THURSDAY 5/27

PDXTC RECORD RELEASE: ATOLE, WAMPIRE, GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, MAY LING, BREAKFAST MOUNTAIN

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Oh Portland music, just get a room already. Our city's nonstop local music love affair gets steamy with PDXTC, a six-way (ménage à trois à trois?) split LP from this town's finest dance-floor-friendly acts. Released by local imprint High Scores and Records, and curated by Ian Anderson (he of Guidance Counselor, not of Jethro Tull), PDXTC is crammed with tracks from Breakfast Mountain, Atole, Wampire, May Ling, Jeffrey Jerusalem, and Anderson's band as well. Of the half-dozen acts showcased here, five will be celebrating the release (Jerusalem was last spotted riding into the sunset with YACHT) with this rare all-ages Holocene show. Nothing wrong with a little hot band-on-band PDA. EZRA ACE CARAEFF Also see My, What a Busy Week!

CABINESSENCE, SEAN FLINN AND THE ROYAL WE

(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) A staple player in the Portland music scene, Sean Flinn has taken the reigns of his own musical stagecoach and is making the rounds in our fair city. Who travels in the carriage is dependent on the evening; Flinn steers, and he's often joined by the Royal We, a rotating cast of talented and recognizable characters, all well-versed in the body of music Flinn has created and eager to assimilate. And while Write Me a Novel, the forthcoming long-player, is often pensive and haunted by humming spirits, or shaded with dark, heavy-handed guitar riffs, there is an undeniable tenderness that runs throughout and empties into all of those who might happen upon this band's performance. RAQUEL NASSER

LOCAL NATIVES, SUCKERS

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) For their self-titled debut EP, NYC quartet Suckers enlisted Yeasayer's Anand Wilder to produce, a sensible choice given the band's fondness for quasi-tribal percussion and multipart vocal harmonies. "Easy Chairs" escalates from strutting bass, handclaps, and a pied-piper flute to a closing chorus of "set our easy chairs aflame" chanted over low piano chords and acrobatic falsetto backing vocals. "It Gets Your Body Moving" is a counterintuitively slow-swaying choral-and-whistling number that takes four minutes to build to a crescendo worthy not so much of body moving as maybe just raising a beer. "Beach Queen" achieves a kind of sub–Hall & Oates yacht-rock breeze with a not entirely unlikable groove. Also like Yeasayer, Suckers strike a strange balance between mildly psychedelic wildness and stately, smartly arranged chops—but they can come off kind of glee-clubbish, when you get the feeling they're going for ecstatic. ERIC GRANDY

FRIDAY 5/28

VETIVER, CITAY, MICHAEL HURLEY

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week! and Music.

REFLECTION ETERNAL, GEN. ERIK, SERGE SEVERE

(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See Music.

REFLECTION ETERNAL AFTERPARTY: TALIB KWELI, DJ WELS, GEN. ERIK, SERGE SEVERE, COOL NUTZ, THEORY HAZIT, STARCHILE

(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Do you secretly wish that Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek would switch roles? Well, you crazy sonofabitch, you are in luck. Rumor has it that Kweli himself will man the decks for this Reflection Eternal afterparty. Maybe then Hi-Tek will take the mic and spit a few verses. And then Mos Def will leave the set of Next Day Air II and show up for a secret Black Star reunion. You'll never know unless you show up. EAC Also see Music.

OK GO, EARL GREYHOUND, GRAND LAKE

(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Here's the quandary with OK Go: how can a band with such wildly inventive videos—true pioneers in the boundary-less art of guerilla promotion in the digital age—be so damn boring on record? The Chicago quartet set the bar at heroic heights with treadmills, marching bands, and whatever the fuck was going on in the mesmerizing Rube Goldberg version of "This Too Shall Pass," yet their music—the actual sound their instruments make outside of You Tube—can never live up to the promise the band offers on video. Since there is no thumbs up "like" button for recordings, last year's Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is largely forgettable, which makes me wonder how great this band could be if they committed themselves in the studio with the same fervor as they do in front of the camera. EAC

PATRICK WATSON, LAURA MARLING, SMOKE FAIRIES

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) If you are old enough to legally drink alcohol, it might infuriate you slightly to learn that Laura Marling was born in the '90s. Even at the tender age of 20, the English folkstress has already had a remarkable career—with links to other English folk-leaning ensembles like Noah and the Whale, or Mumford & Sons(who visit Portland on Monday) as well as a string of impressive releases of her own. Her second full-length album, I Speak Because I Can, is an assured folk album that recalls the stark and misty beauty of June Tabor's unadorned traditionals, or the turbulent medieval balladry of Sandy Denny, or the homespun honesty of Laura Gibson, or the reassuring lilt of Emmylou Harris. Considering that Patrick Watson—the mad professor of Canadian baroque pop—is also on the bill, this is not a night that will quickly fade from memory. NED LANNAMANN

WHY?, THE DONKEYS, JOSIAH WOLF

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Even if last year's Eskimo Snow merely feels like a tacked-on appendix to the flawless Alopecia, we are still witnessing greatness at work with Why? The Bay Area hiphop—but not really hiphop—outfit, like so much of their Anticon brethren, do their finest work deconstructing the genre and existing on the outer fringes, borrowing from the beat and rhyme structure sparingly along the way. A better singer than rapper, Yoni Wolf drops a dizzying amount of quotable refrains—all worthy of scribbling on your Trapper Keeper in an unabashed act of fandom—placing him in that rarified air of lyricists that constantly make you pause/rewind/re-listen to unearth the layered brilliance of their songs. Soon you will agree with what Why? followers have known for years: Yoni Wolf is still the only proper noun that you'll ever need. EAC

MINUS THE BEAR, EVEREST, YOUNG THE GIANT

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) There's a roots rock sound so basic it doesn't even have a name. Many bands use the same minimalist toolbox to write their songs but few succeed in using them to create something really their own. Los Angeles quintet Everest show the same promise in their sophomore effort, On Approach, that Wilco did with Being There. Here is a band that can somehow make the tried and true sound fresh, yet comforting in its familiarity. Part of Everest's success lays with lyricist Russell Pollard, who is showing a gift for making everyday, simple turns of phrase resonant, but this is clearly a group effort. The band has gelled since 2008's Ghost Notes in promising ways; they've not stretched the boundaries or reached great heights of their craft yet, but this is a band with impressively sure feet. DAVE BOW

THE LONG WINTERS, SEACATS

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) If you want an example of how people hang on every single word that falls from John Roderick's pen, just crack open a copy of Electric Aphorisms, a published (not self-published, not published on Blogspot, not published at Kinko's—really published) book of his Twitter feed. If the Long Winters frontman can get his words published 140 characters at a time, you can assume that his songs are even better (they are). While a new Long Winters recording is in the works, Roderick's latest is the aptly titled "Not Moving to Portland," which is actually quite a shame. With a healthy beard like that, the man would fit in quite well. EAC

TINY VIPERS, BENOIT PIOULARD, SVARTE GREINER, CRYSTAL HELL POOL

(Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th) Like many critics and fans, I felt amorously towards Tiny Vipers' 2007 debut Hands Across the Void, an album by diminutive Seattle performer Jesy Fortino consisting primarily of barebones guitar and layers of vocals that are all at once resonant and hollow. I must admit that her Sub Pop follow-up, last year's Life on Earth, left me scrambling; while it was as sonically stripped and eerily beautiful as her previous work, the music struck me as droning and wandering. But as she herself says (on the track "Dreamer"), "I can't spend the time wondering who I was." In this way Fortino's progression is unassuming and organic, free of contrivances even if murkier and less sure. MARANDA BISH

ELITIST, TRANSIENT, ABANDON

(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) These three brutal and grinding bands feature lead singers whose combined vocal power sets the bar for the Northwest scene. Krysta Martinez of Transient tortures her vocal chords, screaming with absolute terror and fury. Paired with her aggressive stance and occasional self-inflicted bloody noses, Martinez is impossible to ignore. Fronting Abandon's crushing D-beat crust metal is Eric Durant, who arches his back and barks fire into the mic; he's a brazen and commanding sight onstage. Josh Greene of Elitist has a passion for screaming that literally puts him in your face no matter where you stand inside the venue. For instance, at a show in San Francisco, the PA system arrived late, so Greene ran around the room sans mic, grabbing people and screaming directly in their ears. There are certain times when the post-show earache is worth the discomfort, and this night qualifies. ARIS WALES

SATURDAY 5/29

SASQUATCH!: MY MORNING JACKET, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, THE NATIONAL, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, THE HOLD STEADY, & MORE

(Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Rd NW, George, WA) See My, What a Busy Week!

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, HOLY GHOST

(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) See Music.

TUNE-YARDS, KARL BLAU, ALEXIS GIDEON

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) On record—as on last year's Bird-Brains—the laptop-recorded loops of Merrill Garbus can sound claustrophobic, but in the live setting, Tune-Yards (yes, it is officially time to ditch the goofy capitalization, once and for all) can captivate a crowd. With bassist Nate Brenner in tow, Garbus killed it at a completely full Holocene in March, and she's already back through town again before heading up to the Sasquatch! Festival. With little more than a recorded uke and some clattering beats to fill up her backing tracks, Garbus' strength is her world-wise, overly ripe voice as it fronts her sparse but effective, globally leaning folk-hop. Expect a very full, very energetic crowd packed into Mississippi Studios tonight for Tune-Yards' triumphant return. NL

JASON KEEBLER BENEFIT: THE EPOXIES, THE FLIPTOPS, CHEMICALS, THE POLAROIDS

(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) It's difficult to be a man about town with a collapsed lung and a stack of medical bills, so this benefit (previous shows in March featured Poison Idea, Thee Headliners, and plenty more) for Jason Keebler is doing the impossible: bringing the Epoxies back together. The ultimate live band, the Epoxies tossed the duct tape aside and went their separate ways in 2008, but in a noble effort to raise money for Keebler they have returned. No word if this reunion will stick, so don't you dare miss this show. Also, if the Epoxies don't play "Synthesized," I'll scream until my lung collapses. Don't make that happen. EAC

APE MACHINE, CHARMING BIRDS, THROWBACK SUBURBIA, PSEUDOBOSS

(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) Who says classic rock is dead? (Actually, I say it all the time.) But bands like Ape Machine effortlessly prove the contrary, as on their brand-new debut album This House Has Been Condemned. It's a brash slab of boogie, with nearly every riff-heavy tune stretching far past the five-minute mark—and for good reason: Once you're locked into a stone-cold groove, man, there's no rush to jump right out of it. Recalling in equal parts Sabbath, Blue Cheer, and your mustachioed dirtbag cousin's shag-carpeted van, the bloozy guitars of Ape Machine pretty much insist you cut the sleeves off your favorite jean jacket, roll up a few doobies on the album cover, and party at the moon tower 'til dawn. NL

SCHOOL OF ROCK: KISS

(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) I know, I know. These School of Rock shows are nearly a weekly occurrence and it seems as if they'll soon run out of classic bands to pay tribute to (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, you're next). But I can assure you that nothing in this cruel world warms my frosty heart like the idea of the talented SOR students performing as KISS—in full makeup. While Gene Simmons might be the worst human on earth, a tiny kid in demon face paint just seems downright adorable. Slip on your old Destroyer shirt, and spend a night with the cutest—and most rocking—kids in town. Just hope they don't play "Christine Sixteen," because that song is just plain wrong. EAC

SUNDAY 5/30

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, SARAH DOUGHER

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

SASQUATCH!: MASSIVE ATTACK, PAVEMENT, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, PUBLIC ENEMY, & MORE

(Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Rd NW, George, WA) See My, What a Busy Week!

NADA SURF, TELEKINESIS

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Nada Surf's finest moment came not during the unlikely pop chart ascension courtesy of the ubiquitous "Popular," but years later, when the band was seen as little more than a '90s alt-rock dinosaur fighting fate in the great tar pit of musical history. Seemingly forgotten by the masses, the New York trio (known to fans as "the singer," "the drummer," and "the seemingly out-of-place bassist with the hippie dreadlocks") heroically rebounding with the one-two punch of Let Go and The Weight Is a Gift, their two finest recordings released the early days of the '00s. Sadly that momentum was short-lived, as the band delivered the emotionally vacant Lucky, then followed that with the sure sign of any band's creative drought—a covers record. Your excitement for this show can be gauged by your answer to the following question: Does the world really need to hear Nada Surf's version of "Question" by the Moody Blues? EAC

SLOUGH FEG, THE GATES OF SLUMBER

(East End, 203 SE Grand) Slough Feg play traditional hard rock with serious conviction. The San Francisco band scatters rococo guitar over crunching foundation riffs and shunts Michael Scalzi's gruff, declamatory vocals way to the fore. Punk—and everything in its wake—seemingly never happened for Slough Feg. Indianapolis' the Gates of Slumber rock similarly hard with a linear sense of purpose, their shouted, massed vocals and tightly wound, burly metallic guitars whipping your head back with brass-knuckled force. DAVE SEGAL

MONDAY 5/31

FOOL'S GOLD, SHADOW SHADOW SHADE, AND AND AND

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

SASQUATCH!: WEEN, MGMT, BAND OF HORSES, SHE & HIM, THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS, & MORE

(Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Rd NW, George, WA) See My, What a Busy Week!

MUMFORD & SONS, THE MIDDLE EAST

(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Missed your chance to get tickets to this now sold-out show? Well, Sigh No More (pun intended), Mumford & Sons' debut CD is available at your friendly local record store, and if you're a fan of the bourgeoning London folk music scene (which includes the likes of Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, and Laura Marling) then you'll probably want to pick up a copy. Or perhaps you can just camp outside the Aladdin and try to listen through the wall as the crowd screams along with "Little Lion Man." Regardless, this London-based band's clever lyrics (was that Shakespeare?) and kickin' banjo do not produce the kind of folk that makes you want to sway in your seat—you'll want to get up and dance. Yes, to folk. MOLLY GEORGETTA

TUESDAY 6/1

BUZZCOCKS, THE DOLLYROTS

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

MGMT, TAME IMPALA

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See Music.

SERA CAHOONE, PATRICK PARK, WILLOUGHBY

(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Sera Cahoone might be the least known among her Carissa's Wierd alumni (her bandmates have gone on to start bands like Grand Archives, S, and Band of Horses), but her solo work towers above that of her former compatriots. With a near flawless repertoire of dusty, lonesome balladry, Cahoone is confidently but unassumingly leading the pearl-snap country pack. She's rejoining Carissa's Wierd for their July 9 reunion show in Seattle, and Hardly Art is reissuing the full Carissa's Wierd catalog, so expect a well-deserved surge of interest in Cahoone's two excellent solo albums as well. Tonight she performs as a duo with Colorado folksinger Patrick Park, whose new album Come What Will just came out on Portland-based label Badman Recording. NL

WEDNESDAY 6/2

SAGE FRANCIS, FREE MORAL AGENTS, B. DOLAN

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

IN THE COOKY JAR: DJ COOKY

(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

MGMT, TAME IMPALA

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See Music.

ISIS, TOMBS, JAKOB

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Over their 13-year career, Isis have trod the line between contemplative melancholy and turbulent ferocity. On early albums, such as the turn-of-the-millennium Celestial, this juxtaposition presented itself in a basic but effective dynamic of quiet restraint versus full-volume pummeling. Later records found the quintet crafting increasingly patient, nuanced, and complex work that gracefully built toward towering thunderous crescendos. The band kicked off this latest tour with the announcement that this batch of shows will be their last, so don't miss this chance to witness these brooding and hypnotic epics unfold onstage. New Zealand–based tourmates Jakob excel at creating haunting ether punctuated by slabs of bottom-heavy psychedelia, making this run of shows a fitting passing of the dark-art torch. BRIAN COOK

GRATITILLIUM, PANCAKE BREAKFAST, TIGER HOUSE

(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Nick Caceres is the chief critter behind Gratitillium, the animal-themed pop purveyors who released the splendid and charming Gratitillium Vol. 1 album last year. Gratitillium Vol. 2 is in the works for 2011—it's going to be titled Unicornicopia—but in the meantime, tonight's show celebrates the brand-new Wild Alive Vol. 1.5 EP, which documents the transformation of Gratitillium from a one-man bedroom project to a full-fledged live-band menagerie. With soaring melodies, camp-counselor energy, and fake jungle noises, Gratitillium could plunge (like lemmings) off that precipice into the chasm of cornball goop. But instead, their songs are honestly joyous and remarkably addictive—we have yet to hear Gratitillium Vol. 2, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that Pet Sounds Vol. 2 could be an equally worthy title. NL

SCREAMING FEMALES

(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) New Jersey trio Screaming Females have only one female, singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster, and her vocal style is as often a kind of an exaggerated, declarative sotto voce as it is an overdriven scream. But even when her singing is dialed down, the band makes a mighty racket, bashing out fuzz-fucked, triumphalist rock with flailing guitar solos. The robust rhythm section of bassist King Mike and drummer Jarrett Dougherty keep lively time but mostly stay out of the way of Paternoster's hot-wired, steamrolling playing. It's not all screaming and shredding either, as evidenced by the band's chugging cover of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" or the original "I Do"; the latter is a ridiculously poppy mid-tempo number whose bright melodies and vocal hook emerge from a smother of distortion, worthy of scoring a mid-'90s TV montage, say, something from The Adventures of Pete & Pete. EG