FRI JULY 11
Kitten Crisis w/Amy Bruce Spaceshow, the Bricks; Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th (3 pm matinee show)
As a “critic,” I feel like it’s my responsibility to get this out of the way: Kitten Crisis is a movingly bad band name. This is coming from somebody with a very low sensitivity to stupidity. (I was once in a band called the Moving Pictures. Please do not Google us.) There are plenty of good bands with cringe-inducing names (e.g., Radiohead, the Beatles), and Illinois-based Kitten Crisis is one of them. Their latest release, the appropriately titled Summer 2014 Demo, is four tracks in less than eight minutes, and it’s roundly irresistible—in particular the unbearably cute, Tiger Trap-ish “Vegan Love Song,” to which I can totally relate even though I love eating animals. So hey, Kitten Crisis, keep doing what you’re doing, but you might want to consider changing your name—just don’t take any suggestions from me.
SAT JULY 12
Arctic Flowers w/the Nervous, Piss Test, Lunch; Boogie’s Burgers and Brew, 910 E Burnside
Punk rock and burgers! Portland band Arctic Flowers are playing one of their first all-ages shows since the release of their new record, Weaver. Accompanying them are Denver’s the Nervous, ramshackle punks Piss Test, and garage-rock-revival revivalists Lunch. It all just sounds like a bunch of noise to me.
Sheer Terror w/Poison Idea, Long Knife, Bigfoot Accelerator, Fought Alone; Star Theater, 13 NW 6th
Originating in the mid-’80s, Sheer Terror were an immensely influential New York City punk band that had funny album covers. They’re otherwise noteworthy for synthesizing the velocity of then-novel early hardcore with sludgy, Church of Iommi riffage. Their latest record, Standing Up for Falling Down, is the group’s first proper LP in 18 years.