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From the Abercrombie-clad youth who crowd Barracuda ((read more),Portland,OR">9 NW 2nd Ave., 228-6900) and the hipsters hiding out at Tube (18 NW 3rd Ave., 241-8823) to the punks at thrash-dive Satyricon (125 NW 6th Ave.), Old Town-Chinatown—a onetime center of immigrant culture—is now more a melting pot of twentysomething white-kid cliques. Stumble down Burnside from the classic arcade game-equipped bar Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., 796-9364) to tasty, funky 24-hour Voodoo Doughnut (22 SW 3rd Ave., 241-4704), and you’ll probably cross paths with stylish queer clubbers on their way to gay nightspot CC Slaughters (219 NW Davis St., 248-9135) or Darcelle XV (208 NW 3rd Ave., 222-5338), a drag-queen cabaret in operation since 1967 that actually serves a fairly even hetero-homo mix—which would be surprising if it weren’t in Portland. But nightlife is only part of this eclectic neighborhood. Thanks to a grant from the Portland Development Commission, local nonprofit juggernaut Mercy Corps (3015 SW 1st Ave., 796-6800) is moving into the Skidmore Fountain Building (28 SW 1st Ave.), right next door to Portland Saturday Market (Southwest 1st Avenue and Burnside Street, 222-6072), a weekend meeting place for curious, hungry tourists, local artists, cart foodies and street kids. Chinatown is also home to the run-down and the sketched-out. Operations like Portland Rescue Mission, Blanchet House and Transition Projects have long made the ’hood a haven for Portland’s homeless. But where are the Chinese, you ask? Despite the gaudy, pagoda-style gateway to Northwest 4th Avenue from West Burnside Street, the only remnants of the Chinese Americans who migrated to Portland when they were expelled from Seattle and Tacoma beginning in 1864 are the two dozen or so Chinese restaurants. Try the roast crispy pork at Good Taste Restaurant (18 NW 4th Ave., 223-3838) and visit the Classical Chinese Garden (239 NW Everett St., 228-8131), a welcome but hidden green space in this otherwise paved-over neighborhood. —John Minervini.

• Embers Stage
• Wilf's Restaurant and Bar Stage
• Goldsmith Performance Lab Stage
• Brody Theater Stage
• Oregon Casket Building Stage
• Valentine's Live Music
• Amazon Cafe CLOSED Live Music
• Backspace Live Music
• Barracuda Live Music
• Berbati's Pan Live Music
• Darcelle XV Live Music
• CLOSED Dirty Duck Tavern Live Music
• CLOSED Food Hole Live Music
• Ground Kontrol Live Music
• Tube Live Music

Events Today

Sunday November 8

LIVE MUSIC

The Lost Boys

Backspace 7 pm. FREE.

VISUAL ARTS

Trashed @ 35

Backspace To help celebrate WW’s 35th anniversary, we asked some of Portland’s hottest emerging and iconic artists to turn our newspaper covers into new pieces of art in their own unique styles. We got the idea from local artist Klutch (Vinyl Killers), whose “remixed” WW covers caught our eye and inspired us to invite other artists to try their hand at using, well, us, as a medium. Trashed @ 35 features Klutch’s work, as well as WW-inspired art by Brett Superstar, Dan Gilsdorf, J. Shea, Alexis Mollomo, Josh Arseneau and Chris Haberman, among others. Come meet the artists, check out their kick-ass work, and toast WW at the crusty old age of 35 at the show’s First Thursday opening. 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. Opening reception 5:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 5. Closes Nov. 30.

Upcoming Events

Monday November 9

LIVE MUSIC

Dorkbot

Backspace FREE.

VISUAL ARTS

Trashed @ 35

Backspace To help celebrate WW’s 35th anniversary, we asked some of Portland’s hottest emerging and iconic artists to turn our newspaper covers into new pieces of art in their own unique styles. We got the idea from local artist Klutch (Vinyl Killers), whose “remixed” WW covers caught our eye and inspired us to invite other artists to try their hand at using, well, us, as a medium. Trashed @ 35 features Klutch’s work, as well as WW-inspired art by Brett Superstar, Dan Gilsdorf, J. Shea, Alexis Mollomo, Josh Arseneau and Chris Haberman, among others. Come meet the artists, check out their kick-ass work, and toast WW at the crusty old age of 35 at the show’s First Thursday opening. 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. Opening reception 5:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 5. Closes Nov. 30.

Tuesday November 10

Brewhaha

Backspace 7 pm. FREE.

Sunday November 15

Pigeon John, Josh Martinez, Alphabet Stew, IAMe, DJ Spark

[INDIAN SUMMER RAP] It’s interesting that the “Christian rap” label only seems to get tossed around at MCs who don’t cuss—like L.A. M.C. Pigeon John—rather than, say, the apparently equally God-bothering likes of Tupac or Biggie. The silliness of that tag is underlined by the Quannum Projects-associated Pigeon’s refreshingly low preach factor, one that invites heathens and believers alike to appreciate his classically laid-back West Coast flow and party-conscious beat-choice. Shut the blinds and throw on his last full-length, the aptly titled Summertime Pool Party, and you’ll swear it’s not raining outside. DAVID ROBINSON. Backspace 9 pm. $10. All ages.