Willamette Weekend: Portland Oregon Hip-Hop Festival, A Movie About A Homicidal Santa and 10 Other Things To Do In Portland, Dec. 8-10

Also, a comedy show with VR games based on the jokes.

Friday, Dec. 8

Plain Talk: The Films of Jon Jost and Pam Minty
Nestled in Southern Oregon's Umpqua National Forest, there's a homey, 1920s fishing lodge called Diamond Lake Resort. But for Portland-based experimental filmmaker Pam Minty, Diamond Lake isn't an idyllic vacation destination—it's the place where, at age 24, she did laundry, cleaned motel rooms and cabins and covered shifts at the resort's restaurant. Now, it's also the subject matter of her 20-minute documentary, High Lakes, which beautifully captures the universal experience of having a job from hell. It premieres this week on a double bill with a film by Minty's idol and sometimes Oregonian, Jon Jost. Read our feature on High Lakes here. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7:00 pm Friday, December 8. $9. 

Show Show
At Show Show, comedians perform sets alongside animated videos based off their jokes. For the next edition, Show Show is stepping up its already strange and wonderful formula. There'll still be sets by some of the funniest standup comedians in the city, but instead of videos, there'll be VR games based on jokes. PNCA, 511 NW Broadway, facebook.com/showshowlab. 7 pm. Free.

Rosenstadt Takeover
All weekend, OP Wurst will pair its fine sausages and dogs with a rare collection of seven different German-style beers in the same spot—whether altbier, dunkel or the brand-new schwarzbier. OP Wurst, 3384 SE Division St., 503-384-2259, opwurst.com. Through Dec. 10.

Valerie June, Gill Landry
After quickly selling out the Aladdin Theater earlier this year, Tennessee folk crooner Valerie June is bringing her understated glam, unique voice and towering dreadlocks back to Portland in support of her highly praised second LP, The Order of Time. Four years in the making, the follow-up to her critically acclaimed first album, 2013's Pushin' Against the Stone, loses some of the old-time country spirit and energy that originally won fans over, leaving an album full of enchanting, soul-filled gospel songs that blends a small army of various string instruments and horns with June's haunting Southern drawl. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-234-9694. 8 pm. $27.50 advance, $29 day of show. All ages. Through Dec. 9.

Portland Oregon Hip-Hop Festival
In 1995, Portland rap ambassador Terrance "Cool Nutz" Scott—along with David Parks, now a member of the Beyoncé-collaborating New York busker funk trio Too Many Zooz—launched the Portland Oregon Hip-Hop Festival, or POH-Hop for short. Acting as a rap-focused precursor to PDX Pop Now, the annual multi-day festival gave a stage to local talent at a time when Portland was much less hospitable to hip-hop culture. Financial strain forced a hiatus in 2011. Now, Scott is bringing POH-Hop back, with two nights of performances and panel discussions. Read our feature on the festival here. Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash St., on Thursday-Friday, Dec. 7-8. $10 advance, $12 day of show. See ashstreetsaloon.com for complete schedule and start times.

John Craigie
John Craigie's music is in the lineage of classic folk singers like John Prine and Arlo Guthrie, with a focus on melodic storytelling. He has a deep, soothing voice, and an appealing songwriting style that's at once poetic and hilarious. See his song "Naked Skype," an examination of modern dating rituals. His new album No Rain, No Rose is a tribute to Portland, where he moved to from California two years ago. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm. 21+.

Saturday, Dec. 9

(courtesy of Facebook)

Christmas Evil 
In the movie that set the precedent for other Yuletide slashers like Silent Night, Deadly Night, a man has a nervous breakdown that turns him into an axe-murdering Santa. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., hollywoodtheatre.org. 9:45 pm. $9.

Grizzly Bear
While often thought of as one of the key bands of the Great Indie Rock Explosion of 2007, Grizzly Bear's otherworldly mastery of texture, ambiance and harmony places them outside any particular timeframe or genre. This year's Painted Ruins is another headphone masterpiece worth sinking into. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033, roselandpdx.com. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.   

Humbug Lager Fest
In a sort of anti-Holiday Ale Fest in St. Johns, Occidental will play host to 16 breweries—including Kloster Andechs, Arch Rock, and Seattle's stunningly good Holy Mountain—serving up lagers and more lagers all weekend. $10 gets you a glass and six 4-ounce samples. Occidental Brewing, 6635 N. Baltimore Ave., 503-719-7102, occidentalbrewing.com. Through Dec. 10.

Sunday, Dec. 10

(David Kinder)

Pericles Wet
Portland playwright Ellen Margolis' new adaptation of Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a delightfully bizarre tornado of tragedy, comedy and seafaring misadventures. Pericles Wet doesn't always make sense, but never fails to keep you engrossed and entertained. Read our full review hereArtists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St., portlandshakes.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday. Through Dec. 17. $30.

Nat Turner Project at Intersect Fest
Intersect Fest, the artist-run festival dedicated to POC artists, is back for a third year. This time, it will culminate in an exhibit featuring multimedia artists Tyler J.T. White and Vanessa Barros Andrade. It'll be curated by the Nat Turner Project, which has been creating show after show this year that have all been thoughtful and surprising. Portland Institute For Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock St., facebook.com/PDXPOC. 3-7 pm. Festival starts Friday.

Oh, Rose
Olympia cult favorites Oh, Rose have spent the years since the release of their 2015 dark-pop triumph Seven touring their asses off. With all that mileage under them, the band's mix of throwback '80s pop and vintage punk should sound especially sharp. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 8:30 pm. $8. 21+.

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