Things to Do This Week: August 21-24

This is the week where the sun goes out. It's also the week where tens of thousands of people who aren't from here come here, so it's going to be kind of a hectic, stressful sorta week. At least at first. Luckily, there's more to what's ahead than just Monday, and there's a lot of stuff on the calendar beyond looking at the sun: You can support Black business ownersand eat well all week long, you can support local designers at an amazing fashion event, you can catch a set from a future Portland comedy all-star, and you can check out the latest bit of madness from Cirque du Soleil. There's a lot more to do on the way to next weekend—hit the links below and load your plate accordingly.

The Sun Goes Out for a Li'l Bit
There are things to do today that don't have anything to do with the solar eclipse, but they all happen way later in the day, which is good, because traffic (which is just shit on the normal days, thanks infrastructure!) is probably going to prevent anyone getting where they want in less than eight hours anyway. So might as well snatch up those glasses (make sure they're the good ones so your eyes don't get eaten by dragons or whatever) and spend the morning witnessing a really rare celestial event before you head out later. Hit our Eclipse Calendar for the best bets!
9 am, the sky above us, all ages.

Jomny Sun, Bill Oakley
Designer, writer, and "weird twitter" icon Jomny Sun reads from Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, his humorous and heartfelt illustrated story about a lonely alien on a mission to observe Earth. Sun will be joined in conversation by Bill Oakley, Emmy-award winning television writer and producer best known for his work on The Simpsons.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free

Support Black Restaurant Days
Now in its third year, Portland's Support Black Restaurant Days is the biggest its ever been, and there is no more delicious way to support the city's Black communities than to spend some of your entertainment dollar at one (or hell, all if you think you can swing it) of the over 70 participating venues, to help give back to the community and to enjoy some of the best cuisine in Portland.
Aug 21-27, Various Locations, visit iloveblackfood.com for a full list of participating venues.

There Is No Mountain, Seahorse, Gina Villalobos, Amee Chapman
Built around the live sound of Matt Harmon's processed acoustic guitar and Kali Giaritta's percussion setup and keyboards—and featuring harmonized vocals from both—There Is No Mountain is alternately sunny and dark, going from sparse to dense and back again within the space of a few bars. NED LANNAMANN
7 pm, The Secret Society, $7

The World's End
Like director Edgar Wright previous “Cornetto Trilogy” entries (2004’s Shaun of the Dead and 2007’s Hot Fuzz), The World’s End is a fantastic genre movie that ends up accomplishing far more than most genre movies do: On the surface, it’s a funnier, smarter Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but dig a bit more, and it’s an affecting movie about how you can’t go home again, even if your crappy hometown isn’t literally besieged by mindless automatons. But I’ve neglected to mention the thing that is, by far, most important: The World’s End is phenomenally, relentlessly funny. ERIK HENRIKSEN
9:30 pm, Laurelhurst Theater, $3-4

It's Gonna Be Okay
Barbara Holm's It's Gonna Be Okay is the only local showcase I've seen tout its lack of meanness as a selling point, which in a city KNOWN for its safe-space shows, is next-level when it comes to reclaiming comedy from its reputation as a bastion of obnoxious old white dudes. It's the supportive slumber party of Portland stand-up. MEGAN BURBANK
8:30 pm, EastBurn, free

Kevin Morby, Shannon Lay
With his new album, City Music, Los Angeles singer/songwriter Kevin Morby sounds like a wayfaring Lou Reed—his metropolitan love songs capture the electric feeling of being dwarfed, surrounded by life, and high on the communal energy that only exists in cities. Morby will be joined by rising folksinger Shannon Lay (guitarist for the punk band Feels), who’s releasing her stunning new record Living Water next month. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $15

Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, Heather Trost
Stereolab lead singer Laetitia Sadier returns to Portland with her latest pop project, Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, currently touring in support of their new album, Find Me Finding You.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $12-14

Pokey LaFarge
Born Andrew Heissler in the green pastures of Bloomington, Illinois, Heissler's adopted pseudonym, Pokey LaFarge, befits his ongoing commitment (now over a decade strong) to a bygone American way of life, as represented by ragtime jazz, country swing, barrelhouse blues, and ample amounts of hair pomade. No doubt, there are still a precious few clinging to their striped vests and herringbone tweed caps, and for them, Pokey LaFarge endures. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
8:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $20-25

Grindhouse Film Festival: Cutter's Way
Of all the Hollywood’s tributes to departed cinematic heroes this week, the Grindhouse Film Festival’s screening of 1981’s Cutter’s Way is probably the most special. It contains the best performance of John Heard’s long career, and co-stars Jeff Bridges in one of the first real glimpses of the legendary actor he’d become in later years. Cutter is a weird little crime and conspiracy flick about Vietnam vets back home and in over their heads, but what makes it a treasure of a film is Heard’s portrayal of that one fucking friend you can’t cut out of your life even though everything about him is screaming for you to leave him behind. Heard makes the inexplicable decision to keep that guy around feel right, even as everything keeps going wrong. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9

Resist Trump Tuesday
A meeting with staffers from Senator Jeff Merkley's office, in the courtyard of the World Trade Center, about the ways in which citizens can help prevent all the damage our President is trying to do.
11:30 am, World Trade Center, free

Fade to Light: A Multidimensional Fashion Event
There’s a simple secret to the glory of Fade to Light, the twice-yearly (and Mercury co-sponsored) showcase of local fashion design talent such as Carolyn Hart, Veil and Valor, and Sonia Kasparian. It’s the catwalk. See, Fade to Light isn’t working with one of those brittle, constraining, Right Said Fred joints. Its models are sashaying down the middle of the Crystal Ballroom’s bouncy-ass dance floor. Translation: verve. DIRK VANDERHART
6:30 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $17-75

Idina Menzel
Legendary vocalist Idina Menzel unfortunately isn’t performing in Broadway musicals right now, but at least she’s still singing! And whether you’re a fan of that viral song “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen, enjoyed her studio album idina, want to hear her slay tracks from RENT, or bless the Schnitz with her untouchable rendition of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity,” you’re going to get (at least some) of your wishes this Wednesday. Prepare for goosebumps and misty eyes. JENNI MOORE
8 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $60-130, all ages

The Cool Kids Patio Show
The Doug Fir patio hosts one of the finest free stand-up showcases in town, paired perfectly with some of our city's best singer/songwriters. This time, Noah Kite provides the sounds while Alex Falcone, Adam Pasi, and Robbie Pankow bring the jokes. Hosted by Andie Main.
6 pm, Doug Fir, free

James Forman, Jr., Mitchell S. Jackson
Writer and Professor of Law at Yale Law School James Forman, Jr. reads from Locking Up Our Own, offering a fresh look at our justice system, along with its impact on people of color on both sides of the war on crime. Forman will be joined in conversation by Mitchell S. Jackson, the Ernest J. Gaines Award-winning author of The Residue Years.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free

Music on Main: Dirty Revival
Sarah Clarke’s got one of the most commanding voices in Portland, especially when she’s fronting Dirty Revival. The seven-piece plays soul music with plenty of heart and its own dirty twist. This free show is outdoors, so you can hear Clarke’s powerhouse vocals bounce off all the buildings downtown. CIARA DOLAN
5 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, free

Re-Run Theater: Elvis
Chuck D, noted scholar and ’80s-era prophet of rage, once shouted words that rang to my young ears as some of the truest shit ever written: “Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me.” Fortunately for Kurt Russell, Chuck was a decade too late to have affected Elvis fan and filmmaker John Carpenter, who hired Russell to play Presley in a two-part TV movie that aired on ABC in 1979. As a document of Presley’s life, it’s maybe not that insightful—more like a hagiography than anything. As a document of the first time Carpenter and Russell worked together, it’s pretty illuminating watching the birth of a creative partnership that would flourish in later films like Escape From New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9

Coco Columbia, Kulululu, Boink
One of the most original soul-funk-electro albums you're likely to come across belongs to a local young music-school dropout under the brilliant moniker of Coco Columbia. On the surface, The Weight has all the gloss of Top 40 teen pop, complete with cameos by rappers like Soopah Eype and Fabian Rush. But under the covers is Pat Matheny-like guitar work and Columbia's own jazz drumming, making her satiny compositions sound very adult indeed. ROBERT HAM
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5

The Transplants: A Comedy Showcase
If you've paid attention long enough, you know that the Portland comedy scene both giveth and taketh away. We've bid farewell to plenty of great comedians, but tonight's show is about saying hello to some wonderfully funny transplants. Plunk down a ten-spot and catch sets from Jacob Christopher, Nicky Moon, Brandon Lyons, Kelly Richardson, Matt Erickson, Hunter Donaldson, Laci Day, and Chris Johnson. Hosted by James Bosquez.
8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $10

This Is Spinal Tap
The annual summer Top Down: Rooftop Cinema series on top of Hotel deLuxe’s parking structure is one of the most fun movie-watching experiences in Portland. It’s outside with great downtown views, and there’s beer. Tonight, Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap—the best and most hilarious mockumentary ever created—is playing. It’s the second-to-last movie of the season there (Spring Breakers is next week), so get in while you still can. The doors open at 7 pm, music starts at 8 pm, and the movie starts around 9-ish. You need to get in before 8:30 but you should get there well before to claim your spot. DOUG BROWN
8:30 pm, Hotel DeLuxe, $7-12, all ages

Yo! PDX Hops
Breakside Brewery and Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom take control of the taps at Paydirt while DJ Jimbo serves up a dose of old-school hip-hop from behind the tables.
6 pm, Paydirt, free

Y La Bamba, Run On Sentence, Ryan Oxford
The heart of Portland band Y La Bamba, Luz Elena Mendoza is a warrior of light, resilience, and creative ingenuity. Born singing mariachis of Michoacan in Southern Oregon, her haunting yet calming bluegrass folk vocals are rooted in Mexican tradition. Mendoza’s voice resounds with a profound sense of history, her guitar strumming soft but with gripping presence. EMILLY PRADO
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $10-12

Secret Drum Band, Notel
Anything Lisa Schonberg touches is gold. More than just a great drummer, she uses drums as compositional tools that have made bands like Explode into Colors and Kickball great. Always in demand, she's drummed for Mirah, Tune-yards, Tara Jane O'Neil, the Need, and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, just to name a few. But it's the rare Secret Drum Band performance that brings her into the spotlight. Composing with the space in mind, Schonberg brings together a surprise star-studded cast of five drummers and two noise/tone/sound makers to create an experience unlike any other. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
8 pm, White Owl Social Club, free

Kielen King, Shubzilla & Bill Beats, C0splay, Kid Apocalypse
Local electronic music composer Kielen King brings his dark and melodic sounds to the Dante's stage along with support from Shubzilla & Bill Beats, C0splay, and Kid Apocalypse.
9 pm, Dante's, $8

Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities
Cirque du Soleil's latest big-top extravagance transforms their tent into the curio cabinet of an old-timey inventor, bending reality, time, and space into a variety of stages and platforms by which this troupe of amazingly flexible performers do their mind-and-body-bending work.
8 pm, Portland Expo Center, $39

Logan Lucky
“I just don’t think movies matter as much anymore, culturally,” infamously unpredictable filmmaker Steven Soderbergh told the Guardian in 2013—one of the many legit reasons he gave when he announced he was quitting movies forever. So naturally, four years later, the infamously unpredictable Soderbergh has a new comedy—Logan Lucky, a movie that aims to undermine Hollywood’s traditional distribution model, a movie whose screenwriter may or may not exist, and, most importantly, a movie that’s a goddamn delight. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Various Theaters, see told the Guardian in 2013—one of the many legit reasons he gave when he announced he was quitting movies forever. So naturally, four years later, the infamously unpredictable Soderbergh has a new comedy—Logan Lucky, a movie that aims to undermine Hollywood’s traditional distribution model, a movie whose screenwriter may or may not exist, and, most importantly, a movie that’s a goddamn delight.">Movie Times for showtimes and locations

Flawless Bingo Happy Hour
A special edition of Flawless Bingo, with two rounds of the fabulous game raising money and awareness for Network for Reproductive Options, Western States Center's BRAVE, and the Portland Menstrual Society.
6 pm, Century

Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!

[ Comment on this story ]

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]