Rigsketball Musicfest 2017
Portland locals are generally pretty friendly, but they get fired up over their sports. Baseball fans have the Portland Pickles, soccer fans have the Timbers, and the Rose City wouldn’t be the same without its basketball team, the Trail Blazers. The city’s love of both athletics and music intersects with the annual Rigsketball tournament, which is like basketball, but the regulation-height hoop is attached to a tour van and the players are all local musicians. The first few rounds took place at this year’s PDX Pop Now!, and the finals will happen during an expanded three-day music festival. On Thursday, music from Boone Howard, Kulululu, Kyle Craft, and the Woolen Men will ease the sting of any losses. The next day’s semifinals will feature heavy hitters like the Lavender Flu and Cat Hoch, and don’t miss Saturday. It’s not only the finals for the Rigsketball games, but it’s also got the most stacked lineup: Donte Thomas and Tribe Mars bring diversity to the fest’s rock heaviness, surf band Melt will celebrate the release of their new EP, and Chanti Darling headline the entire affair. Since Rigsketball Musicfest is free, there’s nothing to lose (except for maybe a round of basketball). CERVANTE POPE
Jul 27-29, 6 pm, Eagles Lodge (F.O.E.#3256), free
Worriers, Typesetter, Mikey Erg, Paper Thin Youth
Brooklyn-based artist and singer/sognwriter Lauren Denitzio brings her politically charged melodic punk project back to Portland for an all ages show in the Analog Lounge. Joining her are Chicago-hailing indie rock quartet Typesetter, New Jersey punk rock scene staple Mikey Erg, and local pop punk outfit Paper Thin Youth.
Jul 28, 6 pm, The Analog Cafe & Little Theater, $10, all ages
Music of the Revolution: Fernando, Trujillo, Tin Silver
El Programa Hispano has supported low-income Latinos in the Portland metro since 1982 and provide social services to around 13,000 Latinos per year. This benefit concert was organized by Fernando Viciconte, frontman of Fernando Band and a formerly undocumented resident of the US for 12 years. EMILLY PRADO
Jul 28, 9:30 pm, LaurelThirst Public House, $10
Snow Roller, Spit-Take, Horse Movies, World Record Winner
Snow Roller is one of the crown jewels in Portland DIY music, and this month they finally released their sophomore full-length, XXL. It’s an easy contender for album of the year, and a testament to rock ’n’ roll’s alive and well status in 2017. Around every corner is another catchy guitar riff served with uncompromising energy and earnestness. Collin Kritz is the mastermind behind Snow Roller, and his songwriting touches on everything from quitting weed to his cat (the beloved Fritz) to heartbreak. XXL challenges the myth that all our city has to offer is mediocre radio-ready indie and past-their-prime old dudes making psych rock. DELANEY MOTTER
Jul 30, 7:30 pm, Black Water Bar, $7, all ages
XDS, Genders, Máscaras, Donald Beaman
XDS (formally Experimental Dental School) are the long-running experimental psych punk and pop duo consisting guitarist/vocalist/sampler Jesse Hall and drummer Shoko Horikawa. Once a fixture in the Portland scene, XDS have since moved on to sunnier scenery, which means you won’t want to miss out when they return to town for a headlining show supporting their 2017 full-length.
Jul 28, 9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $6-8
Twilight Fest
An exposition of some of Portland’s best under-the-radar punk and metal takes over the Twilight Café this weekend for the inaugural Twilight Fest. Thirty-seven bands are poised for three days of sneered mania, but the event is tame enough during the daytime that all ages will be admitted. When the sun sets on Friday, expect blistering sets on Friday from the likes of My Life in Black and White, Hot LZ’s, and Muddy River Nightmare Band. Saturday’s lineup boasts punk rock lifers the Latter Day Skanks, the Ransom, the Decliners, and Exacerbators, while the Sunday finale refuses to pump the breaks with fiery performances expected by Die Like Gentleman, Saola, and Gorgon Stare. Day shows are free, and the night shows will only set you back $5. RYAN J. PRADO
Jul 28-30, 8:30 pm Fri, 1 pm & 8 pm Sat, 1 pm Sun, Twilight Cafe & Bar, $5
Kulululu, Plastic Cactus, An Atomic Whirl
Kulululu is trying to confuse us—for starters, their name is Kulululu. Onstage, they don wigs and Phantom of the Opera-style masks. In the Portland group’s Bandcamp bio, they claim to be aliens from a distant galaxy. Their music only adds to the disorientation; it’s art-punk operating within the parameters of free jazz, and it’s real weird. This week, they’re releasing a new self-titled album. Pogo-stick rhythms devolve into saxophone freak-outs on tracks like “Green Grass” and “Bee Ba Do Ba Dow,” while “Crab Dad” and “Crab Dad Again” refine the art of the sub-one-minute punk explosion. “We Are Kulululu” is the band’s mission statement, which appears to be larksome experimentation. Though this doesn’t always pan out—it’s easy to get lost in the gimmicky haze—their potential shines through on songs like “Hands to Yourself.” Kulululu will celebrate the record’s release this Saturday night at Turn! Turn! Turn! CIARA DOLAN
Jul 29, 8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!, $5
Brumes, Derek Hunter Wilson, David Allred
Brumes is the ambient pop project of Portland-based musician Desireé Rousseau, who released her full-length debut, Soundings in Fathoms, in 2015. Just last month she unveiled that album’s follow-up, After Glow, via Belgium’s Dauw Label. Its 12 tracks find parallels between opposite extremes—they’re lush, but sparse; folksy, but coated in space dust; droning and expansive, but nestled into one distinct corner of the universe. Throughout Brumes’ tenure in Portland, Rousseau has worked with an array of collaborators. After Glow—which was recorded at Phil Elverum’s Unknown Recording Studio in Anacortes, Washington—is the product of her work with eight other musicians, who contributed everything from vibraphone to trumpet. Sadly, this little Beacon Sound show will Brumes’ last in Portland for the foreseeable future, since Rousseau is moving to Belgium. CIARA DOLAN
Jul 28, 8 pm, Beacon Sound, free
Montavilla Street Fair
Stark gets shut down between SE 76th and 82nd to make room for the return of this inclusive, family-friendly community block(s) party, including vendors, a Farmer’s Market, live music, and activities and games for kids.
Jul 30, 11 am, SE Stark & SE 76th, free, all ages
Máscaras, Ghost Frog, Amani
Local trio Máscaras’ eight-track 2015 debut, Máscara vs. Máscara, is one nebulous glob of psychedelic sounds—guitar riffs bite and bleed together for an effect that’s intoxicating and danceable. CIARA DOLAN
Jul 30, 8:30 pm, Rontoms, free