THURSDAY 8/18

CLIMBER, SCISSORS FOR LEFTY, POINT JUNCTURE, WA
(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) In their heyday, Pulp swaggered around the Brit-pop party with a bottle of bubbly in one hand and dancing shoes in the other. They were calculated cool with enough rock to help the club kids do the stiff shuffle all night. San Francisco's Scissors for Lefty follow a similar trajectory, with icy vocals lording over a mix of moody post punk, electronic beats, and whispered nightcaps. Stylish without sounding too self-aware, Scissors for Lefty are an interesting amalgam of calculated styles. JENNIFER MAERZ

TARA JANE O'NEIL & GOLD, SAMARA LUBELSKI, WORLD, THE PORTLAND VAMPIRES
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Tara Jane O'Neil wildly outpaces the good-enough demands of the indie singer songwriter; both her ghostly singing and her mercurial guitar playing perpetually nudge her songs into surprising and unusual spaces. She imbues the "high lonesome sound" of antique American music with healthy doses of raw experimentalism and occasional unabashed guitar spazz. Much like TJO, Samara Lubelski has a pedigree of serious-minded indierock (in the Sonora Pine) and deeper experimental associations (as contributor to Jackie-O Motherfucker, Tower Recordings, etc.)—coiling these disparate strains into structurally simple but weirdness-enriched art songs. SAM MICKENS

FRIDAY 8/19

2% MAJESTY, TUNNELS, THE DENDRITES
(Acme, 1305 SE 8th) See Wednesday's listing.

BLITZ, ROCKET ONE, MYG, CLOCKWERK, SLEEP, SANTOTZIN, KIEW NIKON, MERCY ONE, SAVAGE SUN, MANIC D, FOGATRON, SIDEWAYZ SPEECH, PHORX, FABULOUS SATURDAYS
(Portsmouth Club, 5264 N Lombard) Quite a roundup this is, with some familiar faces from the local hiphop scene getting together for a huge bro down. This is like getting the deluxe sushi sampler plate, featuring up n' comers like MyG, Sleep, and of course the beloved and talented Manic D and Fogatron who completely swept the Merc's talent show last year (and went on to win an even bigger one in Seattle) with their beatboxing and emceeing skills. MARJORIE SKINNER

DATETENRYU, WHITE RAINBOW
(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) Judging from the band's Live in Jittoku 2001! CD, Japanese quartet Datetenryu—who formed in 1971 (but have largely remained unknown in the West) love Keith Emerson's flamboyant organ-fondling for ELP and generally favor the British wing of the prog-rock pantheon. Datetenryu's attack balances heavy, jammy peregrinations with mellifluous melodic flourishes and occasional florid bouts of showmanship, solidifying their prog instincts. DAVE SEGAL

DINOSAUR JR., LOVE AS LAUGHTER, ALASKA!
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See Music, pg 21

ENGINE DOWN, BELLA LEA, LIFE AT THESE SPEEDS, DES ARK
(Loveland, 320 SE 2nd) I just wrote a 150-word (rhyming!) Up & Coming about this show set to the tune of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" before realizing the Tylenol Flu had cracked me the fuck out—and that I wasn't being even near clever. So. This is Engine Down's final tour after eight years of putting in the good indie band fight. But even if you didn't dig 'em while they were still above the ground, sometimes funerals can be fun just for the booze and food at the reception. Which is, in this case, Bella Lea (ex-Denali, Pinebender) and the wonderful Des Ark, who sound like Led Zeppelin as a two piece, playing Don Cab songs. Lean, dirty, and hyper-creative. Check out their great debut Loose Lips Sink Ships on Bifocal Media. ADAM GNADE

THE GOSSIP, TRICROTIC, GRIZZLY BEAR, LOVERS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See Music, pg 23, and Once More With Feeling, pg 33

THE JOGGERS, PAN TOURISMOS, THE DOUBLE U
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Most modern instrumentally focused indie bands seem to be attempting to revive the sleepy-time musical disconnection of muzak as if it's a good thing. Indie elevator music is not the goal of San Francisco's Double U. Their pivotal 2002 release, The Double U and Glands of External Excretion, went beyond their own quirkiness and added a second, even weirder remix CD by The Glands—drawing on completely different, wholly organic elements for an equally engaging mishmash of sounds. When they begin playing, everyone will look at their watch to see when the next, more rockin' act is up. Three songs into it, the deviant qualities of the U's eerily precious atmospheric surges will catch the ears of onlookers with engaging orchestrations, off 4/4 rhythms, bizarre keyboards, and feather-plucked guitars accessorized with vocal barks—as if the Tabernacle Choir decided to go indie for a change. JENNA ROADMAN

THE MAKERS, GOODTIME GIL & THE CHAMPAGNE COWBOYS, CHELSEA SMILES
(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) Old-school garage rockers the Makers make another appearance tonight if you're looking for that flavor of fix. Joining them are the newer Goodtime Gil and the Champagne Cowboys, featuring some ex-Viles action. But if you were a fan of that particular lipstick smear on the pavement, you'll be surprised by the looser, funkier, and infinitely less threatening music produced by this outfit: a groovy, rock funky affair that seems to evolve (or devolve, depending on your tastes) into a familial, hiphop family-esque free-for-all on the stage. MS

MONSTER DUDES, YUMA NORA, MONORAIL, REDBIRD
(Food Hole, 20 NW 3rd) What does a die-hard indierocker and touring fanatic do when he suddenly finds himself a dad? Well, in the case of Boise's Jeremy Miller, teach the kid to beat the skins, start a family band called Monster Dudes, and hit the road. The Dudes are as unusual a live experience as you might expect, sometimes interrupting their primordial noise blowouts with some wrestling or an urgent bathroom break. Yuma Nora's Amy Vecchione (former Mercury contributor) has recently taken over the music section at the Portland Tribune. More power to her, as even Hillsboro deserves to hear about interesting new music. JOSH BLANCHARD

WET CONFETTI, TEENAGE TALKING CARS, CHEVRON
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Place) Wet Confetti's been getting some raves lately, but to me, they're still in the process of finding themselves. For instance, their (icky) name suggests a party scene sogged in spilled beer and trampled streamers and their website has goofy artwork and a cartoony interface laiden with in-jokes. But then the music is decidedly arthouse—a gothy, at times almost industrial-sounding brew of ambient guitar strains and darkly explosive thrash. Exactly what kind of party is Wet Confetti trying to throw? BYOB most likely. JUSTIN WESCOAT SANDERS

SATURDAY 8/20

BARR, THIS SONG IS A MESS BUT SO AM I, JOHNNY X & THE GROADIES, E*ROCK, SARAH SHAPIRO
(Loveland, 320 SE 2nd Ave) See My, What a Busy Week! pg 19

CASS MCCOMBS, THE PLACES, MT. EGYPT
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Music, pg 21

GET HUSTLE, FRIENDS FOREVER, ULTRA BOYZ
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) They say all the world's a stage, but for art-damaged noise punks Friends Forever, the tour van is the venue of choice. For the past seven years these Denver delinquents have been spreading a mix of DIY theatrics (smoke, jump ropes, sparklers) and dangerously dirgy blasts of bass, drums, and keyboard to parking lots around the country (they rarely play inside anything but their beat up Volkswagen). Expect brilliance. JM

MODERN-DAY ELEPHANT MAN BENEFIT FEATURING NEQUAQUAM VACUUM, SYNCHRONICITY FREQUENCY, DJ YETI
(Jasmine Tree, ) It would sound like a really awkward punchline were it not so nullifyingly sad: Pegleg—the "modern day elephant man" featured in "Thee 999 Eyes ov Endless Dream Travelling Cirkus and Carnival ov the Damned" that passed through Portland about a month ago—returned home from the tour to find himself evicted, and subsequently homeless. Pegleg, who's neurofibromatosis has left his body severely deformed, is currently in his car in Long Beach. Tonight, Portland's Cirkus constituents are throwing a benefit to try and help bail out their friend in need, with performances by Nequaquam Vacuum, Synchronicity Frequency, and more. ZAC PENNINGTON

SUNDAY 8/21

BAD DUDES, SUPER UNITY GROUP, PTERODACTYL
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Place) I wish I could send a letter back in time telling my 14-year-old RPG-playing ass that there would be Nintendo-charged prog rock in 2005, as it would have made the future seem a lot brighter. LA's Bad Dudes are a great guilty pleasure and probably worth more quarters than I tossed at their late-'80s arcade namesake. I've only had a sneak peak at New York's metallic post-punkers Pterodactyl, but they sound pretty good—not altogether dissimilar to 6 Finger Satellite, or a more earnest The Planet The. JB

BLOODHAG, GORCH FOCK, TIA CARRERA, THE LAWN
(Sabala's Mt Tabor, 4811 SE Hawthorne) See My, What a Busy Week! pg 19

FALL OF TROY, LETTERS ORGANIZED, SHOTS FIRED
(Food Hole, 20 NW 3rd) Doppelgänger, the title of the Fall of Troy's Equal Vision debut, could very well be a comment on the fact that this record is simply a mirror of the band's old self. Their new material sounds much like their previous output, and the disc features four re-recorded tracks that previously appeared on their self-titled Lujo release from 2003. Even in stasis, though, Fall of Troy's attack is fierce and righteously unsteady, pulling from brutal hardcore, math rock, and soft-to-loud dynamics of predecessors like At the Drive In. Doppelgänger's opening track, "I Just Got This Symphony Going," is a schizophrenic blast that daringly prepares the listener for the unstable path that lies ahead. The speed doesn't falter, but the mood is slightly less aggravated on "Ace One, Scene One," while "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." plays around in quick-paced, jazz-inspired hardcore. It's impressive that this much energy and noise can come from only three people. MEGAN SELING

MONDAY 8/22

400 BLOWS, YEAR FUTURE, SCIENCE OF YABRA, BLACK ELK
(Sabala's Mt Tabor, 4811 SE Hawthorne) See Music, pg 23

TUESDAY 8/23

JAMES BROWN
(Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend) The ultra-litigious Godfather of Soul swoops through to try and drum up some extra cash for his ever-growing court costs and doctor bills. This century alone, the 72-year-old (!) Soul Brother Number One has been accused of rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and withholding royalty payments from his daughters—along with recently battling prostate cancer. May we all be so terrifyingly alive. ZP

COMMON
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week! pg 19

FOOT FOOT, PINK SNOWFLAKES, CLAP AMP
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Place) See Wednesday's listing.

HOLOCENE MINI-GOLF INVITATIONAL FEATURING HEY WILLPOWER
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Eventually music critics will stop calling electro-pop bands like SF's Hey Willpower "guilty pleasures" just because they crank dance music that makes smug indie kids involuntarily tap a Converse-clad foot. But until indie divorces itself from irony and admits its wholehearted love of Top 40 in an embarrassing, Gloria Swanson–style breakdown, Hey Willpower will stand convicted of showing hipsters a good time with booty-shakin' beats, synchronized backup dancers, and lyrics like "Hook me up with that cheddar/I like it by the pound." Those of you unafraid of embracing a band that proudly cites L'Trimm among its influences, get thy skinny asses to this show. MAYA KROTH

WEDNESDAY 8/24

AKIMBO, SHAMELADY, LORDS, SUMARA
(Sabala's Mt Tabor, 4811 SE Hawthorne) Louisville's Lords are a speedier next of kin to Unsane's punk-metal insanity. Relentless, ferocious vocals burst into bilious tantrums as the rhythm section careens like a getaway car on fire. Their latest release, Swords, offers pure chaos and unpredictability, where you never know from which angle the next punch will be thrown and both tempos and tempers shift with bipolar intensity. JM

THE DOUBLE U, LUCA, WHIP, ERIC NORDBY
(Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) See Friday's listing.

ELEPHANT MAN, ABIJAH
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Dancehall music is, as the name would suggest, a hell of a lot of fun to shake your booty to, and few practitioners of the craft are more booty shakalicious than Jamaican-born Elephant Man. As evidenced on the radio hit, "Pon de River Pon de Bank," the man has an infectiously raucous flow, fueled by his gravely, drunk-sounding rasp. Live, he is allegedly sensational. JWS

TRAVELLERS & LOCALS FEATURING ROOT VILLA, FOOT FOOT, 2% MAJESTY
(Dunes, 1905 NE MLK) Both 2% Majesty and LA's Foot Foot could be unfairly lumped in with this horrifically flooded and largely snoozy "new/outsider/freak folk" vibe, but both bands are self-realized and creatively expansive enough to refute any pigeonholing. 2% Majesty runs a swath of Bowie-ish grandeur through their extremely sparse guitar, violin, and dual-voice-based songs. Though sonically stark, their songs radiate an epic air and laser-pointed empathy. Foot Foot, conversely, are like a tiny folk orchestra—building totally beautiful and layered arrangements via slide guitar, found-object percussion, et al. Their songs possess an oddly classic feeling and nerve-tingling shimmer, and they are undeniably one of the most exciting young bands from the City of Angels. SM