portland
thursday 6
Third Annual Captain Picard Day
An annual tradition for the schoolchildren aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain Picard Day honors the baldest, baddest Starfleet captain "Next Generation" has to offer. How? With an art contest, of course. Submissions honoring Jean-Luc Picard will be eligible for hundreds of dollars in prizes, but the real reward is paying homage to the courageous, wise sci-fi champion. 6 pm. Floating World Comics. Free.
tuesday 11
Brent Amaker & The Rodeo
Dig out the Stetson and see Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, a Seattle-based, honest-to-gosh country-western band led by Amaker's low growl, a blend of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen. On the spurs of the release of its fourth album, Year of the Dragon, the band's shows often include a phenomenon called the "Whiskey Baptism" where Amaker welcomes new fans into the "Church of the Rodeo" by pouring shots of liquor into their mouths. The Lonesome Billies, honky-tonk outlaw music, open. 9 pm. Mississippi Studios. $8-10.
thursday 13
The Builders & The Butchers
Death-obsessed Alaskan turned Portland mainstay Ryan Sollee and band are back with a full-length album. Western Medicine, is slated to be released July 2 by Badman Records, home of My Morning Jacket's most recent release. 2013 marks seven years of froggy-voiced, forceful folk-rock from the Builders & the Butchers. 5 pm. Music Millennium. Free.
seattle
thursday 6-saturday 8
'The Twilight Zone: Live!'
Mixing equal doses camp and irony, Theater Schmeater has been producing re-enactments of "Twilight Zone" episodes since the venue's inception in 1996. This round of re-creations features stranded astronauts, creepy children with mutant powers and a lush Santa Claus—each story with its own macabre twist, sure to invoke black-and-white nightmares. 8 pm. Theater Schmeater. $18 adv/$23.
