Skip to main contentFRIDAY, AUG. 14
Art in the Dark
[CIRCUS IN THE PARK] Every August, A-WOL Dance Collective fills Mary S. Young Park with its weird midsummer night's circus act of aerialists swinging from trees and winding walkways to fortune tellers. It's like Narnia plopped itself off Oregon 43. Mary S. Young Park, 19900 Willamette Drive, West Linn, awoldance.org. 8:30 pm. $20-$33.
Stumptown Improv Festival
[ON THE SPOT] Even after a successful first year, the Stumptown Improv Festival is still working overtime to convince Portlanders what improv isn't—a self-indulgent form of expression that solely occurs at sparsely attended comedy venues, hosting weirdly outgoing class clowns from the nearest liberal arts college. This year, the Fest's founding group (Whiskey Tango) lined up 18 acts, a list of powerhouse locals that sound like Salt & Straw's new monthly menu—Bang + Burn, Peachy Chicken, Whiskey Tango—along with Magnet Theater and North Coast from New York, and others from Seattle, L.A. and Minneapolis. Miracle Theater, 525 SE Stark St. Shows at 7:30 and 9:30 pm Thursday and 7, 8:30 and 10 pm Friday-Saturday, Aug. 13-15. $16 single show, $80 festival pass. stumptownimprov.com.
Synesthesia Festival
[MUSIC+ART+PERFORMANCE] The annual Synesthesia arts festival celebrates the senses, featuring events concentrated on the visual, audible, interactive and intellectual senses, but it also offers plenty to laugh about. Attendees will be tickled pink throughout the weekend, with over 20 contributing comedians. The shows include a special Garbage People installment hosted by local Portland funny man Brodie Kelly, âThe Monster Mashâ; a sing-along comedic showcase, Pay to Play Comedy Karaoke; a comedy hour, Sheâs The Rainbow; and comedy thatâs bound to get weird, Paint it Black. The lineup of comedians includes Portland acts like Bridgetown Comedy Festival; Lez Stand Up performer Katie Rose Leon; artist, musician and open-mic regular Jason Traeger; Portlandâs Funniest Person semifinalist Becky Braunstein and many more. Purchase a festival package or individual tickets for each event. Multiple venues. 10 am Friday-Sunday, Aug. 14-16. $15-$30. 21+. pdx.synesthesiafestival.org.
Picture This!
[SKETCHING COMEDY] In a show that mashes standup and Pictionary, comics perform while artists illustrate their sets live. There's a predictable tendency toward penis drawings, but also an offbeat play between the visual and the verbal. Andie Main hosts. Curious Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 477-9477. 9:30 pm every second Friday. $7-$10; $5 with the purchase of a ticket to the 7:30 pm show.
SATURDAY, AUG. 15
Adult Soapbox Derby
[HOT DOGS ON WHEELS] The only difference between beer-swilling spectators and the 40-plus teams contending for bragging rights at the 19th annual Derby is what's under their drunk asses. Steep courses and papier-mâché floats taking sharp Tabor curves mean racers often end up thrown to the sidelines. One guy has been perfecting his ergonomic, penis-shaped soapbox all year long. Mt. Tabor Park, Southeast Salmon Way, soapboxracer.com. 10 am-4 pm. Free.
Jeff the Brotherhood, Battleme, Miracle Falls
[BIG OL' ROCK] If you were making rock soup, you'd use a lot of the same ingredients for Battleme that you'd use for Blitzen Trapper—the twang, the riffs, the psychedelic troublemaking. But the Battleme concoction—especially on last year's Future Runs Magnetic, the title of which may or may not be a Back to the Future Part II reference—has added a heaping tablespoon of musclebound stadium rock to the mix. That extra umph is what makes it a nice pick as openers for Nashville's Jeff the Brotherhood, which makes fuzzy post-garage rock influenced by the Ramones, Sabbath and Weezer. CASEY JARMAN. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. 9 pm. $12 advance, $13 day of show. 21+.
Sun Angle, Summer Cannibals, Blesst Chest
[ACID POP] There comes a point in the career of any band with even the subtlest of jazz influences where virtuosity starts to get in the way. Riffs metastasize into jams, melodies give way to sonic masturbation, and in the end, the product becomes an obtuse wall of what-the-fuckery that's often relegated to background noise at best. But then there's Sun Angle, which offers a refreshingly pared-back approach to the freewheeling psych at the core of every third band in Portland at the moment. It takes sincere appreciation of the form not to throw in everything plus the kitchen sink, which happens to be the most vital component of the trio's excellent 2013 record, Diamond Junk. It overflows with dense arrangements that never sit still, but the interplay of drummer Papi Fimbres and guitarist Charlie Salas-Humara is perfectly content with freaking out in place rather than running off the rails, as kids these days are wont to do. PETE COTTELL. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $10. 21+.
Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Helvetia, Junior Rocket Scientist
[REVERB KINGS] The three-piece Wooden Indian Burial Ground is a Portland staple at this point. The dudes have been harnessing their molten garage rock and psychedelic freakouts since their inaugural, self-titled debut hit shelves more than three years ago, only to find themselves more recently taking their pummeling percussion and tremolos on tour alongside Pacific Northwest stalwarts Built to Spill (whose members also make up parts of opening band, Helvetica). WIBG's sophomore LP is slated for release soon, which means you can expect to hear a handful of new cuts tonight. BRANDON WIDDER. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729. 8 pm. Call venue for ticket information. 21+.
Pop*ulari*Tea
[PINKY-UP COMEDY] Elizabeth Teets and Sabine Rear dare you to sip your tea without spitting it out in laughter during this comedic combination of pop-culture riffs and popular Portland standup acts. Audience members suggest current newsworthy topics and comedians run with them. Featuring Lez Stand Up comedian Caitlin Weierhauser, Brody Theater-born improv professional Manuel Hall and Rachelle Eileen. Camellia Lounge, 510 NW 11th Ave., 221-2130. 6:30 pm Saturday, Aug. 15. Free.
Duncan Gerow, Quarry, B Hammer'd, Mienne
[MASHUP/REMIX] Yes, Portland-via-Alaska beatmaker Duncan Gerow releases mashups. No, this isn't 2007, when Girl Talk distilled Billboard party anthems and pop jams to their lowest common denominators, forced them together and profited. Gerow is different. He dubs his songs "remixes," as in "Ciara x Ludacris x Timbaland - Ride (Duncan Gerow Remix)", which is his fusion of "One in a Million" and "Ride." The result is a glossy, minimally retouched track reminiscent of '90s R&B B-sides. Listen to him enough, and you might wonder if Mariah's "Fantasy (Bad Boy Remix)" featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard had a toddling Gerow at the mix board. MITCH LILLIE. Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd Ave., 287-5800. 9 pm. $5 before 10 pm, $7 after. 21+.
SUNDAY, AUG. 16
Jenny Lewis
[GOLD DUST WOMAN] To her already impressive résumé, the former Rilo Kiley member adds The Voyager, a lush, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac simulacrum, with Lewis as Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham's production duties handled by Ryan Adams and Beck. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. 9 pm. $22 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
Time, A Fair Hustler
[VAN SANT ON STAGE] Jonathan Walters' Hand2Mouth production achieves something rare on any stage: a genre-hybrid performance where the characters move like dancers, the original score fits like a great film soundtrack, and lighting tricks make the set resemble a live art show. In this memorable funeral for old Portland, Time fast-forwards 25 years from Idaho to imagine the hustler Gary (Jason Rouse) working at New Seasons, Bob (Jean-Luc Boucherot) still dumpster-diving for bread, and the prodigal son Mike (Hand2Mouth's Julie Hammond) as mayor. Like sleazy Hans (Anne Sorce) and the gay prostitution ring of 1990s Portland that Van Sant mined in Idaho, Hand2Mouth's reinterpretation is dirty, intimate and splendid. It's like rewatching your favorite film. Portland does this often. Hand2Mouth does it well. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 241-1278. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday through Aug. 16. $25-$30.
Mighty Mites Session Fest
[FAMILY DRINKING] Session beers and ciders: sort of family-friendly, we guess? Especially when you drink like 12, among them Oakshire's cucumber Berliner-Weisse, an 4.1-percent ABV Upright Lite, and a pink peppercorn saison from the Commons. Outside Bazi Bierbrasserie, 1522 SE 32nd Ave., 234-8888. 11 am-7 pm. $10 for a cup and four 7-ounce tastes. All ages.
BCC: Brownhall in Residence
[BLACK ART] Black Creative Collective: Brownhall is comprised of black artists and creatives who produce interdisciplinary art programming to address the dearth of black art and creative spaces in Portland. They seek to engage diverse audiences to honor the intersectionality of interests and histories within our own communities. The first evening of four weeks of programming will feature performances by Andre Middleton, Analise Smith, Brian W. Parker, Bre Gipson, Carolyn Anderson, Elija Hasan, Jamondria Harris and Jomo Greenidge. Future lineups will include Aaron Smith, Darlene Solomon-Rogers, #BlackLivesMatter Portland and others. Through Aug. 27. Compliance Division, 625 NW Everett St., No. 101. Performance nights 7 pm every Thursday in August.
Big Big Wednesday Launch Party
[LOCAL LIT LOVERS] Local art and literary journal Big Big Wednesday will celebrate the release of its third issue with a reading and launch party. Sharing their work will be contributors Justin Hocking (The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld: A Memoir), poet Blake Bergeron and Portland writer Patricia No. The Waypost, 3120 N Williams Ave., 367-3182. 7 pm. Free.
WWeek 2015