WEDNESDAY 7/2

FUTURE, RICO LOVE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

A FEW OF ERIC D. JOHNSON'S FAVORITE THINGS: EDJ, CORRINA REPP, RYANFRANCESCONI, REBECCA GATES, ANDY CABIC, PURE BATHING CULTURE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

CLOUD NOTHINGS, METZ, THE WYTCHES
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) See All-Ages Action!

SHARON VAN ETTEN, JANA HUNTER
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Sharon Van Etten.

MUGEN HOSO, SHARKS FROM MARS, THEE FOUR TEENS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) I've never seen Mugen Hoso in the flesh before, but I have it on good authority that the Japanese blues-punk duo sometimes do backflips on stage. Yeah. Backflips. I have seen a YouTube clip of them performing Mose Allison's (by way of the Who) "Young Man's Blues" and fucking tearing it up. Taking the song's breakneck turns at top speed and skidding through its many stops and starts, Mugen Hoso send approximately one million volts through it, turning Allison's melancholy blues dawdle into a powder keg that no punk can resist. If Mugen Hoso brings even a 10th of that energy to tonight's show, this is going to be the most electrifying show of the week. Local punks Sharks from Mars offer up their new seven-track CD tonight as well, a hot gob of dirty rock that you'll want to smear all over your jeans. NED LANNAMANN

STEELY DAN, BOBBY BROOM
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Steely Dan are the perfect representation of the love-them-or-hate-them music-taste binary. Either you're on the bandwagon, singing the background part to "Peg" in your velvetiest Michael McDonald croon, or you're out on the street, pelting the chorus with bang snaps. Both sides of the argument have validity. The coke-fueled, jazz-addicted maelstrom that created albums like 1977's Aja and 1980's Gaucho can certainly leave one feeling cold and itchy. Conversely, the main men of the group (and the only mainstays since the group formed in 1972) wrote some crystalline pop tunes ("Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Dirty Work" among them) that move well beyond their jazzy trappings and '70s AOR grandiloquence into the realm of pure classics. ROBERT HAM

JOHANNA WARREN, WHALES WAILING, LE PRINTEMPS
(White Eagle, 836 N Russell) A new transplant to the Portland scene, former Brooklyn-based folk singer Johanna Warren fits in nicely in the Northwest. Mixing playful melodies with dark undertones, her music is comparable to the quieter acts on K Records and Kill Rock Stars from the 1990s. Her songs are sweet without being saccharine, ominous without being overly somber, restrained without being too simplistic. Sharing the bill is Portland's Whales Wailing, who in recent years have morphed their twee-folk into what could be described as a joyous variation on alt-country. Mid-tempo jangly guitars combine with lyrics in a celebratory trip into human connection and the natural world. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

FUCK BUTTONS, TOTAL LIFE, BOMBS INTO YOU
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Fuck Buttons' first album, 2008's Street Horrrsing, was something of a gateway noise record. It took the harsh, scorched hellscapes of Wolf Eyes and Prurient and dressed them in epic sweeps more befitting post-rockers like Mogwai. Instead of sounding punishing, Street Horrrsing often sounded downright pretty—they were a noise band that could appeal to people with a low threshold for weird music. But over the course of two more records, 2009's Tarot Sport and last year's Slow Focus, Fuck Buttons have charted a course that inches closer to the club, with pulsating rhythms bobbing through soundtrack-y electronics. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

CASTLE, SONS OF HUNS, BILLIONS AND BILLIONS
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) San Francisco metalheads Castle chisel four decades of heavy rock into their own menacing monolith. Led by bassist/vocalist Liz Blackwell, the three-piece gets epic and fantastical without giving up too much grind. Castle wrote their latest full-length, Under Siege, in their hometown and in LA, and Blackwell described the result: "It's a California record. We drew from the heavy sounds of those places to write electric witch hymns of death and doom." See? You don't have to be from the gloomy climes of Birmingham to sing about the end of the world. MARK LORE

THURSDAY 7/3

WATERFRONT BLUES FEST
(Waterfront Park, SW Naito) See My, What a Busy Week!

THE NOTWIST, JEL
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See My, What a Busy Week!

SHARON VAN ETTEN, JANA HUNTER
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Sharon Van Etten.

DME HOODOO MOON CRUISE: LIL' ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS, BLIND BOY PAXTON, BOMBINO, TY CURTIS BAND
(Portland Spirit, boarding at SW Salmon & Naito) Bombino and his marvelous band play the Waterfront Blues Festival at 8 pm tonight. Afterward, still sweating, they'll hustle over to the adjacent dock, where the Portland Spirit will pull up anchor and set sail (or jets, or whatever) at 10:30. And while catching the Tuareg desert rockers anywhere would be electrifying, on the water they might turn third-rail deadly. Bombino—AKA bandleader/guitarist Omara Moctar—is a shredder, and with the band up to the dexterous and emotional task, the sound becomes selfless and indefatigable. The droning, polyrhythmic roots keep Bombino's riffs from the realm of indulgent, unfeeling, hoop-jumping guitar heroics and instead turn them into high-voltage hypnotism. ANDREW R TONRY

AAN, THANKS, NEW MOVE, STRANGE BABES DJS
(Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand) Dig a Pony is pulling out all the stops for their Fourth of July party, as they play host to some of Portland's best bands for two evenings of free music. Thursday night, catch the off-kilter experimental rock of Aan, paired nicely with the tense, sinister, soulful sounds of Thanks. Both bands kicked off 2014 with albums that could be locks for many best-of lists come December. On Friday, come see Summer Cannibals mow down audiences with their fierce and urgent brand of rock 'n' roll, along with the mind-melting psychedelic garage-rock of Wooden Indian Burial Ground—two bands with live sets capable of blowing away even the biggest fireworks display. Just be sure to leave the barbecue early enough so you can catch opening act Eyelids, who, unlike that hot dog you ate earlier, boast quality ingredients, with a lineup of Portland rock veterans and a bright and polished Flying Nun sound. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

PAINTED PALMS, FOREIGN ORANGE, IMPERIAL MAMMOTH
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) It's been seven years since Animal Collective's Panda Bear—AKA Noah Lennox—released his solo masterpiece Person Pitch. Mildly adventurous music lovers for whom 2007 was a formative year are in their 20s now and are starting to sprout bands. You can see where this is going, right? Painted Palms is a San Francisco-based duo of cousins who began writing songs via the internet when they lived thousands of miles apart, and then didn't stop writing songs when they didn't. As a result, their lush electropop is replete with the kind of elongated, roller-coaster melodies that Lennox employs, but it's also too processed and impersonal; Painted Palms' debut album, Forever, is bubbly but bloodless. The potential for great beauty is there, though, as the cousins grow into their sound and learn to let their influences be influences rather than an instruction manual. BEN SALMON

FRIDAY 7/4

WATERFRONT BLUES FEST
(Waterfront Park, SW Naito) See My, What a Busy Week!

WOODEN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND, SUMMER CANNIBALS, EYELIDS, DJ FREAKY OUTTY, MAXX BASS
(Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand) See Thursday's Dig a Pony listing.

EAST END BLOCK PARTY: BLACK DEATH, HIRAX, WEHRMACHT, & MORE
(East End, 203 SE Grand) For rabid metal fans who wade through the darkest depths of obscurity to find passed-over bands and relics, the elation of discovering a dazzling gem is typically followed by sadness. More often than not, said band has broken up, or members have moved to other projects, or even died—leaving the dream of seeing the forgotten band in the flesh completely lost. Cleveland's Black Death is one of those holy-grail bands, and thankfully the band's mastermind, Siki Spacek, has resurrected it. Originally existing from 1978 to 1988, Black Death released only one full-length, one EP, and two songs on a Cleveland metal comp before crumbling. That's a tragic shame, considering Black Death's Judas Priest-influenced heavy metal ripped with a jagged, raw, rusty edge that could've done more to influence the genre's development in its infant stages. Considering that Black Death has never played outside Cleveland until now, tonight's show—part of East End's two-night summer block party—could be the most monumental metal moment Portland has seen, or will see, in decades. ARIS WALES Also see My, What a Busy Week!

BUNK BEACH FREEDOM FEST: OLD LIGHT, XDS, BEARCUBBIN', TALKATIVE
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Bunk Bar's annual Fourth of July block party returns, with the kind of bash that'll make you proud to be 'Merican. In addition to their delicious sandwiches, Bunk will also have barbecue, games, kiddie pools, and their patented Iceberg concoction: a pint of Rainier with a hefty dollop of frozen margarita on top. It's exactly what you want to be drinking on America's hottest holiday. (Careful with those, by the way.) But best of all, they've got a great lineup of bands, including the ever-adventuresome Old Light, the mathy, party-ready rock of Bearcubbin', and lots more. Oh, did I mention this whole thing's free AND all ages? 'Cause it is. Happy birthday, USA. NL

SATURDAY 7/5

EAST END BLOCK PARTY: WAMPIRE, LITANIC MASK, BILLIONS AND BILLIONS, WE MISS THE EARTH, & MORE
(East End, 203 SE Grand) See My, What a Busy Week!

WATERFRONT BLUES FEST
(Waterfront Park, SW Naito) See My, What a Busy Week!

PHOX, TRAILS AND WAYS, JOSEPH
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Phox.

CLIPPING, COPY, OPEN MIKE EAGLE, SIGNOR BENEDICK THE MOOR
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Clipping.

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS, MARK LANEGAN
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) I asked Sharon Van Etten (also in town this week) if she ever got any great advice from an artist she admired. She told me a story about Nick Cave. First, a little background: Van Etten accepted a tour with Cave after she'd promised to spend the time off to be with her boyfriend. He took the news poorly. Now, Sharon, take it away: "[My boyfriend] called me every day just to make me cry before every show, every single day. Nick finally came up to me toward the end of the tour and said, 'What the hell is going on?' He took me and my drummer out to dinner and sat me down and asked me what was going on. And I said, 'Well, you fight with your wife, right? You work a lot. You tour. You write. But you must fight all the time?' He put his hand on my shoulder and he said, 'We fight all the time, but never about my work.' And that really stuck with me, you know? I mean, that's the voice of reason right there." ART Also see My, What a Busy Week!

KOOL STUFF KATIE, CHUMS, DAMN GLAD TO MEET YOU
(Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) The band's lineup (dude singer/guitarist, lady drummer/vocalist), the chunky red guitar that frontman Shane Blem wields, and the sturdy minimalist sound of Kool Stuff Katie brings to mind the White Stripes. But the deeper you delve into KSK's work, the analogy makes less and less sense. The Portland-based duo's self-titled debut is much looser and has more swing in its step than anything Jack White has dared record. And drummer Saren Oliver is hardly a Meg White type. She's a better percussionist, for one, but also, her voice and ebullient spirit are evident throughout, keeping even the most muscular tunes feeling light and engaging. RH

MEGA BOG, SHEER AGONY, HALF SHADOW, PHULL COLLUMS
(Laughing Horse Books, 12 NE 10th) Playing a version of garage pop that incorporates brooding jazz chords and unconventional song structures, Seattle's Mega Bog is a band uniquely its own. Their albums are reverb-drenched affairs that extend from sunny pop to looming darkness, but always hold a unifying aesthetic or idea. Mega Bog's music purposefully pushes and pulls, battling between quiet solitude and collaborative celebration. This battle can be most dramatic live, with shows that are sometimes simple set-ups for understated variations on their songs, but can also be full-band arrangements, with thick bass lines and saxophone solos that whirl around singer/bandleader Erin Birgy's hauntingly infectious voice as it travels from siren howls to sultry torch-song depths. JJA

SPIDER AND THE WEBS, VEXX, PMS 84
(Red & Black Café, 400 SE 12th) If you missed Olympia's Spider and the Webs at the She Shreds magazine fundraiser a couple of weeks back, you can catch them this time when they celebrate the seventh year of local Portland label M'Lady's Records. Spider and the Webs are fronted by Bikini Kill's Tobi Vail, with Hornet Leg's Chris Sutton and James Maeda of November Witch rounding out the trio. They play a blend of post-punk that crosses the line between hazy and urgent, finding a charming, melodic middle ground within the stripped-down sound. Tonight they're joined by fellow Olympian punks Vexx, a band I became aware of through Vail's long running zine-turned-blog, Jigsaw. Vexx have a remastered version of their self-titled EP coming this summer on M'Lady's, and it's a straight-up thrill ride, full of sprawling guitar and aggressive vocals that seem ready to fly off-track at any moment. CT

OLD KINGDOM, GHOST IDOLS, SWAMP DEVIL, NICK PORTER
(Katie O'Brien's, 2809 NE Sandy) Thanks to flagships like Lord Dying, Red Fang, and purveyors like Eolian Records, Portland is becoming a mecca for heavy vibes. Old Kingdom is another band poised to up the ante and get more necks craning in our direction with the release of their lumbering, fuzzy self-titled debut this month. Not unlike other weighty Portland bands, Old Kingdom has a very thin slice of accessibility that won't offend the purist's ears, but opens their sound to a wider audience. It's a twinkle of undeniable charm that goes well with their stomping rhythms and proggy energy. But just when you think they're the sweet boys next door who play their music a little too loud, Old Kingdom drops mean lyrics like "Wear your leather tight/Rev up your bike/Make dark love to the night." That's when you realize all bets are off. AW

SUNDAY 7/6

TYPHOON, ST. EVEN (EARLY SHOW); TYPHOON, SAMA DAMS (LATE SHOW)
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

WATERFRONT BLUES FEST
(Tom McCall Waterfront Park, SW Naito) See My, What a Busy Week!

ZINNIE FOR SHORT, ADAM BROCK
(Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny) Light by Light, the debut full-length from Portland band Zinnie for Short, contains eight compact dramas in its 36 minutes, from the steady boil of "Splinters" to the waltzing acoustic closer "The Reset," which sounds like the musical equivalent of the dust piles and sun-lines left behind in an empty house after all of its contents have been packed and moved out. The core duo of Noah Kite and Corey Distler wrote the album in a two-room cabin on Larch Mountain, just up the Columbia River Gorge. Judging by the final product, Kite and Distler were more inspired by their natural surroundings than the confines of their retreat; Light by Light is a large-scale record with sweeping vistas, natural hues, and shadows that grow and ebb over the course of the album. NL

MS. LAURYN HILL
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Few albums have had more staying power than The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Nearly two decades later, you STILL hear it in coffee shops, and more importantly, you STILL like it. Maybe that kind of pop power was a factor in the fairly tumultuous years that followed for Ms. Lauryn Hill—but who could really follow Ms. Hill through her own mind's journey? The bottom line is she made something special. Though her recent shows have been rumored to have some kinks with late starts and whatnot, they've also been selling out, and come equipped with a setlist of revamped classics. Naysayers might say one-trick pony, but it's a hell of a trick. ROBIN BACIOR

MONDAY 7/7

CANNIBAL CORPSE, SUICIDE SILENCE, WRETCHED, PATH TO RUIN, A WORLD WITHOUT
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) If there weren't already an Eagles of Death Metal, Cannibal Corpse would be the Eagles of death metal. From the cameo in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective to the ridiculously over-the-top, gory album covers to the decency-challenging song titles ("I Cum Blood," "Entrails Ripped From a Virgin's Cunt," "Necropedophile"—and those are just from one album), Cannibal Corpse are easily death metal's most recognizable name. They helped codify a particular strain of horror-inspired, guttural music, even while they were getting their albums banned by different countries at various points in their career. So go celebrate the First Amendment by breaking a limb in the pit during "Hammer Smashed Face." MWS

TUESDAY 7/8

REIGNING SOUND, THE TRIPWIRES, THEE HEADLINERS, ADIOS AMIGOS
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Reigning Sound.

CEREMONY, YOUNG TURKS, SLOTHS
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) See All-Ages Action!

SAPIENT, ILLMACULATE, GOLDINI BAGWELL, LOAD B, SLICK DEVIOUS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Last year, Marcus Williams—better known to the Portland listening public as Sapient—found new portholes to let light into the good ship hiphop, and his 2013 Slump album was a hiphop record that eschewed the use of sampling and rapping altogether. Sape's brand-new Eaters Volume Two: Light Tiger is anything but a step backward, with an emphasis on his stylistically wide-ranging production, which embraces indie rock and pop, along with more traditional hiphop and electronic music tropes. "Mansion" is a chirping videogame party waiting to happen, and "Dents" positions acoustic-folk overtones on its banging-drum backbeat. If Eaters Volume Two's diversity gives it a sketchbook feel, its assurance with all of its different genres—and Sapient's wry but uplifting outlook—makes it a terrific listen from start to finish. NL

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, PETER BUCK, FERNANDO
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Like the sunrise, Alejandro Escovedo keeps coming up, bringing light and warmth. The Texas troubadour stops in our town every so often, and each time he does, an evening of knife-sharp songwriting and professional musical chops ensues. And that's understating it. Truth is, Escovedo is as good as they get, and if it's easy to take him for granted, just think back on the health scare he had in the early '00s, when we almost lost him for good. Escovedo's joined by a couple Portland stalwarts tonight: REM's Peter Buck and local singer/songwriter Fernando Viciconte, so there won't be a dull moment on the bill. NL