portland
thursday 2
Bonobo
Bonobos (plural) are a Central African chimpanzees known for their brazen sexual behavior and for being the closest extant relative to humans. Bonobo (no s), on the other hand, is the alias of Simon Green, a British producer and DJ who emerged in the late 1990s with a thick-layered approach to the fresh-faced electronica scene. Creating limping, beat-driven cacophonies, his linear builds incorporate elements of jazz and trip hop into down-tempo electronica. Speaker freaking is encouraged. Crystal Ballroom. 8 pm. $23 at the door.
saturday 4
Free Comic Book Day
The first Saturday in May is better than Christmas for comic book lovers. Shops around the country give out free comic books in the spirit of increased literacy and passing on epic nerddom to the next generation. Costumed fans show up to collect, check out new releases and have their winnings signed by creators. Portland is home to an abundance of participants, Bridge City Comics (3725 N. Mississippi Ave.), Things From Another World (2916 NE Broadway St.), Cosmic Monkey Comics (5335 NE Sandy Blvd.), Floating World Comics (400 NW Couch St.), Excalibur Books and Comics (2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd.), and Billy Galaxy (912 W Burnside St.). Make a full day of it; try to hit them all! 9 am. Free.
through sunday 5
Manos: The Hands of Fate
This 1966 B-horror flick is revived as a so-bad-it's-good stage performance thanks to Blitzen Trapper (Portland's own Queen-esque alt-country band) drummer Brian Adrian Koch. The story of a road trip gone wrong that lands a conservative family in the hands of a sketchy pagan cult, the film version of Manos is filled with WTF moments from abysmal acting to the obvious technical issues. Props disappear and reappear, costume zippers and crewmembers are clearly visible and sound effects are often mistimed. Expect all the same, with ironic purpose, in the stage adaptation. The stage band will feature Eric Earley, singer of Blitzen Trapper, plus members of other Portland hipster bands the Parson Red Heads and Viva Voce. Thu-Sun 8 pm. Ethos at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. $20.
seattle
friday 3-saturday 11
Seattle True Independent Film Festival
In 2005, the filmmakers of Swamper, a fairtytale-esque adventure through Seattle with drugs, strippers, snowboarding, animation and fireballs, decided that their rejection from the Seattle International Film Festival just wasn't fair. So they said fuck it, and started their own festival, one that champions zero-budget independent flicks. As summer blockbusters continue to lose their intellectual content in exchange for scantily clad women and 3D explosions, the festival is committed to showcasing the films that rely on artistic merit and creativity to tell a story, rather than celebrity bylines and other Hollywood garbage. Various locations.
