WEDNESDAY 3/9

THE GHOST EASE, NOYES, BOBBY PERU, MY FIRST MIND
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) See My, What a Busy Week!

HANG THE OLD YEAR, EDHOCHULI, U SCO, HUMOURS, BACKBITER
(High Water Mark, 6800 NE MLK) Portland's experimental punk trio U Sco molds elements of prog, math rock, and free jazz into a landslide of noise that's much more than the sum of its parts. This has firmly established the band as one of the best live acts in the city—at least, for those who can stand high volumes. While U Sco's improvised sound seems better suited for live shows than the studio, 2014's Treffpunkt is one of the best instrumental noise-rock records to come along in years. U Sco's ability to drift seamlessly from one idea to the next, while somehow always maintaining a unique, accessible, and playful energy, makes me want to be a fly on the wall during a practice session to see what's coming down the pipeline. Tonight they're on the bill with Hang the Old Year, whose new three-song EP, Exit Out, is an extended suite of melodic noise. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

VICE DEVICE, PALE DIAN, TENDER AGE
(The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont) Portland's Tender Age make bedroom pop, but the bedroom is windowless and lit by a single red bulb, with a portable TV glitching between fuzzy static and the nightly news. That's what their new EP, Disappear Here, sounds like, anyway—sweet, airy vocals suspended in a dreamlike state, waking suddenly to the TV's harsh, milky glare and droning background noise. These lacy melodies are veiled, but not unreachable within Tender Age's four walls of wailing, eerie guitar feedback. The unexpectedness of the group's soundbite interjections feels like you're dozing off during Cheers and waking up to 60 Minutes. Keep an eye out for Tender Age's debut full-length, tentatively scheduled for an August release on Sinis Recordings. CIARA DOLAN

FRESH TRACK, COCO COLUMBIA
(The Goodfoot, 2845 SE Stark) Coco Columbia claims she was raised in Bend, Oregon, but I suspect that's just a cover for her true extraterrestrial origins. Looking like she just stepped out of a shojo manga comic and sounding like New Amerykah-era Erykah Badu, Columbia is an accomplished jazz drummer (and PSU music program dropout) who composes pop and jazz fusion as eclectic as her fashion sense. Her debut, The Weight, was one of last year's most impressive local albums, owing not just to Columbia's songwriting originality, but also the proficiency of her fellow jazz-trained backing musicians. Catch her now, before she returns to the cosmos from whence she came. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

ROD, CHUGGER, RAMBUSH
(Valentine’s, 232 SW Ankeny) On paper, tonight's bill reads like the synopsis of a buddy cop flick: The strait-laced detective, Rod, gets paired up with the practical joke-loving rookie, Chugger, for the action flick of the summer, Rambush. Dig a little deeper and you'll find that the bill actually includes three great local bands coming together for an evening of warm, heart-on-sleeve rock 'n' roll. Rod, a quartet fronted by singer and guitarist Tommy Celt, quietly unloaded one of 2015's standout local EPs, Where I Had Gone. One of its strongest songs, "Leash," a heartfelt tribute to an aging dog, perfectly complements another dizzying number from last year: "Every Song Sung to a Dog" by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me). Both songwriters find their own way to paint vivid and honest portraits of their struggles coming to terms with an extremely relatable—but nonetheless devastating—life experience. CT

THURSDAY 3/10

BRONZE RADIO RETURN, HOWARD
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our story on Howard.

PILLAR POINT
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Seattle's Scott Reitherman is still the main man behind one of indie pop's greatest records of the past decade, Throw Me the Statue's 2008 masterpiece, Moonbeams. But Reitherman has moved on to his new project Pillar Point (and so should I). On Marble Mouth—his second album under the alliterative name—Reitherman delivers his usual batch of catchy melodies and dance-worthy rhythms, held together by a boatload of warm synths that sound shipped in from the '80s. Noticeable all over Marble Mouth is the influence of Kevin Barnes, the inimitable engine at Of Montreal's center. Reitherman recorded the album at Barnes' home studio in Athens, Georgia, and you can hear his aesthetic seeping into Marble Mouth's rubbery funk bass lines and warbly vocals. The result is a forward-thinking electro-pop record with an old-soul heart. BEN SALMON

ALTO!, GOLDEN HOUR, FAXES
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Alto!'s raw but focused experimental stew is the noisy product of dueling percussionists/electronic manipulators and a guitarist with a flair for digital squalls. The Portland three-piece creates sound collages that can resemble the machinations of humanity, depending on what part of their dizzying catalog you're listening to. Their most recent tour cassette dispenses with the peppy tribal-pop skuzz of their self-titled 2014 album, embarking instead on a pulsating spiral of trippy industrial noise on "Piece Seven," a nearly 20-minute-long composition that tests your loyalty to the realm of bizarre, repetitive soundscapes. It's the type of track that would fit seamlessly into a scene from Ex Machina, the soundtrack to an anthropomorphic A.I. suddenly coming to terms with its own ability to reason. Alto!'s unpredictability is one of the reasons they're at the top of a very short list of Portland's most exciting artists. RYAN J. PRADO

THE FLAVR BLUE, HEARTWATCH,BLOSSOM
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Hollis Wong-Wear wears many hats. She's the vocalist for the Flavr Blue, a video producer, poet, music advocate, and an outspoken social-justice activist who garnered national attention for her collaboration with Macklemore on The Heist. In December she made further headlines with her response to a controversial Seattle Times headline that called her Macklemore's "sidekick." Responding with a poignant essay on Medium, Wong-Wear ripped apart the systemic marginalization of Asian Americans in popular culture, and brought the story back to the community that drives her vision. She and her band are in town to support the release of the Flavr Blue's Love Notes, a feel-good collection that's ready for the sun. Silky, beautiful, and passionate, the Com Truise-reminiscent EP features blurry, smooth synth framed by rhythmically grounding R&B and Wong-Wear's lilting, poignant poetry. JENI WREN STOTTRUP

DARKSWOON, VIBRISSAE, LUNGS AND LIMBS
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) Portland duo Darkswoon features frontwoman Jana Cushman's dreamy, electric guitar stylings over seamless lo-fi electronics. Their music sounds like outtakes from Robert Smith's dreams, overlaid with an introspective mist of otherworldly harmonies. Darkswoon's tender melodies are braced by gritty, evolving soundscapes that tell a mysterious story of longing and pain. I had the pleasure of hearing several tracks off their new album, which the band will debut at this show, and the duo's progression from their earlier work is absolutely fantastic. It'll make a wonderful addition to this summer's landscape of noteworthy upcoming releases. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD

FRIDAY 3/11

WAXAHATCHEE, BRIANA MARELA, GLOBELAMP
(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) Singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield, who has been performing as Waxahatchee since 2010, made her Portland appearance in January 2015 a special one. The show served as the maiden voyage for the five-piece touring band that would flank Crutchfield on the remainder of her 2015 tour in support of her excellent third album, Ivy Tripp. That night, fans of Crutchfield's previous band, the pop-punk outfit P.S. Eliot, let out a squeal of delight when it was revealed that Katie's twin sister and former bandmate, Allison, would be joining her on stage. As dialed-in as the Crutchfield sisters' harmonies sounded that night, the highlight came when Katie was alone onstage with just her voice and a guitar. That's the setup for tonight, meaning you'll be treated to favorites going all the way back to Waxahatchee's sparse and confessional debut, American Weekend, and maybe a sneak peek of what's to come. CT Also see My, What a Busy Week!, and read our story on Globelamp.

MINI BLINDS, MOMMY LONG LEGS, BOYFRIENDS, MR. WRONG
(High Water Mark, 6800 NE MLK) Mommy Long Legs are in good company in Seattle's punk scene, where crunchy power pop seems to be flourishing with a slew of fantastic bands like Chastity Belt, Mombutt, and Lisa Prank receiving much-deserved attention. Mommy Long Legs' 2015 cassette EP, Assholes, is quick, with just four two- to three-minute songs, highlighting the need for an auto-rewind feature—the songs are simple, compressed fun that are over far too quickly. Despite the EP's brevity, each track is equally engaging with catchy, beach-inspired guitar riffs, shoutouts to weird girls ("Weird Girl"), call outs of "Cat Callers," and polite suggestions for tech-bros to put their money in their "Assholes." CAMERON CROWELL

THE PARSON RED HEADS, HOUSE OF ANGELS
(White Eagle, 836 N Russell) This may be a bold statement, but I think the Parson Red Heads are one of my favorite Portland bands. I've certainly loved them the longest, and their track "Peace in the Valley" off 2011's Yearling has been my morning alarm for years. Their sound is just magic—honeyed harmonies fall together seamlessly, with slide guitars and organs stepping in at times to create sonic gems. The Parson Red Heads' music harkens back to nostalgic, '60s-era American folk pop—but not in the inauthentic, trendy style of late. Their last proper studio album was 2013's Orb Weaver, but here's hoping that they've got some new material in the works. CD

SATURDAY 3/12

NIGHTFELL, TORTURE RACK, SHRINE OF THE SERPENT
(Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy) Read our story on Nightfell

DARK/LIGHT, THE LAVENDER FLU, PUBLIC EYE
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) See All-Ages Action!

DAVID CROSBY
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See All-Ages Action!

JUNIOR BOYS, JESSY LANZA, BORYS
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Junior Boys are a couple of nice Canadian dudes, Jeremy Greenspan and Mark Didemus. Together they create fresh, smooth, electro-indie pop with danceable beats and Jesse Boykins III-style vocals. Junior Boys hit the ground running in 2003 with their first single, "Birthday"/"Last Exit," which featured a remix by Fennesz and earned critical acclaim. Caribou remixed a track on 2004's High Come Down EP, and they've been known to remix other artists' music, too. Though it's easy for Canadian pop duos that make tracks in their basements to get lost in the maple syrup/toque/grizzly bear shuffle, these boys have held their own. Greenspan and Didemus reveal their humble Hamilton, Ontario, beginnings in industrial beats, sonic backdrops, and quiet yet angsty melodies, accompanied by soft, velvety vocals. ROSE FINN Also see My, What a Busy Week!

SUNDAY 3/13

JUSTIN BIEBER, POST MALONE, MOXIE RAIA
(Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct) Any true Belieber will tell you that loving their favorite pop phenom is a lot more complicated than his angelic hairstyle suggests. Like wunderkind rivals Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber not only floods malls with his universally beloved anthems—his unprecedented personal autonomy (not to mention his personal anatomy) has also birthed plenty of unapologetic and fan-alienating career statements. For example, a confectionary chart-topper like "Sorry" is augmented by bizarre celebrity roast appearances, while a progressively minded collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo is immediately followed by TMZ dissertations on his penis size. Even Kate McKinnon's biting impressions on SNL highlight the fact that Bieber's heavily criticized attempts at bad-boy posturing have somehow made him all the more irresistible. So as the capacitive throngs at the Moda Center tonight will swoon to every choreographed tousle, remember that all your side-eyeing only makes him more powerful. CHRIS SUTTON Also see My, What a Busy Week!

LÚNASA AND TIM O'BRIEN
(Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta) Few traditional ensembles have received the international acclaim of Lúnasa. For the past 20 years, the Irish group has superimposed a contemporary sonic guise over their Celtic folk compositions. With vivid energy and some big-time technical chops, it seems only natural that they'd cross paths with storied contemporary bluegrass progenitor Tim O'Brien, a founding member of the legendary progressive bluegrass crew Hot Rize. O'Brien's latest album, 2015's Pompadour, finds the songwriter veering further still from his bluegrass roots and embracing his inner pop raconteur on slyly humorous songs. Joining forces with Lúnasa for a run of collaborative dates, O'Brien's masterful songwriting—and surfacing satirical focus—is matched note for note with the instrumental prowess of the Irish quintet in what may (hopefully) be a long-lasting partnership of some of the world's best players. RJP

MONDAY 3/14

DISTURBED, NONPOINT
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Get this: 98,000 people bought Disturbed's latest record, Immortalized, in the first week of its release, propelling the album to number one on the Billboard 200. While one could argue that the charts are a proverbial ghost town that no longer realistically convey the popularity of an artist, it's nonetheless surprising proof that there are people on this planet who still give a shit about Disturbed, one of the most comically awful bands of the nü-metal era. Their latest has everything you'd expect from the Chicago group—"Down with the Sickness" rewrites abound—and even one bizarre curveball in the form of a fucking Simon and Garfunkel cover. Goes great with Call of Duty and Mountain Dew Live Wire. MORGAN TROPER

TUESDAY 3/15

INHALT, ADHERE TO FORM, IAN HICKS, NIGHTCHILDE
(The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont) Inhalt's name is the German for word "content," and the San Francisco-based electronic duo—Philip Winiger and Matia Simovic, both Europeans—create a minimalist sound that leans toward Kraftwerk-y krautrock, but with a greater, refreshing emphasis on sonic fidelity than many of the genre's predecessors. Inhalt's obsession with synth porn keeps the duo busy; when they're not gracing the stage with their live act, Winiger and Simovic work as sound designers and remixers for other notable electronic artists. Inhalt is a force to be reckoned with—a mysterious tangle of synthesizers and drum machines backing determined, staccato vocalizations sung in German, their lyrical response to a challenging world. CB

VIOLENT J, NOVA ROCKEFELLER, LIL EAZY E, DS8, DAY DREAMER
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) The highlight of my liberal arts education thus far has been seeing a religious studies major deliver a senior thesis on Juggalos, the legion of clown-makeup-wearing followers of Detroit rap-rock duo Insane Clown Posse. Here's what I learned: (1) The FBI still includes Juggalos on their comprehensive list of organized gangs. (2) Soda company Faygo sent a cease and desist to ICP last year, after 20-plus years of "Faygo showers" at the group's concerts. (3) Founding member Violent J has written a memoir called ICP: Behind the Paint. (4) Several of ICP's albums correlate with a series of Joker cards that supplement a complex "Dark Carnival" mythology. (5) The last song on their 2002 album, The Wraith, revealed that they've actually been rapping about God the whole time, and that they hope all of their Juggalo followers can find God, too. "Thy Unveiling" was divisive for the Juggalos—some were pissed to realize that they'd listened to a bunch of Christian-rap albums. But Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope don't give a fuck! Whoop! Whoop! CC