Homoween
Blowpony already knows how to throw an excellent party—but when this highly beloved queer event has a Halloween bash? Get ready to get real! Blowpony's Homoween features all kinds of spooky, sexy shenanigans including RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Kim Chi, along with drag-tastic guests Tammie Brown and Wolfgang X, rump-shaking DJs Airick X, G-Luve, and San Fran's Chris C, as well as g o-go performers, photobooths, and an all-around helluva good time. WM STEVEN HUMPHREY
Bossanova Ballroom, 9pm, $18
Brian Posehn
Rejoice! Nerdy folk hero Brian Posehn is headed to town tonight for a live comedy taping. Posehn's one of those rare stand-ups with a gift for exuding positive vibes while being a tried-and-true grump. His bit about retiring material about baby-punching since he now has progeny of his own brings new meaning to the phrase "dad jokes." MEGAN BURBANK
Revolution Hall, 7pm, 10pm, $20
Ralph Nader
American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney Ralph Nader comes to Portland to read from his new book, Breaking Through Power, which draws from his lifetime of waging and winning David vs. Goliath battles against big corporations and the United States government.
Powell's City of Books, 12pm
DOA Pro Wrestling: Halloween Hysteria
DOA Pro Wrestling returns to the Wattles Boys & Girls Club with a special event capped off by "The 1st Annual Dr. Luther Tricks and Treats Halloween Rumble."
Wattles Boys & Girls club, 6pm, $8-15, all ages
Alice Cooper
He may be universally regarded as the godfather of shock rock, but Alice Cooper is comparatively underrated as a composer and musician. Though best known for classic rock staples like “School’s Out” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” Cooper is far from a singles act: 1972’s School’s Out and the 1973 follow-up Billion Dollar Babies swaggered across the chasm that separates glam and metal, and remain some of the catchiest and most concise pre-punk rock records ever released. Cooper has also transformed the narrative of sardonic, apolitical anthem “Elected”—off Billion Dollar Babies, and originally written about Richard Nixon—into a reality, announcing his own bid for the presidency earlier this year. A counter on aliceforpresident.com estimates 2.1K votes in the bag—look out, Gary Johnson, he’s gaining on you! MORGAN TROPER
Keller Auditorium, 8pm, $39.95-70, all ages
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
After a long and surreal presidential election, British songwriter Billy Bragg—with his leftist politics and mug-of-ale accent—is just what you need. Born of the same post-punk era that produced the Smiths, Bragg has lately fancied himself a sort of neo-WPA troubadour, killing New World Order fascists with his acoustic guitar and baritone. With this year’s release, Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad, Bragg and American songwriter Joe Henry cover classic folk tunes from the age of New Deal politics, particularly songs like “Rock Island Line” and “Hobo’s Lullaby.” It just goes to show that anyone can help make America great again, even a socialist singer/songwriter from the UK. WILLIAM KENNEDY
Aladdin Theater, 8pm, $39.50-42
Colin Currie, Oregon Symphony
This weekend, Portland’s biggest band offers up an exquisite set list featuring a pair of 21st-century American composers, and will kick off each concert with music for brass, harp, and strings by Pulitzer Prize winner Christopher Rouse. Following this sublime appetizer for the ears, our hometown symphony welcomes back percussionist Colin Currie to the Schnitz to perform Switch—a frenetic composition created by 36-year-old Andrew Norman, whose queer musical sensibility is influenced equally by the centuries-old tradition of classical sound, video games, world travel, and remote controls. This piece requires the soloist’s mastery of drums, cymbals, bongos, gongs, tin cans, and a slew of other things to hit—dear god, go if you are able. BRIAN HORAY
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7:30pm, $23-105, all ages
Tommy Stinson's Cowboys in the Campire, Rachel Dean & Tim Grey
What’s the first band that comes to mind when you hear the name Tommy Stinson? If you answered Guns N’ Roses, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. The Replacements’ guitarist recently announced a new album from Bash and Pop, the band he formed after the ’Mats’ breakup in 1991, which will be out on Fat Possum in 2017—a fitting follow-up to the recent ’Mats reunion. To tide us over in the meantime, Stinson is now on a tour that he’s dubbed “Cowboys in the Campfire,” playing stripped-down, twangy renditions of tunes from his unjustly overlooked solo career and beyond, accompanied by guitarist Chip Roberts. NED LANNAMANN
Bunk Bar, 9pm, $15-18
Sleep, Helen Money
Sleep were a fairly retro band on their debut album Volume One and the stoner/doom metal classic Holy Mountain, worshiping at the altar of Sabbath (Black), Cheer (Blue), and vintage amps (Orange). But they pushed into new territory on what would ultimately become their swansong, 2003's Dopesmoker. The strain of trying to put out an hour-long doom metal song about Weed-Priests, a Marijuanaut, Hasheeshians, and the Weedian proved more than Sleep could handle, and strife with a record label that didn't want to put out an hour-long song led to the band parting ways in the late '90s. Members went on to form High on Fire and Om, but after a few years of sporadic reunion gigs, Sleep is once again an ongoing concern. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN
Roseland, 9pm, $25-40, all ages
Third Orbit Anniversary Party
Ecliptic Brewing celebrates their third anniversary with a full day of fun. Indulge in tasty food, rare beer on tap, and get your hands on the brewery's Third Orbit Anniversary Ale, an Imperial Porter brewed with cherries. Wash it all down with an evening of live music, featuring a set of Tex-Mex, psych-folk, and garage-rock from local legend Fernando Viciconte.
Ecliptic Brewing, 11am, all ages
Hungers, Atriarch, Shrine of the Serpent, Sol
Everyone’s got a dark side—that suppressed madness confined to the deepest corner of the psyche that’s only allowed to express its morbid thoughts and feelings internally. No matter how soft-souled someone’s mask may look, every so often some bad things go through their head. Local trio Hungers give their unhinged and haunted internal voices a platform on their latest, Ascesis—an angry, confrontational beast that demands your full attention for seven tracks. Vocalist and guitarist A.M. sounds grimy, harsh, and confident, like a troll under a bridge delivering a speech fit for a dictator. A.M. and fellow guitarist K.L. join forces to create a thick swamp of measured, lumbering punishment, with the gentle lily of an occasional bleak melody floating across. Meanwhile, drummer N.H. drops jarring, trampling tom- and kick-heavy rhythms down your spine. Each song is more gargantuan than the next, and by the time you’re done traversing the muck Hungers has created on Ascesis, the only thing you can do is hit rewind and play it again. ARIS HUNTER WALES
The Raven, 9pm, $8
American Cancer Society's Brewers for Boobs
The seventh annual family-friendly fundraiser for the ACS features a battle of the brews, performances from the city's best bellydancers, a raffle, live music, salsa dancing, and more.
East Burn, 4pm, free
Blesst Chest, Dragging an Ox Thru Water
Blesst Chest makes bizarro, acid-washed, fuzzed-out, groovy tunes that sound like Ratatat's cool prog-rock parent, lacking the sophisticated production of today's young 'uns but wailing hard like it's 1977. CIARA DOLAN
Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8pm
King Black Acid, The Quick & Easy Boys
Since the mid-'90s, King Black Acid has earned a devoted following in the Portland underground rock scene. Founder and frontman Daniel Riddle has a vision that keeps unfolding, giving a glimpse into a poetic mind that shines in the emotional depth of their sound. Recently released track "I'm Rolling Under" is a good taste of the epic spirit of the band's songwriting—it's musical escapism at its finest, kissed by a love of psychedelic space rock. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $10-12
Moved By Words
A weekend's worth of readings and discussion with some of the Northwest's best essayists, poets, and storytellers, including Erica J. Mitchell, Illima Considine, Dena Rash Guzman, Robert Lashley, and more.
TaborSpace, 1pm, $10
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!