WEDNESDAY 8/10
G.L.O.S.S., FIREWALKER, PURE DISGUST, FRANKY, INFLUX
(Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside) In June, Olympia hardcore punk band G.L.O.S.S. (an acronym for âGirls Living Outside Societyâs Shitâ) released their second EP, Trans Day of Revenge. Itâs just seven minutes long, and begins with the declaration: âWhen peace is just another word for death/itâs our turn to give violence a chance!â Donât miss this showâG.L.O.S.S. is probably one of the best bands in the Pacific Northwest right now. CIARA DOLAN Also read our story on G.L.O.S.S.
CHASTITY BELT, SO PITTED, MINI BLINDS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Seattleâs Chastity Belt isnât your average genital prison. The four friends met in college and began playing punk songs that are unafraid to address sex, stereotypes, and slut-shaming. The bandâs 2013 debut, No Regerts, is crude and sarcastic, with titles like âPussy Weed Beerâ and âGiant (Vagina),â but itâs also reflective and smartâopening track âBlack Sailâ was my angsty, poetic bread and butter for a year. Chastity Beltâs sophomore release Time to Go Home develops the groupâs commentary, blurring the line between mockery and sincerity. ANNA McCLAIN
SOUVENIR DRIVER, ICE QUEENS, SINLESS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Souvenir Driverâs latest isnât exactly a release; itâs more of a preview. The still-untitled record is sweet mix of slow guitar jams with straightforward but soothing vocals, and a sound that lies somewhere between the Cure and Beach House. Itâll be released as a limited-edition Tarot Card set and performed live in its entirety at Holocene before the band shops it to labels for larger distribution. Itâs a gamble for Souvenir Driver, who havenât quite broken into the national circuit yet. But for those in the know, this nameless release is a nice teaser. JENI WREN STOTTRUP
HARD WORKING AMERICANS, THE MOTHER HIPS
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) Todd Sniderâs songwriting has remained a well kept secret over the years. Hailing as much from the outlaw country miasma as the alt-folk new wave, Sniderâs collaboration with Hard Working Americans has been a bit of a boon for his notoriety. A supergroup of sortsâHWA features members of Widespread Panic, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and moreâthe bandâs second LP, Rest in Chaos, is a dark and soulful trip into the mind, with Sniderâs gravelly vocals leading the call on contemplative tunes like âIt Runs Together.â The band is given room to press the throttle on the classic rocker âHalf-Ass Moses,â and finds itself somewhere in the middle on âDope Is Dope,â essentially a hilarious soul tune embracing the supposedly sinister underbelly of marijuana that only Snider could have penned. The partnership here seems to have yielded one of the better rock ânâ roll albums of the year. RYAN J. PRADO
THURSDAY 8/11
GLOBELAMP, TASHAKI MIYAKI
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) In 2011, Globelampâthe moniker for Olympia singer/songwriter Elizabeth Le Feyâreleased a self-titled EP that was more than a little reminiscent of Portlandâs own Dear Nora. Songs like âCrystalâ and âWarrior Heartâ imbued vocal-heavy, â60s-influenced indie pop with a bliss-seeking, borderline new-age naturalism akin to Dear Noraâs Mountain Rock (or, going even further back, Donovanâs A Gift from a Flower to a Garden). Globelampâs 2014 LP, Star Dust, was a more ambitious affair that found Le Fey stretching into varied sonic territoryâreverb-laden opener âBreathing Ritualâ targets the psych set and âWitch Houseâ might be the only time an artist with significant indie cred has evoked Jefferson Airplane. MORGAN TROPER
FRIDAY 8/12
WOODEN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND, ICE QUEENS, OLD UNCONSCIOUS, DJ BABYMAKERS
(The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd) The wonderfully garage-y Portland favorites Wooden Indian Burial Ground are a model of consistency. As a flag-bearer for the kind of reverbed, multi-pedaled psych proffered by bands like Thee Oh Sees or Ty Segall, WIBG have upped the ante on their new album, Howâs Your Favorite Dreamer? Originally released in February, the LP traverses spastic psycho-rock on tunes like âSpazz Ponyâ and âSad Mutationsââtwo of the recordâs early breakout tracks. Frontman Justin Fowlerâs manic guitar leads the charge, squirting bizarre squeals in walls of effects. The rhythm section is renowned, too, and bassist Samuel Farrell and drummer Daniel Galucki provide a rock-solid foundation for Fowlerâs unrestrained six-string dalliances. The record will be officially unveiled tonight, so bring cash and buy the god-darned thing! As if all that isnât reason enough, thereâs also a post-show dance party with DJ Babymakers. RJP
CHICO FREEMAN PLUS+TET
(Jimmy Makâs, 221 NW 10th) Like many jazz artists in their late 60s, Chico Freeman has mellowed some with age. His earliest work had an experimental edge, as on the title track for his 1976 debut, Morning Prayer, which rumbled, droned, and clattered to life over the course of 12 minutes, Freemanâs flute lines dancing among the percussionâs clamor. Even into the â80s, there was an angularity to his post-bop tunes that added a welcome prickly quality to the otherwise swinging songs. Spoken into Existence, the latest album by this 67-year-old woodwind player, is far more direct, with an emphasis on lightly funky rhythms and melodies that drape like a shiny cloth. Still, an icon is an icon and Freeman certainly fits that category; his Portland appearance will be one of the highlights of an already amazing jazz calendar. ROBERT HAM
WHITE LUNG, GREYS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Canadaâs White Lung recently released Paradise, an album that heavily mines â90s- through â00s-era influences like emo, nu-metal, and cherry-flavored synth-pop. Thereâs even a little grunge in vocalist Mish Wayâs Courtney Love-style delivery that, alongside up-tempo, psychobilly backbeats on tunes like âKiss Me When I Bleed,â also brings to mind vocalist Brody Dalle of LA band the Distillers. âDementedâ chugs along to a piston-like, industrial foundation covered with high-production gloss and the Hot Topic-style metal guitar work of Kenneth William, establishing a tension between White Lungâs interest in aggressive, dark music and careerist, arena-rock leanings. Throughout Paradise, White Lung seems to aim for Hole, but unfortunately, sometimes hits Paramore instead. WILLIAM KENNEDY
SATURDAY 8/13
JUMP JACK SOUND MACHINE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Put on your deodorant and get your bum to Mississippi Studiosâtonight is Jump Jack Sound Machine, Portlandâs newest dance party founded by Natasha Kmeto and Chanticleer Tru of Chanti Darling. Itâs powered entirely by sweat and revolves around the orbit of disco balls, so be prepared to surrender yourself to the groove. CIARA DOLAN
HONEY BUCKET, THE WOOLEN MEN, WAVE ACTION
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Read our review of Honey Bucketâs Magical World.
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS, BARNA HOWARD, BIRGER OLSEN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The newest signee to Portlandâs Mama Bird Records is Courtney Marie Andrews, an Arizona-born Pacific Northwest musician. Tonight, Andrews celebrates the release of her fifth full-length, Honest Lifeâ10 tracks of resonantly soulful, road-weary country-folk. Although her tunes are rooted in the Americana nostalgia of open roads and limitless horizon lines, songs like âIreneâ illustrate Andrewsâ ability to forge new territory with the darkly charming hook, âYou are a magnet, Irene/Sometimes good people draw troublesome things.â âHow Quickly Your Heart Mendsâ delivers more of her deft, sometimes witty songwriting: âThe jukebox is playinâ a sad country song/For all the ugly Americans/Now I feel like one of them/Dancinâ alone and broken by the freedom.â CIARA DOLAN
94/7 21ST BIRTHDAY BASH: THE DANDY WARHOLS, YOUNG THE GIANT, BEAR HANDS, MIIKE SNOW, BIG DATA, JR JR, CHEFâSPECIAL
(OMSI, 1945 SE Water) 94/7 is sort of like the Jack in the Box of radio stations. Long ago, KNRK was characterized by âpolitically incorrectâ DJs and rock blocks that consisted pretty much entirely of awful nu-metal. In an event analogous to the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, two KNRK DJs fucked up catastrophically and made fun of the Nick Berg beheading on air, resulting in their immediate termination and a hiatus. Shortly thereafter, it remerged as the sleek, relatively conservative 94/7 (similar to the introduction of the âJack Boxâ mascot), and became Portlandâs premier radio station for middling alternative rock. For two nights, 94/7 will be celebrating its 21st birthday at OMSI with performances from a number of middling alternative rock bands. The event is all ages, but somehow that doesnât seem relevant when a single-day ticket costs $55âwhat kid can afford that? MT
POST MOVES, GENERIFUS, STEVHEN PETERS
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Generifus is subdued rock ânâ roll, music meant for driving on a cool winterâs day with the windows rolled all the way up. For over a decade Olympia songwriter Spencer Sult has quietly released music under the moniker on Bandcamp through his own label Sultan Serves Records, showcasing his ironically tireless devotion to âslacker-rock.â Looking at the genreâs godfather Stephen Malkmus, who has worked on 15 full-length records since 1989 between Pavement, Silver Jews, and the Jicks, itâs clear that this isnât necessarily the most fitting descriptor. Last September, Sult released his sixth full-length, Extra Bad, an album that doesnât try too hard to captivate. But thatâs where its beauty lies, in the softer observational approach to storytelling/songwritingâan approach that, if youâre not paying attention, might seem like slacking. CAMERON CROWELL
VANS WARPED TOUR: FALLING IN REVERSE, LESS THAN JAKE, REEL BIG FISH, & MORE
(Portland Expo Center, 2060 N Marine) The Vans Warped Tour hasnât been a showcase of meaningful or relevant talent in more than 10 years, and itâs only getting worse. This is the fourth year Iâve written about the festival for the Mercury, and all the Warped blurbs Iâve written before this one are basically interchangeable. (âSkip the headlining scene dinosaurs; catch the smaller acts.â) This year, in addition to there being virtually no worthwhile bands on the Portland bill, the Warped Tour has officially made the transition from safe (or at least âneutralâ) space to breeding ground for the sort of sanctioned bigotry punk was designed to combat. One of the official non-musical vendors at this yearâs fest is âRock for Life,â a conservative, anti-abortion kiosk that provides so-called âeducationâ and coincidentally sells All Lives Matter apparel. Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman responded to the vendorâs critics on Twitter by saying, âPunk rock [is] about welcoming all points of view; you can make your own decisions, and opposing platforms and views are important,â before stating that he would also welcome a pro-choice vendor. I do not adhere to the notion that punk rock (or any form of music) is a terribly effective vehicle for social change. That concept seems very outdated and âwhiteâ (e.g. Sting/Bob Geldof). But there is also no place for the Warped Tour or rapacious posers like Lyman in the modern punk sceneâa community that has, in the last five years alone, made huge strides toward becoming safer and more inclusive. MT
SUNDAY 8/14
MINDEN, REPTALIENS
(Rontoms, 600 E Burnside) Read our review of Mindenâs Sweet, Simple Things.
94/7 21ST BIRTHDAY BASH: AWOLNATION, KONGOS, ROBERT DELONG, LUCIUS, KALEO, THE STRUMBELLAS, COLEMAN HELL
OMSI, 1945 SE Water) See Saturdayâs preview.
CHUGGER, RAMBUSH, JESUS MIRANDA, FRIENDS IN LOVE
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) In some ways, Randyâthe debut effort from Portlandâs Chuggerâhas been a long time coming. Itâs the first official LP from a project associated with Edward Beaudin, one of the best songwriters in Portland and former frontman of defunct punk bands Zoogirl and the Bustling Townships. Chugger is a collaboration between Beaudin and guitarist Jordan LeVeque, whose throaty croon and keen melodic sensibilities are the perfect counterpoise to his partnerâs wiry riffs and caustic urgency. But Randyâs most impressive moments still belong to Beaudinâparticularly the meta, mega-hit âBaby on the Radioâ and nu-grunge detour âYuppie Scumââa song that simultaneously attacks opportunistic, culture-siphoning migrants and satirizes the entitled, regionalist attitudes promoted by surly Portland natives. (âIâve lived here for far too long/Iâm practically an Indian!â) MT
RYOSUKE KIYASU, DANIEL MENCHE, DOUG THERIAULT, UNEASY CHAIRS, FIASCO
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Noise musicians often possess the uncanny ability to capture beauty in the sonically strange. Itâs a gift of improvisation, and truly understanding the process that goes into transforming ruckus into recordable music is its own art. Tokyoâs Ryosuke Kiyasu has mastered this art using a lone snare drum to make brash and heavy experimental jazz. Portlandâs own Daniel Menche has well over 50 albums, all filled with intrigue. Doug Theriaultâs latest, Drift Boat, is like a marriage of Menche and Kiyasuâs sounds in just three tracks, while Uneasy Chairs and Fiasco have a mathy bent in their creation of clamor. Curious minds should check it outâthis show is basically a crash course in the many facets of noise. CERVANTE POPE
MONDAY 8/15
HOCKEY DAD, MUUY BIIEN, MR. BONES
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The opening notes of Mr. Bonesâ sophomore LP, Bites, reveal its tenderness: âI Adore Youâ is a soaring guitar-pop cutie in the vein of Mates of State and Weezer, with vocalist Leland Brehlâs falsetto yearning for some affection. Their tune âDo You Wanna Feel Alright?â is basically the feel-good anthem of every person with a pulse, and a spoonful of sugar to the real heavy medicine of the mopey, brilliantly slacker-influenced grunge-pop of âcandlewax,database,â where cacophony and heart suddenly smash into each other at warp speed. Mr. Bonesâ take on these punk traditions isnât always revolutionary, but when it hits, it hits hard, and thatâs really all that matters. RJP
BROODS, JARRYD JAMES
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Super-tight Kiwi sibling duo Broods is multi-instrumentalist Caleb Nott and his sister, lead vocalist Georgia Nott. If youâve ever heard the song âFour Walls,â you know that their brand of indie-pop/electronica is made to make you feel all the feels. Their latest full-length, Conscious, is a strong follow-up to 2014âs Evergreen. Emotion is palpable on almost every track of their new album, including lead single âFreeâ and âHeartlines,â which was cowritten by Lorde. Now that theyâve earned swarms of fans opening for artists like Haim, Ellie Goulding, and Sam Smith, Broodsâ headlining tour should take their new album even further. JENNI MOORE
TUESDAY 8/16
THE USED, NEW LANGUAGE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Come with me on a journey through time, wonât you? Itâs 2004 and youâre a sullen youth with an affinity for jelly bracelets, gratuitous eyeliner, and drawing broken, stitched-up hearts all over your Converse high-tops. You deeply identify as emo, but only feel safe talking about this in cryptic lyric collages on your LiveJournal. With songs like âIâm a Fakeâ and âLet It Bleed,â the Used have the dramatics youâve been searching for. Theyâre the only ones who understand. Am I hitting a nerve or just outing myself? The Used celebrate an unfathomable 15-year career, playing their first two LPs beginning to end on back-to-back nights at the Crystal. What better place to let all the slightly embarrassing memories from yesteryear wash over you? At least youâll be surrounded by people who feel your pain. JENNA FLETCHER