TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and right now festival season is chugging its final beer. But before it all ends, weâve got to get through the inaugural merger of Portlandâs long-running MusicfestNW and Project Pabst. If youâre skeptical of a formerly fantastic citywide festival joining forces with a giant beer ad, youâre not aloneâand that there are only four female-fronted acts on the Waterfront lineup is hugely disappointing. There is an alternative: Festicide, an annual antidote to the overly commercialized feel of bigger festivals with âNo wristbands, no sponsors, no bullshit, just the way we like it.â Now in its third year, Festicide hosts shows at venues across the city in a style similar to the old MusicfestNW. While Festicide and MusicfestNW Presents Project Pabst are foils of each other, there are fantastic musicians playing both festivalsâhere are our top picks:
MUSICFESTNW PRESENTS PROJECT PABST
THE COATHANGERS
Atlanta punk trio the Coathangersâ latest record Nosebleed Weekend mercilessly gallops and kicks like a demonic steed. âDown Downâ shakes and settles around its dark, dwindling baseline, while âExcuse Me?â unapologetically crushes a scrub with the line, âItâs a shame you let my name out of your mouth.â Sat 1:35 pm
LIV WARFIELDPortland soul icon Liv Warfield sings with power thatâs unwaveringâthe kind of fire-starting dynamism that lights up a room and takes down a stage. Warfield worked closely with the recently departed Prince, who produced her 2014 record The Unexpected and brought her on to sing in his New Power Generation band. Waterfront Park, Sat 2:20 pm
HOP ALONGHop Alongâs Frances Quinlan has a voice that could launch a thousand ships. Tracks like âWaitressâ off last yearâs Painted Shut find Quinlan pushing her register skyward, bending and breaking in gusts of wind like a rippling kite. Set against wild layers of lo-fi indie rock, Hop Alongâs performance promises to be impossibly magnetic. Waterfront Park, Sun 2:20 pm
SHEER MAGWith searing power pop riffs, bum-wiggling basslines, and Christina Halladayâs incendiary howls, Sheer Mag sounds like they crash-landed from the â70s. âFan the Flamesâ is one of the best songs of 2015, and the bandâs March EP III follows suit with tracks like âNobodyâs Babyââthree minutes of pure rock ânâ roll bliss with chugging guitar licks and Halladayâs cutting kiss-off, âYou donât know just what Iâm worth.â Waterfront Park, Sun 3:05 pm
FESTICIDE III
ORO AZOROIn June, Oro Azoro put out Primal, their third release since forming in 2013. Itâs 16 tracks of vampiric R&B, soul for those without souls. Kadi Raeâs deep, operatic vocals paired with sludgy piano and dark organ tones definitely make Oro Azoro sound like the house band in Count Draculaâs basement lounge. Standout âBloodâ uses what sounds like a toy organ against sweeping, eerie harmonies. Sat Aug 27, Anarres Infoshop (7101 N Lombard)
MR. WRONG
Unlike the terrible Ellen DeGeneres romcom of the same name, Portlandâs Mr. Wrong is excellent. Their April debut, Distraction Demo, is seven short bursts of lo-fi punk greatness. On closing track âAssholeâ they ask, âAre you cool enough for Mr. Wrong?â The answer is a resounding no. Sun Aug 28, Anarres Infoshop (7101 N Lombard)
TINY KNIVESAnarcho-punk trio Tiny Knivesâ February full-length Black Haze is an unrelenting deluge of guttural power. âSilk in the Waterâ is an iconic trackâwhat begins as slow and bated unleashes the repeatedly screamed incantation âIâve been eating myself from the inside.â Their music is unhinged and unmissable. Sun Aug 28, High Water Mark (6800 NE MLK)
DROWSEEarlier this month, Drowseâs Kyle Bates released Memory Bed, an EP featuring Maya Stoner of Sabonis. Its three songs contrast hushed, distant vocals and sparse acoustic guitar strumming against the roar of full-throttle reverb that threatens to drone out the delicacy. Itâs the shoegaze equivalent of sitting in a rowboat in a pond and not realizing that thereâs a horrendous monster lurking beneath the surfaceâthereâs a strange beauty in the EPâs ominous tone. Sun Aug 28, High Water Mark (6800 NE MLK)