Sneaker Week PDX Block Party
How it took until 2017 for the epicenter of the country’s sneaker industry to host its own weeklong paean to the kick game, we’ll never know. We’re just glad it’s finally here. The first-ever Sneaker Week PDX promises not only to scratch the itch of committed sneaker heads, but also to buff that itch with a tasteful nubuck. The event features talks and films related to shoes, treatises on colors and materials, and a sneaker swap meet. If you’re not willing to get that deep into the life, though, stop by the sneaker week block party, which features performances from the likes of Mic Capes and Jon Belz, sets from Rev Shines and O.G. One, food carts, and on-site vendors. It’ll be great. Just make sure to bring your A-game, kick-wise. DIRK VANDERHART
Sept 22, 4 pm, Wacom Experience Center, free
Speechless: Champion Edition
The Siren Theater's improvised PowerPoint presentation show Speechless is back, with the best kind of organized chaos: a delightful lineup of funny Portlanders making up lectures on the spot—"TED Talk, startup pitch, even a self-help seminar" are all fair game—to accompany surprise slides and placate a team of judges. Next slide! MEGAN BURBANK
Sept 22, 8 pm, Siren Theater, $10
The Space Lady Cometh
Susan Dietrich Schneider left her small Colorado hometown in the ’60s for San Francisco, where she met her first husband Joel. When he was drafted in the Vietnam War, they retreated into the wilderness of Northern California, making their home in a cave atop Mount Shasta. The couple had three children, and to support her family, the Space Lady would busk on the streets and subways of San Francisco and Boston throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Sporting her signature winged Viking helmet, she’d perform celestial, electronic interpretations of classic rock songs like Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” and the Electric Prunes’“I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” singing through an echo unit and plugging her Casio keyboard into a phase-shifter pedal. In 2000, the Space Lady moved back to Colorado, where she became a nurse and met her second husband, Eric Schneider, who’s also a musician. He coaxed her out of retirement about five years ago, and last year she performed a sold-out show at the Hollywood Theatre, where she’ll return this Friday. CIARA DOLAN
Sept 22, 8 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $8-10
Kelli Schaefer, Iska Dhaaf, Arlo Indigo
For almost 10 years, Portland artist Kelli Schaefer has tapped into the emotional pulses of an ever-changing pop culture landscape, inviting electronic flourishes to glaze her avant-garde pop gems. That evolution is why Schaefer is one of Portland’s best and most inventive artists. RYAN J. PRADO
Sept 23, 9 pm, Bunk Bar, $8
Repo Man
Harry Dean Stanton was an omnipresent figure in film. Independent, mainstream, blockbuster, uber-low-budget—chances are if you watched more than five movies in your life, you saw Harry Dean Stanton's hangdog face in one of them, cigarette dangling out of one corner of his mouth, dialogue flowing from the other. And it almost never mattered what that dialog was, it sounded like philosophy as he delivered it, whether it was just the single word "right," in Alien, relationship advice in Pretty in Pink, or the sweaty, meth-fueled pearls of wisdom in Repo Man, the 1984 Alex Cox masterpiece that used Stanton as expertly as any director ever has— which makes this tribute screening a great choice by which to remember such an unforgettable man. BOBBY ROBERTS
Sept 23, 6:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9
Sweeping Exits, Tig Bitty, First Church Of The Sacred Silversexual, Dyke Tension
Hot on the heels of an excellent KEXP live session, local glam-punk outfit Sweeping Exits hit the Tonic Lounge in support of their acclaimed new album, Glitter & Blood. They'll be joined by San Francisco-hailing Bowie tribute act First Church Of The Sacred Silversexual, along with fellow locals Tig Bitty and Dyke Tension.
Sept 22, 8 pm, Tonic Lounge, $7
Psychomagic, Sunbathe, Woolen Men, Charlie Moses
Artist and singer/songwriter Carolyn Grigar, AKA Charlie Moses, brings her slow-burning blend of gothic folk and experimental pop to the Know stage for a hometown headlining show. Fellow local acts Psychomagic, Sunbathe, and the Woolen Men round out an excellent bill.
Sept 23, 8 pm, The Know, $7
Skull Diver, Childspeak, Kulululu
Portland rock trio Skull Diver recently released Chemical Tomb, an unapologetically dark sophomore album that wanders with a zombie's sinister drive between proggy riffage, pop swagger, and stoner metal haze, exploring shadowy corners while never quite settling into a groove. The record is united not just by this densely curated sense of disquiet, all fuzzy guitars and cavernous organs, but by a gripping melodicism and singer Mandy Payne's nimble voice floating over the darkness—less ethereal and more a foreboding siren's call. It’s not the most cohesive album, but anyone who likes their music on the heavy side will find something to enjoy. NATHAN TUCKER
Sept 22, 9 pm, Bunk Bar, $5-7
Deschutes Street Pub Block Party
Deschutes Brewery rolls out its traveling pop-up bar and sets up shop on SE Stark for an outdoor block party benefitting Farmers Ending Hunger, Cascade AIDS Project, and the Children's Cancer Association. Drink new Deschutes beers, special tappings of old favorites, and enjoy a variety of activities made available by event parners Hydro Flask, Humm Kombucha, Breedlove Guitars, and KEEN Footwear. Featuring musical performances from Autonomics, Life During Wartime, Medium Troy, Elke Robitaille, Gold Casio, and more.
Sept 23, 2 pm, W.C. Winks Hardware, free, all ages
Animal Eyes, Tribe Mars
Portland psych-rock band Animal Eyes headline the latest installment of Sunday Session at Rontoms, with local neo-soul and R&B outfit Tribe Mars kicking things off.
Sept 24, 8 pm, Rontoms, free
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!