Wednesday April 2top

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

Cirque du Soleil's latest show to hit Portland is something of a back-to-basics package, with little of the tacky flash of the company's Vegas shows. The usual series of acrobatic acts is strung together from the reminiscences and fantasies of a dying clown. The flimsy conceit evaporates entirely by the second half, but that's OK. There is one thing Cirque does better than anyone else, and it’s front and center here: beautiful people performing stunning feats of athleticism you could never even attempt. Lovely ladies in negligees spinning and writhing about, dangling from enormous, swinging chandeliers! Bare-chested men turning themselves into human wheels with huge silver rings! Boys bouncing 20 feet in the air on a springboard! And on and on and on. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of filler—boring comedic sketches that let the acrobats take a rest but pad the show beyond a reasonable runtime. Is it perfect? No. Is it worth the price of entry? Oh yeah. Grand Chapiteau, Southwest Moody Avenue, by the Marquam Bridge., 800-678-5440. 8 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4 and 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 1 and 5 pm Sundays. Closes April 13. $35-$205. All ages. Map

Paperbacks, Guidance Counselor, Colin Jones, Sixteen Switches, Staley

[FUZZY BEATS] Portland MC/experimentalist Colin Jones makes stream-of-consciousness rap that lives in the crevices between his thick audio collages. On Dance Book Vol. II, which Jones releases tonight, he bounces back and forth between loose parodies of and odes to mainstream hip-hop ("Hot Hot Yeah Yeah," "...Ain't Tryin to Look Back) and industrial-strength rock-diary rants ("Tag," "Floor Salt"). You'd be forgiven for recalling early Nine Inch Nails in Jones' breathiest moments, as the latter's creepy streak, paired with the throwback synths that pepper the new album, can leave that taste in one's mouth. Hip-hop seems to have been Jones' first love, though, and that's well represented throughout the album, as well as in the half-psychedelic half-graffiti artwork that decorates Dance Book Vol. II's massive liner notes/flipbook. CASEY JARMAN. 9 pm. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. $6. 21+. Also see profile, coming soon. Map

The Cribs, Ra Ra Riot, Jeff Lewis & The Jitters

[ANTIFOLK AND MORE] There are plenty of lo-fi punk-rock bands in the world, and a good number of antifolk singer-songwriters as well. But performers who draw oversized comic books on scholarly topics (like the history of punk on the Lower East Side or the history of Communism in China), compose rhyming text to explain them and then perform the narratives with musical accompaniment? That's somewhat rarer. NYC's Jeffrey Lewis does all three, and kicks rather a lot of ass at each endeavor. And Lewis' brother/drummer Jack Lewis recently relocated here, making the band kind of, sort of, almost local. It's a trend! The U.K.'s the Cribs play anthemic fuzz rock, and frontman Gary Jarman (not to be confused with WW's Casey) is a part-time Portland transplant himself. BRANDON SEIFERT. 9 pm. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $12. 21+. Map

Loch Lomond, Le Loup, The Ruby Suns

[PITCH-PERFECT] Although Loch Lomond is a now an established six-person folk outfit, the band will always remain the brainchild of lead singer and primary songwriter Ritchie Young. Founded in 2003, Loch Lomond has matured musically, shifting from electronica-inspired tracks on debut album When We Were Mountains to the old-world, symphonic folk of last year’s Paper the Walls. That maturity can be partially credited to Loch Lomond’s involvement with the Funky Church—a venue-meets-musicians’ collective in Southeast Portland that lives up to its name—but it’s mostly due to Ritchie’s personal musical growth. In the past few years, the singer-songwriter gained control of his voice, honing it into a falsetto that now serves as a primary instrument in the band. And that’s an accomplishment, considering Ritchie’s vocals are competing with a handful of voices and a dozen instruments on a typical Loch Lomond tune. PAIGE RICHMOND. 9 pm. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. $7. 21+. Map

BULLSEYE GALLERY

Cobi Cockburn's glass works.
300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222., 227-0222. Closes April 5. Map

QUALITY PICTURES

Mark Hooper's photos, Laura Fritz's video installation.
916 NW Hoyt St., 227-5060. Closes April 26. Map

ROCKSBOX GALLERY

Dave O' Johnson and Brian Wasson's collaboration, "Man Friends Forever".
6540 N Interstate Ave., 971-506-8938. Closes April 20. Map

BULLSEYE GALLERY

Jane Bruce's formalist glass works.
New York artist Jane Bruce’s Contained Abstraction tackles ideas of art vs. nature with glass—using the vessel as her point of departure. Bruce is not interested in the vessel; she is interested in the idea of a vessel, and so in piece after piece, she starts with jaunty, graphic outlines of a vase, flask and bowl, then switches into meta mode, flattening the timeless forms into thin rhomboid planes that appear 2D from most angles. With their primary colors, the works exude a Platonic formalism tempered only by the skewed, cartoonish outlines of the über-vessels themselves. Side by side, one atop the other, or separated by handlelike dividers, these glass “houses” are anything but cozy. 300 NW 13th Ave., 227-0222., 227-0222. Closes May 17. Map

FROELICK

Gabriel Manca's works, Ron van Dongen's photos.
714 NW Davis St., 222-1142. Closes April 26. Map

PDX CONTEMPORARY ART

James Lavadour's paintings, Jenevive Tatiana's window project.
925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063. Closes April 26. Map

OGLE GALLERY

Scott Wayne Indiana's installation.
310 NW Broadway., 227-4333. Closes April 26. Map

Thursday April 3top

Star of Hope

The three set designers (Director Lorraine Bahr, Barry Hunt and Brett Beserock) for Sowelu Theatre’s remount of Lea Floden’s 1995 Drammy-winning comedy have accomplished the seemingly impossible task of transforming the Back Door Theater into a pleasant living room. The cramped, cold, mildewed venue has recently made an excellent barracks, a prison and a kangaroo court in the Romanian mountains; now it’s actually cozy. A storage room masquerading as a home is an apt setting for this absurdist play in which no one is who they say they are: A nice couple take a pregnant girl into their home—only she isn’t pregnant, and they aren’t that nice. The very fine cast plays the layered false identities for laughs, and the first hour or so is excellent. But the script’s Pinteresque menace devolves into Pythonesque silliness—aliens are involved—and pointless pistol-waving, and delight at the show’s mysteries turns to irritation. This show needs a rewrite, not a revival. The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 730-9066. 8 pm Thursday-Saturdays, 4 pm Sundays. Closes April 5. $12-$18. All ages. Map

Throwing Bones

A grieving mother (Gretchen Corbett) goes to South Africa to meet a traditional healer, Tata (Victor Mack), and find out if he might have been able to help her daughter. Based on director Maureen Towey’s experiences in South Africa, staged in a nursing classroom and punctuated with African drumming and dance, there are about a million ways this new production by Sojourn Theatre could have fallen into tiresome cliché. It doesn’t. While certainly not the best work we’ve seen from this company, Throwing Bones succeeds as an examination of culture clash, medical and otherwise. Hannah Treuhaft gives a remarkable performance as a white South African with a mysterious ailment who gives up on Western medicine and, despite her skepticism, turns to the sangoma for care. Other noteworthy moments: the emotional climax of dance and drums and dirt, and the best visual pun of the season. Garden beds? BEN WATERHOUSE. Concordia University Nursing Skills Lab, 2805 NE Liberty St., #M105., 971-544-0464. 8 pm Thursdays-Sundays. Closes April 13. $10-$15. All ages. Map

Columbinus

Blue Monkey Theater tackles an "unflinching" retelling of the events that led up to the Columbine High School massacre, created by the United States Theatre Project. Too soon? John Monteverde directs. West End Theater, 1220 SW Taylor St., 593-2466. 7 pm Thursdays-Saturdays. Closes April 12. $10-$20. Map

Ghostland Observatory

[SYNTH-POP] The duo of vocalist/guitarist Aaron Behrens (the braids, the Princelike wail, the "ah" like he just finished a bottle of cola) and beat-master Thomas Turner (the satiny blue cape), Ghostland Observatory crafts dance music for the pop-friendly listener. Currently touring in support of brand new, aptly named sophomore effort, Robotique Mystique, the Austin-based duo combines psyche-pentrating synth hooks, boom-chick dance beats, '80s sensibilities and dark 'n' gothy sound effects—all of which hinge on Behrens' bold (sometimes roboticized) vocals and funky melodies. It can get a little repetitive (especially if the sound system crashes and GO attempts to restart the same song over and over again, as it did at last year's Sasquatch! fest), but when boogie fever's got a hold of ya, that's not such a bad thing. And I'm guilty of hitting the ol' repeat button a few times over on "Sad Sad City" (from 2006's Paparazzi Lighting), so what kind of complaint is that? AMY MCCULLOUGH. 8 pm. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 225-0047. $18. All ages. Map

Holcombe Waller & the Healers, The Golden Bears (CD release), Tom Brosseau

[OPERATIC PSYCH ROCK] Tonight marks Amore!Phonics' first release by a band other than local matrimonial psych-pop darlings Viva Voce (whose drummer/husband half runs the label). And the Golden Bears' full-length debut, Wall to Wall, is appropriately trippy, but it's certainly not a VV ripoff. The duo of local illustrator Julianna Bright and chef/writer Seth Lorinczi (also a couple), the Bears weaves metal riffs and folky interludes into its psychedic rock, and Bright's operatic wail—which, oddly, reminds me of a female Ed Kowalczyk (you know, the bald frontman of '90s rockers Live)—drives the whole package home. But don't be beguilded by Bright's beautiful croon; there is noise to be had here as well. The thing that is reminscent of Viva Voce is that there's so much talent between this pair it makes you kinda sick, but it sounds good enough that you'll get over it. Promise. AMY MCCULLOUGH. 9 pm. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $10. 21+. Map

Chores, Swallows, Kusikia

[WHAT’S UP, INDIE ROCK?] About 10 years ago, before the age of free MP3s and the instant-hype gratification of the blogosphere, I picked up a copy of the Matador Records compilation What’s Up, Matador? on super-discount at one of the huge music shops that went the way of the dinosaur earlier this decade (either Tower or the Wherehouse—interchangeable franchises in my mind). I bought it for the unreleased Pavement track, but kept it in the collection because of all the new discoveries: early Spoon, Superchunk and Chavez. I mention this because a few tunes off Chores' 2007 EP Life Is Hard sound so much like the slowly chugging and chiming indie rock that characterized What's Up, Matador?—check the slightly funky, driving guitars of “Ghost” and tell me if you can’t spot some influences. It’s too bad the Portland band hasn’t appeared on any What’s Up, Stumptown? comps—Shaky Hands fans would probably have a new crush. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. 9 pm. Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. Free. All ages. Map

Fun World: Guidance Counselor, Breakfast Sandwich (10 pm); Strategy (7 pm)

[ONE-MAN DANCE] See profile, coming soon. 10 pm. Ground Kontrol, 511 NW Couch St., 796-9364. $4. 21+. Map

PNCA

"The Searchers," a group show about eBay as a catalyst for interpersonal connection.
1241 NW Johnson St., 226-4391. Closes May 25. Map

QUINTANA GALLERIES

120 NW 9th Ave., 223-1729. Closes May 31. Map

TILT

Paula Rebsom's installation.
625 NW Everett St., #106., 908-616-5477. Closes April 26. Map

GOTTLIEB GALLERY

Adam Bacher's photographs of the Rwandan people.
220 SW Yamhill St., 241-1070. Closes April 26. Map

BRODERICK GALLERY

Cuban artist group show.
814 SW 1st Ave., 224-4020. Closes May 3. Map

Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert’s mid-life crisis got more attention than most. At age 30, she traded one bourgeois ideal for another, swapping house, husband and career for travel, sex and spiritualism. You’ve probably read her made-for-Hollywood memoir—Eat, Pray, Love—and now you probably want to hear her talk about it. Well you’re in luck. At this event, she will also be taking audience suggestions for the three-word title of her next runaway smash-hit nonfiction, yet to be written. WW suggests: Write, Preen, Preach or Shit, Shower, Shave. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway., 248-4335. 7:30 pm. $25. Map

Friday April 4top

Dreamgirls

[EXTENDED RUN] I’ve been harshly critical of Kirk Mouser’s work at Stumptown Stages over the past two years, so I hope you understand that I am entirely serious when I say Julianne Johnson-Weiss’ delivery of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is the most affecting musical performance of the season, period. She sings with enough emotional force to bring even the most reptilian critic to tears. Johnson-Weiss is in good company here: Joann Coleman gives a manic, aggressive performance as Deena, and towering Eugene Blackmon (Jimmy Early), sporting a James Brown wig and a succession of silly suits, pulls comic-relief duty while showing off his remarkable stylistic range. Are there problems? Oh, hell yeah. The chintzy set squeezes most of the non-nightclub action into a four-foot alleyway at the front of the stage, and the acting is passable at best and wooden at worst—besides Blackmon and Johnson-Weiss, none of the cast seems comfortable in his or her part once the music stops. But who cares? With singing this good, everything else is parsley. BEN WATERHOUSE. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave., 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes April 12. $25-$27. All ages. Map

Toy Room

Local Bjork-ish performer Sally Tomato premieres her new rock opera. Or, more accurately, her world-jam/alt-country/prog-pop opera, about (what else?) Tomato's childhood, chaotic adolescence and struggle to regain lost innocence. Proceeds from the show benefit Portland Women's Crisis Line. Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St., 284-8686. 7 and 9 pm Friday-Saturday (21+), 1 pm Sunday (all ages). Closes April 6. $19. Map

Sometimes a Great Notion

[EXTENDED RUN] Aaron Posner's stage adaptation reduces Ken Kesey’s 1964 masterpiece to a 2 1/2-hour family drama about the messy relationship between half-brothers Hank and Leland Stamper, an odd couple tasked with fulfilling an impossible logging contract. It’s a good story, though it encompasses only about a third of the novel, and Posner’s use of a chorus of townspeople to simulate the novel’s narration actually works quite well. The design work is extraordinary: Tony Cisek’s set is both beautiful and eminently functional, and Casi Pacilio’s falling-tree sound effects shake the Armory’s foundations. The leads are excellent—Karl Miller (Leland) and Tobias Andersen (Henry) are especially good—but there are some weak spots. Local comedy geek Kevin-Michael Moore shouts his way through his lines, and Chris Murray expresses little beyond an adolescent sneer, and they all play up lines about the weather—Kesey’s chief antagonist—for inappropriate yuks. BEN WATERHOUSE. Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 7:30 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 pm Sundays, noon Thursdays. Closes May 10. $16.50-$61.50. Map

Panther, Horse Feathers, New Bloods

[ROOTS-PUNK] See music feature, coming soon. 9 pm. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. Free. 21+. Map

Say Hi, Blue Skies For Black Hearts, Invisible Rockets

[DARK ELECTRO-POP] I always thought Say Hi To Your Mom was a pretty clever handle for a band, but SHTYM founder/frontman Eric Elbogen recently shortened it to just Say Hi. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure glad his New Wave-ish, bass-bounding synth pop hasn't changed along with the name. Perhaps not as goth (in theme, at least) as the band's vampire-inspired '06 release, Impeccable Blahs, new release The Wishes and the Glitch has all the hooks, melodramatic vocals and building choruses I've come to expect from Elbogen. The only time I've checked the Seattle-based project out live (it was a trio at the time), the band went on hella late and was a bit underwhelming. But the music's like the Cure with a wink and an amped-up beat (well, I guess that'd sort of be New Order, but stay with me)—and, for that, I will give Say Hi another try. Come to think of it, maybe that name change has something to do with second chances at first impressions? AMY MCCULLOUGH. 9 pm. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. $7. 21+. Map

Jazz at the Bijou: Robert Moore, Nancy King, Warren Rand, Steve Christofferson & Alan Jones (7:30 pm)

[JAZZ] What to do with scat? Some track it in the woods. Some watch it smothered on unassuming individuals on the Web. Then there's scat-o-philes of the jazz sort, those who enjoy improvised brisk, bouncy, free-flowing vocal shoo-bah-dee-doo-wops set against rolling piano lines, the subtle thumping of a walking bass and the cool energy of a horn section. For that scat, Nancy King is the monarch of local female jazz vocalists, a major face on the West Coast jazz scene for the past 40 years and scat singer extraordinaire. She's joined tonight by a roll call of local jazz regulars—vocalist/trumpeter and Alabama native Robert Moore, Warren Rand on the sax, longtime collaborator Steve Christofferson on piano and Alan Jones on drums. LANCE KRAMER. 7:30 pm. Bijou Cafe, 32 SW 3rd Ave., 222-3187. $18 (includes hors d'oeuvres). All ages. Map

Santotzin (CD release)

[INDIGENOUS HIP-HOP] I previewed Santotzin's Late Nights and Dollar Beers well over a year ago in these pages, and after a tumultuous year for both the artist and label, Battleship Records, the disc finally sees release tonight. Not as epic a development as seeing Greg Oden eventually block shots for the Blazers, perhaps, but this is still kind of a big deal. Even if LNDB doesn't quite represent the artist that Santo has morphed into in the two years since it was recorded—his more recent raps are less booze-centric and a bit more urgent—it's a fine, fun album that rings true from start to finish. The beats are live and soulful, as well. If Santo was one of the best MCs in Portland when Late Nights was recorded, he's approaching elite status now. Can't imagine it'll take too much longer for people to catch on. CASEY JARMAN. 9:30 pm. Berbati's Pan, 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579. $10. 21+. Map

RCR Comic Release Party

Roller derby and comic books: a match made in heaven. What better way to depict barrel-chested, brawny babes in skates and elbow pads? You heard right: The Rose City Rollers are now immortalized in high-contrast ink—they collaborated with comic artists Seamus Heffernan and Ryan Tanner-Alexander to produce a full-length comic book about their awesome selves. Four tales, four teams. At this release party, get your copy signed by the artists or the superheroes themselves. Cosmic Monkey Comics, 5335 NE Sandy Blvd., 517-9050. 6-9 pm. Free. Map

Saturday April 5top

Go, Dog. Go!

Kids of all ages will love this colorful, clever and comic production. The live band and over-the-top costumes set the Technicolor tone of the light-on-words show, a simple musical adaptation of P.D. Eastman’s classic book about the wacky lives of dogs. Parents of smaller kids, be prepared to seat your child on your lap for the whole show or bring your own thick booster seat—while some of the sets are vertical, action that happens on the stage itself can be difficult for wee ones to see from the pewlike seats. They won’t want to miss a wink! DEEDA SCHROEDER. NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 222-4480. Noon and 3 pm Saturdays-Sundays and March 25-28. Closes April 6. $10-$20. All ages. Map

Rachel Taylor Brown (CD release), The Brothers Young, Kaitlyn ni Donovan (10 pm); Claudia Schmidt (7 pm)

[WEIRD POP] See album review, coming soon. 10 pm. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. $7 advance, $8 day of show. 21+. Map

LAKE, Pets, Upsidedown Cat

[HOLYIMPIA!] There aren't a whole lot of bands prettier than Olympia, Wash.'s LAKE. From the tight-knit boy-girl harmonies to the blanket-soft instrumentation, there's a lot of emotional honesty and tenderness packed into the collective's music. For once, a MySpace genre description ("A cappella/bossa nova/nu jazz") seems accurate. Fans of Portland's own A Weather should appreciate LAKE an awful lot. And, speaking of Portland, local Casio-centric Upsidedown Cat treads similar (if slighty more twee) ground, and tells some pretty adorable stories about public transit and library books along the way. There'll be no moshing tonight. Sorry. CASEY JARMAN. 8 pm. Artistery, 4315 SE Division St., 803-5942. $6. All ages. Map

Starfucker, Dat'r, Dykeritz

[POP GENIUS] Dykeritz's Purple Switzerland LP was one of 2005's pleasant Portland surprises—a swirling, poppy epic filled with catchy hooks and an inspired, sunny energy. Apparently hibernating since the summer of ’06, Jordan Blum's duo-turned-trio (now featuring Paul Alcott of Dat'r on drums) has reemerged from creative isolation with a new record, Rearrangerologyistics, in tow. The lush instrumentation is still there: Synth chirps float in the spaces between the violins, drums, children's toys and hand claps, like a joyful orchestra populated by cartoon animals. It might be too early to say, but this album could become 2008's summer jam. JIM SANDBERG. 9 pm. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $7. 21+. Map

24-Hour Comic Day

Most of the time, when you hear the adjective “24-Hour,” it’s attached to something lame like “news coverage” or “fitness.” No shortage of awesomeness here, though. On April 5-6, cartoonists from all over Portland will converge on Cosmic Monkey to create a 24-page comic book in 24 hours. The whole shebang—writing, drawing, lettering, coloring. Come for the mad refreshments, stay for the live blogging. Guest appearances by comic gurus Jim Valentino and David Chelsea. Cosmic Monkey Comics, 5335 NE Sandy Blvd., 517-9050. 10 am-10 am. Free. Registration required. Map

Sunday April 6top

Pufferfish, Mya Elaine (8 pm); Coney Island Cartel (6:30 pm)

[COUNTRIFIED FOLK] Seattle's Pufferfish plays delightfully twangy, country-leaning tunes that soar thanks to solid songwriting, pop sensibilities and occasional, lovely female vocal accompaniment (check out the mournful, Nashville-channeling echo on "Decoder Ring"). On songs like "Rest Stop," primary singer-songwriter Jonah Baker—who also plays a mean saw—channels August and Everything After-era Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) so well it reminds us why that band was once so great. And fanciful picking (there's a contagious mandolin speckled throughout the trio's work) adds a bluegrass vibe that begs knees to be slapped and toes to be tapped. On 2006 release Hello Zero, the band even throws in some spacey organ and Northwest psych-guitar for good measure. Run of the mill old-time this is not. AMY MCCULLOUGH. 8 pm. Alberta Street Public House, 1036 NE Alberta St., 284-7665. $5. 21+. Map

Autechre, Rob Hall, Massonix

[FUTURE POP] “You’re not getting any younger, Mark. The world’s changing. Music’s changing. Even drugs are changing.” That’s the bit from Trainspotting that rings through my confused head every time I hear  English duo Autechre. Since its late ’90s debut, the electronic outfit's painstakingly constructed records have somehow managed to deconstruct pop and then make it eat itself, kicking complex beats through a speaker while simultaneously sucking them back in. Autechre's latest effort, Quaristice, finds the duo in a looser mindset, less algebra and more straight-up division, flaunting fun over formula. Rhythms slap and slurp all over the place while cool machinery keeps it all together, causing the normally dead-serious Autechre tone to seem actually playful, maybe even—happy? ERIK BADER. 9 pm. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. $20. 21+. Map

JonnyX and the Groadies, Fist Fite, Experimental Dental School, Vendetta Valentine

[DISJOINTED SLURPEE ROCK] Well, holy shit—just a few months into 2008 and it looks like we’ve already got a winner in the “awesomest album cover” of the year award. Experimental Dental School’s new record, Jane Doe Loves Me, features an image that just totally nails down its sound: A standing beast looms with a Casio keyboard torso, galloping horse legs, eagle wings extending toward the sky and a solemn, strident wolf's head. If you picked a random person, played them the record and had them close their eyes and draw the first thing that came to mind, it would probably look pretty similar to the image. EDS plays fractured rock songs through keyboards that sound like they’ve been smashed one too many times and guitar tones that emote, per the band’s own description, like “that of a broken-down Slurpee machine.” Jane Doe doesn’t just love the band, she designed the freaking cover. Two of Portland's most notable freak-punk outfits, JonnyX and Fist Fite, headline the show. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. 8 pm. Exit Only, 1121 N Loring St., 815-302-6041. Cover. All ages. Map

Boat Drinks II: DJs Key West Hollywood, Brkfst Sndwch & Dairy

[SOFT-ROCK TRIBUTE] See Here Comes Your Fan, coming soon. 9 pm. East End, 203 SE Grand Ave., 232-0056. Free. 21+. Map

Oregon Symphony Circus Day

Speaking in his Satire X, the poet Juvenal famously asserted that the only things required to keep the Roman people happy were bread and circuses (panem et circenses). Bread—well, you’ll have to take care of that yourself. But the Oregon Symphony has a circus in store: It will be joined by tumblers from Oregon Gymnastics Academy and juggler Dave Clay for a day of musical acrobatics for kids. Circus-themed works to be performed include Fucik’s “March of the Gladiators,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Dance of the Tumblers” and Bamert’s “Circus Parade.” The performance will be preceded by a petting zoo and other activities in the concert hall lobby. JOHN MINERVINI. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway., 248-4335. 1 pm Sunday, April 6. $8-$39. Map

Monday April 7top

Acid Mothers Temple, Danava

[PSYCH-ROCK] Shakespeare once famously asked, “What’s in a name?” To which I can only respond, “OK, so what part of (full name) Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. don’t you understand?” Sporting over 30 rotating members and a sound that mashes 40 years of drug-music history into one big freaked out, um, freakout, Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple are pretty much Ground Zero/Where It’s At when it comes to total meltdown weirdo psych-rock. Uninitiated, beware: Brace your head and come prepared for extra-length jamouts featuring kooky electronics, endless-staircase guitar solos and lots of hair. Turn on, tune in, drop out—after which it’s time to go visit the Temple. Hey, brother, the name says it all. ERIK BADER. 9 pm. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. $10. 21+. Map

Tim Fite, Larry Yes

[AMERICANA HIP-HOP] New York's Tim Fite, who answers to the Man With Itchy Legs when he's onstage, has a sing-along he does with his crowds. A barn appears on the projection screen behind him, in place of the usual video of Fite playing an instrument to accompany himself and looking spaced-out. And the crowd sings, "Burn it dowwwn!/ Down, down, down!/ Down, down, down!/ Burn it down!" Then a cop car comes on the screen, and the audience will sing the same thing. All the while, Fite's brother Greg Fite sits in a corner with the laptop that controls the A.V. show, muttering inaudibly and looking very sympathetic at the audience. That right there should tell you whether you'll completely love Tim Fite or wind up very confused. BRANDON SEIFERT. 8 pm. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. $10 advance, $12 day of show. Map

PORTLAND BUILDING

Damien Gilley's installation.
1120 SW 5th Ave., 823-5111. Closes May 2. Map

Marjane Satrapi

See box, below. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway., 248-4335. 7:30 pm. $10-$26. Map

Tuesday April 8top

Sweeney Todd

John Doyle's mini-production of Sondheim's bloody great musical hits town. Yep, this is the one with the ten actors who also play all the instruments. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 241-1802. 7:30 pm Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday, 1 and 6:30 pm Sunday, April 8-13. $23-$65. All ages. Map