Willamette Weekend: 17 Things to Do and See in Portland Memorial Day Weekend

FRIDAY, MAY 22

Ex Hex, Diarrhea Planet

[GARAGE] What better counterbalance to the quad-guitar, dudes-night-out sausage fest of Diarrhea Planet than the flawless, Mary Timony-fronted garage pop of Ex Hex? Whoever dreamed up this pairing deserves a medal. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $15 tickets available online day of show. 21+.

Filmed by Bike 

[FILM FESTIVAL] After 13 years, this bespoke homage to two-wheeled cinema is still pedaling hard. See a trio of bike buddies encounter a gun-slinging native taking whiskey shots, or a Fresh Frince-style bike rap, or a badass homage to women on wheels. Hollywood Theatre. May 22-23. See HollywoodTheatre.org for full listings. 

Corrina Repp

[GHOSTLY ELECTRONIC ] When she committed to doing another solo record, she couldn’t go back to fragile whispering. The instrumentation on The Pattern of Electricity is still ghostly—barely-there guitars and strings and organs washed with electronic textures—but more than before, Repp sounds like she’s confronting anguish rather than letting it consume her. For once, the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than the shadows surrounding it; in the end, Repp embraces despair as a means of renewal. “A lot of this record is also just about believing in love again,” Corrina Repp plays Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., with Ava Luna and Sama Dams, on Friday, May 22. 9:30 pm. $8. 21+.

Marta NYC Pizza Party

[PIZZA] Joe Tarasco, of New York's Roman-style cracker-thin spot—Marta NYC—will roll into Portland to serve up his pizzas out of the Roman Candle kitchen, not to mention veggies, Roman-inspired street food and gelato. No reservations, no lists. Roman Candle, 3377 SE Division St., 971-302-6605. 5-11 pm.

The Waterboys, Connor Kennedy and Minstrel

[ROCK] Far from the pastoral, acoustified extremes of 1988’s classic Fisherman’s Blues, Waterboys leader Mike Scott is definitely in city-mouse mode on the new Modern Blues, his 13th studio album overall. He shows he still has a fresh sonic trick or two to pull as opener “Destinies Entwined” peals forth, flanking a lone trumpet with fat electric guitar harmonies to conjure glam mariachi. The album’s sound isn’t exactly expansive, but rest assured that, in concert, longtime fiddler Steve Wickham will keep tugging the proceedings back into the mystic. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 234-9694. 8 pm. $35. Under 21 permitted with legal guardian.

SATURDAY, MAY 23

Vinlandia

[WINE] This is Portland urban wineries' debutante ball, with 24 spring releases from the 10 Southeast Wine Collective wineries. Tickets at vinlandia.eventbrite.com. Southeast Wine Collective, 2425 SE 35th Place, 208-2061. 3-6 pm. $20.

Sly & Robbie & The Taxi Gang, Bitty McLean 

[DRUMS AND BASS] Like the Funk Brothers to '60s soul or Dr. Dre to '90s gangsta rap, the rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare have defined the sonic textures of reggae stretching back to the 1970s. Even a cursory glance at their 200,000-song discography reads like a history of Jamaican music, including collaborations with Black Uhuru, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Ini Kamoze, not to mention Westerners such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Madonna and Serge Gainsbourg. It's hard to know what precisely they'll be playing here, but it hardly matters: If you go to one reggae show this year, this should probably be it. Alhambra Theater, 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 610-0640. 9 pm. $20. 21+.

Paul Creighton Project

[FUNK] If The Avengers was a film about funk-jazz musicians from Portland who really kicked the ass of super-difficult-to-play music instead of aliens or whatever, it would star the Paul Creighton Project. The local singer, whose key to success seems to be surrounding himself with every local virtuoso he can find, brings Tower of Power energy to the Pearl District, with a band that levitates over Jimmy Mak's stage like true prog-funk masters. Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Ave., 295-6542. 8 pm Saturday, May 23. $11 general admission, $12 reserved. 21+.

Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, Hook & Anchor, Annalisa Tornfelt & the Sound Outside

[POWER-POP] Tonight, veteran Portland songwriter Casey Neill celebrates a new EP, available here on limited-edition cassette in advance of its vinyl release in September, which contains a ripping cover of PJ Harvey's "The Sky Lit Up" and a cowpunk rendering of his own "Dancing on the Ruins (of Multinational Corporations)." Arrive early to catch Black Prairie's Annalisa Tornfelt, who put out an excellent solo debut earlier this year, backed by displaced members of Sallie Ford's former band, the Sound Outside. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.

Cosmosis

[DANCE] BodyVox brings in Carnegie Hall alums, the Amphion String Quartet, to soundtrack a contemporary dance and film performance with acoustic versions of Elliott Smith and Samuel Barber. This multimedia showcase is a world premiere from partners and co-artistic directors Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton, whose unique shows reveal their past choreographing for operas and films. BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Ave., 229-0627. 7:30 pm. $25-$64.

SUNDAY, MAY 24

Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Lost Cities

[THE CLASH FOR KIDS] According to Ed Schrader (formerly an alt-weekly freelancer from the great city of Baltimore), his music can be enjoyed by Clash fans and children alike. Sure, Schrader's 2014 album, Party Jail, is full of uncurling energy and screaming to match the tantrums of any angsty toddler. Unfortunately, though, most toddlers I've dealt with don't seem to handle punky abrasiveness very well, even if it's cut with bouncy, primal percussion and Schrader's cool, deep lake of a baritone. Maybe 6 is a better age for this. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 894-9708. 9:30 pm. $8. 21+.

Slow Poke Ride

[BIKES] Roll easy through National Bike Month with a flat 25-miler topping at 10 mph between plentiful pit stops, like Madrona Hill Cafe. TriMet Park & Ride, Northeast 96th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, pwtc.com. 10 am. Free.

Boone Howard, New Move, Us Lights Ã' 

[NOT TYPHOON] Boone Howard, former frontman of the We Shared Milk, and a seven-member A-Team of Portland’s craftiest musicians have joined forces to create a formidable superband. Howard’s crew of self-proclaimed “weirdos” includes members of the Domestics, Minden, Hustle and Drone, and a portion of the WSM crew. While the tone and production are said to differ from Howard’s previous projects, we can probably count on soulful croons, a psychedelic fringe and undeniable coolness. Rontoms, 600 E Burnside St., 236-4536. 8 pm. Free. 21+.

Ramona Quimby

[THEATER] Ramona Quimby is the Portland child-lit equivalent of a Kardashian. She operates in a self-centered bubble and then Portland builds a life-sized bronze statue in her likeness. But Ramona's older teen sister, Beezus, is the real badass. Where is Beezus' statue? In honor of the series' true hero, we give you this tour of the Quimby legacy, in the name of Beezus. See for yourself on stage with Oregon Children's Theater. Ramona Quimby is at the Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 228-9571. 2 pm. $26-$30.

MONDAY, MAY 25

Paramore, Copeland

[PERFECT POP] Paramore is making a small fuss about wrapping up its “self-titled era” with a short run of theater shows, but damn if the band’s victory lap isn’t totally deserved. 2013’s Paramore is a masterful demonstration of contemporary pop prowess, and the midalbum run composed of “Still Into You,” “Anklebiters” and “Proof” stands as one of the great 10-minute pop stretches of this decade, right up there with every time a radio station has played “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Call Me Maybe” and “Some Nights” back to back to back. It is party music for rush-hour commutes, and it rules so hard it hurts. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 248-4335. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.

Hysteria

[OLD MOVIES] Profile Theatre opens up its cinematic sock drawer for a showing of Hysteria, the story of how the first electric dildo got a bunch of Brits' knickers in a bunch. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Monday, May 25. 

Cat Hoch

[SUMMER SOUNDS] It sounds like the sirens of Homer’s The Odyssey, if it were adapted to film by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Hoch's first single, “Look What You Found,” is a dreamy, slightly dirty groover, perfect for the burgeoning summer season. Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Riley Geare's pounding backbeat drives a screeching blues lead into the stratosphere before Hoch’s elegant, swirling voice croons the title as if it were a message from the mountaintop. Hoch and Geare are putting the finishing touches on what will be her first solo EP, while also preparing for her first local show. The Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., with Crocodiles and Vice Device, on Monday, May 25. 8 pm. $8. 21+.

WWeek 2015