Did you know that actor Henry Cavill can apparently reload his own arms? And that the sheer force of this act will cause a beard to spontaneously grow? It's true. Not only is it the sort of thing you can witness for yourself when the latest Mission: Impossible movie opens on Thursday (which is getting frequently compared to Mad Max: Fury Road of all the goddamned things) but it's also an aspirational image: This sort of determination and will is a good way to tackle the calendar for this week, because the amount of fun stuff to take in is a lot. Like, say: the return of Blind Pilot! Dig a Pony turning seven! Thirsty City turning four! The Oregon Brewers Festival taking over the Waterfront! WOOKIEES (maybe!) It's a big week ahead. Reload those arms, grow that beard, hit the links below and load that plate accordingly.


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Monday, Jul 23

SCRAP PDX Craft + Drink
One person’s trash is another person’s next craft project, or so goes the unofficial adage of SCRAP PDX. Help keep their doors open and craft bins full by eating a meal and immerse yourself yourself in craft day at Oregon Public House. Other perks include a photobooth, chilled brews, and good company. EMILLY PRADO
5 pm, The Village Ballroom, $5-15

Porochista Khakpour, Janice Lee, Leni Zumas, Cari Luna, Karen Russell
Iranian American novelist Porochista Khakpour returns with Sick, a memoir of survival chronicling her struggles with a broken medical system, which led to drug addictions, hospitalizations, and massive medical bills, before eventually ending with a diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease. Khakpour will be joined for a panel discussion about illness and addiction by authors Janice Lee (The Sky Isn’t Blue), Cari Luna (The Revolution of Every Day), Karen Russell (Swamplandia!), and Leni Zumas (Red Clocks).
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free

Sam Evian, Black Belt Eagle Scout
Celestial Shore frontman Sam Evian’s brand-new sophomore solo album You, Forever is exceedingly pleasant indie soft-rock that’s best summed up by the first line of standout track “Where Did You Go?”: “I had a dream of a clear blue sky where you tell me your name and the temperatures rise.” With breezy vocals, steady-rolling rhythms, and psychedelic melodies that gently warp like plastic melting in the sun, the record lives in that bittersweet summer fantasy for the span of 11 songs. Like Woods and Avi Buffalo, Evian’s music is pretty but paranoid, recalling the unsettling beauty of apocalyptically orange sunsets, night drives with the windows down, and getting lost on country backroads. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Mississippi Studios, $12-14

Exmortus, The Absence, Hatchet
BEHOLD: THE SUMMER OF STEEL IS UPON YOU. BOW YOUR HEADS, HELPLESS WHELPS AND FOOLISH KNAVES, AND OFFER RESPECT AND DEFERENCE TO THE METAL GODS WHO FUCKING THRASH AND SMASH BEFORE YOU.
8 pm, Twilight Cafe & Bar, $13-15, Praise Crom, Hail Satan, Fuck Trump


Tuesday, Jul 24

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Jason Hawk Harris
North Carolina's Sarah Shook & The Disarmers bring their punk-tinged country rock back to the Mississippi Studios stage in support of their latest Bloodshot Records-issued full-length, Years.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $12-14

Creed Bratton
Did you know that the beloved actor and musician best known for portraying the fictional version of himself on NBC's The Office headed up LA-based folk-rock act the Grass Roots back in the late '60s? Get further acquainted with Bratton's comedy and musical sides tonight when his headlining tour stops off at the Hawthorne Theatre.
8 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, $20-23, all ages

Grindhouse Film Festival: The Car
The Hollywood Theatre’s monthly celebration of the down-and-dirty side of ’70s cinema presents a rare 35mm print of 1977’s The Car, a film that might have gotten lost in the dust of Star Wars and Smokey and the Bandit were it not for the ahead-of-its-time concept of demonically possessed homicidal automobiles (Stephen King’s Christine wouldn’t take over the world for another six years), and the clever bit of promotional hucksterism that saw Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey personally bless the star of the film—not Thanos’ dad James Brolin (who does decent work as a beleagured small-town sheriff who must singlehandedly defeat said mass-murdering car), but the film’s remarkably malevolent-looking 1971 Lincoln Continental. As with most grindhouse fare, it’s never as exciting (or good) as your mind’s eye wants it to be, but for a dusty, ugly, no-holds-barred mutation of Spielberg’s debut Duel, it hits the spot. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9

Manchester City vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Two of the the biggest clubs in the world (and former Portland Thorn Nadia Nadim!) gear up for the International Champions Cup Women’s Tournament with a tune-up exhibition match at Merlo Field before they make their way down to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
7 pm, Merlo Field, $7-20

Mournful Congregation, Bell Witch, Nightfell
Few bands move slower than Mournful Congregation. For the past 25 years, the Australian heavies have been perfecting their plodding take on doom metal’s slower, darker, dirge-ier cousin: funeral doom. In January, the band released its first full-length studio album in nearly seven years, and it is a doozy. The Incubus of Karma clocks in at six tracks and almost 80 minutes long, which gives Mournful Congregation plenty of time and space to do what they do better than just about anyone. The rhythm section moves at a glacial pace, and the guitars stretch up and up and up, past the horizon and into the stars. The result is music that's a mind-bending combo of crushing and beautiful—and one of the best heavy albums of 2018 so far. Also on the bill tonight is Seattle’s Bell Witch, whose 2017 album Mirror Reaper is a modern classic of funeral doom. BEN SALMON
8:30 pm, Tonic Lounge, $15

Snow Tha Product
San Jose-hailing hip-hop artist and actress Claudia Alexandra Madriz Meza—AKA Snow Tha Product—brings her lightning razor-sharp bilingual rapping back to Portland for a headlining show at the Wonder Ballroom.
8 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $18, all ages

Sheryl Crow
The iconic pop and rock singer/songwriter and 9-time Grammy Award winner returns to the Edgefield lawn for the first time since 2015.
6:30 pm, Edgefield, $64-110

Camas Davis
​Portland Meat Collective founder Camas Davis reads from Killing It, chronicling her decision to end a career as magazine writer and her ensuing journey to become a successful butcher.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books, free


Wednesday, Jul 25

Blind Pilot, Anna Tivel
The beloved local indie-folk outfit celebrate the 10th anniversary of 3 Rounds and a Sound with an intimate hometown show at the Old Church.
8 pm, The Old Church, $30, all ages

[a swatch of lavender]: a self portrait
PICA's summer exhibition presents a performance of keyon gaskin's [a swatch of lavender]: a self portrait, with keyon joined by a rotating cast of local artists.
6 pm, PICA at Hancock, $12

Halsey, Jessie Reyez
The quick-rising pop artist heads out to the picturesque Edgefield lawn for the Portland stop on a tour supporting her latest full-length, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.
6:30 pm, Edgefield, $59.50

Supersuckers
Supersuckers shows are a good excuse to drink, flail, and forget about the grind of life. If that's not rock 'n' roll, I don't know what is.
9 pm, Dante's, $15

Re-run Theater: Crime Story and Wiseguy
How the hell does Re-run Theater follow up yet another successfully wine-cooler-drunk and pastel-as-hell ViceFest celebration? By changing the channel to something way grimier: back-to-back episodes of Wiseguy and Crime Story. Once Miami Vice proved cop shows were a great vehicle for lending the boob tube a little cinematic credibility, networks were like, “We need more of that shit!” Miami Vice producer Michael Mann was happy to oblige via his ’60s-set serial drama Crime Story, starring Dennis Farina as a cop named... fuck, I forget what his name was, but he was basically just Dennis Farina, which is enough. Simultaneously, a mafia show called Wiseguy hit screens, which was supposed to be centered on well-coiffed slab of balsa Ken Wahl, but quickly became Kevin Spacey’s big break, as he instantly stole the whole series as a malevolently creepy deviant (ahem). One could make the case you don’t get to NYPD Blue or The Sopranos without either of these shows—don’t expect that level of quality. But for a pair of ’80s-era cash-ins, there’s a lot to like. BOBBY ROBERTS
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9

Thirsty City 4th Anniversary
The monthly hip-hop and beats showcase celebrates four years of bringing Portland some of the best beats your ears (and your booty) have heard and felt, with performances from Zackey Force Funk, Lana Shea (celebrating an album release, too!), Jean Nada, and Knablins. Hosted by NorthernDraw.
8:30 pm, The Liquor Store, $10-15

The Suicide Notes, Tiger Touch, The Von Howlers
Portland quintet the Suicide Notes bring their retro girl-group harmonies and bubblegum pop-punk stylings though Mississippi Studios for a hometown headlining show.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5


Thursday, Jul 26

Dig a Pony Turns 7
Dig a Pony is turning 7, and to ensure the birthday party hits the very high standards expected of such a super-sized Dig a Pony party, they've invited local geniuses Natasha Kmeto, Gold Casio, and Bryson Cone to tear shit up, with sets from the Pony Strut DJs to top it all off. Expect cake, slushies, and plenty of dancing all night long.
9 pm, Dig a Pony, free

Fin De Cinema: Short Films of Jiri Barta
The latest installment of Fin De Cinema finds local experimental acts WL, S.E.C.R.E.T.S., Magisterial, and Haste live scoring a selection of animated short films by Czech director Jiri Barta.
8 pm, Holocene, $10

Top Down: Rooftop Cinema—Half Baked
Surely this edition of Top Down: Rooftop Cinema won’t be packed full of highly stoned Chappelle fans softly giggling to their favorite lines in a rippling five-second radius both before and after they’re recited onscreen. But if it is, it won’t be the jokes you’ll want to pay attention to—it’ll be the quiet times between punchlines, when a weeded mind will wander, and you can practically hear the musings occurring inside the myriad collection of blown heads: “Could you imagine Swole Dave being in this movie now?” “Jesus Christ, remember Jim Breuer? I wonder why we never got a Goat Boy movie....” “So that’s where BooThisMan.gif came from!” BOBBY ROBERTS
7 pm, Portland State University Parking Structure 2, $10-12

Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn reads from Alliances, the latest in his bestselling Star Wars series chronicling the rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Scuttlebutt around the city's sci-fi scene says it's a fairly good chance you'll spot a wookiee at the event.
7 pm, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, free, all ages

Counter Culture
Anne Amie's ninth annual party celebrating the best in international street food and wines by bringing them all (and for an extra $30 bucks, you too—they'll literally drive you there) to the hills overlooking the Willamette Valley, with participants including Ned Ludd, Big's Chicken, Country Cat, Bollywood Theater, Ember & Vine, Pok Pok, and more.
6 pm, Anne Amie Vineyards, $85-115

Toad the Wet Sprocket, Megan Slankard
The California-hailing alt rock outfit that took its name from a Monty Python skit and gave us the Billboard-charting hits, “Walk on the Ocean”, “All I Want”, “Something’s Always Wrong”, and “Fall Down” return to town for a headlining show at Revolution Hall.
8 pm, Revolution Hall, $29.50-75

31st Annual Oregon Brewers Festival
The Northwest tradition returns to the Waterfront to serve over 80,000 customers some of the finest beer the world will ever drink.
Thurs-Sun noon, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, free

Bobby Lee
One of the many comedians who got their start thanks to the late Mitzi Shore's Comedy Store, Lee went on to a long run on MADtv, and appearances in Premium Blend and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. He also once told a story about shitting his pants on Marc Maron's podcast that was pretty illuminating.
8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $21-26

Cicada Rhythm, Ashleigh Flynn
The up-and-coming trio out of Athens, Georgia bring their bluesy blend of folk-punk through Mississippi Studios in support of their latest full-length, Everywhere I Go.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $10-12

Mission: Impossible—Fallout
According to the trailers for this movie, Tom Cruise falls off a cliff, falls off a helicopter, crashes into a helicopter with another helicopter, goes headfirst over a motorcycle's handlebars at like 80mph, gets his ass beat by Superman, and breaks his ankle jumping off a roof. You can actually see the ankle fold up in the trailer, by the way. The filmmakers used that take. Considering the last great movie Tom Cruise made was Edge of Tomorrow, which not coincidentally also featured Tom Cruise getting his ass repeatedly handed to him for something like two straight hours, it can be argued that the amount of punishment this toothy, wild-eyed weirdo takes in any one film is directly proportional to how much you're going to love said motion picture.
Various Theaters, see Movie Times for showtimes and locations

Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!