The last words of legendary comic strip Calvin and Hobbes were "Let's go exploring." Portland's final weekend in August contains a three-day festival whose entire reason for being is to wring that quote for every ounce of fun within it. The Stay Wild Expo isn't the only avenue for adventure available to you, either, because Project Pabst and Festicide are making sure your weekend is booked full with some of the best music in the entire country, and your palate can go exploring into new avenues of wonderfulness via the Korean Food Festival, and while Supporting Black Restaurants all weekend long. And that's not even getting into the various wars you can watch and/or help wage, in the wrestling ring, or in front of 10 Barrel Brewing, or (of course) on the pitch at Providence Park. And that's just barely scratching the surface! It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy. Hit the menu below and make your weekend worth it.
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Friday, Aug 26
Y La Bamba, Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Haley Heynderickx
Ojos Del Sol is the newest release from Portland’s Y La Bamba, and it’s shockingly beautiful. The record’s opener and title track centers on slow, honeyed harmonies, while standout “Nos Veremos” radiates power in chanted gang vocals. Tonight celebrates the record’s release with local staples Orquestra Pacifico Tropical and Haley Heynderickx. CIARA DOLAN Also read our story on Y La Bamba.
Revolution Hall, 8pm, $15, all ages
Stay Wild Expo
If you love the outdoors, adventure, and wild living, you need to check out the first annual Stay Wild Expo and Adventure Festival! Based on his wholly excellent adventure magazine Stay Wild, creator and organizer Justin “Scrappers” Morrison (the Merc’s former art director) has put together a three-day-long expo of seminars, field trips, vendor booths, and wild-ass partying. You’ll learn how to cliff jump, basket weave, shape a surfboard, throw a knife, write adventure stories, build and shoot a bow and arrow, as well as do yoga in the woods, go on a group motorcycle ride, attend an Oregon coast surfing festival, and watch music from local awesome bands such as Cat Hoch, Bitch’n, Denver, and more! And best of all? IT’S FREE. Stop pretending to have fun, go to this expo, and get WILD. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
World Forestry Center & Museum, free, all ages
Festicide III: Atriarch, Jonny X & the Groadies, Dispossessed, Born A Lot
Night one of Eolian Empire's third annual anti-fest gets underway with sets from Atriarch, Jonny X & the Groadies, Dispossessed, and Born A Lot. Also read our column on this weekend’s festival doubleheader of Project Pabst and Festicide.
High Water Mark, 9pm, $5
Real Estate, Potty Mouth, Divers
At grandmas’ houses and dentists’ offices across this great nation exist hundreds, maybe thousands, of framed pastel-hued seascapes—a sailboat moving towards the sunset, a seagull mid-flight set against some pinkish clouds. That’s Real Estate’s aesthetic: breezy, inoffensive guitar-pop that will move you about as much as a light breeze (so, not a whole lot). While the New Jersey band’s beigecore certainly doesn’t excite, it’s not bad, either. “Kinder Blumen” off 2011’s Days is a sublime instrumental with an exquisite guitar hook that pretty much just repeats itself for four minutes. There are even some good moments on their most recent record, 2014’s Atlas, by far their moodiest/least beige effort to date. But at their best, Real Estate’s music is a stoned daydream—probably not the most exciting vibe for a live show. CIARA DOLAN
Lola's Room, 8pm, $18-22
Lez Stand Up
Kirsten Kuppenbender's showcase highlights comedy from a lesbian, feminist perspective. Tonight's summer show features sets from Lez Stand Up troupe members Caitlin Weierhauser, Mel Heywood, Laura Anne Whitley, and Bob Wolf, as well as a set from special guest Bri Pruett.
Siren Theater, 8pm, $10
Busdriver, Deantoni Parks
A double-headlining bill spotlighting two dynamic and eclectic acts that have thrived both on their own and in the many collaborations they have taken part in over the years.
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $12-14
Grilled Cheese International
As part of their month long grilled cheese fundraiser for Call to Safety (formerly Portland Women's Crisis Line), East Burn is hosting a grilled cheese competition featuring 9 contestants. Event attendees will sample each contestant's grilled cheese sandwiches and rank them on a score card based on taste, originality, presentation and best overall. Live music will follow the event, and half of the proceeds will go to benefit Call to Safety.
East Burn, 5pm, $20, all ages
Riff Raff, Trill Sammy, Dice Soho, Dollabillgates
In the world of popular hip-hop, there’s probably no artist more polarizing than Riff Raff. Like other white rappers such as Iggy Azalea or Macklemore, old school purists argue furiously over Riff’s supposed authenticity—oftentimes directly to his face—yet he remains bulletproof amid the hate storm, and actually seems to get more flamboyant with criticism. It becomes clearer with every swag-drenched verse and over-the-top video that the flashy jewelry, ridiculous clothes, and audacious subject matter might just be facets of his true personality, one that carries such an intangible allure that even James Franco couldn’t resist the opportunity to cinematically borrow from his pimptastic lifestyle. Riff’s newest release Peach Panther vibrates with the signature boom and bling fans have come to rabidly love, adding yet another chapter to an already prolific legacy of shock and awesome. CHRIS SUTTON
Roseland, 9pm, $20
Equity
Equity stands alone, but it reveals how low-impact, how barely-trying movies like Wolf of Wall Street really are. Oh, you got in trouble for the first time in your life and had to go to summer-camp jail but you’ll probably be fine? That’s no ancient tragedy. That’s a boring installment in the ongoing saga of White Men Getting Away with Stuff. I mean there’s something tragic in there, but it’s not new. Because the workplace is far more punishing for women as a general, shitty rule, Equity is more inherently dramatic than those other movies. MEGAN BURBANK
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes and locations
Candace, Talkative, Adventure Galley, Pony Village
The local "witchgaze" trio headline a Project Pabst/MFNW aftershow at Kelly's with their their lush and dreamy brand of noise pop.
Kelly's Olympian, 9pm, $5
Clan of Xymox
Existing in various incarnations since 1981 (always featuring principal Ronny Moorings), Dutch darkwave legends Clan of Xymox make two of their four US stops in Portland. Once on the 4AD roster, Xymox make moody synth-pop representative of the ’80s post-punk scene that spawned acts like Dead Can Dance and the Chameleons. Aside from the pioneering romantic goths’ rare two-night appearance, each show features a stacked lineup of bands developing the darkwave sound. DANIELA SERNA
Night one features support from Soft Kill, Cemetary, and Body of Light, while night two features sets from Vice Device, Soft Kill, All You Sisters, and Bellicose Minds.
Star Theater, 8pm, $27.50-100
Wyrd War's Punk Rock Summer Bummer
Wyrd War celebrates the career of director Penelope Spheeris by inviting you to spend a couple days inside the Hollywood Theatre with her in attendance as she screens Suburbia tonight, plus the complete collection of all her short films. Also see Film, this issue.
Hollywood Theatre, 7:30pm, $11
Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Wooden Indian Burial Ground
Frankie and the Witch Fingers are keeping the garage-rock caboose rolling in Los Angeles alongside the city's more notable practitioners, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. The out-there sounds on their self-titled debut feel both familiar and new, clogged with fuzz and warmed by a Farfisa blanket. MARK LORE
The Liquor Store, 9pm, $8-10
PDX Vintage Showcase: Geek & Cult Sale
All the positives of bargain hunting at a comic-con, without having to get suffocated by the costumed hordes at an actual comic-con. Just unique collectibles and clothes from local vendors.
Norse Hall, 11am, free, all ages
Norm MacDonald
America's favorite grumpy uncle Norm Macdonald's made an entire career out of saying things on talk shows that make appearances from your average junket-fresh actor look beyond dull by comparison. With off-kilter, draconian wit and unapologetically misanthropic tendencies, Macdonald's the most loveable of loose cannons, and now you can witness his cranky brilliance for yourself! MEGAN BURBANK
Helium Comedy Club, 7:30pm, 10pm, $33
A Save the Giants and Baby Blues Benefit
Featuring readings from Arthur Bradford, Emily Chenoweth, Benjamin M. Ficklin, and Andy Valentine, with proceeds benefitting local non-profits Save the Giants and Baby Blues Connection.
Mother Foucault's, 7pm, $8
Organic Beer Fest 2016
The North American Organic Beer Festival celebrates its 12th year with a brand new name and a whole bunch of brand new organic beers and ciders to sample from over 30 different breweries, as well as live music, organic food, kids activities, and more.
Overlook Park, 12pm, free
Saturday, Aug 27
Dogs' Day of Summer
The Portland Mercury and River Pig Saloon have teamed up to unleash the third annual Dogs' Day of Summer, the most anticipated dog racing event of the season. It's free for spectators, but canine competitors will need to pay a registration fee (between $15-25). Along with the wiener-dog race and the Pug O' War, there will be a pet spa, a pet/owner lookalike contest, a pet friendly block party, food, drink, and more.
River Pig Saloon, 12pm, free, all ages
Belly
Maybe it’s been more than 20 years since you thought about Belly. But dust off those warm forgotten memories of the raspy, adorable, reunited ’90s band with bona fides a mile long (ahem, Throwing Muses, the Breeders, L7). With just two (great) albums under their belt and new music in tow, Tanya Donelly’s lovely, dreamy voice will evoke long summers spent hanging out in the sun with your Doc Martens-sporting best friends. COURTNEY FERGUSON
Revolution Hall, 8pm, $30-35
Jade International Night Market
Portland’s international community has got it going on in a big way, and a great place to see it in glorious action is the third annual Jade Night Market event. Expect tons of entertainment (such as Chinese traditional and Bollywood dance), music from various countries, crafts, and delicious multicultural eats from your fave restaurants on 82nd Ave and beyond! Support this underserved community, and get a lot of fun in return. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Portland Community College (Southeast Campus), 5pm, free, all ages
Crate Diggers PDX Record Fair and Afterparty
Vinyl nuts rejoice, for the indispensable crowd-sourced music database site Discogs is hosting their fantastic Crate Diggers annual event once again. Browse obscurities and classics during the daytime record fair, then stick around for a bumpin’ afterparty with cuts from the likes of expert DJs like Danny Krivit, Ron Trent, and Zernell Gillie. You’re gonna wanna hit the ATM before this one. NED LANNAMANN
White Owl Social Club, 12pm
Project Pabst
Day one of the booze-fueled super-sized music festival connects with an interesting one-two punch of Duran Duran and Ice Cube. Read our column on this weekend’s festival doubleheader of Project Pabst and Festicide.
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 12pm, $45-55
Guided By Voices, Summer Cannibals
With 23 full-length albums and 17 EPs, getting into Guided by Voices can be daunting. The band’s devout following of power-pop and lo-fi worshipers doesn’t help matters—they can seem like evangelists, dropping references and debating GBV scripture, like which version of “Game of Pricks” is superior: The one on the Tigerbomb EP or the Alien Lanes LP? This exhaustive conversation can seem exclusive to true nerds, but GBV is the Star Wars of power pop—they make music that’s meant to be enjoyed by the casual listener. Take their 1999 major label debut Do the Collapse, an album that’s considered (at least critically) one of their worst. (It’s their Phantom Menace.) Through cheesy over-produced weirdness the album begins with deflated synth, a bright guitar riff, and Robert Pollard wondering why he acts like a fool whenever he’s around his crush. This sweet, timelessly relatable sentiment about the awkward and borderline self-destructive beginnings of love makes “Teenage FBI” one of the best pure pop songs of the ’90s. CAMERON CROWELL
Crystal Ballroom, 9:30pm, $25-30
Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick
The Rock Hall Three for All tour makes a stop in the Pacific Northwest, which makes sense considering Heart is headlining (as they should). Also read our story on Cheap Trick.
Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 7pm, $15-175
Joseph
The Portland-based trio comprised of sisters Natalie, Allison, and Meegan Closner bring their harmony-driven pop to Music Millennium for an in-store performance in support of their sophomore album, I'm Alone, No You're Not.
Music Millennium, 2pm, free, all ages
Latino Metal Night
Latino Metal Night has been celebrating diversity in the metal scene for three years. 2016's show features DJ Katon W. De Pena, frontman of the Cypress-based thrash metal band Hirax, who will be spinning choice heavy metal cuts and giving out prizes throughout the night. Excruciator, Warpfire, and Maniak perform. Also read our story on Latino Metal Night.
Black Water Bar, 8pm, $5, all ages
Festicide III: Mo Troper & the Assumptions, Oro Azoro, Consumer
Eolian Empire's third annual anti-fest rages on with an eclectic all ages show featuring sets from Mo Troper & the Assumptions, Oro Azoro, and Consumer. Read our column on this weekend’s festival doubleheader of Project Pabst and Festicide.
Anarres Infoshop, 7pm, $5, all ages
Fall Science Fiction Silent Movie Series: A Trip to the Moon & The Lost World
The Hollywood Theatre’s latest throwback series pairs up the 1902 Méliès classic A Trip to the Moon (it’s the first sci-fi film ever, AKA the one where the moon gets something stuck in its eye) with the 1925 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur thriller, The Lost World (not to be confused with the Spielberg movie in which a 12 year-old gymnast kicks a velociraptor in the face). Live score provided by Dean Lemire on organ.
Hollywood Theatre, 2pm, $12
And And And, Souvenir Driver, Rilla, Grand Lake Islands
Project Pabst and MFNW spills over into Kelly's Olympian to bring you an eclectic bill of local bands.
Kelly's Olympian, 9pm, $5
Sun Angle, WL, Jo Passed
Papi Fimbres, Marius Libman, and Charlie Salas Humara form a 12-limbed spirit animal of noise and motion. NED LANNAMANN
Baker Building, 8pm, $10
Beaverton Craft Beer Festival
Featuring offerings from Ambacht, Base Camp, Bull Run, Buoy, Burnside, Coalition, Fort George, Pelican, and many more, with live music and food from Pizzattola's and the Fireside Grill.
The Round, 11am, $1-8
The Room
With its interminable sex scenes and abandoned plot threads, some could say The Room is a "bad" movie, but this raises the question of what makes a movie "good." Is it a comprehensible script? Believable acting? Sets that don't look like they're going to topple over at any second? The Room contains none of these elements, yet that hardly detracts from its remarkably high entertainment value. In fact, The Room may have you questioning the reasons you've ever enjoyed anything in your life—as well as serving as incontrovertible proof that making a movie is very, very difficult. Director Tommy Wiseau in attendance.
Cinema 21, 10:45pm, $6.50-9.50
David Bazan, Michael Nau
In the late ’90s, imagining Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan making an electronic album would’ve been laughable. Bazan’s sparse arrangements were, for many, the antidote to the overproduced, electronics-driven music that was just beginning to repopulate college radio airwaves. Hearing the grace with which Bazan makes the transition into beats and synths on 2016’s Blanco years later is a bit surreal. Compiled from a monthly 7-inch series, the record’s synth-driven soundscapes are such a natural fit with his voice and songwriting that it’s easy to forget what he sounded like without the gear; it might even make you want his whole catalog remixed to sound like Blanco. Acoustic guitars sneak their way into the songs, as do allusions to religion—both of which work just fine. But the album’s best moments are when he ditches these old crutches and makes something that sounds like he’s leaving his faith-questioning, guy-with-acoustic-guitar self firmly in the past. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
Mississippi Studios, 10pm, $20
Beer Wars: IPA Fest
The streets outside 10 Barrel are shut down and turned into a brewery battlefield, with 30 different IPAs from five states available for tasting. Entry is free, tasting glasses are $5, and drink tokens are $1.
10 Barrel Brewing, 5pm
DOA Pro Wrestling: Back to School Slam
DOA Pro Wrestling returns with a back to school special. Take in an evening of matches, culminating in a 6 Man Warfare event that pits Wade Hess, his son Dominick (making his DOA wrestling debut), and Chris Riddick, against team S.H.A.F.T. (Smart, Handsome, and Freakin Talented) featuring Ethan HD, Kassius Koonz, and Mansom Manny Rios.
Wattles Boys & Girls Club, 6pm, $10, all ages
Sunday, Aug 28
Support Black Restaurant Days
Inspired by a community effort in San Francisco, Portland's Bertha Pearl decided the city needed its own weekend to support Black-owned restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, food carts, and more. Now in its second year, it's even bigger and better. If you're feeling like heading out for a bite this weekend, get that bite at over 60 fine venues. Also, read this week's Last Supper.
Various Locations, see our event listing for participating venues
Project Pabst
Project Pabst and MFNW have joined forces to bring you one combined superfest! Australian psych-rock juggernauts Tame Impala and a reunited Ween cap off a terrific Sunday lineup, but be sure to watch out for the Rocky-esque one-two punch from two of Philly’s finest in Hop Along and Sheer Mag, two early-round underdogs who are more than capable of leaving you on the ropes. CHIPP TERWILLIGER Also read our column on this weekend’s festival doubleheader of Project Pabst and Festicide.
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 1pm, $45-55
Mukja! The Portland Korean Food Festival
A daylong celebration of Korean cuisine, featuring offerings from a lineup of award-winning chefs from all over the Pacific Northwest.
Ecotrust Building, 1pm, $70-100
Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders
As if plain ol' pride wasn't enough, or an unquenchable thirst for revenge, or any of the other reasons one can imaginably concoct to wish big fat Ls upon the footballers of Seattle, For the good of the sport itself the Timbers must stomp the Sounders unmercifully, if only as payback for their shit-poor tifo game at the last match. Fucking shameful.
Providence Park, 2pm, $45-200, all ages
Behind the White Glasses
Valerio Ruiz's documentary about Lina Wertmuller, the first woman to ever recieve Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Foreign Film, featuring interviews from internationally admired artists and critics.
Hollywood Theatre, 7pm, $9
Peter Bjorn and John, Bayonne, Jay Som
If you missed San Francisco’s Melina Duterte with Mitski and Japanese Breakfast last month at the Analog, now’s your chance to catch her again, but this time opening for (oddly enough) Peter Bjorn and John. Duterte—who performs under the moniker Jay Som—builds songs around hummingbird guitar riffs that dart from chord to chord with spontaneous precision. Last November she took to her already prolific Bandcamp page to drunkenly self-release Turn Into, a collection of what she calls “finished and unfinished songs.” Then came the opening slot on Mitski’s national tour, followed by a fantastic 7-inch released on Fat Possum Records earlier this summer. Now Duterte’s signed to San Francisco label Polyvinyl, who re-released Turn Into last month. It’s a well-deserved come-up for such a talented musician—after seeing what she did with better production on 7-inch tracks “I Think You’re Alright” and “Rush,” her forthcoming official full-length debut is reason enough to look forward to 2017. CIARA DOLAN
Revolution Hall, 9pm, $20
Shy Girls, The Last Artful Dodgr, My Body
If the term “PBR&B” doesn’t mean anything to you, congratulations. This descriptor pokes fun at how hipsters (i.e., Portlanders) love to wash down their R&B with Pabst Blue Ribbon. It’s alternative, emotive, and provocative, the perfect music to get faded to—think the sauced- and sexed-up sounds of the Weeknd, Miguel, or in this case Portland’s Shy Girls. Solo singer/producer Dan Vidmar’s high tenor is set against a vast electronic sound, stacked keyboards, and nostalgic beats. One listen to “Still Not Falling” from his debut EP Timeshare and you’ll see why he was an ideal opener for neo-soul pioneer Maxwell and other big acts like Haim and Little Dragon. Openers include My Body and the Last Artful, Dodgr, one of the EYRST label’s most promising emcees. JENNI MOORE
Holocene, 8:30pm, $5-10
Urban Air Market
The local shopping extravaganza returns to the Pearl for a third year, featuring goods from over 70 emerging designers and artists, including apparel, accessories, home goods, and body products.
NW 13th & NW Hoyt, 11am, free