SAT OCT 27-MON OCT 29

Oregon Symphony, Jeffrey Kahane
The incomparable pianist Jeffrey Kahane has performed many times with the Oregon Symphony, but instead of his usual Mozartian fare, the crisp and buoyant soloist will play a work especially composed for him by the intriguing (and fun) Andrew Norman. Created in 2015, Norman’s piano fantasy Split incorporates the usual orchestral suspects, along with the kickass percussive additions of flower pot, washboard, and spring coil, treating everyone in attendance to an exploration of unplugged sonic wonder. The program also includes a trio of dances from Bernstein’s On the Town and concludes brilliantly with Tchaikovsky’s fiery, mind-blowing Symphony No. 4. (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Sat & Mon 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm, $25-125, all ages) BRIAN HORAY

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SAT OCT 27

She Shreds Five-Year Anniversary: Nai Palm, Francesca Simone, Sávila, Black Belt Eagle Scout
For those who think the constant preening and posturing of male guitarists is RIDICULOUS, She Shreds magazine—devoted to spotlighting women guitarists and bassists—is a hard-rocking, healing salve. Now five years old, She Shreds is celebrating their well-earned anniversary with a show that (naturally) features a lineup of fantastic women performers, including Nat Palm (of Hiatus Kaiyote), Francesca Simone (who played for Beyoncé [!!!]), three-piece Cumbia band Sávila, and the radical indigenous queer feminism of Black Belt Eagle Scout. This is a party that’s guaranteed to shred. (Sat Oct 27, 8 pm, Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, $10-20, 18+) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

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SUN OCT 28

Public Image Ltd
John Lydon’s tenure as the leader of Public Image Ltd has eclipsed the number of years he spent fronting the Sex Pistols by at least a decade, but people won’t let him live down his days as Johnny Rotten. More’s the pity, as Public Image Ltd has gone to higher musical heights—incorporating dub, noise, synth-pop, and Steve Vai along the way—than his first band would ever dream of attempting. The group’s current iteration arrives on our shores to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of their debut album and the release of a new career-spanning documentary on the band. (Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell, 8 pm, sold out) ROBERT HAM

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MON OCT 29

Exploded View, Lost Under Heaven
The solo work of Berlin-based singer Annika Henderson lends itself to hypnagogic spells, her haunted incantations backed by the dub-inspired throbs and electronic textures of Portishead’s Geoff Barrow. Henderson’s albums with Exploded View are similarly inclined toward altered states, but multi-instrumentalists Hugo Quezada and Martin Thulin bring barely tamed chaos into the mix, and the results are wonderfully unsettling. The trio’s new album, Obey, is a bad trip turned beautiful, a post-punk meltdown that squirms and writhes like something that is just learning how to live. It’s a nightmare, but the really cool kind where you grow a bunch of extra legs and dance in unholy ways. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $14-16) CHRIS STAMM

Molly Burch, Jesse Woods
Molly Burch’s 2017 debut, Please Be Mine, softens the edges of her ’60s throwback rock for a pretty listen that’s gained her a steady following since its release. On First Flower, Burch’s brand-new sophomore album, grittier songs like “Candy” channel the sheen of Angel Olsen and Mazzy Star, with reverbed guitars and dreamy ambiance. The rollicking “To the Boys” finds Burch crooning, “I don’t need to scream to get my point across/I don’t need to yell to know that I’m the boss.” (Polaris Hall, 635 N Killingsworth Court, 8 pm, $10-12) RYAN J. PRADO

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TUES OCT 30

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Sen Morimoto
Chicago multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya is a musical polymath, having been involved with punk and jazz groups, along with his own hip-hop solo project. Ogbonnaya’s fantastic 2017 album Drool is an experimental banger, stacked with millennial rhymes that touch on ego (“Let Go of My Ego”) and slo-mo trippers that showcase his production skills (“Hop Off”) and mumbling poetics (“No Drool”). (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $10-12) RYAN J. PRADO

Wild Nothing, Men I Trust
Over the course of nine years and four full-length albums, Wild Nothing has quietly become one of the planet’s great purveyors of pristine dream-pop. This is a credit to the man at the center of the project, Jack Tatum, whose admitted perfectionism manifests itself on every Wild Nothing record, where no note, no beat, no synth is ever out of place. That’s true again on Tatum’s new album Indigo, which polishes up his sound through meticulous production and drapes his songs in a distinctly ’80s vibe. Influenced by artists like Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, and especially Roxy Music, Indigo is a chilly wonderland of taut drumbeats, jangling guitar lines, pastel synth tones, echoed melodies, and stories about the intersection of human nature and modern technology. This is precision-guided retro-pop for the 21st century, made by a guy who knows his way around the microgenre. (Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 9 pm, $25-30, all ages) BEN SALMON

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WED OCT 31

Fidlar, Dilly Dally, The Side Eyes
On their thrilling 2015 debut, Sore, Dilly Dally managed to channel the best and noisiest anthems of ’90s alt-rock radio without getting caught up in slavish devotion to period detail. On their sophomore outing, Heaven, the Toronto quartet sounds more like themselves than ever. The album’s nine songs are standalone marvels that cohere into a heavy and epic whole, an album-length dirge that screams and howls and soars. There’s still plenty of pop pleasure here, but it’s the sublime kind of bliss that can’t be divorced from the pain and fear that preceded it. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8:30 pm, $25-27, all ages) CHRIS STAMM

Lil B
For the last 10 years, Lil B has been a dedicated student of hip-hop, a deconstructionist rapper and producer whose work can sound like anything, including the hip-hop of the late-’80s, new-age spoken word, super-free freestyles, deep funk, and hyphy. And now Lil B—AKA his Zenned-out cult-leader persona BasedGod—has become one of the most influential rappers of the decade for his varied production and delivery styles. Made of entirely self-produced beats, Lil B’s 2017 album Black Ken is a casual, 27-track masterpiece. His show at the Hawthorne on Halloween will be a party full to the brim with good vibes. (Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César Chávez, 8 pm, $25-30, all ages) JENNI MOORE

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THU NOV 1

La Luz, Shy Boys
The musical touchstones of La Luz are relatively easily to diagram—Cambodian pop, the Shirelles, Dick Dale, and so on—but the LA-by-way-of-Seattle group braids these elements into something uncommon and great. Their latest, Floating Features, is their most stylistically diverse and confident record to date, and their consistently stellar live show is groovy as all get-out. (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 9 pm, $16-18, all ages) NED LANNAMANN

Mitski, Overcoats
When Mitski Miyawaki’s new record Be the Cowboy came out in August, my friend wondered, “Is this a concept album about kissing?” Upon closer inspection, kissing does come up a lot: On “Nobody,” an electrifying ode to loneliness, Mitski pleads, “I know no one will save me/I’m just asking for a kiss/Give me one good movie kiss/And I’ll be all right.” On the breathless “Pink in the Night,” she explains, “I know I’ve kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right.” Over the thumping, layered rhythms of standout track “Washing Machine Heart,” she sings, “I’m not wearing my usual lipstick/I thought maybe we would kiss tonight.” And then there’s the opening line of “Blue Light”: “Somebody kiss me, I’m going crazy.” All that smoochy talk got me thinking about the significance of a kiss in the Mitskiverse (and beyond)—is it validation? Connection? A relief? Comfort and temporary escape? A transference of energy? Or just a fun thing to do with lips? Probably all of those, but the common thread is needing someone else, which might relate to the record’s broader theme of embodying whatever you wish to be yourself. Mitski recently told the Outline, “The album title kind of came from the fact that I would always kind of jokingly say to myself, ‘Be the cowboy you wish to see the world,’ whenever I was in a situation where maybe I was acting too much like my identity, which is wanting everyone to be happy, not thinking I’m worthy, being submissive, and not asking for more. Every time I would find myself doing exactly what the world expects of me as an Asian woman, I would turn around and tell myself, ‘Well, what would a cowboy do?’” Regardless of the deeper meaning of cowboys and wanting to be kissed, Mitski’s new album is her best yet—a collection of complex, vital, aching, and gorgeous pop songs. CIARA DOLAN (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8:30 pm, $20-22, all ages)

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FRI NOV 2

Harriet Tubman
The three members of Harriet Tubman—bassist Melvin Gibbs, drummer J.T. Lewis, and guitarist Brandon Ross—have provided a musical backbone for artists ranging from Rollins Band to Jewel, Dead Prez to David Sanborn. As a unit, they bring that experience to bear on an electric jazz sound that is fiery and unbound. Their 2017 album Araminta is particularly devastating, with angular tributes to Nina Simone and, with a guest spot from trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, a powerful homage to “President Obama’s Speech at the Selma Bridge.” (Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th, 10:30 pm, $20) ROBERT HAM

Laura Gibson, Maita
Goners, the fifth album from Portland singer/songwriter Laura Gibson, is both the latest installment of her expertly crafted, eerily spectral folksongs and a vista onto new musical territory, where violins and Wurlitzers provide the backdrop for Gibson’s haunted, heartfelt lyrics. In other words, Goners is the newest terrific piece of work from one of Portland’s best, and tonight’s record release show is the perfect chance to make its acquaintance. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 9 pm, $16-18) NED LANNAMANN

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SAT NOV 3

Los Campesinos!, Illuminati Hotties
A visit from Welsh pop-rock wonders Los Campesinos! is reason enough to find your way over to Revolution Hall tonight, but be sure to get there in time for opening act Illuminati Hotties, the project of Los Angeles-based artist Sarah Tudzin. Before forming the band, Tudzin was best (un)known as an assistant to Chris Coady, producer for indie stars like Beach House and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. You can hear her studio aptitude on Illuminati Hotties’ excellent new album Kiss Yr Frenemies, which bounces back and forth between whisper-quiet folk-pop and fully ripped fuzz-rock, radiating killer melodies and breezy charm along the way. Kiss Yr Frenemies is often fun, occasionally sad, always relatable, and one of the best debut albums of 2018. (Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 9 pm, $18-20, all ages) BEN SALMON

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SUN NOV 4

David Crosby and Friends
Classic rock’s favorite grumpy uncle has evolved from aging mustachioed relic into that most 21st century of things: a fantastic social media personality. David Crosby has already left behind more than enough for any one person’s legacy: his pioneering work and bridge-burning break with the Byrds, his ongoing feuds and subsequent reconciliations with Stills, Nash, and Young; his prison time on drug charges; and his surprising contribution to the Melissa Etheridge family tree. But Croz also wields a hilariously curt, insightful tongue through his Twitter handle, where he writes short, fantastic responses to questions from fans and troublemakers alike. Is it the best thing David Crosby has ever been involved in? No—that would be his drowsy, sun-dappled masterpiece of a solo album, 1971’s If I Could Only Remember My Name. But Crosby continues to surprise and evolve more than half a century after “Mr. Tambourine Man.” We’re lucky to still have him around. (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $65-585, all ages) NED LANNAMANN

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MON NOV 5

Troye Sivan, Kim Petras, Carlie Hanson
It’s not often you see a young gay artist singing his truth and openly promoting his LGBTQ status in his music videos, which is why paying attention to the talented Troye Sivan is a good idea. The Australian singer/actor/YouTube star has been making big waves online with a string of out-and-proud pop bangers, such as the emotionally and erotically charged “My My My,” “Bloom,” and radio hit “Wild.” Sivan’s voice is smooth and soothing, but more importantly, it aches—filled with yearning and honesty, he’s refreshingly unafraid to be a man who exposes his feelings (which we need a billion more examples of in this toxic world). While his songs may be emotionally raw, Sivan pulls the fancy trick of also making them ear-buggy and entirely danceable. Jump on the Troye train now, because you definitely do not want to be left behind. (Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 7:30 pm, sold out, all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Open Mike Eagle, Pan Amsterdam
Depending on the project, rapper/comedian/podcaster Open Mike Eagle could choose and mix any of his diverse vocations, but this is a music show, so he’s bound to bring his flowing, nerdy “art rap” and his sometimes dark, always legit humor. This’ll be enough to tide us over until Comedy Central gets his New Negroes show—which he’s co-hosting with fellow comedian Baron Vaughn—on the air. SUZETTE SMITH (Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez, 8 pm, $15, all ages)

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TUES NOV 6

Rozwell Kid, Prince Daddy and The Hyena
Portland is a long way from Gainesville, Florida. That’s where Rozwell Kid and Prince Daddy and the Hyena are playing a punk festival in late October before setting out across the country and up the West Coast. The point is we should thank these two bands for their willingness to endure very long drives in a van, as well as for their excellent pop-rock music. Rozwell Kid’s from West Virginia, and their most recent album Precious Art is catchier than almost any other rock record released over the past couple of years. They conjure up Weezer vibes, man. And New York’s Prince Daddy are punk heroes, precisely because they deliver their hooky tunes with plenty of shredded, devil-may-care ’tude. A sweaty good time awaits. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $13-15) BEN SALMON

The Goon Sax, Mope Grooves, Honey Bucket
We are all forever lost, torn between regret and longing, drifting in an ill-defined middle, trying to find the rope that leads to a solid future. Many of us first become aware of this blurred realm at the tail-end of our teens, when we are young enough to be excited about being anywhere new, even if it sucks. The Goon Sax expertly renders this electric ambivalence with deadpan anthems that combine jittery post-punk and wide-eyed twee pop. Every song on the Australian trio’s second album, We’re Not Talking, is a brief and poignant dispatch from a sweet spot on the verge of souring. It would make you want to be young again if you didn’t know where youth eventually led. (Polaris Hall, 635 N Killingsworth Court, 8 pm, $10-12) CHRIS STAMM

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WED NOV 7

Tank and the Bangas, Big Freedia, Naughty Professor
New Orleans’ Big Freedia has been credited with the rising popularity of bounce music, and her shows are some of the most activating, fun, twerktastic parties around. After releasing her fifth project, Third Ward Bounce, Freedia’s embarking on a co-headliner tour (“The Head Banga Tour”) with soul/funk/hip-hop outfit Tank and the Bangas, another act originating from New Orleans. (Roseland, 8 NW 6th, 8 pm, sold out, all ages) JENNI MOORE Read our article on Tank and the Bangas here.

Iceage, Black Lips, Surfbort
“What is it that Iceage in particular brings?” asks punk icon Richard Hell in a recent essay about the band, released alongside the announcement of their new record Beyondless. Hell’s answer to his own question is the undeniable consensus: “A large number of extraordinary things.” The Danish rockers of Iceage have grown quickly and gracefully through four albums, evolving from noise-leaning hardcore into post-punk by way of Nick Cave. With a live setup now featuring saxophone and violin, Iceage’s Wonder Ballroom performance promises to showcase a band constantly pushing their own limits. (Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell, 8:30 pm, $20-23) BEN WEINSTEIN