Willamette Weekend: 15 Things to Do and See Oct. 23-25

FRIDAY, OCT. 23

Ed Schrader's Music Beat

[PRIMAL PUNK] Baltimore is a weird town. So it makes since that, as Baltimore natives, Ed Schrader's Music Beat makes weird music. In one moment, its songs are rhythmic and almost jazzy; in the next, it's lacerating and primal, and any sort of serenity is completely obliterated. In that way, 2014's minimalistic Party Jail is either exploding or constantly on the verge of exploding. You can never tell when Schrader's smooth baritone is going to be interrupted by his own violent screech. You just know it's going to happen, and it's going to be awesome. SHANNON GORMLEY. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave. 9:30 pm. $8. 21+.

Sex with Strangers

[THEATER] It's hard to imagine two characters more different than Olivia and Ethan. She's a neurotic intellectual who's always cleaning; he talks with his mouth full and pees with the bathroom door open. But it doesn't take long for these polar personalities to wind up doing the nasty in Sex With Strangers, playwright Laura Eason's ode to romance in the age of Wi-Fi. In the end, monogamy prevails. Still, with its sharp dialogue and nuanced performances, the play is satisfying in the way that whipped cream is: a light treat before bedtime—the perfect nightcap and maybe even better than sex. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm TuesdayS-SundayS, noon ThursdayS and 2 pm SaturdayS-SundayS. Through Nov. 22. $25-$50.

Gehenna, Theories, Landmine Marathon, Worthless Eaters

[NEGATIVE HARDCORE] Gehenna shares a name with a Norwegian black-metal outfit, but this hardcore bruiser from California doesn't need corpse paint to evoke sinister vibes. In fact, the band's violent reputation, birthed by pre-Google apocrypha and nourished by latter-day message board chatter, often overshadows conversations about content. It's a shame. Since forming in 1993, Gehenna has panned the blackest streams of punk and metal for mean sounds that mix well, and its catholic approach to extreme music has become the default M.O. for 21st-century hardcore bands (see: pretty much everything on Southern Lord Records). So go for the notorious show, stay for the vital music. CHRIS STAMM. Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy Blvd. 9 pm. $10 advance, $13 day of show. 21+.

Equus

[HORSE PLAY] Manic and stunning, Equus fulfills our Fall Arts Guide prediction that theater would get grim. Inspired by the true English case of 17-year-old Alan Strang (Phillip Berns) blinding six horses with a metal spike, Peter Shaffer's notorious play imagines the boy's therapy with children's psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Todd Van Voris) and unpacks his crime in a series of nightmarish flashbacks. Post5 power couple and Ty and Cassandra Boice co-direct, and here their penchant for showmanship is at its best. They set a stark stage—just a black box and a swivel chair—and populate it with twisted personalities. For a true Halloween haunting, skip the new Guillermo del Toro flick or Fright Town—one look from Berns will fill your quota. ENID SPITZ. Post5 Theatre, 1666 SE Lambert St., 971-258-8584. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday. Through Nov. 14. $15-20.

New Now Wow!

[DANCE] Northwest Dance Project is trying to define itself. The contemporary company's annual opener, always titled New Now Wow!, is its chance to make a statement and introduce itself to the Portland dance scene. But this season, don't expect anything straightforward. Instead, the company starts with three emerging, foreign artists whose pieces are all based on an existential crisis of sorts. World premieres from Czech choreographer Jirí Pokorný and German choreographer Felix Landerer are on the program, alongside a favorite from the nine-member company's 12-year repertoire—Mother Tongue by the Zurich-based choreographer Ihsan Rustem. KAITIE TODD. PSU's Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., nwdanceproject.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 22-24. $29-$49.

SATURDAY, OCT.24

Drake & Cake featuring DJs Ronin Roc, Gang$ign$, Nine Inch Nilina

[WHAT A TIME TO BE BORN] Canada's greatest cultural export since Rick Moranis turns 29 today, and while Drake himself is probably spending the day in an aromatherapy bath, you can pay homage to rap's most touchy-feely superstar by the hitting floor for all-Aubrey sets from three of Holocene's staple DJs. Then, of course, go home and have a good cry. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St. 10 pm. $10. 21+.

Garbage People: Ghoul Story, Bro!

[SCARY FUNNY] Brodie Kelly's Garbage People gets possessed by guest hosts Dan Weber and Wednesday Weiss for a spooky storytelling show headlined by Emmett Montgomery, Norm MacDonald's favorite comedian from the most recent season of Last Comic Standing. The Waypost, 3120 N Williams Ave., 367-3182. 9 pm. $6.66 advance, $10 day of show. 21+.

Jim Riswold: Tips for Artists Who Don't Want to Sell

[ART GALLERY] Hanging just above a giant resin lollipop in the shape of Kim Jong-un, Jim Riswold's Tips for Artists who Don't Want to Sell includes pearls of wisdom like, "art with Hitler sells less quickly than art without Hitler." Riswold's favorite subjects (read: targets) include Adolph Hitler and his henchmen Goebbels and Himmler, Benito Mussolini, Vladimir Putin and Mao Zedong. Among the works on display at Augen are the absurdly hilarious "Beer Hall Putsch Hitler," a large-scale framed print that depicts the German dictator as a fashion doll, sporting a colorful frock over his Nazi uniform. In "Goering's Lollipop," a plastic Goering figurine raises a lollipop to his mouth. The Kim Jong–un series is ten colored prints of suckers molded into the likeness of the North Korean leader, captioned "Kim Jong-Un is a big fat sucker!" Funny and irreverent, this collection is just a sample from Riswold, who laughs down life's bullies (like cancer and Hitler) by refusing them the dignity of being taken seriously. HILARY TSAI. Through Oct. 31. Augen Gallery, 716 NW Davis St., 546-5056.

Ecliptic 2nd Anniversary

John Harris' brewery is turning 2 in style, with an intergalactic party offering free hors d'oeuvres, music by the Minus 5, and a bunch of crazy-ass beers including strawberry ale, orange bourbon barleywine, 1½-year-old Belgian and a blackberry sour. Ecliptic Brewing, 825 N Cook St., 265-8002. Noon.

YACHT, Larry Gus

[SCIENTIFIC DISCO] From glitchy laptop experimentalists to dance-pop eccentrics to a band important enough to announce its new album via a billboard in L.A., it's been a long, strange trip for YACHT. Formerly one of the leading lights of the Portland music scene, Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans moved to Los Angeles a couple years ago, but the music hasn't gotten any less weird, or conceptual. "I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler," the lead single off its upcoming album of the same name, is an electro-disco banger—something like Blondie's "Rapture" updated for the internet age—undercut by feelings of technological malaise. It's an ironic juxtaposition which seems precisely like something only they would come up with. MATTHEW SINGER. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. 9 pm. $15 advance, $17 day of show. All ages.

Avon Romance Presents: KissCon Portland

[BOOKS] As his car pulled past the Taco Bell on Cedar Hills Boulevard, her pulse quickened. As he down-shifted to turn left into the parking lot, her palms began to moisten, like the windows of the Subaru Outback in front of them. She couldn't hold it back anymore: there they were, at the most erotic place known to humankind—Cedar Hills Crossing. Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 228-4651. 5:30 pm. Free.

SUNDAY, OCT. 25

The King Khan & BBQ Show

[GARAGE ROCK] A molly-crazed King Khan and a curmudgeonly BBQ found their relationship sundered in a mysterious "Australian incident" several years ago, but have apparently mended their frayed egos and are hitting the road again. Doesn't matter if you're a denim-clad garage turkey, a college student, a Burger Records baby, or even an actual adult, King Khan and BBQ are a duo you probably don't hate. The mid-2000s' finest garage band returns, but don't call it a comeback…or do, I don't give a shit. BRACE BELDEN. Dante's, 350 W Burnside St. 8 pm. $14. 21+.

Thali Supper Cart

The Thali Supper Club pop-up offers some of the Portland area's best Indian food, but only once a month and at a $60-plus price tag that leaves a lot of diners out in the cold. Well, set your damn phone alarm. Until it runs out, Thali's Leena Ezekiel will be serving murgh makhani (butter chicken) and goat biryani out of a food cart parked in front of Lardo. Lardo Hawthorne, 1212 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 234-7786. 5 pm.

Cat Hoch

[FUZZY DREAM POP] Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Riley Geare might be the most famous name on Cat Hoch's debut solo EP, but lest one forget, the project is still under her own appellation. Hoch (pronounced "hawk") is a local vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who got her start playing drums in Tender Age. She's since performed alongside an impressive roster of other Portland acts—including Jackson Boone, Eternal Tapestry (whose Nick Bindeman lends his guitar work to this EP), Daydream Machine and more—throughout her still nascent musical career. With her first set of solo songs, Hoch establishes herself as a force of mutable sounds and spacey styles. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Valet and Sinless, on Sunday, Oct. 25. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Alicia Jo Rabins

[BOOKS] Alicia Jo Rabins is a human of many talents. She played in a New York City klezmer band for years, created a solo version of A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff that was one of our favorite shows of 2014 and still found the time to publish the poems in Divinity School, which won the 2015 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize. Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 228-4651. 4 pm. Free.

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