WEDNESDAY 12/3

WHITE LUNG, MORMON CROSSES
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Mish Way is a genuine rock star. The White Lung frontwoman commands the mosh pit her band summons with a powerful urgency, like a punk-rock Buffy slaying demons of bullshit and patriarchy with her Hayley Williams meets Kat Bjelland howl, and also in her prolific music-writing career. On White Lung's most recent (and totally excellent) Domino release, Deep Fantasy, the band plays menacing, impressively tight and controlled punk songs with a grunge-y rage that feels like a stake through the heart, in a good way. This is what happens when DIY hardcore bands grow out of the basement and get polished: They totally shine. If there's any band that could stop an impending bro apocalypse, it's White Lung. ROBIN EDWARDS Also see My, What a Busy Week!

THE WAR ON DRUGS, SUMMER CANNIBALS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) As I write this, there is one month left in 2014. In the world of music, this means the trickle of lists of the year's best albums has turned into a torrent. Over the past few weeks, Lost in the Dream—the third album by Philly rock band the War on Drugs—has been named one of 2014's top three records by four English music magazines: Mojo, Q, Uncut, and New Music Express. What does this mean? No idea. The War on Drugs' significant success in 2014 is hard to parse, not because they're a bad band—they're quite good—but because of what they do: meat-and-potatoes rock 'n' roll with Dylan-esque vocals that deliver wistful tales through a shoegaze haze. This is not trendy music; it is steady yet stylish, and strangely comforting. Lost in the Dream is not perfect, but there are times when it feels that way. BEN SALMON

A COSMIC AND EARTHLY HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC ACCORDING TO MISSISSIPPI RECORDS
(Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy) In the beginning, there was light. Not long after that, there was Bo Diddley. Along the journey there were gradual and, at times, clandestine advances in music and recording technology. The Mississippi Records Film and Music Series returns to Hollywood Theatre for an encore (and final) film presentation of the unknown and untold history of recording techniques, of the musical and cosmic patterns found in the natural and supernatural worlds, and of the genesis—and eventual exodus—of American blues, gospel, and rock 'n' roll. There will be otherworldly, archival footage of such immortal greats as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, Skip James, and Mr. Diddy Wah Diddy himself. Tonight's presentation will be hosted by Mississippi Records impresario, Eric Isaacson. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

HUNGRY CLOUD DARKENING, SISTER PALACE, HALF SHADOW
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) The Anacortes, Washington, trio Hungry Cloud Darkening makes hauntingly sparse dream pop. It's more sweet than sinister, but in their work there's an ever-present feeling of something looming—an unease, an implied heaviness. Imagine Low covering Julee Cruise, or Windy & Carl collaborating with Yo La Tengo. It's gorgeous, but chilling. Hungry Cloud Darkening's new album Glossy Recall, out this month on Seattle's Off Tempo label, is made up of 10 perfectly weighted pop songs that effortlessly ride the sweet/sinister, gorgeous/chilling line. They're perhaps best known as the backing band for Mount Eerie's Clear Moon and Ocean Roar albums, and Hungry Cloud Darkening's music will almost surely appeal to anyone who liked those albums, while at the same time offering something entirely different. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

BLACK COBRA, WOLVHAMMER, HUNGERS, U SCO
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) With 13 solid years of cranking out maximum quality metal, Los Angeles-based riff machine Black Cobra show no signs of toning, turning, or slowing down. But really, how could they? The two forces that came together to form this drum-and-guitar duo surely have a reputation to uphold, as both have backgrounds in well-known, unrelenting underground kings—Cavity and Acid King, respectively. Black Cobra's music is stripped down, raw, and heavy as fuck. KEVIN DIERS

THURSDAY 12/4

TENDER LOVING EMPIRE HAWTHORNE STORE GRAND OPENING
(Tender Loving Empire, 3541 SE Hawthorne) See All-Ages Action!

JANE SIBERRY'S HOLIDAY HOES AND HOSERS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) Jane Siberry has found a way to work with the internet and not against it. The Toronto singer/songwriter crowdfunded the recording of her upcoming album via Kickstarter and uses her mailing list to book tours. That's particularly helpful here in the US, where her jazzy brand of art pop has achieved only cult success via her late '80s appearances on 120 Minutes and VH-1, as well as on the soundtracks to Until the End of the World and The Crow. With the help of her fans, Siberry's put together a run of Stateside dates—the "Holiday Hoes and Hosers" tour—that has her doing small residencies in five cities, bringing along a small ensemble and promising special guests. Which means for at least one of her four shows here, she'll be joined by the local celeb that recorded "Calling All Angels" with her in 1993. ROBERT HAM

FUTRO KIT 3.0 RELEASE
(Upper Playground, 23 NW 5th) Futro is a burgeoning collective of artists based out of Portland with their feet planted in hiphop culture and their heads floating in electro space. Tonight celebrates their third multimedia compilation, Kit 3.0, with Futro Records artists on "Side A" and local connects and international affiliates on the other half. Futro crew members including Ripley Snell, Abyss Infinite, and Neill Von Tally set it off strong alongside project leader Neo G Yo. The eclectic finale finds local artists Maze Koroma, Rasheed Jamal, and E*Rock sharing sonic space with Egyptian electronic musicians and a New Orleans bounce track. The audio/visual project is being released on USB in an art gallery alongside a new T-shirt and zine, illuminating Futro's forward-thinking vision of how we consume music and art. RYAN FEIGH

ORQUESTRA PACIFICO TROPICAL, TEZETA BAND, DJ MICHAEL BRUCE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) It's getting cold, so it's imperative you keep your ears open and eyes peeled for joyful, warmth-inducing opportunities. One of these is shaking your behind to the exotic, rhythmically delightful tunes of Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, whose members all sonically chanting through horns, percussion, and keys, with sonic dialects ranging from Columbian to Peruvian. It's all over the map, but the most important thing is that it'll bring some happiness into your chilly holiday in-between time. And since bandleader Papi Fimbres announced he's moving to Germany next year, better get while the getting's good. Tezeta Band opens the evening with a blend of soul and Ethiopian funk. Come by, get your dance on, and leave your frown at home. ROBIN BACIOR

RYAN HEMSWORTH
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) In just four short years, Ryan Hemsworth has achieved a jaw-dropping amount of recognition around the world. Much of the attention has come via his web-released DJ sets and his impressive remix résumé that includes Kanye West, Cat Power, and Backstreet Boys. But of late, Hemsworth's starting to draw just as many listeners to his original productions, hiphop-inspired electro and deep house that reveals the aching heart of a romantic. If you need a crash course in his work, Hemsworth has been giving away almost all of his pre-2013 efforts via a free BitTorrent bundle. Be sure, though, that you head from there straight to his recently released Alone for the First Time, seven tracks of melting dance-pop painted with multi-colored meticulousness. RH

FRIDAY 12/5

PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, URAL THOMAS AND THE PAIN
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, RABBIT RABBIT
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on My Brightest Diamond.

JANE SIBERRY'S HOLIDAY HOES AND HOSERS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) See Thursday's listing.

LEMURIA, INTO IT. OVER IT., JESUS MIRANDA, YOUR RIVAL
(Alhambra Theatre, 4811 SE Hawthorne) Earlier this year, Evan Weiss—whose emo-tinged solo-project Into It. Over It. plays tonight—penned an article encouraging DIY bands to jump in a van and learn from the touring experience. It's an inspirational read, especially after TV-commercial soundtrackers Pomplamoose's recently published look at the (somewhat extravagant) expenses that supposedly led to them finishing a recent national tour $11K in the hole. As a touring veteran who has lived out of his car for years at a time, it's heartening to see Weiss highlight the small battles of getting gears to grind in unfamiliar cities as the ultimate test in shaping bands. He's joined by the fellow road warriors of Buffalo punk trio Lemuria. Guided by the sugarcoated dueling vocals of guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer Alex Kerns, the band are the melodic pearl of the hardcore-leaning Bridge Nine Records roster, and a finely tuned force that must be witnessed live. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

SATURDAY 12/6

PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, URAL THOMAS AND THE PAIN
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

EROTIC CITY, CANDY O, PRECIOUS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See My, What a Busy Week!

SUGAR TOWN SNO-BALL: DJ ACTION SLACKS, DJ LARSUPREME
(The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd) See My, What a Busy Week!

SIOUX FALLS, CAREGIVER, ROBOT BOY
(Smart Colletive, 6923 SE Foster) See All-Ages Action!

ALLAH-LAS, TASHAKI MIYAKI, DAYDREAM MACHINE
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Read our article on Allah-Las.

JANE SIBERRY'S HOLIDAY HOES AND HOSERS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) See Thursday's listing.

CASS MCCOMBS, MEAT PUPPETS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) In what has to be one of the more satisfying cross-generational tour pairings of the year, prolific singer/songwriter Cass McCombs has teamed up with punk pioneers the Meat Puppets for a split 7-inch and a national tour. The legendary Kirkwood brothers recently made the Meat Puppets a generation-spanning outfit by adding Elmo Kirkwood as the band's touring guitarist. Elmo, son of Curt and nephew of Cris, is 31 years old, making him slightly older than Meat Puppets II, the SST-issued masterpiece from 1984 that saw the band unveil their iconic cowpunk sound. Meat Puppets continue to churn out records and tour; their 14th album, 2013's Rat Farm, is filled with the sunny and freewheeling psych-folk that's established them as an institution. Co-headliner Cass McCombs has spun a flourishing output of his own over the past decade, making this a double-headlining bill that's well worth attending. CT

SUNDAY 12/7

INTUITIVE NAVIGATION III: LUNAR PHASE: PEAKING LIGHTS, ANCIENT HEAT, UNICORN DOMINATION, WILLIAM JAY
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Read our article on Peaking Lights.

JANE SIBERRY'S HOLIDAY HOES AND HOSERS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) See Thursday's listing.

THE BARR BROTHERS, LEIF VOLLEBEKK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The Barr Brothers are a slow-building band. The Montreal-based quartet begin with a whisper, a barely audible note from a guitar or a plucked harp, and steadily build until they've reached the intensity and sublimity of a symphony orchestra—or at least as much as a four-piece indie band can muster. The Barr Brothers are returning to Portland—following a recent, much appreciated stop at Pickathon—in support of their latest album, Sleeping Operator. The sophomore effort is, like their 2011 debut, a beautiful and lush collection of songs, exhibiting a wide range of influences, from indie folk to West African blues—and again making use of an assortment of both traditional and homemade instruments—but, also like their previous album, the lack of coherence from one song to the next can be frustrating. This is mostly inconsequential, however, since the best way to hear a band like the Barr Brothers is to hear them live, where they can take all the time they need to make contact with the upper reaches of the sublime. SEH Also see My, What a Busy Week!

COSMONAUTS, MOPE GROOVES, LADYWOLF
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) As Southern California indie juggernaut Burger Records gathers momentum—did you see the big story in the New York Times earlier this year?!—the cassette-lovin' label is expanding its territory, releasing albums by shoegazers (Lees of Memory), soul singers (Curtis Harding), and old-school pop-punkers (the Muffs). But Burger's bread and butter has always been the kind of psychedelic garage-rock made by Cosmonauts, a band from just down the street in Fullerton, California, whose sound is a kaleidoscopic amalgam of chiming guitars, dead-eyed vocals, unhurried pace, and mid-fi production. What sets Cosmonauts apart from many of their peers, however, is a commitment to spiking their psych-pop with gentle drones, often building songs around just a chord or two, or repeating one riff over and over. As a result, the band's 2013 album Persona Non Grata has a sort of hazy trance-like quality, with Eastern-sounding embellishments. It's a sound worth getting lost in. BS

MONDAY 12/8

A JOHN WATERS CHRISTMAS
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

FRANCISCO THE MAN, JACKSON BOONE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) The lush, shoegaze-y rock on LA-based Francisco the Man's Fat Possum debut album Loose Ends sounds tailor-made for youth-oriented Hollywood romantic dramas. Scotty Cantino's falsetto vocals soar over gently bruised guitar and bass swells, and you can sense teens and twentysomethings swooning at the swirling majesty of it all. To get a grip on Francisco the Man's range, play the urgently surging and luxurious "Progress" and the gorgeously stoned "It's True, It's You" back to back. They do both styles with exquisite poise. DAVE SEGAL

TUESDAY 12/9

BILLY IDOL, GUSTER, SPANISH GOLD
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Billy Idol gave up his punk cred decades ago when he left Generation X for the greener pastures of Top 10 singles. There's no telling where Idol and his Gen-X brethren would be now had he stayed put. (For his part, bassist Tony James went on to form new wavers Sigue Sigue Sputnik and played on the final Sisters of Mercy record.) But we'd definitely be without killer Idol cuts like "Hot in the City" and "Eyes Without a Face." Idol also might not have given the world Steve Stevens, the guitarist who shredded off that shreddy solo on Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana." Then where would we be? MARK LORE Also see My, What a Busy Week!

PALLBEARER, SOLSTAFIR, MORTALS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) A rather large number of the catastrophically heavy, slow-and-low bands at the forefront of the doom movement these days absolutely bore me to tears. When you couple 10- to 20-minute songs with plenty of volume but no dynamics and personality, you get barren, lackluster sound that is only good for inducing naptime. What the doom genre needs are more bands like Little Rock's Pallbearer. After piercing a hole in the sky, and the hearts of anyone who listened to their 2012 full-length debut Sorrow and Extinction, Pallbearer had an immeasurable amount of pressure to create a similar masterpiece with their follow-up, Foundations of Burden. With six songs clocking in at just under an hour, Pallbearer have again built a monstrous wall of raw emotion and heartbreaking melody (the album was recorded in Portland with producer Billy Anderson). Lead vocalist Brett Campbell's melancholic, cherub-like voice and the tragic guitar lines that weave over the monolithic riffs on each song are enough to touch even the coldest of dead souls. ARIS WALES

ROADKILL GHOST CHOIR, BALTO, NEIGHBOR WAVE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Roadkill Ghost Choir has a haunting, ethereal, country/indie-rock vibe that soothes the heart and stirs thoughts. They're from Florida, and I wouldn't have guessed they were from Florida. Their sound, with bittersweet melodies and dreamy guitar, is that of a Pacific Northwest Friday night, or a Colorado hike, not the spring break vibe one generally associates with America's dildo. Though RGC's website touts them as having a "Radiohead" sound, they are far more palatable and poppy, and have a Southern swing that sounds nothing like Radiohead. Their debut album came out in August, and it provides a nice blend of upbeat rhythms mixed with somber, contemplative ballads that will be perfect while smoking your clove cigarette and writing in your dream journal. ROSE FINN

KING PARROT, AUTHOR AND PUNISHER, 3 TEETH, BEHALF
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) Australia's King Parrot straddle the line between early thrash metal and hardcore punk. They also straddle the line between aggro and hilarious—these blokes are pissed off, but at least they have a sense of humor. The Melbourne five-piece—named after the colorful, native Australian bird—have released two records, and the title of their debut EP, The Stench of Hardcore Pub Trash, sorta sums it up. Then there's the song "Shit on the Liver" from 2012's Bite Your Head Off, which mixes lightning riffs and "oi oi" choruses. King Parrot will either leave you in stitches or wanting to make someone else need stitches. ML