Friday, Nov. 2
Hitchcock Festival
Hitchcock Festival
[FILM] Alfred Hitchcock is
getting extra attention this fall
thanks to a feature film and an HBO
original movie. See Hitchcockâs best
films, including Vertigo, Psycho and
Rear Window. Read more here. Cinema 21, 616 NW
21st Ave. Multiple showtimes, Nov.
2-7. See cinema21.com for schedule.
Po'Shines Chitlin and Jambalaya Fest
Menomena, Radiation City, Parenthetical Girls
Metz, Bison Bison
Mark Farina, Chali 2na, Roc C, Oh No, Mercedes, Cloudy October, SKNY MRCLS
Sunday, Nov. 4
Sci-Fi Authorfest VI
[BOOKS] Recharge the inhaler and set phasers to kick-ass for the Sci-Fi Authorfest VI. More than 20 science fiction and fantasy authors will converge for a book signing, including Kevin James Breaux, Alyx Dellamonica and Todd McCaffrey. PENELOPE BASS. Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. 4:30 pm. Free.
Kushal Das and Swapan Chaudhuri
Po'Shines Chitlin and Jambalaya Fest
[FOOD] Chitlins are pig intestines.
Itâs a Southern thing. North Portland
nonprofit soul-food cafe PoâShines
raises money for the eateryâs culinary-training
program for at-risk
kids. PoâShines Cafe de la Soul, 8139
N Denver Ave., 978-9000. Friday-
Saturday, Nov. 2-3.
OryCon
OryCon
[GEEK] Now in its 34th year,
OryCon is Portlandâs oldest sci-fi
convention. This yearâs con, titled
âApocalypse How?,â will feature a
masquerade ball, art show, writers
workshop, sci-fi-related vendors and
special guests. Portland Doubletree
Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah St. 10
am-8 pm Nov. 2, 10 am-9pm Nov.
3, 10 am-2 pm Nov. 4. $60 at door,
children 6-12 $30, children 5 and
under free.
Menomena, Radiation City, Parenthetical Girls
[MUSIC] Taking a
more sonically aggressive and lyrically
focused approach than on previous albums, Menomena
released its fifth full-length album
in September, which, as suggested
by the title, Moms, revolves around
the theme of both the absence
and presence of mother figures in
the musiciansâ lives (Seimâs mother
died when he was 17; Harris was
raised by a single mother). The
record contains the same masterful
production and quirky wordplay
Menomena is known for, but
this time itâs a little more personal. EMILEE BOOHER. Crystal Ballroom,
1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. 9
pm Friday, Nov. 2. $16 advance, $18
day of show. All ages.
The Afghan Whigs, Van Hunt
The Afghan Whigs, Van Hunt
[MUSIC] Time-swept
iconoclasts even during their
grunge-era heydayâwhen they were
the first Sub Pop signees outside
the Pacific Northwest, and about
the only act of note off that starkissed
roster to leaven their fuzzedup
riffs and drugged-up anomie
with soulful vocalsâthe Afghan
Whigs faded away shortly before
the turn of the millennium. But as
the adoring response from soldout
shows among this extended
reunion proves, the Ohio troupe
was sorely missed. The three original
members (swelling to six on
tour, with sidemen picked up during
vocalist Greg Dulliâs stints with the
Twilight Singers and the Gutter
Twins, plus various solo jaunts) still
know their way around a corrosive
spiral of guitars. And Dulli, ever fond
of interposing bizarre cover choices
between bars of the original, retains
a dashing hint of menace. JAY
HORTON. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE
Russell St., 284-8686. 9 pm Friday,
Nov. 2. $35. 21+.
Saturday, Nov. 3
Saturday, Nov. 3
Nile Hagen: Recovery
[VISUAL ARTS] Two years ago, while recovering from multiple concussions, Nile Hagen picked up a SLR camera and started snapping pictures. Some of the images, such as Recovery 1, with its warning sign planted on the ledge of a cliff, held resonance to the burgeoning photographerâs precarious recovery. Hagenâs images arenât just limited to personal narrative and symbolism, however; they cover a broad range, including some rapturous photographs of landscapes and night skies. This is a promising debut from an emerging artist with an eye for composition, color value and content. RICHARD SPEER. Nov. 1-Dec. 1. Graeter Art Gallery, 131 NW 2nd Ave., 477-6041.
The Homecoming
[THEATER] Harold Pinterâs The Homecoming is deceptively simple: Son Teddy brings bride Ruth home to meet the family, which is to say, he pushes his wife of six years into a North London all-male den of workingclass grime and impotent posturing. The men of the house jockey for some vague position; small talk is laced with resentment and the threat of bodily harm. Ruth becomes a bit too familiar with her in-laws. But realizing Pinterâs dowdy-absurdist world requires the actors to live in uncomfortably long pauses that border on missed cues, and thereâs a cadence to Pinterâs dialogue thatâs hard to nail down: a kind of pidgin of non sequiturs, blunt insults, meaningless asides and sporadic rage that somehow meld into effective interaction. This all plays out in a dusty bachelor pad that doubles as a decrepit shrine to a longdead woman from another era. The cramped Back Door Theater forces the audience into uncomfortable intimacy with the dismal sitting room and its attendant bitterness, rage and erotic manipulation. Itâs the perfect venue. SAUNDRA SORENSON. The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 418-2960. 8 pm Thursdays-Sundays through Saturday, Nov. 17. $15-$20.
Metz, Bison Bison
[MUSIC] Calling Metz a
âguitar bandâ would be inaccurate.
Sure, the Canadian trio wields its
axes with force, and the whole construction
of the groupâthree guys
whipping up an unfussy, viciously
loud racketâis, in part, a reaction
against its home countryâs predilection
in recent years toward
chamber-pop orchestras driven by
glockenspiels and fluegelhorns. But,
like its curmudgeonly forefather,
Steve Albini, the group shows less
affection for the instrument itself
than the dirty, vituperative noise it
can be used to create. In truth, Metz
would probably play cement mixers
and chainsaws if they were more
convenient to haul around in a van.
In any case, the groupâs self-titled
debut is still one hell of a scraping,
gnashing guitar record, recalling the
unrepentant abrasiveness of Albiniâs
Shellac and Big Black, while also
writhing with post-hardcore angularity. Bunk Bar,
1028 SE Water Ave., 894-9708. 9
pm. $10. 21+.
Mark Farina, Chali 2na, Roc C, Oh No, Mercedes, Cloudy October, SKNY MRCLS
[MUSIC] Mark Farina is
a legend in the world of electronic
dance music for his ability
both to lift a party into the atmosphere
and to bring it back down
to earth. Moving from Chicago to
San Francisco in the â90s, Farina
became known for DJing highenergy
house sets, then spinning
hoursâ worth of chilled-out, downtempo
music he dubbed âmushroom
jazz.â Heâll showcase both
styles here, joined by rapper
Chali 2na, the booming voice that
powered much-missed throwback
hip-hop crew Jurassic 5. Thatâs
not all, though. Along with Oh No,
brother of hyperprolific godhead
producer Madlib (and no slouch in
that area himself), 2na and rapper
Roc C will also perform a full set
of songs from their new collaborative
project, Ron Artiste. No matter
what you think of them, whatever
you do, donât throw your drinks
at the stage. Refuge, 116 SE Yamhill St. 9 pm. $15
advance, $20 day of show. 21+.
Brooklyn Castle
[FILM] The focus of Brooklyn Castle, the first directorial effort by Katie Dellamaggiore, is the incredibly successful chess team from I.S. 318, a public middle school in Brooklyn. But as much as the students and their families are the stars of this documentary, they share top billing with the collapse of the U.S. economy. That boondoggle casts a long shadow on the events of this film, as teachers and administrators struggle with budget cuts that threaten the schoolâs extracurricular activities and electives. You can see the weight bearing down on the adults as much as on the kids. But through this lens, the success of the chess team shine that much brighter. Same goes for the overarching goal of the film: to encourage parents and educators to protect extracurricular programs and electives. The kids in Brooklyn Castle are the icing on this dense cake. They are a charming, poised bunch with relatable personalities and appropriately lofty goals spurred on by the success theyâve achieved playing chess. Dellamaggiore presents their stories with clear eyes, avoiding the cloying emotion that could have hindered such a fine and uplifting work. ROBERT HAM. Fox Tower, 846 SW Park Ave. Multiple showtimes.
Sunday, Nov. 4
Sci-Fi Authorfest VI
[BOOKS] Recharge the inhaler and set phasers to kick-ass for the Sci-Fi Authorfest VI. More than 20 science fiction and fantasy authors will converge for a book signing, including Kevin James Breaux, Alyx Dellamonica and Todd McCaffrey. PENELOPE BASS. Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. 4:30 pm. Free.
Kushal Das and Swapan Chaudhuri
[MUSIC] In this Kalakendra concert of
Hindustani classical music, Calcuttaborn
sitar master Das joins awardwinning,
California-based tabla
virtuoso Chaudhuri, who has accompanied
stars from Ravi Shankar
to Ali Akbar Khan to Stevie
Wonder and Mark OâConnor. BRETT CAMPBELL. First
Congregational Church, 1126 SW
Park Ave., 228-7219. 4 pm Sunday,
Nov. 4. $10-$25.
The Sea and Cake, Matthew
Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces)
[MUSIC] John
McEntire is not only one of the
finest drummers youâre likely
to hear in your lifetime, but the
Chicagoan is also a fantastic
and underrated studio producer.
Nowhere is this more apparent
than on the work he has done both
behind the drum kit and behind
the scenes for the Sea and Cakeâs
latest album, Runner. McEntire lets
the quartetâs modern pop bask in
the glow of warm electronics and
an aura that encourages Archer
Prewitt and Sam Prekopâs jangly
guitar lines to slink provocatively
around one another. ROBERT HAM.
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside
St., 231-9663. 9 pm Sunday, Nov. 4.
$15. 21+.
Wreck-It Ralph
Wreck-It Ralph
[FILM] Following the release of Tangled
in 2010, Walt Disney Animation
Studios announced a hiatus from
princess movies. Rich Mooreâs
Wreck-It Ralph is the entertaining
result. John C. Reilly voices the
title character, a villain in an 8-bit
arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr. In
the world behind the arcade screen,
Ralph isnât a villain; heâs just a guy
working a thankless 9-to-5 job. He
gets tossed in the mud every day
and can never win a medal. The
film opens with Ralph in a support
group for villains, including Bowser,
Zangief and Clyde from Pac-Manâa
few of many cameos by beloved
game characters. Ralphâs irrepressible
need for validation in the form
of a medal leads him into an Area
51-style shooter game before culminating
in a high-speed race through
the colorful candy world of Sugar
Rush (ridden with product placement). Along the way, Ralph bumps
into Jack McBrayer recycling his 30
Rock shtick, a gruff captain âprogrammed
with the most tragic
backstory everâ (Jane Lynch) and
an obnoxious little glitch (Sarah
Silverman). You donât need to know
much about old games to enjoy
this alternately funny and touching
film, but it rewards those who
do. PG. JOHN LOCANTHI. Multiple theaters and showtimes.
WWeek 2015