WEDNESDAY 1/21

AESOP ROCK, ROB SONIC, DJ ABILITIES, HOMEBOY SANDMAN, DARK TIME SUNSHINE
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) See My, What a Busy Week!

ROBIN BACIOR, GREEN HILLS ALONE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Robin Bacior.

HAUNTED SUMMER, EAST FOREST, PINSCAPE
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) When the Visalia Times-Delta asked LA dream-pop duo Haunted Summer the dreaded "musical influences" question earlier this month, the band cited Björk, the Flaming Lips, and Animal Collective. All are believable, especially that last one, seeing as Haunted Summer started out in 2012 as an Animal Collective cover band. But playing AnCo's watery brand of psychedelic pop led Bridgette and John Seasons to their own sound, which is much more dreamy and much less weird than the band they once covered. Haunted Summer's debut album is still in the works, apparently, but their 2013 EP, Something in the Water, is full of hazy chamber-psych that unfolds in slo-mo, providing plenty of room for Bridgette's nostalgic croon. It's a likeable sound, as evidenced by the inordinate number of press clippings the band has posted to its Tumblr. BEN SALMON

BROGAN WOODBURN, THE CRENSHAW
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) The latest installment of Creative Music Guild's Outset Series continues the organization's interest in connecting disparate sounds and acts in thought-provoking ways. Leading tonight's charge is Brogan Woodburn, a local guitarist whose mastery earned him a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He's capable of living in the worlds of jazz and classical, but his most interesting works are jagged, noisy improvisations that evoke the spirits of Lee Ranaldo and Derek Bailey. Joining Woodburn is the Crenshaw, a double bass/drums/electronics duo that adeptly rides the sometimes thin line separating jazz fusion and triphop. ROBERT HAM

WILLIS EARL BEAL, DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER, AARON CHAPMAN
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Willis Earl Beal has been moving around the States for the past several years, making minimal blues-, soul-, and hiphop-infused songs that are just enough off the beaten path to stop you dead in your tracks. After a tumultuous parting of ways with his label, XL Recordings, he moved to Olympia and released Experiments in Time: The Golden Hour, a document of his experiences during the change. Beal's image is as much legend as truth; from his roots in Chicago to touring with Cat Power to his recent film Memphis, his songs are passionate and tense, his performances striking and erratic. RACHEL MILBAUER

THURSDAY 1/22

MATES OF STATE, FICTIONIST
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) As Mates of State, the husband-and-wife pair of keyboardist Kori Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel have been twisting harmonies and countermelodies into sugarcoated pop arrangements since the late '90s. While the band hasn't released an album since 2011's Mountaintops, they should have no shortage of material to play tonight, given their sprawling catalog—with high points like the trio of songs that open the band's 2003 album, Team Boo: "Ha Ha," "Whiner's Bio," and "Fluke." Gardner and Hammel weave their voices and instruments into enough distinct parts to fill an entire album. The result ends up sounding like a couple of high-energy school children, hopped up on sugar, defiantly refusing to let recess end without taking a final stand. You're guaranteed to be humming along in no time. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

WALE, AUDIO PUSH, BIZZY CROOK, RACHEL WEST
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Wale was once a streetwear-clad backpack rapper with a knack for go-go beats and strong ties to the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia). In 2007 he was producing Justice remixes with Mark Ronson. In 2008 he became Jerry Seinfeld's favorite rapper with his theme-heavy ode to the sitcom, A Mixtape About Nothing. In 2009 he landed cosigns from the Roots and Pharrell. Heady wordplay and poetic patience were his strong suits; he was a Roc Nation rookie with a laudable rap sheet. But in 2011, when Wale jumped ship to join Rick Ross & Co. at Maybach Music Group—the powerhouse home of gangster-indulgent rhymers like Meek Mills and French Montana—heads turned. It wasn't the literary club Wale seemed destined for. Now more aware than ever of his place in the rap game, the DC native gears for a sequel, tentatively titled The Album About Nothing. He's reaching back to the crafty one-liners (and steel drums) of his come-up, reminding fans why they caught on 10 years ago. MATTHEW B. SCHONFELD

THE SUPER SATURATED SUGAR STRINGS, EZRA BELL, BEVELERS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) Anchorage, Alaska's Super Saturated Sugar Strings (say that five times fast) turned their fair share of heads during a recent opening slot for a sold-out Doug Fir show with the Builders and the Butchers. During the set, the gypsy-folk, sermon-country collective vacillated between brassy parlor hoedowns and string-peppered, bawdy ballads. As healthy injections of '20s ragtime jazz mingled with the kind of gothic folk that the Builders have explored during the last decade, the crowd, summarily, lost their shit. The SSSS's two albums saddle tight vocal harmonies on a shape-shifting catalog of songs that'll be stuck in your head for longer than you'll be comfortable admitting. RYAN J. PRADO

BEACON, LORD RAJA, PHILIP GRASS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) When a new strain of shadowy, soft-spoken, electro-tinged R&B bubbled up from the underground in the early 2010s, artists like the Weeknd, How to Dress Well, and Frank Ocean were quickly embraced as an intriguing alternative to a more traditional sound. But they also drew skeptics who questioned not only their sudden surge in popularity, but also the staying power of the new style. Since then, progressive soul (a relatively tolerable term for the genre... maybe?) has not only stuck around but also flourished, thanks to acts like Kelela, Rhye, and Beacon, a Brooklyn-based duo that takes Thomas Mullarney III's dimly lit coos and sets them against producer Jacob Gossett's glitchy future-pop. On their new EP, L1, Beacon push beyond after-the-afterparty jams and offer something with more momentum and meat on its bones. It's sturdier, more sinister, and more satisfying than Beacon's previous work. BS

FRIDAY 1/23

SUMMER CANNIBALS, HUSTLE AND DRONE, EDNA VAZQUEZ AND NO PASSENGERS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

THE SUPER SATURATED SUGAR STRINGS, JEFFREY MARTIN, WINDUS
(Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta) See Thursday's listing at the Secret Society.

CULT OF YOUTH, HIVE MIND, CAUSTIC TOUCH
(Beacon Sound, 3636 N Mississippi) Led by Sean Ragon, Brooklyn quintet Cult of Youth record for the hot/cool label Sacred Bones, usually a sign of quality in underground rock of a darker bent. Their hard-charging, windswept post-punk carries unexpected folk-rock undertones, sounding like a weird hybrid of Theatre of Hate and Death in June. The two vocalists get right up in your grill with Ian Curtis/Michael Gira-like stentorian angst and a blue-collar, punky truculence. Final Days, Cult of Youth's latest album, exudes the urgency of said end times with a kind of heroic refusal to cave in to futile despondency. They weave acoustic guitar and cello with electronics in a very organic, cohesive manner, maximizing the contrasting timbres of these elements. Check out "Empty Faction" for an exemplary dose of this. DAVE SEGAL

WHITEY MORGAN AND THE 78s, JOE FLETCHER AND THE WRONG REASONS
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) The first couple of times Whitey Morgan played Dante's, he wondered if they should try and book a hipper room. "Then I said, 'What am I talking about?'" Morgan said to me recently. Dante's is a rock club. Kind of dirty. "In a sketchy spot downtown," Morgan said. "That's my spot. To me, that describes my band." That's the band that comes barreling out of Born, Raised & Live from Flint, the live album Morgan and his band recorded in 2011 but only released recently. It's all the booze, bravado, and badassedness you'd expect from a 21st-century honky-tonk hero. Then check out Grandpa's Guitar, Morgan's new acoustic record. It's like having Morgan over to your place after the show to work through his favorites with a bottle. RYAN WHITE

FAMINE FEST NW: ENGORGED, NEKROFILTH, BLOOD FREAK, & MORE
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) If you're curious what vile terror and gurgling mayhem is belching up from the bowels of the extreme metal underground, look no further then this year's Famine Fest. The two-day fest features over two dozen bands, EACH with a gnarly axe to grind. Come for the local speed-barrier-breaking thrash of Raptor and the gore-caked sleaze of Blood Freak, stay for the breakneck foulness of Colorado's Nekrofilth and the churning death metal of Seattle's Drawn and Quartered. Saturday features Los Angeles grindcore champions Terrorizer, who will play their 1989 classic World Downfall in its entirety. Famine Fest promises to be two days of the most nihilistic sonic violation that's fit to offend. You've been warned. ARIS HUNTER WALES

LA LUZ, PROM QUEEN, IS/IS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) These wet and soggy winter weekends make it extremely easy to fall in love with the sun-drenched sounds of Seattle surf-rock quartet La Luz. Let's take a moment to treasure the band's commitment to letting Portland share the warmth of their live show in these crucial winter months. It was just a few short weeks ago that La Luz turned the dance floor at Rotture into an indoor beach party along with Shannon and the Clams; now they're back in town to headline a show at the Doug Fir and keep the good times rolling. Tonight they're joined by another excellent Seattle band, Prom Queen, who deliver dreamy lounge pop with a cinematic flair. For their latest release, Midnight Veil, frontwoman Celene Ramadan shot videos for each track to create a full-length film that accompanies the vivid scope of the album. CT

THE WOOLEN MEN, THE WIMPS, G. GREEN
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) If there were a need for a trio of acts—one from each state—to represent the West Coast in a garage-punk summit, the bands playing tonight at Bunk Bar would be a perfect delegation. Seattle's Wimps have the snotty attitude covered with their short, spiky odes to getting ripped on canine meds, quitting dead-end jobs, and all the fun things you can do on a couch (sleep, sex, dig for loose change). The Sacramento outfit G. Green gives off more laidback vibes, as if the narrator of Parquet Courts' "Stoned and Starving" decided to make music instead of hunting for licorice whips. And our own Woolen Men split the difference between the two approaches with each barbed lyric and jangling guitar chord. RH

SATURDAY 1/24

GOTHAM A GO GO: BATMANIA, DJ MATT STANGER
(White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th) See My, What a Busy Week!

FAMINE FEST NW: TERRORIZER, DRAWN AND QUARTERED, RAPTOR, & MORE
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) See Friday's listing.

APPENDIXES, COREY J. BREWER, FOG FATHER
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) It's time we came up with another word for shoegaze. Portland trio Appendixes—don't you dare say the word "appendices" in their presence, Frodo—make soaring, electric, misty, dense-yet-spacious rock that lives somewhere near that overused term, but the tunes on their fantastic new EP, Everyday Use, are closer to the dream-pop end of the spectrum. Still, that's an unhelpful distinction at best—these songs are wistful, wet with color, and full of gloaming half-light. Opener "Moonwalking" gives you a sense of Appendixes' immersive quality in its title alone; "Burn" is a cavernous pop gem that defies time and space. Everyday Use, which celebrates its release on Portland label Track and Field Records tonight, is good enough to deserve its own genre appellation. Lunarwave? Cumulus somnium-rock? Expansive-electric lo-NRG sounds? Eck. I should just call it "great" and be done with it. NED LANNAMANN

BROOKE FRASER, DARK WAVES
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Despite the Sleater-Kinneys and Bankses of the world, it still seems as though the music industry is male-dominated, with strong, likeable female singers hard to find. Brooke Fraser is a refreshing change from this trend, playing and writing her own material, and using her popularity to help charitable causes, such as clean water wells in Ethiopia. Fraser is one of the top-selling artists in her home country of New Zealand, and her most recent album, Brutal Romantic, is a nod to Tori Amos—a haunting, thundering journey through her relationships, her realizations about the world, and a call to save it. ROSE FINN

DARK TRANQUILLITY, INSOMNIUM, BOUDICA, ZORAKARER, WICKED HAVEN, DAMAGE OVERDOSE
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Hawthorne Theatre will play host to another sweatbox of metal with six, that's six, SIX bands from as far away as Scandinavia and as close as next door. Dark Tranquility and Insomnium make the trek across the pond, bringing their blackened death metal. More locally, Damage Overdose hikes over from Warm Springs, Wicked Haven crawls up from Salem, and Zorakarer and Boudica form the unholy Portland alliance. Needless to say it'll be a night of endless riffs and black T-shirts—the best kinds of night. MARK LORE

THANKS, JUST LIONS, US LIGHTS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Within the first minute of "The Weight, the Worry," the opening track from Thanks' 2014 LP Blood Sounds, it's clear that there's a patience at work that a lot of young bands don't grasp. Blooming slowly, the song's driving beat, organ-washed foundation, and lead guitar unfurl and mature before Thanks' dense instrumentation can overwhelm you. It's one of the reasons the band has generated a large local following over the last couple of years, and why Blood Sounds was a great addition to Portland's admittedly thin neo-soul community. Vocalist Jimi Hendrix (yep) is an onstage force unrivaled in both soulful delivery and willingness to pay homage to the divas of yesteryear in a kind of possessed idolatry. With Just Lions and the fantastic Us Lights opening, our guess here is that you'll leave Mississippi Studios with a couple more albums under your arm than when you walked in. RJP

MAD CADDIES, THE AGGROLITES, THE BUNNY GANG
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Of all the white-guy reggae/ska bands to emerge from California basements and dorm rooms over the past couple of decades, the Mad Caddies are among the least objectionable, thanks primarily to their sharp pop instinct. But if you decide to give 'em a shot tonight at the Star Theater, be sure to get there in time for the Aggrolites, an excellent LA band that plays what they call "dirty reggae." They've released five albums over the past 12 years, each packed with a brand of upbeat reggae that's gritty, punk-influenced, and driven by the warm, vintage sound of Roger Rivas' organ. They also dabble in bubbly dub, old-school soul, and doo-wop; it's like Motown meets Kingston when these guys get going. And it's rad. You can stream all of their records—including their most recent, a live set—at music.aggroreggae.com. BS

HENRY KAISER / FRED CHALLENOR / DANA VALATKA
(Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th) For 40-plus years, Henry Kaiser has been one of the world's most fascinating musical polyglots. Primarily a guitarist, the Bay Area artist's interests as a player and listener have run far and wide, including collaborations with singer/songwriter Richard Thompson and avant-garde jazz champion John Zorn, scoring films and TV shows, recording the native music of various foreign countries, and playing his interpretations of work by the Grateful Dead and Miles Davis. Through each project, the 62-year-old maintains a distinctive guitar tone that's as brittle and beautiful as a raw piece of crystal. Kaiser is also constantly up for a challenge, which is why his first Portland performance in over two decades will include an improvised set in collaboration with two locals: percussionist Dana Valatka and bassist Fred Chalenor. RH

SUNDAY 1/25

VASELINES, LOCH LOMOND
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

SCHOOL OF ROCK LAKE OSWEGO PLAYS WEEZER
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) See All-Ages Action!

MONDAY 1/26

ULI JON ROTH, VINNIE MOORE, CRAIG GOULDY
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) See My, What a Busy Week!

TUESDAY 1/27

SLOTHS, U SCO, TOIM
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) See My, What a Busy Week!

SKULL FIST, SPELLCASTER, MANIAK
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) Read our article on Skull Fist.

WILLIE WATSON, MIKAELA DAVIS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) As a founding member of stringband rabble-rousers Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie Watson and his Nashville-by-way-of-Ithaca buddies have decidedly earned their title as some of the best practitioners of modern old-timey music. Watson left the group in 2011, but he's been staying busy as a solo performer, supporting John Prine and Shovels and Rope, performing at the Newport Folk Festival, and stopping by Pendarvis Farm for last year's Pickathon. His current tour of the West Coast is his first as a headliner, in support of his debut solo album, Folk Singer Vol. 1. Produced by Dave Rawlings, Folk Singer is a 10-song collection of folk classics and other tales of the old, weird America. Expect plenty of high lonesome hollers and bad-man ballads at tonight's show, accompanied by Watson's mean banjo picking. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY