So Stressed, Arteries, Shrilltones
When So Stressed started teasing its new album, Please Let Me Know, vocalist Morgan Fox provided a key statement hinting at its direction: “We wanted the last one to be cold and digital-sounding and really harsh to listen to, which I think it is. This one is pretty harsh too, but we also allowed ourselves to kind of do whatever we wanted as long as all three of us liked it and it was fun to play. Ugly noise is cool, but so is melody.” The end result is less hardcore/screamo and more post-hardcore meets pre-Nevermind Nirvana. So Stressed had the ugly noise part figured out, but Please Let Me Know proves they’ve got melodies, too. BEN SALMON
8 pm, The Know
Help The Hoople: A Benefit for Scott McCaughey – Night 1
This past November, Portland musician Scott McCaughey (the Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, and Filthy Friends) suffered a stroke while on tour with Alejandro Escovedo. Now his friends (including the Mercuryโs cannabis columnist Josh Jardine) are rallying together to help raise money for his medical and rehabilitation expenses with the two-night benefit and online auction Help the Hoople. Fridayโs show at the Star Theater will feature performances by some big names: Escovedo, M. Ward, James Mercer (the Shins), Patterson Hood (Drive-by Truckers), Justin Townes Earle, along with McCaugheyโs bandmates Mike Mills, Corin Tucker, Janet Weiss, and Peter Buck. CIARA DOLAN
8 pm, Star Theater, $50-100
Pelican Ossman, RLLRBLL, Montgomery Word, Old Demons
Pelican Ossmanโs lo-fi folk experiments sometimes recall the early work of Phil Elverum and his K Records comrades, but over the past few years, the Portland band has cultivated an exceedingly weird vibe all its own. On its wonderful new full-length cassette, The Touchstone, Pelican Ossman explores the territory between pop melody and addled chant, and the result is a cult-like conjuring, a sonic lure spun by a cracked guru on the prowl for burnout initiates. Or maybe itโs a bunch of homeschoolers weaned on psychedelia. Or anarchist homesteaders feasting on the fun kind of mushrooms. Or a family band that puts on shows in their basement after church. Whatever the case, thereโs something strange happening hereโa signal sent from a skewed reality, a wild kind of magic that lights up the places you donโt usually go. CHRIS STAMM
8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!
New Move, Ezza Rose, Merล
Portland quintet New Move bring their doo-wop and R&B-inflected pop and rock sounds to the Mississippi Studio stage to help kick-start 2018 on a positive note.
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $5
Dead Moon Night: A Tribute to Fred Cole
On November 9, 2017,ย Fred Cole died, the legendary rocker behind foundational Portland bands Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, the Rats, and others. Tonight, some terrific local bandsโincluding the Thermals, the Ransom (featuring Poison Ideaโs Jerry A.), and Pierced Arrows drummer Kelly Halliburton doing double duty with P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. and Jenny Donโt and the Spursโpay the great man homage. NED LANNAMANN
9 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $8-10
Priced Out
Cornelius Swartโs Priced Out assembles a wealth of information about the history of gentrification in the Black neighborhoods of North and Northeast Portland. This film is a follow-up to NorthEast Passage, a documentary Swart, a longtime reporter, co-produced in 2002; that film’s central figure, Nikki Williams, spoke in favor of gentrification. Priced Out juxtaposes Williamsโ current perspective with the recent developments that have turned several Portland neighborhoods into playgrounds for white newcomers. Itโs as fascinating to watch as it is devastating to comprehend. SUZETTE SMITH
6:30 pm, Portland Mennonite Church
Tallwomen, Towers, Root_DIR, The Thrash Key Kids, GBA
A fresh hit of hardcore punk from this local trio, dedicated to the three-pronged pursuit of bullshit, burritos, and noise.
8 pm, Twilight Cafe & Bar, $5
Speechless
The Siren Theater’s improvised PowerPoint presentation show Speechless is back, with the best kind of organized chaos: a delightful lineup of funny Portlanders making up lectures on the spotโ”TED Talk, startup pitch, even a self-help seminar” are all fair gameโto accompany surprise slides and placate a team of judges. Next slide! MEGAN BURBANK
8 pm, Siren Theater, $10
Panio Gianopoulos, Daniel H. Wilson
Panio Gianopoulos reads from his new collection of complicated love stories, How to Get into Our House and Where We Keep the Money. Gianopoulos will be joined in conversation by Daniel H. Wilson, author of The Clockwork Dynasty.
7:30 pm, Powell’s City of Books
Don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!