Food & Drink Our weekly reading of the bureaucratic tarot cards that are OLCC liquor license applications:

Stumptown don Duane Sorenson has purchased the former Lauro Kitchen at 3377 SE Division St., where he will open a new restaurant called Ava Gene's. The application offers little else in the way of information—the old license forms used to make you write a bit about your menu, but the newer ones don't—except that it will be open 5-11 pm nightly. We expect that Sorenson and Andy Ricker will eventually purchase the entirety of Southeast Division, secede from the rest of Portland, and call it New Brooklyn.

Stark Naked Pizza has changed owners and will now be called Baby Doll Pizza.

Fujiyama Sushi Bar and Grill is opening at 4124 SE 82nd Ave.

K.A.C. Thai Fusion will take over 710 SW 2nd Ave. from Rivers Edge Cafe and Catering. It will serve "fusion Thai food" for lunch and dinner.

Freddy Sanjines is opening El Torito, a grocery store and bakery, at 7406 N Vancouver Ave.

Petya Kovatchev is opening Bravo Lounge at 8560 SE Division.

Fat-loving food cart Lardo has applied for a full license at its new bricks and mortar eatery, at 1212 SE Hawthorne Blvd., where Johnny B's used to be. 

Cleary's Restaurant & Spirits at 12429 NE Gisan St. is now Wu's Brother. Commence David Wu jokes... now.

Mudai Ethiopian Restaurant and Lounge at 801 NE Broadyway has been sold, and will now be Habesha Ethiopian and Bar.

Art studio and school the Loaded Brush has applied for a limited license so students can once again BYO to class.

Features Friday, May 25

Here We Go Magic
[MUSIC] Luke Temple, long one of the finest unheralded singers and songwriters of his generation, is on a particularly hot streak. Last year's solo comeback record, Don't Act Like You Don't Care, was his best album to date, and the former Seattleite's third record with his excellent Brooklyn-based band Here We Go Magic, A Different Ship, is a downright masterpiece. It doesn't hurt Temple and company that famed Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich is along for the ride here (his touch, heard especially in the sound of the band's shifting and intricate rhythm section, is unmistakeable). If you were looking for a bandwagon to hop on, this one is going all the way to the top. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Trannysnatchers!
[FILM] If John Waters made a Satanic horror flick, he’d still have to drop some serious acid to come up with Trannysnatchers. Cheekily dubbed “an occult classic,” the locally produced horror-comedy centers on a gang of transgendered hitmen (er, hit-people?) attempting to summon a hermaphroditic being that, when conjured to Earth, will allegedly bring about “the end of gender.” Let’s just say the “sex change via hacksaw” scene might be only the second-nuttiest thing in the picture. It’s crazed, but also deeply angry—at homophobia, the so-called “gender binary,” even the conservatism within gay culture itself—and releases its frustrations via plasma-drenched satire. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St. 11:30 pm Friday, May 25.


Saturday, May 26

Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country
[WINE] Pat Andre. Saturday-Monday, May 26-28, throughout the Willamette Valley. Info at willamettewines.com.

Multnomah County Fair
[FAIR] Bumper cars are out. The new thing at the Multnomah County Fair? Enclosing yourself inside a 7-foot plastic sphere and rolling around the surface of a giant kiddie pool. Be Jesus—or that poor little Bubble Boy, God rest his soul—for a day. Multnomah County Fair, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way. Noon-7 pm through May 28. Free admission to fair, $8 for water balls. 

Connect
[VISUAL ART] Laura Ross-Paul confronts our logged-on, checked-out zeitgeist with refreshing nuance in her series Connect. In paintings that marry expressionistic brush strokes with a palette by turns muted and jewel-toned, she depicts young people staring into laptops, iPads and cellphones, oblivious to the natural and human-made wonders that surround them. The teenagers in Light Up and Streaming couldn’t care less about fireworks and bonfires during a nighttime beach party; they’re too busy IM’ing their friends. Ditto for the girl in Night Lights, who ignores not only her family, but a night sky spectacular enough to rival van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Froelick Gallery, 714 NW Davis St., 222-1142, through June 2.

Boat, The Angry Orts, Zoo Animal, Orca Team
[MUSIC] Whereas Boat's 2009 album, Setting the Paces, was an instant singalong classic, last year's Dress Like Your Idols was a bit of a grower. Though "Changing of the Guard" and "(I'll Beat My Chest Like) King Kong" were stirring, ballsy acceptances of the dreary realities of suburban life, a lot of the latest album's tunes were harder nuts to crack (I'm still not quite sure what "Classically Trained" is all about). That's OK: Boat's increasingly upbeat, sports-and-diet-cola-obsessed catalog probably needed a few nods to the slippery subject matter of its first record, Songs That You Might Not Like. The more I listen to Idols, the more I feel like I'm being let in on Boat's inside jokes. And this band has yet to write a song I can't sing along to until my voice goes out. Boat is the best. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

Bill Plympton Day
[FILM] They’re giving Bill Plympton a day here in Portland. It’s May 26. If you can’t make it down to see the Adventures in Plymptoons! documentary making the rounds at McMenamins movie theaters, we advise you to get very drunk and celebrate the holiday on YouTube. Adventures in Plymptoons! screens at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., at 3 and 7 pm, preceded by a community event outside the theater at 2 pm.


Sunday, May 27

Kurt Vile and the Violators, Black Bananas, True Widow
[MUSIC] Jennifer Herrema had been doing just fine continuing on with the classic rock-inspired spirit of her band Royal Trux, but the 40-year-old vocalist wants to prove she still has some original spark with new project Black Bananas. The group's debut, Rad Times Xpress IV, is some of the most unhinged, funky rock around, akin to the work of ’70s icons like Betty Davis and Parliament. The mix of sounds is dizzying: Auto-Tune, chugging metal guitar leads, splashy disco beats and good old-fashioned noise all make appearances. Herrema holds it all together with her signature tossed-off sexy flair. This is hot stuff, Jack. ROBERT HAM. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

Point Break in Hecklevision
[FILM] “If you want the ultimate, you have to pay the ultimate price.” It’s one of the many pearls of wisdom Patrick Swayze’s Zen-surfing/bankrobbing/skydiving/beach-footballing villain Bodhi spouts over the course of Point Break, and it’s apt for Hecklevision. The ultimate is a rare big-screen showing of Kathryn Bigelow’s true masterpiece. The price you pay is dealing with a sea of people texting wiseass remarks to the screen, their cellphones acting as a horde of blinding fireflies so distracting, you probably won’t notice that, yes, Keanu Reeves just drop-kicked a pit bull. What’s to heckle here, anyway? This should be shown nightly, in a dark theater to maximize the rush of watching the Swayz and Johnny Utah blow a bunch of shit up while almost kissing at every turn. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. 7:30 pm Friday.

Next to Normal
[THEATER] The Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical questions the way mental illness is perceived and makes tangible the destruction it can have, both on the person suffering with it and the people who love her. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St. 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays. $25-$50.

Arts & Books

Andy Baio is one of Portland's most influential geeks. The former Chief Technology Officer of Kickstarter, he's been writing his hugely influential blog waxy.org for a decade and done a bunch of other stuff you can read about on his Wikipedia page.

This morning, Baio—along with Belfast-based Build festival organizer Andy McMillan—launched one of his most ambitious projects to date: a "disruptive creativity" festival called XOXO, slated to take place in Portland September 13-16 at YU Contemporary.

The festival will be split up into three parts:

1) A conference, with an impressive lineup of speakers, including "the leaders of amazingly creative communities like Etsy, Kickstarter, Canvas and Metafilter, the fiercely independent creators behind World of Goo, MakerBot, Indie Game: The Movie, Star Wars Uncut, Diesel Sweeties and Black Apple, and industry-changing startups like the Atavist, Simple, CASH Music, and VHX.tv."

2) A "PAX/Maker Faire" style marketplace, with local creators and artists showing and selling their work.

3) "Fringe" events around the city, including film screening, indie videogames, craft beer and live music.

The catch? He's funding the whole thing through Kickstarter. As of printing, the festival has raised $56,963 of its $125,000 goal, since it launched at 11 am this morning. One hundred and thirty-five people have already bought tickets—at $400 a pop—to the conference portion of the festival.

But can XOXO raise enough to become a reality? We caught up with Baio on the phone earlier today:

WW: Forty-five thousand dollars in a few hours, that's insane
Andy Baio: Just. Crazy. It's $47,280 now, it's nuts. Every time I step away from the computer to go do something else, I come back and it's gone up by thousands of dollars. I ran a Kickstarter project in the early days, I produced an album called Kind of Bloop (a chiptune version of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue), and at the time, my project was considered to be a huge success—I had a $2,000 goal, and it hit the goal in two hours, and that ended up being $8,600. But the scale now, the scale is so big, and the community, and the social features that are on Kickstarter now—before I'd even tweeted it, it had 50 backers.

How many people had you told you were doing this beforehand?
I had told not that many, I pretty much worked on it in secret. Obviously I was working with Andy McMillan, who works in Belfast, he organizes the Build conference there—it's an awesome design conference he does every year. Aside from that, it was me reaching out to speakers and then just a very small handful of close friends. But most people I know did not know I'd been working on this.

So you've got to pay $400 to get the full ticket?
Yeah, as it turns out, organizing conferences on this scale are very expensive. We budgeted it out, and it was us looking at everything we wanted to do, and not compromise on the venue and the way we wanted to do it. We could have done it at the Convention Center, which is how most of these things go, but there's not a lot of character there. But the benefit you get is that all of your comforts are taken care of: you have a stage and audio and video and it's wired for wireless Internet access already and power. [Yu Contemporary] is amazing, but it's a blank canvas. So we're building a stage, doing seating, dropping in wireless via satellite, doing our own audio and video.

Where did the idea come from?
This is something I wanted to do for years. I'm not working at Kickstarter anymore, but the time when I was, when i first met those guys in 2008, the idea for Kickstarter was inspired by an event—the original idea was to do conditional fundraising for events. Perry Chen came up with the idea, he wanted to do a concert in New Orleans in 2001. He thought it was so stupid that you have to front all this risk, pay for everything upfront without knowing if it was going to be a success or not. And if you could just sell the tickets, and if it didn't sell enough, it just backs off and nobody's charged. That was the original seed of the idea for Kickstarter. When I met those guys before they built anything, I thought "My God, what an incredible use for the site."

But where did the idea for what the actual conference would be about come from?
It stemmed from a couple things. One, I've been going to SXSW Interactive for the last couple of years and it's always been incredible—I love this incredible, unique feeling that comes from getting like-minded creative people in the same place at the same time. But what's happened over the last few years is, the interests of SXSW have sort of deviated as it's grown. It's huge, and it seems to me that it's more about the business and marketing of technology than it is about creative people doing creative things with technology. And actually, that is still the core of SXSW Interactive, but there's so many other people doing other things that it drowns that out. The end result is when I go, I can't even find the people I care about—it's a signal to noise ratio issue.

So that's one part. The other part is, we're in this incredible moment right now, there's this Cambrian explosion of creativity that's happening, enabled by the Internet, enabled by technology. And every one of those existing middle men you used to have to go through, it seems like everyone's realizing that you don't need a record label—music was maybe first to realize this, but it's happening across the board now: comic book artists, video game developers... Using something like Kickstarter, it's been absolutely transformative for each one of those communities. And not just Kickstarter, communities like Etsy, where all of a sudden "poof" there's a marketplace where there was previously not a marketplace. People are able to make a living doing what they love.

Julia Nunes, for example, who's going to be speaking and performing at XOXO, she found her audience on YouTube. She was just recording ukulele covers in her dorm room. I remember seeing her cover of Weezer's "Keep Fishin'," and I thought "Oh my God, she's so awesome," and watched all her other videos and so did a lot of other people. And they subscribed, and she built this following that grew so big that Ben Folds saw her cover of one of his songs, she ended up going on tour with Ben Folds. She puts out an album funded through Kickstarter and then she's on Conan O'brien. This is the trajectory now.

And obviously Justin Bieber [was discovered online], but the difference with people like Justin Bieber is they were discovered through YouTube, but then funneled right into the traditional publishing system. And so seeing film makers like the two brilliant people behind Indie Game: The Movie fund that entirely on Kickstarter, then sell it through their website, set up screenings using a sponsorship through Adobe to do screening across the United States, they maintained 100 percent creative control and more importantly, 100 percent ownership over their work. They never had to sacrifice anything. It was more work, but the end result was they are going to be able to capitalize on their own work for the rest of their lives.

To me, that's incredible. We're in this amazing era, and it's something I've been following for a long time. I've been writing about Internet culture on my site for 10 years, I'm friends with a lot of really interesting people that have done this independently. I wanted to do an event that would bring all of them together in one place.

Is it "ex-oh-ex-oh"?
Yeah, I think "ex-oh" for short. A couple of people have asked me about the name, and for me it just makes sense. It's people doing what they love, that love connecting with people that love their work. The whole thing is like a mutual admiration society. So yeah, hugs and kisses.

I thought we had an amazing lineup of speakers, and we do, but seeing the list of attendees? Is blowing my mind. It's exactly what I dreamed about. You could spin off ten conferences just based on the people who are coming to this thing.

The conference is really only one-third of this project. What I wanted to do for everyone ho is coming from out of town—and it sounds like a lot of people are coming from out of town, especially the speakers—is showing them the Portland that I love—bringing them here in September when the weather tends to be best, bringing them to this awesome venue, and bringing the best of the Portland's creative community, that maker culture, bringing them all in and setting them up on the ground floor of the Yu Contemporary to share and sell their stuff, I think is going to be amazing. The Fringe events we're doing the two days before are intended to get people out into the city, exploring the businesses and places we love... showing the best of the city.
 
So you've picked a pretty festival-heavy time of year to run this thing. It's going to be close or overlap with MusicfestNW and WW's own tech festival Portland Digital eXperience, as well as PICA's Time Based Art festival.
Most everybody is coming in from out of town, so I think it makes everybody's [festival] better. I think they'll be complementary. The Portland Digital eXperience, we've been talking with [the curator], and that's more driven on the local technology scene, much more driven around startups, which is not what XO is about. And hopefully there'll be some people that come in for PDX and just stick around Portland for XOXO. And ultimately, having TBA going at the same time, that's so awesome. If you want to check out something in the evening that's outside the festival programming for XO? Awesome. I love TBA.

Is this a one-off event or will you run another next year?
I certainly hope so. This is the thing about Kickstarter: you never know where it's going to go. Yeah it's going strong now, but maybe it plateaus, maybe we don't make it. But the feeling—we launched it at 11 this morning and we're almost to $50,000—the feeling is that this is something people want, and if it works well, then yeah, I'd love to do it again.

Features WW's weekly round-up of the nerdy events happening around Portland over the next seven days:

Monday, May 21

History Pub: Finding David Douglas
An hour-long documentary by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission about the Scottish botanist David Douglas, who spent much of his career nosing around the Pacific Northwest and for whom the Douglas fir was named. There will also be a Q&A with filmmaker Lois Leonard. Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. Free. 7 pm.

Tuesday, May 22

Greg Rucka
Portland author/comic writer Greg Rucka (Stumptown, and the Queen and Country and Atticus Kodiak series) releases his newest novel (and the first in a new series), Alpha. I read it yesterday and it made for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Look out for a review in WW soon(ish). Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. 7 pm. Free.

Wednesday, May 23

The Epic of Gilgamesh Release Party
Portland artist Kristine 'Kinoko' Evans releases The Epic of Gilgamesh #1, a comic book retelling of The Epic of Gilgamesh. She will read from the book, talk about her research and also sign copies. Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St. 6 pm. Free.

Thursday, May 24

An Evening With Joe Sacco
Portland comic journalist Joe Sacco talks about war reporting through comic art. Sacco is always good value—he has a lot to say and he says it well. Mercy Corps Action Center, 28 SW 1st Ave. 7 pm. $10 general admission, $5 students.

Friday, May 25

Mayhem PIGJam
The Portland Indie Game Squad is hosting a weekend long game jam. Teams will be given a "game prompt" on Friday night, then spend the next two days and nights building it. Teams can be formed beforehand or on the night. BYO bedding if you want to camp out all weekend. Art Institute of Portland, 1122 NW Davis St. 7 pm May 25 to 8 pm May 27. RSVP here.

Saturday, May 26

Wonder Northwest
Portland "comics and pop culture expo" (how many of those do we have now?) Wonder Northwest returns for a second year. Sessions include "Star Wars Prop Collecting," "Gays in Comics," "Cosplay for Beginners," "Whedon Trivia," "Kick-ass Horror Films You've Never Heard Of," and "Kick-ass Horror Films You've Never Heard Of," plus gaming sessions, films and vendors. Crowne Plaza Portland, 1441 NE 2nd Ave. May 26-27. $8 one day, $15 both days. wondernorthwest.com.

Sunday, May 27

Geeklesque: Destroy All Humans!
Critical Hit Burlesque's latest geeky burlesque show has a "menace-to-mankind" theme: zombies, aliens... you get the idea. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside. 9 pm. $12 advance, $15 at the door, reserved balcony seating $20 advance, $35 VIP.

The listing here are written by WW, but we crib events shamelessly from the Geek Portland calendar. Go there for more events and information.

Features Each week our culture scientists rank their 10 favorite things in the universe. The resulting list is infallible. The list is perfect. If you don't agree with the list, you are wrong. Some items may stay atop the list for weeks, others may only make a brief appearance. Some items are Portland-centric, but only because Portland is at the center of the universe. Please do not write to us, asking for the metrics behind the list. We will not provide source material. We will not be swayed. Bow down to the list. Love the list, as the list loves all things. Let the list move through you. (And, you know, if you have suggestions for the list, stick them in the comments section below.)

1. Salt & Straw dives into self-parody
Happily confirming Martin Cizmar's assertion that the boho ice cream shop is too precious by half, Salt & Straw has announced a new series of flavors created in collaboration with local chefs, including "toasted foie gras marshmallows and smoked vanilla ice cream ribboned with veal chocolate sauce and hazelnut graham cracker crumble." It's a double scoop of animal cruelty crunch! We suggest Salt and Straw next create flavors inspired by the late-Roman cookbook author Apicius: flamingo tongue and garum-fudge sundae, anybody?

2. Portlanders complaining about the weather on their Facebook pages
IT'S MAY! IN OREGON! SHUT UP!

3. Illmaculate's "Lost Our Soul" video
Because WW Music Editor Casey Jarman will keep pushing this and pushing it until everyone in Portland has seen it.



4. The Icelandair propaganda machine
Iceland's only international airline—yes, Iceland has an airline—offers cheap flights between Seattle and Europe with relatively generous legroom and a decent selection of movies. The only catch: The entire experience of the flight is engineered to promote tourism in Iceland, from the airline website and the incessant pre-flight ads on the seatback monitors right down to the Icelandic sayings on the headrests and the Icelandic beer and Icelandic snacks. Travelers susceptible to sleep-deprived suggestion—of whom there must be very many, given the success of SkyMall—may find themselves reconsidering their choice of destination, mumbling incoherently about whales, glaciers and Sigur Ros, and suffering a sudden craving for skyr. Also, the flight attendants sound just like Kristin Wiig's Bjork impression.

5. Hari Kondabolu
America's best human rights expert/standup comedian is in town tonight at the Hollywood Theater. He gets us:

6. "Call Me Maybe"
We don't even know who the hell performs this maniacally catchy tween-age radio pop confection, but after hearing it three dozen times this past weekend, the ear parasites that have borrowed into our brains and now control us insist we include it here. 

7. "Caballo Blanco's Last Run"
Unsurprisingly, a great story from The New York Times. It List is reading Scott Jurek's book in advance of his June 11 appearance in Portland—it's too bad Caballo didn't get to pen his own book.

8. Gary's Meadow Fresh 2% milk
Almost as delicious as the whole milk that was on last week's list at #9. We'll go all the way down to skim next week and report back.

9. Willamette Jetboat Excursions
It's not just for rednecks anymore.

10. This:

Food & Drink

Our weekly glimpse into the future of Portland's restaurant and bar scene...

Das Beer, an upcoming online beer store, has applied for a license to offer on-site customer pick-up at 211 SE Madison two days a week.

Bill Hayden has applied for a full license to Pub @ The Yard, a bar at the Lumberyard indoor bike park at 2700 NE 82nd Ave.

Native Tap House has applied for an off-premises license in the space formerly home to Ellington Handbags at NW 1533 NW 24th Ave.

Tabla owner Adam Berger's upcoming meatball and milkshake concept, 24th & Meatballs, which is scheduled to open at developer Kevin Cavenaugh's "food cart incubator," the Ocean, at 2341 NE Sandy Blvd., has applied for a limited license.

The Elysian Ballroom will apparently replace the Crown Ballroom on the fifth floor of 918 SE Yamhill St.

More fresh produce in the Pearl? Yes, please. Local Choice Produce Market, a produce market and deli, has applied for an off-premises license at 830 NW Everett St. According to the application, the business will host "farmer dinners" and live music on first Thursday.

Thai restaurant Siam Society at 2703 NE Alberta will be replaced by a yet-to-be-named establishment from the owners of downtown's Paddy's Bar & Grill. The application says it will be "family friendly."

The Waffle Window is opening a second window at 2624 NE Alberta, for which it has applied for a limited license.

Rodney Dewalt of Dewalt Productions is opening Fontaine Bleau at 237 NE Broadway St. He has applied for a full license.

Daniel Huish has applied to open a bottleshop called N.W.I.P.A. at 6350 SE Foster Rd., in the former location of Guapo Comics and Coffee.

Bleachers Bar & Grill at 575 SW Saltzman Rd. has changed hands and will become Cedar Mill Grill. Will it still be "the local home for 'Parrotheads,' the fun-loving fans of tropical rocker Jimmy Buffett"? Time will tell.

Dilly's Bar & Grill at 2002 SE Division St. has a new owner: Patti Lassell, who is renaming it Seven Corners Bar & Grill. According to the application: "Our family originally purchased this business in 1983 and in 1987 purchased the building. It has been an [indecipherable] gathering place in this historic neighborhood for over 75 years and we are excited!" Seven Corners will offer video lottery, karaoke and dancing.

Boogies Burgers & Brew is going into a former used-car lot at 910 E Burnside St. Sassy’s strip club proprietress Stacy Mayhood owns the biggest stake, although the shop’s liquor-license application says Boogies will be “family friendly.”

Both Hopworks locations have applied for full liquor licenses. A nice stiff whiskey should help drown out all those screaming kiddies.

Milwaukie's Casa de Tamales has also applied for a full liquor license.

Features Friday, May 18

Jackpot Records/Studio 15th Birthday
[MUSIC] Dual record-store/recording-studio businesses Jackpot and Jackpot! celebrate their respective 15th birthdays in style, with an epic show headlined by the local heros of Quasi and legendary Northwest rock outfit the Minus 5 (plus System and Station, the Alialujah Choir, Blue Skies for Black Hearts and more). You’d be hard-pressed to find a more fitting tribute to the Portland experience than this one. Bagdad Theater, 3702 Hawthorne Blvd. 8 pm. $10. 21+.

Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival
[FILM] It’s fitting that the flagship offering of the sixth annual Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival is Jeffrey Schwarz’s Vito (7 pm Sunday, May 20), a eulogy for the man who documented the depiction of gays and lesbians in cinema. GLAAD co-founder Vito Russo took more than a decade to pen The Celluloid Closet, outlining the devolution of queer characters on the silver screen. It isn’t simply that Russo’s subject matter was so apropos: It’s his unapologetic and beautifully outraged spirit, recalled in footage of the man himself and in interviews with contemporaries Lily Tomlin and Armistead Maupin, that makes Vito so symbolic of this year’s lineup... [read our full Q-Doc write-up here]. The Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. Through May 20.


Saturday, May 19

Rvivr, Dogjaw, Chin Up, Meriwether, Divers
[MUSIC] Olympia’s Rumbletowne Records specializes in an exuberant class of punk rock that marries indomitable optimism to world-weary compassion, and tonight’s all-ages label showcase gathers four beautiful bands bent on lifting spirits and breaking hearts. Rvivr’s bike-punk poetry recalls the wide-eyed, half-drunk soulfulness of early Avail, and the Olympia band’s headlining set will surely send a few kids out into the night with dreams of the perfect Dumpster dive. Speaking of which, show up early for Divers. This Portland quartet, fronted by ex-Drunken Boat dude Harrison Rapp, adds punk grime to Boss-worthy grandiosity, and it is gorgeous. CHRISS STAMM. Backspace,115 NW 5th Ave. 9 pm. $6. All ages.

Maifest
[BEER] Maifest? Oh, yeah, you know her—Octoberfest’s shy kid sister. For the first time, new German cultural group Zeitgeist Northwest will welcome spring with a yodeling workshop, music from Bodacious, and a maypole dance. Oh, and beer, which is how big sis got popular at parties. Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way. Free. 10 am-7 pm. zeitgeistnorthwest.org.

PGC3 Geek Olympathon
[GEEK] The Portland Geek Council of Commerce's Geek Olympathon returns: a day of challenges including an Internet alleycat bike race, "psychic pinball," a Rock Band Weezer challenge, trivia, scavenger hunts, costume contests and other challenges set by Portland's premiere geeky business and organizations, like Ground Kontrol, the Alter Egos Society, Billy Galaxy, PDX Browncoats and others. Teams of up to five members can compete for prizes like tickets and accommodation to Seattle gaming festival PAXPrime, gift certificates, comics and concert tickets. 9 am-8 pm. $25 per team, $5 per individual. Online registration here. Registration also available at opening ceremony at Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave.

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
[FILM] Steve Jobs speaks from beyond the grave in this long-lost interview rediscovered in the back of someone’s garage. The interview was recorded in 1995, toward the end of Jobs’ 12-year hiatus from Apple— pre-OS X, pre-iMac, pre-iPod and pre-Applemania—and at this point, a slightly bitter, visibly saddened Jobs seems to have thrown in the towel to Microsoft. There are patches that lag as Jobs pontificates about how to run a business, but his oral history of the Apple I, the early days of software and the Macintosh, and his speculating (accurately) on the future of the Web are worth it for any respectable geek. Clocking in at 70 minutes, it’s just short enough to hold the minuscule attention spans that Jobs’ products have helped destroy. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NW Sandy Blvd. Multiple showtimes.


Sunday, May 20

Harry Smith Tribute
[MUSIC] “I’m glad to say my dreams came true,” said beatnik shaman and Portland native Harry Smith in 1991, upon receiving a special Grammy Award. “I saw America changed by music.” Indeed, the release 60 years ago of Smith’s epochal Anthology of American Folk Music series was one of the most consequential acts of musicology ever perpetrated. Smith—also an experimental filmmaker, photographer and archivist—culled 84 tracks of traditional roots music from his trove of obscure old 78’s, effectively salvaging American folk culture, in the nick of time, from electronic media’s usurpation of oral and regional tradition. The six-LP set, which helped spark the ’60s folk revival, also fostered interracial solidarity by juxtaposing white and black artists on vinyl for the first time. Portland bluesman Joe McMurrian has curated tonight’s ambitious tribute to Smith’s—and the original artists’—achievement, in which some 14 acts will perform material from the still-unmatched collection. JEFF ROSENBERG. Alberta Rose Theater, 3000 NE Alberta St. 719-6055. 7 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The Dictator
[FILM] The most notable thing about the new Sacha Baron Cohen movie is how quaint it seems. In The Dictator, Cohen is a North African despot named Admiral General Aladeen who loses his signature beard and unintentionally goes into hiding in New York as, well, Sacha Baron Cohen. It’s an obvious riff on Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, though it scans like a screwball comedy from an even earlier era—albeit one in which the balls are smashed more than screwed. So, yes, while the film is Cohen’s first scripted effort since 2002’s near-unwatchable Ali G Indahouse, it features the same kind of scatological shocks found in the confrontational situationism of Borat and Bruno. Those bits, however, feel more strained in this context than the conventional gags based in wordplay, satire and misunderstanding. Where does a provocateur go when he’s all out of provocation? In the case of a talent like Cohen, anywhere he wants, though hopefully it’s down the road with less dick shots. Mulitple locations and showtimes.

Music

I interviewed San Diego-based musician-writer-entrepreneur-provocateur Justin Pearson last year, when I profiled Retox, the band with whom he is currently raising a glorious racket. Since then I’ve been wanting to put together a little Pearson primer, because getting a grasp on Pearson’s contributions to punk rock is an essential project for anyone interested in extreme sounds of the 21st century.

And I finally have an excuse for such a sketch, as Retox returns to Portland on May 22, when it will wreck Rotture with its tornadic take on abrasive hardcore.

This short study doesn’t come close to being comprehensive, because there is only so much time in the day, and we are not all as tireless as my subject seems to be. I have skipped over Pearson’s early stuff (the seminal Struggle and Swing Kids), which is probably criminal to some of you, and the rundown also neglects to mention a handful of attention-worthy bands, but this column is partly a work of personal obsession, and the stuff mentioned below happens to be the stuff I think about when I think about Justin Pearson.

Retox
This sneering, leering quartet is Pearson’s present-day concern and the pretext for gathering here today to celebrate his accomplishments. Far from a mid-career cakewalk through the hardcore motions, Retox puts “the Pearson sound” into a centrifuge and isolates the essential spirit and aggression that fuels all of this guy’s work. Last year’s Ugly Animals LP is a perfect punk record: short as fuck, fast as fuck, loud as fuck, pissed as fuck, fucking fucked as fuck. An instant classic.

LISTEN:

The Locust
No précis necessary here, I imagine, but okay, real quick: Pearson’s best-known band is simply one of the greatest bands of the last fifteen years, and definitely one of the most influential and exciting punk acts of all time. The insect costumes, the long and absurd song titles, the synth-punk incursions into powerviolence toughness, the savvy branding and merchandising--everything invented and/or refined by the Locust continues to infuriate, inspire and infect bands who wanna break bones with sound. I sometimes feel like the Locust was/is so good that people either take the band for granted or resent its majestic supremacy. But whatever. The self-titled debut LP is up there with the Minor Threat discography, Operation Ivy’s Energy and the first four Ramones albums on my list of shit every kid needs to hear ASAP.
LISTEN:

Holy Molar
A punning lark starring Pearson, two Locust compatriots (Gabe Serbian, Bobby Bray) and Charles Bronson’s Mark McCoy, Holy Molar didn’t do much to mess with the Locust-derived prog-violence formula, but since when was more of the Locust a bad thing?
LISTEN:

Head Wound City
Pearson teamed with Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), two Blood Brothers and fellow Locust dude Gabe Serbian in the mid-aughts to ever-too-briefly thrash and rage in glorious supergroup style as Head Wound City. The band stuck around just long enough to release a seven-song EP, and it is a sidewinding skullcrusher of a record (the band name could not be more apt). Like the Locust, Head Wound City was capable of cramming an album’s worth of vicious scheming into a one-minute song; the result produces a feeling of simultaneous expansion and contraction, as if you are being stretched to infinity and compacted into a block of concrete.
LISTEN:

All Leather
This sexed-up electro transgression is the only Pearson project I’ve never been able to get down with. I do appreciate the attempt to hijack a sex-shy scene with unabashed perversion and drippy prickishness, but All Leather falls just short of getting me off. That said, if I ever realize my dream of rebooting Red Shoe Diaries as hardcore amateur porn, I’ll have a soundtrack at the ready.
LISTEN:

Three One G Records
Dude runs a record label as well, and it just might constitute his greatest contribution to the world of music. Just peep a few of the artists Pearson has poisoned the well with: Arab on Radar, Get Hustle, Das Oath, Jenny Piccolo, Chinese Stars, Cattle Decapitation. Straight up ridiculous, this guy. Take a nap, man!

From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry
And oh yeah, Pearson also wrote a book. I have yet to read this autobiographical volume. Not because I’m uninterested, but because Pearson’s ceaseless, consistently impressive creative output is, at this point, like an admonition aimed squarely at my lazy shape: Chris, it says, you are not doing nearly enough, buddy. I know, Justin. I know. Pick up my slack, please.

SEE HIM: Retox plays Rotture on Tuesday, May 22 with Narrows, Blowupnihilist and Bronson Arm. 9pm. $10. 21+.

Music Sorry these are really late this week. There was an election on, dontchyaknow. We've been busy.

Every most Tuesdays, we list the top selling albums from local record stores Music Millennium, Jackpot Records and Everyday Music, and the top streamed tracks in Portland on Rhapsody, for the previous week.

The week's in-store appearance guide in below.


Everyday Music

1. Jack White — Blunderbuss
2. Alabama Shakes — Boys & Girls
3. Santigold — Master of My Make Believe
4. Marilyn Manson — Born Villain
5. E-40 — Block Brochure

Music Millenniun

1. Silversun Pickups — Neck of the Woods
2. Mickey Hart — Mysterium Tremendum
3. Bonnie Raitt — Slipstream
4. Jack White — Blunderbuss
5. Alabama Shakes — Boys & Girls

Jackpot Records

1. OFF! — OFF!
2. The Funkees — Dancing Time
3. White Fence — Family Perfume Vol. 1 and 2
4. Screaming Females — Ugly
5. Sanitgold — Master of My Make-Believe

Top 10 tracks streamed on Rhapsody in Portland

1. Gotye — "Somebody That I Used To Know" featuring Kimbra
2. Carly Rae Jepsen — "Call Me Maybe"
3. Kid Ink — "Time Of Your Life"
4. Fun.— "We Are Young" (feat. Janelle Monáe)
5. Train — "Drive By"
6. Justin Bieber — "Boyfriend"
7. One Direction — "What Makes You Beautiful"
8. The Wanted — "Glad You Came"
9. Maroon 5 — "Payphone" featuring Wiz Khalifa
10. Adele — "Someone Like You"

THIS WEEK'S IN-STORES

Friday, May 18
Jackpot Records 15-Year Anniversary Party: Quasi, Minus 5, System and Station, Alialujah Choir, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Dave Depper, Perhapst (John Moen), DJ Mr. Mumu @ The Bagdad (3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd.), 8 pm. $10, tickets from Jackpot and here. 21+

Beyond Veronica @ Music Millennium (3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926), 6 pm

Saturday, May 19
Jaime Leopold and the Short Stories @ Music Millennium, 3 pm

Sunday, May 20
Scott Cossu @ Music Millennium, 2 pm

News

If you haven't voted yet, you have until 8 pm tonight. But because you were too lazy to mail a letter, now you now have to go to a drop box to get your ballot in.

For some reason, the State of Oregon only maintains this really clunky map of ballot drop locations. The Bus Project has put together a slightly better one.

But you know what no one has? A list. So we wrote one. Following are all the drop box locations in Multnomah County. All should be open until 8 pm tonight.

(Not sure who half the candidates are? See our endorsement cheat-sheet here or our full endorsement article here.)

Goodwill Store
3141 N Lombard St.
Ballot drop box at north end of one-way lane for Goodwill donations. Enter off North Knowles Ave.

A-Boy Supply
7365 SW Barbur Blvd.
Ballot drop box at southwest corner of parking lot. Enter off Southwest Terwilliger Blvd.

Capitol Hill Library
10723 SW Capitol Highway
Ballot drop box inside library

Woodstock Library
6008 SE 49th Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library

Holgate Library
7905 SE Holgate Blvd.
Ballot drop box inside library

Belmont Library
1038 SE 39th Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library

Multnomah County Elections Office
1040 SE Morrison
Ballot drop box and voting booths available inside office

Central Library
801 SW 10th Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library, and drive-up drop box located at east side of southwest 11th between Yamhill and Taylor.

Pioneer Square
700 Block of SW Broadway
Ballot drop box next to Starbucks and across from Nordstrom.

Northwest Library
2300 NW Thurman St.
Ballot drop box inside library

Hollywood Library
4040 NE Tillamook St.
Ballot drop box inside library

McDonalds
2010 NE 39th Ave.
Ballot drop box between northeast Tillamook and northeast Hancock

Albina Library
3605 NE 15th Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library

Kenton Library
8226 N Denver Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library

Gregory Heights Library
7921 NE Sandy Blvd.
Ballot drop box inside library

Hillsdale Library
1525 SW Sunset Blvd.
Ballot drop box inside library

Midland Branch Library
805 SE 122nd Ave.
Ballot drop box, also ballot drop box inside library

Troutdale Library
2451 SW Cherry Park Rd.
Ballot drop box inside library

Fairview-Columbia Library
1520 NE Village St.
Ballot drop box inside library

Sellwood-Moreland Library
7860 SE 13th Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library

Gresham Branch Library
385 NW Miller Ave.
Ballot drop box, and ballot drop box inside library

Rockwood Library
17917 SE Stark St.
Ballot drop box inside library

North Portland Library
512 N Killingsworth St.
Ballot drop box inside library

St. Johns Library
7510 N. Charleston Ave.
Ballot drop box inside library