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COMEDY
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“Well, well, well! I hope you bitches are ready!” RuPaul’s Drag Race season six winner Bianca Del Rio is also a legend in her own right, dominating the New York scene and popping up with legends like Lady Bunny. That said, your girl is back on tour and feeling dead inside, so show up to give her a reason to reanimate. LC
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Southwest Portland, $41.75 – $52.47)
FILM
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I turned to Suzan Pitt’s strange animations during the pandemic, and in a way, they helped me make sense of it all–if Pitt could imagine realms of psychedelic asparagus, then maybe the havoc COVID-19 wreaked wasn’t that unbelievable. Pitt’s masterful pieces are kinda Lynchian, kinda Leonora Carrington-esque, with a side of lo-fi cartoonish schlock and an unnameable style entirely hers. Church of Film’s compilation will include screenings of Jefferson Song Circus, Asparagus (which “famously ran before midnight movie screenings of Eraserhead“—sick), Joy Street, and Pinball. LC
(Dream House, King, free)
LIVE MUSIC
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Chastity Belt’s debut album No Regerts instantly transports me to the summer of 2013—driving around Alki Beach in my friend’s VW Cabriolet, scheming for beers, complaining about boys, and shouting the lyrics to “Giant Vagina.” It isn’t just my personal memories that tie this album to the sunny season, but also the breezy guitars, the lyrics that evoke the freedom of a summer break, and frontwoman Julia Shapiro’s free-flowing, full-bodied vocals. When I hear the opening chords of “Black Sail,” I swear I can hear the crack of a can of Rainier opening. Now, a decade later, the quartet will play a hometown show to support their latest release, Live Laugh Love, which beautifully showcases their knack for riding the line between satire and sincerity. Don’t miss an opening set from the LA-based indie pop trio Peel Dream Magazine. AV
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot, $20)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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Kye Alive’s genre-fluid performance party pulls inspiration from JVL@b, a performance incubator they once ran in NYC. The multidisciplinary shindig promises musical acts, dance performances, interviews, and live experiments every month. A variety show format means artists can experiment and cross-pollinate, leading to brand-new shit that hasn’t even been imagined yet. Groovy! This month’s performers include improv dancer Annabel Koral, DJ Otherwrld, avant-garde synth project glossolalia swamp, and others. LC
(Kelly’s Olympian, Downtown Portland, $10 – $13)
LIVE MUSIC
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Philadelphia-based indie rock band Sheer Mag’s goal has always been “sheer magnitude,” which is what led to their formation and name back in 2014. Inspired by ’70s classic rock and punk, the group is fronted by stunning powerhouse vocalist Tina Halladay and has been heralded by critics as one of the most exciting bands of the last decade. They will support their new Third Man Records released album, Playing Favorites, after opening sets from local punks Divers and Chatterbox. AV
(Star Theater, Old Town-Chinatown, $18)
LIVE MUSIC
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On his new album, Again, Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin) floats from lush orchestral compositions to glitchy apocalyptic indie rock. Describing the album as an “illogical period piece,” Lopatin taps into the point at which memory and fantasy converge to form a new reality. He will support the album alongside singer, pianist, and modular synthesist Arushi Jain. AV
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot, $35)
READINGS & TALKS
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My first encounter with poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s work was 2018’s Oceanic, an astonishing nature-inspired collection that felt crystalline and sharp. I’ve come to rely on Nezhukumatathil’s poetry as a reminder that all is not lost—in fact, some things about the world we live in are genuinely all right. You’ll find evidence of this in the New York Times bestseller World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, which was also a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the Southern Book Prize. The book is peppered with Fumi Nakamura’s organic illustrations, including this very important rendering of an axolotl. LC
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Southwest Portland, Subscriptions sold out)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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All’s fair in love and poetry…Join your fellow Swifties as they congregate in honor of Taylor’s eleventh album, The Tortured Poets Department, for a listening party that includes live music, trivia, themed cocktails, poetry readings, bracelet-making, and plenty of photo opportunities. Given the album teasers and tracklist, it’s looking like we will be getting a dark academia vibe with nods to the silent film era (e.g., “Clara Bow”). I, for one, can’t wait to finally hear track five, “So Long, London” (if you’re familiar with the lore, then you already know that this one will be devastating.) AV (The ZED, Lents, $25 – $300)
COMEDY
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America could do with more Muslim comics and their under-acknowledged observations, especially if they’re as sharp-witted as Hasan Minhaj. His charming demeanor belies a deceptively acerbic humor, honed during his trenchant appearances on The Daily Show. Minhaj truly rose to the occasion at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he delivered hundreds of punishing left jabs at right-wing politicians. It was a roast for the ages, and if it made the president’s blood pressure rise to dangerous levels, Minhaj deserves a Nobel Prize. His Netflix special Homecoming King proved he could conceive exceptionally moving personal comedy, too. STRANGER CONTRIBUTOR DAVE SEGAL
(Keller Auditorium, Downtown Portland, $49.50 – $94.50)
LIVE MUSIC
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At their annual Earth Day concert, the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus (one of the longest-running gay men’s choruses in the country!) will celebrate with songs and stories about the human experience on Earth. The program will be centered around the question, “What is our place in this world, and what does it mean to be human?” with themes of individuality, personal perspective, and LGBTQ+ identities. AV
(Alberta Abbey, King, $18 – $30)
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In early 2024, we applauded Welcome to Your Sunrise, the debut album from Portland-based soul singer-songwriter Julia Logue. This week we’re stoked to also recommend an upcoming show: Soul’d Out Presents Julia Logue + BrandonLee Cierley at Jack London Revue. At the heart of Logue’s jazz-inspired nine-track project is an breathtaking collection of songs where she asks a slew of introspective questions, working through things like self-doubt, her place in the world, her connection to others, and how to trust herself. Impressive vocal flourishes and guitar-led songwriting abound, and we’re obsessed with the ethereal and expansive album opener “Roam,” as well as the cheeky “See You Smile,” and the R&B-infused vocals on the poignant “Fort.” The show also co-headlines Tacoma-to-Portland saxophonist BrandonLee Cierley, who will no-doubt be performing tracks from his two-pack EP Thank You For Waiting. PORTLAND MERCURY CONTRIBUTOR JENNI MOORE
(Jack London Revue, Downtown Portland, $20 – $180)
MUSIC
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Whether you’re looking for special RSD releases or just want to support your local record store, drag yourself out of bed bright and early this Record Store Day as shops around town fill up with vinyl-hungry shoppers. Participation varies from store to store, but expect sales and exclusive merch, extended hours, in-store performances, and other special events. There are several special releases from PNW-born bands this year, including Death Cab For Cutie’s Live at the Showbox, Fleet Foxes’s Live on Boston Harbor, Mudhoney’s Suck You Dry: The Reprise Years, Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter, and Sleater-Kinney’s This Time/Here Today. Check out the RSD website for a full list of participating stores. AV
(Various locations)
WEED
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If I’m being completely honest, I think celebrating 4/20 in a state where recreational consumption is legal is kind of corny. I remember when half the thrill of smoking was that I was kinda getting away with something. (Thanks again, bodega dude who sold 15-year-old me a bong back in the aughts.) That said, even I can appreciate the dedication of an event titled “420 Toke-Tacular 2: Electric Bongaloo.” Cool, spacey flicks will be pulled from the legendary Nyback collection, and Portland animator Dan Ackerman’s visuals will be featured. Plus, Astral Projections will have tie-dyed duds and stickers for sale in the lobby! Radical. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $10 – $12)
FILM
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This engaging crossover between the Hollywood Theatre’s EcoFilm Festival and its Indigenous Voices series presents Covenant of the Salmon People, an hour-long documentary about the Nez Perce Tribe and their ongoing struggle to protect wild Chinook salmon that once thrived within their lands. It’s shown with a ten-minute documentary short, To Heal a Forest, which introduces the Nuchatlaht Tribe’s movement to save an untouched salmon stream from environmental destruction caused by logging in British Columbia. PORTLAND MERCURY ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR SUZETTE SMITH
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $9)
LIVE MUSIC
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The Stranger’s resident music critic Dave Segal writes: “It would be interesting to do IQ tests on Wu-Tang Clan fans whose favorite MC is GZA (aka The Genius). As his name suggests, GZA verbalized at a higher level than anyone else in the crew (which is saying a lot), and outside of that group, he cut the classic Liquid Swords in 1995, his ultimate merging of haunting, funky production, lyrical incisiveness, and voluminous vocabulary.” Originally scheduled for 2020, GZA will finally perform the beloved album front-to-back in celebration of its now 29th anniversary. AV
(Star Theater, Old Town-Chinatown, $35 – $50)
PERFORMANCE
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Chances are good that you’re already familiar with this ethereal story of love, agency, and good versus evil. Swan Lake is a must-see for the uninitiated, and a graceful reminder of ballet’s power for die-hard fans. Crafted with precision, prime dancers from the Ukrainian National Opera and Ballet Theater will bring this adaptation of the wing-flapping masterpiece to life. Here’s your chance to immerse yourself in the tale of Prince Siegfried and Odette, Queen of the Swans, set to Tchaikovsky’s original score. LC
(Newmark Theatre, Southwest Portland, $26.10 – $113)
FOOD & DRINK
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Your April just got way more delicious: Members of ALIST Consulting, Baon Kainan, Magna Kusina, and Magna Kubo have come together to present the Portland area’s inaugural Filipino Food Month, featuring a collaboration between over 26 small local businesses. Each week, 15 different locations between Beaverton and Troutdale will offer fresh food and drink specials highlighting a different classic Filipino ingredient, complemented by “historical and personal storytelling” online to lend additional cultural context. With participants like GrindWitTryz, Makulit, Shop Halo Halo, Sun Rice, Sugarpine Drive-In, and more, this culinary crawl promises to be as mouthwatering as it is educational. JB
(Various locations, Monday-Sunday)
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Stock up on Lactaid and slip into something with a stretchy waistband: The Stranger’s annual Pizza Week is upon us, with unique specialty pizzas available at purveyors across Seattle for $4 a slice or $25 for a whole pie. Go forth and revel in gooey ribbons of melted cheese. JB
(Various locations, Monday-Sunday)
FILM
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Alex Garland’s latest, Civil War, is A24’s most expensive in-house production to date, following a group of military-embedded journos headed to DC “before rebel factions descend upon the White House.” Honestly, I’m wary of how he’ll handle this one, although Garland’s work does tend to thrive in dystopian settings. But Kristen Dunst stars as a photojournalist, which is reason enough to watch. Also, Garland may or may not be retiring from directing (“I’m going to take a break for the foreseeable future,” he clarified recently), so if you’re a fan of the filmmaker behind Annihilation and Men, you should plan to let his new one marinate. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $10 – $12, Monday-Sunday)
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Problemista takes place in a universe where a call to customer support can spiral into a telenovela-style showdown, where bureaucracy traps people in infinite loops of Escher-like offices, and where Craigslist takes the seductive form of actor Larry Owens—who knowingly whispers “Bowflex” from within a web of trash. In this way, this first feature from writer-director Julio Torres is to be expected. Torres is behind some of the most queer, surreal, and over-the-top sketches in the history of Saturday Night Live—eg. “Wells for Boys,” “Papyrus,”—and the most fairytale plot lines of Los Espookys. But Problemista is also a remarkably honest account of what it’s like to live in the US as a certain kind of immigrant. PORTLAND MERCURY CONTRIBUTOR HR SMITH
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Monday-Thursday)
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OMSI’s Sci-Fi Film Festival seems like a solid opportunity to watch science fiction flicks in the way god intended: on the Empirical Theater’s gigantic four-story screen. The museum will screen over 40 spacey greats, with genre classics (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and personal fave The Thing) and more recent entries (Blade Runner 2049, Annihilation) represented. The fest’s closing night celebration on May 24 will feature a screening of George Miller’s latest madhouse, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. LC
(Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Central Eastside, individual tickets $6.50-$8, Monday-Sunday)
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For a film that begins in 1910 during the Great Flood of Paris, The Beast feels achingly alive with the anxiety of existing in 2024. Based in part on Henry James’s 1903 novella, The Beast in the Jungle, about a man who believes his whole life is steered toward an impending catastrophe, the latest and tenth film by Bertrand Bonello finds that same “deep-seated feeling that something terrible will occur” in the heart of a woman named Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux), and bends eternity around it. Across three lifetimes, Seydoux plays a lovelorn woman who waits for doom. Whatever that doom is, it doesn’t matter; it might as well be the apocalypse. If that seems like the stuff of a great, sappy cinematic romance, it is, but the work of Bonello tends to refuse simple categories. The French multi-hyphenate (director-writer-composer) makes destabilizing films, ever-shifting emulsions of form and genre. PORTLAND MERCURY CONTRIBUTOR DOM SINACOLA
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Monday-Sunday)
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The scenic Canadian film festival held every fall in Banff, Alberta will glide into Portland, sharing the best of the best in mind-bamboozling outdoor filmmaking, environmental storytelling, and mountain sportsmanship. LC
(Revolution Hall, Buckman, $20, Thursday-Saturday)
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If you aren’t riveted by the prospect of this film, well, we’re two very different people. David and Nathan Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset follows a family of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) over the course of one year, as they wander, grunt, and munch mushrooms in North America’s foggy forests. Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg star, and they look like this. We owe it to them to go see this film as payment for the zillion hours they spent having prosthetics applied. LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Thursday-Sunday)
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In many ways, the true diva of The People’s Joker has been Warner Bros. Discovery. The massive media giant sent a letter that shut down all but the premiere screening of the indie comedy spoof at Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. Those who have seen The People’s Joker—co-written and directed by comedian Vera Drew—say it’s as much or more a trans coming of age story than a DC Comics-inspired satire, but we must admit the chance to see Maria Bamford as a (nude?) Lex Luthor-like Lorne Michaels, Tim Heidecker as an Alex Jones-adjacent political chaos personality, and Bob Odenkirk as Bob the Goon is certainly a draw. SS
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $10 – $12, Friday-Tuesday)
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On top of all of the other stuff you’re probably worried about, you should also care about nuclear issues, from uranium mining to nuclear waste, nuclear war, and nuclear accidents. If that sounds overwhelming, the International Uranium Film Festival has you covered—they’ve been presenting films on nuclear issues for the last 13 years. This two-night presentation includes screenings of Atomic Bamboozle, Atomic Cover-Up, and Demon Mineral, so you’re basically guaranteed to come away feeling more knowledgeable than Oppenheimer. LC
(First Unitarian Church, Portland Downtown, free, Wednesday, Thursday)
PERFORMANCE
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Fertile Ground, which we’ve described in previous years as “delightfully uncurated,” gives itself full permission to go bananas. The affordable 11-day art fest, spearheaded by the Portland Area Theatre Alliance (PATA), dodges the “fringe festival” misnomer with premieres by dozens of local artists, “ensuring that the artistic and financial benefits of the festival stay in Portland.” Participants will present staged readings, theatrical workshops, ensemble, multidisciplinary and collaboration-driven work, and a variety of dance, comedy, and film events. LC
(Various locations, $35 – $75, Monday-Sunday)
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Another dark fairytale hits the stage this spring, courtesy of one of Portland’s most exciting theater companies Shaking the Tree. Adapted from a short story by Alissa Nutting—which was itself an adaptation of Grimm’s Fairy Tale “The Juniper Tree”—The Brother and the Bird contains all the tabloid stuff of humanity found in stories like Cinderella and myths about Thyestes. You may have read Nutting’s story in the 2010 anthology My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales, but through the vision of the company’s artistic director, Samantha Van Der Merwe, the tale is about to get wilder, darker, and more human than before. SS
(Shaking the Tree Theatre, Hosford-Abernethy, $10 – $45, Saturday-Sunday)
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“S P A C E – The Drag Show” is a 24-month-long cosmic series from the trans and anticapitalist production collective Max & Mars Present, cruising through the universe with a focus on a different celestial body for each sliding-scale event. Neptune is the star of the show this time, and performers Shandi Evans, Sissy Ada, Navouny Divinne, Belinda Rose, and Violet Hex will embody the planet in the most fabulous way possible. Come early to browse extraterrestrial wares from local queer artists and makers and to learn about the asteroids (and other elements) of your chart via one-on-one readings from local astrologers. JB
(Black Water Bar, Irvington, $11-$33 sliding scale, Friday-Saturday)
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Chase, Rubble, Zuma, and their other four-pawed friends (if you’re a parent, you already know their names) will take on a new adventure the only way cartoon pooches know how: through teamwork and resourcefulness. This live-action spectacle will feature “dog-suited dancing actors” bopping along to familiar tunes. LC
(Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Lloyd District, $40)
VISUAL ART
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I first wrote about Francesca Capone’s work back in 2018—the artist’s show Think of Seashells was the subject of one of my first long-form reviews. While researching for my BFA thesis in fibers, I also turned to her textile pieces, so Capone’s tactile language has left a lasting impact on my occipital lobe. Perhaps you’ll develop the same attachment after seeing this exhibition: Capone’s latest, A Mother’s Discourse, explores the complexities of post-Roe v. Wade motherhood through soft weavings and an archive library of child-rearing literature. (For more art that traverses the complex terrain of maternity, check out Toni Pepe: Mothercraft at Blue Sky Gallery.) LC
(Nationale, Buckman, free, Thursday-Monday)
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Shining a spotlight on labor practices that have been “historically and systematically concealed from the public sphere,” Labor of Love curates multimedia works by artists Tania Candiani, Tannaz Farsi, Jay Lynn Gomez, Midori Hirose, Charlene Liu, Alberto Lule, Narsiso Martinez, and Patrick Martinez. Show up to learn something about invisible, poorly paid, and emotional labor, much of which is done by marginalized people. Each artist finds a personal connection to this labor and uses their work to contend with systemic racism, immigration, class inequality, and gender discrimination. LC (Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Southwest Portland, free, Monday-Sunday)
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Artist-poet Kristen Diederich will present new paintings in her first solo exhibition with after/time, They Said No Dancing, which emphasizes “time passing in bright color and impasto forms.” If you’re a fan (like me!) of Diederich’s complex visual compositions, you’re in luck: A concurrent exhibition at The Old Church will showcase another suite of her paintings, plus a public poetry reading with Surprise, Surprise: A Grab Bag of Portland Poets on April 24. LC
(after/time Gallery, free, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday-Sunday)
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Elizabeth Leach Gallery has showcased revered Pacific Northwest artist Lee Kelly’s sculptures, paintings, and works on paper periodically since 1986, but this curated selection of the artist’s watercolors and angular sculptures has never been exhibited before. Spanning thirty years of Kelly’s career, Bennington Suite & Color Studies includes bright maquettes and Mayan architecture-influenced compositions created while he was at Bennington College in Vermont. LC
(Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Pearl District, free, Tuesday-Saturday)
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Far be it from me to pass up an opportunity to talk about Clarice Lispector, which means Quinha Faria and I have something in common. Faria’s newest work, presented in Atrás Do Pensamento (Behind Thought), reflects on the Brazilian writer’s unconventional, stream-of-consciousness 1973 book Agua Viva, which was originally titled Behind Thought. Faria’s compositions contemplate Lispector’s totally singular style with layers of thin paint and curious textures. The artist also “encourages viewers to consider the unseen elements of a space” with contributions by scent-focused bodyworker Tatiana Godoy-Betancur and sound artist Ryan Windus. LC
(Carnation Contemporary, Kenton, free, Saturday-Sunday)
EXHIBIT
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You don’t have to go to the zoo—or even leave the east side—to see cool live animals, and no, I don’t mean your neighbor’s hypoallergenic Labradoodle. Staying Alive: Defenses of the Animal Kingdom examines the self-defense mechanisms of 16 different animals, from armor-like skin to venom and poison. Best part? YOU CAN TOUCH SOME OF THE ANIMALS. The exhibit’s promotional materials don’t specify exactly which ones, but explain that “the educator in the exhibit will go over which animals can be touched by the public, which cannot, and why.” Also, OMSI promises that the exhibit’s animals are *not* stressed. (Couldn’t be me!) LC
(Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Central Eastside, $14 – $19, Tuesday-Sunday)
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The family behind See See Motor Coffee Co. gears up for the 15th installment of their celebration of unconventional bikes and the unconventional humans who ride them. Check out over 300 custom motorcycles, a helmet art exhibit, freestyle stunt shows, and even “motorcycle drill teams.” The show returns to the historic Zidell Yards, a fittingly gritty backdrop for all things moto. New this year: an indoor flat track race at the Expo Center on Friday night. SL
(Zidell Barge Building, South Waterfront, $15 – $65, Friday-Sunday)
LIVE MUSIC
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Classical Up Close is the Oregon Symphony’s spring concert series that shares the tradition of chamber music with new audiences through free, casual pop-up performances. This week, the series will kick off with violin duo Shanshan Zeng and Shengnan Li (Wed) and the string quartet of Emily Cole, Shin-young Kwon, Maia Hoffman, and Seth Biagini (Sat). AV
(Various locations around Portland, free, Wednesday, Saturday)
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Even if you don’t think you know who Rhiannon Giddens is, I bet you’ve inadvertently heard her play. For example, the folk music virtuoso lends her banjo and viola skills to Beyoncé’s hit single “Texas Hold ’Em.” And, in line with Cowboy Carter, Giddens has dedicated her career to educating audiences about the banjo’s African history and the foundational role that Black musicians played in the creation of American roots music. She will perform songs from her latest album, You’re the One, which spans blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock. AV
(Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, sold out, Wednesday-Thursday)
EverOut Staff
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