoundly disturbing wrongness underneath. (Mon Oct 21, 9:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9) BOBBY ROBERTS
Portland Diamond Project World Series Watch Party
Watch game 1 of the MLB World Series, hear from Portland Diamond Project members and featured guests, enter to win giveaways and raffles, and get your hands on the latest PDP merchandise. Guests include Portland Diamond Project Founder and President Craig Cheek, former television play-by-play announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers Mike Barrett, former Major League Golden Glove winner and Oregon State infielder Darwin Barney, and more. (Tues Oct 22, 5:30 pm, Revolution Hall, free w/ rsvp)
Rafn & Squintsy Jones
It's a duo that sounds like they should be skulking around the fringes of a Bond movie, but instead they're taking center stage and serving up boogies finely toasted in the R&B heyday of the '80s. (Tues Oct 22, 9 pm, Dig a Pony, free)
Lisa Loving
Longtime journalist and media activist Lisa Loving reads from Street Journalist, offering aspiring journalists insight into her well-honed approach to reporting whats meaningful, holding the powerful accountable, and enriching the community from the ground up. (Wed Oct 23, 7 pm, Annie Bloom's Books, free)
Pecas, Basil Strawberry
Brooklyn-via-Madrid artist Sandy Davis, who performs under the stage name Pecas, brings her soulful blend of R&B-leaning bedroom pop to Bunk Bar for an intimate Portland performance. (Wed Oct 23, 9 pm, Bunk Bar, $8-10)
Jake Brennan
Jake Brennan reads from Disgraceland, a book adaptation of his popular rock 'n' roll true-crime podcast, exploring the seedy stories lurking in the shadows and back alleys of music history. (Thurs Oct 24, 7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free)
Teton, Ever Ending Kicks, Half Shadow
xAnacortes-based musician Paul Benson brings his shape-shifting pop project back to town and links up with Portland's own Teton and Half Shadow for a night of independent Northwest music at No Fun. (Thurs Oct 24, 9:30 pm, No Fun, $5)
Basket Case
Ah, the '80s. When the coke flowed like wine, the electronics were still wood-paneled, and you could pay a couple bucks to catch movies like Basket Case at the local theater and nobody would stop you, or really even question the idea that such a fucked-up piece of repugnant shit could just splatter itself all over a theater screen like that. "Oh, you mean that nasty little movie about the murderous backwoods idiot hauling his hawked loogie of a little brother around in a giant picnic basket? Sure! I'll sell you a ticket!" To paraphrase one of that decade's finest comedic minds, what a decade! (Thurs Oct 24, 9:10 pm, Academy Theater, $3-4)
There's even more to do in our Cheap, Free, & Fun calendar, and don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
