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Wednesday, April 4
Gemini with Aaron Katz
Portland director Aaron Katz's new movie is a stylish neo-noir murder mystery starring Lola Kirke and Zoë Kravitz. Katz will attend for a post screening Q&A. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 503-223-4515, cinema21.com. 7:30 pm. Through April 6. $10.
Karen Karbo and Lidia Yuknavitch: Let's Get Difficult!
To celebrate the release of her new book, In Praise of Difficult Women, Portland's Karen Karbo teams with local literary legend Lidia Yuknavitch for tonight's co-reading. Yuknavitch reads from The Book of Joan, her Oregon Book Award finalist that reimagines Joan of Arc in the near future. Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, 503-284-1726, broadwaybooks.net. 7 pm. Free.
Thursday, April 5
TechfestNW
It's the Coachella of tech! Or at least the MusicfestNW, given that it's a Willamette Week joint. This year's speakers include Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario and Sen. Ron Wyden, along with workshops and the annual "fest within a fest," PitchfestNW. Viking Pavilion, 930 SW Hall St., 503-725-2663. Through April 6. $275-$3,000. See techfestnw.com for complete schedule and tickets.
Atlas Obscura: Pizzas of the U.S.A.
Pizza nerds are irritating, unless they give you pizza instead of telling you you're wrong about pizza. These are the good kind—six Portland pizza chefs, six styles of pizza from Detroit to NYC to deep-dish to New Haven. American Legion Post 134, 2104 NE Alberta St., atlasobscura.com. 7 pm. $20.
Friday, April 6
Music and Poetry of the Kesh: A Celebration
Tonight, musician Todd Barton and experimental electronic duo Visible Cloaks perform songs from the recently reissued Music and Poetry of the Kesh, a collection of imagined "field recordings" that originally accompanied Ursula K. Le Guin's 1985 faux-anthropological study, Always Coming Home. Leaven Community Center, 5431 NE 20th Ave., 503-287-7553. 6:30 pm. $12. All ages.
Krystyna Hutchinson and Corinne Fisher
The comedians behind the Guys We Fucked podcast stop in Portland for a night of improv and standup. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669, portland.heliumcomedy.com. 8 pm April 5-7. $22. 21+.
Saturday, April 7
Stephen Petronio Company
This New York company's show features pieces by Yvonne Rainer, one of postmodern dance's weirdest choreographers, including an adaptation of Trio A with dancers wearing nothing but American flags draped around their necks. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-245-1600, whitebird.org. 7:30 pm. Starts April 5. $26-$70.
Alvvays
Anyone who worried that Toronto dream-pop outfit Alvvays couldn't recapture the magic of their 2014 debut had their doubts washed away by the beachy optimism of last year's Antisocialites. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033, roselandpdx.com. 9 pm. $20. All ages.
Sunday, April 8
Greek Easter
Greeks are always a week late to Easter, which means more Easter—and as always among Greek families like Olympia Provisions' Elias and Michele Cairo, there will be dancing and plate-smashing amid an insane amount of spanikopita and tzatziki, and a whole roast lamb. Olympia Provisions NW, 1632 NW Thurman St., 503-894-8136, olympiaprovisions.com. 6 pm. $60 family-style dinner, $30 more for wine.
The Mermaid Hour
Full of sharp yet empathetic humor, this world-premiere play focuses mostly on the tribulations of two parents as they try their best to support their transgender daughter despite the lack of information available to them. Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark St., 503-236-7253, milagro.org. 2 pm. Through April 14. $20-$27.
Monday, April 9
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
Self-described "noh-wave" sextet Yamantaka // Sonic Titan mixes theater, sci-fi, Buddhism, anime and Chinese opera into high-concept, electrifying art rock. New album Dirt is relentlessly entertaining, but the Asian-Canadian ensemble must really be seen live to fully comprehend. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663, dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
Endless Poetry
Like most things he's made, Alejandro Jodorowsky's autobiographical movie is a hallucinogenic, nonlinear dream. Loosely centered on Jodorowsky's childhood in Chile, it's darkly funny and, above all, fearlessly embraces the bizarre. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7:30 pm. $9.
Tuesday, April 10
The Breeders
Once considered a Pixies side project, it turns out the Breeders might've been the superior outfit all along. This year's All Nerve has effortlessly sugary harmonies and crushing choruses that manage to feel both fresh and timeless at the same time. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047, crystalballroompdx.com. 8:30 pm. $25 advance, $28 day of show. All ages.
The Residents
Decades into their peerlessly strange career, the Residents' eyeball masks are more famous than any music they've released. But if you've got a chance to catch whatever recent trip they're on in person, you take it. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 503-284-8686, wonderballroom.com. 7:30 pm. $32 advance, $35 day of show. 21+.