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FRIDAY, APRIL 28
Overlook Film Festival
The inaugural Overlook Film Festival brings a long weekend of new horror film, storytelling, gaming and parties to Timberline Lodge, which served as the creepy exterior of The Shining's Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation. The festival kicks off with Stephanie, a supernatural horror movie about a creepy girl left alone in a house haunted by a malevolent force, directed by Akiva Goldsman of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Timberline Lodge, 27500 W Leg Road, 503-272-3311. April 27-30. See overlookfilmfest.com for a full schedule, individual tickets and passes.
Little Beast Takeover
Having attended the launch at OP Wurst, we can say with certainty: You should show up and drink the living hell out of the two Belgian-style offerings from Charles Porter's new Portland brewery, Little Beast. Fera is a lovely, slightly peppery, classic brett saison, while Bes is an earthshakingly good, slightly tart and very refreshing wheat beer. The Beermongers, 1125 SE Division St., 503-234-6012. 5-8 pm.
Porcelain Raft, Phillip Grass
On his latest effort, Microclimate, Roman New Waver Mauro Remiddi moves past the slinky bounce of his first releases and relies less on the crunchy, near-clipping percussion that gave each track its floating, chillout-tent groove. He strikes a more elegant pose here, among the sleek studio sheen of multilayered synth beats, elevating his DIY interpretation of London electro-pop to a more expansive elegance. But one can't help but miss the naive, maxed-out quality of previous album Strange Weekend. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.
Joseph
Aminé wasn't Portland music's only homegrown success story of the past year. With the release of second album I'm Alone, No You're Not last August, folk-pop trio Joseph became darlings of the New Americana scene. The record front-loads the Closner sisters' pristine harmonies, while dressing them up in sweeping arrangements appropriate for the increasingly bigger stages they're beginning to command. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-225-0047, crystalballroompdx.com. 8 pm. $26 advance, $28 day of show. All ages.
Say Anything, Bayside, Reggie and the Full Effect
Say Anything is on the road this spring to prove it still has some life in it. Frontman and lone original member Max Bemis has retained his razor-sharp lyricism across seven albums, despite a series of lineup changes and mental health issues. The band's latest release, 2016's I Don't Think It Is, shows the aging singer has refused to let marriage and fatherhood compromise his intensity and wit. Each song feels like a spoken-word monologue in which Bemis brandishes a visceral disdain for pseudo-intellectualism and Pitchfork-curated pop culture. A common theme in Say Anything records is Bemis' bipolar disorder and struggle to find mental stability, which offers listeners something refreshingly authentic and vulnerable. I Don't Think It Is is no exception, but it finds Bemis showing a more polished sophistication in the album's arrangements. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., 503-288-3895. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
Pour Oregon
From the mountains to the prairies, to the beaches white with rotting jellyfish, Oregon is a land of delicious wine, boasting 18 American Viticultural Areas and all shades of grape. Pour Oregon, a new wine festival, brings together nearly all of the AVAs for a tasting experience as diverse as it is unique. See our preview here. Castaway Portland, 1900 NW 18th Ave., on Sunday, April 30. 2-7 pm. $60 for a Riedel glass and tastes from all 43 wineries. 21+. Tickets at cellar503.com.
Burn After Listening presents Fire + Ice
Ice instruments, electro-acoustic submerged soundscapes, amplified songs of melting glaciers—in their music for Crazy Jane and Cascadia Composers concerts, Portland composers Lisa Ann Marsh, Stacey Philipps and Jennifer Wright have produced some of the most broadly accessible contemporary classical music being written in Portland today. Now they've formed a collective called Burn After Listening to produce shows that transcend standard, stuffy classical recital format and venues (no churches!) and embracing other art forms. This first production at the new Place studio features their music and art by Finnish multimedia sculptor Melita Westerlund, inspired by, among other things, whales, climate change-induced destruction of glaciers and coral reefs, and, of course, Oregon rain. Place Studio, 735 NW 18th Ave., 503-334-2080. 7:30 pm Friday, April 28. $10-$40. All ages.
Building the Wall
Basically every play now seems as if it's about Donald Trump, but Robert Schenkkan's Building the Wall is actually about Trump. Set in 2019, when mass deportations have taken effect, the play was written by the Pulitzer Prize winner during one weekend in response to Trump's inauguration. See our review here. Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 NE Sandy Blvd., trianglepro.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29. $15-$35.
Óye Oyá
Milagro's next creation is a Spanish-language musical based on The Tempest. Óye Oyá replaces Prospero's mystical island with present day Cuba, and will fuse Shakespeare's plot with zarzuela music and the diasporic Yoruba religion Santería. The plot centers around Yenisel, a woman in her 20s who can't decide if she wants to stay in her native country or take her father's advice and immigrate, and Javier, a Cuban-American Yenisel meets after a shipwreck washes him onto Cuba's shores. Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark St., milagrotheatre.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, April 28-May 27. $20-$27.
Talented Ones
The world premiere of a work by Seattle playwright Yussef El Guindi, tragicomedy Talented Ones tells a tale of unrealized dreams through the lives of Cindy and Omar, two immigrants living in the U.S. whose marriage is falling apart. Guindi is the first playwright Artist Rep commissioned as part of their Table|Room|Stage series, which will comission eight new plays by women and people of color over the next two years. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., artistsrep.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Sunday, 2 pm Sunday, April 29-May 21. Additional shows noon Wednesday, May 10, 7:30 pm Tuesday, May 16, and 2 pm Saturday, May 20. $25-$50.
Madea
It seems callous, even monstrous, to dub all the torrent of horrors that puncuate Imago's production of Medea as "entertainment, but it's the only word that fits. Working from playwright Ben Powers' 2014 version of Euripides' Greek tragedy, director Jerry Mouawad has unleashed something bloodthirsty. But he has also created an intoxicating fusion of intense performances and minimalist staging that honors Powers' intention to go beyond some of Medea's more fanciful flourishes. Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave., imagotheatre.com. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, through May 20. $19-$39.
SATURDAY, APRIL 29
Diet Cig
On debut album I Swear I'm Good at This, co-ed goofballs Diet Cig churn out immensely gratifying two-minute punk-pop songs about tummy aches, barf and the ever-present desire to dance. It's a throwback to a time of cut-and-paste fanzines and mail-order 7-inches, and proof there's still no adolescent trauma a few power chords can't cure. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
The Liberators and Heart
The premise for Jed Arkley and Shelley McLendon's show is already pretty funny: They're going to tell the "improvised history" of '70s epic rock band Heart. It's the most recent show in their series of improvised histories (past bands have included Boston and Duran Duran). Both Arkley and McLendon are well-seasoned improv comics indispensable to the local scene: Arkley is a founder of Stumptown Improv Fest, and McLendon founded the Siren Theater as well as the long-running improv group the Liberators, who will perform after Heart. . Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St., sirentheater.com. 8 pm Saturday, April 29. $10-$15.
SUNDAY, APRIL 30
Eyes of Fire
A cult horror classic set in the pre-Revolution American colonies, Avery Crounse's 1983 tale of witchcraft and blasphemy was consigned to VHS hell for decades. This is an extremely rare opportunity to see a barely seen film on 35 mm. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. 6:30 pm. $9, $7 students and seniors.
Microdosing and Psychedelic Stories
After a brief sitar concert, Paul Austin of the Third Wave will speak about psychedelic microdosing's popularity, risks and benefits; other participants will speak about their experiences with psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic-inspired art and vendors will be on hand. Tickets and more information at peers.space. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St. 4-10 pm. $10 advance, $15 at the door. 21+.
Tim Kasher, Allison Weiss
With a solo career that's slowly eclipsing the definitive work he provided as the post-divorce lush laureate at the helm of Cursive, it seems Tim Kasher is finally inching away from the personal turmoil that fueled much of his early work. The juxtaposition of sad-sack lyrics and trad-rock orchestration still works in Kasher's favor on his latest, the recent No Resolution, which retains much of the twee charm of his work with the Good Life while avoiding the overthought nature and lack of focus that sank the beloved side project's highly anticipated sophomore release, 2015's Everybody's Coming Down. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.