THURSDAY 9/10

ALL-STAR TRIBUTE TO 1977: JIM BRUNBERG, BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS, SEAN CROGHAN & MORE

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week.

I'VE GOT A HOLE IN MY SOUL: DJ BEYONDA, CHAD WEEKLY, TONY JANDA

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) See My, What a Busy Week.

CASEY NEILL, THE GOLDEN BEARS, THE RAINY STATES

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) When someone asks me, "So who's the best band in Portland?" I usually decline to answer. But when I think about it, in a city absolutely flooded to the gills with excellent bands, the very best of them all could well be the Golden Bears. Guitarist Seth Lorinczi and drummer/vocalist Julianna Bright make up the Bear family, and their music is sumptuous rock, soothing folk, and mysterious prog, all tied together in a way that makes you so excited about music that you want to physically crawl inside your record collection and never come out. If you haven't heard the Bears' splendid debut album Wall to Wall—and there's no excuse, the entire thing is streaming on the band's website—you've missed one of Portland's best local releases, one that grows stronger upon each listen. NED LANNAMANN

NEW RADIANT STORM KING, SAD HORSE, TANNING

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) New Radiant Storm King has been playing upbeat and functional indie rock for almost two decades now. They've flirted with success and have had full-on cred smooching sessions with the likes of Guided by Voices, Polvo, and Silver Jews. However, NRSK has never really reached the level of their "indie" contemporaries. Probably because the Massachusetts band's music is just a bit too vanilla, and at the same time a little too quirky to get any serious radio play. When I said NRSK's music is upbeat and functional, it wasn't meant as a jab. It simply is what it is. The band is sort of like the Hold Steady—listening to them on record probably won't move you, but onstage when things get loud and loose, and the sweat and the booze start to flow, New Radiant Storm King could be everybody's favorite band. MARK LORE

FRIDAY 9/11

ROTTURE THREE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: CLIPSE, REV. SHINES, TRE HARDSON,

DJ NATURE, STARCHILE

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) See My, What a Busy Week.

SING FOR CHINA: PANTHER, HEDGEHOG, QUEEN SEA BIG SHARK, CASINO DEMON

(The Artistery, 4315 SE Division) See My, What a Busy Week.

THE KNIFE SHOP GRAND OPENING & TRANSITION SCHOOL BENEFIT: FEDERALE, GROWLER, SLUTTY HEARTS, & MORE

(The Knife Shop, 426 SW Washington) Taking a stab (ugh, sorry) at a new name and direction, the venue within Kelly's Olympian has adopted a new moniker: the Knife Shop. It's an ode to the room's previous tenants, George & Son Cutlery, who resided in the space for over four decades. In addition to the pointy new name, the stage has been improved and expanded, the sound tuned up, and the lighting enhanced. Celebrate the opening of the Knife Shop with a diverse bill of local talent, including the spaghetti western orchestrations of Federale, whose new album, Devil in a Boot, will be out at the end of this month. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

MEERCAZ, BUZZER, IMPEDIMENTS, THERAPISTS

(East End, 203 SE Grand) Muslim Delgado has a pretty cool nickname for himself—Mozzley—but he's picked another cool name for his garage-psych band, Meercaz. With the help of some friends, Mozzley makes fuzzed-out crank-punk, with a few dips into the acid jar for good measure. Meercaz's self-titled debut, out on Gulcher Records, is the aural equivalent of looking at a sun flare, with guitar-driven pop songs unraveled to tribal thumps, and buzzy instrumental interludes that sound like Shuggie Otis gone postal. It's a little incoherent, but it's pretty fun, and like all the best dumb rock, there's method to the Meercaz madness. NL

THE REMAINS, THE NEW DAWN

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) A sticker on the cover reads: "1970 NW Psych Masterpiece... Originals on eBay $2,000+" This long-lost, recently reprinted album—courtesy of local retailer/label Jackpot Records—is the work of the New Dawn, who during the late '60s and early '70s were one of Oregon's preeminent psychedelic bands. Compared to other, better-known NW legends, the keyboard-heavy New Dawn are groovier and more relaxed than the Sonics, and less jagged than the Wipers. But something within feels more distinctly Oregonian. It's communal, nature loving, and unhurried. Tonight's performance is a one-off, and therefore could be the only chance to catch a glimpse of Oregon's outsider musical history. ANDREW R TONRY Also, see Music.

OBITUARY, GOATWHORE, KRISIUN, THE BERZERKER, WARBRINGER

(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Obituary, despite a six-year hiatus beginning in the mid-'90s, are as certain to metal as death and axes. Brothers John (vocals) and Donald (drums) Tardy are widely considered founding fathers of the guts-on-the-sidewalk sludge-trek known as Florida death metal. They first unleashed improvised bad-guy growls and corpse-in-the-swamp mental/meter breakdowns when forming the band in 1985, and their influence has been both villainous and cartoonish to a heavy metal once largely thrashing for a greater good. These brothers were my gateway into perversion when, in the early '90s, a friend loaned me his copy of the festering open-sore Cause of Death—Obituary's sophomore bowel-basher—along with his patchouli-reeking, baby-dangling Cannibal Corpse Butchered at Birth T-shirt. Yeah, he must be in prison now. MIKE MEYER

GREAT NORTHERN, A WEATHER, HELLO MORNING

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Great Northern toe a fine line between mainstream "alt-rock" and an eclectic indie endeavor. The band toys with some usual conventions—fatigued female singer, emotional guitar crescendos, and over-produced recordings—but they tweak the formula enough to make it exciting, if not refreshing. Arcade Fire-esque drums thunder throughout heavier songs, while loaded synth melodies creep in and out alongside violins and cellos. If they work on the ghostly, psychedelic, lo-fi aspect a bit more, Great Northern would be a more exciting act to catch. PHILIP GAUDETTE

TANGO ALPHA TANGO, DREW GROW AND THE PASTORS' WIVES, OH DARLING

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) A couple weeks ago, Drew Grow and the Pastors' Wives dropped their latest single, the knockout one-two punch of "Bootstraps" followed by the absolutely remarkable "Friendly Fire." More are in the works—Grow's next two-song single should be out on CD sometime in November—but it's a tactic that brings to mind the halcyon days of the early- and mid-'60s, before Sgt. Pepper invented the album-as-art-form, and the two-sided single was still king. Of course, in this age of album leaks, MP3 blogs, and iPod shuffle play, we are back into the era of the single more than ever before—be honest, when was the last time you listened to a complete album from start to finish? NL

THE VILLAINS, QUICK AND EASY BOYS, TONY SMILEY

(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) If you missed the gilded pompadour of John Reis and his merry band of Night Marchers last week, then you'll be pleased to witness the thrashing garage rock 'n' roll of Villains. Taking a page from King Reis—plus whatever nobility is bestowed on his partner in (Yank) crime, Rick Froberg—the Villains are a trio of Idaho transplants that stammer and sing in a soulful, if not somewhat feral, howl alongside the constant buzzing of guitars and thwacked drums. Tonight they release an album entitled MEAT, which might not win them too many leaf-eating fans, but as we all know, you don't make friends with salad. EAC

SATURDAY 9/12

OLD TOWN BLOCK PARTY: YACHT , MAY LING, M64, DJ KEZ, REV. SHINES, DUNDIGGY

(NW 5th between Couch & Davis) See My, What a Busy Week.

TBA FESTIVAL: BUGSKULL, QUASI

(The Works @ Washington High School, 531 SE 14th) See Destination: Fun.

ÓLÖF ARNALDS (6:30 PM)

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Music.

THE AVENGERS, PANSY DIVISION, PAUL COLLINS BEAT, SILENT MAJORITY

(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) My clumsy, barely heterosexual teenage dating years were not assisted by moves like wearing a Pansy Division shirt to high school or putting "He Whipped My Ass in Tennis (Then I Fucked His Ass in Bed)" on mixtapes for prospective girlfriends. But gay or straight, there were few bands in Lookout! Records' mid-'90s heyday making music as undeniably catchy and welcoming as Pansy Division. (Coincidentally, the Mr. T Experience, whose Dr. Frank is also in town this week, was another—they were to dorks what Pansy Division was to gays). While Pansy Division will primarily be known for tales of "Manada" and "Dick of Death," their penchant for writing tightly wound pop gems ("I Really Wanted You" and "The Summer You Let Your Hair Grow Out") will be their true legacy. Now where did I put that T-shirt? EAC

ROTTURE THREE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: FLESHTONE, FIST FITE, HOT VICTORY, DIAMOND LIARS, DJ LINOLEUM

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Two local acts that sufficiently sum up the essence of Rotture will be helping the club celebrate its third birthday tonight. There's Fleshtone, the electro-sex cabaret featuring neon spandex-clad frontwoman Jayme Hansen, with Brett Whitman supplying keys and beats. Amid flashing lights and a cued visual accompaniment, the duo employs a combination of Glass Candy's disco synth, Beach House's dreamy pop hooks, and edgier prog rock elements to make for a rather potent dance party. A different kind of dance emerges with Fist Fite, who have created an intergalactic aura for their band via otherworldly imagery, gut-rocking performances, and evident denial of adherence to any particular style or genre. MARANDA BISH

SUNDAY 9/13

THE OLD BELIEVERS, THE RED RIVER, CONGRATULATIONS

(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) See Our Town Could Be Your Life.

RENA JONES, HELIOS, EVAC, B0T23

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) When I'm in the mood for good downtempo, I usually go back about a decade and choose something from that golden era when IDM and downtempo united, and labels like Ninja Tune, Warp, Schematic, and Ghostly International were at the top of their game. Only a handful of artists are still making that brand of experimental downtempo, and Rena Jones is one of them. Always recognized for beautifully incorporating cello and violin into her compositions, her ability to work alongside beats is often overshadowed by her skills with strings. But fans of tricky beats will immediately hear influences like Autechre and Tipper in the complexity of her percussion, and audio nerds will easily recognize that Jones is a gifted engineer as well as a classically trained musician. AVA HEGEDUS

HOLCOMBE WALLER , CHRIS GARNEAU

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) In a culture of multi-taskers, Holcombe Waller has perfected the art of creative collaboration. Jumping from soft, heartbreaking folk to co-writing a musical and even working on solo theatrical pieces, Waller seems to have his hands submerged in all the creative juices of our town. The best part? It's incredibly easy to fall for his work. Simple, sweet, melodramatic folk-pop, it's like a Band-Aid for that hole in your heart. Plus, with as much dance music as we have in this town, it's really nice to take a break and mellow out from time to time, and Waller's music will put you at ease without turning your evening into a snooze-fest. THEODORA P. KARATZAS

ROTTURE THREE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: RABBITS, BLOOD, SELECTOR MANCAMPUS

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Sometimes you just want a band that'll flip you the bird and then turn your ears into mashed potatoes. Thankfully, Rabbits carry a decisive we-don't-give-a-shit attitude that is sorely lacking in metal bands these days, proven through the use of their minimal guitar-drums-guitar setup, which does the band more justice than could accurately be described. Unfortunately Rabbits' latest record won't be out in time for their tour this month, but there'll be some CDRs of the EP at the show to help fund their West Coast adventure. So buy them. Or else. PG

MONDAY 9/14

MILEY CYRUS, METRO STATION

(Rose Garden, 1 Center Ct) See My, What a Busy Week.

TUESDAY 9/15

DR. FRANK, PAT KEARNS, ERIC PEABODY

(Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) See My, What a Busy Week.

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS, HAPPY MONDAYS, AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Happy Mondays have probably gobbled up more drugs than you'll ever see in your life, and yet here they are in 2009, not dead, and even joined by mascot/dancer/vibe-facilitator Bez, who's had some odd troubles with tax evasion and reality television since the band's Madchester heyday. About that heyday: Between binges, the Mondays made some ridiculously addled dance music, bridging funk, post-punk, and pre-rave with bleary-eyed agitation and well-baggy ease. ERIC GRANDY Also see My, What a Busy Week.

NW MINI-FEST: THE SLAVES, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SECRET WEAPON, STARCIRCLEANATOMY, CLOAKS, LUIS GUTEE & HIS FRIENDS

(Ella Street Social Club, 714 SW 20th Pl) The slowly shifting music of the Slaves is almost tidal; it flows so gradually as to be unnoticeable until you glance down and notice that the water has risen nearly up to your chin, and the shore is no longer in sight. It ebbs nearly as naturally, and the repetition becomes hypnotic—the Slaves' songs could never be described as forceful, but they somehow command your complete attention. The duo of Birch Cooper and Barbara Kinzle makes use of a weird sonic palette, taking advantage of noises that could seem harsh in a certain context, stretching and flattening them out like baker's dough. Ossified remnants of pop music are fossilized beneath their soothing crush of sound, and the ambient soundscapes of the Slaves are perhaps the only ones in Portland right now capable of giving Grouper a run for her money. NL

SLAID CLEAVES

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) The Maine-raised troubadour Slaid Cleaves writes songs just like his name sounds: workaday, honest-minded, comfortable songs with a twinge of country and careful sentimentality. I don't want to make too much out of his origins, but Mainers have a gruff intolerance for any kind of bullshit, so you can imagine that in his formative years Cleaves' songwriting was quickly stripped of any tendency toward excess. Indeed, his latest, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, cuts like a razor, even as it does so with softly strummed acoustic guitars, gently tapped drums, and wilted, simple piano chords. Cleaves lives in Austin now, but the clear-eyed focus of a New England upbringing is tough to shake, and as it translates well to the dusty state of Texas, his music will make equally as much sense here in the mossy, open-minded Northwest. NL

WEDNESDAY 9/16

WILL SHEFF, PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, DAMIEN JURADO, FENCES

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

HANNE HUKKELBERG, HALEY BONAR, REBECCA GATES

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Music.

MARY ANNE HOBBS, ALEX B, TYLER TASTEMAKER

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See Music.

LAURA VEIRS AND THE HALL OF FLAMES, THE OLD BELIEVERS, CATALDO

(The Woods, 6637 Milwaukie) Tonight is your last chance to catch Laura Veirs (along with the Old Believers) in Portland for a while before she teams up with the Decemberists for an extensive US tour. Veirs' intimate crooning and guitar work have propelled her to new heights within the last few years, and there's no doubt that she'll cause a ruckus while on the road. The Old Believers join Kate O'Brien-Clarke and Eric Anderson to form Veirs' new band, the Hall of Flames. They'll be playing some tunes from Veirs' next album, July Flame, along with some of the classics as well. PG