Willamette Weekend: 13 Things to Do in Portland, Oct. 11-13

Dream
[BALLET] The introductory show under new artistic director Kevin Irving is a mix of familiar and new. In Dream , the company revives former artistic director Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream , one of his best works, and pairs it with Nacho Duato’s Por Vos Muero . Both pieces are contemporary in style and have a fanciful air about them: Stowell’s features elaborate fairy costumes, while Duato’s paints a dark, romantic picture of 15th- and 16th-century Spain. The selection of Duato, a world-renowned choreographer, has Irving’s fingerprints all over it—the two have close ties, so the piece should offer a taste of what’s to come. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 800-745-3000. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 12 and Friday- Saturday, Oct. 18-19; 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 13. $25-$142.

Bonnie Raitt, Marc Cohn
[ROOTS ROCK] Sixteen studio albums to her name and still sending shivers down spines with her trademark whiskey-tinged twang, Bonnie Raitt is a living legend. Latest effort Slipstream shows Raitt comfortable in her blues-meets-country comfort zone, but also reinventing herself once more, per the stellar reggaeesque Gerry Rafferty cover, “Right Down the Line.” Raitt ranks within a choice group of aging musicians (Neil Young, David Byrne) who are not only still relevant but continue to pave musical trails. If her voice doesn’t gently break your heart, her slide guitar will. Soft-rock crooner Marc Cohn opens. MARK STOCK. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 248-4335. 8 pm. $55- $112.50.  All ages.

Dead Prez, Wise Intelligent, Speaker Minds, Mic Crenshaw
[POLITICAL GANGSTERS] Dead Prez’s Stic Man and M-1 are the kind of cats who would storm the postmaster general’s house for raising the price of stamps, so they’re probably not exactly calmly writing to their congressmen over all the bullshit going on in Washington right now. For nearly two decades, the duo has been one of the most prolifically angry groups in hip-hop, directing their ire not at fellow MCs but at the system itself. Keeping their gangster lean fully intact, the group is more Black Panther than Black Star in its militant politics. The tiny setting of Mississippi Studios offers the perfect spot for the group to assault your eardrums while laying waste to ideology. And as a bonus, you can hear tracks from the upcoming Information Age album, while also benefitting the Journey to Freedom Project Foundation, which focuses on black history. Education: Keep it gangster. AP KRYZA. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 5 pm. $15 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.

Erin Foley
[COMEDY] Known for her frank style— her standup act covers birth control, vegan cookbooks and breast implants (which she calls “giant awkward bags of low selfesteem”)—the lesbian comic makes her first-ever stop in Portland. Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., 841-6734. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 12. $19-$25. 21+.


Sunday, Oct. 13

Alexis Ohanian
[BOOKS] Whatever your opinion of his horde, there’s no denying the tremendous influence of Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit.com. His new book, Without Their Permission, includes his philosophy and suggestions for how to use the power of the Internet for good. Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 228-4651. 4 pm. Free.

Spamalot
[THEATER] Not everyone enjoys going to the theater. Some find it slow, overly cerebral, pretentious. That’s why Spamalot is a great starter show. It’s the Kraft macaroni of musical theater—a guilty pleasure but impossible to hate. Since premiering on Broadway in 2005, the show has been produced in 20 countries and continues to tour the globe, which speaks strongly to the universal appeal of fart jokes and men in drag. If you’ve seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you already know the story. (And if you haven’t seen it, what’s wrong with you?) The first act more or less mirrors the film, with some added songs and dance routines. The second act is a jumbled mess of plot twists intended to wrap things up within the running time. Some additions fit well within the Monty Python brand of humor, such as Sir Robin (Norman Wilson) performing the catchy number “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway (Without Any Jews).” While most of the gags are meant to slap you in the face, what really sells the humor are the facial expressions of this Lakewood Theatre Company cast, able to elicit laughs with a well-timed lip curl or raised eyebrow. Humor, after all, is all about subtlety—even when you’re farting into a trumpet. PENELOPE BASS. Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego, 635-3901. 7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays and some Sundays; 2 pm Sundays through Oct. 13. $36.

Ran
Akira Kurosawa’s late masterpiece takes King Lear to feudal Japan…and it’s incredible. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. 2 pm Sunday, Oct 13.