Lit Crawl Portland
A boozy jaunt to literary parties all throughout downtown's bars and other nontraditional venues for readings, including stops at Literary Arts, Powell's, Sentinel, Tug Boat Brewing, Aesop, Boys' Fort, The Cleaners at Ace Hotel, Oregon Ballet School, and more.
6 pm, Various Locations
Women's Flat Track Derby Association World Championshps
This is it, folks—it doesn’t get any bigger than the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association world championships, hosted by our Rose City Rollers. Sixteen of the best women’s flat track roller derby teams—from London, Montréal, and, yes, Portland—came here to battle it out on the track and answer the ultimate question: Who’s the best in the world? It’s going to be fun. Check out wftda.com for detailed schedules and ticket prices. DOUG BROWN
Nov 4-6, 8:30 am Fri, 10 am Sat, noon Sun, Rose Quarter Memorial Coliseum, $20-125, all ages
Black Cinema 2: A Deep Responsibility To Live Up To
After the Cinema Project and the Black Creative Collective’s successful event back in April, Black Cinema 2’s theme is “A Deep Responsibility to Live Up to.” Portland Community Media hosts a double screening of two 16mm black and white films addressing race, politics, and the need for progressive change: Malcolm X Speaks, a 1971 film by adored television reporter Gil Noble, and Angela Davis at Malcolm X College (1972), which features an interview with Davis discussing the upcoming presidential election after serving 16 months in prison. JENNI MOORE
7:30 pm, Portland Community Media
Secret Drum Band, Nocturnal Habits, Dragging An Ox Through Water
Anything Lisa Schonberg touches is gold. More than just a great drummer, she uses drums as compositional tools that have made bands like Explode into Colors and Kickball great. Always in demand, she's drummed for Mirah, Tune-yards, Tara Jane O'Neil, the Need, and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, just to name a few. But it's the rare Secret Drum Band performance that brings her into the spotlight. Composing with the space in mind, Schonberg brings together a surprise star-studded cast of five drummers and two noise/tone/sound makers to create an experience unlike any other. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
8 pm, The Know
Peter Hook & the Light
The former Joy Division and New Order bassist and his backing band tackle material off of both band's Substance compilation albums.
9 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $23-25
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange first appeared in the 1963 Marvel Comics anthology Strange Tales as a crippled neurosurgeon apprenticed to a wise Tibetan sorcerer, the Ancient One. After ascending to the position of Sorcerer Supreme, Strange went on to defend Earth from magical attackers and, eventually, chill with the Avengers. As recently as 2011, Strange was loaning the Avengers his manservant, a Chinese man named Wong. It was kind of fucked up. Now the action-packed, eye-popping Doctor Strange movie reboots Dr. Stephen Strange’s origin story, and Marvel is finally trying to make good on that bad. Doctor Strange might have a lot of baggage, but more than anything else, it’s fun. SUZETTE SMITH
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes and locations
Speechless
The Siren Theater's improvised PowerPoint presentation show Speechless is back, with the best kind of organized chaos: a delightful lineup of funny Portlanders (including Kirsten Kuppenbender, Chad Parsons, Phil Busse, Joy Eggerichs, Greg Schilling, Leon Anderson, and Jed Arkley) making up lectures on the spot—"TED Talk, startup pitch, even a self-help seminar" are all fair game—to accompany surprise slides and placate a team of judges. Next slide! MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Siren Theater, $10
Honeyblood, Hazel English
Bunk Bar serves up an evening of guitar-driven pop-rock with Honeyblood, the Glasgow-hailing duo spearheaded by singer-songwriter Stina Tweeddale, who are currently on tour in support of their brand new full-length, Babes Never Die.
9:30 pm, Bunk Bar, $10
The Leading Ladies in Music Awards Gala
A celebration of the careers and community efforts of Jenny Conlee and Fabi Rayna, including a gourmet dinner, a champagne reception, a live auction, and of course, live local rock, all supporting the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls.
6 pm, First Christian Church, $100-1000
Caspian, The Appleseed Cast
Instrumental post-rock outfit Caspian are able to do a lot of things by singing absolutely nothing, and that's a pretty amazing thing to be able to do. RYAN J. PRADO
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $15
Back Fence PDX: Russian Roulette—Wordstock Edition
A special edition of Back Fence PDX's storytelling series, adding a competitive element to a normal night of true tales, with performances from Shannon Balcom Grave, Derrick Brown, Arthur Bradford, Caitlin Weierhauser, Anis Mogjani, Kerry Cohen, Alex Dange, and Isaac Fitzgerald. Hosted by B. Frayn Masters and Mindy Nettifee.
9 pm, Mission Theater
Hawthorne Renaissance Fair
To clarify: The renaissance being celebrated here isn't whatever it was that's happened to Hawthorne over the past 20 years. It's the renaissance that includes puffy sleeves and mutton and flagons of mead. That sort of thing. But at a growler fill station.
noon, Growlers, free
Pop-Up Shop PDX
A holiday pop-up market featuring a curated selection of pieces by some of Portland's best makers, with designers including Ciocco, Machete, Fieldwell, Wit & Glory, Primitive Forms, and many more.
6 pm, Modern Domestic
C Average, Diesto, A Volcano, Maximum Mad
Megalomaniacal minimalists C Average have spoken criminally little since their Olympia halcyon days in the late '90s, but luckily there are two releases on Kill Rock Stars that memorialize the band's highly technical rock 'n' roll filtered through a prism of fantasy, sci-fi, and progressive metal. Guitarist/vocalist Jon Merithew and double-bass-drum wizard Brad Balsley are masters of squeezing time and space into hard-edged mini rock operas filled with intense bombast. As a two-piece fireball they perform seemingly as a single brain, freely shredding into melodic hyperspace one moment and then stopping quick on razor-sharp dimes at the next. With bassist John Boyce joining in as a third member, C Average's sonic spectrum of fireworks expands ever wider, turning a show that was already an impressive display of precision into an all-out sensual barrage. CHRIS SUTTON
9 pm, (The World Famous) Kenton Club, free
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!