Minority Retort
It’s common knowledge comedy isn’t often a great place to be if you aren’t a cis/white/straight dude, so it’s good news that Minority Retort, Portland’s only regular showcase for comedians of color, is back, with an excellent lineup including the delightfully wry Katie Nguyen (one of the Mercury’s official Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy), beloved jokester Adam Pasi, and more. MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $10
Seratones
As the birthplace of jazz, Louisiana has produced enough influential artists to fill Lake Pontchartrain, most recently the Seratones. Lead singer AJ Haynes sculpted her righteous pipes at age six at Brownsville Baptist Church in Columbia, Louisiana. The band’s four members found each other a few years ago after playing in various Shreveport punk outfits. Upon signing with the Black Keys’ label, Fat Possum Records, the Seratones slathered a hearty handful of swampy blues rock all over their full-length debut, Get Gone, recorded at Dial Back Studios in Mississippi. Between Haynes’ Karen O-inspired vocals, dirty guitar licks with a hint of melancholy, and constant nods to old school soul, it’s safe to say the Seratones aren’t stuck in any genre. ROSE FINN
9:30 pm, Bunk Bar, $10
ImageComicsDay
Portland is the closest thing the comics industry has to a Mecca, and one of the best publishers in the industry is Image, founded a quarter-century years ago by a bunch of rogue artists and writers who decided to flee the bullpens at Marvel and DC and set up their own shop where the creators had the power. For their 25th birthday, four of the city's best comics shops—Floating World, Cosmic Monkey, Books with Pictures, and Bridge City—are hosting parties, featuring some of the medium's best writers and artists (including Steve Lieber, Joe Keatinge, Farel Dalrymple, Joseph Bergin III, Emi Lenox, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, and more) signing books, sharing stories, sketching stuff, and celebrating the best of what comics have to offer.
noon, Cosmic Monkey; 5 pm, Bridge City Comics; 6 pm, Floating World Comics, Books With Pictures, free, all ages
Sam Coomes, Dr. Amazon, Galaxy Research
Bugger Me is Sam Coomes’ solo debut, but he’s a Portland scene stalwart—perhaps you’re familiar with Quasi, his duo with Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney. The record’s minimalist pop stretches its legs into some buzzy experimental territory, but remains inescapably catchy with lounge lizard-y organ and Coomes’ impatient drawl. CIARA DOLAN
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5
Earthquake Hurricane
A weekly comedy showcase so good it takes four people to wrangle it, with hosts Bri Pruett, Anthony Lopez, Alex Falcone, and Katie Nguyen.
7 pm, The Liquor Store
No Wheat, No Sweat
Bazi's fifth annual gluten-free feast, with an accompanying seminar that teaches diners about their gluten-free options, and how best to pair their gluten-free beverages with their meal, with a four-course dinner including roasted chicken with butternut squash, Belgian waffles, red curry sorghum soup, and more.
6:30 pm, Bazi Bierbrasserie, $35
Tampopo
Juzo Itami’s 1985 film defies easy description. The director himself calls it a “ramen western,” due to the main story of a couple truckers helping a woman named Tampopo establish herself as master of noodles. But it’s also a comedy, a romance, a surreal gangster movie, and an erotic screwball farce. Its steaming collection of disparate ingredients gets pretty messy at times, but the result is one of the most sensual movies of the 20th century. There’s no guarantee every element will hit the spot, but you will leave this screening hungry as hell. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $9
Ayelet Waldman
The award-winning Israeli-American novelist returns to Portland to read from her new book, A Really Good Day, which chronicles the author's experiments using microdoses of LSD to treat a mood disorder and live an all around better life.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free
Kodo
An evening with the long-running Taiko drumming troupe known for blending athleticism and dance into their percussion-driven performance.
7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $20-55
Young the Giant
The inexplicably popular indie rock band return to Portland for a two-night stand at the Roseland in support of their third studio album, Home of the Strange.
8 pm, Roseland, $27.50, all ages
Portland Winter Light Festival
OMSI and PGE help present this showcase for over 40 visual artists and performers to celebrate the light and the love of winter.
6 pm, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, free, all ages
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!