THURS AUG 29

SOB x RBE
You might know SOB x RBE—which stands for “Strictly Only Brothers x Real Boi Entertainment”—if you were one of the millions of people who saw Black Panther. Their contribution to Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther: The Album, “Paramedic!” launched the quartet into the mainstream. With a hyphy West Coast hip-hop sound, SOB x RBE is here to make you get on your feet and dance. They’re from Vallejo, California, and they won’t let you forget it. This hip-hop group won’t be playing $25 shows for much longer, so check them out while you can still afford it. (Thurs Aug 29, 8pm, Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th, all ages, $25-100) KATHERINE D. MORGAN


FRI AUG 30

The National, Alvvays
The National haven’t made a bad album since finding their groove on Alligator, but 2017’s Sleep Well Beast never quite clicked completely. The band sounded a little bit bored and agitated, and the electronic frippery only highlighted the aimlessness. They were bound to make something unremarkable at some point. It happens. But the National have made a full recovery with I Am Easy to Find, on which frontman Matt Berninger shares the microphone with a host of guest vocalists (including Sharon Van Etten, Mina Tindle, and Kate Stables) who sing new and soaring life into the National’s slow-building epiphanies. (Fri Aug 30, 6 pm, Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, all ages, sold out) CHRIS STAMM

Lil Wayne, Blink-182
A short trek out to Ridgefield (plus some traffic) is more than worth it to see drummer Travis Barker and Lil Wayne do their thing on this strangely matched Blink-182/Lil Wayne co-headliner tour. Hip-hop icon Lil Wayne’s The Carter V is actually quite satisfying and saw the rapper enter a more philosophical era. And let’s not forget the genius of his older cuts like “Pussy, Money, Weed” “How to Love,” and his mega-hits like “Lollipop” and “A Milli.” Back in 2014, I saw Wayne on the significantly more digestible “Drake Vs. Lil Wayne” tour and it was epic; there’s nothing like hearing and seeing that lighter spark in person right before he gets into whatever word-drunk verse is on the menu. Get to Sunlight Supply Amphitheater early, and bring snacks for the car ride—there’s probably traffic getting in and out of the parking lot. (Fri Aug 30, 7:30 pm, Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 Delfel, Ridgefield, all ages, $37.50-192.50) JENNI MOORE

Antiquated Future Records Anniversary Party: Indira Valley, Guidon Bear, Flying Circles
Happy birthday to Portland label Antiquated Future Records, which is celebrating seven years of putting out diverse DIY music. Operated by Mercury contributor Joshua James Amberson, AF has been a consistent home for high-quality folk, indie-pop, and lo-fi rock artists, but it has released weirder stuff, too, like last year’s incredible four-song Prayer Hands EP from Denver ambient/drone act Midwife. What sets the label apart is its taste level; if AF puts it out, chances are it’s going to be good and/or interesting. Tonight’s shindig at Turn! Turn! Turn! doubles as a birthday party and a release show for a retrospective collection (Antiquated Future: The First Seven Years) and new works from Portland soundscape artist Indira Valley, Olympia power-pop band Guidon Bear, and Oakland post-punks Flying Circles. (Fri Aug 30, 8 pm, Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth, $5-10) BEN SALMON


SAT AUG 31

Tropical Fuck Storm, Melt, Vice Device
Melbourne art-punks Tropical Fuck Storm aren’t just a collective driven by a provocative band name; they’re also potentially one of the more enigmatic experimental post-rock acts in the world today. Fronted by Garreth Liddiard of the Drones and rounded out by an all-star lineup of Australia’s raddest female rockers, TFS strips the four-minute rock song to its studs and refashions it as a poetic, gloomy, oft-times beat-heavy reinvention on both their 2018 debut, A Laughing Death in Meatspace and new LP, Braindrops. Both are big, brooding records, absolutely gushing with strange sonic overtones, and the saccharine salve of twisted melodies churning throughout. (Sat Aug 31, 9 pm, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, $13-15) RYAN J. PRADO

Reva DeVito, Young Franco
R&R (&R) alert: Portland-based singer Reva DeVito and Red Bull have teamed up for a rooftop party at Division Heights. Devito will play new music from her forthcoming record at sunset, and then Young Franco will spin us into the night and keep the party jumpin’ with danceable tunes. And, because Red Bull parties are the best parties, the first $1,000 of Red Bull drinks are free. Need I say more? (Sat Aug 31, 4 pm, Rooftop at Division Heights, 959 SE Division, $10-15) JENNI MOORE


SUN SEPT 1

Seratones, Mink Shoals
Read our record review of Power by Seratones. (Sun Sept 1, 9:30 pm, Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water, $13-15)


MON SEPT 2

Mannequin Pussy, Destroy Boys, Ellis
There's nothing more punk than a rock show on a Monday evening. Mannequin Pussy originated in Philadelphia in 2010, and almost a decade later, their sound has gotten more and more impressive. With two albums already underneath their belt, this American punk-rock band is setting off on tour to celebrate their most recent album Patience, which was released earlier this year and received favorable reviews. With a name like Mannequin Pussy, first-time listeners may be shocked to learn that this band can also be tender, exploring sensitive topics about love, heartbreak, and trauma. It turns out that you really can't judge a band by their name. (Mon Sept 2, 8 pm, Lola’s Room, 1332 W Burnside, all ages, $12-15) KATHERINE D. MORGAN


TUES SEPT 3

Heart, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Elle King
Here’s how good Heart is: Mercury arts editor Suzette Smith and I had a fight to the death to determine who would get to write this blurb about the legendary female-fronted rock group. I emerged victorious after a thrilling fight scene set to the furiously hurried chords from “Barracuda,” followed by a somber memorial for Suzette set to “Alone,” her favorite Heart song. We’ll all miss Suzette, but it was worth it, because now I can give you this important message: GO TO THIS CONCERT. And in lieu of that, at least spend a solitary night at home, listening to “(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song” on repeat. (Tues Sept 3, 7 pm, Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 NE Delfel, Ridgefield, all ages, $22.50-$157) BLAIR STENVICK

Empath, Wet Fruit, Sea Moss
There’s a Liz Phair lyric that goes, “The earth looked like it was lit from within/like a poorly assembled electrical ball,” and that seems like an accurate way to describe the music of Empath. The Philly noise-pop-punk quartet’s sound is a tangle of bloops, distortion, melody, and hiss, and it often feels like you can see the space in between the parts—that it could spin out of control and break into pieces at any moment. But the beauty of Empath is that it never does. In fact, the band holds it all together quite nicely, and their excellent 2019 album Active Listening: Night on Earth ends up sounding like a bouncy pop record playing on a busted radio buried under a mountain of fuzz. (Tues Sept 3, 8 pm, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, $10-12) BEN SALMON


THURS SEPT 5

CRITIC’S PICK: Raveena, Blossom
Indian American R&B singer Raveena has become known for her stunning videos for songs like “Temptation,” “Mama,” “Honey,” and “Stronger,” which marry her contemporary R&B sound with visuals that pay homage to the South Asian diaspora. It’s a firm reminder that a musician can embrace their intersectionality, forgo code-switching, and still be successful in the music industry.

Lucid, Raveena’s perfectly named debut full-length, is 12 tracks of blissful, easy listening that’s an ideal soundtrack for sunbathing in your backyard, watering your plants, cuddling with bae on the couch, or a therapeutic house-cleaning session. From the album’s sublime production to Raveena’s grounded-yet-ethereal lyrics, the album feels like floating on a cloud, or, as my boyfriend put it, “being smacked with a feather.” Some highlights include “Still Dreaming,” “Floating,” “Nectar,” and lead single “Stronger,” but honestly, let the whole thing play. In album closer “Petal,” Raveena seems to rise from the ashes of “Stronger,” singing “I am weightless/Under sunny sunny sun.”

In her performance of “If Only,” a catchy single from her 2017 EP Shanti, on the YouTube series A Colors Show, Raveena sounds and looks like a literal angel as she croons in a soft-blue room, wearing high-heeled boots that create the illusion she’s levitating from the floor. She sings sweetly, but the song is so honeyed that you have to pay attention to know the song is actually about moving on from a relationship: “It’s too late to hold me/Too late to call me too/You’re saying if only/I could get over you.”

If the woke fury that courses through your veins every single day Donald Trump remains in office gets to be too much to bear, listen to Raveena. If you need to feel better, or at the very least calm the fuck down, listen to Raveena. Or if you’re simply in the mood for something peaceful, dreamy, and soul-drenched, listen to Raveena. (Thurs Sept 5, 8 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez, all ages, $22.50-25) JENNI MOORE

Hair Puller, Dirty Princess, Internet Beef
Hair Puller went through a recent lineup change, as guitarist/vocalist Eric Leavell departed and the band welcomed new axe-smasher Zach Wells to the fold. The band’s bone-rattling catalog is likely to stay intact, though; their 2018 LP, Old Friend, is a punishing ruckus, flanked by a wall of noisy rhythmic fuzz and wraith-like vocals from both Leavell and bassist/vocalist Ledena Mattox. Opening the show is self-described “meme-turned-glitterpunk band” Internet Beef, who will soon release their debut EP, Free Trial. Rounded out by Portland skuzz-punk trio Dirty Princess, this is a dynamo all-Portland bill. (Thurs Sept 5, 9 pm, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, $5) RYAN J. PRADO


FRI SEPT 6

Big Boi
The eternally talented André 3000 might’ve gotten most of the mainstream attention, but longtime Outkast fans have always known the truth: Big Boi is where it’s at. Following the slow-mo dissolution of that groundbreaking duo (RIP), Big Boi’s put out a slew of phenomenal solo albums—and from Sir Lucious Left Foot to Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors to Boomiverse, each has boasted earwormy tracks propelled by impossibly catchy beats, Big Boi’s hypnotically deft delivery, and a guest list that’s ranged from Janelle Monae to A$AP Rocky to Killer Mike. Now Big Boi’s playing the Roseland, giving you a chance to see both a legit legend of hip-hop and an artist who’s still pushing the genre forward. (Fri Sept 6, 9 pm, Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th, all ages, $35) ERIK HENRIKSEN

Iron Maiden, The Raven Age
Black Sabbath may have invented heavy metal, but Iron Maiden helped perfect it. Maiden fused punk and heavy riffs on their 1980 self-titled debut, fronted by a raspy-voiced rapscallion named Paul Di’Anno. He lasted only two records before being replaced by the mighty and operatic Bruce Dickinson, who took the band to more mythical and melodramatic territory on albums like Powerslave and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Although Maiden went through some lean years sans Dickinson, the ship never stopped, and with Dickinson’s return, the band miraculously emerged in their later years as a live force that can bury bands half their ages. I witnessed this a few years ago in Tacoma, where the band played with the same virtuosity and intensity they did at their 1985 height. That’s no exaggeration. Not to mention this is Iron Maiden’s first live performance in Portland since 1987! Miss this one and you’ll look like Eddie on the cover of Piece of Mind. (Fri Sept 6, 7:30 pm, Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct, sold out) MARK LORE


SAT SEPT 7

Cake, Ben Folds, Tall Heights
Ben Folds has done a lot of different things over the past 30 years. He has soundtracked major motion pictures and collaborated with symphonies and judged a televised singing contest alongside a Pussycat Doll and one of the guys from Boyz II Men. But no matter what he does for the rest of his life, he’ll always be the brains behind three of the most distinctive albums of the post-Nirvana alt-rock era. While bands like Live and the Goo Goo Dolls were burning up the charts, Folds’ oddly named trio the Ben Folds Five dropped three collections of vibrant, tuneful, piano-led pop-rock that offered a cheekier angle on angst. It’s been 24 years since the band’s self-titled debut and 22 since their sophomore effort Whatever and Ever Amen, and both sound as good today as they did back then. (Sat Sept 7, 6:30 pm, Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, all ages, $65) BEN SALMON


MON SEPT 9

CRITIC’S PICK: The Mountain Goats
When I was 18, a friend played me the Mountain Goats’ just-released 2000 album The Coroner’s Gambit, a gloriously uneven collection of noisy lo-fi folk songs recorded, largely, on a boombox. As we chopped breakfast-scramble vegetables in his Olympia apartment, I fell in love with the “band”—or rather, the occasionally accompanied songwriting project of John Darnielle—and their brief vignettes that hinted at longer stories, and complete mythologies: characters living lives of isolated despair, in claustrophobic partnerships, wandering disoriented through the airports and back alleys of the world.

In the next few years, I became a fan, buying limited-edition EPs, mail-ordering Darnielle’s zines, seeing them whenever they passed through town. I sang along as they played to a sparse crowd at a comedy club on an off-night, drunkenly swooned at an intimate living-room show (and also got locked in the bathroom because the door handle was broken), ran into a handful of fellow fans at the record store on the day their 2002 masterwork All Hail West Texas came out.

They were a band that inspired feverish adoration in a select few, but were completely unpalatable to most. At two different group houses in my early 20s, my roommates unanimously agreed that the Mountain Goats were the most annoying thing I listened to. Of all the artists I saw play awe-inspiring, poorly attended shows in that era, they were the last band I expected to see attain mainstream success.

So I was shocked when, in 2004, the sharply produced, autobiographical We Shall All Be Healed came out via 4AD and propelled the group to a sort of indie stardom. Though I stopped being a fan when the sound changed, to this day I still believe there’s no one who views or writes about the world like Darnielle. He’s a truly singular oddball, and I’m so happy that now everyone knows it. (Mon Sept 9, 8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, all ages, $31-36; Tues Sept 10, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, all ages, $31-36) JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON


TUES SEPT 10

Deep Purple, Joyous Wolf
Although proto-metal pioneers Deep Purple haven’t formally said this is their farewell, the name of the tour—“The Long Goodbye”—might be a hint. So this is very likely your last chance to see the band responsible for air-guitar classics like “Highway Star,” “Woman from Tokyo,” “Hush,” and “Smoke on the Water.” Although they’re without organist Jon Lord (RIP) and legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore these days, the original rhythm section of Ian Paice and Roger Glover are intact, and classic-lineup-era shrieker Ian Gillan’s on board as well. (Tues Sept 10, 8 pm, Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay, all ages, $69.50-125) NED LANNAMANN

Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten
Admit it: You fuck with “Skinny Love.” Or maybe you don’t—Bon Iver’s mumble-whine of a singing voice certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a secret sentimentalist like me, then his music can have a way of punching you in the proverbial gut if you aren’t careful. Regardless, this show may be worth going to for Sharon Van Etten’s folk-inspired tunes and ramblin’-woman vibes alone. (Tues Sept 10, 7:30pm, Theater of the Clouds, 1 Center Ct, all ages, $39.50-$109.50) BLAIR STENVICK

Reptaliens, Marinero, Weeed
Fans of oddity and eclecticism, here’s a bill for you! Fresh off the release of their new album Valis, local heroes Reptaliens lit up Pickathon last month with their funky take on synth-pop (and some guest lizards and aliens dancing onstage). Local weirdos Weeed are the band behind You Are the Sky, a meandering psych-noise-rock trip and one of the most unpredictable records to come out of Portland this year. And Marinero is a Bay Area project helmed by Chicanx singer/songwriter Jess Sylvester, whose newest album Trópico de Cáncer is a lovely blend of lounge music, psych-pop, bossa nova beats, and vintage vibes. Good stuff all around! (Tues Sept 10, 8 pm, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, $10-12) BEN SALMON


WED SEPT 11

Melvins, Redd Kross, ShitKid
For more than four decades, Redd Kross have been defying the trappings of the alternative rock ’n’ roll ruse, producing spectrum-spanning pop-culture love letters on seven studio records, the latest of which is Beyond the Door, which will be released by Merge Records. Helmed by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the band has endured a revolving cast of band members since their 1978 inception, and their new record features the recorded debut of longtime live band members Dale Crover (Melvins, OFF!) and guitarist Jason Shapiro. Whether dabbling in power-pop excess or unhinged rock ragers, Redd Kross’ insatiable energy and great songwriting are still as intoxicating and reverential as ever. (Wed Sept 11, 9 pm, Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, sold out) RYAN J. PRADO

Warbringer, Enforcer, Soul Grinder
Sweden’s speed metal kings Enforcer teased a more grandiose sound with “Mask of Red Death,” the last track on their 2015 release From Beyond. So it comes as no surprise that this year’s full-length, Zenith, is one part killer speed metal and three parts sweeping, anthemic, classically influenced heavy metal. For the longtime fans, “Thunder and Hell” and “Searching for You” rip with the best of Enforcer’s definitive rippers. But songs like “Zenith of the Black Sun,” “The End of a Universe,” and “Forever We Worship the Dark” display the new Enforcer—orchestral without much orchestration. There are a fair amount of keyboards peppered throughout Zenith, but the layered vocal harmonies of brothers Olof and Jonas Wikstrand could also lend themselves to a grand choir, and the melodies provided by the guitars could easily be transcribed for a massive symphony of instruments. Enforcer has evolved into a more sophisticated heavy metal band, meaning attendees of this show are in for a more cultured headbanging experience. (Wed Sept 11, 8 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez, all ages, $15-18) ARIS HUNTER WALES