We be jammin'.WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13
MUSIC—Formerly the star trombonist for New Orleans' famed Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Sam Williams struck out on his own to form Big Sam's Funky Nation—a freaking POWERHOUSE of horn-driven funk who owe as much to Parliament-Funkadelic as they do to classic Orleans jazz. Don't come near unless you're ready to shake it and sweat it. WSH
w/Farnell Newton's Rose City Horns; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $15-18
FILM—David Lynch's Blue Velvet is some dark shit. It's beautiful, yet deeply, deeply disturbing. Some have called it "dangerous." At the Mercury, we like to call it "wonderful." If you've never seen it, get yourself to the Hollywood to watch Dennis Hopper play the creepiest scumbag to ever flicker on a movie screen. You'll get to hear him scream the word "fuck" exactly one billion times. CF
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Wed & Thurs 9:30 pm, $6-8
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14
FILM—Taking place on top of the parking lot at downtown's Hotel deLuxe, NW Film Center's "Top Down: Rooftop Cinema" series hits a high point tonight with the fantastic Vanishing Point, the rubber-burning car-chase flick from 1971. Kowalski (Barry Newman) has to get a supercharged Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco—and the cops who're chasing him only make him drive faster. EH
w/Strange Babes; Hotel deLuxe, 729 SW 15th, 8 pm, $9-11, all ages
INFOTAINMENT—You're busy—interested, but busy. That's why the Japanese invented Pecha Kucha, a night that brings together a range of interesting people (WildCraft's Chelsea Heffner, Salt & Straw's Tyler Malek, Poler's Benji Wagner) giving presentations with only 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide. Knowledge, humor, party, go! MS
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 6 pm, FREE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 15
COMEDY—The thing about Saturday Night Live is that everyone hates it when it airs, and then five years later, they admit it was actually pretty good. My suggestion: Don't wait the five years to find out Jay Pharoah is really fuckin' funny. Go see him onstage and learn it yourself. BR
Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, Fri & Sat, 7:30 & 10 pm, $22-32
STORYTELLING—By now, you certainly know that Back Fence PDX is all about hilarious and compelling and true stories told by fascinating people. But what if I told you that one of tonight's storytellers—in addition to the always-witty musician John Roderick—was none other than Andy Lindberg, AKA Lardass from Stand by Me? Let's get it out of our systems now: LARDASS! LARDASS! LARDASS! AH
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 8 pm, $13-20
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16
MUSIC—Troy Andrews came by the name Trombone Shorty simply enough: by being devastatingly good at the trombone at a very young age. But it's why he earned worldwide fame with that name that you want to head to the zoo tonight. Trombone Shorty exports the funky heart of New Orleans' famed Tremé neighborhood to the wider world, and forces us to dance unceasingly in the process. DVH
w/Galactic; Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon, 7 pm, $29.50-49.50, all ages
SOAPBOX DERBY—A lot of stupid, cutesy things are done in the name of Portland. The PDX Adult Soapbox Derby is not one of these. The beloved annual race might be the summer's most impressive party, packed with hilarious people and an almost disconcerting show of mechanical acumen and creative flair. Portland could overthrow the world; instead we make amazing children's race cars. DVH
Mount Tabor Park, SE 60th & Salmon, 10 am-4 pm, FREE, all ages
MUSIC—Those lucky enough to have caught Operators at the most recent Pickathon festival may still be gently bouncing to their electronic love sounds, and ready to take things to more intimate confines. They're opening for Baltimore's beautifully brooding Future Islands, too: the more, the merrier. MS
Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 10:30 pm, $15
SUNDAY, AUGUST 17
MUSIC—Sure the Mercury's in the tank for Tacocat, but that's only because they're inarguably the Pacific Northwest's most delightful band. The Seattle four-piece churns out catchy songs about cat magazines and acid-tinged quinceañeras more trenchant than 1,000 sad sacks bemoaning their breakups. And they don't get down here all that much. Go see Tacocat. DVH
w/Tijuana Panthers; Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water, 10 pm, $10
MUSIC—How's about filling your ears with spazzy power-punk from the ever-delightful Superchunk? Sounds good, huh! They're continuing a tour of their 10th studio album, I Hate Music, the title of which we know to be a bald-faced lie. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina band will be rocking faces off at this cheap show—don't miss it, it's not every day your '90s heroes come through town! CF
w/Blank Range, Radiation City; Star Theater, 13 NW 6th, 10 pm, $12 ($3 w/RSVP to redbullsoundselect.com)
MONDAY, AUGUST 18
MUSIC—Today's teenaged punkers were still crapping their Pampers the last time the Murder City Devils put out an original LP. So when The White Ghost Has Blood on Its Hands Again dropped earlier this month, it was kind of an amazingly big deal. The Devils still shred. The Devils still delight. And they're playing Portland twice in two days (except only tonight's show has tickets available). DCT
w/Constant Lovers, Corey J. Brewer; Star Theater, 13 NW 6th, 8:30 pm, $20-25, all ages
MUSIC—Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, the synth-poppy Black Kids were THE blastoff band of 2008 (thanks in large part to their amazingly fun single, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"). Now they're touring again with their newest track, "Origami," which is also so infectious< you're gonna swear you were plopped into the middle of a Cure concert in 1987. WSH
w/Mackintosh Braun, Fringe Class; Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8:30 pm, $8-10
TUESDAY, AUGUST 19
MUSIC—Portland five-piece Us Lights have been around only since last summer, but they're already making a name for themselves with meticulous, atmospheric indie pop songs—you're gonna want to get in on the ground floor of this one. Don't sleep on openers Hosannas, either. AH
w/Yeah Great Fine; Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $6-8
FILM—A few years ago, John Michael McDonagh's The Guard—starring Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson—was a remarkably fun, smart twist on the buddy cop genre. Now McDonagh and Gleeson are back with the great Calvary—a decidedly darker story of a priest (Gleeson) facing his own death. EH
Fox Tower 10, 846 SW Park,
portlandmercury.com/movietimes for showtimes