WEDNESDAY 1/28

THE BLOW, ANNA OXYGEN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

MAYHEM, WATAIN, REVENGE
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Arson, murder, and suicide made the Norwegian black metal scene of the early '90s the stuff of legend, and central to it all was Mayhem. The band's debut full-length, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, is as famous for being recorded with a murderer-to-be (bassist Varg Vikernes, AKA Count Grishnackh) and his eventual victim (guitarist Øystein Aarseth, AKA Euronymous) as anything to do with the music. Still, the album helped codify the second wave of black metal, and Attila Csihar delivered one of the creepiest vocal performances ever committed to tape. The band's second act (without Vikernes) has found the group dabbling in avant-garde and prog rock, and while they've never recorded another album that holds a candle to De Mysteriis, last year's Esoteric Warfare proves they can still sound dangerous. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

KISHI BASHI, ELIZABETH AND THE CATAPULT
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) When genre-breaking music is done well, it can sound like Kishi Bashi. The violinist/vocalist beautifully integrates looping and layered sounds with falsetto-driven indie pop that reflects his classical training, with an arrangement style that sounds like it could be cousins with Beirut. Hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, Kaoru Ishibashi has worked his way around the national music scene, playing with heavy hitters like Regina Spektor and Of Montreal before making a solo splash with 2012's 151a. The confoundingly titled Lighght hit number 52 on the Billboard album chart last year. Bashi's sound is eclectic but well orchestrated, and refreshingly challenges the listener. ROSE FINN

JOY, SONS OF HUNS, R.I.P
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Adages like "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "They don't make them like they used to" exist for a reason. Especially when it comes to solid, bluesy hard rock. San Diego's Joy definitely fit those phrases with their recent full-length, Under the Spell of Joy. If you took all the wah-wah pedal moments and wailing, flailing Stratocaster blues licks from 1969 to 1974 and condensed them all into one blistering record, Under the Spell is what you'd get. Joy densely packs eight songs with enough psychedelic freak-outs and off-the-handle riffs to send your jellied brain to outer space. ARIS HUNTER WALES

THURSDAY 1/29

NICK JAINA
(LaurelThirst Public House, 2958 NE Glisan) Read Nick Jaina's feature, and see My, What a Busy Week!

LEFT COAST COUNTRY, KORY QUINN, CROW AND THE CANYON
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Hardworking twanger Kory Quinn has a new single on the rise: "Dead Man's Son" is a barn-burning barroom brawl, and it's a taste from his upcoming album Chicago/Western, for which Quinn is currently raising funds on his website. There are many levels of donations available, including $1,500 in exchange for Quinn's guitar. While he may need the money, please don't take Quinn's guitar. He's been writing and playing country and rock tunes that measure up to the best of what the West Coast has to offer. Who knows where he'd be without his instrument? Yes, give him the money—the single was recorded at Type Foundry with Adam Selzer, and Chicago/Western will surely continue the thread of Quinn's compelling songwriting and expert playing. Just leave Quinn's damn guitar alone. NED LANNAMANN

BAD SUNS, COASTS, MAUDLIN STRANGERS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Bad Suns are a young pop-rock quartet from Los Angeles who are touring their butts off and selling out good-sized rooms just about everywhere they go, from Seattle to Atlanta to New York City. They're doing this without a big-time radio hit or a song in an ad or on a soundtrack, at least that I can find. Presumably, Bad Suns are packing places the old-fashioned way: because people like their music, which is the kind of snappy, almost robotic pop-rock that is all the rage these days, à la Capital Cities or Kongos or the 1975 or whoever. Bad Suns aren't a bad band; they sound like Phoenix if you turned their "new wave" dial from seven up to 11. Just know that if you play them around the house, someone might ask you if you're listening to Wham!, especially if you live with my wife. BEN SALMON

FRIDAY 1/30

STAR TREK: OREGON SYMPHONY, PACIFIC YOUTH CHOIR
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) See My, What a Busy Week!

HELMS ALEE, MARRIAGES
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Helms Alee (not so) quietly put out one of the best heavy releases of 2014 with Sleepwalking Sailors, a record whose riffs crush skulls and whose vocals tenderly seduce. The Seattle trio have been at it for nearly a decade, slowly building and carefully perfecting their Pacific Northwest sludge. It's ferocious, even frightening at times, as when guitarist Ben Verellen delivers thick riffs with a heavy dose of tension-building screams. Drummer Hozoji Matheson-Margullis and bassist Dana James hold it all together, occasionally directing the guitar and dropping some ABBA-smooth harmonies. Damn, I get excited just writing about them. MARK LORE

BILL FRISELL
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Bill Frisell is as versatile as a guitarist can get. The 63-year-old has worked on every side of every fence, backing up John Zorn in the sax player's speed metal/jazz hybrid Naked City, arranging Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach songs for a seven-piece ensemble, and, when he was here for the Portland Jazz Festival two years ago, interpreting the work of both John Lennon and pedal-steel master Speedy West with care and acuity. On this visit, Frisell celebrates the music of his youth with a focus on songs from the '60s that inspired him to start playing guitar. The mix of pop, country, and surf allows him to show off a little bit of his Dick Dale fast-picking abilities, while also allowing him to languidly vamp on classics like "Surfer Girl" and "Tired of Waiting for You." ROBERT HAM

BASS DRUM OF DEATH, LEE COREY OSWALD
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The menacingly named rock outfit Bass Drum of Death got started in 2008 as the one-man band of John Barrett. Barrett recorded a couple of EPs on his own while working at the Oxford, Mississippi, label Fat Possum, which went on to release the band's first proper full-length, 2011's GB City. Bass Drum of Death expanded to a trio for touring purposes, but it remained primarily a solo project when it came time for Barrett to record. But for the band's third LP, Rip This, Barrett collaborated with drummer Len Clark and Portland producer Jacob Portrait, who's also worked with Blouse and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The result is a fuzzed-out mishmash of garage and glam rock that contains enough high points to live up to the band's lofty name. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

THE GOLDEN COUNTRY, SHED INCORPORATED, THREE FOR SILVER
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) Shed Incorporated called the whole thing quits in 2008, but following a one-off reunion set at Ford Food and Drink last year, the duo of Stephen Weis and Thomas Dietzel have decided to team up for another round. Their newly recorded album, V, collects some of the lost songs from their Portland heyday in the early '00s, performed live and with no extra frills—just two acoustic guitars, and two voices that either sing or shout, depending on what the situation requires. There are punk-minded broadsides ("Fuck the IMF!") alongside finger-picked folk pearls ("Be as One"), and tonight Shed Incorporated celebrate their resurrection, as well as V's release on the Discorporate Tape imprint. NL

SATURDAY 1/31

SCHOOL OF ROCK: BEST OF PORTLAND
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See My, What a Busy Week!, and All-Ages Action!

LORD DYING, SONS OF HUNS, GRAVES AT SEA
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Local sludge-metal stalwarts Lord Dying have a new album coming out, and while they weren't exactly slouching on their debut, Summon the Faithless, sophomore effort Poisoned Altars ups the ante in pretty much every respect. The Lord didn't really mess with what already worked, though—the riffs lean hard on groove, accented with serpentine movements and thrashy flourishes. The songwriting is leaner and meaner, and the leads shred a little harder. Newly signed labelmates Graves at Sea open the album release show, and their own Relapse-released full-length is due later this year—it's the doom metal crew's first official full-length, 13 years after the band got its start. MWS

COMA SERFS, STILL CAVES, JACKSON BOONE
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Portland garage outfit Coma Serfs have been serving up bite-sized taster EPs since late 2013, giving just the right taste of their raucous, jangly pop songs. The rock 'n' rollers' latest, Ready or Not America, Here Come the Coma Serfs, captures the rollicking spirit of bands like the Sonics and the Seeds. This time the hooks on songs like "Daisy Chain" and "Set Me Straight" are buffed up with fuller production, while "The Whip" and "Trippy Canoe" go down druggier avenues. This should make the Coma Serfs' release show one hell of a spiked-punch sock hop. ML

OLD JUNIOR, SLEEPTALKER, THE CUT 45
(Club 21, 2035 NE Glisan) How many moons have passed, Old Junior? How many suns have risen and set, how many tides have ebbed and flowed, how many newborn babes have cried their first tears since we last heard your glorious thunder? It's been close to a year and a half since OJ—the offshoot band of the equally spectacular Old Growth, also conspicuously absent—have played a hometown show, as far as I can tell. And how I've missed their warm, dark, steady, loud, bearish rock—like Neil Young and Crazy Horse without the cocaine or tour buses, like Hüsker Dü after a year living in a mossy cave in the wild, like canyon spirits who learned how to take corporeal form just so they'd be able to press their fingers down on the frets of some sweet-sounding guitars. Old Junior is reuniting for a special gig that's also the EP release for the Cut 45, whose self-titled record is coming out on 10-inch vinyl via Sex Sheet Records. It's a jagged, nervy record with fire-spangled electric guitars and plenty of real power. With the equally great Sleeptalker on the bill, your Saturday night just got filled up with some truly great, local rock 'n' roll. NL

SDM WINTER COPULATION: ALTO!, SUNFALLS, SISTER MAMIE FORESKIN, NOT BITTER, BLOOM OFFERING, & MORE
(High Water Mark, 6800 NE MLK) The folks behind Sonic Debris Multimedia/SadoDaMascus Records aren't skimping when it comes to the release of a new edition of their quarterly compilation series. Tonight's show will be a small epic in action, with 14 bands on the bill, two stages, and a few hours of nonstop noise and incident. The focus of the new comp and accompanying show seems to be a move toward more beat-heavy action by the label, with the two drums/one guitar rumblings of Alto!, the dark industrial pulse of Bloom Offering, and SunFalls' contaminated electronic plops and squiggles. RH

TOO MANY ZOOZ, TOPE
(Peter's Room at the Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Too Many Zooz are a self-described "brass house" trio based out of New York City. Their subway busking was captured on video last year and subsequently went viral. While most who leverage YouTube hits into music deals are innocuous pop artists, Too Many Zooz are the exception, with a high musical IQ amplified by kinetic live performances. Saxophonist Leo P. and trumpet player Matt Doe met at the Manhattan School of Music, and rounded out the group with expert percussionist David Parks, a Portland native. Tonight finds them swinging through town on their first major West Coast tour hosted by DJ Fatboy, whom you may know from his work with Cool Nutz, Illmaculate, and E-40. Opener Tope gets the party started, giving all-ages fans a chance to catch his new material live. RYAN FEIGH

MURDER BY DEATH, ROCKY VOTOLATO
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Since the rise of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, we've witnessed no shortage of backlash and whacked-out ideas that have challenged the integrity of the service. It's important to remember that Kickstarter's main focus is helping creative ideas become fully realized projects, and Bloomington, Indiana, quintet Murder by Death have hit a stride in utilizing the platform's powers for good. After successfully funding their last album, the Johnny Cash-indebted, sprawling orchestral production of Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, the band went on to crowdfund a follow-up in their soon-to-be released seventh album, Big Dark Love. More than a simple pre-order system, the band offered up an exhausting list of rewards, including the incentive to have them record a cover of any song requested. The fruit of the project speaks for itself. The products all ooze with quality, and the band's enthusiasm and commitment shine brightly through every step of the process. CT

BOWIEVISION, THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL BAND
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Tribute bands should always be taken with some very forgiving grains of salt (a few whiskeys and leaving your glasses at home might do the trick). But when the act that's being paid homage to is David Bowie, it gets infinitely trickier. To which Bowie do Seattle's BowieVision pay tribute? The glam spaceman of Ziggy Stardust? The lost, lonely Pierrot of "Ashes to Ashes"? The coke-numbed fascist of the Thin White Duke? The slick arena showman of Let's Dance? BowieVision seems to be embracing all these and more, and while the musical purity of Bowie's discrete eras and personas might be diluted, you can't really argue with a setlist that could potentially contain "The Jean Genie," "Fashion," "All the Madmen," "Heroes," and "The Bewlay Brothers." NL

SUNDAY 2/1

WEYES BLOOD, ETERNAL TAPESTRY, MOON BY YOU
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Weyes Blood.

SISTER PALACE, GOLDEN HOUR
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) If classic indie rock appeals to you, then you need Sister Palace's new tape Count Yr Blessings in your life. It's a meandering trip through some of the finest guitar-rock sounds of the '80s and '90s, from Sonic Youth's dissonant howl and Slint's dusky post-punk to Modest Mouse's woozy tremolo and both sides of Pavement: the irresistible pop ("Corporeality") and the irrepressible noise ("In My House"). Along the way, amiable vocals, both male and female, consistently slice through Sister Palace's acerbic sonic tension. The band was supposed to celebrate the release of Count Yr Blessings at a January 17 show but had to cancel because of a family emergency, so tonight's the makeup. In a sad coincidence, Lubec had to drop off tonight's bill due to a (presumably different) family emergency, but skeletal punks Golden Hour—whose new album Don't Be Cute comes out February 5—will be present and accounted for. BS

PLAZM FARMHOUSE ALE RELEASE PARTY: ASSS, REGULAR MUSIC, MARY LATTIMORE, JASON URICK
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) It's fitting that the strange move by arts/culture magazine Plazm into the world of craft brewing (with the help of Astoria's Fort George Brewery) would be matched with a trio of artists who don't necessarily fit together on paper. The highlight of this bill is Mary Lattimore, a harp player from Philadelphia with a résumé that includes session work with Jarvis Cocker and Kurt Vile, as well as an album and tours with Thurston Moore. Her most recent effort, Slant of Light, is a stunning LP of improvisational duets of austere beauty and unexpected gravitas recorded with multi-instrumentalist Jeff Zeigler. Great as that will likely be, stick around for what will surely be inspired sets from minimalist electro poppers ASSS and analog synth explorers Regular Music. RH

MONDAY 2/2

Happy birthday wishes to Shakira, Graham Nash, and Riff Raff collaborator Lil Debbie! You three are like peas in a pod.

TUESDAY 2/3

RED BULL SOUND SELECT: THE SHRINE, DANAVA, NASALROD
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on the Shrine.