WEDNESDAY 8/26

WE TAKE HOLOCENE: THE SEQUEL: GLENN WACO, GIFTED GAB, LOAD B, BROOKFIELD DUECE, CROWNZ
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Glenn Waco is a hip-hop artist and social justice activist from St. Johns in North Portland, and tonight's We Take Holocene show is an end-of-summer sequel to a wildly successful event he curated at the venue in May. The first one featured a cavalcade of local hip-hop luminaries mixed with an impressive audience in attendance, including Damian Lillard and the Portland chapter of the Black Panther Party. Tonight's bill is even more ambitious than the inaugural edition, as it stretches its geographical scope to include Gifted Gab, the supremely talented female emcee from Seattle, as well as Oakland's Brookfield Duece, who's Lillard's cousin. As if that weren't enough, an explosively dissolute performance from Portland hip-hop duo Load B guarantees a good time. RYAN FEIGH

THURSDAY 8/27

CHROMO DISCO: SWAHILI, FOUNTAINE, PLEASURE CURSES, DJ LAMAR, DJ ERIC FURY
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

PETER FRAMPTON, CHEAP TRICK
(Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon) See All-Ages Action!

NORTH WEST HESH FEST: PENTAGRAM, ELECTRIC CITIZEN, SONS OF HUNS
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) Read our article on North West Hesh Fest.

JENNY HVAL, BRIANA MARELA
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) While the spotlight has been dominated lately by Holly Herndon's fine Platform, Norwegian experimentalist Jenny Hval has surpassed it with her startling fifth album Apocalypse, Girl. The Sacred Bones-released LP is a stirring commentary on gender politics set to the tune of synth melodies performed on a slowly crumbling computer and crawling hip-hop beats. Hval doesn't so much sing as let her thoughts drip from her lips as she calls out "soft dick rock" and "the capitalist clit." Clips from her recent festival performances in Scandinavia reveal an even more theatrical side with extra performers that flank Hval, splashing themselves with red paint and adding an unsettling surreality to her already disquieting music. ROBERT HAM Also, read our article on Briana Marela.

KIMYA DAWSON, HAMELL ON TRIAL
(The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th) Kimya Dawson writes sweet, posi children's folk songs that sad adults eventually come to realize have been ingrained in their subconscious. Whether you found Dawson through the Moldy Peaches (her anti-folk project with Adam Green); her extensive back catalog with Rough Trade, Plan It X, and K Records; the Juno soundtrack; or that random radical zine you found in a friend's bathroom, you have at one time or another found yourself humming one of Dawson's oddly but beautifully arranged tunes. And even if you haven't heard her music in years, you can somehow muster all the words to at least one of her songs. Dawson is a special artist in this way, and with every note of melodic melancholy comes a deep sense of empathy and understanding of people's complexities. There's hardly anything more grounding and comfortable than that. CAMERON CROWELL

THE CANNANES, KNIFE PLEATS, THE WORLD RECORD
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) For 31 years, Sydney, Australia's the Cannanes have been steadily churning out an off-kilter mix of indie twee-pop and angular post-punk. Their extensive catalog suggests a folk-punkier Beat Happening just as often as it suggests a scrappier Au Pairs, while also holding songs in the early years that seem to be templates for the indie-disco of Modest Mouse's This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About and the airy story song jangle of Belle and Sebastian's The Boy with the Arab Strap. It's almost bizarre that the Cannanes are not more commonly referenced as an influential band. Tonight's show is their first time in Portland (or the West Coast at all) in 17 years. If that weren't enough reason to make it out, Knife Pleats, the excellent new project from Rose Melberg (the Softies, Tiger Trap), opens the night. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

VIC MENSA, TOWKIO
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Ever since Chief Keef rapped the hardest bars ever spit on house arrest from his grandma's basement, Chicago's been pumping out a steady clip of young rap sensations, from bop kingpins Sicko Mobb to Auto-Tuned emo thug Lil Durk. Possibly the city's biggest export since Kanye, though, is the SaveMoney crew, specifically Chance the Rapper and tonight's main event, Vic Mensa. Very few artists can lay claim to the level of near-ubiquity these dudes achieved off of little more than charisma and a couple scene-changing mixtapes, going from rapping at all-ages open mics to collaborating with Mr. West himself in the span of a year or two. A welcome change of pace in both content and sound, Mensa's tough but warily optimistic lyrics ride atop futurist beats that nod to trap, jazz, house, and even juke, without being beholden to any of them. As if you needed any more reason to love this dude, he recently called Oasis "racist dickheads." KYLE FLECK

NEW MOVE, THE DOMESTICS, NEWROTICS
(Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand) When last we heard from New Move, they were celebrating the release of a trailer for a new video that's still scheduled to see the light of day. It was the latest "new move" in a release strategy that can only be described as measured—a slow reveal that has seen the Portland quintet doling out aural morsels for over a year now. But that was back in May, and it's been a curiously quiet summer for the band, who also removed much of their online audio presence somewhere along the way. Those circumstances had some of us worried—was this promising band closing up shop after barely getting started? Oh, hardly! New Move celebrates another new single ("Take What You Can Get" adds some "Mr. Blue Sky" bounce to their T. Rex-y vintage pop) tonight with a rare Dig a Pony live-band show. It's the beginning of an onslaught of new material culminating in the release of the band's full-length debut later this year on Tender Loving Empire offshoot Bughunt Records (in two versions). Rejoice! JEREMY PETERSEN

DEIPHAGO, CRURIFRAGIUM, CEMETERY LUST, SLUT VOMIT
(Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy) Deiphago has been kicking around on and off in some incarnation or another since 1989, first getting their start in the Philippines and then relocating to Costa Rica in 2004. They've only produced four full-lengths in the interim, but every one has some reference to Satan or the Antichrist in the title, so there's no mistaking these black metallers' muse. Theirs is an ultra-barbaric version of black metal, one that commits wholeheartedly to the sloppy, snotty approach of Venom and Hellhammer, but played by a band that has no idea how to rein it in. The end result is a glorious mess. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

FRIDAY 8/28

THEE OH SEES, PSYCHOMAGIC (TWO SHOWS)
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!

NORTH WEST HESH FEST: DEAD MOON, FIREBALLS OF FREEDOM, P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S., THE LAST DANCERS, DRC3
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on North West Hesh Fest.

DOWAGER, HELENS, RADLER, LOSER BOYFRIEND
(SMART Collective, 6923 SE Foster) See All-Ages Action!

ROCKY VOTOLATO, DAVE HAUSE, CHRIS FARREN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) For more than 15 years, Rocky Votolato been writing and recording acoustic, delicate, and beautifully sad music. His catalog—nearly 10 albums deep—is filled with sparse, confessional songs that address his struggles with depression and anxiety. But after his seventh album, 2012's Television of Saints, Votolato found himself facing such severe self-doubt he considered quitting music altogether. In 2014, he pulled himself together and cranked out more than 30 new songs, 11 of which made it onto Hospital Handshakes, his eighth studio album. Produced by former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla, Hospital Handshakes is the most dynamic and upbeat (musically, at least) album he's put out since his time with Waxwing in the '90s. But his lyrics find him continuing to wrestle with old and ongoing challenges. "It's time to white-knuckle this shit," he sings on "White-Knuckles." "Make friends with these demons and just get on with it/Nothing's changed and never will." SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY

RUBY ROSE, JAMIE MEUSHAW, EVAN ALEXANDER
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) At the tender age of 29, Australian dynamo Ruby Rose has had a lifetime of careers: model, Maybelline spokesperson, producer, actress, and MTV VJ. Through her role on this season of Orange Is the New Black, she has also become somewhat of an androgynous sex icon in the US; even Dan Savage admitted that he'd "totally do her" if her face were placed on a man's body. Now Rose is also a DJ, with a sound hovering somewhere underneath the trans-electro-house umbrella—fast, pulsing, and beat-drop-friendly. Though I would probably only listen to her music under the blanket of two very strong hits of MDMA, her natural performance ability, strong charisma, and the wild dance-ability of her music will make for a memorable DJ set. ROSE FINN

PSYCHOMAGIC, HEY LOVER, GLOBELAMP
(Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton) Tonight's award for hardest working band in Portland goes to Psychomagic. On top of opening both of Thee Oh Sees' shows at the Doug Fir earlier tonight, Portland's most prominent acid-pop, quasi-cult group are re-releasing their 2013 self-titled debut album (originally a tape-only release by Lolipop Records) on vinyl through local label Hovercraft Records. Psychomagic's scuzzy lo-fi garage-punk is music for a party at a dark place you aren't sure is rented by a band member or a squat, but the only thing that matters is the police haven't shown up yet, the walls are sweating, and you have a tallboy in hand to cool you off. Joining Psychomagic on the bill is Olympia-based Lolipop labelmate Globelamp, whose witchy-folk hymns are like campfire nursery rhymes for the dead sung at a graveyard. Globelamp's second LP, The Orange Glow, is coming out in October. CC

SATURDAY 8/29

CRATE DIGGERS
(White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th) See My, What a Busy Week!

NORTH WEST HESH FEST: YOB, ACID KING, SWEAT LODGE, DIESTO, SCHOOL OF ROCK, DJ NATE C
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) Read our article on North West Hesh Fest.

FERNANDO, THE DELINES, MIKE COYKENDALL
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Several albums into a solo career that followed his turn in '90s LA band Monkey Paw, Portland's Fernando Viciconte has a new one that's coming out next month via Fluff and Gravy Records. As is to be expected, it's an engrossing collection of experimental, imaginative rock and folk, with flame-tinged edges of '60s garage and American-style psychedelia. But Leave the Radio On, which features appearances from a phone directory's worth of local musicians, almost didn't happen. Viciconte underwent throat surgery during the album's lengthy gestation period, almost losing his voice in the process. Thankfully, the voice won out, and the album's a cornucopia of North American sounds—mariachi horns sit comfortably next to twanging pedal steel guitar on highlight "El Interior"—as guided by Viciconte's expert songwriting. Tonight, Fernando's all-star band will include a guest appearance from REM's Peter Buck, who also appears on Leave the Radio On. NED LANNAMANN

COMA SERFS, FRUIT JUICE, GENTLE BENDER
(Twilight Café and Bar, 1420 SE Powell) With back-to-school sales in full swing, it's time to dust off that letterman jacket in anticipation of homecoming weekend. If you're not planning a return to your alma mater, this bill has you covered, with local surf-psych outfit Coma Serfs returning from a national tour in support of their Holy Smokes EP. Meanwhile, Gentle Bender, the drum- and bass-driven garage-rock duo formerly known as Needles and Pizza, return home from an extended stay south of the border. They'll have a new EP in tow, No Punks in Zihua, which was written in the coastal city of Zihuatanejo and recorded in Mexico City. Of course, no homecoming dance would be complete without a punch bowl, and Olympia glam-rockers Fruit Punch are bringing the goods. With a sound reminiscent of the New Pornographers channeling T. Rex, Fruit Punch make for a refreshing departure from the punk and hardcore scenes currently dominating the Olympia underground. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

FAILURE, THE NEW REGIME
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Brian Eno once said that the Velvet Underground only sold 30,000 units of their first album, but everyone who bought a copy started a band. If that's true, then the Velvet Underground's modern successor is Failure. The union of multi-instrumentalist songwriters and producers Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards sired only a handful of records in the '90s, but those releases, especially their double album Fantastic Planet, had an outsize impact. Failure's textured blend of hard rock and atmospheric pop became the template for much of the gothic rock of the '00s. The group got back together last year for a reunion tour, and just traded the theme of deep space for that of sleep paralysis on their comeback album, The Heart Is a Monster. JOSEPH SCHAFER

PIGWAR, BROWNISH BLACK
(Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta) PigWar finds its roots in the haze of smoked-out '70s blues and rock clubs, melding classic rock 'n' roll and R&B with current psych-era twists into an electric blend all its own. The return of Ropeadope Records artist/producer Teddy Presburg to Portland two years ago quickly revived a long-dormant collaboration with folk artist and frontman Garrett Brennan, whose revivalist energy commands not fire and brimstone but sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Live, PigWar rounds out Presburg's multi-instrumental psych-jazz with an impressive band that includes 1939 Ensemble's Josh Thomas and David Coniglio. They're sharing the bill with fellow soul revivalists Brownish Black, so this is a night for fans of in-your-face, down-'n'-dirty soul. JENI WREN STOTTRUP

THE LONESOME BILLIES, TRAVESURA, JAKE RAY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Portland country band the Lonesome Billies make music that's soaked in whiskey, dirt, leather, and probably more than a little bit of horse musk. There's twang aplenty on their debut album, It's Good to Be Lonesome, the release of which the band will celebrate tonight. Hokey cornpone routines like the call and response on "God Damn It, Bill" probably go down a sight better during their live show than they do on the record, but those moments are a small distraction from an otherwise toothsome platter of vintage pearl-snap country. Even though the album contains some black humor and a few allusions to country's tear-in-the-beer tradition, the Lonesome Billies are chiefly interested in giving you a whoop-it-up good time, putting the "unh!" back in country. NL

SUNDAY 8/30

DUCKTAILS, REGAL DEGAL, THE PARSON RED HEADS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Looking for the apotheosis of chillwave? (Don't front—I know you are.) Check out Ducktails' self-titled 2009 LP on Not Not Fun. Few albums from that brief phase of underground rock captured the heat-hazed, beachy-breezy vibe better than Ducktails, the handiwork of New Jersey's Matt Mondanile, who's also in Real Estate. At his best, Ducktails sounds like a less jittery, less scatterbrained Ariel Pink, his nonchalantly pretty melodies easing their way into your ears with carefree charm. The new album, St. Catherine, finds Mondanile continuing his quest for a slicker production style in which vocals and guitar gain an almost MOR-radio clarity. While he's still the anti-Bruce Springsteen, Mondanile's drive for higher fidelity has made his music more liable to fade into the post-Kurt Vile, slacker-rock blandscape. DAVE SEGAL

ALEXANDER HACKE, DANIELLE DE PICCIOTTO, VICE DEVICE, DARKSWOON
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) In response to the seemingly inescapable onslaught of gentrification, well known Berlin-based musician and multimedia artist Danielle de Picciotto created a graphic novel, We Are Gypsies Now, chronicling her transition to life as a nomad. She and her husband, German musician Alexander Hacke (bassist for legendary industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten), set out on a voyage around the world, leaving all their extraneous possessions behind to embrace a life of greater meaning and purpose, documenting their journey in an uncommonly eloquent audiovisual and literary format. At tonight's performance, de Picciotto and Hacke present a mesmerizing body of work that, along with pieces from di Picciotto's graphic novel, also includes material from her recent solo album Tacoma and the couple's upcoming album Preservantia, which touches on issues of living off the grid. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD

THERE IS NO MOUNTAIN, JASON RIVERA
(Al's Den, 303 SW 12th) There Is No Mountain tells us their new album, Luna, technically isn't "out" yet, but they'll be selling it anyway at their weeklong residency at Al's Den, which begins tonight. Built around the live sound of Matt Harmon's processed acoustic guitar and Kali Giaritta's percussion setup and keyboards—and featuring harmonized vocals from both—the album's songs are alternately sunny and dark, going from sparse to dense and back again within the space of a few bars. Tracks like "Listening to Sadness" indicate an almost classical art-song approach to composition, with a meandering but precisely delineated and virtuosic melody wending its way through the duo's avant-folk landscape. They'll be at Al's Den all week long for a series of free shows, with guests including Gaytheist's Jason Rivera, And And And's Nathan Baumgartner, and plenty more. NL

I'D RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT IT, BEN KATES, MIKE GAMBLE
(Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny) Holland Andrews has already slipped an explosive charge into the middle of Portland's experimental scene with her darkly devastating work as Like a Villain. Her musical curiosity, though, remains unabated as she explores new avenues with her project I'd Rather Not Talk About It. A self-proclaimed "choral noise piece," Andrews performs with drummer Chris Johnedis, stirring up soupy maelstroms of sound that recall some of Eric Dolphy's late-period experiments. Supporting them on their second-ever performance together will be a solo saxophone set from Creative Music Guild head Ben Kates and a set of guitar-dismantling from Mike Gamble. RH

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND, DIVERS, HONEY BUCKET
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Todd Congelliere leads the kind of life that punk kids across the world dream about. Launching Recess Records in 1989 out of his California bedroom (after an earlier career as a professional skateboarder), Congelliere has put out albums by some of the greatest pop-punk bands of the '90s, including Screeching Weasel, Propagandhi, Pinhead Gunpowder, the Bananas, and his own band, FYP. After FYP, he went on to form the bands Toys That Kill, Stoned at Heart, and the Underground Railroad to Candyland (which, let's be real, are all basically the same band). The Underground Railroad to Candyland released their third LP in May, People Are Home, and though its raucous, garage-punk tunes are as catchy and fun as anything before, it doesn't exactly break the mold. But as Congelliere said in a recent interview, the record is only a flyer for the shows. SEH

SHUGGIE OTIS, MOON BY YOU
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Shuggie Otis' 1974 album Inspiration Information will forever remain a stone-cold classic. It's a laidback, groovy, far-out, woozily funky album of tight, terrific songs. Heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, Otis played almost all of the parts himself, presaging other likeminded studio-rat multi-instrumentalists, from the great (Prince) to the iffy (Lenny Kravitz). Otis disappeared for decades after the release of that album, which grew in esteem and cultural cachet over the years, and finally earned a long-deserved reissue in 2001 on David Byrne's Luaka Bop. The man himself took a little longer to reemerge, but he came through 2013's MusicfestNW on a bill at the Crystal Ballroom with the similarly resurrected Charles Bradley. Otis' performance, heavy on the Santana-isms, was neither nearly as magical as his terrific recorded output (1971's Freedom Flight is also totally dope) nor as life-affirming as comeback shows from the similarly lost-and-found genius Rodriguez. Yet it's great to get the chance to see the man behind classics like "Sparkle City" and the everlasting "Strawberry Letter 23" in the flesh. And your copy of Inspiration Information will be patiently waiting for you when you get home. NL

MONDAY 8/31

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD, MILD HIGH CLUB
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

THERE IS NO MOUNTAIN, SIREN AND THE SEA, BETH BOMBARA
(Al's Den, 303 SW 12th) See Sunday's listing.

TENDER AGE, AIRPORT
(Church, 2600 NE Sandy) One of the handy things about being a bike messenger is that you can drop off your band's record at the Mercury office in between rounds. That's what Vincent Furrillo did with his band Airport's debut cassette, Heat Flash, and thank goodness he bothered. It's a fantastic, uplifting collection of dreamy, starry-eyed pop, with clean guitars strummed at deafeningly high volumes and heartache melodies arcing toward the sky like fireworks about to explode. Airport, formerly called Metropolis, celebrates the release of Heat Flash at tonight's show. The tape was printed in a limited edition of 50 from Brooklyn label Cryptic Carousel, which means they'll disappear fast. I feel incredibly lucky to have one. NL

TUESDAY 9/1

DAN DEACON, WRESTLERS, RAP CLASS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, SINNER SINNERS
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) See My, What a Busy Week!

THERE IS NO MOUNTAIN, ALAMEDA
(Al's Den, 303 SW 12th) See Sunday's listing.

OTHER JESUS, APPENDIXES, MATTRESS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) After releasing the promising Neon Green Fear 7-inch in 2013, Portland alt-pop trio Appendixes spent the majority of last year honing their sound and live show. In 2015, they've hit the ground running, rapidly becoming one of the busiest acts in town. January saw them issue the fantastic Everyday Use EP, and in July, after playing a stand-out set at this summer's PDX Pop Now! festival, the band released an additional EP, Fantasy. Opening track and lead single "Persian Rugs" picks up right where the breathtaking Everyday Use highlight "Burn" left off. The song floats the listener within a dreamscape of pop perfection before vocalist Beth Ann Morgan brings everything crashing back down to earth with a crushing reality check. Tonight, Appendixes are joined by Vancouver, BC, psychedelic post-punk outfit Other Jesus, whose upcoming album Everything Is Problematic has them primed to become the latest breakout in a long lineage of accomplished Vancouver art-punks. CT