August strides onto the calendar assured, confident, not needing to make a big ostentatious deal out of itself. That's appreciated after July's final weekend of madness. And the entertaining rewards that await you are definitely worth that dollar: A Blossom show is always a good time. Charlize Theron at full pummel is always a sight to behold. I, Anonymous Show is always the best blend of bewildering and hilarious. And then, waiting at the end of the week, there's the Stumptown Improv FestivalandPickathon both getting the weekend started early. And that's only scratching the week's surface! Hit the links below and load your plate accordingly
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Blossom, EPP, Rasheed Jamal, I$$A
This all-local showcase curated by Do503 features some of the best and brightest names in Portland hip-hop: Rasheed Jamal, one of the local scene’s major players. Blossom, the rising neo-soul singer who just released her debut LP, Tease. Senegalese-American singer and rapper I$$A, and Epp from the hip-hop trio TxE. CIARA DOLAN
9 pm, Doug Fir, $6-10
Feast Portland Summer Bash
A party amongst the little greens of the 19th Hole, in honor of Feast's sixth anniversary, and closing out Feast's donation matching campaign to help benefit Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.
5 pm, The 19th Hole
Last Tuesday Standing: Monday Edition
The monthly comedy night shifts to a new day for July, but still promises an excellent evening of stand-up, with one of Portland's most well-loved and well-respected comedians, Susan Rice, teaming up with fast-rising talent Becky Braunstein for a one-two punch of laughs. Hosted by Jeremiah Coughlan.
8 pm, Fremont Theater, $10
Jurassic Park
Come on. It’s fucking Jurassic Park. It is always wonderful, best on the big screen, and you don’t have to beg for an advance on your allowance to see it this time. ELINOR JONES
See Movie Times for showtimes, Academy Theater
Dreckig, Heatwarmer, Dominoes Gonzales
An evening of uptempo psych-trip-hop from Papi Fimbres and Shana Lindbeck.
9 pm, The Liquor Store
Atomic Blonde
Atomic Blonde is a hyper-stylized graphic novel adaptation with all the bright lights and artsy gore this usually entails, but more importantly, Charlize Theron’s spy is so perfect that I want to climb inside her life, boots, hair, and sunglasses, even though I abhor violence, hard work, and heightened political climates. ELINOR JONES
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes and locations
Andrew Sean Greer, Ed Skoog
San Francisco novelist Andrew Sean Greer’s latest opens with a failed writer embarking on a bad-faith book tour to avoid his boyfriend’s engagement. Ed Skoog’s a charming Seattle poet I’ve spotted at nearly every literary event that’s ever happened in that city. Put ’em together and what do you get? A delightful evening of pleasant PNW literary gravitas. MEGAN BURBANK
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Surf Curse, French Vanilla
I first came across Surf Curse two years ago, at Los Angeles DIY venue the Smell’s 17th anniversary show. When the Reno duo played “The Smell Saved My Life,” I’d never seen so many stage-diving bodies. Guitarist Jacob Rubeck (Casino Hearts) and Drummer Nick Rattigan (Current Joys) traded off vocal duties, though the swelling crowd belted every line louder than the PAs. Surf Curse released their debut LP, Buds, in 2013, and the Sad Boy EP later that year. In January they dropped Nothing Yet, their most attentively composed release to date. With subtle synth accompanying their lo-fi punk sound, the new album expands the high energy of Buds. Nothing Yet adds more fuel to Surf Curse’s angst-filled fire, and their live performances are still some of the best DIY live shows around—just remember to cover your ears to avoid Twin Peaks spoilers during the song “Fire Walk with Me.” CAMERON CROWELL
9 pm, Holocene, $12-14
Echo & the Bunnymen, Violent Femmes
Apart from being the origin of the evergreen karaoke homerun “Blister in the Sun,” the rest of Violent Femmes’ 1983 self-titled debut stands as an indie rock feat. Most of the songs were penned by lead singer Gordon Gano when he was still in high school, which is reflected in some depraved lyrics: Violent Femmes prays for sex, talks to God as though the omnipotent entity were another horny 18-year-old, and strings together earworm melodies into a sweaty, infectious piece of musical history. Though the band’s live performances channel the same adolescent energy that popularized their first releases, their sound hasn’t aged as well. EMMA BURKE
6:30 pm, Oregon Zoo, $44.50-104.50
18th Annual Crackedpots Art Show
An exhibition of all manner of indoor, outdoor, and wearable art, created using recycled, reclaimed, and found materials. Visit crackedpots.org for more information.
10 am, Edgefield, free
PJ Morton
PJ Morton is a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist out of New Orleans who is best known for his role as keyboardist in Maroon 5, and for his collaborations with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Adam Levine, Lil Wayne, and Busta Rhymes. Tonight, the in-demand musician brings his blend of R&B, soul, and funk to the Mississippi Studios stage for the Portland stop on touring supporting his 2017 album, Gumbo.
8 pm, Mississippi Studios, $15
Michelle Tam & Henry Fong
The James Beard Award-nominated creators of food blog Nom Nom Paleo return with Ready or Not!, a new collection featuring 150 step-by-step paleo recipes in a colorful cartoon format.
7 pm, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, free
B-Movie Bingo: First Action Hero
Your monthly opportunity to literally check off a bingo card full of B-movie clichés! This month, we are served up a solid slab of Italian silliness in the form of 1994’s First Action Hero, which seems like it should be a riff on the self-aware (and ahead-of-its-time) Schwarzenegger lark The Last Action Hero, but isn’t much more than a bunch of Italian guys sweating through rayon dress shirts while bringing their graceless, ultra-low-budget Miami Vice fanfiction to... life, I guess? Life-ish? This thing is so B-grade that it’s being screened off VHS. Your card is guaranteed to black out. It’s just a question of how quickly it happens. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9
The I, Anonymous Show!
It’s back! One of Portland’s funniest (and sauciest) comedy nights, the I, Anonymous Show, returns for its August outing, with more of the crazy rants, curious confessions, and hilarious secrets that has made this weekly Mercury column such a beloved part of our paper. Plus it’s hosted by no other than the recently crowned “Funniest Person in Portland” Caitlin Weierhauser, who will be joined by a slam-bang lineup of very smart and amusing panelists including Shain Brenden, Matt Monroe, and Seattle’s Nick Sahoyah. Together they will read true I, Anonymous submissions from the Mercury column and blog, and offer their very funny opinions on each and every one. It’s like if Judge Judy was really funny, and ruled on things that were even less important. Trust me, the I, Anonymous Show is a blast! Don’t miss it! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $10-15
Robert Moor
Robert Moor's On Trails: An Exploration is one of the most acclaimed books of the past several years—a nonfiction tale in which Moore examines how trails connect the planet's places, people, animals, and ideas. Spanning eons and continents, On Trails wanders from the Appalachian Trail to the internet's data streams, and hearing Moor read from it tonight should help tide you over until this weekend's hike. ERIK HENRIKSEN
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Marisa Anderson, Ralph White, Baptist Arms
Local guitarist extraordinaire Marisa Anderson brings her distinctly haunting blend of folk, blues, and country to the Turn! Turn! Turn! stage. Austin mainstay Ralph White, formerly a member of the beloved punk and bluegrass band Bad Livers, provides support with a solo set.
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
Sleepy Sun, Skull Diver
San Francisco-hailing psychedelic rock quartet Sleepy Sun stop off at the Liquor Store basement for a Portland show supporting their recently released fifth studio album, Private Tales. Up-and-coming psych-pop outfit Skull Diver provide the local support.
9 pm, The Liquor Store, $8-10
Siren and the Sea, PWRHAUS, All Night
Portland-based singer/songwriter Cristina Cano brings her Siren and the Sea pop project to Holocene to celebrate the release of a brand new music video.
8:30 pm, Holocene, $8
Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen
The Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees out of the Bay Area return to Portland and headline the MODA Center on the second date of their Revolution Radio summer tour.
7 pm, Moda Center, $29.50-89.50
Red Rock West
If you missed John Dahl’s 1993 neo-noir classic when it was first released, count yourself among... well, everybody. The film basically went straight-to-video in the days where straight-to-video didn’t mean Netflix. It meant people had to stumble over it as they wandered Blockbuster like a Saturday night zombie, and gamble on a VHS cover featuring Nicolas Cage in a Canadian tuxedo, one of the Twin Peaks girls, and King Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie. And the people who took that bet got their socks rocked off by the darkly funny, cold-as-ice crime thriller expertly executed by Dahl, with a supporting cast that includes the quietly creepy Dwight Yoakam and the always great J.T. Walsh. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:10 pm, Laurelhurst Theater, $3-4
Earthquake Hurricane
Powerhouse local comedy show Earthquake Hurricane returns, with Mercury-approved, dry-as-fuck stand-up and improviser Katie Nguyen co-hosting alongside beloved regulars Alex Falcone and Anthony Lopez, all in the show's new Ford Food & Drink digs. Now more than ever, we need comedy and liquor. Get ’em both here! MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Ford Food & Drink
Stumptown Improv Festival
Every year, the Stumptown Improv Festival gets bigger and better. The homegrown celebration of off-the-cuff hilarity is one of my favorite things about summer in Portland, and it’s a chance to see adults doing some of the silliest shit imaginable. This year, I’m especially excited to check out returning out-of-towners Summerland and Sunday Service, and revel in delightful local troupes like Tunnel and Peachy Chicken. MEGAN BURBANK
7 pm, Artists Repertory Theatre, click here for a full schedule of performers, $15-90
Pickathon
There are so many reasons to love Pickathon—its location on Happy Valley’s gorgeous Pendarvis Farm, its postcard-worthy view of Mount Hood, its reusable silverware, its hammock village, but most of all, its music. This year’s lineup features icons like Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires alongside promising up-and-comers, like Jay Som. CIARA DOLAN
6 pm, Pendarvis Farm, $125-310
Bobby Bare Jr., Quinn DeVeaux, Kevin Lee Florence
As the son of Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Bare, Bare Jr. has Nashville DNA embedded in his bones, but his rock-solid and prolific output has established him as a force of his own. CHIPP TERWILLIGER
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $12-14
Oregon Burlesque Festival
The art of the peel is carefully practiced here in Portland, and for three nights at Dante's, every aspect of it will be celebrated, from the legends of burlesque's past to the stars of its present.
9 pm, Dante's, $20-55
Cool Schmool, Mere Mention, Tashi Delay
It’d be difficult to find an active Portland punk band with harmonies as interesting as those of Cool Schmool, with a band name that reflects the classic song from Olympia’s Bratmobile. CAMERON CROWELL
9 pm, The Fixin' To, $5
Weeed, Young Hunter
Hailing from 4/20-friendly Washington state, Weeed is a stoner rock band for people who lover stoner rock. They’re jammers without borders, and aren’t subtle about their sources of musical inspiration (the closing track on 2015’s Our Guru Brings Us to the Black Master Sabbath is a 15-minute opus called “Nature’s Green Magic”). In a live setting, the group’s energy—which is largely driven by a pair of synchronized drummers—is incendiary, and their unabashed rocking is a sight to behold. EMMA BURKE
8 pm, White Owl Social Club, free
Simon Hanselmann
The acclaimed Tasmanian-born and Seattle-based cartoonist returns to Floating World to celebrate the release of One More Year, the latest in the ongoing graphic novel series chronicling the lives of Megg the witch, Mogg the cat, and their friends Owl and Werewolf Jones. Hanselmann will read from the book, and perform a set of live music. The event will double as an exclusive launch party for a new broadsheet newspaper, co-published by Floating World, and featuring an array of Hanselmann's latest paintings.
6 pm, Floating World Comics, free
The Awful Truth
A special screening of Leo McCarey’s award-winning 1937 screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as a married couple making shit way harder on themselves than it needs to be. Part of NW Film’s Top Down: Rooftop Cinema series, preceded by live music and local short films
7 pm, Hotel DeLuxe
Taking Back Sunday, Every Time I Die, All Get Out
The seminal emo rock band out of Long Island return to Portland for an all ages show supporting their seventh studio album, Tidal Wave. Buffalo-hailing metalcore outfit Every Time I Die and South Carolina pop punkers All Get Out provide support.
7:30 pm, Crystal Ballrom, $27.50-30, all ages
Ben Ballinger, Justin Fallen, Barry Walker
Ben Ballinger writes the kind of confessional, soul-bearing songs that make you want to call up people from your past and apologize. Originally from the Dalles, he hitchhiked to New York at 18 and now lives in Austin; Ballinger has no shortage of songwriting material. Whether relating disappointments in love, disappointments in friendship, or disappointments in success, Ballinger examines life's myriad frustrations and sings about them with a voice strained from use and abuse. He comes from the same country-folk tradition that gave birth to Townes Van Zandt and the like, but also shares similarities to modern, country-soul troubadours like Jeffrey Foucault and Mary Gauthier. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!