Skip to main content
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
Aldous Harding
Can't make it to Pickathon? You still have a chance to catch one of the festival's most buzzworthy performers. New Zealand's Aldous Harding is making waves among critics by twisting the neo-folk model, taking the narrative sensibilities of Joni Mitchell and adding chilling bits of Bjork, Weyes Blood and Joanna Newsom. Revolution Hall Roof Deck, 1300 SE Stark St., 503-288-3895, revolutionhall.com. 7 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.
Wild at Heart
One of his rarest films, David Lynch's road-trip movie stars Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as two lovers kept apart by their disapproving families. It's full of Southwestern pastiche and open roads, and like many of Lynch's movies, it would only be reasonable to call it cheesy if it wasn't so strange and surreal. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., nwfilm.org. 7 pm. $9.
Daniel Wilson
The new book from Portland author and roboticist Daniel Wilson, The Clockwork Dynasty, has already been optioned by Fox for a movie. It's about steampunk clockwork automata who've been with us since the dawn of time—sorta like sexy vampires without the sex parts. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 800-878-7323, powells.com. 7:30 pm. Free. See review, page 39.
Proscenium Live Festival of New Work
Proscenium Festival will premiere two full-length plays and three short plays, all in the span of one weekend. Premiering on the second day of the free festival, Santos is a comedy about a high school teacher trying to land a small role in a movie. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St., 503-241-1278, portlandshakes.org. 7:30 pm August 4-6. Free.
Braxton Cook, Farnell Newton
Much of the world's most creative music is being made in the sonic gray area between Erykah Badu and Esperanza Spalding by people like alto saxophonist and singer Braxton Cook. A Juilliard-trained horn player who has toured the world playing with neo-jazz luminaries like Christian Scott, the Brooklyn-based musician's recently released album, Somewhere in Between, perfectly exemplifies this sound, mixing beautifully round vocal tones with shredding horn solos and deep, R&B influenced grooves into a wall of sound that's simultaneously inviting and complex. Cook is joined tonight by local trumpeter and Jill Scott collaborator Farnell Newton, whose soulful horn solos will blend perfectly into the cutting-edge mix. Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th Ave., 503-228-7605. 9 pm Friday, Aug. 4. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5
Hot Sauce Expo
Wanna watch people in pain? Pain you can't even understand, mixed with ecstasy? Show up at 4:30 pm at the Hot Sauce Expo and watch foolhardy people eat the hottest peppers in the world, for nothing but bragging rights. Read our interview with the guy who holds the world record for eating the hottest peppers in the world. OMSI Bridge Lot, 1945 SE Water Ave., PDXHotSauceExpo.com on Saturday and Sunday, August 5-6. 10 am-7 pm. $7 general admission. $35 for a shirt, hot sauce and 5 beer tokens. $60 VIP.
Oregon Burlesque Festival
The third year of OBF wraps up with a burlesque competition and showcases performers from across the country. There'll be striptease in the form of everything from classic burlesque to comedy. Dante's, 350 W Burnside, 866-777-8932, danteslive.com. 9 pm August 3-5. $20-$125.
Darsombra, Thrones, Mike Scheidt, Stoller
A common characteristic of noise music is its harsh-yet-appealing dissonance, and Baltimore duo Darsombra have been churning it out successfully in the last 12 years. Symbiotically joining guitars, synths and intensevisuals, Darsombra's sound can best be described in their own words as "trans-apocalyptic galaxy rock," perfectly scoring a self-created space-war narrative. It's somehow moody and upbeat all at once, acting as a proper medium between Thrones' experimental doom, the electro-prog of Stoller and Mike Scheidt's dark folk. The Know, 3728 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-473-8729. 8 pm. $9. 21+.
Breaking Away
Peter Yates' loveable ode to small-town weirdos, cycling gangs and Bloomington, Indiana, is a coming-of-age story set in a town where tradition is valued over ambition and a dude shaving his legs is unbearably eccentric. Full of dry humor and featuring a cat named Fellini, it's never anything less than heartfelt. L.L. Stub Stewart State Park, hollywoodtheatre.org. 8:30 pm. Free.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 6
Tots and Beer Festival
There's beer, and there's fucking tater tots. It's like a Paleo nightmare. Specifically, you can sample up to 30 beers from all over and a metric ton of sesame, cheese, garlic, spicy, dusted, sauced or otherwise doctored tots. Because tots and beer. Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E 5th St., Vancouver, 360-816-6232, tatertotfestival.com. 1-4 pm. $35.
Tim and Eric 10 Year Anniversary Awesome Tour!
With Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, the duo of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim established themselves as two of American comedy's most brilliantly disturbed minds, and the bizarre universe they built from scratch is definitely a place worth revisiting. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., 503-288-3895, revolutionhall.com. 6 pm and 9:30 pm. Early show sold out. $47.50. 21+.
Avi Buffalo, Haunted Summer
Avi Buffalo turned a lot of heads back in 2010 when he released "What's In It For?" The Southern California singer-songwriter caught Sub Pop's eye and toured extensively, but ultimately only released one additional album on the iconic Seattle label. Fortunately, Avi Buffalo is working on his third full-length all by his lonesome, reminding us of his gift for creating wavy, indie beach rock. Part formative country rock, part dreamy explorative pop in the vein of Youth Lagoon, the music of Avi Buffalo is worth the wait. Rontoms, 600 E Burnside St., 503-236-4536 9 pm. Free. 21+.