SUPER PICK
KING BLACK ACID, CEDAR TEETH, DAYDREAM MACHINE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) For those who miss the sights and sounds of âold Portland,â tonight brings a real-deal relic of the era to the Mississippi Studios stage (though not for nostalgic purposes). In the 1990s, Daniel Riddle released a handful of albums under the name King Black Acid, adding his unhurried brand of cinematic psych-rock to the fertile local scene. In the years since, Riddle has kept busy playing shows and composing lots of music for TV and film, but his newest releaseâSuper Beautiful Magic, out on Cavity Search Recordsâis his first full-length since 2000âs Loves a Long Song. Itâs a very welcome return. On one hand, these new songs showcase Riddleâs natural knack for music thatâs somehow both breezy and adventurous. Those instincts seem to be as sharp as ever. On the other hand, Super Beautiful Magic finds Riddle and his King Black Acid collective exploring new sound-worlds, like slinky 21st century soul (âThe Best Liesâ), digital disco-funk (âBig Gummo - Itâs Cool to Be in Loveâ), and shimmering dream-pop (âWhen We Were Ghostsâ). Particularly impressive is the âDreamsâ trilogy that ends the album with a gorgeous trip through sun-dappled clouds, accompanied by a choir of angels and a gentle army of arpeggiated synths. When all is said and done, Super Beautiful Magic sounds a bit like a cross between the Flaming Lips and the Polyphonic Spree, but with the silliness stripped out and only the freaky, fluttery beauty left behind. Also celebrating a new release tonight: Local combo Cedar Teeth, whose new EP Farewell to Green Mountain is a six-song collection of affable roots-pop that spills over with memorable melodies and easygoing grooves. BEN SALMON
WEDNESDAY 6/7
A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FOR PRINCE: FARNELL NEWTON AND THE OTHERSHIP CONNECTION
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) When David Bowie and Prince passed away in tragic succession last year, the organizers of the Bowie vs. Prince Ride, a Pedalpalooza classic, made the decision 2016 would be their last hurrah. It was sad and it was joyous, with throngs of purple-clad, and ginger-wigged cyclists bidding farewell to the two rock heroes. Reasonable people can disagree whether Bowie or Prince was the better artist, but Prince was born June 7, smack dab in the middle of Pedalpaloozaâs terrific maelstrom. So this evening you will once again don your violet, your magenta, your amethyst, and you will ride in honor of the Purple Oneâs birthday for the Prince4Ever Ride. Then youâll stop at the Doug Fir for a proper birthday celebration (with karaoke!). Act your shoe size, people. DIRK VANDERHART
CORINNE BAILEY RAE, JAMILA WOODS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Almost exactly a year ago, bohemian soul goddess Corinne Bailey Rae came to town and played an intimate show at Mississippi Studios shortly after releasing her newest album The Heart Speaks in Whispers. A fully fleshed out band complements the UK singer/multi-instrumentalistâs live set, and her glowy aura may as well be topped with an actual halo. Tonightâs bill is backed by another stunner, Jamila Woods, whose soulful voice you might recognize from Chance the Rapper collabs, like âBlessingsâ from his Coloring Book, and âLSDâ from her studio debut, HEAVN. JENNI MOORE Also see All-Ages Action!
THURSDAY 6/8
SWEEPING EXITS, LITTLE STAR, ALIEN BOY, BABE WAVES
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) Sweeping Exitsâ upcoming album, Glitter & Blood, is about to be released after two and a half years in the making. This local âglam-punkâ band will be hosting an album release party also featuring Little Star, Babe Waves, and Alien Boy. If the two pre-released songs (âMiami Beachâ and âBigotry and Barbecueâ) are any indication of whatâs in store on the other 14 tracks, this is an album youâll be listening to all summer long. CLAIRE HOLLEY Also read our review of Sweeping Exitsâ new album, Glitter & Blood.
THE PARSON RED HEADS, THE MINUS 5, THE REVERBERATIONS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our review of the Parson Red Headsâ new album, Blurred Harmony.
JOE LOVANO CLASSIC QUARTET
(Fremont Theater, 2393 NE Fremont) Clevelandâs Joe Lovano is the ultimate musician, a fluid saxophonist who can ably slip between subgenres of the jazz world. His placid tones and patient playing frequently fall into easy listening territory (particularly his new age-leaning work, recorded with his wife Judi Silvano), but itâs a sound that can be pushed forward or scaled back as needed. Lovano works well in the austere European school alongside his frequent partners, drummer Paul Motian and bassist Marc Johnson, yet is just as comfortable trying on John Zornâs more experimental compositions or the muscular bop he brings to life on his own recordings. There will be touches of all these elements at play when Lovano comes to Portland with his classic quartet, which includes the equally playful drummer Lamy Istrefi Jr. and pianist Peter Slavov. ROBERT HAM
CROWN LARKS, HOLLOW SIDEWALKS, HAVANIA WHAAL
(The Know, 3728 NE Sandy) On their 2015 debut, Blood Dancer, Crown Larks dabbled in unhinged free jazz freak-outs. Blurring the lines of compositional clarity, the Chicago groupâs experimentation was both its greatest asset and its most baffling hurdle, both of which made for an interesting listen. The band has since focused its wayward ways with its new record, Population, released last month on Already Dead Tapes and Satellite Records. Fusing together the Windy Cityâs post-punk and jazz cornerstones, the groupâs instrumental menageries paint in broad strokes, bringing flutes, saxophones, organs, and synths together in worldly smorgasbords of noise. âLithops Lifeâ owes much to the plunky staccato meanderings of fellow Chicagoans Joan of Arc, while âCircus Luvvâ finds alien undertones within coiling guitars and monotone organs. âReactâ sees the band perfect its genre-splicing, with effective bits of experimental rock and polyrhythmic noodling. The whole thing is a mesmerizing spectacle to witness live, so donât miss it. RYAN J. PRADO
FRIDAY 6/9
TIGERS JAW, SAINTSENECA, SMIDLEY
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE CĂ©sar E. ChĂĄvez) Breaking news: Saintseneca rules. The Columbus, Ohio band plays folk with jagged edgesâtheir fingerpicked guitar melodies and multi-part harmonies are anything but mellow. They just released a new one-off single, âBook of the Dead on Sale,â and itâs fantastically dark but somehow still uplifting. CIARA DOLAN Also read All-Ages Action!
SCHOOL OF ROCK PORTLAND: AMY WINEHOUSE AND THE PIXIES
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See All-Ages Action!
KING BLACK ACID, CEDAR TEETH, DAYDREAM MACHINE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our super pick.
DANIEL LANOIS AND ROCCO DELUCA, MARISA ANDERSON
(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) Daniel Lanois likes to get his hands dirty. The producer has left his fingerprints all over defining work by U2, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, and countless others, but Lanoisâ solo catalog is where he really sinks in his claws, wielding reverb like an instrument and smearing tone the way a painter smears paint on a canvas just before the images take form. From the balletic, Quebec-influenced folk on 1989âs Acadie to the igneous electric guitar work on 1993âs marvelous For the Beauty of Wynona, from his soundtrack work (Sling Blade) to the abstract explorations on albums like 2005âs Belladonna and 2014âs Flesh and Machine, Lanois has been an authoritative, instantly recognizable auteur of sound, using effects and processes to derive new musical lexicons. His new album, Goodbye to Language, has Lanois facing off on pedal steel guitar with collaborator Rocco DeLuca on lap steel, as the pair pulls strands of sound out of the ether, amplifies them, then twists, turns, and trades them back and forth. Tonight the two perform a special show titled âNight of Heavy Sunâ at one of Portlandâs most atmospheric venues. There is no question that it will be spellbinding. NED LANNAMANN
AVI BUFFALO, ANDREA SILVA
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) Avi Zahner-Isenbergâs apathetic, dead-eyed expression on the cover of 2014âs At Best Cuckhold doesnât really match the albumâs sardonic and irreverent lyrics. The year following its release, the songwriter (who performs under the moniker Avi Buffalo) announced his plan to lay the project to rest. But fans of lo-fi pop, rejoiceâheâs blessed us all with a national tour, including a stop in Portland to play Revolution Hallâs roof deck with folk singer Andrea Silva. You canât beat the location, which will find Zahner-Isenberg performing against a panoramic view of Portlandâs skyline at sunset. And while Avi Buffaloâs music isnât wildly unique, his engaging energy will make this live set something special. EMMA BURKE
RADIOACTIVITY, BAD SPORTS, MACHO BOYS, DITCHED
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) The song âDonât Tryâ from Radioactivityâs self-titled 2013 debut is perfect. Itâs 94 seconds of buzzsaw guitars, hot-potato chord changes, and buoyant vocal melodies, all wound up tight and set to a breakneck pace. Itâs as good as rock ânâ roll gets. The albumâs other tracks range from âalmost as goodâ to âevery bit as good,â as are all the songs on Radioactivityâs follow-up, 2015âs Silent Kill. The Texas bandâs core creative duoâMark Ryan and Jeff Burkeâhad a killer run in the early â00s with their band the Marked Men. Together, theyâve got one of the very best rock catalogs of the 21st century. Thatâs not something you skip when it comes to your town. BEN SALMON
SAD HORSE, BREAK UP FLOWERS, SURFER ROSIE
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) With constant tempo changes and vocal intonations, Portland math-punk duo Sad Horse constantly defies melodic expectations. In 2015, the bandâwhich features local DIY veterans Elizabeth Venable (drums/vocals) and Geoff Soule (guitar/vocals)âreleased Greatest Hits on Mississippi Records. The 26-song vinyl collection of previously cassette-only tracks is full of quick starts and abrupt stops. Just when songs like âVeinsâ and âYou Are Idiotsâ seem to settle into a groove, theyâre over. On cow-folk crooner tracks like âIf I Was a Duck,â the subject matter is equally absurd and hilarious as the title suggests. Joining Sad Horse are Break Up Flowers, whose song âKeep Watchâ is a Northwest indie cult-classic, and Surfer Rosie (featuring former members of Blind Love Joy), who just released the excellent swollen-hearted single âWormsâ from their upcoming Good Cheer Records debut. CAMERON CROWELL
SATURDAY 6/10
DEF LEPPARD, POISON, TESLA
(Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct) Most everyone has a first favorite band, and like your first kiss, itâs an unshakable and potentially embarrassing memory. In 1987, Def Leppardâs Hysteria was the center of my universe, though I wasnât sure why. With the benefit of critical hindsight, the UK crewâs 1981 sophomore record High ânâ Dry and 1983âs monolithic pop-metal hybrid Pyromania in certain ways eclipsed the polish and pomp approximated on Hysteria hits like âRocketâ or âPour Some Sugar on Me.â But few albums have been as enormously popular as Hysteria, and the cassette tape also holds the distinction as being the first piece of music I ever owned. Which is why, when the pre-packaged dinosaurs-of-rock schlock of tours like this trio of pop-metal fossils comes to town, I will scour the streets for spare change for my ticket, fist-pump and wail to the operatic squeals of Joe Elliot, and probably skip Poison altogether. RJP
SUNDAY 6/11
PUSHY, OWL, QUAYDE LAHĂE, PHANTOM HIGH
(The Know, 3728 NE Sandy) These days, what rock ânâ roll needs are soldiers whoâll take 10 steps back from the digital age and return to the time when you had to hustle as hard as you strutâwhen you couldnât release your music and image to the world by just pressing a few buttons on a computer. Instead, you had to gig hard, self-promote by mail, record often, and release your music by any means necessary, even if that meant releasing it yourself. Members of Olympiaâs Quayde LaHĂŒe are those rock ânâ roll soldiers. Via bass player Reuben Storeyâs label, Adult Fantasy Records, LaHĂŒe has put out two cassette tapes in as many years. Their most recent release, Day of the Oppressor, has five denim-weathering tracks with solid, driving rhythms that get your feet pounding, and dual guitar licks that stiffen your fingers and cause them to strum at the air. Quayde LaHĂŒe is a band that can show you rock ânâ roll is more than an overpriced haircut, a vintage band T-shirt, and a viral video. If played properly by individuals who are passionate, rock ânâ roll can affect you physically. ARIS HUNTER WALES
MONDAY 6/12
THE SPECIALS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) With so much hatred circulating throughout the world lately, the return of the Specials feels pointedly... special. Though the bandâs current lineup only contains three original members, the cultural contributions they represent are still wholly relevant. The Specials revived and popularized 2 Tone ska with chart-topping hits like âGhost Town,â but there are more important aspects to the groupâs legacy. As former principal songwriter and keyboardist Jerry Dammers put it, the Specials were formed with the specific intention of promoting anti-racism and racial integration by bringing Black and white musicians together. There couldnât be a better message for the world today. CERVANTE POPE
TUESDAY 6/13
HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF, MAKING MOVES
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) Fronted by Alynda Segarra, Hurray for the Riff Raffâs genre-straddling songs often align with American traditions in folk, blues, and country. But with new album The Navigator, Segarra & Co. have uncovered something modern in those bedrock sounds. This contemporary slant on familiar tropes makes Hurray for the Riff Raff one of the most exciting musical acts in the country right now. NED LANNAMANN Read our story on Hurray for the Riff Raff.