Lovett or Leave It
Of all the dudes who work at Crooked Media, the millennial answer to Air America, Jon Lovett—with his bad attitude, whiny jokes, and refreshingly realist perspective—is my favorite. Crooked Media has no shortage of employees named Jon, but trust me: Lovett is the best. His show, Lovett or Leave It, is like Jake Tapper's furrowed brow in podcast form, which is to say it’s beautiful and necessary—and it's coming to Portland in all its cranky glory. MEGAN BURBANK
9 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $25-55, all ages

Passion Pit
I remember when Passion Pit played Sasquatch in 2010, because none of my cool, music-festival-frequenting friends would stop talking about it afterward. After listening to hits like “Sleepy Head” and “Little Secrets,” I quickly understood what all the fuss was about. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to see the band at the Crystal Ballroom a couple years later, and I got to hear all the shimmering complexities and heart-pounding goodness of Passion Pit’s indietronica IRL. Consisting solely of Michael Angelakos, Passion Pit released its fourth studio album Tremendous Sea of Love in 2017. A backing band with heavy synth will join him live. JENNI MOORE
8 pm, Roseland, $35-45, all ages

John Maus, Holy Shit
You’ll either love or hate the music of John Maus. In his songs, Maus muses about teen witches, killing cops, and pet death, singing in a detached baritone that makes him sound like the reclusive overlord of some remote gothic castle. His latest album, 2017’s Screen Memories, expands his colossal, baroque synth-pop compositions. CIARA DOLAN
9 pm, Revolution Hall, $15

Bert Kreischer
Bert is one of the most naturally funny people working today, and if you’re up for a night of pure entertainment I’d definitely check him out at Helium (and bring a few bucks in case he does a raffle for the waitstaff). I saw him there when he came by last year, and he’s a blast. If you don’t know him, watch his “The Machine” bit that went viral last year on Facebook and YouTube to get a sense of what he’s like (often shirtless, always funny). If you’ve got more time, listen to any podcast he does with comics Tom Segura, Ari Shaffir, or Joe Rogan. DOUG BROWN
8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $30-35

Rex Burkholder
Rex Burkholder reads from the revised and updated edition of The Activist's Toolkit, sharing an array of shrewd advice gained from over four decades years of civic activism.
7:30 pm, Powell's Books on Hawthorne, free

Nashville
Perhaps the most quintessentially Altman-esque film that the director left behind, Nashville is a tremendously ambitious (and successful) film about normal people in America. The country music capital serves as an opportunity-filled stage for the two dozen or so main characters, all of whom are connected in some form to both the sequined and sentimental music scene and the political convention taking place at the Nashville Parthenon. Typical of Altman’s ensemble films, the characters frequently know each other, or at least hang out at the same spots, even if those connections don’t directly serve the narrative. This was part of Altman’s genius; much like his overlapping dialogue technique, he strove to approximate reality more closely by allowing us to see familiar faces in the background of shots, or to simply let more than one person speak at the same time. His “the more the merrier” approach to directing was the perfect vehicle for his deeply humane and humorous outlook on life, which, like country songs and campaign speeches alike, feels both hopeful and phony at once. CHAS BOWIE
7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9

Surfer Blood, Terry Malts
Question for you to ponder while you jam out at Mississippi Studios tonight: Did Florida slacker-rock aficionados Surfer Blood adopt that name with the intent of menacing their home state's surfers? Or does the blood of surfers course through their veins?
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $15-18

Anti Flag, Stray from the Path, The White Noise, Sharptooth
Anti Flag blends typical melodic guitar riffs with so much energy, it gives you palpitations just thinking about it. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
7 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, $18.50-22

Meshuggah, Code Orange, Toothgrinder
The long-running Swedish band bring their extreme blend of technical metal back across the pond for a North American tour supporting their latest full-length, The Violent Sleep of Reason.
7:30 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $32-35

Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!