Willamette Weekend: Lucky 13 Things to Do or See Feb. 8-10

[THEATER] Kunta Kinte as a sock puppet? We’re sold. Damaris Webb presents a solo show about growing up mixed-race in Portland. Ethos/IFCC, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 283-8467. 7:30 pm. $10-$15.

George Saunders
[BOOKS] Short-story master George Saunders has a new collection of work, Tenth of December. The collection touches on themes of war, love, sex and loss. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm. Free.

Something's Got Ahold of My Heart (Hand2Mouth)
[THEATER] Is love more like a fish stew or a Phil Collins song?  Hand2Mouth wants you to consider this in its  newest experimental offering, which pings between  schmaltzy representations of movie love and a spat  about who gets the gravy boat when a marriage ends. The frenetic, nonnarrative  Something’s Got Ahold of My Heart packs playful vignettes,  goofy choreography, heartrending storytelling and boisterous rock ballads. But the performers approach their topic with such unapologetic sincerity that they successfully sidestep sentimentality.  Hand2Mouth’s previous project, Leddy’s solo show My Mind Is Like an Open Meadow, wrenched  your insides. Something’s Got Ahold doesn’t quite get there. But with  the performers’ deeply felt commitment, they just might break your  fucking heart—in the best of ways.  Studio 2, 810 SE  Belmont St. 8 pm Thursdays-Sundays through Feb. 17. $12-$20.

The Wood Brothers, Seth Walker
[BLUESY BROTHERS] There’s no doubt the Wood Brothers are professionals. Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood can bust out solos on their respective instruments with the kind of ease that comes only with a lifetime of playing. For a number of years, Oliver honed his guitar and songwriting skills with the group King Johnson, and Chris played the upright bass in jazz-jam trio Medeski, Martin and Wood. In 2005, the two brought their bluesy folk roots together and began their own project, which now regularly includes percussionist-“shutter” extraordinaire, Jano Rix. Honestly, aside from the Woods Stage at Pickathon (pun not intended), there’s no better place in the Portland area to experience the talented group than amid the beautiful sound of Aladdin Theater. EMILEE BOOHER. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694. 9 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

Alberta Rose Bluegrass Festival: The Caleb Klauder Country Band, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Wayward Vessel, Stumbleweed
[BLUEGRASS] Pickin' and grinnin' galore fill the classy-but-cozy Alberta Rose's stage this weekend. Friday night kicks off with local bands Stumbleweed and Wayward Vessel, Washington old-time duo Cahalen Morrison & Eli West and headlining local roots great Caleb Klauder's Country Band. Saturday afternoon features a workshop with banjo master Danny Barnes of the Bad Livers and one with the Chick Rose School—think School of Rock, bluegrass style. The Chick Rose kids lead off the evening's festivities, also featuring Sugar Pine, Portland faves Jackstraw and great Tony Furtado-Scott Law collab Banjo Killers, closing with the duo of Barnes and another longtime roots warrior, Nick Forster of Hot Rize fame. Following a Sunday morning (well, early afternoon, but that's morning for musicians) gospel brunch and performance by the Bluegrass Regulators come the dulcet three-part harmonies of the ladies of Calico Rose, Western swingers Barn Door Slammers, an encore by Barnes and Forster and a fest-closing set by Nashville's Jim Lauderdale, perhaps best known for singing those perfect harmonies on Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, but a truly masterful songwriter himself. Weekend passes as well as tickets to individual shows are available. JEFF ROSENBERG. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 719-6055, albertarosetheatre.com. 7:30 pm, Friday February 8, $20 Friday. $60 for weekend pass.


Saturday, Feb 9

Ama-zine Day
Collaborating with the IPRC, the Portland Zine Symposium will host a small press and zine fest. Local zinesters will present their work, onepage valen-zines will be crafted for that special someone, and Gabby Holden, Liz Moyer, Emily Kendal Frey and others will read on the topic of love (and anti-love). Independent Publishing Resource Center, 1001 SE Division St., Suite 2, 827-0249. 2-6 pm. Free to attend, $5 to exhibit.

Leviathan
[UNITED STATES] Like Deadliest Catch but wish it had less chit-chat and more contemplative existential dread? Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel’s essentially wordless documentary about commercial fishing strips the world’s most dangerous enterprise of its made-for-TV drama, rendering the profession in the hellish tones of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Shot with a dozen ultra-tiny cameras, including one with a fish-eye lens, the film immerses itself in the muck of life aboard a boat in the North Atlantic, observing the crew’s dispassionate drudgery—shucking clams, hacking fins off rays, sweeping guts over the side— from disorienting angles that turn from entrancing to unsettling. In its concluding sequence, a camera tethered to the vessel is given over to the chaos of the sea, creating a nightmarish hallucination of black water and upsidedown gulls. By giving us a glimpse of their final moments, the scene pays tribute to the men who’ve died so we can enjoy Long John Silver’s. It’s PIFF’s best horror movie. MATTHEW SINGER. Whitsell Hall, Portland Art Museum, 3:15 pm. Part of Portland International Film Festival.  

Mark Kozelek (of Sun Kil Moon)
[UNCOVERED FOLK] Cover bands suck. That’s the unfortunate mantra of the indie music world. Bands can occasionally hide others’ songs within the hidden tracks on albums, or bring out a classic cover for a live encore. The fact that Mark Kozelek, of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters, has covered songs on nearly every solo and band record, and done it so uncompromisingly, should be a hint he’s got something that doesn’t suck. His cooing, gentle wail and acoustic stylizing make Modest Mouse and AC/DC songs completely his own. In short, he’s harking back to the cover-happy roots of folk, with more than enough solo material to endear himself to the indie community. Though prone to pigeonholing—his style and voice are renowned for having changed very little in two decades—his live performances have the ability to carry audiences away down a dusty road, to see the sepia-washed ephemera from his album covers. MITCH LILLIE. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694. 8 pm. $17. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

Ra Ra Riot, Cayucas 
[BEACH-BUM MIXTAPE] Cayucas’  Southern California context is  immediately evident in the group’s  Richard Swift-produced debut,  Bigfoot: the ever-present oohs  and aahs, the subtropical riffs, the  playful muses, which range from  high-school secrets to East Coast  girls. It’s the musical equivalent  of sand between your toes, with  nods to Paul Simon’s South African  phase or Lord Huron on happy pills.  Cayucas drags its feet fetchingly,  in that hugely harmonious, beachrock  way that transports the listener  straight to the Santa Monica pier.  Headliners Ra Ra Riot share in the  bliss, emitting rays of pop so bright  they burn the skin. MARK STOCK.  Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell  St., 284-8686. 9 pm. $15 advance,  $17 day of show. 21+.


Sunday, Feb. 10

Worst Day of the Year Ride
[BIKES] Thousands of Portlanders don crazy outfits and bike through inclement weather...but with doughnuts. The 16- and 45-mile rides start and end at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, with beer and bread at the finish. The 16-miler has treats every four miles. 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd., worstdayride.com. 9 am. $36.50.

Coffee Tasting at Penner-Ash
Are coffee snobs the new wine snobs? Penner-Ash Winery hosts a coffee cupping guided by the roaster at Newberg’s Caravan Coffee. Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, 15771 NW Ribbon Ridge Road, Newberg, 554-5545. 2 pm. $15. 21+.

Pallbearer
Pallbearer is that rare case of a young band deserving of its meteoric rise—not that Pallbearer does anything fast on purpose. Debut album Sorrow and Extinction was awarded Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Music tag when it was released in March 2012. Nine months later, the record was hailed as best metal album on nearly every relevant year-end list. The praise is warranted, if unprecedented. Until recently, doom has traditionally been the least commercially viable subgenre of metal. What pushes Pallbearer over the top is the vocal style of singer-guitarist Brett Campbell. His soaring lyrics of despair ride the billowing, angelic waves that cascade from his golden throat. It’s this majesty that carries otherwise leaden, anguished riffs into the stratosphere. The music is heavy, down-tuned and miserable, but with a baroque air that never forsakes its melancholic vibe. Hope seems to be in short supply, and that type of gothic sensibility seems to be speaking to a lot of people right now. Go figure. Branx, 320 SE 2nd Ave. 7:30 pm. $14. All ages.