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Soul'd Out's most psychedelic show is Friday. Meet the guy who made "The Fly on Saturday. And on Sunday, a 60-year-old with two fake hips dances ballet. Here are our WW picks for the best weekend:
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
Holy Grove
[DOOMY GUITAR] Nobody in Holy Grove has ever had high expectations. So far, the band has been largely guided by a looseness that dates back to its spontaneous formation in 2012, when the members all met on Craigslist. Holy Grove dips its toes into the classic-rock lineage of bands like Deep Purple as well, without fully committing to any one genre. It is simply born out of people coming together with the simple intention of making music. High Water Mark, 6800 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., with Demon Eye and Disenchanter. 9 pm. $10. 21+.
AU with The Camas High School Choir, Edna Vazquez, Luz Elena Mendoza
[CHORAL MADNESS] A year ago, at the behest of arts-in-education organization Young Audiences of Oregon and SW Washington, AU's Luke Wyland partnered with Camas High School choral director Ethan Chessin to develop a program of new music. It's an ideal pairing, really, given that AU often reaches near-spiritual levels of transcendent ecstasy in its otherwise undefinable sound. Tonight, Wyland and Chessin—along with Like a Villain's Holland Andrews, members of Blue Cranes, Aan and the Crenshaw, and the choral program's 155 singers—share the results, and while it's going to be unpredictable, we have no qualms telling you it's one of the must-see music events of the season. Yale Union, 800 SE 10th Ave. 7 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
Bilal, TopHat
[PSYCHEDELIC SOUL] Philadelphia singer-songwriter Bilal Sayeed Oliver often gets lumped in with the neo-soul movement, but in retrospect the guy was much more futurist than historical re-enactor. In a way, he's the predecessor to R&B genre-busters like Anderson .Paak and Miguel. He's never been the most prolific artist—he's released only five albums since 2001—but it could just be because he's never found an ideal collaborator. If In Another Life is any indication, Bilal's newfound partnership with producer Adrian Younge could prove fruitful: His Prince-ly voice and unique delivery pairs exceptionally well with Younge's trademark dusty-soul production. To a degree, it's the most "retro" he's ever sounded, but it still sounds like little else. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. $20 general admission, $30 VIP. 21+.
Blue Door
[THEATER] The audience is "a bunch of white people," says one of the many black characters in Blue Door. And he's not wrong. The second show in Profile's season dedicated to Pulitzer Prize nominee Tanya Barfield follows an insomnia-ridden professor who imagines meeting his dead ancestors. It begins with Lewis (Victor Mack), a philosophy and math professor, lying awake in a bed surrounded by chains, ears of corn, an African drum and a "White Only" sign. As Lewis talks about his life, he opens a metaphorical door to the past, allowing in a steady stream of visitors, all played by Seth Rue. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder St., 503-242-0080. 7:30 pm. $38, $20 under 30.
Bruery Terreux Tap Takeover
[BEERS] Bruery Terreux—the wild-and-sour wing of California's The Bruery—will have a tap takeover at Cascade Barrel House, with a live tapping at 6 pm of a collaboration beer blend with Cascade. Expect also Terreux's Filmishmish, Humulus Terreux, Oude Tart with Cherries, Sourrento, Blue BBLS, and White Chocolate (non-sour). Brewers will be on hand to buttonhole, should you like. Cascade Brewing, 939 SE Belmont St., cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com. 6 pm. Free.
Hope Jahren
[BOOKS] Hope Jahren is one of the top geoscientists in the world—she won the James B. Macelwane medal in 2005, which is like the Oscars of geoscientists, or at least the ESPYs. She's an expert in using isotope to date real old trees. But Jahren is probably better known as an advocate for women in science, speaking out on sexual harassment in the lab. Her new book, Lab Girl, is part memoir, part science book. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St.,
800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.
Pearl Dive Project
[DANCE EXPERIMENT] For the first time, BodyVox asked experts from other industries to choreograph new works, which it's premiering at this season opener. It might be the most experimental show in the 18-year-old company's history. The 11 "creatives" include Byron Beck, a 53-year-old Portland blogger and former Willamette Week editor, Pink Martini singer China Forbes, Dharma Bums frontman Jeremy Wilson, a director for M&Ms ads and Colombian landscape architects. BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Ave., bodyvox.com. 7:30 pm. $25.
Roger Clyne and the Pacemakers
[FIZZY FUZZY TOUR] They say Roger Clyne could have been a superstar. He had the makings—that jangly country-pop guitar, vivid imagery of banditos lurking behind the saguaros, sipping warm cans of Tecate. And that voice, relaxed and smooth with an ever-so-slight bite on the finish, like a good reposado. Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., with Rootjack. 8 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. 21+.
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
The Fly
[SPECIAL EFFECTS] Special-effects guru Chris Walas is intimately familiar with the monsters packed in the closet of your mind. He's the man who transformed furry little fuzzballs into grotesque monsters (and tossed them in a blender) in Gremlins, did uncredited work on Jabba the Hutt's barge, helped melt the face off a Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark and brought to life the creepy-crawlies in the cult alien flick Enemy Mine. But Walas' finest work is undoubtedly on display in David Cronenberg's ghastly, horrifying 1986 remake of The Fly, which the Oscar-winning creature-effects legend is screening at the Hollywood. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. 7:30 pm.
Amadeus
[POP OPERA] Opera Theater Oregon—a group seeking to bring opera back into pop culture—hosts a benefit screening of the director's cut of Milos Forman's Amadeus. Clinton Street Theater. 1:30 pm
Jay Electronica, the Has
[RAP SCHOLAR] Depending on your perspective, Jay Electronica is the epitome of either bloated hype or stifled genius. The New Orleans MC is the most outspoken rapper of his generation never to release a proper album. In 2007, after releasing Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)—a 15-minute "concept EP" featuring beats built from the soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—Electronica was widely considered to be on the verge of dropping an instant-classic LP. Nearly a decade later, nothing has come. He has grasped at relevancy through guest verses, singles and tour dates for the last nine years, and his poetic gift remains unquestioned. But the hope of ever getting that elusive classic has begun to deflate. A real, live Jay Electronica show feels like a fleeting consolation prize at this point. MATT SCHONFELD. Dante's, 350 W Burnside St. 9 pm. $25. 21+.
Out at Sea and First Inaugural
[POLITICAL RANTINGS] The little white box of Blackfish Art Gallery turns into a makeshift theater with metal folding chairs for Readers Theatre Repertory's Election Year Extravaganza. The black comedy Out at Sea is a political allegory, following three suave city dwellers who get stranded on a raft and resort to Trump-like lobbying in order to save their lives. First Inaugural is more obvious. It starts with Republican presidents' most influential speeches and slowly progresses to propaganda from "a billionaire tycoon whose next address may be the Oval Office." Not to point stubby fingers. Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave., 971-570-3787. 8 pm. $8.
Pink Collar Comedy Tour
[FUNNY GIRLS] This all-female standup crew from New York bills itself on brazen honesty and estrogen-themed jokes. Portlander Belinda Carroll, a comedy producer with Portlandia and Grimm credits, joins for this show, which is also a benefit for Planned Parenthood. Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 9:30 pm. $12 in advance, $20 day of show.
Sound of Music Sing-Along
[THE WEST HILLS ARE ALIVE] They say that the first generation lives it, the second forgets it and the third brings it back. Sofia von Trapp is living proof of that. Von Trapp and her three siblings are great-grandchildren of The Sound of Music's Georg and Maria. The Portland-based quartet started touring internationally when Sofia's younger brother, August, was just 7 years old. The von Trapps' 15-year run ends in Portland this spring, culminating in a sing-along Sound of Music at Cinema 21 starting Friday and running through May 1. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. 2 and 7 pm. $15.
Wolff Gallery Grand Opening
[ART GALLERY] For its inaugural show, Wolff Gallery invited five female photographers to make images of themselves and other women. Wolff co-curators Zemie Barr and Shannon O'Connor wanted to see what would happen if they eliminated the male gaze. The result is that the portraits and self-portraits in Now I Am Myself—images of women naked, bound, submerged, exposed, waiting and wanting to be looked at—feel quietly subversive because none of the subjects is sexualized. We have become so accustomed to seeing women depicted in a particular way that anything else takes getting used to. Wolff Gallery, 618 NW Glisan St., Suite R1, 971-413-1340. Through May 1.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
Beautiful Decay
[NOT YOUR AVERAGE BALLET] 20-something ballerinas share the stage with sexagenarian dancers Gregg Bielemeier and Susan Banyas for Oregon Ballet Theatre's final show in a season that's been dominated by classics like The Nutcracker and Romeo & Juliet. Beautiful Decay is something different. Dancers flutter en pointe, then crouch like Gollum. This is the OBT debut for Bielemeier, and his first performance since double hip-replacement surgery. Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. 2 pm. $29-$146.
Bonnie Raitt, the California Honeydrops
[BLUES] On her previous album, 2012's Slipstream, Bonnie Raitt returned to Bob Dylan's songwriting well, assaying a pair of tunes from his 1997 return to songwriting, Time Out of Mind. This time around, on the new Dig in Deep, her attention-getting cover choices are a pair of '80s tunes, one somewhat obscure—Los Lobos' "Shakin' Shakin' Shakes"—and one, improbably, a big hit: INXS's "Need You Tonight" Removed from its electro-funk origins and slathered with Raitt's slide guitar, the latter song loses much of its appeal, but the album overall retains Raitt's charm. JEFF ROSENBERG. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St. 7:30 pm. Sold out. All ages.
A Doll's House
[PLAY HOUSE] You're seated inside a human-sized dollhouse with see-through walls in the newest production from Shaking the Tree. And it feels like you shouldn't be there. From the living room, you witness a domestic scandal unfold in the turn-of-the-century Norway home of an uptight lawyer named Torvald and his little wifey Nora. Each room in their house is lit up a pop art color that would never hold up in late Ibsen's Norway: Torvald's study is blue, Nora's room is pink, the dining room is purple and the entryway is red. As you peer around the stove to witness Torvald and Nora's juiciest fight, Samantha Van Der Merwe's genius staging makes you feel like a fly on the wall. Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant St., 503-235-0635. 7:30 pm. $25.
The Invitation
[MOVIE NIGHT] This dinner-party thriller evokes the Manson murders in present-day L.A., where Will and Kira attend a grating dinner party thrown by Will's ex-wife and her new husband—at Will's former home. Will's irking suspicions balloon into psychological thrills, neatly edited and dimly lit by director Karyn Kusama (Aeon Flux, Jennifer's Body), with a not so subtle nod to Scientology, too. This film's mind games play rough, though the action drags at times. See a Q&A with Kusama on page 46. PG-13. Critic's Grade: B+. MERYL WILLIAMS. Kiggins, Laurelhurst.
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