THURSDAY 1/8

KPSU BENEFIT STARRING BLITZEN TRAPPER, EMPTY SET, SILVER SURFER, MAGIC BULLET/ GRASSY KNOLL, DJ GHOSTHOLE
(Berbati's, 231 SE Ankeny) See KPSU Story on pg 14. Other reasons for going: it's a pretty cheap show ($4!) for quite a few local (and, naturally, also independent) acts, such as Blitzen Trapper, the proggy Empty Set, Magic Bullet/Grassy Knoll (a duo comprised of .5 of Captain Vs. Crew), and DJ Ghosthole, who spins rock music so fast and hard that she might end up scaring these bands. MARJORIE SKINNER



SINI ANDERSON, STS, POMPOM MELTDOWN, DRASTIC PLASTIC
(Nocturnal, 1800 E Burnside) A founding member of SF-based ensemble Sister Spit, Sini Anderson has promoted radical language in poetic form for years. On her current tour, she furthers the boundaries of the spoken word, using video art, slides, and photographs to assist her personal/political stories. It's all set to a soundtrack composed by such equal luminaries as Jo Fateman (Le Tigre) and Radio (ex-The Need). Also performing in spoken and musical arts: sts, drummer for the Haggard/film and fanzine documentarian; Pom Pom Meltdown, and Drastic Plastic. JULIANNE SHEPHERD



MODEY LEMON, NOTE NOTAS, STARANTULA
(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) Pittsburgh trio Modey Lemon aren't your typical garage-rock racket. They're more "Radar Love" than Raw Power, fusing the grime and grit of their genre with thick, slightly psychedelic '70s rock and metal riffs. Frontman Phil Boyd's raspy delivery dishevels the music as much as the delayed effects do, as he sings lines like, "I'd rather be your enemy than to be nothing at all" on the band's latest release, Thunder + Lightning. If you find the skuzzy rock sound sexy, this band is worth getting hot and bothered over. JENNIFER MAERZ



COME UNITY STARRING LIFESAVAS
(Crystal, 1332 W Burnside) It's the same as it ever was when it comes to making political choices in your day-to-day. If it's not easy, it's probably not happening. Lucky for us, it is getting easier, or at least easier to find out about. Tonight's show not only includes a performance from one of the Northwest's primo hiphop groups, the Lifesavas, but it's also a fashion show and silent auction put on by Awearness clothing. By the name, you can guess what they're about (consumer conscience). One way to achieve such a thing is to buy from local, independent clothiers, such as the ones whose wares will be on the runway tonight. MS



THE TOASTERS, TED DANCIN' MACHINE, UPRITE DUB ORCHESTRA
(Ash Street, 225 SW Ash) The Toasters have been around since 1981, and their brand of ska is as formal as the genre can get. The American band doesn't extend the music into new territory the way that third-wave ska bands (which were mostly American) did in the '90s; they don't experiment, or derail expectations. They instead preserve the foundations of ska: They're brass-heavy, always keep close to soul music, reinforce the themes of the form, and refuse to skip or trip up the basic rhythm. In a word, if you want access to something that is like the core of ska, the Toasters' show will provide an excellent entry point. CHARLES MUDEDE



FRIDAY 1/9

MIGUEL MIGS, LISA SHAW, JEREMY NAIL, DEMETRI, ADAM OSUNA
(Ohm, 31 NW 1st) If you're down with Naked Music's brand of slick, lubricious house production, you'll want to put your life on hold for Miguel Migs' appearance here. Migs (real name: Miguel Steward; aliases: Petalpusher and Li'sha) is perhaps Naked's foremost ambassador for its laidback, airbrushed approach to 4/4 dance music. (Naked artist Stuart Patterson's luscious, colorful, cheesecake graphics also deserve much credit for the label's high profile.) You can bet your lethargic, post-holiday ass Migs and wildly in-demand diva Lisa Shaw will bring some much-needed mellow, sunshiny Cali vibes to our city's sunless winter. DAVE SEGAL



DJ ANJALI & THE INCREDIBLE KID
(Nocturnal) DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid, the DJs responsible for making "bhangra" and "Asian garage" somewhat household words outside Portland's Desi community, will soon embark on a two-month-long tour of India (hopefully purchasing lots of records for our listening pleasure upon their return). Before they go, there are only a couple more chances to hear their well researched and highly danceable South Asian sounds--a mix of traditional Punjabi vocals and percussion with stellar modern techno/hiphop/garridge etc. JS



COUGAR
(Berbati's) This is dreary sludge punk at its most dedicated. You will see few bands expend as much energy onstage as Cougar, which is kind of cool even if the resulting sounds are more cacophonous and horrible than pleasant. There will be screaming vocals, thunderous drumming, lots and lots of sweat, and if you're lucky, you might be able to make out a note or two. JUSTIN WESCOAT SANDERS



PEP TORRES, LISA & HER KIN
(Duff's Garage, 1635 SE 7th) With their authentic '50s-era sweaters and haircuts, the band Pep Torres may very well be the cutest lil' Latin Rockabilly-ists around. They'll woo you with doo-wop doo-doo and rhythm and blues froo-froo, too, if that's the choo-choo that makes your little boo-boo go goo-goo. God, that sentence was fun to write. JWS



PHIL BUSSE FOR MAYOR PARTY STARRING RECLINERLAND, CASCADIA DJS
(Holocene) For the longest time, I was holding out on promising co-worker Phil Busse my vote for his mayoral bid. Familiarity breeds contempt, after all, and I've gotten to know Phil fairly well over the past four years. Would Phil, as Mayor, engage inappropriately with his interns? Would he be off coaching his crew team while the city toiled in crisis? Would he make inappropriate/off-color comments to important diplomats? And yet, as the months have passed and I have seen the other candidates and their disinterest in/disdain for the vox populi, I am increasingly leaning towards Phil's side. While it is slightly frightening that PHIL "GOING FOR A JOG NOW" BUSSE is Portland's BEST MAYORAL CANDIDATE (as I type this, he is cheerfully asking our boss if he'd like to go "skeet-shooting"), I would rather vote for Phil's jock-ish yet well meaning/blunt yet politically conscientious ass than a thousand neo-con Jim Francesconi fakesters. At least I know for sure Phil would have voted for the anti-war resolution. Support Phil, and his sometimes-questionable yet always enthusiastic taste in music, by attending this fun party with cute Reclinerland, the man who wrote a whole musical after the melodies of Gershwin--one fellow we can agree on. JS



PEELANDER Z, LOAD LEVELERS, THE GLORY HOLES, SK & THE PUNK ASS BITCHES
(Twilight, 1420 SE Powell) Peelander-Z, besides being a strangely awesome name, is a Japanese punk band that sounds like the Id inside a kid busting his move on a PlayStation. Everything is punch-kick-rawr. They are exactly what my racist uncle means when he talks about the "inscrutable Chinese." However, his shit would turn white long before he could collect his ignorance if he was ever foisted into a room where these guys were performing, known as they are for extreme costuming and "human bowling." MS



LIPS LIKE LILLIES, ILLAJ, THE CAROLINES
(Meow Meow) Lips Like Lillies, an alliterative name, for a band whose music unfurls and wilts. The pretty vocals could make Ben Gibbard weep, all softness and acoustic splendor; no Conor Oberst-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown affectations here, just toy piano tunes for the inside of a snowglobe. This, exactly one week before UK grime emcee Dizzee Rascal's brilliant, dirty record is formally released in the States, amplifies the oceans of culture between the South of London and the suburbs of Oregon--there, grit and puff and raw self-conscious fear is interpreted in spit-angle lyrics; here "melodramatic apathy" (an actual Lips Like Lillies lyric) comes in precious wistful tones, longing looks, the scant touch of fingers. As Dizzee would never describe himself as "wusscore," as do LLL, neither would the band ever tell threaten to flush "emcees down the loo/ if you don't believe me bring your posse, bring your crew." In the baby stages of global culture, it's an interesting time to live in the world. JS



SATURDAY 1/10

CHARLES GAYLE, MICHAEL BISIO
(Disjecta) See Music pg 14



THE THIRD SEX REUNION SHOW, davies vs. dresch, take the blame, discharge information system
(Meow Meow, 320 SE 2nd) See Music pg 15



DITCHLIQUOR, BIBLICAL PROOF OF UFOS, YOB
(Twilight, 1420 SE Powell) If Don Caballero wrote music for the fans (instead of themselves), they might be quite a bit like Cleveland to LA transplants Biblical Proof of UFOs. Mike Peffer's dynamic jazz-inflected drumming is still the centerpiece, although these former instrumentalists have added understated vocals. Minimalism and sophistication combine for unique results that hook like Weezer, clobber like Melvins, and filter krautrock through metal a la early Queens of the Stone Age. Ditchliquor's hard rock attack is filtered through an array of psychedelic effects, producing a polished local metal act pleasantly devoid of irony or kitsch. And Yob is still YOB! NATHAN CARSON



CHARMPARTICLES, MAN OF THE YEAR, THE WORLD AFTER APRIL
(Ohm) Just like the name, the Charmparticles are pretty. Their twinking moments of Anglophiliac absorption, their pretty wah-wah temper tantrums. Lots of poppy allure, so they wrap you right around their little finger. Man Of The Year do a little less moon gazing, and they're Buffy The Vampire Slayer-approved, too! MS



THE GOSSIP, IMA ROBOT, ROBOTS IN DISGUISE
(Nocturnal) Ima Robot, which includes members of Beck's rhythm section, plays MTV2-slicked alterna-pop, mining certain elements of the Cure, Duran Duran, and Hot Hot Heat (vocally, the songs are a match with that group and the Rapture) for a high-energy, sorta-retro rock sound that at its best lodges its songs in your head like bullets. JENNIFER MAERZ



SUNDAY 1/11

MISSOURI LOVES COMPANY, THE SHEMPS, SPIDERS ON SPIDERS
(Twilight) Sometimes all a group has to do to catch my attention is come up with a really silly/stupid pun for a name. Such is the case with Arizona's Missouri Loves Company. The group should tempt those who like the post-hardcore sound of bands like These Arms Are Snakes, Q and Not U, and the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, as well as fans of D.C. punk/mathrock. Their melodic, angular mid-tempo punk collapses two different vocal deliveries--the bratty, quick-fuse tantrum style favored by bands like the Blood Brothers, and a softer emotional wail, both of which are fitting for their dynamic, vibrant musical energy. JM



NIGHT OF THE LIVING ELVIS
(White Eagle) It's Elvis's birthday, which means time to haul out the freaks and impersonators. Some of the Elvises here tonight will have vaginas, and others will be balls-to-the-wall wingnuts. Just so long as they all do the hot hot hip thing and someone represents the old, addled Elvis, then whatever's under the pantsuits' got nothing to do with it. Anyhow, this group has been doing it for fifteen years, so lay away those fears that this will be like watching your parents and their friends do karaoke. That would be much funnier. MARJORIE SKINNER



SLEEP, EVIL HANDS, SWEET NECTAR, MAKESHIFT GODS
(Ash) It's local hiphop done right with one of your favorite Oldominion emcees, Sleep. Check out Makeshift Gods, too, who on their Invisible People record exhibit a rapidfire, dark, growly rapping style that is heavy, yet melodic. JWS



MONDAY 1/12

THE BOILS, THE ESCAPED, THE OBSERVERS, SCHIZM
(Solid State) Oh, don't worry, Portland wouldn't go without a half-decent punk show for even like, 48 hours. So if you want to be all "Rose City, what the fuck" check out The Escaped, Our Town's favorite anti-racist hardcore punks. Flanked by other politically mindful stud enthusiasts, this show is sure to give you a legitimate dousing of Portland punks and their ilk. MS



TUESDAY 1/13

VIRUS BREAKBEATS
(Conan's) See DJ Bio pg 23



WEDNESDAY 1/14

ORAC TOUR STARRING CARO, BRUNO PRONSATO, STRATEGY, SOLENOID
(Holocene) See Music pg 15



DJ MATT DICKEL @ CRAFT NIGHT
(Nocturnal) Providing an appropriate setting for crafting soaps and whittling pickles from wood, Matt Dickel plays all genres of music by women vocalists from the first 50 years of the last century; that is, 1900-1945 (as with his radio show on the KPRA 96.7 FM). And he plays it on vinyl! JS



ECHO HELSTROM CD RELEASE
(Conan's) On their new self-titled album, Echo Helstrom proves themselves a downright likeable pop band. Catchy guitar licks brush against elegant string arrangements, and the lyrics are angsty and rhyme, but aren't dumb. The main problem is the lead vocals of Ross Seligman, which are noticeably thin and flat, and sometimes only barely seem to be actually carrying the tune. It wouldn't be such a thing if the songs here weren't otherwise pretty good. "Hungry Ghost" in particular is a lovely little ballad that makes you wonder what will happen once Seligman's vocal range comes into fruition. JWS



OMA YANG, THE MOTIVE, THE MINES
(Grand Central Bowl) Instrumental rock band Oma Yang is back from a long break, taken so drummer Dong Ping-Wong could study Architecture at Columbia University. Get a load of smarty pants-es. Given this information, those unfamiliar with the band's repertoire might expect the browbeating clang of formalist fingertapping and self-reflexive scale-flogging; however, like the best architecture, Oma Yang fuses functionality with accessibility, simplicity with foresight, aggressive chords with ponderous harmonics. All with the great crash of bowling pins toppling violently in the background. JS