Point Juncture, WA, Hungry Ghost, Months
Over the past few years, Point Juncture, WA has been like a rare bird, flitting through every now and then to drop some sweet tunes or a terrific live show on us. Now it seems like the beloved local indie-rockers could be building a more permanent nest, with a double LP, Me or the Party, due out in December, and a spate of tight shows around town. Like tonight’s! NED LANNAMANN
The Know, 8pm, $6
The Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy
You can bet your sweet bippy the Merc knows how to put on a comedy show. For the showcase Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy, we’ve gathered our very favorite stand-ups (Bri Pruett, Alex Falcone, Nariko Ott), great up-and-comers (Kirsten Kuppenbender, Marcus Coleman, and more), incredible improvisers and sketch troupes (the Liberators, the Aces), and the wonderful musical stylings of the Doubleclicks. This is going to be a bang-up, crackin’ good time. COURTNEY FERGUSON
Revolution Hall, 8pm, $15
Bibi Bourelly, PJ
You would be forgiven for not recognizing Bibi Bourelly’s name, so here’s a quick primer: She’s collaborated with Kanye West, Selena Gomez, and Nick Brewer, recorded with Usher and Nas, and wrote the lyrics to Rihanna’s “Higher” and “Bitch Better Have My Money.” If that’s not enough reason to pay attention (or to feel awful about yourself), consider this: Bourelly did all of this before turning 21. Having proven herself a formidable songwriter, the German-born, multi-ethnic artist is out to establish herself as a singer in her own right. She released three singles of hip-hop-influenced R&B and pop, and her debut EP, Free the Real (Pt. 1), was released last May by Def Jam. As a young female artist, Bourelly inevitably must work twice as hard to gain respect, and as a result is almost compulsively concerned with addressing haters and naysayers. Though it may seem like her biggest concern should be her own obscurity, if things continue the way they have for Bourelly, soon she won’t have to worry about that, either. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
Doug Fir, 9pm, $13-15
Jen Kirkman
With jokes about the joys of divorce and the cultural expectation that every unwed lady who dies alone MUST own a cat, Jen Kirkman is the anti-Cathy"ACK!" comic. Her smart, mordant, vaguely existential brand of humor is a sad/funny reminder that we're all basically alone, right? But we might as well laugh during our stint in this mortal gutter. MEGAN BURBANK
Sept 16-17, Helium Comedy Club, 7:30pm, 10pm, $20-24
Máscaras, Lithics, Møtrik
After a short sabbatical, Máscaras is still shredding to the cielos and back. One part instrumental psych and three parts indigenous roots, tonight the trio of musical vets will debut an ode to the beloved venues of Portland’s past with the release of their new single, “Habesha.” The perfect substitution after you throw your Mt. Portland compilation in the trash, the song honors everyone’s favorite, most recently fallen Ethiopian restaurant/punk club. More broadly though, the band dedicates the track to “the people and places who encourage, engage in, and support creation.” Champions of the idea that more is indeed more, expect Máscaras to play sequences of stony, slimy surf that’ll seem never-ending, only to completely bum you out when they do inevitably come to a close. EMILLY PRADO
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $5
IntersectFest
A weekend-long multi-venue showcase for artists and performers of color, encompassing visual art, dance, comedy, music, storytelling, poetry, composition, and film.
Sept 14-18, Ford Food & Drink, p:ear, see Things to Do for full list of events/locations
The Crookes, The Young Wild, Great Grandpa
The British indie rock quartet out of Sheffield bring their live show across the pond for a North American tour ins support of their 2016 full-length, Lucky Ones. The excellent Seattle-based grunge pop quintet Great Grandpa get things started at 9, so don't be late.
Dante's, 9pm, $12
OMSI Animation Film Festival
The single biggest screen in Portland becomes a showcase for the best animators in the business, from independent shorts to big-budget blockbusters, with titles including Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Secret of Kells, Anomalisa, Coraline, Finding Dory, and more. More at omsi.edu.
Sept 16-18, OMSI Empirical Theater, see Movie Times for titles and showtimes
Stammtisch 2016 Oktoberfest
It's the time of year where glass boots and lederhosen start springing up out of the ground and taking over city blocks like some sort of sausage-y invasive species. Stammtisch's third annual celebration of this season includes a barbecue, games, live German music, giant pretzels, and over 10 Oktoberfest biers to enjoy all weekend long, with special ceremonial tappings throughout the weekend.
Sept 16-18, Stammtisch, 5pm
Portland Queer Film Festival
Twenty years ago, a fledgling showcase for queer film known as the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival got its humble start. Now known as the Portland Queer Film Festival, the series is stronger than ever, putting seven days’ worth of entertaining LGBTQ storytelling on Cinema 21’s screens, including documentaries, features, and web series. More at pdxqueerfilm.com. Also see FIlm, this issue.
Sept 16-22, Cinema 21
The Vibrators, Steel Chains, Patsy's Rats, PDX Punk Rock Collective
Seminal UK punks the Vibrators have at least two classic records to their name: Their debut, Pure Mania, is a perfect distillation of what made (and continues to make) punk so appealing, infusing a strong pop bent that was rivaled at the time only by Paul Weller and the Buzzcocks, playing with an unselfconscious zeal and breakneck precision. (The band's most enduring hit, "Baby, Baby," is, ironically, a rigidly mid-tempo anthem.) Follow-up V2 also rules, and saw the Vibrators starting to experiment with more intricate song arrangements and studio legerdemain (I bet they thought that phaser was really fucking cool at the time). Tonight the band return to Portland, albeit with a lineup that only includes one original member, drummer John "Eddie" Edwards. MORGAN TROPER
The Raven, 9pm, $10-13
Psychomagic, School of Rock
An all ages benefit showcase for PROWUS, featuring School of Rock assisting Psychomagic in playing Talking Heads'77 from front to back.
Holocene, 5:30pm, $10-12
Peter Ho Davies
British writer Peter Ho Davies reads from The Fortunes, his provocative new novel which refashions American history through the lives of Chinese Americans.
Powell's City of Books, 7:30pm
Lola Buzzkill, Slutty Hearts
Fresh off delivering one of the more ...ahem... buzzworthy sets at PDX Pop Now, the glitter-blasted soul ensemble take their act to the Club 21 stage.
Club 21, 9pm, $5
Movies in the Dark: Death to Smoochy
Robin Williams is universally beloved now, but in the early days of the 21st century, that wasn’t the case. A lot of the man’s goodwill had been used up as he took on one schmaltzy, cloying tearjerker after another, following a trail of Oscar-bait into near-irrelevance. But in 2002, Williams decided to remind everyone he still had chops, smacking audiences around with amazing turns in Insomnia, One Hour Photo, and Danny DeVito’s acidic farce set in the world of children’s entertainment, Death to Smoochy. Smoochy is the most lightweight of the three, but there’s something to the manic desperation in Williams’ performance that suggests this was the role that cut closest to his people-pleasing bones. BOBBY ROBERTS
Hollywood Theatre, 9:30pm, $9