Wednesday May 7top

A Streetcar Named Desire

There’s nothing like a little Tennessee Williams to ruin your weekend. Jon Kretzu sets the Pulitzer-winning coming-of-rape drama in Blanche’s moldy padded room, relating the story as a series of remembrances. A bearded doctor sits just offstage throughout the first act, occasionally nodding as Blanche (Andrea Frankle) relives her doomed visit to New Orleans. Kretzu’s vision doesn’t add much to the story, but it isn’t actively detrimental. Indeed, all that really changes is the set and Blanche’s exits. She doesn’t get any, and scene changes are covered up with moments of fantasy cliché: a disco ball, falling rose petals. Kretzu’s cast is mostly strong, though none of the men can hold on to a Southern accent. Mic Matarrese is huge and terrifying as Stanley, but his performance falters when he drops the beastliness. He comes on with such fury from the first scene that his tender moments aren’t quite believable. The real standout here isn’t Stanley, or even Blanche, but Stella. Val Landrum imbues the part with a feline languor and understated eroticism that is instantly appealing. Blanche may get all the abuse, but it’s poor, dumb, passionate Stella that we cry for. BEN WATERHOUSE. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes May 18. $20-$47. Map

Sometimes a Great Notion

[EXTENDED RUN] Aaron Posner's stage adaptation reduces Ken Kesey’s 1964 masterpiece to a 2 1/2-hour family drama about the messy relationship between half-brothers Hank and Leland Stamper, an odd couple tasked with fulfilling an impossible logging contract. It’s a good story, though it encompasses only about a third of the novel, and Posner’s use of a chorus of townspeople to simulate the novel’s narration actually works quite well. The design work is extraordinary: Tony Cisek’s set is both beautiful and eminently functional, and Casi Pacilio’s falling-tree sound effects shake the Armory’s foundations. The leads are excellent—Karl Miller (Leland) and Tobias Andersen (Henry) are especially good—but there are some weak spots. Local comedy geek Kevin-Michael Moore shouts his way through his lines, and Chris Murray expresses little beyond an adolescent sneer, and they all play up lines about the weather—Kesey’s chief antagonist—for inappropriate yuks. BEN WATERHOUSE. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays, noon Thursdays. Closes May 10. $16.50-$61.50. Map

The History Boys

Alan Bennett’s prep-school sorta-romance is likely to divide audiences. If close to three hours of hyperarticulate schoolboy banter, a trio of awkward infatuations and a garnish of educational theory sounds like a good time to you, you’ll love it. I did. Though he’s prone to over-writing, Bennett’s dramatic poetry is among the best of his generation, and in History Boys he has forged an unforgettable cast of characters: the hardass headmaster, the student-groping lit teacher, the cynically provocative historian and the class of eight unnaturally bright students who want nothing more than to make it into Oxford, Cambridge or one another’s trousers. Jon Kretzu’s production is solid throughout. While the teachers are all quite good, and Chris Harder gives his best performance to date in Portland as Irwin, the sardonic young history teacher, every scene is stolen by the boys. It’s a delight to see such an energetic bunch of young actors at work. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes June 8. $20-$47. All ages. Map

The Little Dog Laughed

A very funny comedy by Douglas Carter Beane (To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar) about Mitchell, a self-loathing gay movie star, the young rent-boy he falls for, the rent-boy’s girlfriend, and Diane, the obnoxious, sexless lesbian agent who has to make sure nobody falls out of the closet. It’s well-worn material—New Yorkers are bitchy, movie people are crass, being gay is tough, etc.—but Beane seasons the old gags with a filthy-minded wit that makes them feel fresh. The out-of-town cast is very good—particularly Antoinette LaVecchia, who plays Diane as a smart-ass Mephistopheles in a white pantsuit. High drama this is not, but there are worse ways to spend a spring evening. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays, noon Thursdays. Closes June 29. $21.50-$43.50. All ages. Map

Blue Cranes, Wow and Flutter

[ALT JAZZ] Blue Cranes is one of those rare combos that appeals to both serious jazz listeners and alt-rock fans. Tonight the Portland quintet celebrates its second album, Homing Patterns, which features a Sufjan Stevens cover and 10 new originals by virtuoso altoist Reed Wallsmith (including one recorded in the MAX tunnel beneath the zoo). With Decemberists tenorman Joe “Sly Pig” Cunningham now aboard, the band features thoughtful, Mingus-influenced excursions that often erupt into raucous, smeary, David Murray-style sax duets. And the Cranes’ rhythm section (keyboardist Rebecca Sanborn, acoustic bassist Keith Brush, drummer Ji Tanzer) cooks throughout. BRETT CAMPBELL. 8 pm. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. $6. 21+. Map

Daniel Menche, Sudden Infant, Trees, The Tenses, Sisprum Vish

[INDUSTRIAL] Brace your head for impact. Berlin-based Sudden Infant, a.k.a. Joke Lanz—industrial-music vet most (in)famous for his work with Catholic Boys In Heavy Leather (oh yeah, you read that right)—is coming to Portland. And he's bringing his goth-spooky take on improvised noise, an Andre Breton-style mindfuck of contact mics, loops, word weirdness and truly scary stuffs, with him. Local sound-brutalist Daniel Menche is on the bill too, taking noise constructions to Matthew Barney-level physicality and keeping the wild equal to the woolly. This isn't one of those zone-out-and-think-about-what's-for-breakfast-tomorrow gigs: This shit will invade your headspace and replace it with something darker, stronger and, ultimately, more rewarding. ERIK BADER. 9:30 pm. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. $7. 21+. Map

B-52s, Eagle Seagull

[RAINBOW POP] That's right, the B-52s. Not sure at what point Athens' iconic dance-poppers decided to drop the apostrophe (a grammatical error in the first place), but rest assured, 16 years after their last album, nothing else has changed. Most anyone to ever attend a prom, wedding or, for all I know, funeral in the past two decades has likely grown a bit tired of jibberish-as-orgasmic agitprop shouted above frug-inferno deliria (without ever purchasing a record, I've heard "Love Shack" more times than I've talked with my father), but new release Funplex, absent deadening familiarity, seems thoroughly fresh. A bit more electro, perhaps, harmonies just barely dimmed, but that peculiar sound—the aural equivalent of small-town teen doldrums transcended through sex and music—never will grow old. JAY HORTON. 8 pm. Roseland, 8 NW 6th Ave., 219-9929 (Grill), 224-2038 (Theater). $32.50-$50. All ages. Map

PNCA

"The Searchers," a group show about eBay as a catalyst for interpersonal connection.
1241 NW Johnson St., 226-4391. Closes May 25. Map

BULLSEYE GALLERY

Jane Bruce's formalist glass works.
New York artist Jane Bruce’s Contained Abstraction tackles ideas of art vs. nature with glass—using the vessel as her point of departure. Bruce is not interested in the vessel; she is interested in the idea of a vessel, and so in piece after piece, she starts with jaunty, graphic outlines of a vase, flask and bowl, then switches into meta mode, flattening the timeless forms into thin rhomboid planes that appear 2D from most angles. With their primary colors, the works exude a Platonic formalism tempered only by the skewed, cartoonish outlines of the über-vessels themselves. Side by side, one atop the other, or separated by handlelike dividers, these glass “houses” are anything but cozy. 300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222., 227-0222. Closes May 17. Map

QUINTANA GALLERIES

120 NW 9th Ave., 223-1729. Closes May 31. Map

CHAMBERS @ 916

Group show featuring contemporary artists appropriating antiquarian media.
916 NW Flanders St., 227-9398. Closes May 24. Map

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Ken Shores' works.
Art or craft? Ceramics or high-art sculpture? Who knows and who cares when you’re veteran envelope-pusher Ken Shores. Generations: Ken Shores is a retrospective of the artist’s 50-year career. With his unique iconography, culled from studies undertaken and influences absorbed in Asia and South America, Shores’ life’s work is overdue for this in-depth treatment. 724 NW Davis St., 223-2654. Closes July 23. Map

CHARLES A. HARTMAN

Kazuumi Takahashi's photos.
Photographer Kazuumi Takahashi’s High Tide Wane Moon consists of elegant, evocative landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes. Works such as #09 encapsulate the series as a whole: moody, misty and haunting, a visual incantation of rocks and fog, cresting waves and retreating tides. For sheer atmospherics, these works are hard to top. 134 NW 8th Ave., 287-3886. Closes June 21. Map

PULLIAM DEFFENBAUGH GALLERY

Zeitgeist: Group show.
To try to encapsulate what’s going on in the bruised and splintered Portland art scene circa May 2008 is an unenviable task, but the artists in Zeitgeist: a changing landscape give us hope. Brian Borrello’s elegant mixed-media-on-linen works show the eerie silhouettes of trees against a pale yellow background. Anna Fidler’s intricately cut-out construction-paper fantasy worlds show her veering increasingly toward Brian Dettmer territory. Other highlights include Daniel Peterson’s photographs and G. Lewis Clevenger’s evergreen rectilinear abstraction. 929 NW Flanders St., 228-6665. Closes May 31. Map

MARK WOOLLEY GALLERY

William Park's paintings.
Painter William Park’s solo show is called Life is Good, but probably should have been titled For the Birds. The show is an ornithological overdose populated by canvas after canvas of geese and finches in retina-chafing variation. It leaves you praying some real-life birds would descend, Hitchcock-style, and peck your eyes out. Many of the works, such as Anxiously Awaiting the Arrival of the Pilgrims, leave you in “So what?” mode, but Park occasionally musters impressive compositional skill and painterly inspiration, as in Backyard Poetry, with its woozy reflections and drippy, semi-abstract luxuriance. 817 SW 2nd Ave., 224-5475. Closes May 31. Map

23 SANDY GALLERY

Group show showcasing contemporary photographers who use antiquated processes.
623 NE 23rd Ave., 927-4409. Closes May 31. Map

SPRINGBOX

Mitchell Freifeld's paintings.
2376 NW Thurman St., 228-1600. Closes May 31. Map

URBAN GRIND

Stuart Allen Levy's photos of Portland.
911 NW 14th Ave., 546-5919. Closes May 31. Map

NEW AMERICAN ART UNION

TJ Norris' installation.
In this new installation, multimedia artist TJ Norris has pulled off an elegant, thought-provoking show in his hallmark aesthetic of clinical yet invigorating minimalism. As you enter this “multimedia video lounge,” the first thing you see is a light box that cryptically declaims, in wedding-invite calligraphy: “Reserve the right to remain silent.” You recline on gurneys and watch two channels of video projected onto the ceiling: grainy images of old Lincolns and Subarus rushing in front of a chain-link fence; a disco ball rotating in a sleazy, wood-paneled room; a woozy shot of a run-down apartment hallway…. The images have a vintage urban feel, like derelict souvenirs of pre-Giuliani Manhattan, when gentrification had yet to impinge and it was still possible to get a decently priced blow job in Times Square. Norris compartmentalized and fetishized the habitat of his East Coast youth in ways that continue to inform his present. He has romanticized a gritty metropolitan past while also draining it of every last drop of romanticism it ever did or did not possess. He conjures the aftermath of experience—which is to say, memory—even as he embalms its corpse. 922 SE Ankeny St., Closes June 22. Map

OGLE GALLERY

Tsilli Pines' works on paper.
Natty and gaminelike, Tsilli Pines’ mixed-media works on rice paper are diminutive treasures. With their tiny dots, lines and shapes, they evoke flowers, snow flurries, root systems and sun rays. Pines deploys her graphic design background to brilliant effect, creating a series of inventive variations from a bare minimum of elements. The works are dainty without tiptoeing into preciousness and have a quiet feminism about them. An understated, immaculate show, not to be missed. 310 NW Broadway., 227-4333. Closes May 31. Map

QUALITY PICTURES

Roger Ballen's photographs.
The celebrated South Africa-based shooter presents a handful of new creepy-gorgeous black-and-whites centered on uncomfortable characters, forlorn animals and stark situations—all of which may exist only in his own mind. 916 NW Hoyt St., 227-5060. Closes June 28. Map

TILT

Rebecca Ripple's installation works.
Rebecca Ripple’s installation pieces are tours de force: a nipple-bedecked orb on a table amidst a sea of crochet; a sculpture that looks like a deconstructed patent-leather pump, emblazoned with the letters “G,” “O” and “D” (Try that one on for size, ladies); and the pièce de résistance, a sculpture with four bulky feet rising in airy metal filigree, evoking birds in flight or a Giacometti horse. This is trippy, eye-pleasing, head-scratching work. 625 NW Everett St., #106., 908-616-5477. Closes May 24. Map

Roger Ballen

For almost 30 years, New York native and geologist Roger Ballen has lived in rural spaces outside Johannesburg, South Africa, photographing the citizens of these destitute townships. Usually working in black and white, his prints maintain a sharp, surreal grittiness; a touching gravitas of the human condition in J-Burg. His most recent series, New Project, omits faces, instead focusing on gingerly splayed limbs, the photos often including tiny puppies or birds. PICA and Quality Pictures have teamed up to show exclusive portraits and still-lifes by Ballen from the mid-'80s to today. A lecture by the artist will be followed by a reception and New Project book signing, with food courtesy of Planet B.'s Modern Tastes. Visit rogerballen.com for more info. Wieden & Kennedy Atrium, 224 NW 13th Ave., 224-8499. 7 pm. Free for members. $5 for general public. Map

Thursday May 8top

The Long Christmas Ride Home

There’s very little Christmas spirit in Paula Vogel’s 2003 tragicomedy, which begins with an ill-fated family trip to Grandmother’s house and follows the lingering effects of one awful night through the children’s adult lives. Vertigo’s production, directed by Kristan Seemel, is steeped in Japanese theatrical tradition, from the pagoda-themed set to the kimono-ish costumes and Noh-influnced choreography. It’s lovely, and makes a striking contrast to the play’s decidedly Western themes of infidelity and domestic violence. BEN WATERHOUSE. Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont St., 306-0870. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes May 17. $15, Thursdays are pay what you will. All ages. Map

The Garden Party

In the Czech Republic, even a playwright can be president—writer and intellectual Václav Havel led the country from 1987 to 2003 despite a publicly proclaimed uninterest in politics. Ironically, his first play, presented by defunkt theatre, is the story of a distracted young man who insinuates himself into a soulless bureaucracy.  It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but the wash of meaningless institutional verbiage is pleasingly mesmerizing. Go for the historical interest, but stay for 90 minutes of Orwellian nonsense. BEN WATERHOUSE. The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 481-2960. 8 pm Thursdays-Sundays. Closes May 31. $10-$15, Thursdays are pay what you will. Map

Nobody Here But Us Chickens

A trio of one-acts unrelated but for a shared theme of disability. The first plays with our perceptions of psychosis, the second asks whether an obsession with physical fitness can itself be a disability, and the third offers a surprising and endearing twist on the classic British sex farce. Third Rail Rep’s production is very good, nailing the sight gags and one-liners and letting the author’s agenda sink in on its own. You could hardly ask for a better cast: John Steinkamp, Damon Kupper, Michael O’Connell, Maureen Porter, Valerie Stevens and Philip Cuomo are a veritable comedy all-star team. The company’s usual design team has been busy, too—the seemingly simple set hides some devilish tricks BEN WATERHOUSE. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 235-1101. 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes May 24. $16-$25. Map

Friday May 9top

The Labyrinth of Desire

A clever woman with not so much money must keep her handsome sweetheart from marrying a rich girl. But what separates Florela (Jamie M. Rea) from the horde of literary heroines whose plight she shares is her unorthodox response: She pretends to be a man and woos the rich girl herself, with great success. In the international debut of this gender-bending comedy from playwright Caridad Svich (based on another play by 16th-century Spaniard Lope de Vega), everyone’s in disguise and no one’s wooing for the right reasons. The guys (mostly seniors at PSU) are over the top, but Clara Weishan’s portrayal of Laura—the rich girl no one really cares about—is note-perfect: She’s spoiled, infatuated and mentally unstable in just the right proportions. Unfortunately, much of the show’s dialogue is rendered as stilted Wildean repartee, but that’s the only thing that’s holding this adaptation back. JOHN MINERVINI. El Centro Milagro, 525 SE Stark St., 236-7253. 7:30 pm Thursdays, 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes May 31. $15-$20. All ages. Map

9 Parts of Desire

Louanne Moldovan directs Luisa Sermol in Heather Raffo’s extraordinary one-woman play about the lives of contemporary Iraqi women in a co-production by CoHo and Cygnet. Sermol ably embodies a dozen women, from teenagers to grandmothers, living across Iraq and watching from afar, who relate tales of abuse, torture, warfare, survival and, occasionally, love. Sure, a few of her many personas teeter on the edge of caricature, but, given the speed with which she flips between characters, it’s inevitable. The script is a harrowing affair (“They put her baby in a bag with starving cats. They recorded it, and her rape, and played it back to her husband.”) that veers occasionally into polemic—but how else are we to respond to the centuries of suffering visited upon the women of Babylon? The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 8 pm Thursdays-Fridays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes June 14. $20-$23. All ages. Map

Subtle, Efterklang, Slaraffenland

[WTF? POP?] Sometimes music is easy to label. When you hear Justin Timberlake’s “My Love,” you know it’s, well, a pop song. Classifying a group like Subtle, the Bay Area weirdos who release the final installment of their hero-inspired trilogy, ExitingARM, this month, takes more than a keen ear and a good dictionary. Born from the same scene that spawned experimental hip-hop crossovers like Why? and cLOUDDEAD, Subtle’s music hardly warrants its name; instead of understated melodies and simple beauty, Adam Druckner (also known as Doseone) opts for a clusterfuck of clanging percussion, dissonant notes, guitar-squawk bursts and almost-rap singsong verses. It shouldn’t all hold together, but it does—and if the new album is on par with 2006’s For Hero: For Fool, Subtle’s should be one of the best shows this spring. Just don’t expect a “My Love” cover. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. 9 pm. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $12. 21+. Map

IPRC 10-Year Anniversary: Brandon Summers, Jeremy Wilson, Nann Allemann, Sam Coomes, Sarah Dougher, Jennifer Lynn, Leigh Marble, Carson McWhirter, Tara Jane O'Neil

[ALL-STARS] The other half of tonight's Independant Publishing Resource Center benefit features a ridiculous list of Portland's finest old- and new-school performers. Let's run it on down: There's the Helio Sequence's Brandon Summers, ex-Dharma Bums frontman Jeremy Wilson, Nann Allemann of the Flat Mountain Girls, Sam Coomes from Quasi, the great Sarah Dougher (ex-The Crabs, Cadallaca), country lady Jennifer Lynn, the poptastic Leigh Marble, Carson McWhirter (of Sacto Nintendo-core outfit the Advantage) and experimental pop great Tara Jane O'Neil. If one or more of those names don't ring a bell, you're either a brand-new Portland transplant (nice to meet you), or you need a serious lesson in the last decade or two of Portland's recent rock history. And look, how convenient, tonight is the perfect primer. CASEY JARMAN. 8 pm. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. $10 for Someday Lounge and Backspace shows. 21+. Also see Backspace's Friday listing. Map

IPRC 10-Year Anniversary: Hutch and Kathy, Iretsu, Ghost to Falco

[ECLECTIC] There’s not enough space here to describe all the cool things about the Independent Publishing Resource Center, so go check it out (at IPRC.org) and see why you should be supporting this homegrown project. As for the show, make sure to arrive early on the all-ages, vegan-friendly, high-tech side of this benefit (a.k.a. the Backspace side). Some Thermals are playing later on, but before they start, close your eyes and focus: The haunting and mannered members of Ghost to Falco take advantage of brushed drums, sedate synths, droning bass tones and Eric Crespo’s signatures—melodic experimental guitar and honed vocals that sound like Thurston Moore might if he sang with more confidence. NATHAN CARSON. 8 pm. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. $10 for Backspace and Someday Lounge admission. All ages. Also see Someday Lounge's Friday listing. Map

Portland Baroque Orchestra

There’s no better introduction to Baroque—or, for that matter, little-c “classical” music—than J.S. Bach’s familiar-yet-fabulous Brandenburg concertos, but their incomparable inventiveness continues to delight even the most experienced listeners. If you’ve only heard them played on conventional instruments, PBO’s energetic performance on the instruments and in the tunings the composer intended will be a revelation. Violin virtuosa Monica Huggett will lead the ensemble in the first (for horns, oboes and strings), third (strings) and sixth (low strings) of the set, along with a boisterously rustic overture for horns, oboes and strings by the most famous composer of Bach’s time, his buddy G.P. Telemann. BRETT CAMPBELL. First Baptist Church, 909 SW 11th Ave., 222-6000. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, May 9 and 10 at First Baptist; 3 pm Sunday, May 11 at Kaul Auditorium, 3203 SE Woodstock St. $15-$39. Map

John Doan

The music ranges from Northwesterners like Hendrix, Fahey and Mason Williams to Fernando Sor, but the real interest lies in Doan’s beautiful axe. His modern 20-string harp guitar is a reconstruction of a 19th-century instrument that originated in the Northwest, and whose sub-bass and super-treble strings produce a beguiling ringing sound. Doan has been featured on PBS and performed with artists from Rickie Lee Jones to Larry Carlton to Burl Ives. Get a foretaste by watching his profile on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat May 8. BRETT CAMPBELL. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 364-4787. 8 pm Friday, May 9. $15-$20. Map

REED COLLEGE

3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 771-1112. Douglas F. Cooley Gallery. Closes July 20. Map

Saturday May 10top

Opening Day at Beaverton Farmers Market

Here’s a great reason to head on out into the ‘burbs—and maybe give the folks at the downtown farmers markets a chance to catch their breath. It’s been 20 years since this twice-weekly market started, and with more than 100 vendors and shoppers numbering about 15,000 a day (the PSU farmers market nearly reached that count two weekends ago), this is the perfect time to check out this agricultural market if you haven't already. There will be plenty of new vendors (see Table Scraps for a taste), and freebie goodies for early-comers and kids. Beaverton Farmers Market, Hall Boulevard, between 3rd and 5th streets., 643-5345. 8 am-1:30 pm Saturdays through Oct. 25, 3-6 pm Wednesdays through Aug. 27. Free. Map

Willamette Week's Best New Bands Showcase

[LOCAL AWESOMENESS] See cover story, coming soon. 9 pm. Berbati's Pan, 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579. Free. 21+. Map

Nuggets Night 2: Pink Snowflakes, Mike Coykendall, Blue Skies For Black Hearts, The Family Gun, The Sugarlumps, Giant Bug Village, Benjamin Starshine, The Strange Effects, The Brilliant Channel, Paper Cameras, The Dregs, The Wolfman Fairies, Paul Green School of Rock

[GARAGE ROCK] Last year, the High Violets' Luke Strahota conceived a tribute concert to the indispensable ’60s psych-punk comp, Nuggets, to benefit lead singer Question Mark of ? and the Mysterians. The "96 Tears" shouter, his home destroyed by fire, lived up to his name by asking WW's reporter, "What compilation, now?" This year's beneficiary, the Portland branch of Paul Greene’s School of Rock, will prove its Nuggets savvy by opening tonight's show with some fuzztoned classics—including early Nuge-get "Journey to the Center of the Mind" (the drug anthem made famous by Ted Nugent's old band, Amboy Dukes)—before a list of local luminaries wax lysergic. JEFF ROSENBERG. 9:30 pm. Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th Ave., 223-0099. $7. 21+. Map

Jerry Douglas

[ACOUSTIC] Fans of Jerry Douglas' virtuoso dobro playing should welcome the chance to appreciate his skills in the intimate Aladdin. When he opened for Paul Simon here in ’06, Douglas’ intricate picking was ill-served by the cavernous acoustics of the Rose Garden's Theater of the Clouds. Despite that, it should be noted, his slide-wielding prowess wowed the staid stadium crowd. Expect much more wowing tonight. JEFF ROSENBERG. 8 pm. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694. $25. All ages. Map

Shoeshine Blue, Justin Power, John Vecchiarelli (10 pm); Jamie Stillway w/ Courtney Von Drehle (7 pm)

[SOFT POP] Singer-songwriter John Vecchiarelli could run for mayor and top Dozono and Adams in some districts. The man just exudes a certain gravity, which tugs invisibly at his disciples. Like that bashful record-store track playing beneath the sounds of shuffling jewel cases and pacing feet, Vecchiarelli's sound is small, but only until properly examined. Give the Portlander a few tracks of your undivided attention, and he'll give you several days' worth of introspection in return. Sure, it's a lopsided deal, but you win every time—and you'll find out that being simultaneously big and small is anything but medium. MARK STOCK. 10 pm. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. $7 advance, $8 day of show. 21+. Map

Sunday May 11top

Kids in the Hall

Yeah, those Kids in the Hall. The Canadian comedians are back on tour, and they're in Portland for one night. I squish your head! Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway., 224-4400. 8 pm Sunday, May 11. $39.75. Map

Tender Loving Empire's 1st Anniversary Bash: Finn Riggins, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Super XX Man, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Nadine Mooney, Southern Belle, Newspapers

[BIRTHDAY PARTY POP] Talk about cause for celebration. Tender Loving Empire—the record label, gift shop and proprietor of all things cute owned by local musicians Jared Mees and his wife Brianne—is celebrating its first anniversary in grand style, with a massive party (complete with piñatas, prizes and cake, no doubt) and showcase featuring the label’s finest acts, including the awesome folk-pop stylings of new label signee Super XX Man. The first 50 people through the door will receive a free Friends and Friends of Friends compilation and a chance to see the simple yet haunting whisper-folk songs of Nadine Mooney, whose whimsical debut, MouseHouseWormHole, is among the year’s best so far. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. 8 pm. Berbati's Pan, 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579. $5. All ages. Map

NOFX, No Use for a Name, American Steel

[CALI POP-PUNK] Agitprop fun in the California sun sounds—to us, anyway—like San Francisco's NOFX, a ribald, pro-dissent pop-punk-pop outfit that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Led by bassist/lyricist/singer and Fat Wreck Chords founder "Fat Mike" Burkett, the foursome proffers a high-octane, ska-derived sound that rocks like hour five of a poli-sci beer-bash. NOFX's members have never sugarcoated their disgust for government and authoritative structures in general, but homicidal tendencies toward the present occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. have inspired an especially livid revolt—what some might term a vitriolic renaissance. Given the sorry state of what passes for punk these days (with its neverending litany of self-pity and insubstantial girl problems), NOFX's tireless polemic salvos in the face of mainstream irrelevance are downright inspiring. RAY CUMMINGS. 9 pm. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. Sold out. All ages. Map

Marc-André Hamelin

One of the finest and more adventurous classical pianists of his generation, the Montreal native plays a wide-ranging solo program that includes a couple of his own pieces, two of Haydn’s underrated sonatas, a pair of Chopin perennials, Weissenberg’s “Sonata in a State of Jazz,” and more. BRETT CAMPBELL. Newmark Theatre, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, 1111 SW Broadway., 228-1388. 4 pm Sunday, May 11 and 7:30 pm Monday, May 12. $24-$40. Map

Mother's Day Hip Mama Magazine Party

Hip Mama magazine is saying goodbye to Ariel Gore, the magazine's founding editor for the past 15 years, and hello to its new owner and editor, Kerlin Richter, with a shindig. There's promises of puppet shows, drinks, dancing, hula hooping, a silent auction fundraiser and readings by Gore and Tom Moniz, the author of the "anarchist fathering zine" Rad Dad. And that auction? It includes an "anatomically correct uncircumcised boy baby doll from Spain." Oh my gawd that's good. Visit hipmama.com for more info. Watershed, 5040 SE Milwaukie Ave., Milwaukie., 232-7433. 5 pm. $5 suggested donation. Map

Monday May 12top

Pink Snowflakes (7 pm); Brandi Shearer, Kate Walsh, Quincy Coleman (5 pm)

[SINGER-SONGWRITER] See Monday Doug Fir listing. 5 pm. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926. Free. All ages. Map

Atmosphere, Abstract Rude, DJ Rare Groove

[NARRATIVE RAP] Minneapolis' Atmosphere has been doing the clever-rap thing for more than a decade, but with new release When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, the rapper-producer duo steps fully out from under Aesop Rock's long shadow and heads a completely new (and unique) direction. Somehow more of a rock or R&B record than rap, When Life Gives You Lemons finds beatsmith Ant working with slower, contemplative rhythms as well as guitars, while MC Slug channels the reluctantly abandoned hopes and disappointment of thirtysomethings everywhere with a narrative style akin to that of the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle. Live, Atmosphere has been performing with a full band, carving out a niche somewhere between rap and college rock. Highly recommended. JIM SANDBERG. 8 pm. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. $20 advance, $23 day of show. All ages. Map

Kate Walsh, Brandi Shearer, Quincy Coleman

[SINGER-SONGWRITER] Anyone going to see a Kate Walsh show thinking they might get to see Addison, that slutty doc who porked McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy, will be in for a big surprise. The other Kate Walsh—the one that is not an actress and is a bit less familiar—is a vocalist/guitarist from Essex, England, whose homemade album Tim's House is damn near perfect. Scalawags in the U.K. press have labeled the unsigned singer-songwriter a “British Joni Mitchell.” And it's easy to see why: Her simply strummed, stripped-down melodies (especially on final track "Fireworks") have Mitchell's Both Sides Now vibe. She's one to watch. BYRON BECK. 9 pm. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $10. 21+. Also at Music Millennium. 5 pm. Free. All ages. Map

Au, Modernstate, Geoff Soule

[EXPERIMENTAL POP] See cover package, coming soon. 9 pm. Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny St., 248-1600. Cover. 21+. Map

Tuesday May 13top

The Little Ones, Ra Ra Riot, Pep Assembly

[INDIE POP] Gliding between semi-brooding and intense compositions, synth-pop playfulness and old-fashioned indie androgyny, Syracuse’s Ra Ra Riot’s songs are the kind that stick to the brain like a burr. It’s difficult to stop humming tunes like “Each Year”—they lodge in your frontal lobe and, pick and pick though you may, they’re not coming out. Tonight, Riot is joined by the high-fructose pop of the Little Ones and local post-punkers Pep Assembly. AP KRYZA. 9:30 pm. Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Place., 241-8696. $8. 21+. Map

Pecha Kucha Night Vol. III

Japanese for "the sound of conversation," Pecha Kucha is the brainchild of Tokyo-based architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. What the hell is it exactly? Pecha Kucha is "a forum for young designers, architects and artists to meet, network, and to show and discuss their work in public" that's spread to 100 cities around the world. A grown-up version of show and tell, if you will. But the Tokyo fellas were clever. As engaging as the latest steel beam cut can be, no one sane wants to sit through that drivel for hours, even if there's an open bar (well OK, maybe if there's an open bar), so each presenter is only allowed 20 images at 20 seconds a pop. Keeps the mojo moving. Presented by City Scope. Visit pecha-Kucha.org for more info or projectcityscope.org for a submission form. Corner Warehouse Space, 408 NW 8th Ave. and Couch St., 234-2945. 7:30 pm. Sliding scale donations. Map