Willamette Weekend

The International Cat Association Cat Show
[CATS] The world’s largest registry of pedigreed cats doesn’t only host a contest of which pussy has the bushiest tail. Humans will also face off in Scooper Bowl II, a litterscooping-skills assessment. Vendors in the Meow-Mart will hawk fantasy cat photos and natural pet food. Holiday Inn at Portland Airport, 8439 NE Columbia Blvd., 366-3490. 4-9 pm Friday, 9 am-5 pm Saturday- Sunday. $5.

Fertile Ground Festival
[PERFORMANCE] Fertile Ground is, no shit, 11 days of maddening density: performance, theater and dance. It's the biggest theater festival we've got in Portland, with over 90 different offerings. Check out our selected preview here, or go to fertilegroundpdx.org for the full schedule and details. Runs every day till Feb. 3. Full passes are $50.

The Ensemble, Wildwood Consort
[CLASSICAL] Last month, Seattle’s Pacific Musicworks gave a spectacular performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s magnificent proto-Baroque masterpiece, “Vespers of 1610.” Now, an allstar quintet of the city’s very finest classical singers (drawn from the top ranks of Cappella Romana, Resonance Ensemble and more) joins Portland’s veteran collection of Baroque music specialists on harpsichord, violins, cello, viola da gamba, lute and other period instruments to perform one of Monteverdi’s other great collection of sacred works: Selva Morale e Spirituale. Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, 768-7461. 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 25. $15-$20.

Vanessa’s Birthday Party
[DRINK] Vanessa Ogden was not physically injured at the Clackamas Town Center shooting, but after protecting her store’s employees in a closet, the shock has affected her very deeply. All proceeds from the $5 Alameda pints will go directly to Vanessa and her family. There will be a raffle for Blazers tickets and other prizes. Sellwood Public House, 8132 SE 13th Ave., 736-0182. 5 pm. Free. 21+.

King Britt, Natasha Kmeto, Mr. Romo, DJ Michael Grimes, DJ Keane
[DJS] When your parents name you King Britt, you’re pretty much destined for some kind of greatness, right? Feels like you’d be letting the world down if you chose to live a quiet life as a tax attorney named King Britt. Luckily, the 45-year-old DJ-producer with the amazing name heeded the call and has spent the past quarter-century giving house and techno a much-needed jolt of hip-hop swagger and soulful ache. The Philadelphia-born artist visits Portland on the heels of a recent trip to Zimbabwe, where he explored the country’s musical and spiritual legacy. ROBERT HAM. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

E-40
[HIP HOP] A sugar-tongued gangster with a flair for the dramatic, this Bay Area hip-hop legend raps as if his salivary glands produce maple syrup. The key to his longevity is a willingness to always be different. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 230-0033. 8 p.m. $25. All ages.

 
Saturday, Jan. 26

Fertile Ground Festival
[PERFORMANCE] Fertile Ground is, no shit, 11 days of maddening density: performance, theater and dance. It's the biggest theater festival we've got in Portland, with over 90 different offerings. Check out our selected preview here, or go to fertilegroundpdx.org for the full schedule and details. Runs every day till Feb. 3. Full passes are $50. 

The Liberators
[COMEDY] Local improv artists who know what the hell they’re doing perform for the first time in months. Ethos/IFCC, 5340 N Interstate Ave. 283-8467, ext. 108. 8 pm. $12-$16.

The Walkmen, Father John Misty
[ROCK] I’m not sure the Walkmen will ever be the stadium-packing act they deserve to be. But then, that’s good news for those of us who like seeing blockbuster shows in relatively intimate venues. Tonight’s Wonder Ballroom gig should fit that description. Last year’s Heaven continues the band’s rich tradition of balancing classic-sounding punk-y anthems (“Heartbreaker,” “Heaven”) with soul-searching ballads (“We Can’t Be Beat,” “Dreamboat”) that test the elasticity of frontman Hamilton Leithauser’s vocal cords. If that’s not reason enough to go, maybe treat it as a second New Year’s Eve party: The Walkmen’s “In the New Year” is among the greatest (and most heart-wrenching) songs ever written on the subject. CASEY JARMAN. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 224-2038. 9 pm. $22. All ages.

Mic Crenshaw with Radical Klavical, Rafael Vigilantics, Jana Losey & the Tuesday Project Cray, DJ Grimm Rock
[HIP-HOP CRUSADER] Mic Crenshaw has been around the block. Now, he’s going around the world. One of Portland hiphop’s most tireless vets, the rapper is almost as well-known for his community service as his tough, socially conscious rhymes. In the ’80s, back when he was living in Minneapolis, he founded an organization to oppose the city’s rampant white supremacist gangs. In 2007, Crenshaw attended a human rights conference in Rwanda, inspiring him to form Global Fam, a nonprofit group that helped establish a computer center in Burundi. And in March, he’s looking to return to the continent with the Afrikan Hip-Hop Caravan, touring six cities and hosting workshops related to artbased social movements. Ninety percent of the proceeds from the door at this show will go toward his travel expenses. It’s a worthy donation, if for no other reason than the experience will certainly fuel some fierce, intelligent music from Crenshaw in the future. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., 473-8729. 8 pm. $6. 21+.


Sunday, Jan. 27

Fertile Ground Festival
[PERFORMANCE] Fertile Ground is, no shit, 11 days of maddening density: performance, theater and dance. It's the biggest theater festival we've got in Portland, with over 90 different offerings. Check out our selected preview here, or go to fertilegroundpdx.org for the full schedule and details. Runs every day till Feb. 3. Full passes are $50. 

Wine Battle: Red vs. White
[DRINKIN'] Many types of food pair well with both red and white wines. How to decide? Why, culinary war games, of course. Metrovino chef Dustin See has created a five-course menu equally suitable to the two factions, and local biodynamic winery Montinore Estate will provide the wines. An appropriate choice, as two winemakers there work independently on their reds and whites. Pork, salmon and charcuterie will feature on the menu, and a scientific description of how those flavors interact with the attributes of the wine will precede the dinner. Each course features one red and one white, and guests judge which pairs better. Metrovino, 1139 NW 11th Ave., 517-7778. 4 pm. $45. 21+.

56 Up
[FILM] 56 Up is the latest in Michael Apted’s visionary, often-depressing series that has documented the lives of 14 disparate Britons, in seven-year installments, since they were 7 years old in 1964. While 7 Up and 14 Up and 21 Up were concerned only with the future, this more wizened documentary now looks mostly backward: at dreams that seem inaccessible to a life that has inexorably become something else. It’s one of the great journeys in documentary film, and it’s unlikely there will be another one like it. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave.

Beware of Mr. Baker 

[FILM] In the first few minutes of Beware of Mr. Baker, the film’s subject, drummer Ginger Baker, is shown firing an Uzi, challenging anyone who doesn’t like him to a fight and jabbing the director in the nose with a cane. That about sets the tone. A jazz drummer who played with rock velocity, the ex-Cream member was born on the cusp of war and grew up in London with bombs detonating outside his window, which endeared him to the sound of explosions. “I love disasters,” he croaks. Appropriately, Jay Bulger’s film is a disaster movie disguised as a rock doc, with Baker as walking apocalypse. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.