THURSDAY 6/25

THE FIX: M64 (RAGEN FIKES & OHMEGA WATTS), REV SHINES, DJ KEZ, DJ DUN DIGGY

(Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th) M64 is the much-anticipated collaboration between Portland/Seattle fixture Ohmega Watts and singer Ragen Fykes, and after months of rumors and whispers, the duo is locked, loaded, and ready to fire upon the sweltering masses at the Fix with their debut performance. Their first offering—a 7-inch, released tonight—finds Watts' production neatly interlocked with the honey-voiced Fykes and her warm, charismatic croon. "Rhythm of the Drum" might feature equal parts Watts and Fykes, but she steals the show with a sultry vocal performance that would feel right at home on Erykah Badu's New Amerykah. Flip the wax over for "In the Pocket," where Watts' positive flow meshes nicely with his female counterpart's casual delivery. I know M64 has only been around for one night, but is it too early to ask for a full-length and more shows? EZRA ACE CARAEFF

MEWITHOUTYOU, THE DEAR HUNTER, KAY KAY & HIS WEATHERED UNDERGROUND

(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) You know that kind of douchey friend of yours who refers to himself on his Facebook page as "spiritual, but not religious"? That two-cent phrase is actually a perfect descriptor for mewithoutYou, a band that uses both Christian and Jewish imagery in their lyrics without being overtly evangelical. And to the Philadelphia band's credit, their songs are thoughtful and emotional on an intensely personal level, thankfully lacking any of the touchy-feely flock-tending that typically comes part and parcel with music about the big guy. Their latest, the exhaustingly titled It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, shows them tempering their emo sound for a more folk-influenced vibe, evoking the blare of Neutral Milk Hotel and the smirk of Jeffrey Lewis. The album is influenced by the teachings of mystic Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a Sufi from Sri Lanka—further evidence that mewithoutYou's all-encompassing spirituality is graciously imbued with a lack of conventional dogma. NED LANNAMANN

DANAVA, RADIO MOSCOW, DUDELORD, DARK SKIES , BLACK SKIES

(East End, 203 SE Grand) Imagine a nation without flyover states. No, not one where Cascadia has sent its nuclear-green warbirds east against the winds of Vinland, but the one where the concept of flyover states has never existed. Here, for many years, one could haven driven to the nearest amphitheater to see Ozzy Osbourne (in one form or another) each summer. Missed out? Tonight's bill erases borders, time, and space, with cool kids showing proto-metal leanings in a borderline homage to the almighty Black Sabbath. Illinois-bred Danava headlines with a postmodern bolt of vital hard noodling. Iowa's Radio Moscow upholds acid rock wah-wah and Hendrix-style shred, fresh from Holland's Roadburn Festival. Chapel Hill's Black Skies feels like a loose Clutch, regressing from stoner rumble to primal lurch on Hexagon, its latest EP. Rockers unite. MIKE MEYER

TOM BROSSEAU, MBILLY

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) At the risk of sounding like an 80-year-old grandmother, Tom Brosseau's new album Posthumous Success is a real pip. In fact, there's something about Brosseau that brings out the 80-year-old grandmother in all of us, with pretty, folk-influenced tunes that provoke gentle head nodding and foot tapping. Brosseau is a captivating performer, shy and charming, marrying the folkie singer/songwriter tradition with a minimalist art-school bent—a little like Lou Reed, without the drug- and sex-saturated nastiness. "New Heights" is a highlight, with a steady groove that gestures at something coiled beneath the surface—but nothing too sinister for that 80-year-old grandmother part of your personality. In fact, during tonight's show you might find yourself tapping your friend and saying good-naturedly, "You should meet a fellow like that. What a nice young man." NL

FRIDAY 6/26

SLEEP, BAD HABITAT, EDDIE VALIENT, PALE SOUL, NYQUIL

(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) See My, What a Busy Week!

SUNSET RUBDOWN, ELFIN SADDLE, WITCHIES

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Music.

DEER TICK, DAWES

(Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan) Providence, Rhode Island, band Deer Tick play pretty traditional folk rock, marked by delicate, careful fingerpicked guitar and banjo, gentle walking bass lines, upbeat snare shuffling, and, most distinctively, singer/songwriter John Joseph McCauley III's simultaneously reedy and gutturally growling voice, which he plies in service of typically hard-luck lyrics. "Easy," the lead single from new album, Born on Flag Day, finds the band sounding more electrified and amplified than on their previous War Elephant, but soon the album settles back down into calmer rootsy territory. If you don't dig McCauley's dingy singing style, these sparer arrangements, which throw his voice way out front, will irk, but some ears will enjoy the dissonance between the sweet background sounds and that worn-down whine. ERIC GRANDY

PRELUDE TO THE WOODS: PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, WEINLAND, BRITTAIN ASHFORD, LOCH LOMOND , NICK JAINA

(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) The only venue in town that could possibly boast of once housing the ashes of our dead grandparents, the Woods kicks open its doors tonight for a sneak peek. The longtime Southeast funeral home has been lovingly converted into a venue/bar, care of its new owners, Vivien Lyon and Loch Lomond's Ritchie Young. The pair offered us a sneak peek last month, and the space—which was still early in the reconstruction process—was a beautiful and airy building with absolutely limitless potential. Tonight will be more a fundraising preview than a proper housewarming—look for that around early August—where your sliding scale admission ($20-40) will get you an evening of art, booze, snacks, and lovely sounds from the Timberlake-obsessed Portland Cello Project (and more). Please leave your proton packs at home; despite its previous incarnation, there is nothing haunting the Woods. EAC

SATURDAY 6/27

KPSU 15TH ANNIVERSARY: TENDER FOREVER, NURSES, CHURCH, SOPHE LUX , JARED MEES AND THE GROWN CHILDREN, THE LAST REGIMENT OF SYNCOPATED DRUMMERS, EVERYDAY PROPHETS, EASTERN SUNZ

(Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th) See My, What a Busy Week!.

NO.FEST

(Various locations in St. Johns) See My, What a Busy Week!

SUPERFEST: YACHT , COPY, PANTHER, HEDFORD VACHAL, GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, JONNYX & THE GROADIES, E*ROCK

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) See Music.

TALKDEMONIC, MOTH FIGHT, SOUTHERN BELLE

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) It's been awhile since Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro emerged from their Talkdemonic lair, and even longer since the duo played an all-ages show for the kiddies. So to what do we owe this rarest of appearances? A year removed from the release of Eyes at Half Mast, Talkdemonic is moving onward, expanding their sound, and previewing their expansion tonight in the form of a few new songs. O'Connor hints at a "new direction" for their upcoming long-player, which is set to be captured on tape later this year. Meanwhile, we have not heard a peep about a 2009 recording from the fresh-faced youngsters in Southern Belle. Let this be my formal request for some new songs. Please Hurry Up and Thrill Me once again. EAC

POISON IDEA, MORPHEME, RIPPER, LEBANON

(Satyricon, 125 NW 6th) The return of Poison Idea to Satyricon should not be taken lightly (not that PI, whose members reportedly weighed a collective 1,300 pounds by the time 1990's must-get Feel the Darkness LP was released, could ever be taken lightly). Elinor Langer's book A Hundred Little Hitlers describes the scene outside Satyricon and other venues during the nadir/zenith of Portland punk in the bad old days: murders, stabbings, hatred, the need for a "No Bats!" policy at the door. But Poison Idea is more than a bogeyman. Helping shape hardcore punk and Pacific Northwest underground rock in general (Kurt Cobain was a fan), the band remains one of the most identifiable pieces of the region's puzzling counterculture. Get ready for an assault. And if in this generation they rise up against us to destroy us, at least we know Poison Idea's current stance. Opening for Amebix last month at Hawthorne Theatre, PI and dozens of moshers feverishly chanted, "Listen, Nazi, never again!" MM

THE MOONDOGGIES, THE MALDIVES, GABE ROZZELL & THE DECENCY

(Lola's Room, 1332 W Burnside) The Maldives are a nine-piece country rock outfit from Seattle whose sadder moments are reminiscent of Jason Molina, and whose upbeat moments are like the Flying Burrito Brothers tracks you usually skip over. So yeah, slow-as-molasses works best with this band, particularly when their forlorn chords are drawn out by harmonica and pedal steel, a familiar sound that's as satisfying as it is unsurprising. Look to fellow Seattleites the Moondoggies for the night's shit-kickers; their classic-rock sound falls on the enjoyable side of crunchy, and their soulful, blues-flecked barnburners were tailor-made for a packed room on a boozy Saturday night. NL

OLD BELIEVERS, SUPER XX MAN, A WEATHER, HELLO DAMASCUS

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) On their own, the voices of Aaron Gerber and Sarah Winchester are pleasant—if not outright nice—but singing together in painfully intimate hushed whispers is where the core of A Weather truly belongs. That coy delivery might hint at lack of confidence, but over the past few years—volume be damned—A Weather has bloomed into one of this city's premier musical acts. Their two voices gracefully interlock like a lover's embrace, thus making biting lines like "I can't believe you said I couldn't love you anymore/Did you mean to no greater extent?" all the more lasting. Tonight marks your first opportunity to take in the latest from the quartet, who just wrapped up full-length album number two—and the follow-up to last year's mesmerizing Cove—a few weeks back. The band isn't spilling any secrets about the new album, but Winchester did leave a few hints about tonight's show: "Expect some surprises and some EBow." EAC

SUNDAY 6/28

SUPERFEST: STARFUCKER, NICE NICE, ATOLE, EXPLODE INTO COLORS, WHAT'S UP, MATTRESS, DJ LINOLEUM

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) See Music.

BILL CALLAHAN, BACHELORETTE

(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Bachelorette is the stage name of New Zealand musician Annabel Alpers. At the core of Bachelorette's songs is Alpers' alternately glassy and evaporating singing voice. Surrounding her singing are lush layers of traditional live instrumentation, expansive audio effects (delay and reverb up to the heavens), and tasteful electronic flourishes. The lyrics can get wincingly wonky, as on utopian electro-pop number "Technology Boy," but the arrangements—such as that song's stuttering vocals, reminiscent of Morr Music softies Lali Puna—are consistently captivating. Bill Callahan is the dour tenor behind the much-loved, long-running solo project Smog. Recording under his own name for his past two albums, Callahan continues to churn out the terse and brutal and just sometimes bright-around-the-corners folk songs, always sung in that coldly commanding voice of his. EG

THE DEAD SCIENCE, LITANIC MASK

(rontoms, 600 E Burnside) It's been about nine months, yet Villainaire still haunts and confuses me. The overtly dramatic and downright baffling full-length from the Dead Science is a theatrical call-to-arms, battling for the honor of both the Wu-Tang Clan and Marvel Comics. Seriously. And it's not subtle, either. Villainaire resonates as a wild and dramatic art-rock recording that thwacks the listener like a mighty blow from the heavenly hammer of Thor, or that feeling when you first listened to 36 Chambers from start to finish (while high). There is little point in trying to comprehend what the Dead Science are getting at. Just accept it, and let go. Trust me on this. EAC

MONDAY 6/29

EMILIE SIMON, BUTTERFLY BOUCHER

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Well-meaning, but ultimately poorly executed, the dreamy bilingual (French/English) electro-pop of Emilie Simon is the sort of thing you want to get behind and champion. Her unique takes on well-trod classics—Iggy's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and Ziggy's "Space Oddity"—seem refreshing until they spiral off into heavy-handed digital overproduction and grandiose arrangements that add little that's new. Her other material has great vision, but is more often than not tethered to a singing style best described as "baby voice." Those with great disdain for wee-voiced actress Joey Lauren Adams will know exactly what I mean here. EAC

TUESDAY 6/30

THE BUILDERS & THE BUTCHERS

(Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

THE COATHANGERS, THE FOXGLOVES, DJ AUTOMATON

(East End, 203 SE Grand) See Music.

SIR RICHARD BISHOP & HIS FREAK OF ARABY ENSEMBLE, OAXACAN

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Since the dissolution of the seminal, prolific Sun City Girls, Rick Bishop—that's Sir Richard Bishop to you—has regularly played solo shows in and around his adopted hometown of Seattle. With rapid guitar picking and ornately dripping psychedelic flourishes, his solo shows are mesmerizing, shiver-inducing events that never quite translate to record. Bishop's latest album, The Freak of Araby, sees him backed by a full band, paying tribute to the works of Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorshid. The band is on board for tonight's show, which will consist of acid-skewed takes on Middle Eastern belly-dancing music, along with other tastes of Bishop's penchant for musical exploration, including Latin, surf, raga, gypsy jazz, heavy psych—and lord knows what else. NL

VNV NATION, WAR TAPES, AYRIA

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) I thought Hamburg, Germany–based VNV Nation were glowering industrial-electronic ruffians, judging from the stream of promos I used to receive from genre stronghold Metropolis Records. But while I wasn't paying attention, VNV drastically changed. The duo's new album, Of Faith, Power and Glory, sounds like a slightly more masculine Erasure and Dead or Alive, with melodramatic melodies redolent of new-wave bands like the Call (I hate that I remember them) and much modern trance. VNV Nation are unabashed romantics who use heroically galloping rhythms and sincerely overwrought strings that beg for big-budget Hollywood scenery to accentuate. It's a rich sound, for sure—maybe too rich. DAVE SEGAL

MARRIAGE RECORDS SHOWCASE: ROB WALMART, WHITE RAINBOW, WHITE FANG

(Ella Street Social Club, 714 SW 20th Pl) Once doomed to a fate worse than death—drab office cubicles—the space formerly known as the Towne Lounge has resurfaced as the Ella Street Social Club. Thankfully no longer the unforgiving cave in which entire evenings went to die in a haze of cigarette smoke, the venue has been given a facelift and new direction. To commemorate these new beginnings there will be a night of Marriage Records, including the experimental steez of White Rainbow, the gnar-shred of White Fang, and Rob Walmart rolling up in his head-scratching mobile electro dance party on wheels. I wonder if his friends ever ask to borrow his van—sorry, "van-ue"—to help them move? EAC

WEDNESDAY 7/1

NUCULAR AMINALS, THE CROSSWALKS

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) See My, What a Busy Week!.

CHRIS RISER

(Camellia Lounge, 510 NW 11th) See Music.

PENTAGRAM, NACHTMYSTIUM, DANAVA, WITCH MOUNTAIN

(Satyricon, 125 NW 6th) Chicago's controversial black metal band Nachtmystium flaunt ultra-technical instrumental flourishes, shredding guitars, and vocal chords with equally sadistic relish. Led by guitarist/vocalist Blake Judd (AKA Azentrius), they build up a helluva symphonic ruckus. If composer Richard Wagner were born in the 1970s, he'd probably be in a band like Nachtmystium. Maryland's venerable Pentagram emerged in 1971, when Ozzy was svelte and somewhat coherent, and they've maintained an on-and-off career as one of doom metal's most resilient post-Sabbath metallurgists. DS