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FRIDAY, OCT. 27
56 Days of August Book Launch
For 11 consecutive Augusts, the Poetry Postcard Fest has featured all the poetry that's fit to print on a little piece of reinforced paper that could be placed in a mailbox without additional postage. To celebrate anthology 56 Days of August, organizer Kelleyanne Pearce will read with contributors Beth Bown, Carolyn Adams, Keli Osborn, Abhaya Thomas, Rachel Barton, Eliza Rinaldi and Susan Tracy. Mother Foucault's, 523 SE Morrison St., motherfoucaultsbookshop.com. 7 pm.
The Events
This whirlwind play follows a survivor of a mass shooting as she attempts to process what she experienced. The seriously intense story is told by just two actors, plus a community choir that looms on the edge of the stage like a Greek chorus. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., thirdrailrep.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday through Nov. 18. $25-$45.
Attractor
Somewhere between a contemporary dance show and a ritual, Dancenorth Australia's show is full of trance-like thrashing and set to live music by an experimental throat-singing duo from Indonesia. Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., whitebird.org. 8 pm. $25-$34.
Strip Club Haunted House
DJ Dick Hennessy is bringing Portland's first strip club haunted house back for the third year in a row. This year's theme? A timely Haunted Strip Club Mansion, inspired by Hugh Hefner himself. Spyce Gentleman's Club, 33 NW 2ng Ave., 503-243-4646, stripclubhauntedhouse.com. 9 pm-2:30 am through Oct. 31. $15, 21+.
Lee Ranaldo
The ex-Sonic Youth guitarist's solo stuff has never set the world ablaze—his new album, Electric Trim, is reminiscent of late-period R.E.M.—but no matter. Rarely do you get the chance to see someone of his legendary pedigree this close-up. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 503-328-2865, bunksandwiches.com/bunkbar. 9:30 pm. $20. 21+.
Fierce Ghost Eats Human Region
Lining the walls of the Cobra Lounge behind Tiny's Coffee on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard are 35 of the most bizarre and gory Ghanaian movie posters Wyrd War could find. In the mid-'80s, VHS tapes of American movies became widely available in Ghana. To advertise the temporary movie theaters, artists would paint pulpy, surreal scenes on large sheets of stitched-together flour sacks. Despite their popularity with private collectors, the posters are rarely exhibited, even though they were initially created for a public audience. Most of the posters in Wyrd War's exhibit are on loan from Chicago's Deadly Prey Gallery. Brian Chankin, Deadly Prey's owner, will give a talk at the exhibit's closing reception. Read our feature on the exhibit here. Cobra Lounge, 2027 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., wyrdwar.com. 7 pm-10 pm. Free.
SATURDAY, OCT. 28
Killer Beer Fest
As the finale to Killer Beer Week, Bailey's Taproom throws down a wild mess of best-in-class or rare beers downstairs—and this year the upstairs will have a full takeover from kick-ass Cali spot Pizza Port. Bailey's Taproom, 213 SW Broadway, 503-295-1004, baileystaproom.com. Noon-midnight.
Kesha
Having survived a traumatic past few years, Kesha is no longer bragging about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels. On new album Rainbow, she puts aside her party-monster persona in favor of emotional pop ballads, fuzzed-out rock and country duets, and club jams that are less self-deprecating and more fiercely feminist. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033, roselandpdx.com. 8 pm. Sold out. 21+.
EMA, The Blow, Decorum
On Exile in the Outer Ring, Erika M. Anderson's latest deep recon mission into the American psyche, she inhabits the Outer Ring, a fictionalized reference to the very real zone surrounding most cities inhabited by those who've been pushed out of urban centers. These are songs of the hopeless, the disenfranchised, the angry—those who, in Anderson's own words, "drive Toyota Camrys and get fucked up in Best Buy parking lots." Giving their lives an eerie sheen redolent of dingy alleys lit only by headlights, she smears noise, clanging beats and mangled synths across a bleak lyrical canvas. The Portland transplant is joined tonight by ex-Portlanders, the Blow, currently promoting their own new album of experimental electro-pop, Brand New Abyss. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.
SUNDAY, OCT. 29
Kumoricon 2017
Did you know thousands of animé fans pour into Portland for the city's 15-year-running animé convention? It's one of the many ways the Japan-Portland obsession goes both ways. There will be mascots, cosplay contests, lip sync, karaoke, sake tasting, and of course, a ton of food. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., kumoricon.org, $40-55. All ages.
Indian Diwali Dinner
Leena Ezekiel's always excellent Thali Supper Club Indian-food pop-up will host its annual Diwali dinner this year to celebrate the Indian festival of lights. For $74, you'll get a full seven-course meal including pakoras, cinnamon-garlic spiced karhai gosht goat, a mattar paneer dish with peas and tomato, and a five-spice pineapple chutney dish with mustard and jaggery. Tournant, 920 NE Glisan St., 503-206-4463. 6-11 pm. Tickets at eatfeastly.com.
Filament Series: Hauntings
The Filament reading series, run by (and featuring) students at Portland State's MFA program, will host writers reading what they feel to be ghost stories, whether spooky scares or perhaps the much grimmer hauntings of memory. The guest reader will be Susan DeFreitas, author of eco-activist bildungsroman Hot Season. It's at Turn! Turn Turn! so you can also buy records if you like. Spoooooooky. Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth St., 503-284-6019. 7 pm-9 pm.
Bug Appetite With the Bug Chef
For a little Halloween flavor, skull-and-weird-stuff shop Paxton Gate—itself a Halloween gallery all year—will host a bug event with bug chef David George Gordon (Eat-a-Bug Cookbook) making all sorts of bug snacks with "insects and their kin." He'll also teach you how to make your own bug snacks if you'd like. As seems almost necessary, alcohol will be served. Paxton Gate, 4204 N Mississippi Ave, 503-719-4508. 7-9 pm. Free.
Sincerity Is Gross Anniversary Show
Lasting a year in Portland's comedy scene is something to celebrate. So for their first anniversary, the weekly standup showcase is bringing together some of Portland's finest, most of whom host showcases of their own. The Slide Inn, 2348 SE Ankeny St., slideinnpdx.com. 7:30 pm. Free.
GuignolFest
Since it was founded in 2008, the 72-hour horror movies festival has helped nurture and challenge Portland's DIY filmmakers. This year will feature at least 17 filmmaking teams. Each will be selected to make a film in a specific horror sub-genre, which includes erotic, grindhouse, environmental and occult. Then, the entire film has to be written, filmed and edited in three days. The festival then culminates in a one-night screening. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., cstpdx.com. 7:30 pm Sunday, Oct. 29. $15.