THURSDAY 6/15
SHARKIFACE, BRAN(...)POS, SOUP PURSE, EXQUISITE CORPS, SUBTERRANNE, SHITTY VIBE SMASHER, SMEGMA
(Weapons of Mass Compassion, 323 NW 6th) Blending confusing sounds as if sharing one collective third eyeball, Smegma wrangles warbly and mysterious record loops, saxophone-imitating-dental-dam solos, maniacal samples, jazzy drum and cymbal splashes, and psychedelic guitar. Meandering through atmospherics that occasionally burst into freak-out surf rock, Smegma never stops creating, evolving, and changing. (More than 60 releases under their belt—averaging two per year—make them one of the most prolific and oldest bands in Portland.) Showing no signs of slowing down or gaining popularity, their sonic brilliance will continue to have me believe that Smegma is the best Portland band that has ever existed. JAMES SQUEAKY
JOLIE HOLLAND, SEAN HAYES
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See Music, pg. 27.
TWILIGHT SINGERS W/GREG DULLI, MARK LANEGAN, AFTERHOURS, JEFF KLEIN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when most musicians were still holed up in Atlanta or Houston, Greg Dulli returned to his adopted hometown to finish recording the Twilight Singers' new record, Powder Burns. "We used a generator when the power went out," Dulli says, "It had a big impact on how the record ended up sounding. I never say my songs are about a certain topic, but there are four songs in particular that touch on the event. It was impossible to be here and not be profoundly affected by what was going on." Reached nine months later on his cell phone as he strolls though the French Quarter, Dulli sounds a little hung over, but glad to be home, if only for one night. "We've played five shows in a row, and all we're doing now is hauling ass from city to city," he says. A glance at the set lists from the past few nights reveals an emphasis on new material, with some older Afghan Whigs material thrown in. When asked about the possibility of reuniting the band he fronted for most of the '90s, Dulli's answer is an emphatic no. "We're all friends, and I'd like to keep it that way. Most of the '90s bands doing reunion tours are cashing in on the '90s nostalgia. I'm happy with what I'm doing now." CORTNEY HARDING
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, WITCH MOUNTAIN, JONNY X & THE GROADIES, ETERNAL TAPESTRY
(Food Hole, 20 NW 3rd) Green Milk from the Planet Orange boast that they're "the new wave of progressive rock," and I doubt anyone who's witnessed one of their balls-to-the-wall live blowouts would deny that statement's truth. Someone seems to have force-fed these gregarious Japanese rockers a gullet full of King Crimson albums with three fingers of hellfire crack, and the beautiful, Technicolor mess they've spewed out is a wonder to behold. World-weary hipsters, aging biker burnouts, and swooning teenage girls alike all appear to piss themselves over this band (in a good way), so chances are you will too. JOSH BLANCHARD
FRIDAY 6/16
SKIN CULTURE, EXHAUSTED PRAYER, NOCTUARY, L'ACEPHALE
(Food Hole, 20 NW 3rd) Arrive early to this show and the room will be at least half full with folks from L'Acephale—an icy orthodox black-metal sextet from North Portland that boasts ex-members of Fall of the Bastards and a taped intro so good you'll want to hear it twice. By night's end, an increasingly rare appearance of local crust/grind masters Skin Culture will have dirty, sweaty, deafened bodies staggering out across 3rd Avenue. But the whole reason for this show is to showcase the touring talents of Noctuary and Exhausted Prayer. The former have a bit of gothic Opeth sensibility. The latter are masters of melodic blackened grind. Both are from southern California but promise not to bring any pesky rays of sunshine with them. If you're looking for the darkest, fastest show in the city, this is it. NATHAN CARSON
LAUNDRY ROOM SQUELCHERS, RED GLARE, DEAD/BIRD, SISPRUM VISH, CELLS, JOSH HYDEMAN
(Hotel, 503 W Burnside) Florida's trash-lunatic harsh noise collective Laundry Room Squelchers belch and vomit screeching walls of aggressive sonic disturbance. It's not so much performing to an audience, but rather disrupting personal space with extreme levels of uncomfortable stabbing blasts of guitar and electronic brash attacks. Their shows have been compared to a typical episode of Jerry Springer, complete with antagonism, family feuding, and—of course—wrestling. Note: LRS also play an early set at Valentine's new record store, Clouds, at 7 pm. JS
BUILT TO SPILL, BRETT NETSON, THE PRIDS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 25.
TWILIGHT SINGERS W/GREG DULLI, MARK LANEGAN, AFTERHOURS, JEFF KLEIN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See Thursday's listing.
LIFE AT THESE SPEEDS, OLD GROWTH, LOCH BERLIN
(Redwing, 1700 SE 6th) Like, I know this ain't the Scene Report column, but here's some local music news: Portland's swee-eee-eeet Life at These Speeds just finished their new CD. Says band member Asa, "To Your Health is our second full-length album, and will be released this summer on Level Plane Records. We've been working on this all year, and JUST finished about a week ago. We're really excited! Eleven new songs, all engineered by our drummer, Chris Flanagan, in his studio out in Northeast and mixed by Kevin Robinson (Viva Voce)." Expect awesome barbed, thrashy rawk à la Science of Yabra or Swing Kids. GRANT MORRIS
SATURDAY 6/17
JIGSAW GENTLEMEN, DOCTOR MOSS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) After making a nice run of it, locals the Jigsaw Gentlemen are calling it quits. Word is bassist Jake is moving to Italy and singer John Henry and drummer JR don't feel right carrying on without him. The band's last show is tonight at the Know with prog-destroyers Doctor Moss. I had high hopes for the Gents and this's shitty news—but on the bright side, they released an amazing debut album and played a ton of killer shows. And anyway, I'm sure whatever the boys do in the future will be even better. Here's to new things, and here's to change; both are good. Says John Henry, "It saddens me beyond belief to face the prospect of losing Jake. Jake is a songwriter who decided to play the bass somewhere along the line. I feel like I took him for granted. I feel like I took the whole situation for granted; you never know what you have until it is gone. It is all so sudden. We have three new songs for our last show, I mean FUCK. Anyhow, I cannot stop making music, so who knows what is going to happen next with all of that. But, whatever it is, it will certainly not be the same without Jake. I wish him the best in Italy and beyond. Jake, may you find whatever it is that you are looking for." ADAM GNADE
TRAGEDY, UNDER MOUNTAINS, EXCUSE ME SIR, SPICE TOMB
(Mississippi Pizza, 3552 N Mississippi) See Music, pg. 29.
DIRTY MARTINI, AMELIA WHITE, JON AUER
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) She may hang her hat in Nashville these days, but on her latest album, Black Doves, Amelia White still bears influences from previous hometowns of Boston and Seattle and from a prolific foursome of Liverpudlians. That's not to say her placid, smoky twang, cool comportment, and lyrical flair wouldn't be ripe for CMT. It's just that White, who's on the road nearly half the year, would rather do it her way: With opinion, intellect, and critical examinations of the landscape shifting around her. Better yet, she is most content on an intimate stage—meaning White should find yet another home in the friendly confines of the Doug Fir. SCOTT HOLTER
BUILT TO SPILL, BRETT NETSON, THE PRIDS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 25.
NW FEST
(Liberty Hall, 311 N Ivy) Dudes! It's day one of Liberty Hall's NW Fest. Today's all-ages fun time includes I Quit, Wreck This!, Thirty3, Count the Hours, the Starting Point, the Flexxx, Seize the Night, Valley of the Dinosaurs, the Hard Way, Helen Killers, HIV, Goddamn!, Sidetracked, Status Quo, Spasm, Sunset Riders, and Kill the Shark. Make sure-as-sure-can-be to check out HIV, a Bremerton, Washington band that brings the gnashy gnash-tastic 7 Seconds-style hardcore times infinity. GM
CEX, LOVE OF EVERYTHING, YACHT
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Pl) See Music, pg. 27.
SUNDAY 6/18
PHASE ONE: WORDS AND MUSIC
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Pl) With momentum (and a regular audience) building fast, Mercury contributor Garett Strickland's monthly Phase One: Words and Music is quickly becoming a don't-miss-it night for the indie/avant-garde literary set. Combining topnotch writing (read aloud) with live music (all sorts of it), this is the kind of night that's all about crowd pleasing and providing something for everyone. That is, if you're the kind of "everyone" that appreciates music and literature that pays no attention to mainstream barriers. Tonight's entertainment features Dayvid Figler, Salina Nunez, Kevin Sampsell, X's for Eyes, Frayn Masters, and Mike Daily/O'Grady. JASON PEARSON
WE QUIT, RED DRESS PRESS, BABY GECKO, BIRD COSTUMES
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Make sure to show up early for opener Bird Costumes (AKA Daniel Osborne) who lays out warm and beautiful cyborg noise drones, jittering sample tapestries, and some deep, dark psychedelic shit that'll make you wonder if the Know bar staff dosed your Jack and Coke with some magic something or others. Bring your headphones and plug them straight into Daniel Osborne's skull. Your shit will fall to pieces. AG
TAPES N' TAPES, FIGURINES, COLD WAR KIDS
(Berbati's, 10 SW 3rd) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 25.
CHURCH OF PSYCHEDELIA
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) What a beautiful and natural sound Ghosting has. It's all noise whispers and ambience that grabs hold of your brain and gives you a nice deep-tissue massage. But then—suddenly—it gets ugly and starts to dig its talons into your gray matter, molding it like Silly Putty until nothing makes sense and weird new rhythms chainsaw up out of the darkness. Strange thing is, after it's all over, you feel kind of cleansed—caressed by the pretty parts, scrubbed out by the heavier stuff. Tonight Ghosting joins Tres Gone, New Dark Age, Penguin Jetpack, and DJ Mordechai for some old time religion at the Church of Psyche. Keep an eye out for a Ghosting release on Adam Forkner and Honey Owens' Yarn Lazer label. AG
NW FEST
(Liberty Hall, 311 N Ivy) Yo, yo, yo, it's day number two of the NW Fest and some awesome madness is guaranteed to go down. Check it: Life & Limb, Brutal Fight, Keep it Like a Secret, Prepare for War, Zombie Knife Fight, 6 Bullets, Contra, Therman Merman, Dying Days, Robot Eyes, Forced March, the Mediam, Four Dead Seasons, Insubordinate, Throw it Out, Nervosa, Never Looking Back, and Open Fire. That's so much bang for your buck. So, so much. Go to this. GM
MONDAY 6/19
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER, DJ NATE C
(Tube, 13 NW 3rd) Folk and rock are two of the most uptight genres around. Rule-bound, dictated by what came before, burdened by stuffy whiteness, sometimes they can get so boring you wanna climb up on stage and starting swinging. At anyone. Or anything. Just to shake it up a little. Jackie-O, then, celebrates freedom like a motherfucker, clattering and tapping and ringing out improv free-folk/free-rock/free-folk-rock as refreshing as a cold Coke in Death Valley. Get spaced out. AG
DOVEMAN, DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON, THE ROBOT ATE ME
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Pl) So, word 'round the campfire is Mr. Ryland Bouchard (AKA 5RC Records' the Robot Ate Me) recently moved to PDX from Anacortes, Washington. Considering how rad the dude's pretty, orchestrated, intelligent avant-pop is, we should all throw a "we're soooo lucky" party tonight and pat our collective backs. Or go to this show. That works too. GM
RADIO 4, SMALL SINS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Gang of—oh, sorry—Radio 4 have lived in their own shadow for the last five years, trying to fulfill the promise of 2001's genre-defining anthem, "Dance to the Underground." On their new album, Enemies Like This, they seem to have recovered a bit of that old fire; there's a renewed sense of urgency and energy to their obliquely political jams. Though they've yet to live up to their obvious influences, Radio 4's live show should still be enough to satisfy the disco-punk faithful until the next coming of the Rapture. ERIC GRANDY
CALEXICO, ERIC BACHMANN
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Calexico have taken their bordertown Americana and steered it, well, straight to the middle of the road. Gone are the surf guitars and spaghetti-western instruments; the Spanish influence, mariachi trumpets, and pedal steel are still there, but toned down and back-burnered, shifting the focus to poppier vocals with a more political edge. Their latest album, Garden Ruin, is still good—pretty and clean—but there's sadly less personality than with previous releases. Tonight Calexico share the stage with Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf. Bachmann, who's set to release a solo album sometime this year, plays bare-to-the-bones folk and will undoubtedly make the Wonder Ballroom feel as intimate as your living room. JESSIE DUQUETTE
TUESDAY 6/20
SEU JORGE, JEHRO
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Sure, you know Seu Jorge (Mister Jorge) as Knockout Ned from City of God and the guy doing Portug-emo versions of "Life on Mars" in The Life Aquatic, but if you haven't heard his 2004 CD, Cru, you've only peeped half the story. I don't know what the hell he's singing about, but he can switch from vibrant to plaintive on a dime; the whole thing is like favela/Tropicalia concentrate; and the remix of "Tive Razao" is the definition of funky. But don't worry—I have a slight hunch that he'll bust out a little "Ziggy Stardust" for you, too. CHAS BOWIE
NURSE WITH WOUND, ANDREW LILES, COLIN POTTER, GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, ORBIT SERVICE
(Sabala's, 4811 SE Hawthorne) See My, What a Busy Week!, pg. 25.
WEDNESDAY 6/21
FESTIVAL OF ETERNAL LIGHT AND BBQ
(Disjecta, 230 E Burnside) I've been to a ton of summer solstice parties and they generally suck. All the more reason, then, to head out to Adam Forkner and Honey Owens' deal at Disjecta. Says Honey, "Festival of Eternal Light and BBQ" starts at 4 pm and "goes 'til late." Entertainment includes White Rainbow, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Valet collaborating with Silentist, Again Amen, Ghosting, the Watery Graves, Grouper, Privacy, Nova, Corvette, Chrome Becomes You, Grand Junction Grand Therapy, Tunnels, Dark Yoga, A John Henry Memorial, DJ Uncle Life Uncle Love, and DJ Yeti. Admission is a $5 donation, which is incredibly cheap for all this amazing action. There's a lot going on this week, but make sure to at least stop by this one for a bit. This's some heavy good times. AG
PINK MOUNTAIN, ZU, ROLLERBALL, THE BETTER TO SEE YOU WITH
(Towne Lounge, 714 SW 20th Pl) See Music, pg. 29.
AMADOU & MARIAM
(Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon) Is YouTube the best website ever? Even the most cynical haters must agree that it's right on top of the list. Evidence: Where else are you going to see Amadou & Mariam, a blind married couple from Mali who perfected the genre of Afro-blues-pop, get led onto the Coachella stage by handlers, who saddle Amadou with an electric guitar to the frenzied cheer of the crowd, who go completely bazonkers at the sound of their joyous funk? Nowhere else, that's where. Long live YouTube. Viva Amadou & Mariam. CB
