THURSDAY 4/11

and you will know us by the trail of dead, BOBBY CONN

(Blackbird, 3728 NE Sandy) ...and you will know us by the trail of dead, the band that's now well known for smashing up a stage, shouldn't just make history for making a near scrap heap out of its tools. Its recent major-label debut, Source Tags & Codes (Interscope), is a volatile emotional run, as somber orchestral melodies get overrun by temper tantrums of screaming squalls and guitar noise, which fade back into quiet string sections and trails of ambient samples between tracks. JENNIFER MAERZ See Music pg 17

PARTY TIME, ALL NIGHT, TOURIST

(Ash, 225 SW Ash) Greensboro, North Carolina's All Night have soul in the way the Rolling Stones have soul. The singer swirls the vocals around his throat, and they build the tension in their songs from restrained guitar and drums to shredding rock guitar solos. They'll be playing with Party Time, our local rock darlings. Dude, it's Party Time, All Night. Let's celebrate! Uh-huh! KATIE SHIMER

GREG BROWN

(Roseland, NW 6th & Davis) Greg Brown's albums are almost invariably spare, and from what I've heard, his concerts are no different. What will linger is the image of him sitting in a chair and playing his guitar. It's hardly an original image, but Brown has earned the right to propagate it. His gorgeous, gravelly voice reflects the toughness and wisdom that comes from decades on the road. JUSTIN SANDERS


FRIDAY 4/12

PIEBALD, MINUS THE BEAR, SUNDAY'S BEST, THIRTY3

(Paris, 6 SW 3rd) If you consider yourself savvy on "the rock," you might notice that the drummer of Sunday's Best is none other than Tom Ackerman, former frontman of Puddletown's very own Skiploader. Way back in the day when bands like Seaweed were all the rage, Skiploader cashed in their chips and went for broke signing to a major label and making it big with hit songs like "Santa Monica," and that one about the bad daddy. Oh wait, that was Everclear. Well, then it's a good thing Skiploader split up because Ackerman traded the guitar for drums and his (not-all-that-new) band, Sunday's Best, is a vast improvement. Filled with delectable harmonies and the ever-so-popular personal lyrics; it's amazing they can even play guitar with their hearts so firmly on their sleeves. CARMELO MARTINEZ

LTJ BUKEM, MC CONRAD, NOOKIE

(Ohm, 31 NW 1st) Superstar LTJ Bukem, a pioneering force in drum 'n' bass, spins an impressive mix of dnb and cool downtempo. A variety of synthetic and hollow-sounding flutes, horns, drums, and sax ease in and out of his sound with so much grace that you hardly notice it, and the melodies are always falling all over each other, but never quite reaching climax. KATIA DUNN

THRONES, PINK & BROWN, CAPTURED BY ROBOTS, JANET PANTS DANS THEATER

(Meow Meow, 520 SE Pine) The last time Pink & Brown played in Portland, guitarist/vocalist "Pink" went to the emergency room with a concussion, and anyone who has ever witnessed the dynamic duo's bizarre and violent live show can't be too surprised. Maybe they have since wised up and have started wearing protective padding under their superhero costumes, but I won't be standing close enough to find out. Opening the show is The Janet Pants Dans Theater--a three-woman dance troupe from LA featuring Katie Eastburn of Young People. Tonight, they will be presenting "An Assemblage of Solos, Duets, and Trios," including music by SF No Wave trio Numbers. The mighty and majestic Thrones headline, so make sure you're wearing earplugs under your crash helmet. OWEN ASHWORTH

KID606, GOLD CHAINS, LESSER, NUDGE

(Dante's, 1 SW 3rd) Okay, Kid606 doesn't mess around with the hyperintellectual crap. He is here to make your ass GROOVE and if he doesn't, it's your own fault, because the boy is flawless. On his new record, the action packed mentallist brings you the fucking jams (can I say it one more time?), he samples the shit out of mp3s--everything from Missy to Soul II Soul to Bikini Kill --and gets away with it cause he released it out of Australia, where ideas are the object of the people, not bought and sold by copyright crapheads. (Besides, you'd have to be a dumbass to get pissed that Kid remixed your song.) His peer in irreverence, SF's Gold Chains, will knock you out with his awesome bass and scrappy, alley cat rapping. He will--he even says so: "Gold Chains, motherfucker, is knocking your lights out!" Enact Miami Booty Bomb now. Lesser puts on a great live show, playing electronic music with the sensibility of a hardcore metalhead; also, be sure and congratulate Portland's own Nudge, who will soon be releasing a record on Kid606's label, Tigerbeat6. Hoo! JULIANNE SHEPHERD

FIREBALLS OF FREEDOM, VON BONDIES, SOLEDAD BROTHERS

(Blackbird) Forget Jon Spencer, man. One of the original purveyors of punk blues now sounds more played out than a Vegas-strip Elvis, as new white boys grind rock's roots in salty soul-shakers. Detroit duo the Soledad Brothers (Johnny Walker and Ben Swank) recently added a third member to their act, and their new release, Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move, is a raw explosion Spencer couldn't stroke in his wettest punk dreams. JM

SHINS, THE BUSY SIGNALS, THE FRUIT BATS

(Berbati's, 231 SW Ankeny) If you're a fan of slightly cracked songwriting, Fruit Bats is your newfound favorite band, the perfect companion for people who appreciate the warped realities and easily caught melodies of headliners the Shins, or Kingsbury Manx. Those of you who like to work a little harder for your rewards, namely Modest Mouse fans, will find the same kind of hairpin-curve lyricism and musicianship in Fruit Bats, whose creator, Eric Johnson, takes great joy in creating songs whose textures are a slubby cloth punctuated with smooth patches. KATHLEEN WILSON

MIDNIGHT EVILS, HIGH AND MIGHTY, HUSSY, DRONE OFFENSIVE

(Satyricon) If you like scrappy hard rock that sounds wily like Nashville Pussy, abrasive like the Catheters, and mean-spirited like Motörhead, the Midnight Evils are a good bet. I know the whole garage-trash thing is getting more cramped than a pet store's rodent cage, but this Minneapolis band's eponymous debut is pretty close to perfect. It rides the punk/metal borderline so fast your head'll spin. Plus, Ghetto Records owner Jim Diamond (the Dirtbombs, Bantam Rooster, the Von Bondies) produced the music--and would he touch some shitty, second-rate act? Hell no. Check out the Midnight Evils 'cause they're feeeral. JM


SATURDAY 4/13

VARNALINE, CENTROMATIC, THE LONG WINTERS

(Satyricon) The Long Winters are the new band on Seattle's Barsuk Records. Featuring ex-members of Western State Hurricanes and Harvey Danger, live, the band makes flawless pop music with full harmonies and a healthy dose of gloss. Summer-friendly and packed with highly literate lyrics, The Long Winters are masters of the uber-hook--a little more polished than I'm used to, but tops at what they do. JS

THE PLANET THE, HTOO TRIO, THE RUBELLA, PEEVISH, THE GHOSTS OF WOMEN WHO HAUNT CLIFFS

(The Lord's House, 5126 NE 15th, 7 pm) I don't know about you, but I would never have five bands play at my house in one night. So let's all thank "The Lord," host of this tightly booked shindig, for bringing us Peevish--consisting of a theater-y troupe of eight jazzy performers, who have been known to play their instruments all in separate rooms during their set; the pseudo-classical piano of The Ghosts of Women who Haunt Cliffs (aka Julianne Shepherd), and the scream-singy, time-change-laden acoustic punk of The Rubella. And it doesn't stop there, friends; get a hard-on from the neuropathic mind crymes of The Planet The, or space out to avant free jazzers Htoo Trio. KS

SYSTEMWIDE, SQUALL, MENOMENA, DJ ISM, DJ JOELSKOOL

(Berbati's) See Music pg 15


SUNDAY 4/14

TAMI HART COMPLEX, SQUIRREL MEAT, THANKSGIVING

(Meow Meow) Tami Hart, aka The Darling of Portland, releases her new record with her Complex tonight. I haven't yet heard the record due to several heartbreaking mail debacles, but it's safe to say that Ms. Hart is a young Pat Benatar in the making, only with less cheese and far less eyeshadow. JS

BRAINWARMER, MUGWORT, LEGERDEMAIN, SARDONIK GRIN, SORIAH, MSNGR, NOTHING

(Itisness, 3016 NE Killingsworth) This may sound a little hippie, or rather, extremely hippie, but might be weird enough to check out. Experimental, ritual (like throat singing), and electronic artists create abstract hypnotic soundscapes while you slurp down vodka tonics... no wait, correction, herbal elixirs. And if that's not enough, atmospheric lighting and mixed media will make you trip out like you're in a sweat tent. But I can't hide the truth from the public: Proceeds go to bring performances to Burning Man, and I believe there is TOO MUCH BURNING MAN TOLERANCE IN PORTLAND. KS

CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE, SOLENOID, THE 6-MINUTE HEARTSTOP, DR. MANISCHEWITZ, JACOB ELLIOTT

(Blackbird) Contrary to a dumbass mistake made by yours truly, local emo rockers The 6-Minute Heartstop do not use flangers on their record, only a lot of delay. Oops! They won't use flange tonight, either, at this extravaganzical benefit for the Domestic Violence Resource Center. And it is a Benefit for a Cause, as opposed to sending the Casiotone to Burning Man or something. JS



MONDAY 4/15

PETE KREBS' LAST HURRAH, JAMES LOW, MICHAEL JODELL, SPECIAL SECRET GUESTS

(Lola's, 1334 W Burnside) Central to my love of Portland is Portland rock, and at the heart of my understanding of Portland rock--not just the sound, but the soul of it--stands Mr. Pete Krebs. When I learned that he was moving away, to Amsterdam (of all places), I realized that my conception of Portland would necessarily need to change to fit Krebs' massive, glaring absence. It's hard to reckon a world without Pete Krebs plugging away five nights a week, playing his folk-flavored solo work, his inspired bluegrass updates in Golden Delicious, his hot jazz reveries in the Kung Pao Chickens. And I hardly need mention that few pleasures in life were/are more perfect than a Hazel show in Portland. Sentimental? Sure. Playing so much, and so often made it possible for Krebs to be taken for granted--if you missed him one night at Produce Row, you could probably catch him the next at the Laurelthirst, or whatever. This is no longer true. He's leaving, so the faithful should plan accordingly. And if everyone who intends to miss him buys him a goodbye drink, maybe, just maybe, he'll pass out and miss his flight. SEAN NELSON

MICE PARADE, FCS NORTH, MODERNSTATE

(Blackbird) Modernstate: Sam Schauer of the Dutch Flat goes solo in that morose singer/songwriter way of, say, the Kinsellas. The minimalist electronic beats and soft guitar sampling make it something sweeping and contemplative for those times when you need to map out your priorities. KS


TUESDAY 4/16

EDITH FROST, CENTRAL FALLS, SARAH DOUGHER

(Blackbird) Central Falls, who will back up Edith Frost on her set, are the country-like project of guitarist/vocalist Adam Vida, who, coincidentally, also happens to be the new drummer for U.S. Maple. Chicago, man... it's littler than you think. JS See Music pg 15

LADYBUG TRANSISTOR, ESSEX GREEN, JAMES WILLIAM HINDLE

(Meow Meow) Ladybug Transistor's horn-laden pop is not something one could call innovative, as it's so deeply mined in Jimmy Webb, Hal David, and Burt Bacharach. But in the ever-expanding orch-pop genre, to find a band so dedicated to its influences that it would never dream of outright ripping them off, but rather merely tribute their beloved glory, is a cause célèbre. KATHLEEN WILSON


WEDNESDAY 4/17

STRATEGY, MILK WRECK, JOHN IRVING, MY NAME IS JOE

(Medicine Hat, 1834 NE Alberta) Experimentally electronic music tonight; My Name is Joe wields a Fender Rhodes and a sampler for fuzzifying, plus Strategy, one of my favorite laptopians in Portland, makes great weird beats and captures random sounds to turn them into melody. JS

LITTLE WINGS RECORD RELEASE STARRING THE MICROPHONES, NORFOLK & WESTERN, CALVIN JOHNSON, PEACE HARBOR, HOLY SONS, MORE

(Meow Meow) To celebrate Little Wings' new record on K, a host of artists will be singing Little Wings covers. How cute! JS

PEOPLE LIKE US, STEEV HISE, DR. MANISCHEWITZ, THE JIHAD SQUAD

(B Complex, 320 SE 2nd) Audio collage musician People Like Us (Vicki Bennett) takes scraps of sound--field recordings, samples, noise from here and there--and artistically splices them into large, picturesque statements of cacophony. In interviews, she's adamant that she's making a form of "urban folk" music--sometimes documenting the resonance of everyday noise, sometimes recontextualizing snippets of different times and cultures. In one way, her compositions are symphonies--the obvious progression from the knocking sounds of the city captured by composers such as Varese. But if you don't feel like getting so lofty, just think about it as a big splotch of pleasant sound thrown at a wall--samples of people talking and yodeling, phones ringing and cats meowing, layered layered like a painting, busy but pretty, and always unique. JS

OF MONTREAL, MARSHMALLOW COAST, BADGER KING

(Blackbird) You must experience Of Montreal live at least once. Stuck somewhere in the middle of Sgt. Pepper's and the Mothers of Invention, this Southern band of harmonious indiepopsters put on an exceptional stage performance. Not just because they're full of energy or have good harmonies or anything--watching Of Montreal play is like taking a small dose of LSD and watching sixth graders put on a play. I'm sorry I had to mention drugs, but it's true. Or like H.R. Pufnstuff or something. Anyway, they always have a weird skit and use lots of kazoos and it's a fun time. JS


GOING TO SEATTLE?

Sat 4/13: Quasi (EMP)

For more info, visit www.thestranger.com

New Releases April 16:DAT Politics*, Denali*, Dianogah*, El-P*, Sage Francis*, Toog*
*= may actually turn out okay