WEDNESDAY 8/17

COCO COLUMBIA, SAMA DAMS, MOOREA MASA
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our review of Coco Columbia’s When the Birds Begin to Walk.

THE CASTAWAY KIDS, AMBER MOON, PEDESTRIAN STREET GANG
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See All-Ages Action!

ROBIN BACIOR, THE FOURTH WALL, SHEERS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Mercury contributor Robin Bacior’s 2015 album, Water Dreams, is a lush landscape of orchestral songwriting, her tender voice nestled among string and piano arrangements. She puts masterful care into her lyrics, which fall in line with the work of Canadian songwriter Patrick Watson. Water Dreams also speaks to Bacior’s quiet activism, with 10 percent of the proceeds going toward Sacramento River water conservation in her hometown of Chico, California. Since releasing her record, she’s traveled on a worldwide tour, but still found time to take a coastal residency in Oregon to work on new material. Bacior’s forthcoming release hasn’t yet been announced, but hopefully she’ll share some at tonight’s soft comedown from summer at Mississippi Studios. JENI WREN STOTTRUP

THURSDAY 8/18

TURTLENECKED, BOREEN, MO TROPER AND THE ASSUMPTIONS, JAMES CURRY IV
(Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton) Read our story on Turtlenecked.

MUMDANCE, MASSACOORAMAAN, KORMA
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) With a background in various British bass genres (grime, garage, and hardcore), Mumdance has proven to be one of the UK’s most versatile producers. His traditional eight-bar grime 2014 collaboration with MC Novelist, “Take Time,” announced his arrival as a key player in the UK club scene, and he’s only gotten weirder since. His often-beatless productions are influenced by regional dance styles—Egyptian Mahraganat, Brazilian funk carioca, and Mexican tribal guarachero, to name a few—pushing dance floors to their limits with disembodied percussion and celestial ambience. DANIELA SERNA

FRED & TOODY, WILLIS EARL BEAL
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Noctunes, Willis Earl Beal’s 2015 release on Tender Loving Empire, is an album of Angelo Badalamenti-inspired synth pads, sparse drum machine percussion, and Beal’s lithe voice. It’s a collection of slow-burning, ambient crooner ballads that’s something like Windham Hill R&B—a previously unimagined genre for Beal’s rare kind of breakup album, one that focuses almost entirely on post-relationship mental traps rather than the faults of the other person. The largely ignored Noctunes is a far cry from the self-proclaimed outsider music on Acousmatic Sorcery that brought him international acclaim in 2012, but it’s no less surprising. Out of all the potential directions that Beal has successfully entertained over the past few years, no one could have guessed that he’d sound most at home in the far extreme of subdued minimalism. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

FRIDAY 8/19

LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) What I will always appreciate from my experience working in the kitchen of a tiny Mexican restaurant is the beautiful music that blared from the local Spanish language radio station. Through the cloud of banging pots, shrill commercials, and my limited Spanish vocabulary, I eventually realized that only six songs were playing in constant rotation, and no less than four of those were by a group called Los Tigres Del Norte. I remember their signature cumbia-meets-polka rhythm infectiously pairing with unmistakable vocal harmonies and soul-tickling accordion work. The fact that I didn’t understand the linguistic intricacies of their dramatic operas was of little consequence because the sentiment was so pure. Los Tigres have been spreading this powerful norteño vibration over countless albums and nearly half a century performing, creating a fanbase that’s made them living legends in the world of Latino music. CHRIS SUTTON

BAND OF HORSES, WILD FEATHERS
(Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale) From 2006 to 2010, Band of Horses released three albums packed with shimmering indie rock, soaring soft pop, and reverberant twang, and each was glorious in its own way. But 2012’s Mirage Rock sounded like paint-by-numbers Band of Horses—flat and lifeless. It’s a welcome relief that the band’s new album Why Are You OK finds Ben Bridwell & Co. back in the easygoing, starlit-evening groove they lived in a decade ago. There are a few charging, chiming rockers (“Solemn Oath,” “Casual Party”), a handful of pillowy dream songs (“Barrel House,” “Lying Under Oak”), and a few tunes that filter Bridwell’s widescreen anthems through off-kilter production (“Hag,” “Throw My Mess”). With only an exception or two, the songs on Why Are You OK come together quite nicely—simply put, Band of Horses sounds like Band of Horses again, and that’s a very high compliment. BEN SALMON

KINSKI, WIMPS, LITHICS
(The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd) With an incredible history of releasing LPs by regional and revolutionary bands like Unwound, Bikini Kill, and Sleater-Kinney, it seems fitting that Kill Rock Stars would celebrate its 25th birthday by hosting a show featuring three amazing Northwest bands that push different musical envelopes under the banner of punk. Seattle’s Kinski has been blowing minds with their high-energy psych-rock for years, and never seem to stop exploring the sonic limits of the sacred chord. Fellow Seattleites Wimps may be one of KRS’ newest signees, but this adorable trio of lo-fi power pop/punk mavens is really three certified veterans armed with ramshackle riffs and playful melodies. Rounding out the lineup is beloved Portland up-and-comers Lithics, who shine their angular light through a No New York prism to illuminate the space between rhythms. Curating like this proves that Kill Rock Stars continues to stay in touch with the vanguard. CS

LAVENDER COUNTRY, HEARTS OF OAK
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Until recently, few people knew that the first openly gay country album came out of Seattle in 1973. Songwriter Patrick Haggerty’s band Lavender Country and their eponymous debut were largely lost to time before a YouTube rip of “Cryin’ These Cocksucking Tears” made it to the right ears and resulted in a 2014 reissue. The album is, in small part, the novelty record it appears to be—Haggerty’s a witty lyricist with an odd voice and a penchant for sex humor leading a ragtag band—but also deals with people being committed to asylums or killed for their sexual preferences. It’s a unique middle ground between sincerity and silliness where Haggerty (who became a lifelong political activist) voiced a radical response to the repression of the era while still having a good time. Forty years later, Lavender Country finally has the audience it deserves. JJA

SATURDAY 8/20

SAM COOMES, CLARKE AND THE HIMSELFS, MARISA ANDERSON
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Bugger Me is Sam Coomes’ solo debut, but he’s a Portland scene stalwart—perhaps you’re familiar with Quasi, his duo with Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney. The record’s minimalist pop stretches its legs into some buzzy experimental territory, but remains inescapably catchy with lounge lizard-y organ and Coomes’ impatient drawl. CIARA DOLAN Also read our story on Sam Coomes.

CHEENA, RIXE, MOMMY, UROCHROMES, CRIMINAL
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) See All-Ages Action!

FEDERALE, TIBURONES, KYLE MORTON
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our review of Federale’s All the Colours of the Dark

PROJECTION OF B-FORMAT SET SIGNAL WAVES: VISIBLE CLOAKS, JESSE MEJIA
(Cathedral Park, 8676 N Crawford) There are some wonderful things happening in the deepest corners of North Portland these days. Just a few weeks ago, the Modular on the Spot crew held a live performance of synth instrumentals in Cathedral Park. This weekend, that same location will be host to an all-day art event organized by musician C.M. Schneider that will, via a six-speaker PA system, fill the space with sounds created by an array of local musicians. While the existence of this one-day project is exciting, the folks involved—including Visible Cloaks, minimalist decomposition genius Justine Highsmith, and multimedia artist Anita Spaeth—only adds to the thrill of it all. ROBERT HAM

LOVEBOMB GO-GO, DJ ANJALI AND THE INCREDIBLE KID, BROWNISH BLACK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Sometimes you need a break from all the terrible news in the world. Sometimes you need to pause from all the name-calling and fear mongering that is American politics. Sometimes, damn it, you just want to dance. Tonight, friends, is for you. Local garage-soul band Brownish Black kicks things off, followed by the West Coast’s king and queen of bhangra/global bass/Bollywood dance parties, DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid. Headlining tonight’s bill is Portland’s premier glam-punk marching band, LoveBomb Go-Go. With their silver uniforms, tin helmets, steampunk goggles, and glitter paint, they could, for all intents and purposes, be Burning Man’s official marching band. But whether on the damp streets of Portland or in the scorched hell of the Playa, LoveBomb Go-Go—along with everyone else on tonight’s bill—have the cure for your damn-it-I-just-want-to-dance blues. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

GOLD PANDA, BEACON, BABA ALI
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) What do you do at a live show when you’re used to fucking and/or fucking around the house to the music being played? I guess there are always the people who slowly grind into one another. That’s one thing you can do. They’re still doing it better than people who get down to music with lyrics. British EDM composer Gold Panda based his latest record, Good Luck and Do Your Best, on “ganbatte kudasai,” an extremely common Japanese expression said to him by a train conductor while he was traveling. Compared to his past records, Lucky Shiner and Half of Where You Live, Gold Panda’s Four Tet-esque glitchy sound collages reach more melodic heights this time around, capturing the loneliness, awe, and dislocation of travel alongside the glow of homecoming. SUZETTE SMITH

THE BODY, FULL OF HELL, THRONES, RUMINANT
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) As a kid who cut her teeth on heavy music almost entirely via cramped basement shows and strangers’ living rooms, there’s a certain indescribable quality about those memories. The culmination of elements that make these moments memorable—static heat, sweat, stale beers, music so loud you feel it in your jaw—is rightfully difficult to replicate in recorded music, but that’s what locals the Body and Maryland/Pennsylvania’s Full of Hell have managed to do with their collaborative album, One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache. This tour features both bands performing together as one chaotic, heavy, bone-rattling organism. This seems like the perfect time to be reminded of the cleansing properties of harsh, grimy noise. JENNA FLETCHER

DEMI LOVATO, NICK JONAS
(Moda Center, 1 N Center Court) There have been a few things written in recent weeks lamenting the lack of an obvious “song of the summer” for 2016. If that’s the case, I move we hold over last year’s definitive summertime anthem, Demi Lovato’s steamy paean to seasonal Sapphic flings, “Cool for the Summer.” It’s the little details that make the vibrant pop song an enduring jam, even a year later: the horror-flick piano intro, the savage riff that kicks in for the pre-chorus, the little synth bloop that bubbles up just ahead of the chorus, the curvaceous way Demi sings, “body tyyyyyyyyype.” OMG, this song, you guys—it’s so awesome, it deserves two summers! Anyway, Lovato has done plenty before and since, but when she takes the stage at Moda Center tonight, it’s “Cool for the Summer” I’ll be anticipating. (Well, and “Give Your Heart a Break.”) Lovato’s fellow former-teen-star-turned-sultry-adult Nick Jonas will be there, too. BS

SUNDAY 8/21

MIC CAPES, RASHEED JAMAL, MAZE KOROMA
(Rontoms, 600 E Burnside) Any chance you get to see Mic Capes perform for free, YOU GO. It’s become pretty clear he’s going places, so you may as well enjoy him live while he’s cheap. For the lucky souls who do show up, you’re gonna hear these “Razor Tongue” bars loud and clear. Last week Capes invited a select crowd to a listening party for his long-awaited album Concrete Dreams, a cohesive 20-track project that offers a detailed and thorough glimpse into his soul. No spoilers yet, but at the end of the party he premiered a cool new visual for a bonus track from the album called “Fessenden Flow.” The free show at Rontoms also features super-solid emcee Rasheed Jamal and Maze Koroma of EYRST. These three young lyricists are making Portland hip-hop look good, and it’ll be pretty priceless to watch them stun a packed house of hipsters. JENNI MOORE

MONDAY 8/22

X-ILE ON RAY STREET: A BENEFIT FOR XRAY.FM: REPTALIENS, PSYCHOMAGIC, LOLA BUZZKILL, THEO CRAIG, CHANCIE CHANCE
(Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand) The longer XRAY.fm exists, the clearer it becomes that the station’s future is in great hands. Portland lo-fi popsters Reptaliens are pulling the strings this time, curating an über-potent lineup of heavy-hitting rockers for a big old benefit shindig. Performing will be decadent glitter-bombers Lola Buzzkill, dark-garage punk savants Psychomagic, and a super-secret headliner that, despite multiple inquiries, shall remain a secret until the day of the show. With XRAY.fm DJs Chancie Chance and the omnipresent Theo Craig, this benefit show will be well worth your five bones. All proceeds go directly to XRAY.fm to ensure its continued pursuit of upping the ante for local radio. Tonight also doubles as Reptaliens’ tour kickoff show in support of their new LP, Recordings, so pick that up, too. RYAN J. PRADO

ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY Tues 8/23 Analog Café Wendy Stumman
BORIS Tues 8/23 Wonder Ballroom Courtesy of Sargent House

TUESDAY 8/23

ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY, TEEN SUICIDE, NICOLE DOLLANGANGER
(Analog Café, 720 SE Hawthorne) Elvis Depressedly plays airy, chilled-out bedroom pop that covers its sadness and discomfort like a wool sweater. The Asheville, North Carolina, duo of Mat Cothran (guitar/vocals) and Delaney Mills (keyboards/synth/drums) is lo-fi by definition only. While the lo-fi signifier can be synonymous with warm power-pop and Ramones-inspired pop-punk, Elvis Depressedly falls at the opposite end of the spectrum. On their 2015 LP, New Alhambra, Cothran declares, “There is no such thing as rock ’n’ roll” over a somber acoustic guitar and drum machine beat that’s placed between frantic recordings of apocalyptic preachers. Each keyboard and synth line in an Elvis Depressedly song is packaged with the surprising sting of touching dry ice for the first time in middle-school science class. This year the band reissued their modern cult classic EP Holo Pleasures as a 12-inch on Boston label Run For Cover Records, adding their previously unreleased EP California Dreamin’ to the B-side. They’re touring with similarly referential and dour indie-pop act Teen Suicide. CAMERON CROWELL

BORIS, EARTH
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) In certain circles, ambient-metal trio Boris is pretty much Japan’s biggest artistic export since Shonen Knife or Ichiro Suzuki. The band’s classic 2005 album Pink has been reissued, repackaged, and revisited for a sort of victory lap as the band’s most well-known release. Pink was essentially one of the first contemporary metal albums to branch out of the axe-wielding realm of doom and huge riffs to include shoegaze-y contemplativeness, psychedelia, and ambient noise—a concoction so powerful it’s been more or less unparalleled in any major sense since its release. Staunch metal dudes will always find ways to dispute originality or authenticity within their community, but Pink’s imprint has been time-tested for posterity by now. The reissue also includes nine previously unreleased tracks, so there are new folds to explore in the dense sonic shroud of Atsuo, Wata, and Takeshi. Boris is playing the entire goddamn thing front to back for you, so get ready to feel good and weird. RJP