WED DEC 17

Wild Ones w/Phantogram; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside
It's been more than a year since Wild Ones' breakout LP Keep It Safe was released (originally by local label Party Damage, although it's been reissued by Mass-achusetts nu-emo boutique Topshelf Records), and it still holds up brilliantly. Wild Ones' appeal is nearly universal: just danceable enough for the Oregon Zoo-core crowd, but with enough subtle musical sophistication to satiate the most discerning pop dorks (and enough denim in PDX DIY vets Nick Vicario and Seve Sheldon to maintain an endearing punk veneer). The group's new material—which they've been debuting sporadically over the past year—finds the band gravitating toward darker, slightly more song-oriented territory, a departure that would be great for the pop dorks and hopefully galvanize the normies. We shall see. Also see My, What a Busy Week!

Joyce Manor w/Toys That Kill, Divers; Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez
"Pop-punk saviors" Joyce Manor released their third album, Never Hungover Again, on the (basically major) label Epitaph earlier this year. The world did not end, and, amazingly, the group's cred did not evaporate. (Although lead singer Barry Johnson did stir up some controversy by taking a staunch anti-stagediving position on the band's most recent US tour, resulting in hundreds of douchebags with Screeching Weasel tattoos yelling on Facebook and Tumblr.) Never is the group's best and most realized record yet, eschewing the shouty vocals and wide-eyed sloppiness of its predecessors for meticulous arrangements and inescapable Johnny Marr worship. The group has just released a split 7-inch with likeminded punks Toys That Kill, and the two bands are now touring together. Joyce's side of the split contains two rearranged, re-recorded tracks that originally appeared on their black-sheep second LP, Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired. Also see Up & Coming.