Portland Hip-Hop Day
Last year’s inaugural Hip Hop Day was a blast. Now it’s time to join StarChile in front of City Hall for a few hours and do it again. Hip hop artists Mic Crenshaw, Vursatyl, Libretto, and some others will be performing, with music from legendary Portland deejays O.G.ONE (an XRAY.FM host and the Blazers’ DJ) and DJ Chill. There’ll be b-boys dancing and a live mural painting and some delicious food. It’ll be a fun afternoon. DOUG BROWN
City Hall, 3pm, free, all ages
Boo Bomb
Back in the day, consciousness and romance ran deep, and the third incarnation of JAM’N 107.5’s annual Boo Bomb will serve as a powerful reminder. With perhaps its best lineup yet, this year’s Boo Bomb will bring together the hottest in the early ’00s most played artists on BET and some of hip-hop and black culture’s most influential pioneers. Headliner Ludacris probably wouldn’t even have a career without the Sugarhill Gang and their iconic “Rapper’s Delight,” not to mention Young MC’s busting of moves. Jagged Edge’s romantically centered lyrical themes owe thanks to Color Me Badd’s desire to sex everyone up and En Vogue, the “Real Funky Divas” of R&B. With Candyman and the last-minute addition of Blackstreet, Boo Bomb will be like a spooky lesson in musical history for those born after 1997. CERVANTE POPE
Moda Center, 7pm, $29.50-89.50
Bryan Cranston
The star of Malcolm in the Middle and the upcoming Power Rangers movie comes to Beaverton to read from his new memoir, A Life in Parts.
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3pm
Jason Alexander
I imagine that Tony Award winner Jason Alexander (for his role in the 1989 Broadway musical Jerome Robbins’ Broadway) probably wants his two worlds to be separate. In one he’s serious, performing solo before the Oregon Symphony. In the other, the world that most of us occupy, he is George Costanza (or Art Vandelay), a neurotic, frugal, and painstakingly unlucky man. This is the guy who, like any of us, just wants to be noticed when he drops money in a tip jar, only to experience the nightmare of getting caught “stealing” because he deposits his tip when the cashier’s back is turned. This is the guy who, when trying to get fired from the Yankees to get his dream job with the Mets, is finally recognized by his boss when he wears Babe Ruth’s uniform and runs across the field during a game in a morph suit, because who has the confidence to actually do it naked? But here, at the Schnitz, Alexander will sing show tunes in his operatic tenor, knowing full well that if he were to sneeze, some bozo will yell, “Bless You!” as someone else in the otherwise silent concert hall will assuredly yell back, “You’re sooooo good looking!” CAMERON CROWELL
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7:30pm, $23-105
Portland Pet Expo
PETS! PETS PETS PETS! Dogs! Cats! Lizards! Guinea pigs! Snakes? Ferrets! Fish! Birds! Today the Portland Pet Expo offers all kinds of exhibitors, adoptions, and stuff you’ll probably like but your pet will probably fucking hate, like free nail trims, discounted vaccinations, and humiliating costume contests. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Portland Expo Center, 10am, free, all ages
Nu Shooz
Many people either forgot or had no idea that R&B dance group Nu Shooz was from Portland. But the husband-wife band, fronted by Valerie Day and John Smith, has been churning out irresistibly catchy tunes in Bridgetown since 1979. Who knew Portland had so much funk? ZARA ZHI
Jimmy Mak's, 8pm, $15-18
All-Night Horror Marathon
The unknown is literally a scary thing tonight—or rather, it’s four scary things. If you wanna know what horror classics from the 1970s and ’80s are getting screened in 35mm tonight, you’ll have to enter the theater first in order to discover what bloody treasures await you, alongside the more mundane (but delicious) treasures of pizza, beer, and coffee.
Hollywood Theatre, 9pm, $15
Killer Pumpkin Fest
A one-day mini-beerfest focused on the wonderfulness of taking pumpkins and turning them into beers, with Rogue providing a whole bunch of actual pumpkins to bowl, decorate, carve, and/or smash, and the Green Dragon kitchen providing a special pumpkin menu to pair with the over 40 pumpkin ales to sample. Also featuring costume contests for kids, grown-ups, and even your dogs. Proceeds benefit Camp Ukandu.
Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub, 11am, $5, all ages
Lucia Fasano
The Portland stand-up releases her first album—not one full of jokes, but one full of songs, most of them serious ones, at that— and her friends Barbara Holm, Kyle McCormick, and the Doubleclicks are joining her in-store for the occasion.
Books With Pictures, 7pm, free
Heads. Hands. Feet
Making ordinary things seem strange is one of the best things good art can do, and Shaking the Tree does it regularly, pairing risky material with intricate, careful directorial and design choices in immersive performances that stay with you. The spooky-sounding Head. Hands. Feet (subtitle: “Tales of Dismemberment”) combines some of the darkest stories from fairy tales (e.g., the horrifying Bluebeard) and classical mythology (Iphigenia) in a play that’s sure to continue Shaking the Tree's fall tradition of making theater that’s weird, dark, and well worth your time and attention. MEGAN BURBANK
Shaking the Tree Studio, 7:30pm
Ralphie May, The Smash Brothers
Ralphie May broke into the mainstream as the guy who was completely robbed on Last Comic Standing season one, and has only improved from there. Now 25 years into his career, May's stand-up speaks for itself, showing why he absolutely deserves all the spotlight he gets.
Aladdin Theater, 8pm, $35
Drake and Cake
Say what you will about Drake, the boy is determined. Celebrate the birth of October's Very Own, with local DJs spinning his billions of hits, in addition to plenty of deep cuts, remixes, collabos, and OVO affiliates. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
Holocene, 10pm, $10
North Portland Unknown Film Festival
"If you filmed it on VHS, it was just a little bit more intriguing to us,” says Nini Liedman of the 250 movies she and her husband, co-founder Bryan Liedman watched while curating the North Portland Unknown Festival. The Liedmans have a love for experimental, lo-fi, and just plain weird films—and the festival is their brain child. A one-day event at Disjecta, the North Portland Unknown Film Festival already promises things like an entire program that consists of two-minute-long films. Also see Film, this issue.
Disjecta, 2:30pm
Cold War Kids, The Strumbellas
If you've listened to any rock radio station since 2007, you have heard Cold War Kids'"Hang Me Up to Dry," with its simple yet exceedingly catchy guitar solo, clear-voiced lead singer, and biblical symbolism. CAMERON CROWELL
Crystal Ballroom, 8pm, $29.50-30
Califone, Slow Moses
In 16-some years, Califone haven't really changed. Which is to say they've had no need for reinvention. Unlike surfers of the stylistic zeitgeist, Tim Rutili's rusty, warm, tactile, vagabond folk continues to crack with the utmost distinction. Like a hobo's fire, the Chicago group's vast catalog warms and warbles, flickering in haunted harmony. ANDREW R TONRY
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $18-20
Moon Honey, Animal Eyes, And And And
Built around Jessica Ramsey’s trilling, Kate Bush-inspired vocals and the scale-jumping, King Crimson-esque guitar work of Andrew Martin, Moon Honey weave a complex soundtrack of musical-style hymns with tricky poetic lyrics and syncopated rhythms. This is the sort of band a fan can become really obsessed with, due to the obtuse mythology of their lyrics and a visual component that seems just as important as the audio. Formerly known as Twin Killers in their pre-Ramsey days, the formerly Baton Rouge- and now LA-based, formerly a four-piece and now a twosome, Moon Honey have been touring their first full-length record Hand-Painted Dream Photographs’ little heart out since its 2013 release. SUZETTE SMITH
Bunk Bar, 9:30pm
FrightTown
Halloween is just around the corner, which means if you love a good scare, you’ll shriek in joy over the best haunted house in Portland, FrightTown. Celebrating its 12th year, this walk-through scare fest features three separate attractions, including crowd-fave Baron Von Goolo’s Museum of Horrors, the Witch House, and brand new this season, Grimthorne Manor—starring all manner of monsters. Not for little kids or the faint of heart, but FrightTown is perfect for a depraved ghoul such as yourself. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Rose Quarter Memorial Coliseum, 7pm, $20-40, all ages