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Wednesday, May 2
Salt
You can always count on Shaking the Tree's plays to be unconventional. But its newest play is truly experimental—a series of performance pieces staged throughout the theater that the audience can explore like paintings in a gallery. Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., 503-235-0635, shaking-the-tree.com. 7 pm. Through May 6. $10-$30.
Electric Wizard
It took a while, but veteran English doomsayers Electric Wizard have finally found a wide audience. Is it the smothering blankets of doom metal or lowbrow horror aesthetic driving their popularity? Probably a bit of both. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., 971-230-0033, roselandpdx.com. 8:30 pm. Sold out. 21+.
Thursday, May 3
Raclette Night
At a raclette dinner, cheese is melted directly off the wheel and scraped onto your bread-, ham- and potato-laden plate. Pair it with one of Occidental's continental-style beers, sit back and dream of the French Alps. Occidental Brewing Company, 6635 N Baltimore Ave., 503-286-3686, occidentalbrewing.com. 5-9 pm (or until the cheese runs out). $20 for the raclette plate, $5 for extra cheese.
Thank You for Supporting the Arts
Portland stripper Viva Las Vegas has advocated for sex-worker rights, fronted punk bands and continued stripping after a mastectomy. Now she's the subject of this vulnerable documentary. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 NW Park Ave., 503-221-1156, nwfilm.org. 7 pm. $9.
Friday, May 4
Filmed By Bike Festival
Before the festival embarks on its annual tour, its 16th year kicks off with two screenings of bike-related short films. There'll be a stop-motion Lego film, emotional stories and plenty of epic bike-trip scenery. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7 and 9 pm. Through May 6. $15-$65.
LeVar Burton Reads
For each live taping of his podcast, the former Reading Rainbow host and Star Trek star picks a different work of short fiction to read aloud. It doesn't matter which story he picks—it's fucking Levar Burton, reading to you in person. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., 503-288-3895, revolutionhall.com. 8 pm. $30-$100. All ages.
Saturday, May 5
¡Tepache! Bottle share
As the weather warms—sort of—hard cider brewer Nat West presents his fermented pineapple tepache to the public. Bring your own bottle of beer and you'll get access to the party area with all you can drink tepache. Reverend Nat's Hard Cider Public Tap Room & Cidery, 1813 NE 2nd Ave., 503-567-2221, reverendnatshardcider.com. 4-10 pm. $10, plus one bottle of beer.
Rosa Red
The newest folk musical from Broken Planetarium is based on letters German socialist Rosa Luxemburg wrote to her close friend Sophie Liebknecht before being murdered in 1919. It's defiant, compassionate and profoundly moving. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 503-238-5588, brokenplanetarium.org. 8 pm. Through May 12. $15-$20.
Sunday, May 6
TDE Championship Tour
Finally, Kendrick Lamar is coming back to Portland—or close enough—and he is bringing damn near the entire roster of his label, Top Dawg Entertainment, with him. This is the front-runner for show of the year. Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield, Wash., 360-816-7000, sunlightsupplyamphitheater.com. 7:30 pm. $39-$595. All ages.
Much Ado About Nothing
Oregon Shakespeare Festival hired world-renowned playwright Rajnit Bolt to translate Much Ado About Nothing word for word into contemporary English. Portland Shakespeare Project is premiering the new version of the Bard's marriage plot with a staged reading. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 503-241-1278, portlandshakes.org. 7:30 pm. Free.
Monday, May 7
Kevin Kwan
Singaporean author Kevin Kwan's razor-sharp satire Crazy Rich Asians was a critical hit upon release in 2013, and it's being adapted into the first major movie with an all-Asian cast in a quarter-century. Tonight, though, Kwan reads from his latest novel, 2017's Rich People Problems. Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 503-228-4651, powells.com. Free.
All That Heaven Allows
Douglas Sirk's masterpiece is a carefully crafted critique of American culture wrapped in a 1950s melodrama. It screens as part of NW Film's Case of the Mondays series. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-221-1156, nwfilm.org. 7 pm. $9.
Tuesday, May 8
Born Ruffians
Born Ruffians' spastic sound cuts through the flotsam of modern life and grabs you by the collar. Expect the room to go wild from the first chord. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 503-231-9663, dougfirlounge.com. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.
Pianos Become the Teeth
The Baltimore quintet began as a standard-issue screamo band with a taste for the epic and gradually evolved into the group found on this year's Wait for Love, landing halfway between Touché Amoré and the National. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 8:30 pm. $17 advance, $20 day of show. 21+.