SUPER PICK
FLEET FOXES, CHRIS COHEN
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Next time youâre looking for someone to blame for the Pacific Northwestâs recent influx of transplants, Iâd (jokingly) recommend pointing a finger at Fleet Foxes. After all, the bandâs folksy hymnals partly inspired my migration north from California six years ago. Formed in Seattle in the mid-â00s, the five-piece released its second EP, Sun Giant, and self-titled LP in 2008. These songs were faded postcards from the Pacific Northwestâs rugged landscapes, sent by wannabe mountain monks who praised the regionâs natural magic with bright eyes, reverently plucked mandolin, and chanted three-part harmonies that call to mind 1960s groups like Crosby, Stills, and Nash or Fairport Convention. In 2011, Fleet Foxes released the toiled-over follow-up Helplessness Bluesâan album wrought with coming-of-age existentialism, as frontman Robin Pecknold longs to become âa functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me.â This overeager quest for purpose courses through the bandâs early catalog, making for earnest folk-pop thatâs relatable but sometimes exasperatingly melodramatic. Fleet Foxes recently remerged without former drummer Josh Tillman (whoâs since gone solo as Father John Misty) to release their forthcoming third album, Crack-Up. Its two singles, âThird of May / Ćdaigaharaâ and âFoolâs Errand,â present abstract, experimental folk that swells with string instrumentals and untraditional song structures. Itâs no less cerebralâjust see Pecknoldâs lengthy Genius annotations for the first track. Though these tangents and references can be tedious to follow, Fleet Foxesâ latest fractures the beauty of their past work and rearranges the pieces into something more interesting. This Portland show is long sold-out, but if youâve got a way in, youâll experience one of their first US dates in six years and an opportunity to hear their new music in person before itâs released. CIARA DOLAN
WEDNESDAY 5/17
KIKAGAKU MOYO, SUGAR CANDY MOUNTAIN, PAX
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Tokyo band Kikagaku Moyo make the kind of psychedelic rock that sounds like itâs creating cracks in the earthâs crust, but they also leaven the more volcanic passages with gorgeous pastoral bits. See them tonight and get your mind blown by the entrancing jams from their latest EP, Stone Garden. NED LANNAMANN
THE WILD REEDS, BLANK RANGE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our story on the Wild Reeds.
SHANNON AND THE CLAMS, EAT SKULL
(High Water Mark, 6800 NE MLK) The 1950s seem like they sucked, but Shannon and the Clams salvage all the good stuff from that strange decade with their modern doo-wop revival. Well, at least the good stuff from the movies. Shiny cars! Milkshakes! Knife fights! The Oakland, California, band plays music thatâs fit for high school gyms and pimple-faced backseat makeouts. They do a mean cover of Del Shannonâs âRunaway,â that old song from American Graffiti with guitar that sounds like itâs accelerating into hairpin turns. And frontwoman Shannon Shawâs voice is something to beholdâitâs all velvet one second, all venom the next. Marry that to the Clamsâ curlicue surf guitar riffs, rumbling bass lines, slow dance-paced percussion, and periodic cameos from a carnival organ, and youâre spellbound. An example of this perfect union is the slow-burning âCorvetteâ from the bandâs latest release, 2015âs Gone by the Dawn. It steadily builds, but never climaxes, while Shaw croons, âIâm just waiting here on the corner for a Corvette that never comes.â Thereâs something sinister about Shannon and the Clamsâ bubblegum pop, like itâs laced with shards of glass, but thatâs probably what catapults them beyond the swamp of nostalgia that drowns less talented retro bands. I must warn you: This show is very sold out. CIARA DOLAN
THURSDAY 5/18
3 DAYS IN PORTLAND: ALVVAYS, THE COURTNEYS, CANDACE
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Read our 3 Days in Portland preview.
FLEET FOXES, CHRIS COHEN
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Read our super pick.
YGBâS DAYDREAMS: DJ LAMAR LEROY, LISA VASQUEZ, [E]MPRESS SUPERNATURAL
(Holladay City Park, 1100 NE Holladay) Some say we should look to the younger generations if weâd like a glimpse of our future. If those performing at YGBâs DayDreams are any indication, itâs safe to say weâre headed in the right direction. The all-ages daytime event at Holladay Park is a collaboration with DUG and Friends of Noise, and YGB cofounder Natalie Figuroa says the party will be âfamily reunion style.â Between open mic sessions, YGBâs resident DJ Lamar LeRoy will spin the wax while b-boys from the Morpheus Youth Project break it down to the beats. Scheduled performances from loop-pedalist Lisa Vasquez and Sicilian hip-hop vocalist [E]mpress Supernatural are sure to slay. Kick your summer off right with this feel-good community kickback. EMILLY PRADO
THE FRIGHTS, HUNNY, KING SHELTER
(Analog CafĂ©, 720 SE Hawthorne) When I lived alone in LA for a summer, I went to a lot of concerts by myself. Itâs an easy city to feel isolated in and, as clichĂ© as it sounds, being able to lose myself in crowds was a great distraction. I saw a lot of shitty bands in shitty bars, but at one mini-festival in Echo Park I was charmed by the Frights, a surf-punk band from San Diego. They brought screaming pop-punk and sonic sunshine to the dark bar. Last year the Frights released an album produced by FIDLARâs Zac Carper, You Are Going to Hate This. At times, singer Mikey Carnevale channels the sweetness of early Rivers Cuomo (particularly on âPuppy Knucklesâ), but for a surfy pop-punk band, the Frights manage to avoid any derivation from their predecessors. EMMA BURKE
FRIDAY 5/19
WELCOME TO TWIN PEAKS: VEXATIONS, WL, THE OTHER PLACE, STOCHASTIC METTLE UNION
(The Fixinâ To, 8218 N Lombard) The Fixinâ Toâs Twin Peaks tribute night gears up for the revival with tunes inspired by noted Peaks soundtrackers Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti [MOURNFUL SYNTHESIZERS GO HERE]. Performers include Vexations, WL, the Other Place, and Stochastic Mettle Union. Sounds way more fun than a silent drape runner! MEGAN BURBANK
3 DAYS IN PORTLAND: NAO, HARRIET BROWN, CHANTI DARLING
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Read our 3 Days in Portland preview.
YGBâS THE GLOW: CASUAL AZTEC, SURVIVAL SKILLS, DJ PR11ME
(Jade Club, 315 SE 3rd) The second of two back-to-back parties from Young Gifted and Black, this beats-focused night presented by Beat Parlor features house music prodigy Elbert Phillips and a slew of PNW DJs thatâll keep us dancing. JENNI MOORE
VIKESH KAPOOR, HALEY HEYNDERICKX, CLAIRE PUCKETT
(Beacon Sound, 3636 N Mississippi) Some of Portlandâs finest folk musicians will gather at Beacon Sound tonight to celebrate the release of Vikesh Kapoorâs new single, âDown by the River.â Unlike the Neil Young song of the same name, this lovelorn ballad does not end in murder. Kapoor strums gold-tones from his acoustic guitar, revisiting bygone memories to bid âfare thee well, oh honey, fare thee well.â Heâll be joined by Haley Heynderickx, who tapped into some ancient energy on her 2016 EP Fish Eyes, and the classical shredding of Claire Puckett. CD
LA TAKEDOWN, DEAR NORA
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Itâd be impossible to come up with a soundtrack that perfectly encompasses the spirit of Los Angeles, but Aaron Olson and his misfit band LA Takedown come pretty close. Soaring glam rock guitars duel for sonic space against Ray-Ban-tinged synthesizers and citified rhythms that throb like Sunset Boulevard palm trees on a Saturday night. LA Takedownâs jams glisten like the coolest â80s video game music youâve never heard, and the melodic sheen of these opuses harkens back to indie instrumentalists like Trans Am or the Fucking Champs. The pop intimacies of Dear NoraâPortland singer/songwriter Katy Davidsonâs platform for precious sun-touched musingsâwill be the perfect beginning to a warm, fuzz-filled evening. Earlier this year, Davidson reissued Dear Noraâs 2004 album Mountain Rock, an underground classic thatâs aged impeccably well. CHRIS SUTTON
BLACK MARBLE, DRAA, DROWSE, DARK RED SEED
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) Thereâs comfort in sadness, and the music of Black Marble (AKA Chris Stewart) exemplifies this good/bad feeling. Since splitting from his former creative partner Ty Kube, Stewartâs bounced from the East Coast to the West Coast, but the relocation hasnât made his music any sunnier. On 2016âs Itâs Immaterial, Black Marble sounds even more hauntedâitâs cold and calculated post-punk, with heavy synth and moody production. CERVANTE POPE
THE MINDERS, MO TROPER AND THE ASSUMPTIONS, BOREEN
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Twenty years ago, the hot thang in indie-pop was the Elephant 6 Collective, a family of bands that played a particularly psychedelic and Beach Boys-influenced brand of pop-rock. The headliners were Neutral Milk Hotel, the Apples in Stereo, and the Olivia Tremor Control, and one of the affiliated groups was the Minders, a Beatles-lovinâ combo out of Denver. A great secret of the Elephant 6 Collective is that the Mindersâ 1998 album Hooray for Tuesday is every bit as good as anything else any other E6 band released. Itâs a perfect pop record. Eventually, head Minder Martyn Leaper moved his operation to Portland, where he put out a couple more releases (including 2006âs essential Itâs a Bright Guilty World) and then disappeared, more or less, for a decade. Which brings us to last yearâs Into the River, the first Minders album in 10 years. Recorded with local studio wiz Larry Crane, itâs a wonderful reminder of Leaperâs extraordinaryâand underappreciatedâtalent for marrying memorable melodies and lush, jangling guitars. BEN SALMON
SATURDAY 5/20
SAM COOMES, THOLLEMâS HOT PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS,REBECCA COLE
(The Know, 3728 NE Sandy) With nothing more than his trusty vintage organ, mid-â60s rhythm box, and restless vocal attack, Portland indie rock fixture Sam Coomes twists up off-kilter-yet-groovy experimental pop that springs to life like a circuit breaker being magically flipped on at some long-abandoned carnival midway. If you havenât witnessed Coomes performing in support of his 2016 solo debut, Bugger Me, tonightâs show presents the perfect opportunity to remedy that. CHIPP TERWILLIGER
3 DAYS IN PORTLAND: AMINĂ, A2, THE LAST ARTFUL, DODGR
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Read our 3 Days in Portland preview.
OREGON SYMPHONY, TAMARA WILSON, ELIZABETH DeSHONG
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Tonight through Monday, the Oregon Symphony brings its 120th classical season to a close with just one work on the final program, but what a work it is: Gustav Mahlerâs epic Symphony No. 2. Requiring a beefed-up orchestra (10 horns! Six trumpets! Four trombones!), a pair of virtuoso female vocalists, a brilliant four-part choir, and over an hour of intense concentration, Mahlerâs wondrously sprawling composition of 1895 was a game-changer in the world of music, smashing previous expectations of what a symphony should and could be. Mahlerâs idiosyncratic orchestration requires individual musicians to shine and collective symphonic forces to blaze, creating an expansive soundscape you just wonât hear anywhere else. BRIAN HORAY
DAVID LUNING, IZAAK OPATZ
(White Eagle, 836 N Russell) Izaak Opatz is the best songwriter youâve probably never heard of. As leader of Missoula band the Best Westerns, Opatz dabbles in off-kilter country and roadhouse rock (see the bandâs fantastic 2014 record High Country). Februaryâs Mariachi Static is Opatzâs solo debut, buoyed by wry tunes that bring twangy, back-porch pop into the 21st century. âOne Way or Anotherâ is a punky track about attending a former loverâs wedding, and on âArmâs Length Away,â Opatz praises downed wifi and the absence of cell service as welcome barriers that prevented him from reaching out to an ex after a long night at the bar. He sprinkles honesty into his music with a wink, using the three-minute pop song mold for cerebral (and fun) meta-modern country. RYAN J. PRADO
SUNDAY 5/21
MICHAEL KIWANUKA, CLOVES
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Read our story on Michael Kiwanuka.
OREGON SYMPHONY, TAMARA WILSON, ELIZABETH DeSHONG
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) See Saturdayâs preview.
WILD COMBINATION: A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ARTHUR RUSSELL
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) The world would have surely come around to the avant-disco and minimalist classical music of the late Arthur Russell eventually. But what has helped spur a dedicated cult following around this New York legend were a pair of compilation albums released in 2004 that revealed to a new generation of fans what a formidable talent we lost when he passed away in 1992. Since then, singles like âKiss Me Againâ and âIs It All Overâ have popped up regularly in DJ sets, and folks started to hear the influence he had on artists like LCD Soundsystem and Fischerspooner. To celebrate what should have been Russellâs 66th birthday, Holocene is throwing a party that will include performances of his work by Chanti Darling, Moorea Masa, and Shy Girls member Noah Bernstein, plus DJ sets and a lecture by artist Matt Marble. ROBERT HAM
MONDAY 5/22
OREGON SYMPHONY, TAMARA WILSON, ELIZABETH DeSHONG
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) See Saturdayâs preview.
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, THE WARLOCKS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) I was born 10 years after the release of the Jesus and Mary Chainâs debut LP, Psychocandy, and entered a world already ripe with bands inspired by them. The groupâs noisy, beautiful heroin-rock made an impression on even the sincerest of indie groups, like Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins. I first heard âJust Like Honeyâ thanks to the final scene of Lost in Translation. Itâs catchy, but also raucous and nonlinearâlike a bizarro love song. Psychocandy ebbs and flows in listener-friendliness, but hidden behind the feedback, fuzz, and monotonous vocals are timeless melodies. Unfortunately, on the Jesus and Mary Chainâs new album, Damage and Joy, the moodiness is cleanerâitâs no longer a subversive reaction to youthful discontent, and instead sounds like dull crabbiness. EMMA BURKE
HO99O9, Injury Reserve
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) With artists like Death Grips and clipping. forcing open the doors of perception to the sounds of what could roughly be called ânoise rap,â groups like Ho99o9 (pronounced âHorrorâ) are sauntering in boldly behind them. This New Jersey duo are perhaps a little more palatable than their contemporaries, as their productions often play within the same guidelines of trap and drill, albeit a version that is overblown and distorted with rhymes delivered through full-throated shouts and gritted-teeth frustration. But the group peppers their upcoming album United States of Ho99o9 with diversions into hardcore punk, industrial, and darkwave. Where they do connect more fully with their brethren is with the power of their live show. Ho99o9 concerts are violent, sweaty affairs that feel as dangerous as their music sounds. RH
TUESDAY 5/23
MOMMY LONG LEGS, THE BEDROOMS, MR. WRONG
Rock Product, are âgoblin butlersâ and âmilitant feminist.â Those tags, like the 7-inch itself, are a succinct mission statement. I have no idea what the fuck a goblin butler is, as Iâm sure is the point, but thereâs no confusion about that second one. While Mommy Long Legsâ music is stuffed to the brim with inside jokes, song titles like âDiva Nightâ and âDick Moveâ and a memorable refrain of âWeâd be better off without youâ leave little doubt where the four-pieceâs priorities lie. The bandâs whole catalog sits in the nebulous ether where everything is simultaneously dead serious and a complete jokeâwhich, as Rock Productâs closing cover of the Cramps proves, is a blueprint thatâs just as relevant in 2017 as it was in 1986. NATHAN TUCKER