Portland
friday 22
Black Out Beer Fest
Masters of the art of dark beer show their stuff. A dozen beers from Lompoc Brewing will be on tap, along with offerings from Breakside Brewing, Columbia River Brewing, the Green Dragon and Widmer Brothers. No one really goes to a beer festival for the music, but if you're interested, Marty Marquis will be there and, because nothing cures a hangover like a bowl full of hot clams, the event will be followed on Saturday by the 7th annual Chowder Challenge. 4 p.m. Fifth Quadrant.
friday 22-sunday 24
Wizard World, Portland Comic Con
If you've watched every episode of "Battlestar Galactica," or own a stack of X-Men comic books, you've probably considered going to a comic book convention. Now, is the time—Wizard World is in our hood and it's going to be a especially nerdy one. Special guests include thousand-year-old comic book ledged Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, James Marsters aka. Spike of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the former Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, as well as Henry Winkler. Why the Fonz is at a comic book convention we're not quite clear on, but we're ayy-OK with it. Oregon Convention Center.
wednesday 27
STRFKR and Blackbird Blackbird
Starfucker is a pretty excellent band name, in its crassness and its very concept. On more conservative bills, the Portland-based indie band can shorten the name to the vowel-less vanity license plate version, STRFKR, or, as they were also known when they totally chickened out, Pyrmamiddd. Their synthy indie-pop isn't nearly as intimidating as their name makes it sound, and they do a killer cover of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." 8 p.m. Roseland Theater.
seattle
tuesday 26
'Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows'
The ultimate "Storage Wars" success story, Vivian Maier's masterful photography was discovered in an auctioned off storage unit in 2007. The career nanny's collection consisted of 100,000 negatives, mostly undeveloped, of photographs that she took throughout her life. Maier's work was never publically exhibited until after her death in 2009, but she is now known as an iconic street photographer, depicting forgotten scenes of New York and Chicago in the 1950s and '60s. 11 a.m. Photographic Center Northwest.
