People like to describe the city as "weird," which is pretty accurate most of the time, but when it comes to this week's worth of things to do, "eclectic" is probably a slightly better choice: One of our most uniquely funny stand-ups returns home, a new Godzilla rises from the water, and our city's craftiest get in a fabric-fueled battle for supremacy the same night a pair of its fiercest fashionistas go fire walking with David Lynch. Wynton Marsalis brings the Lincoln Center to the Schnitz, a little bit of the Daily Show comes to our beloved public radio variety show, and local politics literally becomes a variety show. It's a pretty damn busy week ahead. Hit the menu below and load up your plate accordingly
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Monday, Oct 10
Ex-Cult, Power, Public Eye
Memphis punks Ex-Cult invoke the kind of furiously paced hardcore that sent scores of adolescents to American Legion halls, Quonset huts, and basements across the country in the early-’80s and beyond. On the strength of that homage, the band’s third full-length record, Negative Growth, travels in jagged lines across a panorama of American hardcore, with ultra-fuzzy patinas at manic paces, likely thanks to the ever-watchful production of Ty Segall. “Attention Ritual” sounds like it was recorded inside a can of Folgers, but retains its energy in fiery waves of skuzz, kooky hooks, and feigned British accents. “Let You In” dispenses with fucking around, instead leading a punishing charge of liberating yowls and buzzsaw riffs. RYAN J. PRADO
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $8-10
Candidates Gone Wild
Candidates Gone Wild aims to give the November ballot a shot of adrenaline, with local and statewide candidates sharing the stage for 90 minutes while getting silly with politics. Hosted by Courtenay Hameister.
Revolution Hall, 7pm, $5, all ages
Chills & Thrills: The Gimmick Series—Polyester
The Hollywood's latest throwback series firmly and lovingly embraces the art of the gimmick, resurrecting classic hucksterism via bygone promotional stunts. Tonight sees John Waters' plaid-yet-porny classic Polyester screened in its original "Odorama," and trust that it smells just as good as it looks.
Hollywood Theatre, 7:30pm, $9
Gojira, Tesseract
For nearly two decades Gojira has been putting out some of the most compelling death metal around, taking cues from classic technical thrash outfits like Sepultura and the groove and chug of Pantera. The French metal quartet’s trajectory has been slow and steady, and all indications show they’re in it for the long haul. Case in point is Gojira’s latest album, Magma, their most accessible to date and one that easily draws comparisons to Metallica’s Black Album, for better or for worse. Luckily the band hasn’t abandoned their studious technical prowess—they’ve just added more sticky melodies. If that’s reason for some to cry “sellout,” it just proves that those people aren’t really listening. MARK LORE
Roseland, 8pm, $27.50, all ages
Bryan Shih
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party, photojournalist Bryan Shih presents his new book, The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution, an oral history and scrap book of the organization, featuring a range of insightful portraits, interviews, and essays.
Powell's City of Books, 7:30pm
Tuesday, Oct 11
S U R V I V E, Majeure
Austin, Texas band SURVIVE has been making shadowy, eerie soundscapes since 2008. Working on analog synthesizers, their warm, pulsating synth lines and moody ambience are crafted with chugging minimalism and are reminiscent of John Carpenter’s soundtracks or krautrock legends Tangerine Dream. With releases on Mannequin Records, Living Tapes, and most recently revered metal label Relapse Records, the quartet is known for live performances featuring stacks of hardware and a custom light and fog show. Oh, and members Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein are the duo behind the Billboard-topping, nostalgia-inducing score for the Netflix sensation Stranger Things (which recently received the high compliment of being covered by Tangerine Dream themselves). DANIELA SERNA
Holocene, 8:30pm, $10-12
Nell Zink
American author Nell Zink reads from her new novel, Nicotine, tells the story of a young woman who inherits her late father's childhood home.
Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 7:30pm
Clarke & the Himselfs & Friends, Shitty Weekend, Plastic Harmony Band
Come celebrate the release of Clarke and the Himselfs and Friends, a new collaborative album from Boise musician Clarke Howel, who typically performs his infectious indie rock tunes as a one-man-band.
Bunk Bar, 9pm, $8
Vänlade, Seax, Hessian, Excruciator, DJ Guillotine
If one ever needed proof that there’s still quality heavy metal coming from various corners of the US, this bill would provide it. Vänlade, Seax, and Hessian hail from Kansas, Massachusetts, and Maine, respectively. Hessian’s Bachelor ofBlack Arts record is an aptly named slab of mid-tempo, darkly veiled, heavy metal rock ’n’ roll akin to the new wave of British heavy metal sound. It’s full of dual guitar tastiness and fist-clenching riffage. Seax wear their metal style on their denim and leather sleeves with a discography that features song titles like “High on Metal,”“Speed Forever,”“Forged by Metal,” and “Speed Psycho.” It’s no stretch to assume you’re in store for some tight, well-executed speed metal lunacy when they mount the stage. Vänlade’s galloping, soaring power metal is characterized by epic, orchestral guitar work and vocalist Brett Blackout Scott’s wailing falsetto belts lyrics that would make Manowar’s muscles ripple. They’ll have you ready and frothing for battle against all non-believers. ARIS HUNTER WALES
Black Water Bar, 7pm, $8, all ages
Xylouris White, Emmett Kelly
Crete lutenist George Xylouris joins forces with Dirty Three drummer Jim White for an eclectic set of tunes pulling from jazz, punk, bluegrass, klezmer, and folk. Emmett Kelly of the Cairo Gang provides support.
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $13-15
Alton Brown
The Food Network personality and host of Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen comes to Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing to read from his new book, EveryDayCook, a collection of 102 recipes that Brown uses to cook for himself on the daily.
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7pm
Hausu
Seven Japanese schoolgirls visit a haunted house in Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 head-trip, which is quite simply one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. The effects are incredibly cheesy and the movie refuses to settle on a consistent tone, but Obayashi's visual style creates a wispy, sugary dream world that gushes with blood. NED LANNAMANN
Laurelhurst Theater, 9:45pm, $3-4
Wednesday, Oct 12
Shin Godzilla
Yes, Virginia: Japanese studio Toho's latest reboot of the iconic monster is a real Godzilla movie.
Hollywood Theatre, 7pm, $9
City of Weird
Gigi Little, the editor of City of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales, presents his new compilation in the city it's based in and inspired by. Little will be joined by City of Weird contributors Mark Russell, Brigitte Winter, Rene Denfeld, and Dan DeWeese.
Powell's City of Books, 7:30pm
Nathan Brannon
When he left Portland for LA this summer, comedian Nathan Brannon left a laughter-shaped void behind him that has yet to be addressed. Brannon’s got an album with Kill Rock Stars and an unmatched stage presence, so his departure was inevitable. All the more reason to get excited that he’s back to celebrate his record release. MEGAN BURBANK
Curious Comedy Theater, 7:30pm, $10
Tacocat, Cockeye, The Bedrooms
Candy! Aliens! These are two critical components of Tacocat’s new record, Lost Time. This title references a recurring phenomenon in the X-Files, and its opening track “Dana Katherine Scully” pays homage to the ’90s TV show’s brave and reasonable heroine. Listening is like swan diving into an ocean of colorful gummy candies, and its 12 tracks of surf-punk sound turbo-charged by this sugar high. The truth is out there, and it’s Tacocat. CIARA DOLAN
Revolution Hall, 9pm, $15, all ages
U Sco, Human, Loveboys
Local experimental punk trio U Sco mold elements of prog, math rock, krautrock, and free jazz into a landslide of noise that's much more than the sum of its parts. Catch them tonight when they hit the Liquor Store basement in support of their excellent new full-length, Tuskflower.
The Liquor Store, 8pm, $5
Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Grammy award-winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra return to Portland for a one night engagement at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7:30pm, $40-120, all ages
Erika Wennerstrom, Petter Ericson Stakee
Heartless Bastards frontwomen Erika Wennerstrom swings through Mississippi Studios for a rare solo performance. Petter Ericson Stakee of Alberta Cross provides support.
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $12-14
Thursday, Oct 13
Phone Call, Fringe Class, Rasheed Jamal, DJ Lamar LeRoy
Often billed as an opener (as he is here), and impressing crowds as a guest performer, Rasheed Jamal is so underrated it’s almost criminal. And when he’s live, his flow is just as sure-footed and succinct as his recordings, making the case for a promising come-up. The LOCAL CUT crowd will likely see him rip through some of his countless solid tracks like “Urban Decay,” and “Speeding in Slow Motion,” which utilizes the same sample as Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t.” JENNI MOORE
Holocene, 8:30pm, free
Live Wire! Radio
Comedian and co-host of the 2 Dope Queens podcast (with The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams) Phoebe Robinson is hilarious and smart, so we should all rejoice in the publication of her new book, You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain. Tonight, she brings her wit to the gang at Live Wire! Radio. Don’t miss it. MEGAN BURBANK
Alberta Rose Theatre, 7:30pm, $13-15
SCRAP PDX Rebel Craft Rumble
SCRAP's annual live craft competition returns to turn the Hollywood Theatre into a thunderdome of knitting, sewing, stapling, gluing, and shaping random objects and elements into legitimate art, all while a crowd cheers (and jeers) along.
Hollywood Theatre, 7pm, $12
Kikagaku Moyo, Abronia, Sanae Yamada
People talk about opening the third eye, but Kikagaku Moyo will open up your third ear. The Japanese psychedelic alchemists forge a dauntlessly exploratory brand of music that will have you traveling through alternate dimensions at light speed. They're joined tonight by two of Portland's own astral travelers: Abronia and Sanae Yamada. NED LANNAMANN
Mother Foucault's, 7pm, $7
Queer Horror: Beetlejuice
The bimonthly series, hosted by Carla Rossi, returns with a 35mm screening of Beetlejuice, Tim Burton's 1988 blockbuster featuring Michael Keaton's last great comedic performance as a guttural, gutter-born Robin Williams in dingy stripes, coughing and spitting one liners in every direction like a haywire lawn sprinkler. But if it were just a vehicle for Keaton's madness, it couldn't maintain the legendary status it holds, and Rossi intends to celebrate the film's campy atmosphere, feminist messaging, and its strong argument that being strange is necessary, and art should be dangerous.
Hollywood Theatre, 9:30pm, $9
Chook Race, Sleeping Beauties, Alto
Chook Race play sunny and melodic jangle pop crafted around guitarist Matthew Liveradis and drummer Carolyn Hawkins dueling vocals. Catch the Melbourne-hailing trio tonight when they hit Portland in support of their new Trouble In Mind-issued full-length, Around The House.
Bunk Bar, 9:30pm, $8
Bobby Lee
One of the many comedians who got their start thanks to Mitzi Shore's The Comedy Store, Lee went on to a long run on MADtv, and appearances in Premium Blend and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. He also once told a story about shitting his pants on Marc Maron's podcast that was pretty illuminating.
Helium Comedy Club, 8pm, $15-21
Al Stewart, Gary Wright, The Empty Pockets
An evening of folk, rock, and pop with the Glasgow-born singer-songwriter best known for his 1976 hit single, "Year of the Cat," the title song from the platinum album of the same name.
Aladdin Theater, 8pm, $39.50-42
The Panoramic Pinot Noir Festival
Chef Josh Gibler introduces his take on the first fall flavors of the season, with a full buffet of appetizers perfectly paired to a dozen local pinot noir wines from Oregon and Washington
Salty's on the Columbia, 6pm, $50
Fashion in Film—Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Eden Dawn and former Mercury fashion maven Marjorie Skinner present a special screening of one of the most David Lynchian things David Lynch ever David Lynched: 1992's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, both a bit of a dry run for Mulholland Drive and a bitter, hallucinogenic pill ramrodded down the collective throat of the show's fans. Time and distance has eased the very, very bad trip the director sent his acolytes on in 1992, and it's also made apparent just how visually and stylistically influential both the show and the movie have become.
Hollywood Theatre, 7:30pm, $9