Books & Talks

Live Wire! 

7:30 p.m. Thu, Alberta Rose Theatre, SOLD OUT
Portland's homegrown syndicated variety radio show is storming its new season, with tonight's show featuring Booker of Bookers winner (yes, that's a thing) Salman Rushdie, Danger & Eggs creator Shadi Petosky, comedian Joe Kwaczala, and our own musical maestro Dave Depper. 

Robert Wright

7:30 p.m. Fri, Powell's City of Books, FREE
In his new book, Why Buddhism Is True, the American journalist draws on neuroscience and evolutionary psychology to champion Buddhism, particularly the benefits of mindful meditation.

Manoush Zomorodi

7:30 p.m. Sun, Powell's City of Books, FREE
Do you spend a lot of time staring at a screen? Do you ever feel a phantom buzzing in your back pocket—even when your phone isn't in there? Do you sometimes scroll through Facebook and then realize you've forgotten to eat or sleep or, like, blink? The host of the Note to Self podcast has your back. Her new book, Bored and Brilliant, aims to help you rethink your technology habits.

Comedy

Throwing Shade Live

9 p.m. Fri, Revolution Hall, $25
Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi of long-running, queer-focused comedy podcast Throwing Shade (it now also exists as a late-night TV show) hit Portland with their sly, spirited riffs on women’s rights, pop culture, and LGBTQ issues.

Back Fence PDX: Cats

8 p.m. Sat, Alberta Rose Theatre, $18–26
Calling all feline fanatics: the local storytelling show dedicates an evening to tales about your favorite creature. Meow!

Music

George Takei with the Oregon Symphony

7:30 p.m. Sat, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $40–125
Social justice crusader, social media mogul, and explorer of strange new worlds (hats off, Mr. Sulu), Takei also emcees classical music concerts. With this symphony collaboration, he joins the ranks of high-profile narrators of Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait—Gregory Peck, Carl Sandburg, and Barack Obama have taken on the role in the past—which includes reading excerpts from the Gettysburg Address.

RAC

9 p.m. Sat, Wonder Ballroom, $23–25
Portland-by-way-of-Portugal’s Grammy-winning RAC—a.k.a. André Allen Anjos—dropped his second album, EGO, this summer: a layered, punchy 14-track, electro-pop win clocking in at exactly 60 minutes and boasting collaborations with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Vampire Weekend’s Rostam, MNDR, and St. Lucia, among others. For more, check out our 2015 conversation with RAC.

Theater

Time-Based Art Festival

Various times and locations thru Sept 17, prices vary
PICA's annual contemporary and performance art festival, now in its 15th year, continues with songs about destruction, a dance piece about bondage, and an exploration of the Rwandan genocide.

CLOSING Two Yosemites

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sat, Lewis & Clark’s Law School Amphitheater, $20
Opera and environmentalism collide in this musical retelling of Theodore Roosevelt’s historic meeting with conservationist John Muir in Yosemite National Park. Local composer Justin Ralls creates a drama set during just a single evening around a campfire in 1903.

Visual Art

CLOSING Jennifer Steinkamp

10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thu–Fri, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat–Sun, Portland Art Museum, $19.99
The acclaimed video installation artist brings several large-scale projections to town—glowing animations of trees, flowers, and vines that swirl across the gallery walls.

Robert Dozono

11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thu–Sun, Blackfish Gallery, FREE
Dozono’s paintings are garbage. Literally. When out fishing on the Clackamas River, the longtime Portland artist collects pieces of trash—think bottle caps, rubber bands, and toothpaste tubes—and affixes them to large-scale, eerily beautiful riparian landscapes.