Like a regal mandrill presenting to all the savannah a gentle cub who will grow to do great things, so are we presented with a week that may seem small in stature but contains greatness within, just waiting to be celebrated and discovered, much like the greatness within Simba, the main character in The Lion King, which was turned into a live-action Broadway musical that is visiting Portland this week! How about that, huh? Or maybe you'd like your live-action stage shows to be a little less lion, a little more Lil Yachty? You can listen to stories from punk's most celebrated historians, or hang out on a roof and watch aliens get their asses handed to them by a bunch of British blockheads, or you could simply spend every day trying to eat every burger provided by every restaurant that made the very, very wise choice be part of this year's Burger Week. Be an active part of the circle of life, and build your best week from the menu below.
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Monday, Aug 8
BURGER WEEK
Since time immemorial, the Portland Mercury’s Burger Week has served as one of humankind’s greatest accomplishments: A week in which our city’s finest bars and restaurants bring Portlanders the finest food ever created. This year, a whopping 35 of Portland’s most beloved restaurants are part of Burger Week—with each offering a special, one-of-a-kind, $5 burger you can’t get anywhere else! Read our guide to all the Burger Week burgers, and peruse our map to help plan your Burger Week route.Various Locations, see our Burger Week calendar for participating venues
Gregory Alan Isakov & The Ghost Orchestra, Langhorne Slim
Gregory Alan Isakov went orchestral on his new album, re-recording some of his past tunes with the Colorado Symphony, who provide a lush bed of sound for the singer/songwriter’s hushed folk. Tonight Isakov performs with an ensemble of string and horn players, and perhaps best of all, the inimitable Langhorne Slim opens the show. NED LANNAMANN
Crystal Ballroom, 8pm, $27-30
Gillian McCain, Legs McNeil
Originally released in 1996, Please Kill Me became the first oral history of punk. In celebration of the book's 20th anniversary, Grove Press is issuing a special edition of the book complete with new photos, chapters, and an afterword. In addition, authors Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain are heading out on tour for signings and Q&A sessions. Catch them tonight on the Portland stop of the tour, featuring music from XRAY FM DJs Both Josh and Jen O. Also read our revisiting of the book.
The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel, 8pm, free
Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus
Julien Baker's debut album, Sprained Ankle, is a pained, sparsely instrumented chronicle of Baker's life, from religious reconciliation, to addiction, to relationship angst. Her voice is simultaneously fragile and pleading, with little more accompaniment than a guitar. It's not exactly new territory—think Chris Carrabba on a Mazzy Star kick—but it's incredibly effective. RYAN J. PRADO Also read our story on Lucy Dacus.
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $13-15
Quarterflash
Marv and Rindy Ross bring their energetic 80s rock band (best known for their Gold-certified single "Harden My Heart) out to Sellwood Riverfront Park for a free performance as part of Portland Parks and Recreation's ongoing Summer Concerts in the Park series.
Sellwood Riverfront Park, 6:30pm, free, all ages
Lily Brooks-Dalton
Portland author Lily Brooks-Dalton reads from her debut novel, Good Morning, Midnight, a story about two outsiders—a scientist in the Arctic and an astronaut trying to return to earth—and their struggles with emotions as they are forced to face their uncertain futures alone.
Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 7:30pm
Tuesday, Aug 9
Lil Yachty
It’s a good thing tonight’s Lil Yachty show is all ages. Your favorite sing-songy, cherry-Slurpee-haired trap rapper might not have got in otherwise. Young Boat might only be 18, but he’s tapped into an ethereal, high-pitched swagger we could all learn a thing or two from. Plus that name is killing it. DIRK VANDERHART
Wonder Ballroom, 8pm, $19.50-22, all ages
King Sunny Ade, Jujuba
An evening of exuberant entertainment from this 35-year veteran of the world music scene, back in North America for the first time since 2009.
Star Theater, 8:30pm, $21.50
Drew Magary
Drew Magary is a correspondent for GQ and a columnist for Deadspin. Tonight he reads from his new novel, The Hike, which follows one man's journey into a contemporary fantasy world inhabited by of man-eating giants, bizarre demons, and colossal insects.
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills crossing, 7pm
James Supercave, The Domestics, There Is No Mountain
A night of beat and groove-driven psych pop from this Echo Park band.
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $8-10
Kung Fu Theater: Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
This month's installment in Dan Halsted's ongoing celebration of all things whoop-ass is a super-rare 35mm print of 1984's Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, one of the genre's all-time classics thanks to Gordon Liu's mesmerizing skills as both an actor and a martial artist, in a story about (what else) a young man bent on revenge because some power-hungry dickheads kicked his loved ones to death. But it's not about whether the recipe is original, it's about cooking it up correctly, and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter contains a brilliant buffet of bone-breaking genius, culminating in one of the single best action scenes ever filmed. BOBBY ROBERTS
Hollywood Theatre, 7:30pm, $9
Princedelic: A Psych-Rock Tribute to Prince: The Pining Hearts, Murderbait, Formerly Known As, Eclisse, Queen Chief, Skull Diver
Since Mr. Nelson left the building, there's been many a tribute focused on his sexy and funky sides, but not so much on the shredding, guitar-god side. That's what tonight is for.
Doug Fir, 7pm, $7-10
The Northwest Blues Explosion
The Northwest Blues Explosion bring their funk-tinged, danceable blues and R&B to Kenton Park as part of Portland Parks and Recreation's ongoing Summer Concerts in the Park series.
Kenton Park, 6:30pm, free, all ages
Peter Wolf & the Midnight Travelers
The Bronx-born singer-songwriter best known for being the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band, brings his own blend of R&B, soul, and rock to the Aladdin Theater in support of his 2016 album, A Cure For Loneliness.
Aladdin Theater, 8pm, $39.50-42
Wednesday, Aug 10
Chastity Belt, So Pitted, Mini Blinds
On their first album, No Regerts, mainstays of Seattle’s feminist punk scene Chastity Belt played instantly loveable surf rock tunes about drunk-eating chips ’n’ dip, waking up to find you’ve been transformed into a giant vagina, and the particular sadness of condescending dudes at parties (“Your tattoos are so deep/They really make me think”). Chazzy’s latest, Time to Go Home, is arguably as fun, but with more sophisticated instrumentation and lyrics on songs like “Drone,” which reworks a line from a Sheila Heti novel (“He was just another man, trying to teach me something”) into its chorus. It’s delightful IRL. It’s also really fun to dance to a song called “Cool Slut” when it’s played live. MEGAN BURBANK
Doug Fir, 9pm, $12-14
G.L.O.S.S., Firewalker, Pure Disgust, Franky, Influx
In June, Olympia hardcore punk band G.L.O.S.S. (an acronym for “Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit”) released their second EP, Trans Day of Revenge. It’s just seven minutes long, and begins with the declaration: “When peace is just another word for death/it’s our turn to give violence a chance!” Don’t miss this show—G.L.O.S.S. is probably one of the best bands in the Pacific Northwest right now. CIARA DOLAN
Bossanova Ballroom, 7pm, $10-12, all ages
Throwing Shade
Mississippi Studios hosts a pair of live tapings for the popular Maximum Fun podcast that covers headlines in women's rights, gay rights, and pop culture. Hosted by Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi.
Mississippi Studios, 8pm, 10pm, $20
Jackson Browne
It's understandable to be indignant that soft rocker Jackson Browne's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (He's in; Mott the Hoople isn't. I know!) But let me list the achievements of Mr. Browne, apart from the fact that his hair has not appeared to change a single strand since the cover of his 1972 debut album. 1) He dated Nico when he was 18 years old. That's right, 18 years old. She was 10 years older than him. 2) The terrific guitar solo—performed by Jesse Edwin Davis—on "Doctor, My Eyes." 3) Um... hmm. Oh! That one song on Running on Empty... no, not that one; that one's awful. I mean the one called "Shaky Town." That one's pretty all right. 4) Okay. That's all I got. Honestly, the Nico thing is probably 95 percent of why he's in the Hall of Fame. He also wrote "These Days" for her, which is not a bad song at all—Don Henley did a recording of it with Portland's own Blind Pilot, weirdly. Oh, one more! 5) "Somebody's Baby" from the Fast Times soundtrack. That song is a totally legit jam, no foolin'. NED LANNAMANN
Edgefield, 6:30pm
Rocky IV
If Rocky III was the birth of everything cliche about '80s cinema, its follow up was the zenith (or nadir, depending on your P.O.V.) of that aesthetic. Oft-celebrated (and mocked) for its training montage, Rocky IV isn't much more than a movie-length montage of montages—a sweaty, preening flurry of disconnected images and barely-there characters alternating between pose and punch as the music dictates. As a Rocky movie, it's complete shit: Stallone seems almost ashamed of the character by 1985, begrudgingly wearing Balboa's (taut-and-roided-out) skin to realize his masturbational-yet-jingoistic propaganda fantasy. As an exercise in excess as storytelling tool? It's fucking fascinating. With Rocky IV, Stallone beat Michael Bay to his entire mode of being by a full decade. BOBBY ROBERTS
Laurelhurst Theater, 9pm, $2-4
Cathy Camper
Artist and author Cathy Camper reads from her new book for young readers, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, the second installment in her Lowriders in Space series.
Powell's City of Books, 7:30pm
The Lion King
I’m not ashamed: I fuckin’ love Disney’s The Lion King. There’s Rafiki runnin’ around being all Yoda-y and shit, Timon and Pumbaa crackin’ wise, Jeremy Irons as a grumpy lion, a plot that tells the story of Hamlet but with adorable animals—AWESOME. Tonight, the touring production of Julie Taymor’s Broadway adaptation hits Portland with crazy costumes and staging, and it will be fantastic. Motherfuckin’ circle of life, yo! ERIK HENRIKSEN
Keller Auditorium, 7:30pm, $26-141, all ages
Thursday, Aug 11
Attack the Block
Before he was a rebellious stormtrooper in The Force Awakens, John Boyega starred in an even better sci-fi movie: Attack the Block, Joe Cornish’s fantastically fun, deceptively smart flick about South London teenagers defending their neighborhood from furry, bitey aliens. The NW Film Center is showing it as part of their Top Down: Rooftop Cinema series—meaning it’ll play on the roof of the Hotel deLuxe parking garage, with drinks, food, and live music from Small Million beforehand. Believe. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Hotel DeLuxe, 8pm, $10, all ages
Todd Glass
People who know comedy, know and love Todd Glass. The stand-up legend—who’s also the host of the great The Todd Glass Show podcast and the writer of a critically acclaimed and revealing 2014 memoir about his intense life, the LA comedy scene, and his sexual orientation—brings his trademark high-energy act to town. He’s doing five shows, so you have no excuse not to go to at least one of them. DOUG BROWN
Helium Comedy Club, 8pm, $15-23
Globelamp, Tashaki Miyaki
An evening with Globelamp, the project of Olympia-based singer-songwriter Elizabeth le Fey, who is currently on tour in support of her excellent sophomore album, The Orange Glow.
Doug Fir, 9pm, $10-12
VHÖL, Will
VHÖL bring their pummeling blend of experimental doom metal, prog, and hardcore punk to the High Water Mark Stage.
High Water Mark, 9pm, $10
Amplify Love: Flawless Shade, Pablo Gonzalez, Knate Phaser, ASW, JoseSosa, Akira, Vamarcha
A night of live performers, dancers, and DJs coming together in response to the violence in Orlando.
Hawthorne Theatre, 8pm, $15-20
Kaui Hart Hemmings
Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of The Descendants, reads from her new novel, How to Party With an Infant, a story about a quirky single mom in San Fransisco and her journeys through motherhood along a quest to find friendship and love.
Powell's City of Books, 7:30pm
Hosannas, No La La, Fog Father, Incidental Music DJs
Hosannas has been hanging around Portland for a long time, providing quality ambient avant-pop sounds to the city's ears, and they've gotten pretty damned good at it too.
Holocene, 8:30pm, $7