PLEASURE FOREVER, VI FOOT SLOTH, THE LOST KIDS

(Blackbird) Formerly Slaves, formerly The VSS, currently Pleasure Forever, they could very easily be Dracula's house band. Since Dracula doesn't live in Portland, the Blackbird's immaculate sound system and red/black décor is the only place to experience PF's growling caterwauls accompanied with some of the most demented funhouse keyboards and dark piano sounds imaginable. Check out the devilishly handsome drummer who, I'm convinced, received his drumming skills from the dark lord himself. JAMES SQUEAKY

THE REMOVES

(Berbati's) Rock 'n' roll bands are a dime a dozen. Good rock 'n' roll bands, however, should have their praises shouted from the mountaintops. So, blow the alpenhorns, the Removes have arrived! Their sound would have been referred to as "punk" in the late '70s by the geniuses who gave Elvis Costello and Blondie the same tag, but time is always on the side of bands who are difficult to pigeonhole. There's definitely a DIY aesthetic to what The Removes do, but it's based on enthusiasm rather than angst. It's so potent and infectious, that the band was called back for an encore at a recent Medicine Hat show, an honor not bestowed on the evening's headliners. Kick out the jams this Thursday and arrive early... the Removes may just blow you away. MURRAY CIZON

TRICLOPS ORGAN TRIO

(Goodfoot) I recently started reading a book devoted to the origins and significance of "elevator" or "utilitarian" music--pleasing sounds (ranging from 101 Strings to Brian Eno) that are meant to compliment a situation or environment more than be listened to on their own merits. While I certainly wouldn't compare the Triclops Organ Trio's vampy Hammond jazz to the lush soul-lessness of muzak, I've rarely seen a live bar band that was so adept at creating a specific, unobtrusive atmosphere. Sipping a beer in the swanky den that is the Goodfoot, with the Trio steadily at work in the corner, it's easy to feel like you're part of some forgotten nightlife set that probably never really existed outside of the sets of '60s B-movies in the first place. SIMON GASKEN

NEW BRUTALISM, HEART BEATS RED, RAFT OF DEAD MONKEYS

(Meow Meow) New Brutalism, from Knoxville, is an appropriate name for a band that sings about the battering technology (and yuppies) give us: "Can you ever really prepare/for lead in your arm/and blood in your face?" Can you? Are you ever ready to get fucked over? No, never. But you should prepare yourself for the New Brutalism (especially if you couldn't make it to SF to see "Best Live Band in the World" Shellac play last weekend). NB has slightly Shellac-y, atypical time changes, but their vocals are hardcore and scrappy. You will be pleased, especially if you are hurting desperately inside and must cover it up with the chitin shell of heavy music. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

BEST FRIENDS GROUP, APOLLO GENERATION, A SANDCASTLE STILL

(Red & Black) The Lucksmiths + Kissing Book = heavy metal. No, I'm lying. They do, however, equal an adorable melding of Portland and Australian pop bands. The guitar is happily strummed and the low, matter-of-fact vocals contrast nicely. They have sort of a Belle and Sebastian feel, but maybe B&S, while skipping down the street. It's crazy, but the band (featuring Andrew from Kissing Book, Mark from the Lucksmiths, Pete from Sodastream, Kelli from Architecture in Helsinki, and Dunky from who-knows-where) already has an album scheduled to be released September 4 called When Everyone's Around. So I guess this is one of those really productive marriages, like Maury Povich and Connie Chung or something. KATIE SHIMER

BUTTERFLY TRANSFORMATION SERVICE, KATE AKERS, DAVID GARRITSON

(Stumptown Coffee, 8:30 pm) If you can't get enough of Kathy Foster's spare-yet-pleasing vocals in her band, Urban Legends, be sure not to miss the clarity of her voice in her sweet solo ensemble, Butterfly Transformation Service. JS

FRIDAY 8/24

HIM, FCS NORTH, DAVE PAVKOVIC'S EXCITING TRIO

(Blackbird) Seeing HIM play can be a little bit like watching a hiphop show--you go to get a drink, and the next thing you know, Doug Scharin's got his cousins, his next-door neighbors, his sister's boyfriend, his mom, and the club's bar backs onstage with him MCing--er, playing a horn or drums. But, as with the best hiphop shows, Scharin uses his extensive musical family to his advantage, creating some of the most danceable, dubby jazz being made in the American underground today. Even the Anti-Skronky McAnti-Skronks will surely get down to HIM's unabashedly skronky groove, and you will see that "hipsters dancing" is not just a phenomenon reserved for !!! concerts and punchlines. The fucking drum solos, man... the fucking drum solos. FCS North is Seattle's live, ambient-jazz experience, and if ambiance makes you sleep, with FCS North you'll have really fantastic dreams. JS

SNOG

(Paris) Snog would be just another techno project born from the carcass of post-industrial electronics and 1980s synth-pop, if it weren't for David Thrussell's dead-on satirical observations of capitalism and consumer culture. The Australian group won over the burgeoning European club scene with its strange mixture of misanthropy, sociopolitical lyrics, and infectious dance grooves. And it even scored an unlikely club hit with 1992's "Corporate Slave," a tongue-in-cheek dance-floor anthem that helped ravers come to terms with the obvious. Last year's Third Mall from the Sun also hits the mark but in a more oblique fashion. Relieve your work-related stress with tracks like "Real Estate Man" and "Late Twentieth Century Boy." DAVID SLATTON

BOTCH, HIMSA, BRUTAL FIGHT, NIHILIST

(Pine Street) Botch are very easily my favorite mathematically thrilling, intellectually appealing, brutal-as-a-sledgehammer, chunky metal-hardcore band. I might even go so far as to name a pet that I was fond of after them. Then I remembered The Fucking Champs show and just how oppressively, unbearably, intoxicatingly hot it is in the Pine Street Balcony. Regardless, Botch is probably worth standing outside and waiting through the opening bands to experience first-hand, sweaty, and near-death be damned--and it's the last show they'll ever have there, anyway. SQUEAKY

EXODUS STARRING DJS MACK RICE & TOPSPIN

(Sege's) Mack Rice is part of the Clan of the Cave Mack Crew, and I assure you that he's one of the best DJs in town. His music samples from all over the map, but his ability to blend is really where it's at. Listen to some Michael Jackson turn into some Grateful Dead turn into some Pharcyde (okay, so I haven't actually heard that transition, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did it) without even noticing that you're listening to a new song. Excellent when you feel like hearing a DJ that really plays, rather than just some noise in the background. KATIA DUNN

DJ MARK GRANT

(Ohm) See Music pg 15

FIREBALLS OF FREEDOM, LOST SOUNDS, KING LOUIE, STARANTULA

(Dante's) Nobody wants to be rock stars as much as Starantula. Unfortunately, their lead singer sometimes plays a saxophone. Sorry pal, it didn't work for Kenny G, and it won't work for you. On the upside, when this threesome decides to rock, they do so with such ferocity, many audience members fear the ground may open up and suck them into the fiery pits of hell. Sax Guy screams, wails, throws his body into (and often onto) the audience, and sometimes gets into fistfights with other bands on the bill. (Sax Guy lost, the last time I saw him.) Are they worth seeing? You bet your ass. Should Sax Guy get rid of the sax? Abso-fuckin'-lutely. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

JACK JOHNSON, BEN LEE

(Berbati's) Jack Johnson is a wayward, mellow guitarist/ vocalist/filmmaker, who will also be screening his films at his show. His new release, Brushfire Fairytales, exhibits his chocolatey vibrato and tendency towards pop-bluesy guitars and slight Latin rhythms. It's very pretty and fairly innocuous--Jack Johnson could easily be the next Dave Matthews, except completely un-grody. What's really phenomenal about Johnson's album is how the drums are recorded using room sound techniques--the carefully placed fills and rolls (executed by Adam Topol) add a depth to Johnson's music that let him transcend the normal "sensitive man with guitar" label. In Johnson's bio, it says, "He doesn't even like Steely Dan." Hopefully Topol will accompany Johnson for his performance. JS

WET CONFETTI

(Red & Black) A newer entry to the Portland music scene, Wet Confetti's self-released CD (wrapped in tasteful brown and letterpressed) is a churning rumble of distorted guitars and very deep lady vocals singing vaguely poppy melodies. There's much potential here; it's worth seeing how they fare live. JS

SATURDAY 8/25

GODDAMN GENTLEMEN CD RELEASE, DICKEL BROTHERS REUNION SHOW, HUSSY

(Blackbird) The garage-y punk rock of the Goddamn Gentlemen will both convert the disbelievers and send the diehards into spastic frenzies, simply because of their utter dedication to providing a great live experience. They thrash around and sweat like motherfuckers, and you get the feeling they might even hurt themselves, if it would entertain you, the audience. We're lucky to have them, and their new CD. JS

ROCK & ROLL CAMP FOR GIRLS SHOWCASE NIGHT STARRING CAMPERS AND MUSIC MENTORS, ALL-GIRL SUMMER FUN BAND, OTHER NOTABLE FEMALE ARTISTS FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

(Meow Meow) See My What a Busy Week pg 13

BARBARA MANNING & THE GO-LUCKYS, PINEHURST KIDS, NORFOLK & WESTERN

(Cobalt) With twin brothers Fabrizio and Flavio Steinbach as her rhythm section, indie stalwart and closet genius Barbara Manning has found her most simpatico comrades. Over the last 15 years, Manning has released great albums under her own name, and with bands such as 28th day and SF Seals. With her latest release, You Should Know By Now, she and the Steinbachs turn in an album that is by turns raucous and tender. Manning navigates heartbreak and the ripple effect with her acid-etched lyrics and deadpan delivery. But it's her guitar heroics that draw on New Zealand pop-noise like the Tall Dwarfs and The Clean that sugar the pills and ignite her imagination. NATE LIPPENS

JAYO FELONY, JMACK, DJ CHILL, DJ 90 PROOF

(Roseland) Regardless of how good his music is, this guy's pretty legit: After spending time in both a gang and prision, he began issuing underground tapes, including his first ever lo-fi recording, Piss on Your Tombstone. Eventually, his self-promotion earned him a place with Def Jam Records. Impressive, right? His music doesn't quite hold as much cred as you might expect it to. It pretty much sounds like typical gangsta rap, with lots of fun songs like, "Cop Killer," and dumb lyrics like, "Then he went to the Tunnell and brought down the roof/Mink coats and moet, bitches drippin sweat/Slang a cassette to Funkmaster Flex/And now I'm bumpin'/on East Coast tape decks/Went from Swatch to platinum Rolex/S.D., Jersey we getting more sex/flow next/go next." See what I mean? KD

MONDAY 8/27

REBECCA GATES, NEKO CASE, CHRIS MCFARLAND

(Berbati's) Leave it to Tortoise's John McEntire to turn lo-fi chanteuse Rebecca Gates' music into a big boring mess of alt-adult contemporary. She still has a beautiful voice, and if she's solo, this show could be a wonderful treat, but in the case of her new record, Ruby Series, what were meant to be "mature" songs turn out to be "sleep-inducing." At this point in history, Post-Rock has turned into Smooth Jazz, and it's ruining everything, from music to literature (when was the last time you found Dave Eggers and his corps of minions actually enlightening or interesting in anyway?) to "art" (look at Wallpaper's grody bourgeois art-hipster aesthetic). Are we so blasé that we must no longer be challenged? JS

RINGO STARR'S ALL-STAR BAND 2001

(Schnitzer) See My What a Busy Week pg 13

WEDNESDAY 8/29

GILLIAN WELCH, DAVID RAWLINGS

(Aladdin) With the left-field runaway success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, mountain and bluegrass music have gained the attention of the mainstream. Gillian Welch, who has just released her third album, the Sublime Time (The Revelator), has been mining the tradition of roots vernacular on her for albums and in her live shows with David Rawlings. Her voice is a slow molasses pour that adds stoic equilibrium to her songs of hardship and tribulation. Live, she and Rawlings play as an acoustic duo on guitars and banjo, crooning with the close harmonies of The Stanley Brothers. It's a beautiful and haunted sound. Welch's new songs feature more contemporary lyrical content that seems to draw from an autobiographical well that is mesmerizing and transcendent. NL

GOING TO SEATTLE?

Thurs 8/23: Los Lobos, Maceo Parker, DJ Logic, Olu Dara (Pier 61/62)

Fri 8/24: Pleasure Forever (Breakroom); Willie Nelson (Emerald Queen Casino); Nortec collective, Donald Glaude, Jackal & Hyde, John King, Logic Probe, Monk, Subconscious (EMP)

Sat 8/25: Snog (Catwalk); Superchunk, The Promise Ring (EMP); Him (Graceland)

Sun 8/26: Ben Lee, Jack Johnson (Crocodile); Barbara Manning (Sit & Spin)

For more info, visit www.thestranger.com

New Releases 8/23: 4 Hero, ADD Trio, Alphonzo Blackwell, Alsace Lorraine, Bjork*, Brotha Lynch Hung & C-Bo, Butthole Surfers, Choices, Club 8*, Damozel, DJ Dan, Graeme Downes, Dulces Pontes, Sheila E, Everything, Explosion in the Sky, Fanzine, Gangsta Blac, Ivory Coast, Claire Holley, Matthew Jay, Juvenile, Kourtney Lale, Jeff Kelly, Klammerflimmer Kollektief, Krayzie Bone, Little T & One Track Mike*, Masta Ace, Brian McKnight, Lu, Mus, Official, June Panic, Preston School of Industry, Push Kings, The Residents*, RZA as Bobby Digital, Skinny Puppy, Slumber Party, Spiritualized, Stars, Stereolab, Spike 1000, TECH N9NE*, Keke Wyatt, X-ecutioners
*=potentially neat