Hidden in the first week of November are two pretty important events, presented back to back. On Sun Nov 3, musician, activist, and author Simon Tam appears at Powell’s to talk about his book Slanted, Tam’s part rock 'n' roll memoir / part account of The Slants’ struggle to trademark their own band name and overturn a law which deemed it offensive. Then on Mon Nov 4, the Slants play their last live show as a full band. As a rule, I do not believe artists who say they’re stopping, especially a creative force like Tam. But between his lectures and founding a nonprofit in 2018, dude is legitimately too busy to tour now. by Suzette Smith