Friday, Oct. 19
The Projects
The Projects
The Projects is at IPRC, 1001 SE Division St., and other venues on Oct. 19-21.
All Jane No Dick
[COMEDY] Stand-up is a testosterone-swamped
arena, but Curious Comedy gives the
bro factor a break with this all-women
festival, featuring heavy-hitting showcases,
panels and workshops. See curiouscomedy.org
for full lineup. Curious
Comedy, 5225 NE Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd.., 477-9477. 7:30 pm Thursday;
7:30 and 10 pm Friday-Saturday; 6,
7:30 and 9 pm Sunday. $10-$25.
Reel Music Film Festival: Bad Brains: A Band in DC
Sunday, Oct. 21
Calexico, The Dodos
[MUSIC] Of all the phlegmatic folk-pop outfits that earned renown in the early aughts, Calexico has grown to the most satisfying artistic maturity. After turning out a decadeâs worth of shuffling, moody Americana, the band has used its recent releases to take half-steps toward bombastic post-punk. Itâs a smart move from a creative standpoint, and also somehow fitting with the groupâs previous work. Algiers, released earlier this year, reiterates the sextetâs talent for composition, but keeps things fresh by adding cinematic scope to lead songwriter Joey Burnsâ story-song arrangements. SHANE DANAHER. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. 8 pm. $22.50. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.
Nü Sensae, Sick Rats, Peace, Vicious Pleasures
[MUSIC] Sure, â90s nostalgia is presently polluting various thoroughfares with sauntering, taut bodies draped in whatever the friends on Friends were wearing when Ross still had a monkey, but the glorious flipside to such fashion fuckery is throwback noise that shakes the soul. And while Vancouver, B.C.âs Nü Sensae taps into whatever passes for timelessness in the realm of punk rage, the trioâs dueling allegiances to distorted hell-raising and subtly ingratiating hooks are most definitely rooted in the year punk broke. That shit went down 21 years ago, which means weâve all earned the right to revel in breaking punk all over again. Iâm gonna let Nü Sensae have the first crack at it. CHRIS STAMM. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St. 8 pm. 21 .
Wake in Fright
Oregon Repertory Singers
Reel Music Film Festival: Bad Brains: A Band in DC
[FILM] If punk is
a culture of outsiders, then Bad
Brains is the definitive American
punk band. Of course, that cannot
be true: No other punk band, from
this country or elsewhere, looked
or sounded like Bad Brains, and
none could ever hope to. As black
Rastafarians playing virtuosic hyperspeed
hardcore for angry, atheistic
Caucasians whose other favorite
musicians barely knew how to
play their instruments, the groupâs
members were outcasts among outcasts. In the 1980s, they used sheer,
bullet-train velocity to muscle their
way to the forefront of a scene that
wouldâve otherwise excluded them.
Mandy Stein and Ben Loganâs documentary
gives the band its proper
due, as an outfit of unprecedented
instrumental power and a peerless
live act, but it only nicks the surface
of the Washington, D.C., quartetâs
complicated legacy. Still, the electrified early
live footage interspersed throughout
is enough to power the film all on its
own. NW Film
Centerâs Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave. 8:45
pm.
Filmusik: Turkish Star Wars
[FILM] Dünyay Kurtaran Adam, the Turkish ersion of the space Western, stole footage from the original and has everything George Lucasâ version lacked, including fight scenes in mosques and Wookie carnage. Filmusik is performing the entire soundtrack live and in (mostly) intelligible English. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. Multiple showtimes Friday, Oct. 19, to Saturday, Nov. 3.
Saturday, Oct. 20
Handmade Bicycle Show
[BIKES] As the rain starts falling, thousands of Portland bikes turn from reliable mode of transportation to gallery piece. See some bikes that actually deserve the tarp. Bonus points for braving Swan Island by cycle. Vigor Industrial Building, 5555 N Channel Ave. 10 am-5 pm Saturday, 11 am-4 pm Sunday, October 20-21, $10. ohbs.oregonframebuilders.org.
The Great American Distillers Festival
[BOOZE] Distillers from around the country make their annual pilgrimage to Portland to set up a folding table at the Tiffany Center and feed you their booze. There will be straight sips and cocktails to sample, plus bottles available for purchase. The press release also promised a man named Tito wearing a 10-gallon hat. Tiffany Center Crystal Ballroom, 1410 SW Morrison St. 5-10 pm Friday, Oct. 19; 1-10 pm Saturday, Oct. 20. $15-$25 for a one-day pass, $25-$40 for a two-day pass. distillersfestival.com.
Brother Ali with Blank Tape Beloved, Homeboy Sandman, DJ Sosa, the Reminders
[MUSIC] Everything you'll ever read about Brother Ali will lead with a few unavoidable facts about the artist, so let's get them out of the way right at the top and keep this listing moving: He is a 35-year-old legally blind albino Muslim rapper from the Midwest. OK, now let's talk about his music, beginning with his latest album. Actually, let's first mention its cover, because, well, using an American flag as a prayer rug is undeniably courting controversy. But Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is not an Immortal Technique-style fusillade of vitriol and conspiracy theories. Over alternately heavy and soulful production from Seattle's Jake One, Ali spits rhymes that aren't so much enraged with the United States as disappointed, his critiques of the country aimed at making it better rather than burning it to the ground. In indie rap, heart and humanity are qualities rarer than albino Muslim emcees, and Ali's got tons of both. Hawthorne Theatre, 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 8 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. All ages.
Marianne Wex: An Exhibition
[VISUAL ART] German artist Marianne Wexâs challenging show, An Exhibition, is a time capsule of the 1970s, but it retains the power to make us question assumptions about gender circa 2012. From 1972 to 1977, Wex cataloged the body language of men, women and children in the city of Hamburg, Germany, photographing people unawares, then counterposing the photos against images from art history, print ads and TV shows. Reproduced at YU Contemporary 35 years later, An Exhibition shows us how the sexes comport themselves in different settings.... read the full review. RICHARD SPEER. YU Contemporary, 800 SE 10th Ave., 236-7996, yucontemporary.org. 1-7 pm Thursdays-Saturdays through Dec. 15.
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey
Filmusik: Turkish Star Wars
[FILM] Dünyay Kurtaran Adam, the Turkish ersion of the space Western, stole footage from the original and has everything George Lucasâ version lacked, including fight scenes in mosques and Wookie carnage. Filmusik is performing the entire soundtrack live and in (mostly) intelligible English. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. Multiple showtimes Friday, Oct. 19, to Saturday, Nov. 3.
Saturday, Oct. 20
Handmade Bicycle Show
[BIKES] As the rain starts falling, thousands of Portland bikes turn from reliable mode of transportation to gallery piece. See some bikes that actually deserve the tarp. Bonus points for braving Swan Island by cycle. Vigor Industrial Building, 5555 N Channel Ave. 10 am-5 pm Saturday, 11 am-4 pm Sunday, October 20-21, $10. ohbs.oregonframebuilders.org.
The Great American Distillers Festival
[BOOZE] Distillers from around the country make their annual pilgrimage to Portland to set up a folding table at the Tiffany Center and feed you their booze. There will be straight sips and cocktails to sample, plus bottles available for purchase. The press release also promised a man named Tito wearing a 10-gallon hat. Tiffany Center Crystal Ballroom, 1410 SW Morrison St. 5-10 pm Friday, Oct. 19; 1-10 pm Saturday, Oct. 20. $15-$25 for a one-day pass, $25-$40 for a two-day pass. distillersfestival.com.
Brother Ali with Blank Tape Beloved, Homeboy Sandman, DJ Sosa, the Reminders
[MUSIC] Everything you'll ever read about Brother Ali will lead with a few unavoidable facts about the artist, so let's get them out of the way right at the top and keep this listing moving: He is a 35-year-old legally blind albino Muslim rapper from the Midwest. OK, now let's talk about his music, beginning with his latest album. Actually, let's first mention its cover, because, well, using an American flag as a prayer rug is undeniably courting controversy. But Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is not an Immortal Technique-style fusillade of vitriol and conspiracy theories. Over alternately heavy and soulful production from Seattle's Jake One, Ali spits rhymes that aren't so much enraged with the United States as disappointed, his critiques of the country aimed at making it better rather than burning it to the ground. In indie rap, heart and humanity are qualities rarer than albino Muslim emcees, and Ali's got tons of both. Hawthorne Theatre, 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 8 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. All ages.
Marianne Wex: An Exhibition
[VISUAL ART] German artist Marianne Wexâs challenging show, An Exhibition, is a time capsule of the 1970s, but it retains the power to make us question assumptions about gender circa 2012. From 1972 to 1977, Wex cataloged the body language of men, women and children in the city of Hamburg, Germany, photographing people unawares, then counterposing the photos against images from art history, print ads and TV shows. Reproduced at YU Contemporary 35 years later, An Exhibition shows us how the sexes comport themselves in different settings.... read the full review. RICHARD SPEER. YU Contemporary, 800 SE 10th Ave., 236-7996, yucontemporary.org. 1-7 pm Thursdays-Saturdays through Dec. 15.
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey
[FILM] In Search of Blind Joe Death:
The Saga of John Fahey, director James Cullingham's hourlong look into the life and work of
the master guitarist, gives the perfect
amount of insight into Faheyâs 61
years on this planet (he passed away
in 2001). You come to understand his
obsession with blues and folk, the
development of his finger-picking
style, and how the sound of his music
evolved over the years. Along the way,
you come to meet friends, collaborators
(including local legends Terry
Robb and Dr. Demento) and fans. And
you get to hear plenty of his incredible
music via live footage and a wellchosen
soundtrack. Itâs as spare and intimate and engaging as some of
Faheyâs finest recordings. ROBERT
HAM. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.
7 pm Saturday, Oct. 20.
Sunday, Oct. 21
Calexico, The Dodos
[MUSIC] Of all the phlegmatic folk-pop outfits that earned renown in the early aughts, Calexico has grown to the most satisfying artistic maturity. After turning out a decadeâs worth of shuffling, moody Americana, the band has used its recent releases to take half-steps toward bombastic post-punk. Itâs a smart move from a creative standpoint, and also somehow fitting with the groupâs previous work. Algiers, released earlier this year, reiterates the sextetâs talent for composition, but keeps things fresh by adding cinematic scope to lead songwriter Joey Burnsâ story-song arrangements. SHANE DANAHER. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. 8 pm. $22.50. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.
Nü Sensae, Sick Rats, Peace, Vicious Pleasures
[MUSIC] Sure, â90s nostalgia is presently polluting various thoroughfares with sauntering, taut bodies draped in whatever the friends on Friends were wearing when Ross still had a monkey, but the glorious flipside to such fashion fuckery is throwback noise that shakes the soul. And while Vancouver, B.C.âs Nü Sensae taps into whatever passes for timelessness in the realm of punk rage, the trioâs dueling allegiances to distorted hell-raising and subtly ingratiating hooks are most definitely rooted in the year punk broke. That shit went down 21 years ago, which means weâve all earned the right to revel in breaking punk all over again. Iâm gonna let Nü Sensae have the first crack at it. CHRIS STAMM. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St. 8 pm. 21 .
Wake in Fright
[FILM] Spiraling bombastically into a
realm of degradation that few have
captured so purely, Ted Kotcheffâs
1971 Aussie opus Wake in Fright is
evidence of the wide reach of the
eraâs cinematic awakening. For nearly
40 years, the film was a forgotten
artifact: It was never transferred to
video, and the few known prints were
in shoddy condition. Miraculously,
Wake in Fright has been salvaged
and restored in all its grimy glory.
The bizarre relic tells the tale of John
Grant (Gary Bond), a teacher in the
outback who misses his train back
to Sydney, loses all his money and
is forced to rely on the charity of
the dust-beaten inhabitants of the
Yabba, a mining town populated by
drunks and perverts who oversee
Grantâs devolution from nebbish
scholar into feral beast. Aesthetically,
the film mirrors the hallucinogenic
flashbacks of Midnight Cowboy, but
its closest relative might be Hunter
S. Thompsonâs Fear and Loathing in
Las Vegas, published the same year
and similar in its depiction of overlooked
sociopolitical strata. Wake in
Fright plays like a two-hour version
of that bookâs blurry finale, a boozesoaked
odyssey into madness with a
terrific Donald Pleasance playing Dr.
Gonzo to Grant, guiding him through
a nightmare of hazy memories, rote
masculinity and wild-eyed savagery.
The film never relents, and the result
is a queasy, jarring and inarguably
brilliant examination of isolationist
fears. R. AP KRYZA. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. Multiple showtimes.
Oregon Repertory Singers
[MUSIC] The choir opens its season with
one of the most popular recent
works by one of the planetâs
hottest young choral composers: the eclectic Norwegian-born,
Southern California-based composer
Ola Gjeiloâs initially arresting
(if ultimately somewhat saccharine)
Dark Night of the Soul , a
setting of a medieval poem by St.
John of the Cross that incorporates
driving, dramatic minimalist
piano patterns, neo-romantic
film-score textures (he studied film
music at University of Southern
California), lush âCarmina Buranaâ
and jazz harmonies and a string
quartet (courtesy of Classical
Revolution PDX) to create a contemporary
sounding crowd-pleaser
thatâs topped the classical charts. BRETT CAMPBELL. First United Methodist
Church, 1838 SW Jefferson St., 230-0652. 7:30 pm Friday and 4 pm
Sunday, Oct. 19 and 21. $15-$35.
Body Awareness
[THEATER] Young playwright Annie Baker is a writer of delicate-but-probing works, quiet plays that have a way of sneaking up on you. CoHo Productions stages her comedy about a Body Awareness Week at a fictional Vermont college, which explores sexuality and all its pain and humor. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 231- 3959. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. $20-$25.
Body Awareness
[THEATER] Young playwright Annie Baker is a writer of delicate-but-probing works, quiet plays that have a way of sneaking up on you. CoHo Productions stages her comedy about a Body Awareness Week at a fictional Vermont college, which explores sexuality and all its pain and humor. The CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 231- 3959. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. $20-$25.
WWeek 2015