THURSDAY 6/7

PDX POP NOW! 2012 COMPILATION RELEASE: SUN ANGLE, WILD ONES, HOLLYWOOD TANS, MC ROSE, DJ PORSCHE CAYENNE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

GIDEON FREUDMANN
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) If the Portland Cello Project flexes the limitations of the classical ensemble, then Gideon Freudmann has completely busted the boundaries of what a solo cello can do. When he's not playing with the Cello Project, Freudmann makes explorative, stylistically diverse recordings, using effects and loops to make his cello sound like a million different things. He layers light, rain-on-the-windowpane plucks with sonorous bowed laments; he puts his cello through a fuzz pedal and makes the damn thing howl with feedback. Freudmann's new album Rain Monsters is a celebration of this rainy city, and his compositions range in impact from light drizzle to heavy downpour. NED LANNAMANN

HAUSCHKA, NAOMI LAVIOLETTE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Last year, Hauschka released an album of house music. This wasn't a shocking event—unless you knew that Hauschka, real name Volker Bertelmann, from Düsseldorf, is a composer and pianist. He's famous for sticking objects in the guts of his pianos, John Cage-style, to create lovely, understated compositions. Endearingly, the best song on Hauschka's 2010 album, Foreign Landscapes, is called "Mount Hood." If you didn't know better, you'd guess, "maybe Satie?" On 2011's Salon des Amateurs, Hauschka collaborated with múm drummer Samuli Kosminen, Calexico's John Convertino and Joey Burns (who may have inspired the great use of horns), and a computer. The piano is still unplugged, so the term "house" should be read loosely, but maybe not as much as you'd think. By the end of each song, the layered tracks come together to create sophisticated, supercool dance grooves. REBECCA WILSON

LIKE A VILLAIN, HAGS, EACH OTHER, COLE BABY
(Record Room, 8 NE Killingsworth) If Björk were stranded on a desert island and had to reinterpret the score to the original Pink Panther with only a loop pedal, a glockenspiel, and a clarinet, I would imagine it would come out similar to "Glass Watch" on Like a Villain's The Life of a Gentleman. The music of Like a Villain, the minimalist avant-garde solo project of Holland Andrews, is hauntingly beautiful. She layers her voice, field recordings, and mostly non-chordal instruments to create a voluptuous yet raw backdrop for her lyrics, which are sparse but emotionally intense. Watching her stack layers on top of layers in live performance is a highly recommended experience. ROCHELLE HUNTER

FRIDAY 6/8

IN THE COOKY JAR TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: DJ COOKY PARKER
(Eagles Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne) See My, What a Busy Week!

JAPANTHER VS. NIGHTSHADE
(Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate) See My, What a Busy Week!

TU FAWNING, HOOKERS, REGULAR MUSIC
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Read our article on Tu Fawning.

FLOATER, THE PARSON RED HEADS, THE MINUS 5
(Rose Festival, Rose Festival) I guess Floater is headlining this show at the Rose Festival's RoZone stage, but the real news is that it's your first chance to see solo material from a member of R.E.M. since the band's breakup last year. That would be courtesy of Peter Buck, who plays bass for Scott McCaughey's the Minus 5 and has been a frequent fixture on the low-key Portland scene even as he's been a member of one of the biggest bands in the world. Buck recently gathered a crew of locals for five days of recording at Type Foundry; his debut solo album is due to come out later this year on a tiny, vinyl-only run of 2,000 on the equally tiny Mississippi Records label. Buck'll strap on the guitar and sing a few songs from the record at tonight's 6 pm set, before he and the rest of the Minus 5 dash over to Dante's to take part in the Neil Young tribute. NL

NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE: THE MINUS 5, LEWI LONGMIRE BAND, DON OF DIVISION ST.
(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) True love means accepting a person's worst points along with the best, so what better way to honor Neil Young, grumpy spirit animal of all folk rockers, than by covering two albums that are considered his best, along with one that's decidedly not. The Minus 5 have accepted the very real challenge of 1981's Re•ac•tor. Scott McCaughey, with his self-effacing charisma, seems better equipped than Young to deliver nine solid minutes of "Got mashed potato/Ain't got no T-bone"—repeated over and over on the album's most notorious track, "T-Bone"—but I have a hard time believing that even they could make it not annoying. The Lewi Longmire Band covers 1969's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Young's first collaboration with Crazy Horse, featuring "Cinnamon Girl" and "Down by the River." The Don of Division Street, with Longmire and McCaughey, get the best one: 1975's Tonight's the Night, which, like all the greatest rock albums, is about drugs and mortality. RW

BRENDAN BENSON, YOUNG HINES, THE HOWLING BROTHERS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Brendan Benson is best known for being one quarter of the bubblegum blues-rock supergroup the Raconteurs, playing second fiddle to the far more prominent Jack White. Benson's solo material has always had a more difficult time reaching a larger audience, and understandably: On his first two records, One Mississippi and Lapalco, Benson shamelessly pillaged Raspberries and Big Star records, and both albums contain several songs co-written with Jason Falkner of seminal '90s power-pop band Jellyfish. It's no surprise, then, that Benson would suffer the same fate as the genre's unappreciated forebears: critical approval but commercial disregard. Thankfully it hasn't deterred Benson yet—his latest LP, titled What Kind of World, is more of the same, and that's totally fine by me. MORGAN TROPER

THE BLOODTYPES, STALINS OF SOUND, DENIZENZ
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) The Bloodtypes are a garage-punk band with an obsession/marketing strategy based on all things bloody. It's tempting to blame the vampire craze, except that these kids seem to draw their aesthetic more from mid-century B-movies. Or at least Quentin Tarantino. The singer's name, for example, is Schneck Tourniquet, the drummer is Matt O Dermic—you get the idea. Anyway, it sure makes for a fun press release. All of this is unnecessary, because their debut album, Just Your Type, is a well-produced collection of energetic, brief punk songs. It's telling that the best—and most original—of the bunch, "Until It Bleeds," slows the pace, opting for a darker, surfier vibe. What really sets them apart isn't a gimmick, but Tourniquet, an undeniably great singer who holds claim to something rare among punk rockers: a pretty voice. RW

IMPROVISATION SUMMIT OF PORTLAND: KEVIN SHIELDS, SAM COOMES, BRIAN MUMFORD, TIM DUROCHE AND RECONSTRUCTION OF LIGHT & MORE
(Bamboo Grove Salon, 134 SE Taylor) The Improvisational Summit of Portland is a brand-new festival, not only for entertainment, but also for the purpose of expanding creative boundaries and challenging the structures that have settled into place for the performing arts. Sometimes this type of event can leave you feeling like you just slept through a lecture, but it seems the Creative Music Guild (a Portland non-profit that cultivates the local avant-garde music community) has put in a lot of work to make sure this is a mind-blowing event. There will be two nights (Friday and Saturday) of live film scoring, dance, and experimental improvisational music. Intellectually stimulating interactive activities will happen early on Saturday, but highlights include performances by the beautifully hazy, ambient, noise-pop artist Grouper, the Tenses (reformed from the legendary underground experimental collective Smegma), and exploratory art-jazz quintet Blue Cranes on Saturday night. RH

NINJA TURTLE NINJA TIGER, BÉISBOL, NIGHT SURGEON
(Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th) Like cupcakes, bacon, and the word "viral," ninja have not fared well in the hands of the internet. Need a catchy signifier for, oh, any remotely neat person? Use "ninja." Despite this, Ninja Turtle Ninja Tiger may have good reason to view themselves as recording ninja. Their debut album, I'll Find You in the Colors, was recorded and produced by Dustin Brown, the singer and guitar player, in his living room. This isn't exactly unheard of these days (it is Portland, after all), except that the resulting sound is straight out of an LA recording studio. Harnessing nostalgia for late-'90s emo to a shiny wall of dance sounds (à la the Faint), NTNT's four-on-the-floor tunes are upbeat enough for a spin class and sufficiently celebratory for graduation night. The best song, "Mr. Keown, This City's Falling" is a massive dance anthem, seemingly tailor-made for jumping teenagers. RW

SATURDAY 6/9

JAPANTHER VS. NIGHTSHADE
(Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate) See My, What a Busy Week!

IMPROVISATION SUMMIT OF PORTLAND: BLUE CRANES, THE TENSES, THICKET, GROUPER, GINO ROBAIR & MORE
(Bamboo Grove Salon, 134 SE Taylor) See Friday's listing.

YOB, KISS IT GOODBYE, EIGHT BELLS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Eugene, Oregon's YOB achieve the difficult feat of making doom metal that balances heaviness with airiness. They can write a 23-minute track called "Catharsis" that doesn't really deliver what the title promises, but it's cool: YOB's early Earth meets Monster Magnet guitar tones and Mike Scheidt's oddly effeminate-witchy vocals strike just an off enough chord to make them stand out from the hirsute masses of similar artists. YOB's ability to avoid the stodgy, monolithic dynamics common to doom metal also elevates them into a rarefied realm where rangy heavies like Black Sabbath and Kyuss dwell. DAVE SEGAL

JUST LIKE VINYL, THE GODDAMNED ANIMALS, MERCURY TREE, XUOSOUX
(Backspace, 115 NW 5th) In high school, the Fall of Troy were one of those bands I desperately wanted to love (mostly so I could impress my "cool" friends and pretty girls who dressed in black), but never was able to. I tried convincing myself that they were merely a Yes/Weezer hybrid, which in hindsight I realize was a fucking ridiculous—but necessary—delusion. I eventually accepted that they weren't my deal. And then I pretty much forgot about them altogether, until I heard the debut from Thomas Erak's new band, Just Like Vinyl, last year—which, well, sounds unmistakably like everything else he's done (in particular, his old band's swan song, In the Unlikely Event). Even if Erak hasn't evolved at all since then, his new material could have been a lot worse—and it'll at least keep fans pacified until the inevitable TFOT reunion. MT

ADVANCE BASE, KEY LOSERS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) If Owen Ashworth's last band was called Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, his new one could be called Omnichord for the Criminally Ignored. Okay, that's a little bit of a stretch; I only really hear omnichord on a couple tracks from his new album A Shut-In's Prayer (Ashworth's new band is called Advance Base, by the way), but it's clearer than ever that Ashworth is a songwriter deserving of a much broader audience. The gentle, bummed-out ballads of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone are still in full effect ("My Sister's Birthday" is stunning in its stark emotionality), but there's also an eloquence and depth that Ashworth has been hinting at for years; with Advance Base, and this lovely new record, he's reached it. It's time for him to get his due. NL

SUNDAY 6/10

THE THERMALS, CORIN TUCKER BAND, THE ROBINSONS, RADIATION CITY
(Rose Festival, Waterfront Park) See My, What a Busy Week!

JAPANTHER VS. NIGHTSHADE
(Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate) See My, What a Busy Week!

BANANA STAND MEDIA COMPILATION RELEASE: GENDERS, BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS, TANGO ALPHA TANGO, THE WOOLEN MEN, FANNO CREEK, THE ANGRY ORTS, SONS OF HUNS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Read our article on Banana Stand Media.

THIS WILL DESTROY YOU, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, DUSTED
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) A Place to Bury Strangers has been called the loudest band in New York. Who's to argue? What makes that tag more interesting is the fact that the Brooklyn three-piece doesn't necessarily make music that's conducive to intense volume—they ain't Mötorhead. Never ones to play it straight, APtBS takes all the right bits of shoegaze, psychedelic, and post-punk, and shoves them through meat-grinder guitars. "You Are the One"—the first single from their latest LP, Worship—even tosses some krautrock on top. Like I said, it sounds like a band that is eclectic with flashes of elegance. And they are. Just make sure you have earplugs—and good dental. Their live show is guaranteed to rattle your fillings loose. MARK LORE

SONGS ON CONCEPTUAL ART: DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER, WHITE RAINBOW, SUN FOOT, CASPAR SONNET & MORE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Emboldened by the 1972 short film Baldessari Sings Lewitt, Crystal Baxley and Stefan Ransom forged a unique collaborative project on the new Songs on Conceptual Art compilation. The 35-song collection sees Sol Lewitt's landmark itemization of Sentences on Conceptual Art musically interpreted by 35 different bands, including Karl Blau, Dragging an Ox Through Water, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Spencer Moody, and more. What emerges is a striking dissertation of concept, whether bands borrowed the text verbatim for their compositions, or instead reacted to or simply ignored the text, allowing the power of the words to form the music. The official release show includes performances by nine of the 35 participating artists, all for just $5. Artistic enlightenment rarely comes cheaper. RYAN J. PRADO

MONDAY 6/11

TINARIWEN, PIERS FACCINI
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See My, What a Busy Week!

RHAPSODY OF FIRE, VOYAGER, LUMUS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) It's no mystery that Europe has it all figured out when it comes to metal. Bands like Italy's Rhapsody of Fire clean up playing giant festivals and arenas across the pond, and why shouldn't they? Their concept albums feature sweeping compositions, opera singers, and full orchestras coupled with galloping shred, making them untouchable power-metal kings. Of course, their classical melodies and affinity for wizards, dragons, and other Tolkienry also make them as cheesy as a two-ton wheel of Gorgonzola, but that's beside the point. ROF's musicianship is still unparalleled. Which brings us to the depressing part: Rhapsody of Fire's US tour will no doubt be a bust because most American audiences can't handle such richness in their metal, which means ROF will probably never be back. It behooves you to seize this opportunity. The unicorns and forest nymphs will thank you. ARIS WALES

THRONES, ROSENKOPF, LEBENDEN TOTEN, BELLICOSE MINDS
(Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th) Joe Preston is a heavy dude, a guy whose name has been associated with some of noise's most notorious mob bosses—Melvins, Earth, Sunn O))), High on Fire—and, of course, his own monolithic one-man show Thrones. Needless to say, Preston's busy schedule has kept his Thrones output sporadic at best, limited to a paper trail of 7-inches and singles over the past decade. Performances have been few and far between as well—even more reason to catch this one. And while you can expect mounds of noise being flung about, make no mistake that it will also be moody and cinematic. Call it noise for smart people. ML

PONY VILLAGE, FANNO CREEK, PINE LANGUAGE
(Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny) It's been a couple of years since Portland's Pony Village released their excellent self-titled EP, but the five-piece, anchored by vocalist/guitarist Ryan Barber, has continued to carve out a respectable following. Mining an early Death Cab fetish, smart but slightly dark pop tunes mark the bulk of Pony Village's debut, wrestling crisp guitars, pianos, and a solid rhythm section around Barber's nasal, fragile croons. The band has a new 7-inch record in the works with an early October release scheduled via San Francisco indie label 20 Sided Records. Rounded out by a killer local lineup with Fanno Creek and Pine Language, this exhibition promises to represent a formidable slice of the local indie-pop pie. RJP

TUESDAY 6/12

JAPANDROIDS, CADENCE WEAPON
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, TORCHE, BLACK COBRA, GAZA
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Combining dissimilar genres purely for the sake of it almost always leads to catastrophic results. Take the reggae Beatles cover band whose music constantly plays over the speakers in QFC, or the entire rap-rock phenomenon, for instance—some style mixtures are simply better left alone. Torche, however, have proven to be an exception to the rule. They're a self-described "stoner pop" band (I know, right?) and their excellent new album Harmonicraft could pretty accurately be characterized as Sleep running through a Replacements and Guided by Voices cover set. And it might be hard to believe, but they almost never sound ridiculous. Non-ironic pick scrapes count in the record's poppiest song, "Kicking," and for some bizarre reason it all sounds completely natural. They're a wonderful anomaly. MT

WEDNESDAY 6/13

SARAH JAFFE, SECRET COLOURS, RYAN STIVELY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

REBECCA GATES AND THE CONSORTIUM, PERHAPST, JON RAYMOND
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Read our article on Rebecca Gates and the Consortium.