THURSDAY, MAY 5

WOLF EYES--Here's a show for those seeking the strange and experimental. Check the chaotic noise of Wolf Eyes, along with Smegma, Nice Nice, and weirdo heartthrob Panther. Weird enough for you? Good, because things are only going to get weirder. MS
Berbati's, 10 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $7

HOLA, FIESTA--Heck, as if you need a reason to salsa dance and smash piñatas. The annual waterfront Cinco de MAYo celebration kicks off with the usual ruckus 'n' revelry. This year, when you tire of the carnival, fireworks, and beer gardens, you can head over to Conan's for a free Cinco de MAYo cross-cultural hiphop show with Suckapunch and Greyskul! PB
Celebration @ Waterfront Park, Thurs-Sat 11 am-11 pm, Sun 11 am-9 pm, $6; hiphop @ Conan's, 3862 SE Hawthorne, 9 pm, free

FRIDAY, MAY 6

BEBOP--The Mercury and the Clinton Street Theater have teamed up once again for Cult Fridays, bringing you kickass movies and beer on the first Friday of every month this summer. First up? Cowboy Bebop: The Movie! Oh, and beer. I mentioned that, right? Yes. There will be beer. EH
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, 10 pm, $6

MEDUSALON--Now that the indoor heating systems are turning off and easing up on the frizzing of our hair, Kaosmosis presents "Medusalon." Part hair show and part performance, get ready for snake wigs (!!!?), live barbering, and music by drum 'n' bass stud KJ Sawka. And if you haven't checked out Bossanova's rad, renovated space, here's the perfect chance MS
Bossanova, 722 E Burnside, 8 pm-4:30 am, $12-20 sliding

MUSIC--Autolux will seduce your ears with their spacey, distorted, noise-tinged pop. Billmates the Raveonettes are less revolutionary, but equally ear-pleasing with sleepy '50s-era surf songs sung by a sultry costumed male/female duo. Sounds like date night! KS
w/The Peels; Dante's, 1 SW 3rd, 9:30 pm, $12

SATURDAY, MAY 7

NERD ALERT!--So all you geeks are excited that today's Free Comic Book Day, when you can swing into almost any comic book store and get a free comic, right? Well, then keep the vibe going by hitting the "Skywalker Paradigm," a lecture on how--gasp!--Luke Skywalker's actually the villain of the Star Wars saga! BLASPHEMY! EH
Free Comic Book Day at participating stores, hit www.freecomicbookday.com; Skywalker Paradigm at PSU's Smith Union, 1825 SW Broadway, 7-8 pm, FREE

MUSIC--Swedes Mando Diao are the clean to opener Danko Jones' dirty. Mando are all soaring and sweet, while Danko play burly garage rock with heavy bass lines and a gravelly voiced singer who can't help but steal the show. NME magazine said Danko "might be the best band in the world"--so there you go. KS w/The Comas; Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12

SUNDAY, MAY 8

DOGTOWN--Swing by the Department of Skateboarding to check out the Portland segment of the Lords of Dogtown Skatepark Jam, a 34-city competition inspired by the upcoming film about pioneering skaters the Z-Boys. Plus, it's all going down on DOS' newly remodeled streetcourse! EH
Department of Skateboarding, 15 NE Hancock, 11 am-3 pm, FREE (wanna enter? hit www.departmentofskateboarding.com)

MUSIQUE--As a side project of Stereolab co-founder Laetitia Sadier, Monade seems more than a little superfluous--the band's recently released sophomore collection A Few Steps More sounding virtually identical to the 'Lab's last several records. But just remember: you totally like Stereolab… so what's the problem? ZP
w/The Zincs, Corrina Repp & Keith Schreiner; Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12

MONDAY, MAY 9

ANONYMOUS--The popular, theatrical tightrope act known as Anonymous Theater is back with Woody Allen's witty classic Don't Drink the Water. Cast in secret and kept separate until now, the actors--and you--will discover each other's identities tonight, entering from the seats in street clothes and performing the play for the first and only time. This is what theater should be: raw, surprising, and terrifying. JWS
Imago Theater, 17 SE 8th, 306-0870, 7:30 pm, $15-20, reservations strongly recommended

MUSIC--The fact that tonight marks an all-too-rare Die Monitr Batss set is cause enough for celebration--an event made all the more exciting by San Diego stalwarts Kill Me Tomorrow. Also on the bill is Supersystem, a newly retrofitted version of Dischord dancepunks El Guapo featuring Orthrelm's Josh Blair.
w/We Quit; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 9 pm, $8

TUESDAY, MAY 10

SUPER 8--The cheapest of film media and thus the least respected, the Super 8 format's grain and grit can actually be used to stunning effect in the right hands. This week the NW Film Center presents a four-day Super 8 celebration (MAY 8-11) with a smattering of workshops and an equipment swap (Sunday), and Super-8 feature films from cool directors like Richard Linklater (Monday) and tonight's screening of Bruce La Bruce's No Skin Off My Ass. JWS
No Skin @ The Guild, 1219 SW Park, 7 pm, $7; see www.nwfilm.org for complete festival schedule

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

HIPHOP--From the loins of Aceyalone and Abstract Rude came forth literate, anti-gangster, underground West Coast hiphop as we know it. And if you can forgive them the fact that neither has made a decent CD in five years, their live shows are spectacles of tag-team rapping that just shouldn't be missed. NS
w/Bus Driver, Medusa, more; Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd, 9:30 pm, $14