The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for February 16-22

You’d be forgiven if you find feelings like bliss and enchantment difficult to access, but this week’s events will ease you in that direction: Georges Méliès’ hand-inked silent films gain a brilliant live score, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore are the sirens of Polaris Hall, and Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group present a “cosmic sono-drama.” Plus, HUMP! Film Festival proves what we already know (y’all nasty), and Cardi B is, in fact, the drama. 

It’s insane and insanely cool that, before the advent of recorded sound in cinema and overdubbing, every theater house in the world had a small band—or at least a piano player—live-scoring their silent film screenings. As champions of the form, Clinton Street Theater has hosted a handful of live-scored silent films over the last couple years to enchanting effect. For this extra-special performance, French composer Jean-François Alcoléa sets his trio to scoring the short films of their countryman Georges Méliès. You know, the guy obsessed with moons and creepy faces? Between the three of them, Alcoléa’s trio plays over 50 instruments to score the short films to dramatic ends. Show offs. (Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, 7 pm, $15, more info, all ages) NOLAN PARKER

Tuesday, February 17

Fat Tuesday at Doe Donuts

Hollywood doughnut shop Doe Donuts intends to make Polish paczki and New Orleans-style beignets for Fat Tuesday. And as a person from Hamtramck, Michigan, I am intrigued by this, even as I am also of the mind that paczki is just a glazed jelly doughnut with powdered sugar on top. Doe Donuts will sell vanilla and chocolate cream filled paczki and beignets with vanilla, raspberry, and banana pecan fillings. It’s worth noting that—while they don’t shout it from the rooftops—Doe Donuts has an 100 percent vegan kitchen. (Doe Donuts, 4110 NE Sandy, 8 am-6 pm, more info) SUZETTE SMITH

Also worth it:

D.E. May: Notes, Notes, Notes, PDX Contemporary Art, more info
Something of an Oregon legend, D.E.May was also an accidental archivist, cataloging everything from creative research to hangman games on 3″ x 5″ notepaper. This exhibition presents a selection of those jottings—it’s an interesting peek into an idiosyncratic artist’s practice.

Wednesday, February 18

Lunar New Year at Lan Su Chinese Garden

Giddy up, it’s the Year of the Horse! Lan Su’s Lunar New Year celebration (inspired by the Lantern Festival, or Yuan Xian Jie) pulls out all the stops with its glowy red lanterns—the garden’s sweeping rooflines cast warm shadows, and floating lanterns glide across Lake Zither. This year, Lan Su is offering two ways to celebrate in the evening, with a “magical zodiac animals light show” and dragon dance procession on select nights and more tranquil experiences set to live Chinese music. The garden also has daytime activities planned, like meet-and-greets with mini horses(!!!), lion dances, and Chinese calligraphy demonstrations. (Lan Su Chinese Garden, 239 NW Everett, times vary, daytime activities free with admission, lantern evenings $0-$32.95, more info, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore

Julianna Barwick’s choral ambiance pairs perfectly with the work of harpist-composer Mary Lattimore, whose twinkly album Silver Ladders sends me (and my cat) into a dreamy reverie on a near-nightly basis. It’s fitting, then, that the two came together in Tragic Magic, a cosmic-baroque album they recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris. (It includes a Vangelis cover and a piece composed for the pair by Roger Eno.) If you dig gorgeous, homespun compositions à la Joanna Newsom and Colleen, you probably already know and love Barwick and Lattimore. Newer dreamers should expect a varied, mystical trip, both medieval and synth-driven. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, SOLD OUT, more info, 21+) LC

Thursday, February 19

Pillion

SCREE VROOM SPIT ZIP—Pillion sets itself up to be the British leather dom daddy romance of your dreams, but much like sweet-faced Colin (Harry Melling), audiences who know anything about BDSM relationships will find their illusions dashed. Harry Lighton’s directorial debut is a bad, basic romcom, but since it’s not representing actual BDSM subculture to outsiders and not ringing faithfully for real ones, who is this even for? Is Pillion just a vehicle by which we all learn that the actor playing Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) is bi? Imagine the sadness when the long unzip of leathers reveals nothing underneath. (Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st, various times, $8-$11, more info, not rated) SS

Cardi B

If you’ve ordered free wood chips to be delivered to your home from ChipDrop and need something intensely witty, queer, and socialist to listen to, pop Cardi B’s new album Am I The Drama? in and get to spreading. Y’all already know who Cardi is, so here are a few choice lyrics from the record: “I tell hoes to suck my dick / They put they hair up in a bun,” “If you get money and you cute / Then bae you basically my twin,” “If you not my bitch / You just a bitch,” “It be me looking like a snack / Bon appétit,” “It’s not my fault me and broke hoes don’t get along,” “Gloryhole / Bitches don’t know who they fuckin’ with.” (Moda Center, 1 N Center, 7:30 pm, $71.80+, more info, all ages) NP

Friday, February 20

HUMP! Film Festival 

So I was on the selection committee for HUMP! this year… Y’ALL NASTY! And while I know which submissions made the cut, I don’t know which will screen in the spring run and which will appear in the fall. Troll dolls getting absolutely used and abused, cum on rye, and a freaky fae sucking off a log up the Washougal are a few that really stood out during the nine-plus-hour committee screening. Portland pulled up (pulled out?) strong with a bunch of horny submissions—no surprise—as did Seattle and Berlin. Special shout to the one submission coming from Redmond, Oregon. It’s feral out there in Central Oregon, keep up the good work! (Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, times vary, $20-$25, more info, 18+) NP

Minidoka on Our Minds

Between August 1942 to October 1945, the US government forcibly moved over 13,000 Japanese Americans to a concentration camp in Minidoka County, Idaho, as part of a nationwide order to incarcerate those the government deemed “alien enemies” during World War 2. Minidoka War Relocation Center became the main destination for interned persons from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. A new exhibition Minidoka on Our Minds explains the history of the site and presents it with artworks made by survivors and their descendants. For example, sculptures by Mira Nakashima were made with wood gathered by Ed Abe, a man who died collecting it during a snowstorm at Minidoka in 1942. (Japanese American Museum of Oregon, 411 NW Flanders, opening reception Fri Feb 20, 5-7 pm, show runs Sat Feb 21-Sun June 14, $8 more info, all ages) SS

Derek Hunter Wilson: Sculptures release show

Portland composer and pianist Derek Hunter Wilson’s newest Beacon Sound release, Sculptures, is a coastal drive through wind and fog, pairing shimmery sections with something more plaintive and complicated. Electronic-inflected, ambient-classical, and a little New Agey, Wilson’s work is “very nocturnal,” according to the artist—luckily for us, this release show is planned just after sunset. Wilson and Dao Strom will perform solo sets, tea will be served, and Luke Wyland just might curate the between-set playlist. Grab a copy of Sculptures while you’re there. (Fumi, 4007 N Mississippi, 6-8 pm, $5-$10, more info) LC

Black Mystery Month Concert featuring Out of the Infinite Darkness

Now in its third year, the annual Black Mystery Month is a celebration of Black ancestors past, present, and future. Facilitated by Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group (BPAG), this year’s concert features a “cosmic sono-drama” performed by Norfleet & BPAG. Written by Norfleet, the drama explores darkness as an originating lifeforce outside of racial constructs. Opening the mystery are Woseiko Ensemble and Jacque Hammond, also a member of BPAG. Presented by Albina Music Trust, Be Present Art Group, and KMHD Jazz Radio, the night—on top of the exceptional music and performance—will also feature a fashion market by Amen, Amen. Studios and visuals by the Spoiler Room boys. (The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th, 7:30 pm, $22, more info, all ages) NP

Also worth it:

50/50 Art Sale, Oregon Contemporary, more info
The second iteration of Oregon Contemporary’s 50/50 art sale give an equitable 50% of all proceeds directly to contributing artists. The list runs long, with many standouts—Anya Roberts-Toney, Bean Gilsdorf, Cynthia Lahti, Epiphany Couch, Jeffry Mitchell, Lisa Jarrett, Melanie Flood, and Rainen Knecht among them. Whew!

Reflections: Visible Cloaks, Omari Jazz, First Congregational UCC Portland, more info
Sound-and-light commanders Reflections head back to town, boosting sets by electronic duo Visible Cloaks and spiritual beatmaker Omari Jazz with quadraphonic acoustics and an oozy light show.

Saturday, February 21

Zwickelmania

Also worth it:

Returning after a six-year hiatus, Louisiana-based painter Jaik Faulk will present abstracted compositions containing up-to-interpretation forms—you might see trees, funerary urns, or house cats.

Sunday, February 22

Fuyu Fest

Much has been made of the Scandinavian concept of hygge, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that Japanese culture also has plenty of coziness and elegance to offer. The fourth edition of this annual winter-themed festival, which is dedicated to the intersection of Japanese and Pacific Northwest culture, will offer nearly 100 types of craft Japanese sake as well as hearty offerings from local amazake and miso makers. Explore a lineup of libations from Tokyo okan (warm sake) restaurant Takasaki no Okan, relax with Sid Samberg’s improvisational music and sake pairings, and soak up knowledge of sake culture and history from experts. (The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon, 1-5 pm, $89, more info, 21+) JULIANNE BELL

Cat Power: The Greatest 20th Anniversary Tour

Also worth it:

IF, Cooley Gallery at Reed College, more info
Did you know that one of Pop Art’s primary influences was a Catholic sister?? Sister Corita Kent’s enduring optimism glows in silkscreen prints alongside Kristan Kennedy’s textile experiments and Northwest Mystic artist Hilda Morris’ tactile sculptures in this far-reaching show, which aims to “trace the psychic oscillation between joy and dread.”