SATURDAY 8/26

SIL2K--Or Strategic Improv Laboratories 2000, for those who agree with me that the acronym is just too cute a title to take seriously. This "Night of Musical Games" features works written to be played, in both senses of the word; the scores consist of instructions, which the performers use to match wits against each other, in some cases even declaring a winner. The reliance on improvisation leans this away from a strictly classical evening, but fans of the avant side of things should find something to enjoy. The evening sprawls throughout Consolidated Works, so you can wander from room to room sampling new pieces in this vein from Carl Farrow, Stuart McLeod, Robert Henson, Kevin Goldsmith, Seth Howard, and the genre's most renowned classic (well, not so classic as the Mozart dice-throwing pieces Cage employed in HPSCHD), John Zorn's Cobra. Consolidated Works, 410 Terry Ave N, 860-5245, 8:30 pm, $7.

SUNDAY 8/27

MARROWSTONE MUSIC FESTIVAL--I haven't been mentioning this festival much, but today's season closer deserves a nod for featuring the annual Student Concerto Contest; I can't say what pieces will be performed, because I don't even know yet who the winners are, except to say, as the kids were no doubt told ad infinitum, that they're all winners here. Or whatever. The rest of the day is a mixed bag: Russian flash (Rimsky-Korsakov's Dance of the Tumblers; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2), Americana (Copland's Down a Country Lane), and Bohemian professionalism (Dvorák's Symphony No. 6). McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, 800-733-3608, 2 pm, $14/$10 students.

RADIO SHOWS
by Kris Adams

THURSDAY 8/24

SOUNDPRINT--"A Matter of Life and Death: Assisted Suicide in Australia." Between July 1996 and March 1997, four people in Australia's Northern Territory died under the "Rights of the Terminally Ill Act" before the Federal Parliament overturned the law. This law was the first of its kind in the world, and has added fuel to the debate over the right of the terminally ill to end their own lives. The story of John Graham, who's a staunch supporter of terminally-ill patients' rights and terminally ill himself, is told here by himself and by doctors and politicians on both sides of the issue. KUOW 94.9 FM, 7:30 pm.

FRIDAY 8/25

IN SEARCH OF JAMES BROWN--Do you feel GOOD? A tribute to the hardest-working man in show business and a study of celebrity worship, with interviews and music excerpts from a fall 1999 performance of the James Brown Revue in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Don't hurt yourself trying to dance like him. KUOW 94.9 FM, 10 pm.

SATURDAY 8/26

THISTLE AND SHAMROCK--It's not all plaid and potatoes--the Celtic music of the British Isles is rich and storied. This week, host Fiona Ritchie features songs of traditional and contemporary labors from the likes of Dick Gaughan, Karan Kasey, and others. You may never have heard of these minstrels, but their music will go down as smooth as a pint of the old black and tan. KBCS 91.3 FM, noon.

SUNDAY 8/27

WHAT'S THE WORD?--"The Bible as Literature: Translations and Interpretations." Robert Alter from the University of California at Berkeley discusses his new translation of Genesis, along with the four canonical Gospels and their differences, and Renaissance interpretations of the Bible. KUOW 94.9 FM, 2:30 pm.

SOUNDPRINT--"In India, Saathin Means Friend." Indian filmmaker T. Jayashree discusses the impact of tradition and custom on the lives of Indian women. She tells the story of Bhanwari, a woman raped by five men when she tried to stop a child marriage, as an illustration of the tensions within a society resistant to change after centuries of tradition and custom. KUOW 94.9 FM, 6 pm.

REGIONAL MUSIC

MICHELLE SHOCKED: Thurs Aug 24, Aladdin Theater, Portland

BUILT TO SPILL, THE MINDERS, NO. 2: Thurs Aug 24, Crystal Ballroom, Portland

ISRAEL VIBRATION: Thurs Aug 24, Roseland Theater, Portland

MURDER CITY DEVILS: Fri-Sat Aug 25-26, Brickyard, Vancouver, BC

CHEAP TRICK, NASH KATO: Fri Aug 25, Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

LES CLAYPOOL: Fri Aug 25, Roseland Theater

SUPERSONIC SOUL PIMPS: Sat Aug 26, Berbati's Pan, Portland

GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS: Sun Aug 27, L. B. Day Amphitheatre, Salem

DOOBIE BROTHERS: Mon Aug 28, Oregon State Park, Salem

PAT BENETAR: Tues Aug 29, Oregon State Park, Salem

KING'S X: Wed Aug 30, Berbati's Pan, Portland