WEDNESDAY 9/28
TWIN PEAKS, WHITE REAPER, MODERN VICES
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Chicago-based quintet Twin Peaks are trading their fuzzy, raucous slacker rock for melodic road trip ballads in Down in Heaven, their third album, influenced by the Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. Tracks like the feel-good and jaunty “Wanted You” and the more rowdy “Butterfly” reflect a more mature sound taking Twin Peaks to a new level of whole-hearted, hard cut garage rock. JENÉ ETHERIDGE
BEN WENDEL QUARTET
(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) Ben Wendel exemplifies the modern instrumentalist: He’s lent his fluid and sharply honed saxophone playing to albums by jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan, hip-hop-influenced electronic artist Daedalus, and the experimental ensemble Kneebody. He’s even spent some time backing Snoop Dogg on tour. As much as he shines within these gigs, Wendel burns brightest as a bandleader. His most recent album, What We Bring (recently released by Motéma Records), is a calmly explosive work, like watching a fireworks display with noise cancelling headphones. Wendel’s colorful solos are preceded by gently flaming melodies and lit by the ever-inventive spark of pianist Gerald Clayton and the incredible drummer Henry Cole. ROBERT HAM
AVI BUFFALO, THE KICKBACK, KYLE CRAFT
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Avi Buffalo’s music is all shimmering twilight. On his self-titled 2010 debut and his 2014 follow-up, At Best Cuckold, Buffalo’s songs focus intently on the fleeting moments between youth and the jaded self-disgust of adulthood. Lyrics oscillate between melancholic nostalgia of “Won’t Be Around No More” (“Asked if I was ready, to say I loved you then/Said I suppose I am, I think I did but knew it wasn’t right”) and the juvenile absurdity of tracks like “Memories of You” and its fuzzy allusions to boners. His guitar solos, too, carry that racing, nearly fumbling excitement of fingers working a bra clasp. Though he’ll perform solo for part of this tour, Buffalo’s bringing a full band to his Portland performance, where his lushly layered instrumentations are sure to shine. SAM BOVARNICK
THURSDAY 9/29
DINOSAUR JR., MOON DUO
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) At this point, it feels like Dinosaur Jr. has been around longer than they haven’t. This year the veteran trio of cool dads released their 11th full-length record, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not. The album is exactly what you expect from the band: iconic, fuzzy power-chords, squealing guitar licks and singer J. Mascis’ nasally, under-achievers’ vocal delivery. But would you really want Dinosaur Jr. to change? WILLIAM KENNEDY
JAH WOBBLE & THE INVADERS OF THE HEART
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our story on Jah Wobble.
MIC CHECK: THE LAST ARTFUL, DODGR, LIBRETTO
(White Eagle, 836 N Russell) Readers, let’s all take a moment to thank our respective deities and fate-makers for gracing Portland with Alana Chenevert’s presence. As the Last Artful, Dodgr she delivers clever verses in a jazz-soaked flow that holds the tension of someone split between places—specifically, Portland and her former hometown of Los Angeles. This city-hopping West Coast connection is audible in her music; she’s got the cadence of someone deeply familiar with LA rap, and a melodic dark streak that seems to stem from Portland’s sensitive sincerity. Last Artful is casual in her talent, with impressive bars that demand attention simply by existing. That’s a feat in any city, but especially in one with a criminally under-acknowledged rap scene. EMMA BURKE
ALLAH-LAS, TOPS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) While lo-fi ’60s garage revivalists continue to dominate LA’s rock ’n’ roll scene, the Allah-Las bring pristine clarity to the still-popular bouncy, psychedelic guitar sound of bands like the Zombies, the Monkees, and Tommy James and the Shondells. Since the band’s earliest stages they’ve worked with musician/producer Nick Waterhouse, with numerous releases on Innovative Leisure Records. Also on the bill is Montreal three-piece TOPS, whose ’80s keyboard-pop captures the ambience of a room bathed in dim neon lighting. Jane Penny’s soothing vocals are set over minimalist guitars and keyboards, making for songs that could soundtrack a high school slow dance as well as a night spent lying on the floor alone staring at the ceiling fan. CAMERON CROWELL
FRIDAY 9/30
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, LYDIA LOVELESS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Drive-By Truckers—whose badass name matches their bad-ass Southern alt-country sound—are making a can’t-miss stop in Portland the same day the legends drop their 11th studio album, American Band. If you don’t know DBT yet, hop on Spotify and stream perhaps my favorite album, The Dirty South. They’ll be here for two shows, so you’ve got no excuse to miss it. DOUG BROWN Also read our story on Lydia Loveless.
HOT TEARS, ERICA FREAS, ANNA VO
(In Other Words, 14 NE Killingsworth) Hot Tears, the project of former Songs for Moms member Molly Fischer, makes slow building epics that defy genre. Its 2014 debut The Chorus mixes punk chord progressions with chamber-folk intimacy, doom metal guitar walls, and bedroom pop-inspired refrains to create a hypnotic album that begs for repeated, focused listens. On Hot Tears’ new 7-inch, Stronger Lady, Fischer builds on the foundation The Chorus established, adding more elaborate production elements and melodic sensibilities that seem to somehow nod to both Zola Jesus and Julie Doiron. Tonight’s show, which benefits pro-choice organization Oregon Women’s Campaign School, also features local musician/zinester Anna Vo and Erica Freas of RVIVR, whose sophomore solo album comes out on Don Giovanni next month. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
SATURDAY 10/1
SQUEEZE, LOOK PARK
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) Like the Kinks before them, Squeeze’s best material never connected with American audiences. The group is best (if not exclusively) remembered here in the states for their blue-eyed soul detour “Tempted”—the only song in their catalog sung by former keyboardist Paul Carrack—but they were one of the skinny-tie era’s most original and reliable hitmakers in their native England. MORGAN TROPER
LUBEC, TWO MOONS, TALKATIVE, DOG THIEVES, RADLER
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) Read our story on Lubec.
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, LYDIA LOVELESS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See Friday’s listing.
THE MOONDOGGIES, BANDITOS, THE JACKALOPE SAINTS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Washington’s Moondoggies really didn’t work hard enough on their name, which makes them sound like some cheesy Grateful Dead cover band that’d probably have an indefinite Thursday night residency at Calamity Jane’s on 26 up near Mt. Hood. Plus—dogs on the moon? That’s just nuts. Despite all of this, the Moondoggies are fantastic, one of the best Pacific Northwest mountain-country bands around. This month the band’s celebrating its 10th anniversary by re-releasing its 2008 full-length debut, Don’t Be a Stranger—13 tracks of ghostly fingerpicking and echoing harmonies that exemplify the haunted beauty of a misty winter in the Cascades, especially on tracks like “Ain’t No Lord” and “The Undertaker.” But they’re also experts at capturing boot-stomping bouts of twangy joy on tracks like “Long Time Coming.” Don’t Be a Stranger is great, but don’t forget to revisit their latest full-length, 2014’s Adios, I’m a Ghost—“Red Eye” is one of my personal favorites, particularly the moments when frontman Kevin Murphy sighs, “She’s up and gone/Up to Washington” between the hissing squeals of hot-poker guitar riffs. CIARA DOLAN
SUNDAY 10/2
PEACHES, CHRISTEENE, BOMB ASS PUSSY
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) When Toronto artist Merrill Beth Nisker moved to Berlin in the late ’90s to pursue life under the name Peaches, she probably had no idea the “Teaches of Peaches” would incite a mini sexual revolution in the musical world. Other pop artists have occasionally dabbled in pornographic imagery, but Peaches’ career-long treatment of sex and all its definitions is unmatched, methodical, and academic, forming narratives that fire out direct messages of violent love and lascivious challenges rather than dancing around with colorful metaphors. Her latest LP, Rub, is filled with tracks that happily continue in this sordid tradition. Underrated amid the controversial subject matter however is Peaches’ prowess as an incredible performer and style maven whose outrageous fashions in her fever dream videos and riotous live shows are just as sexy and entertaining as anything coming from that beautifully devilish mind. CHRIS SUTTON
JEREMY ENIGK, JON BLACK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Jeremy Enigk knows what it feels like to live in the shadow of early success. His beloved Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate made four full-lengths, each worthy of a place in the pantheon of classic ’90s punk-adjacent guitar music. But the group’s ’94 Sub Pop debut, Diary, is the sort of record that routinely attracts “Greatest Emo Album Ever” accolades, despite the band’s public ambivalence about that particular genre tag. Enigk’s solo career has followed a similar path, in that his more recent output remains eclipsed by the orchestral maximalism of ’96’s Return of the Frog Queen, recorded during Sunny Day’s first (of three) breakups. But two classic albums are plenty to keep fans’ appetites whetted for the new material he announced through a crowd-funding campaign last year. NATHAN TUCKER
MDC, WARTORN, BOMBSQUAD, QUESTION TUESDAY
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Dave Dictor, frontman and founder of influential hardcore punk band MDC (Millions of Dead Cops, Millions of Damn Christians, Multi Death Corporation, etc.), recently published his first book, MDC: Memoir from a Damaged Civilization. While his might not be the most famous name in punk rock history, Dictor’s influence is among the most important. Forming in the early ’80s in San Francisco, MDC was among the earliest hardcore bands to confront homophobia, transgender rights, animal rights, and contribute to the then-unlikely alliance of punk rock and political activism. The Long Island-born singer has called Portland home since 1995, and continues to tour with MDC, albeit with an ever-changing lineup. Although over three decades have passed since Dictor first picked up a microphone, the issues he’s speaking out against are just as relevant, and his voice is just as powerful. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
MONDAY 10/3
CYMBALS EAT GUITARS, FIELD MOUSE, WILDHONEY
(Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside) How do I love thee, Cymbals Eat Guitars? Let me count the ways. I love thee for your ineffable coolness. I love thee for your raspy late-summer jams. I love thee for including the lyrics “the season is breathing warm sex” and the word “bulge” in the same song. Some people want rock ’n’ gosh darn roll that’s groundbreaking and genre bending, and some of us just want to raise a cheap beer in the air and have some fun. The Staten Island quartet’s brand-new release, Pretty Years, blesses us with the perfect soundtrack to those waning summer vibes—I’ll tip my Pabst to that. JENNA FLETCHER
TUESDAY 10/4
KING, JOEY DOSIK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) “Let’s explore, so much more to discover,” sings R&B trio KING in their song “Red Eye.” This is, appropriately, exactly how I feel when listening to their debut, We Are KING. Discovered on YouTube by the late, great Prince, KING was born in Minneapolis and now calls LA home. After just a few years together they’ve already won a Grammy, for their collaboration with Robert Glasper on his album Black Radio. Their sound is emblematic of a new subset of R&B—a world of synth where classic harmonies and rhythms still reign over the KING-dom. Between silky, rich vocals and electro-pop hooks, it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a really great dream where you’re petting kittens and getting back together with your best ex. ROSE FINN
JESSICA HERNANDEZ & THE DELTAS, TANCRED
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Many of the things you’ll read about Tancred describe its core force, Jess Abbott, as the guitarist and vocalist for Minneapolis rock band Now, Now. Those words will become outdated soon (if they aren’t already), because Tancred is responsible for one of this year’s best rock records. It’s called Out of the Garden, and it’s a massive step forward from Abbott’s previous work with her solo side project. Tancred’s first two albums—2011’s Capes and a 2013 self-titled release—showed promise, but at times felt reserved and a bit cautious. That’s not a problem on Out of the Garden, 11 songs that are sturdy, vibrant, and catchier than a Velcro jumpsuit. Abbott’s latest is crunchy, punchy power-pop of the highest order—the kind of record that will make Abbott best known for Tancred. BEN SALMON