Get Busy: Stuff to Do This Week, Inside and Outdoors

The third installment of John Waters’ thematic Trash Trilogy, “Desperate Living” stars Mink Stole as a neurotic housewife on the run after her maid helps kill her husband.

Desperate Living Desperate Living

SEE | Desperate Living (1977)

The third installment of John Waters’ thematic “Trash Trilogy,” this dark comedy stars Mink Stole as a neurotic housewife on the run after her maid helps kill her husband. The pair end up in Mortville, a settlement filled with criminals and ruled by the evil Queen Carlotta (Edith Massey) and Princess Coo-Coo (Mary Vivian Pearce). Screens in 35 mm. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Aug. 11. $8-$10.

SEE | Jason Rising

Though almost no one would remember them this way—the hockey mask and machete loom larger—the original Friday the 13th installments were New Jersey movies. But if you were an Oregon-based horror obsessive in the ‘80s, like teenager James Sweet, Jason Voorhees lurked behind every boathouse, cabin and fir tree. “Growing up a fan of Friday the 13th,” Sweet explains, “every time you’re around these [natural] areas, the only thing that goes through your head is, ‘Oh, this looks like Camp Crystal Lake.’” The visions never left, and 30 years later, Sweet directed Jason Rising, an Oregon-made fan film, premiering Friday, Aug. 13, at the Hollywood Theatre. With crowdfunded production contributions exceeding $25,000, Jason Rising joins a recent string of Friday the 13th fan outings stoking this specific slasher cult. This one, however, promises to deliver Sweet’s ideal Jason and the kill his co-creator, the late Oregon actor Robert Blanche, always dreamed of. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. 7:30 pm Friday, Aug. 13. Tickets available at Eventbrite. $13 for general admission, $113 for VIP.

GO | Laidback Lagerfest

Other than our hardworking window A/C units, the only comfort that’s gotten us through this particularly hot, arid summer is can after can of refreshing lagers. With next week’s forecast looking particularly ovenlike, Uptown Beer’s new festival couldn’t be timed more perfectly. The Laidback Lagerfest, designed as a summer version of the bottle shop’s Black Saturday Dark Beer Festival, will feature more than 20 easy-drinking beers on tap, primarily from local producers celebrated for the style, including Buoy, Heater Allen and Wayfinder. If that doesn’t cool you off, lean into the tropical theme, which includes screenings of surf flicks and food from pop-up Sure Shot Surf Snacks, and pretend like you’ve hopped a plane to Hawaii for the day. Uptown Beer, 6620 SW Scholls Ferry Road, 503-336-4783, uptownbeer.co. 4 pm Saturday, Aug. 14. $15 for a commemorative pint glass, sticker and five tasting tickets.

GO | The Lot Summer Music Festival

Music festivals are back—at least kind of. Outdoor, socially distanced venue the Lot is hosting two days of back-to-back concerts by regional and local artists. There are four shows each night, and the lineup is a fitting display of the diversity of Pacific Northwest music. Day one will range from a showcase of local hip-hop and neosoul collective People Music to folk-rock favorite Blitzen Trapper. Day two will feature the big band cumbia of Orquestra Pacifico Tropical and rising Seattle R&B singer Parisalexa. Sure, you may be confined to fenced-off, individual seating areas instead of lounging in a sea of blankets and lawn chairs, but hey, at least that means you can worry a lot less about some stranger coughing on you. The Lot at Zidell Yards, 3030 S Moody Ave., thelotatzidellyards.com. 6 pm Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 14-15. $60 per day.

DO | Tropitaal

One of Portland’s favorite dance nights is making its return. Hosted by stalwart DJs Anjali and the Incredible Kid, Tropitaal mixes club music from India and South America—everything from urban desi to trap and reggaeton. Pre-pandemic, the monthly party regularly packed the Goodfoot’s basement dance floor. The first Tropitaal since the pandemic will feature guest DJ Papi Fimbres—drummer of seemingly every other Portland band. The Goodfoot requires proof of vaccination, so be sure to bring your vaccine card or a photo of it. The Goodfoot, 2845 SE Stark St., thegoodfoot.com. 10 pm Saturday, Aug. 14. $12. 21+.

GO | Andy Haynes

Andy Haynes isn’t a nice guy comedian, but he doesn’t rely on tired stereotypes to float his jokes. He’ll wax charmingly enough about the trials of being a reasonably empathetic white adult male in our modern society—then out of nowhere say something hilarious that will mess you up for days. A regular at both Comedy Store in L.A. and the Comedy Cellar in NYC, you’ve probably seen Haynes in at least one sketch comedy bit—or that commercial where he keeps trying to break up with his couch only to wake up on it in the morning. We expect him to blow up to John Mulaney levels of fame any day now. Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 10th Ave., portland.heliumcomedy.com. 8 pm Monday, Aug. 16. $15-$23. 21+.

REMOTE IN | Melissa Broder

Local publisher Tin House assembled three of Melissa Broder’s cult out-of-print poetry books—When You Say One Thing but Mean Your Mother, Meat Heart and Scarecrone—as well as the best of her fourth, Last Sext, into a collection called Superdoom. Broder is a millennial icon who gained notoriety for writing a Vice column and Twitter account, both called So Sad Today. Her poems are surreal, grotesque and often deeply funny. It’s not actually all that surprising that someone so good at tweeting would also turn out to know their way around a poem. Broder is joined in conversation by Katherine Morgan, author of No Self-Respecting Woman. Register at powells.com. 5 pm Tuesday, Aug. 17. Free.

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