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

Chug French wine for Bastille Day, dance extremely to cellos and welcome back Mississippi Studios.

BNB17_TT-12 Coco Columbia performing at the 2017 Best New Band Showcase at Mississippi Studios. IMAGE: Thomas Teal. (THOMAS_TEAL)

Jessica Hopper in Conversation with Ann Friedman

Jessica Hopper was already in the running for America’s best music journalist before releasing The First Collection of Criticism By a Living Female Rock Critic in 2015, but seeing all her work in one place confirmed it—and the new reissue doubles down. Quite literally, the second edition is nearly twice the page count, with new material, an introduction from writer-comedian Samantha Irby and a fresh afterword Hopper describes as a “therapeutic document and/or fanzine about Fugazi, rape culture, and what it means to be from the midwest.” She’ll discuss it tonight with podcaster Ann Friedman. 5 pm Wednesday, July 14. See powells.com/events for registration information.

Celebrate Bastille Day

Maybe it was the long-standing presence of Brasserie Montmartre in the heart of downtown, or perhaps Portlanders are secret Francophiles, but for some reason, we’ve always been a city that celebrates Bastille Day. Last year, most of the traditional festivities were canceled due to COVID, but now that we’re freshly vaccinated it’s time to dust off your beret, pop the Champagne and take up chain-smoking cigarettes for 24 hours. To make up for lost time in 2020, Stem Wine Bar is giving you the opportunity to party like you’re in Paris for three whole days. On Wednesday, July 14, try a guided tasting of whites, roses, reds and sparkling wines from across France, then return this weekend for more flight specials paired with decadent macarons on the cobblestone patio. The live accordionist should make it feel like you’ve been transported to the Champs-Élysées. Stem Wine Bar, 3920 N Mississippi Ave., 503-477-7164, stemwinebarpdx.com. Bastille Day tasting takes place 5-7 pm Wednesday, July 14. $50. Meet Me in Paris Weekend runs 3-11 pm Friday, July 16 and noon-11 pm Saturday, July 17.

Liv Warfield

Zidell Yards doesn’t have a roof, but if it did, Liv Warfield would blow it into the stratosphere. One of Portland’s true vocal powerhouses, the R&B slayer’s voice speaks for itself—but as far as superstar co-signs go, there’s none better to have on your resume than that of Prince. After coming across a video of Warfield crushing the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” the Purple One recruited her into the New Power Generation, and executive produced her 2014 album, The Unexpected. He’s gone now, of course, but Warfield more than stands on her own—and her rock’n’soul live show gives off heavy Tina Turner vibes. Best check the Ross Island Bridge for structural damage afterward, just to be safe. The Lot at Zidell Yards, 3030 S Moody Ave., thelotatzidellyards.com. 7:30 pm Wednesday, July 14. $50-$75 per person. All tickets sold as 2, 4 and 6-person seating pods.

Lewi Longmire and the Left Coast Roasters

Live music is slowly returning to Portland. That now includes the city’s oldest music venue. After a perilous year, the Laurelthirst Pub is back and holding free shows everyday a week. This Thursday, you can catch local stalwart and pub co-owner Lewi Longmire on the stage that he’s been stewarding behind shuttered doors for the past year. Even before the pandemic, the Americana venue has long provided a sense of homey comfort for musicians and regulars—after all, there’s always plenty of overlap between those two crowds. If you want to rock out to some country-inflected guitar while getting emotional about how much you missed live music, this show is for you. Laurelthirst Pub, 2958 NE Glisan St., laurelthirst.com. 6 pm Thursday, July 15. Free. 21+.

41st Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

Following its first virtual year in 2020, Cathedral Park Jazz Festival will once again host in-person sets in its namesake park under the St. Johns Bridge. Over the course of three days, North Portland’s Cathedral Park will host over a dozen jazz, blues and soul acts, including Oregon Music Hall of Famer Lloyd Jones, electro-jazz duo Korgy & Bass, and a tribute to Chick Corea, who died in February. As always, the outdoor festival is free. But this year, there will be regulated entry. Masks will be required while waiting to enter the event, and social distancing within the grounds is encouraged. Cathedral Park, N Edison Street and Pittsburg Ave. Friday-Sunday, July 16-18. Free. See jazzoregon.org for complete schedule.

Mississippi Studios Welcome Back Open House

Concerts were thought to be the last thing that would return post-pandemic, but even though there’s been some semblance of live music happening in Portland over the last few months, it still hasn’t felt entirely “back to normal” yet. That perhaps won’t happen until the clubs fully reopen—but Mississippi Studios is close. The venue’s concert calendar doesn’t really get going again until August, but consider this sneak-peek a toe-dip back into the regular routine. The first part of the night, featuring sets from Wonderly and May Arden and the screening of a new short film from comic artists the Pander Brothers, is free, while the after-party, with a performance from experimental improvisers THMPR, costs $10. Wow, after-parties. Remember those? Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., mississippistudios.com. 6-8 pm Saturday, July 17. Free. After party starts at 9 pm. $10. 21+.

Portland Cello Project’s Extreme Cello Summer Dance Party Extravaganza

If nothing else, over the last 15 years, the Portland Cello Project has done more to showcase the versatility of their titular instrument than any classical ensemble, ably covering everyone from Britney Spears to Kanye West to Pantera—and with their annual summertime dance jam, they’ve proven you can start a party with it as well. Admittedly, though, to really get the place jumping, you can’t come armed with cellos alone. Here, the string ensemble will also be joined by several well-traveled session musicians, including trumpeter Farnell Newton and drummer Tyrone Hendrix, and singers Saaeda Wright, JANE and Steven Bak, to run through a set of pop hits running from the ’60s through today. The Lot at Zidell Yards, 3030 S Moody Ave., thelotatzidellyards.com. 7:30 pm Sunday, July 18. $50-$75 per person. All tickets sold as 2, 4 and 6-person seating pods.

Cinema Unbound Open-Air Cinema presents Clueless

“As if!” This loose, modern-day adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma stars Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, a rich and stylish teen who becomes determined to makeover the “tragically unhip” new girl at school (Brittany Murphy). Paul Rudd co-stars as Cher’s ex-step-brother/love interest. Note the “ex” and the “step” before totally buggin’! Lloyd Center Rooftop Cinema, 2201 Lloyd Center. 8:45 pm Sunday, July 18. $20. See nwfilm.org/film-series/cinema-unbound-summer-movies-open-air-experiences for tickets.

Luca

Luca (Jacob Tremblay) is a sea monster, but there’s nothing monstrous about him. That’s the premise of this buoyant adventure from Pixar Animation, a studio that specializes in telling profoundly human stories about nonhuman characters, from the tormented toys in the Toy Story films to the lovestruck robots in WALL-E. Like those movies, Luca is an allegory for kids. The ideal audience for the film will be interested in both the hints that Luca is gay and the kinetic pleasures of the plot, which include Luca and his best friend, Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), teaming up with a valorous human girl (Emma Berman) for a bicycle race. There is a winner, but the real winners are the young moviegoers who will learn that Luca respects and cares about them enough to challenge them while also delivering a good time. Streaming on Disney+.

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