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FRIDAY, AUG. 12
EYRST's One-Year Party
[NEW PORTLAND RAP] Last summer, former Blazer Martell Webster launched a record label out of his West Hills mansion. It's produced some of the most future-focused rap music in the area, including projects from Myke Bogan, the Last Artful Dodgr and Maze Koroma. This celebration features the release of Webster's debut mixtape, ARTT. The Evergreen, 618 SE Alder St., 503-260-2405. 8 pm. $8 with canned-food donation, $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
Buster Keaton's The General
[LIVE-SCORED] The Hollywood's 90th anniversary celebration continues with the shot-in-Oregon Buster Keaton classic The General, featuring a live score from Portland composer Mark Orton. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm.
Chris Fairbanks
[GENIUS COMEDIAN] The co-host of Almost Genius on truTV, Chris Fairbanks is a native Montanan who started driving people around in cars and filming it long before Michelle Obama slid into James Corden's passenger seat. His upcoming comedy film Still Punching the Clown comes out this year. Until then, he's freelance-illustrating educational textbooks and touring places like Portland. Hosted by Stacey Hallal. Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Blvd. 7:30 pm Friday, Aug 12. $20.
It's Not Me, It's Me
[HUMOR IS SEXY] Lady comedians JoAnn Schinderle and Barbara Holm are bringing back their speed-dating show. They tell jokes while you drink and attempt small talk with other singles vying for prizes like free condoms. Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta St., 503-284-7665, albertastreetpub.com. 8 pm Friday, Aug. 12. Free. 21+.
Lidia Yuknavitch
[NOVEL] In Lidia Yuknavitch's new novel, The Small Backs of Children, a group of writers, artists and filmmakers journey to Eastern Europe to rescue the little girl featured in a famous photograph of wartime destruction. The book garnered Yuknavitch both the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction and Readers' Choice Award at the 2016 Oregon Book Awards. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.
Vancouver Brewfest
[BEER] Vancouver is brewing a hell of a lot of beer these days—and on the heels of the Oregon Brewers Festival, Vancouver is throwing a beer party of its own, with nearly 50 breweries in attendance. They include cross-river brands like Breakside and Crux, along with excellent 'Couvrians like Trusty and Brother Ass that don't cross the river much. A day pass and 10 tasting tokens are $30, $37 gets you admission all weekend, with additional tastes $1.50 apiece. Esther Short Park, 415 W 6th St., Vancouver, 360-487-8311. 4 pm-midnight. Free.
White Lung, Greys
[POST-PUNK] White Lung is one of the few punk bands to cross over from dive-bar obscurity to festival stage without sacrificing the integrity of its sound. The musicians started out mixing post-punk angularity and regular old punk hooks, and while they've incorporated a bit of spooky goth rock into their wheelhouse, they've avoided cleaning up their act even as their fan base has grown. Frontwoman Mish Way is a prolific writer and lyricist, not to mention an excellent singer, but it's the guitar work of Kenneth Williams that makes White Lung shine. See new LP Paradise for proof. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.
Wooden Indian Burial Ground
[SERIOUSLY STRANGE] It's hard to be a truly weird psych-rock band these days, considering there's just so damn many of them. But on its latest album, How's Your Favorite Dreamer?, Wooden Indian Burial Ground succeeds in creating an all-out freak-fest. The album is a trippy, chaotic foray through a funhouse maze of guitar feedback, glockenspiels, organs, squawking saxophones, horror-movie screams and odd noises. The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd Ave., with Ice Queens and Old Unconscious. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
SATURDAY, AUG. 13
Beaverton Night Market
[FOOD AND DANCE] Sneakily, Beaverton is more diverse than Portland. At the second Beaverton Night Market of the year, expect Japanese taiko, Chinese yo-yo, dance from the Philippines and Bangalore, textiles from the Middle East and so much food. The Round, 12600 SW Crescent St., Beaverton, beavertonoregon.gov/nightmarket. 6-10 pm.
Captain Fantastic
[OSCAR-WORTHY] Viggo Mortensen reprises his extreme mountain man role in this new Cannes favorite. He is mud-splattered, idealistic and good at killing things. But this time with six kids in tow. Mortensen plays the idealistic patriarch as a drill sergeant with believable heart. He raises his kids in isolation in the Pacific Northwest, schooling them in killing deer, the Bill of Rights, and the banjo. When he leads the brood into society for their mother's funeral, the film becomes a quirky, emotional quest that outshines Little Miss Sunshine. Rated R. Read the full article and buy tickets.
Courtney Marie Andrews, Barna Howard, Birger Olsen
[SINGER-SONGWRITER] First off, let's move beyond the fact that Courtney Marie Andrews was once moonlighting as a backup singer for Jimmy Eat World. On her own, the Seattleite's rootsy music shares more in common with the work of Joni Mitchell and contemporaries like Damien Jurado. Her forthcoming LP, Honest Life, picks up where her last left off, melding her country croon with sublime bits of pedal steel and weary piano that are designed to wring both sorrow and optimism throughout the course of every song. She'll be in good company here beside Mama Bird labelmates Birger Olsen and Barna Howard. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
Death of Glitter
[TOTAL DRAG] The runner-up for Best Drag Show in WW's Best of Portland Readers' Poll, Crush's monthly show goes Disney-themed this time. Special guests, including Portland mainstay Zora Phoenix, will dress and dance the parts of animated favorites. The cover charge helps fund TransActive's youth programs. Crush Bar, 1400 SE Morrison St., 503-235-8150, crushbar.com. 9:30 pm Saturday, Aug. 13. $5-$10.
Honey Bucket
[SWEET JANGLE] The new album Magical World finds Honey Bucket reconciling Skelly and singer-guitarist Matt Radosevich's twee-punk melodicism with their artier inclinations, to charming effect. On songs like "This That," the band cuts its sweet jangle with a sudden free-jazz sax solo, while Skelly's lyrics—loaded with in-jokes about a friend's badly drawn Devo tattoo and a woman who takes her cat for walks—give the tracks a surrealist tint. For fans of: Twerps, C86, Flying Nun Records, the Fall, Woolen Men. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 503-473-8729, with Woolen Men and Wave Action, on Saturday, Aug. 13. 8 pm. Contact venue for ticket information. 21+.
Money as Art
[STREET OF ART] If First Thursday's berets and wine are too bougie for you, or if you just need an art walk more than once a month, Foster Road is here for you. Every second Saturday, far Southeast hosts it's own art crawl. The highlight this week is at Flat Blak Gallery, where London artist Penny's tiny, hand-cut stencils with dollar bills are on display. One is a 29-layer hand cut stencil on a 5 Ruble banknote, circa 1909. He made ten, and each one sells for $950. Flat Blak Gallery, 6006 SE Foster Rd., 503-774-1563. 5-8 pm. Free.
Sentient Spaces: The DSM-5 Illustrated
[SEE ART] In Sentient Spaces: The DSM-5 Illustrated, Jo Lundberg merges her experiences as a therapist and an artist to create a series of 2-D and 3-D works that each encapsulates a psychiatric diagnosis. A framed portrait of a screaming young girl represents Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, and would be disquieting on its own—but Lundberg installed the painting on a white wall, which she then raked dirty handprints over, originating from the center of the portrait, as though its subject is in the midst of a violent tantrum that stretches all the way to the electrical socket in the room. Lundberg's piece about Major Depressive Disorder feels like walking into a black hole that requires effort to walk out of. Wolff Gallery, 618 NW Glisan St., Suite R1, 971-413-1340. Through Aug. 28.
SUNDAY, AUG. 14
JamBallah Northwest
[HAVE A BALLAH] The biggest bellydance festival we'll get all year takes over Artists Repertory Theatre with vendors, master classes and workshops all weekend. Assuming you're not a professional fusion dancer attending for career advice, pop into one of the showcases to see a huge lineup of colorful acts like Gypsy Heart Tribal and Wicked Thorns. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., jamballahnw.com. 7:30 pm Friday, 12:30 and 8 pm Saturday and 3:30 Sunday, Aug. 12-14. $5-$40. All ages.
Al-Andalus Ensemble
[MIDDLE EAST MEETS WEST] Tarik and Julia Banzi's veteran Portland world music quintet has been scarce in its hometown—this is its first local performance in three years. No band better exemplifies fruitful cooperation among Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures than Al Andalus, whose name harks back to 15th-century Spain's flourishing multiethnic and religious mix. Moroccan-Canadian Boujemaa Razgui, who performs often with Boston Camerata, knows all about the need for cultural cooperation—he made international headlines when customs agents destroyed his priceless ney flutes during an inspection a few years ago. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 147 NW 18th Ave. 7 pm Sunday, Aug. 14. Free. All ages.
Get high and watch Sailing a Sinking Sea
[STONER FLICK] Visions of turquoise water and tropical pink sunsets serve as the backdrop in Olivia Wyatt's doc about the Moken people of Burma and Thailand. It is enough to invoke wanderlust in even the most dedicated couch potato. The film offers a surreal glimpse into the lives and mythologies of the largely unknown Moken, a seafaring people whose entire belief system centers on water. Prepare to be enchanted and possibly lulled into a dreamlike state as the sounds of lapping waves and rhythmic drumbeats produce a hypnotic effect. Rated PG-13. Hollywood Theatre, 7 pm.
Minden
[SODA AND BONDAGE] On Sweet, Simple Things, Minden trades the jazzy touches of its previous albums for pure, clean-cut pop. As a result, songwriter Casey Burge is able to show off his knack for infectious hooks more than ever, effortlessly blending shimmery disco rhythms, intricate percussion, dreamy keys and funky basslines, and making it all sound effortless. Rontoms, 600 E Burnside St., with Reptaliens, on Sunday, Aug. 14. 8 pm. Free. 21+.
Pete's Dragon
[REVISIT CHILDHOOD] We are in the doldrums of a miserable summer movie season. That explains why this remake of a forgotten Disney property is winning headlines, though you'd expect it to slide by unnoticed except by nostalgic parents. But Pete's Dragon deserves the hype. It is indeed a rare jewel. Your kids will cry through the majority of the film, and you probably will too. Rated PG. Read the full review and get tickets.
Poké Jokes
[INCENSE NOT INCENSED] Expect lures, incense, battery packs and gym badges. There will be jokes for entertainment in addition to laughing at people running into each other with their iPhones glued to their faces. Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., 503-841-6734, funhouselounge.com. 8 pm Sunday, Aug. 14. Free. 21+.
Related: A beginner's guide to Pokémon Go in Portland.
Willamette Week