WEDNESDAY 9/7

BREAKER BREAKER, THE LOVESORES, QUEEN CHIEF, THE SADISTS, DJ ANDY MAXIMUM
(Twilight Café, 1420 SE Powell) Dead Moon drummer Andrew Loomis died on March 8 this year, but his impact can still be felt in the lifeblood of their home city, particularly through the inestimable number of Portland bands that remain influenced by Dead Moon’s rain-wisped, Pacific Northwest punk. One of those bands, Breaker Breaker, had their fates directly impacted by Loomis, who in his last years professed a desire to devote his energy to giving young bands a leg up through his experience and European touring connections. Loomis died before seeing his plans reach fruition, but Breaker Breaker’s debut album—released tonight—is a fine tribute to him, and while its variety of steam-train, leather-clad ’80s punk ’n’ metal is a far cry from the bluesier jackknife sound of Dead Moon, the band’s power and exuberance are emblematic of Loomis’ love of all things loud ’n’ howled. NED LANNAMANN

CASUAL BURN, BOBBY PERU, VOG
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Bobby Peru, the villain of David Lynch’s 1990 film Wild at Heart, is surreal, gross, toothy, and delectably distasteful. Portland punk band Bobby Peru’s music and high-energy performances match the vibe of their fictional inspiration, epitomized by their song “Bath Salt Boogie,” a twisted backwoods ditty about eating people’s faces while high on the aforementioned drug. Bobby Peru has a cult following of their own here in Portland: It’s not unusual to see an “I’D DO BOBBY PERU” shirt around town—a slogan now associated with the group, not the character. They’re the kind of endearingly grimy band that writes their contact info on a bathroom stall. EMMA BURKE

THURSDAY 9/8

SUBHUMANS, KICKER, RAUKOUS, RENDERED USELESS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) It’s fitting that pissed-off, hyper-British, anarcho-punk band Subhumans is touring in 2016, the only year America has had any interest in UK politics. (I may not fully understand what “Brexit” means, but I’ve seen my fair share of tweets about it from people who also probably don’t fully understand what it means.) Subhumans’ anti-capitalist, anti-religion, class warfare-promoting catalog is still relevant today, especially in light of their home country’s recent political discontent. Staying relevant can be difficult for bands considered foundational in their genre, but Subhumans continue to propagate their political beliefs while embodying the punk ethos year after year. EMMA BURKE

DENVER, EVENING BELL, DUSTY SANTAMARIA
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Dying Stars is the debut full-length from Seattle’s Evening Bell, and tonight they’re heading down to Portland to celebrate its release. It’s an outlaw country record of hits and misses—not all tracks sustain the energy of the casually heartbreaking opener, “This Bar Room Ain’t Your Church.” But when songwriters Caitlin Sherman and Hart Kingsbery get it right, they hit homeruns that land on Mars. Six-and-a-halfminute standout “What an Angel Does” grows from one minimalist guitar riff that hinges on the heavy question, “Are you comin’ home tonight?” Opener and former Portland musician Dusty Santamaria recently relocated to Los Angeles and released a languidly magical new EP, Sylvia Says, while Denver’s particular brand of dusky, pedal-steel country is bone dry and cynical, borrowing more than a little inspiration from Gram Parsons’ the Flying Burrito Brothers. CIARA DOLAN

LOW CULTURE, DIVERS, PISS TEST, STEEL CHAINS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) With their lithe, athletic garage-punk, Low Culture is a welcome new addition to Portland. The band recently moved from Las Cruces, New Mexico, bringing with them the bones of their sophomore LP, Places to Hide. The album doesn’t do much hiding, though—songs as upfront as “Defective Brain” slither in jangly, lo-fi celebration, feigning disgust and reverence for the foils of ineptitude. “Wrong Side of History” and “Alone Together” flex more of the lean punk attack, pulling scratchy guitars over bin-lid drums in homage to ’80s DC hardcore. Tonight’s show celebrates the release of Places to Hide, and the new kids in town have a huge supporting cast in Divers, Piss Test, and Steel Chains. Get there early and practice your pogo. RYAN J. PRADO

FRIDAY 9/9

JOSEPH, DUNCAN FELLOWS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) I'm Alone, No You're Not is the latest from Portland sister-trio Joseph, and tonight’s show celebrates the record’s release. Its 11 tracks are bound by folksy pop melodies and the synchrony of the sisters’ eerily similar harmonies. Joseph’s music resounds with the interconnected power of family, and it’s stunning. CIARA DOLAN

LOCH LOMOND, SMALL MILLION
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our review of Loch Lomond’s Pens from Spain.

MONOLORD, SWEAT LODGE, URCHIN
(Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) Prepping Portlanders for the upcoming onslaught of stoner doom at this month’s NW Hesh Fest, one of RidingEasy Records’ newest Swedish imports, Monolord, have no difficulty expressing how deeply Black Sabbath influenced their music. The band, who shares a label roster with local favorites Sons of Huns and Danava, have already made considerable waves in the metal scene while still only being on their sophomore release, April’s Vænir. Rounding out their efforts will be dark, atmospheric doom from the depths of the Mariana Trench provided by local duo Urchin and slight aural relief from Austin’s bluesy-psych act Sweat Lodge. CERVANTE POPE

BOMBAY BEACH, LOVE BOYS, RECORDS FOR RENT
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Bombay Beach’s Jeremiah Hayden (also of Modern Kin), Kelli Schaefer, Ryan Lynch, and Matt Zimmerman vacillate between cinematic art-rock wizards and melodic pop alchemists. Earlier this summer, Bombay Beach dropped their debut, Death Tape, on Hayden’s own Amigo/Amiga Records, and with it a writhing cinematic mindfuck for the single “Thee Mote.” The record itself is a sort of soundtrack to a film the band has been working on, the details of which are as fuzzy as some of the songs on Death Tape. But it’s a good kind of fuzzy, a dizzying haze as found on segueing instrumental tracks like “Ships” that give way to foreboding synth nightmares like “Murder USA.” It’s really, really good. RJP

SATURDAY 9/10

THE FIXIN' TO GRAND OPENING SHOW: THE FUR COATS, FOG FATHER, CAT HOCH, MINI BLINDS, MERINGUE, VEXATIONS, HIGH DIVING HORSES
(The Fixin’ To, 8218 N Lombard) St. Johns bar the Fixin’ To always had a great patio, and now they’ve got a live music venue to boot. The newly built annex, which holds just over 100, was designed with great sound in mind and will bring lots of local live music to North Portland. Tonight’s grand opening—part of St. Johns’ NoFest—boasts a stacked bill of great Portland bands, including the Fur Coats, Cat Hoch, and several others. NED LANNAMANN

GENDERS, EYELIDS, DOGHEART
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) There are some flames that never die, including the musical friendship between Eyelids’ Chris Slusarenko and John Moen. These two are quick to finish each other’s sentences and jokes, not to mention songs. The duo put off starting their own band for years as they toured and recorded with acts like the Decemberists, Elliott Smith, and Guided by Voices. Luckily, the idea persisted, and eventually Eyelids was born. The band’s latest 7-inch is effervescent pop that harkens back to the foundations of the Portland sound with a fresh breath. It’s a preview of what’s to come, namely Eyelids’ second full-length—a first for Slusarenko, who has never recorded a second record with any of the many bands he’s started. Long overdue, but for anyone who caught their recent set at PDX Pop Now!, it’s far from stale. JENI WREN STOTTRUP

NOFEST FREAK STAGE: CONSUMER, AMENTA ABIOTO, GOOO, ELROND, 1000TRASHCANS, RAS MIX, THE SOCIAL STOMACH, PAPER GATES, MARC & THE HORSEJERKS, SHARON, BLINK MACHINE
(James John Café, 8527 N Lombard) The annual NoFest is back to celebrate its 10th year with the best in avant-garde at various venues around St. Johns. The Freak Stage at James John Café will feature an array of experimental electronic performers, several of whom have releases on one of Portland’s premier weirdo electronic record labels, SadoDamascus Records. 1000Trashcans (Nicholas Schwartz) is one of the label head’s noise-inspired side projects that centers on twisted hip-hop beats strangled by various effects under distorted, angsty rap. Amenta Abioto is a multi-instrumentalist and African soul performer who creates melodic vocal loops that build on each other in exquisite rhythmic harmonies. Standout Ras Mix (Aaron Salomon) releases nonstop left-field electronica that oozes quality and dedication. He’ll lift the rock in the far corner of the desert and unleash the elusive sounds you’ve been looking for. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD 

SUNDAY 9/11

PORTLAND BLACK MUSIC FEST: MIC CAPES, KIMBERLY MONIQUE, COOL NUTZ, SAEEDA WRIGHT, RASHEED JAMAL, MADGESDIQ, ROCHELL D. HART, TYRONE HENDRIX, PATRICK SERAYA, ANDRE ST. JAMES
(Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan) Read our story on Portland’s Black Music Festival

SAD RAD, WOLVVES, SOCCER MOMS, HORSE MOVIES
(Analog Café, 720 SE Hawthorne) Sad Rad’s twinkly, simple indie rock is unabashedly pleasant. Escapism at its purest, the band’s most recent EP, Sick Girlz Lame Boyz, sounds like Youth Lagoon without any internal strife—Sad Rad exists in the manic pixie dream world created by indie rockers of yesteryear, where sadness is acknowledged but ultimately fleeting. The choice to keep audible background noise (shuffling, people talking, guitars tuning) in the final versions of the pretty synth tunes seems like an effort to edge up the recordings, but Sad Rad is a clean-cut band majoring in soft pop with a minor in twee. They find their groove in instrumental tracks and the delicate vocals of singer/songwriter Sophia Modica. Any reach for darkness (namely, references to anxiety or angst in song titles) seems insincere—Sad Rad is a confection, and although anguish can seem like the source of all art, owning up to blind positivity has a plethora of merits as well. EMMA BURKE

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, THE SHIVAS, TOP DOWN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Death Valley Girls’ June release, Glow in the Dark, ferociously torments lo-fi grittiness with hot poker guitar riffs and Bonnie Bloomgarden’s hell-raising howls and shrieks. Her unbelievably elastic register is the dark centerpiece of standout “Seis Seis Seis,” a track that devolves from controlled incantation into complete sonic breakdown. “I’m a Man Too” head-butts the notion that “It’s a man’s world” with doo-wop punk, while “Love Spell” mechanically churns drums and heavy riffs under Bloomgarden’s piercing snarls. Death Valley Girls’ hellish punk is inescapably magnetic, like running into a tornado and relishing the hair-whipping chaos. CD

PROPHETS OF RAGE
(Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 NE Delfel, Ridgefield, WA) Despite the whole rap rock thing being sullied by the likes of Limp Bizkit—who proved to be the final nail in the coffin—Rage Against the Machine still has the respect of many, since they actually had important things to say. Add decades of truth-telling from Public Enemy, and it’s best to pay attention. Prophets of Rage—members of RATM sans Zack de la Rocha, with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and DJ Lord, and B-Real from Cypress Hill—have formed to fight back against the racism, xenophobia, and sexism propagated by Trump and other GOP goons. If America has ever needed Prophets of Rage, whose performances are rallies against social and racial inequalities, it’s right now. If these Prophets connect with just a handful of people, consider this a good thing. MARK LORE

MONDAY 9/12

MOOR MOTHER, ASTRAL TEMPEST, DANIELA KARINA
(S1, 4148 NE Hancock) The genres under which Camae Ayewa categorizes her music are as poetic and transfixing as the sounds themselves: “slave ship punk,” “black ghost songs,” and “witch rap” don’t and shouldn’t act as points of reference for listeners new to Moor Mother (Ayewa’s musical activist moniker), for she’s twisting familiar noises to a point beyond recognition and into an uncharted auditory plane. Moor Mother is protest music at its best and most contemporary—Ayewa uses oral history (ranging from political speeches by Angela Davis and Assata Shakur to punk samples) and cacophonous, industrial noise to reflect on and get riled about what still hasn’t (but desperately needs to be) changed. Perusing Moor Mother’s extensive digital discography is a mental trip to a world where all bodies move free, where all bodies can be angry, emotive, and erratic, and where the voice of the black woman is heard. EMMA BURKE

TUESDAY 9/13

BLACK SABBATH, RIVAL SONS
(Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 NE Delfel, Ridgefield, WA) Dinosaur bands announce farewell tours all the time, but I’m inclined to take Black Sabbath at their word. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler are without founding drummer Bill Ward on this final plunge into the void, but that’s only a small nit to pick when confronted with the LAST. CHANCE. EVER. to see one of the most revolutionary and influential bands of all time. Sabbath’s Brummie-inflected take on blues and boogie rock was like the earth cracking open, drenching us with molten heavy-metal lava. NED LANNAMANN Also read our story on Black Sabbath.

BOYZ II MEN
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) There will probably never be a better boy band than Boyz II Men were in their prime. “Motownphilly,” the group’s 1991 debut video, introduced a very receptive MTV audience to an infectious atmosphere brimming with pep rally swagger, a colorful personality palette, and, best of all, untouchable vocal dynamics. Their formula was old-school doo-wop acrobatics spiced with hip East Coast production, and the resulting magic ran the gamut of African American harmonizing, thus cementing their reputation as irrepressible talents. Megahits from this era like “I’ll Make Love to You,” “End of the Road,” and their a cappella masterpiece “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye” have since stamped Boyz II Men indelibly into the pantheon of not only Philadelphia’s R&B history, but popular consciousness as well. It’s this timeless quality that will keep them filling venues like the Schnitz 25 years past their prime. CHRIS SUTTON

BOMBA ESTEREO
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Colombian band Bomba Estereo makes psychedelic electro-cumbia, ranging from tropical party-starters to champeta-influenced folk ballads. Charismatic singer Liliana Saumet and multi-instrumentalist Simon Mejía are pioneers in the scene that also spawned acts like Dengue Dengue Dengue and Chancha Via Circuito. They’ve been working together for 10 years, combining traditional Colombian instrumentation with modern electronic sounds. Bomba Estereo’s latest album, Amanecer (their first on a major label) pushes their experimentations even further, taking influence from their international tours and fusing their electro-tropical sound with kwaito, global bass, dancehall, and juke. Their live show promises vivid jungle visuals, pulsing Latin beats, and plenty of costume changes. DANIELA SERNA