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FRIDAY, MAY 20
The Museum's Ghosts
[SEE ART] Photographer Andrés Wertheim uses consecutive in-camera exposures to merge images of museum visitors with the artworks they have come to see. The resulting photographs range from hilarious—like the image of a bored visitor sitting in the hallway inches away, it appears, from two peasants fighting to the death—to tender, as when Wertheim juxtaposes a teenage boy lying on a museum bench unknowingly mid-cuddle with a cherub who is sleeping in his lap. Sometimes it is hard to determine which parts of the final composition belong to which exposure, blending art and life in a way that makes us question if there is any separation between the two. Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., 503-225-0210. Through May 29.
Hava
[DANCE] The Holding Project, a fledgling dance collective, exploded onto Portland's dance scene with five separate artistic dance films in the past few months. This is their debut, an ensemble piece where female dancers in white, silk underthings dance on a gritty set inspired by city gutters. The night features three experimental premiers that mix dance with film and theatrical storylines. Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th Ave., 503-777-1907. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, May 20-21. $14. Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th Ave., 503-777-1907. Friday. $14.
Myq Kaplan
[COMEDY] Not many vegans do comedy. Not many comics are as funny as Myq Kaplan. The jokester who eschews meat and other animal byproducts is back in Portland. This time, he'll be performing in his favorite part of town, next door to Portland's vegan mini-mall. He'll feel right at home. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark St., 971-808-5094, 9:30 pm Friday, May 20. $20.
Portland Night Market
[CRAFTY WONDERLAND] Where street markets start to all look the same, the Night Market is a different beast. Samples of top-shelf liquors, pork baos and pizzas go till late, with live bands, glitter-spewing cabaret and artsy vendors inside the old Produce Row warehouse. Craft looks and tastes better after nightfall. Portland Night Market, 100 SE Alder St., pdxnm.com. 4 pm. Free.
Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus
[BOOKS] The Google bus is indicative of everything that's wrong with the way digital technology works: The company uses city roads and bus stops for a service that's only available to its elite. That's according to digital-media expert Douglas Rushkoff, who wrote the book on the internet—well, at least the first one, Cyberia, in 1994—and played keyboard for Psychic TV. In his new book, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, he explains how companies went wrong and what they can do to rectify their business models to be more equitable. Among the suggestions? Get rid of Uber. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 800-878-7323. 7:30 pm. Free.
SATURDAY, MAY 21
Deep Sea Diver, Lost Lander, Hosannas
[INDIE POP] Jessica Dobson's rock résumé includes stints on the road with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck, Spoon and the Shins. When fronting her own outfit, Deep Sea Diver, she manages to incorporate the best traits of each of those previous employers into something just as accessible. Deep Sea Diver has the screech of Nick Zinner's ever-swaying guitars, the inventive, upbeat groove of Spoon and the ethereal stumble of James Mercer's best work, but delivered via Dobson's unique, retro-flecked interpretation. CRIS LANKENAU. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave. 9 pm. $12. 21+.
3 Kings Tribute Night
[THREESOME] The Purple Rain sing-along at McMenamins Mission Theater is sold out. But you can still sing, bump and grind along to the 3 kings: Prince, MJ and Stevie Wonder on the east side. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 9 pm. $10.
Dolphin Midwives
[BJORK-LIKE] Sage Fisher realizes the term "New Age music" has certain connotations, which she is happy to defy. "There's something gross and visceral about the name Dolphin Midwives," says the 26-year-old singer and harpist. Sage's polyrhythmic harp compositions and vocal collages on Dolphin Midwives' debut, Orchid Milk have an Enya-like quality, an artist's call to the heavens and ancestors past through looping delay-drenched harp and Björk-style vocal manipulations. Kenton Masonic Temple, 8130 N Denver Ave., with Venerable Showers of Beauty Gamelan Orchestra and Dead Death. 8 pm. $12. All ages.
Eats & Beats
[WHITE OWL SOCIAL] White Owl will do what it does best: Throw down some soul and funk vinyl, Pabst Blue Ribbon and hard root beer onto its back patio and treat a picnic-table parking lot like it's a daytime nightclub. But they're giving the parking lot the Austin, Texas, treatment by adding food carts Koi Fusion, Pip's Original Doughnuts, Ash Woodfired Pizza and the Hot Box BBQ, plus our cart of the year, Chicken and Guns. Expect slushies aplenty if it's a hot day. White Owl Social Club. 1305 SE 8th Ave., 503-236-9672. 11 am-8 pm. Free entry.
Linework NW
[COMIC BOOKS] Linework NW is a gigantic gathering of comic-book makers, comic-book publishers and people who resent me for using the term "comic books." Saturday includes Matt Furie and Ping Zhu. Sunday is Rilla Alexander and Rodney Alan Greenblat. Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave., lineworknw.com. 1-8 pm. Free.
NuShooz
[JAZZBO SOUL] As its members will be the first to admit, Nu Shooz became pop stars almost entirely by accident. Before a Scandinavian remixer threw that unmistakable choking-goose sound effect over a 2-year-old song called "I Can't Wait" in 1986—propelling it to No. 3 on the dance charts and a cultural ubiquity that persists today—Valerie Day and John Smith were self-proclaimed "jazz hippies" with a serious R&B jones, drawing big crowds on Portland's fledgling soul circuit. For the first true Nu Shooz album in 28 years, the band digs back into those roots with a set of pleasantly groovy, if innocuous, cocktail-lounge funk. It's the stuff they know best. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., on Saturday, May 21. 8 pm. $20. 21+.
Kiki
[QDOC FILM FESTIVAL] Twenty-six years ago, Jennie Livingston's documentary Paris Is Burning introduced the world to Harlem's ballroom scene. Men from across the sexual spectrum had come together to create their own realm of fashion, beauty and the creativity that they hid by day. Kiki, a film screening at the QDoc festival this weekend, documents how drag and ballroom events have evolved for today's millennial generation, whose vernacular is hugely composed of RuPaul catchphrases. Hollywood Theatre, queerdocfest.org. 8:30 pm. $10.
The Udmurts
[THEATER] In Defunkt's world premiere of The Udmurts at its tiny theater in the back room of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard's Common Grounds cafe, it's hard to resist enjoying the lazy seduction of a shining, virginal gay boy by a smooth-talking, trust-fund dude and his fierce, thieving girlfriend. They pass a joint around the pullout couch bed with rainbow afghan in the apartment filled with eclectic treasures, or junk, depending on your eye for Max Ward's set design. Then the seduction turns sinister, to edgeplay with sexual violence and straight-up scams. This play elegantly shifts between vulnerability, violence, arousal and betrayal, raising the question "Who can be trusted?" Defunkt Theatre, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-974-4938. 7:30 pm. $15-$25.
Young Thug, Lil Yachty
[MIXTAPE MAESTRO] Young Thug's Hy!£UN35 tour marks the Atlanta rap artist's third trip to Portland after a string of high-profile mixtapes of solo genius and AutoTuned melodic marvel, which makes sense. With the mystery of the Hy!£UN35 album in the background, this sold-out show guarantees the most eccentric persona in the rap game making good on his live promise, perhaps with some unheard of heat for his hungry fans. Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.
SUNDAY, MAY 22
The Friends of Noise Launch Party
[ALL AGES] It sucks being an underage music fan in Portland. Just ask one. A coalition of youth-music advocates, music-related nonprofits and actual music-loving kids, Friends of Noise formed a year ago with the long-term goal of creating a multipurpose, community-run concert and arts space funded in part by grants and public donations. The hope is to incubate successive generations of creativity—not just through performances but through hands-on education in sound engineering, promotion and other disciplines. Los Prados Event Hall, 10105 N Lombard St., 5:30 pm. $5 for youth or $8 for two tickets, $10 adults. All ages.
Hawthorne
[THEATER] TFW you're sitting alone in a dimly lit bar, nursing a pint while rain glides sadly down the windows and streetlights glow amber, your eyes downcast, silent and still, but inside you're twisted: haunted by the past, perplexed by the present, determined to solve the existential mystery of life before last call. Action/Adventure knows those noirish feelings, and spent the last year making a play about them with an impressive team of devisers and performers. Action/Adventure Theatre, 1050 SE Clinton St., action-adventure.squarespace.com. 8 pm. $15 advance, $18 at the door.
Pug Crawl
[CHARITY PUPS] Pugs are cute. The breed is awe-inspiringly helpless—saucer-eyed and slack-jawed in a way that always seems jolly or afraid. Each year for the past 16 years, the Oregon Humane Society has held a block-long parade of pugs as a fundraiser. Your own pocketbook is likely also defenseless against a 100-strong army of the adorable. Viewed another way, though, a parade of pugs is an unspeakable cruelty. Here's why. Portland Brewing Company Taproom, 2730 NW 31st Ave., oregonhumane.org/pugcrawl. Noon-4 pm; parade at 2 pm. $10, kids under 10 free.
Stand By Me
[MOVIE NIGHT] Stand by Me gets its first resurrection of the summer, no doubt leading new parents to misremembering it as a kid-friendly coming-of-age movie and blushing for a full two hours. Mission Theater.
The Skin of Our Teeth
[THEATER] The history of planet Earth is retold as the story of the Astrobus family in this talent-packed reprisal of Thorton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning comedy, Cain is a kid throwing rocks, and Mom herds the pets two by two like a suburbanite Noah. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., artistsrep.org. 2 and 7:30 pm. $48
Thali Supper Club
[EAT SUPPER] Thali Supper Club's venue may have changed hands, but the prix-fixe thali Indian dinners continue unabated at the same spot. This month, chef Leena Ezekiel will host a nashta—brunch, Indian-style—a four-course meal that will include curried lamb and eggs, a fried-bread course and idli and sambar, not to mention dessert. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com. Tournant, 920 NE Glisan St., 503-206-4463. 11 am. $45.
Willamette Week