Get Inside: 9 Things to Do While Stuck at Home This Week

Go to a drive-in drag show, listen to the best Lana Del Rey album for people who hate Lana Del Rey and celebrate 30 years of America's greatest independent video store.

WATCH: “Ex Libris”

It's National Library Week, which means you should take some time to thank your hardworking yet probably underappreciated local librarian and then pay homage to the establishments themselves by watching this 2017 film. In the gargantuan 197-minute El Libris, prolific documentarian Frederick Wiseman provides an in-depth look at the fourth-largest library in the world: the New York Public Library. Through a series of vignettes and interviews with both unknown and famous patrons like Patti Smith and Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wiseman depicts the necessity of public institutions dedicated to knowledge. Streams on Kanopy.

STREAM: OBT Raw

For the company's second set of intimate livestream shows, Oregon Ballet Theatre's dancers performs works by classic choreographers like Bournonville and Balanchine, and more contemporary works by the likes of Nacho Duato. COVID-19 might've forced the company to cancel its big-ticket, fully staged shows, but these stripped-down virtual performances have highlighted what OBT's dancers do best—emotive, athletically astounding movements. Oregon Ballet Theatre, obt.org. 7:30 pm April 8-17. $20.

STREAM: Alela Diane

As if her wistful vocals weren't already soothing enough, Alela Diane will perform her livestream at Holocene by candlelight. In celebration of her new live album, the Portland singer-songwriter performs a solo, piano and guitar set of her layered, intimate brand of folk. Diane will debut some new material and pull from her back catalog of songs that deal with divorce to motherhood, all with the same amount of humanism and grace. Holocene, holocene.org. 7 pm Friday, April 9. $16.95.

GO: Darcelle XV’s Drag Drive-In

When North Portland's Shine Distillery and Grill held its first "drag-thru" in November, it seemed an entirely novel idea. Only a few months later, seeing drag from your car is a big-ticket event: This week, local legend Darcelle—at age 90 the world's oldest drag queen—headlines a three-night drive-in show at Zidell Yards. Though Darcelle's Old Town club, Darcelle XV, recently reopened at a limited capacity, the drive-in format allows a much larger production. In addition to Darcelle, it'll feature eight other performers, including local stalwarts and Darcelle XV regulars like Poison Waters. And for those missing the pre-pandemic days when drag brunches were abundant, we've got good news: Two of the five scheduled performances are midmorning shows. Zidell Yards, 3121 S Moody Ave., 503-228-8691, darcellexvdrivein.com. 9-10:30 pm Friday-Sunday and 11 am-12:30 pm Saturday-Sunday, April 9-11. $95-$175 per car.

HEAR: “Chemtrails at the Country Club” by Lana Del Rey

Chemtrails at the Country Club is the Lana Del Rey album for people who don't like Lana Del Rey. Cherry-pie kitsch and classic-rock references are out the door, and these 11 tracks sound like a gentle breeze blowing across a field of grain. For the first time ever, her music gives us a sense of America as the inconceivably vast place we see in Westerns rather than just a loaded concept. "White Dress" is the best song she's ever written. Stream on Spotify.

Stream: “Distancias”

There are no Q-tips in Geo Alva, Robi Arce and Michael Cavazos' digital epic Distancias, but there is a white supremacist YouTube personality named Q-Tipp. He's played by Robi Arce, who wears a hideous mask that looks straight out of Neil Gaiman's nightmares and repeatedly sings, "Jesus was white/Jesus was white/Just like the Bible says." His slogan is "Do your research!" Distancias may be an experimental film that searches for meaning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Q-Tipp is one of many hints that the project is partly a critique of the search for meaning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some audiences will perceive Distancias as a series of puzzle pieces waiting to be assembled, a mindset that will probably leave them frustrated and furious. If, however, you accept the film as something to be experienced, but not fully understood, you will find yourself lost in one of the most dreamily profound works of art to emerge from a Portland theatre company during the past year. Streaming at hand2mouththeatre.org.

WATCH: 2021 Oscar-Nominated Shorts

The nine-minute Opera is the pinnacle of 2020's Oscar-nominated animated shorts. But if Opera tells us anything, it's beware of pinnacles. Patient and haunting, Erick Oh's conceptual film comprises one drooping pan down a pyramid-bound society, and then one pan back up. Resembling a pagoda in some areas and a spectral Richard Scarry illustration in others, the structure is populated by thousands of minuscule and identical beings, but their boundaries are clear: a ruling force at the top, undergirded by intellectual and professional strata with laborers at the bottom. Best seen on a 100-foot screen or with your nose 6 inches from your TV, Opera is intensely allegorical, though it's difficult to pin down for what exactly. The castes, exploitations and cyclical violence found in most every modern civilization? No answer seems too big. Whatever the inspiration, Opera is a technical stunner. Streams along with this year's other Oscar-nominated shorts through Cinema 21 and Hollywood Theatre.

STREAM: Movie Madness Anniversary Party

A lot has changed in the 30 years since Movie Madness opened. Blockbuster rose and fell, Netflix came to power, and there's now way more than just three Star Wars movies. Movie Madness has lasted through all that and, more recently, the retirement of owner and founder Mike Clark. And it hasn't just survived—over the years, the rental store has also added a mini film memorabilia museum, screening room and a liquor license to serve its signature craft beer. Portlanders didn't need a pandemic to solidify our love for the Belmont Street institution. But having a video rental store with more titles than Amazon, Netflix and Hulu combined has felt like a godsend, particularly this past year. Now, Movie Madness celebrates its three-decade anniversary with a virtual get-together and Q&A with Clark. Expect anecdotes from the store's history and some of the friendliest film nerdery in town. Movie Madness, facebook.com/MovieMadnessVideo. 7 pm Monday, April 12. Free.

READ: “The Night Always Comes” by Willy Vlautin

Read review hereWilly Vlautin discusses The Night Always Comes with Chelsea Cain at 6 pm Wednesday, April 7. See powells.com/events-update to register for the stream.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.