WEDNESDAY 2/10

MYSTERIOUS SKIN, SPETSNAZ, JAENG, SWEATS
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) See All-Ages Action.

WOODEN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND, AAN, ANCIENT PSYCHIC, MATTRESS
(The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont) It's fitting that local psychedelic-rock trio Wooden Indian Burial Ground kick off their European tour alongside Portland experimental acts Aan and Mattress, and Boise-hailing dream-punks Ancient Psychic. While Wooden Indian Burial Ground has played trip-inducing, barnstorming live shows all over Portland stages for the better part of a decade, Idaho's capital has become a second home, where the band's always-raucous sets at Treefort Music Fest have become the stuff of legend. The trio has a new album out next week, How's Your Favorite Dreamer?, and if lead single "Burnout Beach" is any indication, the band may have managed the impossible—harnessing all that live energy on a record. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

RISLEY, SUNBATHE, FOG FATHER
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Emerging local supergroup Risley has members from Genders, Typhoon, Tea for Julie, Moonchild, Priory, Poison Beaches, and Paper Brain. Tonight celebrates their forthcoming self-titled debut, an expansive 23 tracks of Modest Mouse-inspired, guitar-driven rock 'n' roll. Tea for Julie singer Michael Deresh's vocals seem inspired by Disintegration-era Robert Smith, minus his synthy, new wave goth sensibilities. With such an extensive cast of characters—each with their own individual creative projects—Risley's music can jump genres and feel disjointed at times. That's not to say there aren't some hits on the upcoming release: "Open Ocean" is a grade-A, groovy pop song, while closing track "Six" celebrates the Cure's "Plainsong" with eccentric instrumentation, a heavy bassline, and echoing vocals. CIARA DOLAN

THURSDAY 2/11

EAR CANDY: MIC CAPES, RASHEED JAMAL, KEEGAN BAURER
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Mic Capes.

SECOND TO LAST, CHASING MORGAN, NOISE BRIGADE, ONE DAY FORECAST, FOUR YOUNG STRANGERS
(Analog Café, 720 SE Hawthorne) See All-Ages Action.

JACKSON BOONE AND THE OCEAN GHOSTS, SEA CAVES, OLD WAVE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) There aren't enough bands that feature the flute. Or maybe there are. Either way, shout out to the flute! The skinny little woodwind has a pretty limited role in the history of pop and rock, stretching from Ian Anderson's Jethro Tull to Sea Caves, a Portland band that sounds nothing like Jethro Tull but does employ the flute as a major component of its orchestral indie-folk. In fact, on Sea Caves' new album, Bright Forest, the flute takes on a central, fluttery role in gently rolling tunes like "Spanning the River" and "Accelerate." Founding member Shiloh Halsey is the man behind the flute (as well as guitar and vocals), while bassist Brian Nelson, keyboardist Seiji Nair, and drummer Cameron Jones round out the rest of Sea Caves. Together they've made an album that's unconventionally crafted but understatedly melodic and easy to like. BEN SALMON

MINDEN, SAMA DAMS, AMANI, RADIATION CITY DJS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Imagine a dressing room filled with glitter and spandex. Minden's lead vocalists Casey Burge and Lia Gist settle in backstage with the rest of the five-piece, surrounded by neon lights, dice, and whiskey. The Kansas City transplants hold court with accessible dance music that's characterized by its disco vibe and modern slow-jam edge. Tonight's show brings together past and present Minden—former band member Dan Talmadge will open the night with his new project Amani, while the show itself is a throwback to the group's first concert in Portland with Sama Dams. Expect Burge in gold spandex smoking e-cigarettes onstage. JENI WREN STOTTRUP

HEY LOVER, WHITE GLOVE, BIG FEELINGS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Portland trio Hey Lover make power pop for fellow punks who cherish memories of gaming to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks. They harken back to a time when some outsiders knew Portland through the game's Burnside Skatepark level, rapidly mashing the buttons to the beat of the Ramones so that a cartoon Bam Margera could do the sickest Christ Air over the bridge's rafters (this was years before games tried to mimic realistic physics). Hey Lover began as wife-and-husband duo Terah Beth Varga (vocals/drums) and Justin Varga (vocals/guitar), who have since released two full-lengths, Hey Lover (2007) and Tennessee (2011). During a break from recording, Hey Lover added Tim Janchar on bass and announced the release of a third LP, Sinking Ships. This show coincides with the video premiere for the album's brilliantly catchy second single, "Nancy," a down-tempo lo-fi pop track reminiscent of pop-punk figureheads like the Thermals and Teenage Cool Kids. CAMERON CROWELL

FRIDAY 2/12

WET, KELSEY LU
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

TWELVE GARDENS, SUN'S OUT BUMMED OUT, POST MOVES
(Mother Foucault's Bookshop, 523 SE Morrison) See All-Ages Action.

ONRY OZZBORN, GRAYSKUL, ROB SONIC, KIMYA DAWSON, SLEEP, DESTRO DESTRUCTO, SYNDEL, & MORE
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Seattle emcee Onry Ozzborn has been spitting thought-provoking rhymes with a variety of bands since the turn of this century, most notably as a founding member of influential Northwest rap collective Oldominion. A steady output of tracks with subsequent groups like Dark Time Sunshine, Grayskul, and multiple solo offerings have cemented Ozzborn's hip-hop legitimacy, underscoring his enduring propensity to collaborate with as many talented artists as possible, regardless of genre. Tonight he debuts his most recent film project, Duo, which features cameos from progressively minded friends like Void Pedal and pixie powerhouse Kimya Dawson, as well as fellow brothers-in-rhyme Pale Soul, Rob Sonic, and Goldini Bagwell. If the recently leaked previews on Ozzborn's Bandcamp page are any indication, Duo will be a visual showcase for the well-rounded lyrical dexterity that has made him so revered in his community. CHRIS SUTTON

GRACE POTTER, ELIZA HARDY JONES
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Grace Potter spent 2015 opening for the Rolling Stones and Neil Young, and sometime during this blinding flash of bucket-list pomp, she also released her debut solo album, Midnight, the first without her longtime band, the Nocturnals. Potter's bluesy quiver smoothes the edges of pale disco-thumped anthems like "Alive Tonight," a rally cry of a single that sounds about as revolutionary as a mewling kitten. However, Potter's natural talents cannot be denied, and her most heartfelt Joplin phrasings are front and center on less buoyant songs like "Empty Heart." Don't expect to see Potter on the jam-band circuit again anytime soon. RYAN J. PRADO

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: OREGON SYMPHONY, PACIFIC YOUTH CHOIR
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Apparently oblivious to the film's excellent performances and welcome humor, cranky Trekkies love to whine about J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness. But tonight, any and all complaints will be drowned out thanks to the Oregon Symphony and the Pacific Youth Choir's performance of Michael Giacchino's rousing, addictive score. Giacchino has written lots of great scores—from Inside Out and Up to Fringe and Lost—but his best work might be for Star Trek, where his soaring, propulsive compositions thrum with the perfect blend of bravado, excitement, and optimism. In other words, hearing Giacchino's music live as Into Darkness plays overhead (a similar setup to last January, when the Symphony performed his score to Abrams' first Star Trek) is guaranteed to be a blast. If you don't feel like scrounging up a ticket to tonight's sold-out show, wait a few months for Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage—a touring concert hitting the Schnitz in April, boasting music from all 50 goddamn years of Star Trek's TV series and movies. They'd be nuts not to put a good amount of Giacchino in there. ERIK HENRIKSEN

GORGON STARE, CRIMSON ALTAR, RIGHT HAND OF DOOM, DJ SHANDA GORE
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) Gorgon Stare has endured some lineup changes while searching for their sound, and these young heshers are now moving in the right direction. They bring classic heavy metal to the modern era without simply aping their influences. Gorgon Stare adopts the precision of their New Wave of British Heavy Metal forefathers, but don't hesitate to slow things down without completely falling down the doom hole. It helps that they have a couple of axe-wielders who blast through some wicked licks and riffs while still knowing when to rein it in. With just a couple of demos to their name, Gorgon Stare are positioned to put all the pieces together in 2016 and turn the fakers to stone. MARK LORE

MAMMOTH SALMON, CHRONOCLOPS, HOUNDS THE WOLVES
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) If you slept on the debut LP from Mammoth Salmon, here's a chance to familiarize yourself. Following a trio of EPs, the local doom/stoner metal crew dropped Last Vestige of Humanity online last August, taking the lumbering groove of classic doom metal and thickening it up with several coats of heavy sludge. Now Last Vestige exists in physical form, and the band is marking the occasion with tonight's CD release party (the album will also be released on vinyl via Devil's Child Records later this year). Joining them are fellow low-and-slow riff enthusiasts Chronoclops, plus heavy psych-rockers Hound the Wolves. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

NO MORE PARACHUTES, 48 THRILLS, SOCCER BABES, THROW
(Twilight Café and Bar, 1420 SE Powell) Portland's 48 Thrills have been churning out melodic, snotty punk records since 2009. Their debut LP, Daredevil, is an album brimming with indelible, fist-pumping micro-anthems that strongly evoke beer-soaked basements and faded Screeching Weasel tattoos. The group's latest, 2014's That's How It Go!Oh!Ohs!, saw 48 Thrills hone their songwriting and exchange the Fat Wreck Chords skate-punk bent for a marked Springsteen influence shared by contemporaries like the Menzingers and Beach Slang. Comparisons aside, That's How It Go!Oh!Ohs! is a great power-pop record that serves as a bright counterpoint to modern punk haughtiness. It's bound to make the wait for summer a little less grueling. MORGAN TROPER

SATURDAY 2/13

UNDER THE COVERS: THE MOODY DUDES, LOST LANDER, MELVILLE, BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS, SPIRIT LAKE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

WOMEN'S BEAT LEAGUE VALENTINE'S PARTY: CHERUSHII, NEYBUU, MOON MIRROR, DANIELA KARINA
(S1 Gallery, 4148 NE Hancock) San Francisco producer and DJ Cherushii brings a vital perspective to dance music. She has been composing and performing live for more than a decade, and releases her work on 100% Silk, a vinyl label known for pushing the boundaries of pop and electronic music. Her most recent release, Far Away So Close, is a four-song foray into dreamy house with a meaty backbone of funk. In her live performances, Cherushii strings up various configurations of drum machines and synthesizers, creating exotic atmospheres that are perfect for losing yourself on the dance floor. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD Also read our article on S1.

SCHOOL OF ROCK PERFORMS THE BEATLES' REVOLVER, THE SHITTY BEATLES, THE BEACH BOYS' PET SOUNDS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) The showcases of Portland's School of Rock serve as an exhibition for our city's youth rock talent. This year's Green Day showcase, held in the Doug Fir, felt like an affirmation of the audience's adolescent (and adult) adoration of the forever-teenaged Bay Area pop-punk group. Most Beatles fans don't need to hide their affections for the bigger-than-Jesus quartet, but they should expect a communal catharsis nonetheless. The School of Rock pupils' talents will be put to use this afternoon as they play the Beatles' still-groundbreaking 1966 album Revolver. The Shitty Beatles—whose name could really be bestowed upon any band trying to write a guitar pop song—will also perform a set of Beatles covers. Their lineup, featuring members of Lee Corey Oswald and Mercury contributor Morgan Troper, is a testament to the School of Rock's position in Portland's musical ecosystem. Mississippi Studios' house band will also take on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. MAC POGUE

FEARNOMUSIC
(PSU Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park) The latest performance by Portland's daring modern classical ensemble FearNoMusic is also a celebration of its latest CD release. The album is a collaboration between the group and local composer (and Portland State University composition instructor) Bonnie Miksch, and centers on a new work, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled," a five-movement piece that feels like a compact distillation of Aaron Copland's stirring, lyrical work. As Miksch and FearNoMusic have worked together continuously over the past 10 years, the music also plays to the ensemble's strengths, with a nice emphasis on Joel Bluestone's percussion and the varying strains of wonder stirred up by the group's string players. ROBERT HAM

KEVIN GATES, YOUNG GREATNESS, OG BOOBIE BLACK
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Kevin Gates has been poised for mainstream success for years. After nearly a decade's worth of well-received mixtapes and collaborations, Gates had yet to penetrate the hip-hop market outside of the South, particularly beyond his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he's hailed as a hometown hero. His struggles with depression, his indifference toward the industry, and his astoundingly frank (and sometimes bizarre) public confessions have made Gates something of an outsider in hip-hop, but have also earned him respect for his honesty. Respect, however, doesn't often translate to commercial relevance. Islah, his "proper" major label debut, has effectively changed all of that. Released just last month, Islah has already put serious numbers on the boards, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first week, placing him just behind Adele and Rihanna in album sales. Not bad for a dude who sounds like a cerebral Fetty Wap—or like a sultrier Future with an appreciation for Nicholas Sparks novels and butt play. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

MASS GOTHIC, MAZED
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Sometimes you just have to burn it all to the ground and start over. That was the case for Noel Heroux, a New York-based singer/songwriter who spent 10 years fronting a rock band called Hooray for Earth. But a decade is a long time to do anything, and Heroux found himself creatively frustrated and depressed, so he ended the band, holed up at home, and got to work recording whatever sounds he heard in his head, without worrying about what anyone else thought or wanted. Fast forward a year or so, and Heroux has just released his work—on Sub Pop, no less—under the name Mass Gothic. His self-titled debut is an interesting blend of '80s synth-pop ("Mind Is Probably"), smeared shoegaze ("Own the Road"), dark dance-rock ("Want To, Bad") and more, held together by Heroux's natural elocution and his easy way with melody. BS

THE BUDOS BAND, BROWNISH BLACK
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) The kaleidoscope of instrumental funk bands on the Daptone Records tree has created a cultish phenomenon in the world of modern soul. Collectively operating like a funky Wu-Tang Clan in its delegation of talent, Daptone's roster reads like a menu of deliciously individual styles. Classy black-tie R&B (Dap-Kings), syrupy Southern grit (Menehan Street Band), and even afrobeat (Antibalas) are all proudly represented on the legendary label, which gleans more collaborators and fans with each funky project. The Budos Band, in particular, specialize in weaving buoyantly mystical breakbeats underneath a street-tough horn section while injecting enough personality into their rhythms to overcome the lack of a flashy frontman. The resulting stimulus from this potent mix of exotica, Africa, and psychedelia is best experienced during the Budos Band's renowned live performances, where sweaty movements and exhausted smiles are inevitably the norm. CS

SUNDAY 2/14

URAL THOMAS AND THE PAIN, THE DOMESTICS
(Rontoms, 600 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

HEARTS ON FIRE COUNTRY DUETS
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) See My, What a Busy Week!

KING, SASSYBLACK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on King.

FRED AND TOODY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) If you're unfamiliar with the story, here's the rundown: A spunky garage rocker got stranded in Portland when his van broke down. He fell in love with someone in town, and they decided to start a band. This was 1967; 48 years, several bands, and countless gigs later, Fred and Toody Cole are still in love. Their bands—Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, and the Rats, among others—sound like they come from an alternate universe. Fred and Toody exist in a world wholly their own; their devotion to love and art runs so deep that Fred had the Dead Moon emblem tattooed onto his face. Portland rock fans waited in collective shock when the news came that Fred Cole collapsed onstage at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival last year. The duo has resumed a tempered schedule of gigs, including this stripped-down Valentine's Day show. Consider it their love letter to Portland. MP

MONDAY 2/15

EXPERT ALTERATIONS, HORNET LEG, FEEL YOUNG
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) A quick Google search for Baltimore pop trio Expert Alterations finds the band ranking higher than the countless Yelp entries for tailoring shops of the same name. It's a testament to the act's quick and well-earned rise to prominence, thanks to the strength of their 2014 self-titled EP, as well as their fantastic full-length, You Can't Always Be Liked. The infectious, lead-in title track on the band's aforementioned debut should provide everything you need to get hooked. Expert Alterations' taut and tense pop-rock harnesses the best elements of the UK's C86 movement and New Zealand's Flying Nun bands. It's a sound that has landed them supporting slots for Buzzcocks and the Clean, and it makes their albums the perfect fit for the jangle-pop-obsessed record collector. CT

TUESDAY 2/16

STRFKR, NURSES, FAKE DRUGS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See My, What a Busy Week!

CHARLIE HILTON, CANDACE, MINI BLINDS
(The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont) Blouse's Charlie Hilton has struck out on her own to release a stunning solo debut, Palana. The 12 songs slip away like hours passing, while Hilton seems to blithely float around in a dreamscape, tense but numb to her own anxieties. Palana was produced primarily by Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Jacob Portrait, with Woods' Jarvis Taveniere contributing production for one track, "100 Million," where Hilton teams up for a duet with ephemeral goofball Mac DeMarco. Her Françoise Hardy-meets-Nico vocals are paired with synthy electro-pop instrumentation on "Pony," but the true standout is "Funny Anyway," in which Hilton stares aloofly into the void of existential despair, lamenting, "I don't have a mind/For anything that I do/I don't know what's going on/I don't even know this song." CD

THE DONKEYS, IDIOT GLEE, NORMAN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) On the Donkeys' new release, Midnight Palms, sneakily catchy grooves permeate the band's typically charming California swagger. "Hurt Somebody," one of the leaked tracks from the forthcoming mini-album, is a driven, hazy rocker that coaxes sunny optimism with an "It'll be all right" chorus. Producer Thom Monahan (who's also been behind the knobs for artists like Fruit Bats and Devendra Banhart) dutifully steered the song's textural guitar assault. After an amiable split with longtime guitarist Jesse Gulati, the band found a fitting replacement in Steve Selvidge, also of the Hold Steady. The new lineup sounds reinvigorated and lithe, sun-scorched and perfectly poised for what ought to be another great Portland date. RJP