WEDNESDAY 6/10

SURFER BLOOD, ALEX CALDER
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

VALET, ILYAS AHMED, ITASCA, JASON URICK
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Read our article on Valet.

CAVES, WORRIERS, BLOWOUT, JESUS MIRANDA
(Twilight Café and Bar, 1420 SE Powell) In 2011, visual artist and musician Lauren Denitzio—then the singer/guitarist of New Brunswick pop-punk band the Measure (SA)—curated Are You with the Band?, a compilation album sold in support of Planned Parenthood that contained 17 tracks of female-fronted DIY pop-punk. With music ranging from the snarling sounds of Big Eyes' frontwoman Kate Eldridge's old band Cheeky to the heart-wrenching indie-rock of the Crutchfield sisters' pre-Waxahatchee/Swearin' outfit, P.S. Eliot, the compilation was a call-to-arms as well as a watershed moment for a sonically diverse community that has only flourished and expanded in recent years. For evidence, just look at tonight's bill. Denitzio's fantastic new band Worriers puts her densely weighted and politically charged lyrics alongside crunching guitars and melodic refrains. Meanwhile, Caves, who come all the way from Bristol, UK, expertly wrap dueling male/female vocals around raw, catchy punk-rock à la Olympia's Rvivr. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

TONY OZIER, FARNELL NEWTON, THE CHICHARONES, DEVIN THE DUDE
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) Genuine funk is in relatively short supply in Portland, and I'm not talking about the pit stank from the white guy with dreads who's sitting next to you on the bus. (Ew, one of his dreads just touched you.) I'm talking about bass-led, booty-driven, bottom-busting, plate-licking, nasty-ass funk, and Tony Ozier has been commodore of the funkiest mothership in town, Doo Doo Funk, hosting the monthly Dookie Jam and keeping the beat slow and low. Tonight Ozier releases his third solo album, 36 Flavas, and it's a marriage of classic funk and modern-day hip-hop, incorporating elements of smooth R&B and contemporary jazz, with appearances by local trumpeter Farnell Newton (who also plays tonight), Pharcyde's Slimkid3, and more. Tonight's release party is hosted by Devin the Dude, and if that's not a legit cosign, I don't know what is. NED LANNAMANN

EILEN JEWELL
(Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta) Chalk it up to moving from Boston back to her native Idaho, perhaps, but Eilen Jewell sounds wonderfully at ease on her seventh and latest release, Sundown over Ghost Town. Jewell's been at this a while now, making a name for herself over the past decade on records that have featured her clear, high, lonesome vocals backed by a crack band. The output's been nothing but consistent, a fact no doubt helped by keeping the band together—Sundown again finds Jewell backed by drummer (and her husband) Jason Beek, bassist Johnny Sciascia, and guitarist/secret weapon Jerry Miller. While Americana circles have long known about Jewell (look to 2007's Letters from Sinners and Strangers and 2009's Sea of Tears for starting points), she's earned the wider audience she finally seems to be enjoying. JEREMY PETERSEN

MANDOLIN ORANGE, DAVID WAX MUSEUM
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) "Mandolin Orange" may sound like a Home Depot paint color, but it's the dynamic folk duo of Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin, formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 2009. They just released their second album, Such Jubilee, and it's a melodic, thoughtful compilation of songs with lyrics spanning the usual bluegrass third-person narrative about a sad girl in a sticky relationship and appreciating small moments in our lives. Though Mandolin Orange will remind you of many folk-grass bands of its ilk, they write great harmonies and well-orchestrated songs. This show won't make you twerk your brains out, but you could experience some light head-swaying while their songs whisk you away to the time you were a kid making apple pie on your grandparents' farm, waiting to get older. ROSE FINN

THURSDAY 6/11

ANCIENT HEAT, THE LOWER 48, FOXY LEMON
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

SAM PREKOP, PANABRITE, PULSE EMITTER
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Sam Prekop.

SWEEPING EXITS, OUR FIRST BRAINS, LITTLE STAR
(Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny) What You Were, the new album by Portland emo mainstays Our First Brains, reads like the latest journal entry by a dear friend. A new cast of characters populates the starry-eyed teenage universe, but the dilemmas remain the same: the stagnant comfort of unrequited love, the painful minutiae of relationships, the ever-constant separation of me from you. Whatever new drama traumatizes the OFB crew, you can count on them to turn it into crushing pop-punk. Pain can be worthwhile if it's made highly visible and filled with sweet melodies. See them with Sweeping Exits and Little Star, two fellow bands who also specialize in constantly reliving pain, disappointment, and existential angst through sweet melodies. MAC POGUE

BROWNISH BLACK, THANKS, DJ N-ABLE
(The Goodfoot, 2845 SE Stark) Life Lessons, the debut full-length album from Portland's Brownish Black, has been a long time in the making: two years, to be exact. But during all that time in the studio—recording, mixing, and mastering—Brownish Black have been staying busy, launching a successful Kickstarter campaign and performing regularly throughout the city. Frontman M.D. Sharbatz relocated from Detroit to Portland in 2008 and shortly thereafter formed the band, along with bassist/music director Mub Fractal. Brownish Black have since evolved into an eight-piece band, horn section and all, bringing together the best elements of classic R&B and Detroit garage rock. Life Lessons is a more polished recording than their first two EPs, having been produced by veteran studio man John Neff, but the looseness and slightly unhinged energy remains. They'll be celebrating its release tonight, offering a formal introduction to what has, over time, grown into one of Portland's most dynamic retro-soul bands. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

1349, NECROPHAGIA, VATTNET VISKAR, PANZERGOD
(Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy) The vast majority of metal band names are pretty damn silly. However, a metal band's name can typically tell you everything you need to know about what their particular brand of music will sound like. For example, Ohio's Necrophagia's name (not to be confused with Germany's Necrophagist) means the act of eating dead flesh, so if you're planning on feasting on corpses and carrion, the band's churning, chugging, horror-movie-sample-laden death 'n' roll would be a perfect accompaniment. Norway's 1349 is named after the year the Black Death arrived in their homeland, and their suffocating, unbridled black metal is as furious and dangerous as any incurable pandemic ravaging a countryside. Massive Cauldron of Chaos, 1349's most recent release, is as savage and foaming as a disease-ridden rat. ARIS WALES

SLEEPTALKER, THE BUGS, WHITE GLOVE
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Portland garage trio Sleeptalker kick off their West Coast tour with a night of fast and loose rock and punk that's guaranteed to get your head bobbing and your hips shaking. Sleepwalker—a supergroup of sorts, including members of Science of Yabra, Old Growth, Organized Sports, and Luxury Flats—are responsible for one of 2014's catchiest rock albums, Big Dream. Also on the bill are locals White Glove, and you needn't look much further than the Know's front door to see that the sentiment behind the band's 2014 single "Division Street" still makes it an anthem of our gentrified times, but that hasn't prevented the band from shredding forward. The three-piece will be playing this summer's upcoming PDX Pop Now! festival, assuming that festival organizers can corral the band away from the nearby Burnside skatepark for long enough to tear through a set of their endearingly scrappy, lo-fi pop-punk. CT

FRIDAY 6/12

GAYTHEIST, DIVERS, SUICIDE NOTES
(High Water Mark, 6800 NE MLK) See My, What a Busy Week!

TODD RUNDGREN
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Read our article on Todd Rundgren.

SCREECHING WEASEL, MxPx
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Even for longtime fans of Chicago punk legends Screeching Weasel, the last few years have not been without their fair share of cringes. A widely publicized onstage fistfight between Ben Weasel and the female owner of an Austin club during SXSW in 2011 initiated widespread condemnation, despite Weasel's public apology two days later. The rest of the band—including longtime guitarist Jughead and bassist Dan Vapid—fled, leaving Weasel as the band's only original member. The faithful still flock to their (increasingly less rare) live performances, though, and the fact remains that albums like My Brain Hurts, Wiggle, and Anthem for a New Tomorrow broke all sorts of hard and fast punk-rock ground while retaining much of its musical tenets. Most people would be lying if they said they ever thought they'd see Screeching Weasel anywhere near a nice joint like the Crystal, providing further proof that it's no longer 1988. RYAN J. PRADO

NO JOY, APPENDIXES, TENDER AGE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) About five years ago, No Joy were just another entrant in the crowded field of shoegaze revivalists. Their résumé consisted of an enjoyable if somewhat by-the-numbers debut, Ghost Blonde, and a professional reference courtesy of Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino. Fresh off the release of their third album, More Faithful, the Canadian band is ready for a promotion. Most of the dream-pop hallmarks remain, but More Faithful is less reliant on washes of reverb to get the mood across. And now that No Joy isn't hiding behind effects, they're showing off some sneaky songwriting, with unintuitive changes, tricky rhythms, and a wide palette of sounds that never sound shoehorned. Nowadays they're deconstructing shoegaze more than they're redoing it. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

EIGHT BELLS, ZIRAKZIGIL, SERPENT'S CAUL
(Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy) Eight Bells can lull and entrance you with sweeping and stunning passages. But just when your mind settles into a delicate instrumental suite, things are ripped apart by the Portland band's black-metal influences. It's mind-bending stuff, which is not something you hear a lot of when it comes to metal, and the three-piece makes big sounds. The members of Zirakzigil are equally deft players, defying time and space, but unafraid to sink their teeth into the jugular. Their epic "The Birth of the White Wizard" is everything metal should be: heavy, epic, slightly overwrought—and it's about a goddamn wizard. Newcomers Serpent's Caul kick it Motörhead-style, offering just the right yin to this lethal bill of yang. MARK LORE

ELECTRIC SIX, WHITE REAPER, ATLAS AND THE ASTRONAUT
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) It's rare that a rudimentary punk-rock record will excite these days. That's why it's so impressive that Louisville, Kentucky's White Reaper have already produced two that are such a blast. Last year's self-titled EP and the brand-new White Reaper Does It Again produce an abundance of highly catchy riffs over a course of songs that hover around the three-minute mark. This is danceable stuff, and it's always brimming with energy. Aesthetically, it's rather pleasing too. Production is a bit hazy without dragging itself through the mud, the vocals are as competent as the songwriting, and there isn't really a dud on the tracklist. Listen to their single from last year, "Conspirator." Then tackle the whole album. GRANT BRISSEY

IS/IS, THE CHARMS, TALKATIVE
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Fuzzed-out witchgaze trio Is/Is are intent on channeling all of the light, dark, and mystical features inside their distinctly Pacific Northwest musical brew. Their self-titled full-length was a cauldron-cooked stew with dollops of reverb, a constant sparkle of airy guitars, and the heavy sprinkle of crash cymbals, all constantly stirred in a cycle of distortion. Since then they have released the Shadow Days EP, which is equal parts reverbed and distorted, but co-frontwomen Sarah Rose and Sarah Nienaber have added weighty acoustic guitar and eerie, echoing string accompaniment. Expect the live show to rival the opening scene of Macbeth both in tone and mysticism. CAMERON CROWELL

SATURDAY 6/13

DIVERS, SAM DAN DRYWALL, BACKBITER
(Anarres Infoshop, 7101 N Lombard) See All-Ages Action!

BEARCUBBIN', MÁSCARAS
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Read our article on Máscaras.

LAURA GIBSON
(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) Laura Gibson's original homecoming show—scheduled for Mississippi Studios this past April—was canceled, but she had a pretty good excuse: Days before, a fire consumed the Oregon-born songwriter's East Village apartment and all her belongings. It was a big fire. It made the news. Maybe you heard about it. Now Gibson's making up the date with tonight's solo show at the Old Church, and she'll be wielding a new guitar (her old one burned up, remember) and playing unreleased songs from her upcoming album (which didn't burn up, thank goodness, and will be out on Barsuk Records soon). If you like beautiful songs, and dislike it when fire burns up people's homes, you know where to be tonight. NL

IJI, THE OCEAN FLOOR, GRAVES
(S1 Gallery, 4148 NE Hancock) Over 14 years, Portland's the Ocean Floor has taken many forms. The songwriting project of former Hosannas and Machinedrum drummer Lane Barrington has been a jazzy chamber-pop project, a twee-folk duo, and a beat-heavy mini-orchestra. It's had in its ranks Shannon Rose Steele of Typhoon and Holland Andrews of Like a Villain, and been impressive both on stage and on record in all its incarnations. On the Ocean Floor's new EP, A Place Where Flowers Grow, the clarinets and violins—and virtuosic backing band as a whole—are gone. It's just Barrington with a studio full of synths, vintage hardware, and percussion instruments, writing songs about the final moments of Jim Henson, spiritual jealousy, and the floating gardens of Mexico City. It's possibly the best release in Barrington's catalog, and unlike anything you'll hear out of Portland this year. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

THE SATIN CHAPS, THE FONDELLS, THE CRIMINAL GUITARS
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) The Satin Chaps want you to forget that the last 50 years ever happened. Forget disco, forget alternative, forget MIDI and Ableton and Roland 808s. The Portland group's new single, "Stompin'," is a throwback to Bar-Kays soul and Euro-go-go grooves. With a steaming organ line and intermittent horn pops, it's music for a torrid dance party in a hot cellar, illuminated solely by red light (and not very much of it). The Chaps hold down the semi-regular Rave Up! dance nights at the Secret Society, and tonight's installment serves as the release show for the 7-inch. Wear something slinky. NL

SUNDAY 6/14

EAR CANDY: FOG FATHER, LANDLINES, GRAPEFRUIT
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

SANCTUARY SUNDAY: VISIBLE CLOAKS, MATT CARLSON, GUMMI
(Xhurch, 4550 NE 20th) The music Spencer Doran creates for Visible Cloaks is as fluid and smoothly rendered as the DJ sets he constructs for his XRAY.fm show Après-Midi and for various online radio ventures like Red Light Radio and Rinse.fm. His synth-based recordings float and flow through the stereo field with such warmth and calm that it feels like the gentlest of breezes could lift you up and deposit you miles away from where you're sitting. Doran joins up with the monthly Sanctuary Sunday series this week to celebrate the release of a new full-length recording that should provide the perfect soundtrack to lazy summer evenings and late-night bliss-outs. ROBERT HAM

MONDAY 6/15

THE DONKEYS, EXTRA CLASSIC, THE ZAGS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

GHOST MICE, BACKBITER, WOLFMODE, SHE/HER/HERS
(Anarres Infoshop, 7101 N Lombard) It's no disservice to Bloomington, Indiana's Ghost Mice to say that their label defines them more than any sound. Plan-It-X Records, the 21-year-old label run by Ghost Mice singer/guitarist Chris Johnston, defined a big chunk of the sound and ethic of early '00s Midwestern folk-punk, releasing records by This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, Against Me!, and Defiance, Ohio, among others. Ghost Mice fits right in with their labelmates, refusing to use amplifiers for shows, singing about pentagrams, and putting bandanas on any dogs they see (I'm just guessing about that last one). Check them out at the new Anarres Infoshop, an anarchist gathering space (that makes it sound like a featureless void—it's a nice book/zine shop) filling the enormous gap in all-ages and safer spaces in our city. MAC POGUE

SAN CISCO, MOTHXR
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Against the better judgment of discerning music listeners everywhere, there are somehow still bands bandying about pop-disco hybrids disguised as underground rock and getting away with it. Australian quartet San Cisco have found themselves in this unenviable position on the heels of their second full-length, Gracetown. And, fine, they have their moments where the pap parts for a saccharine-sweet pop tune that stands on its own—like the title track from their 2012 EP, Awkward. Or, okay, that Cardigans-esque melodic high watermark "Wild Things" from the band's self-titled debut. That tune "Fred Astaire" isn't bad either. Never mind, I take it all back. Maybe I love this band. RJP

TUESDAY 6/16

RHETT MILLER, ANNALISA TORNFELT
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Before it got really, really stupid, alt-country ruled, and Rhett Miller's band, the Old 97's, were one of the acts responsible for popularizing the genre in the '90s, along with Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown (which included pretty-boy confrère Ryan Adams). The 97's' canon and legacy has always eclipsed Miller's solo material, and unfairly so—Miller's solo debut, The Instigator, was dismissed unanimously by the press upon its release, and while it's undeniably cheesy (the opening track, "Our Love," as clever and catchy as it is, wouldn't sound out of place playing at a subliminal volume in a K-Mart), it's a sterling, smart pop record that surely isn't any more "adult contemporary" than Adams' Gold. MORGAN TROPER

ELECTRO-KRAKEN, VERMA, GHOST TO FALCO
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) If it's a cosmic musical experience you seek, get thee to the Know tonight in time for Verma, an excellent Chicago-based band playing in between two local acts. Exploring the deepest reaches of space-rock since 2010, Verma starts with a steady motorik pulse and builds cinematic celestial-scapes from there, unspooling a seemingly endless supply of psychedelic guitars, smeared synths, dynamic drones, minimalist electronics, and vocals that echo into eternity. The band's 2014 album, Sunrunner—released by the impeccable Trouble in Mind record label—is a heady and head-nodding blend of krautrock and space jams. It's also a perfect soundtrack for the kind of trip that will take you to new places without ever actually leaving the bar. BEN SALMON