WEDNESDAY 2/3

1939 ENSEMBLE, DEAD MEN TALKING, MONTHS, THE FOURTH WALL
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) See My, What a Busy Week!

RVIVR, DEAD CULT, BLOWOUT
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway) See All-Ages Action.

TOR MILLER, SEAN MCVERRY
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Super-danceable, upbeat pop beats provide a fun backdrop to Tor Miller's only slightly warbly, melodic vocals. Though his songs are reminiscent of an LA beach, the faint whiff of sadness in his lyrics and melodies reveals his Brooklyn roots. He possesses a wise voice that could trick you into believing he's in his 30s or older, but young Miller is about to turn 22. Despite influences like David Bowie and Elton John, Miller's no throwback—he's a little too morose to be top 40, but a little too catchy to be opening for Cat Power. Miller's found a nice balance of writing highly accessible indie pop and well-written ballads. ROSE FINN

DEAD MEADOW, CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION, WILL, TIME RIFT
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) With the recent announcement of Black Sabbath's final tour, it's a good time to reflect on the influence they've had on a subsequent generation of bands carrying the torch of fuzz-laden punk blues—often dubbed "stoner rock." Washington, DC's Dead Meadow released their self-titled debut in 2000, an impressive release that coincided with a renewed and continuing interest in heavy psychedelia across indie circles, making the band a link in the chain that connects Blue Cheer to Ty Segall's Fuzz. Dead Meadow's enduring specialty is tightening the rhythmic coil of the classic Iommi death riff over a lusciously slow tempo, with acid-tinged melodies sprinkled on top. Their prolific career has seen the group's songwriting spectrum grow from that template, and tonight's a great opportunity to see them weave their magic at the highest decibel. CHRIS SUTTON

THURSDAY 2/4

DR. DOG, HOP ALONG
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, and All-Ages Action.

FUTUREBIRDS, SUSTO, DOGHEART
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Futurebirds.

ICE PRINCESS, BLACKWITCH PUDDING, BLESST CHEST
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) There's a backstory behind Ice Princess that'll appeal to any rocker who likes metal with a side of mythical lore. The band's Facebook reads, "Scrotiam defeated the Ice Princess in battle in 1015. A spell was cast. She has now arisen from her 1,000-year slumber to exact revenge." The result is a heavy dose of tight riffs brought to you by the "Conjured Phantoms"—a band of hooded druids who possess solid chops that equal the vocals of their possessed leader, the Ice Princess—a half-dark/half-light nymph-witch with an impressive vocal range. For proof, check out "Eternal Night" on Bandcamp and revel in the rock. RYAN J. PRADO

ACT OF DEFIANCE, TYRANNY OF HOURS
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) It's been a crazy year-and-a-half for Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover. They had been touring the world together for years alongside guitar legend Dave Mustaine in the current lineup of Megadeth—until one day in late 2014 when both members decided to give up the international fame of playing in one of the biggest metal bands. Soon after, guitarist Matt Bachand and vocalist Henry Derek joined the pair to form Act of Defiance. The group's 2015 release Birth and the Burial is a blistering breath of fresh air, featuring a more aggressive style of metal that showcases their chops as more than just mega-talented ex-Megadudes. KEVIN DIERS

WL, TENDER AGE, HASTE, DJ HONEY O
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) For anyone who hasn't fully plunged into Portland's expanding and sonically diverse dream-pop waters, tonight is the perfect opportunity. Ambient-pop trio Haste get the evening started with their blend of sparse yet evocative, glistening lo-fi pop. Next, Tender Age shift gears into the most explosive portion of the evening. The group's swirling, guitar-driven barrage of melodic and reverb-drenched noise-rock is well documented on a pair of excellent 7-inches. 2016 is shaping up to be a breakout year for the band, with a demos and rarities compilation on the way later this month, and a long-awaited full-length debut due in summer. The driving and ethereal experimental-pop trio WL might be the veteran band on the bill, but their ability to shape-shift and adapt at the drop of a dime make them nearly impossible to predict, and thus well worth seeking out every time they hit the stage. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

FRIDAY 2/5

YES PLEASE: LAURA LYNN, VERA RUBIN, DJ SAPPHO
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) See My, What a Busy Week!

LIQUIDLIGHT, SAN LORENZO, NAKED HOUR
(SMART Collective, 6923 SE Foster) See All-Ages Action!

SABERTOOTH MICRO FEST: SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, EARTH, KING BLACK ACID
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Olympia band Earth's quarter-century-long existence encompasses two major periods of productivity, one temporary hiatus, and dogged reliance on one tool: the riff. The band, a project of Northwest native and Kurt Cobain cohort Dylan Carlson, repeats riffs past the point of absurdity and into the realm of mantra. 1993's Earth 2, a kick-off for the drone metal subgenre, is three laser-guided meditations on distortion and tonality. Imagine playing a Howlin' Wolf record through a fuzz pedal at 16 RPM, and you get close to the idea. Earth's second major ditches the distortion and uses brute tonality to get ideas across. Earth, along with musicians like Portland's ambient explorer Grouper and Salem's longform metal outfit Hell, belong to a special category of Northwest drone. MAC POGUE Also, read our article on Super Furry Animals.

CAT HOCH, AND AND AND, ICE QUEENS
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Cat Hoch's dreamy psychedelia sends you back in time to the 1970s, specifically to a hazy lounge-lizard club on the Sunset Strip. Plumes of smoke float lazily around scaly reptilian patrons dressed in velour smoking jackets, each with a Bakelite cigarette holder in one hand and a dirty martini in the other. Back in 21st-century Portland, Hoch debuted Look What You Found in October with the help of Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Riley Geare, who produced and played on the EP. On the four-song release, Hoch's light, misty vocals hover above a swirl of grimy basslines, fuzzy synth, and frenetic riffs. CIARA DOLAN

LUBEC, VERSING, POST MOVES
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Lubec began as a Virginia five-piece noise-pop outfit in 2011, and since moving to Portland, the group has released a pair of LPs, Wilderness Days and The Thrall, before taking a break from releasing music for more than a year. However, Lubec is making big moves in 2016, announcing both a February EP, Concentration, and a third full-length to be recorded in March with Dylan Wall (producer of Craft Spells and Weed). Tonight's show celebrates the tape release of Concentration, a concise three songs in which the band continues to pair the vocals of founding members Caroline Jackson and Eddie Charlton. Despite trimming down to a three-piece, Lubec have maintained the vast, murky texture of a larger shoegaze-pop group. On "Many Worlds," Charlton exquisitely shifts between guitar twinkles and distorted clouds, with Jackson's keyboard acting as a layer of bass and excellent-yet-chaotic drumming from Matt Dressen. With such pronounced instrumentation, the vocals act as another complementary instrument tucked within these beautiful songs. CAMERON CROWELL

PATRICIA, HUMAN MATERIAL, ANDREW BOIE, SICKLE
(S1 Gallery, 4148 NE Hancock) Although difficult for search engines to find in any meaningful way, Max Ravitz's cryptic moniker Patricia ministers a stunning form of beat evangelism to those with ears to the ground. The Brooklyn-based Ravitz has been making the international rounds with his hardware live act, and with recent releases on Opal Tapes and L.I.E.S., he's injecting a futurized sound into hazy house music, hearkening back to a dynamic style of old that isn't afraid to stray from the confines of a particular genre. This event is hosted at S1, a nonprofit artist-run collective devoted to pushing the underground dance scene forward with music events, workshops, and more. CHRISTINA BROUSSARD

SATURDAY 2/6

AALIYAH AND OUTKAST TRIBUTE
(The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd) See My, What a Busy Week!

GUSTAV HOLST'S THE PLANETS: NATASHA PAREMSKI, OREGON SYMPHONY
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Here are five crazy facts about English composer Gustav Holst's sublime orchestral suite, The Planets. (1) Holst did not think his magnificent work—one of the cornerstones of 20th-century classical music—ranked among his best. (2) It was originally written for two pianos, not an orchestra, which is something you'd never deduce from the heart-clenching atmosphere created by brass, strings, and timpani on the suite's opener, "Mars, the Bringer of War," perhaps one of a only a few legitimately terrifying pieces of music ever composed. (3) The grandiose main theme of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" can inspire strength and courage in even the smallest, most timid creature. (4) The eerie fadeout at the end of the suite's finale, "Neptune, the Mystic," was initially achieved by putting a choir in a different room and slowly shutting the door. Audiences at the 1918 premiere, having never heard music fade out in this way, were flabbergasted. (5) This Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, the Oregon Symphony affords you three chances to witness this masterpiece, one of the most accessible and beautiful pieces of music to be found on our own humble planet. NED LANNAMANN Also see My, What a Busy Week!

SABERTOOTH MICRO FEST: RED FANG, YOB, WITCH MOUNTAIN, ETERNAL TAPESTRY
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) The second night of the Sabertooth music festival is ridiculously stacked, and with all local acts, no less. Three of Oregon's best heavy bands will play, including slo-mo doom pioneers Witch Mountain, epic metal gods Yob, and beer-soaked thrashers Red Fang. But don't miss opening act Eternal Tapestry, the longtime local psych-shredders who went off the deep end in 2015, releasing an album called Wild Strawberries that will sneakily seduce your earholes and reshape your brain. Gone are the heavy riffs and skyscraping guitar solos of past E-Tap work, replaced by meandering, melodic psych jams that stretch out at a snail's pace and soar across the cosmos—or at least Cascadia. Wild Strawberries is an endlessly engaging listen; it's Eternal Tapestry's best recording yet, and it's one of the best albums anyone made in 2015. Get there on time tonight and give your mind a minute to chill before you headbang it into mush. BEN SALMON Also see My, What a Busy Week!, and All-Ages Action!

TOMMY KEENE, EYELIDS, ZEBRA HUNT
(The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell) Tommy Keene belongs in the pantheon of should-be power-pop superstars, along with Emitt Rhodes, Jellyfish, and Material Issue, to name a few. When Keene performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1994, Conan referred to Keene as "one of the premier pop songwriters in the business," and that's hardly hyperbole. Keene's second record, Songs from the Film, peaked at a pitiable #148, but it's right up there with Big Star's Radio City or the Raspberries' debut, and opener "Places That Are Gone" is a perfect distillation of everything a pop song should be. Keene's lack of success is criminal, but consistent with the post-Beatles guitar-pop narrative—this stuff isn't tough enough for the underground, but it's also too smart for the mainstream. Their loss. MORGAN TROPER

CORUM, ARRINGTON DE DIONYSO, THE TENSES, DOLPHIN MIDWIVES
(Xhurch, 4550 NE 20th) In spring 2015, Grant Corum pulled up stakes in our fair city and moved to the East Coast, settling in Maine. The relocation hasn't slowed his output as a musician; last year he treated us to the gloriously fucked album Poderoso Monicato by his psych jazz band Millions Brazilians. This year sees the release of Magic Mirror, a new solo collection that finishes out a loosely themed trilogy of solo records. The new LP is world music in the broadest sense of that term, incorporating drum rhythms from Africa, instrumentation from the Middle East, and very Western electronic elements. Corum hasn't been back our way in a while, so this performance at Xhurch should have a welcome celebratory and hypnotic vibe, which will perfectly match the incantatory spirit of his work. ROBERT HAM

TOUCH YOUR WOMAN: DJ ACTION SLACKS
(Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick) When you go to a function curated by the indomitable Action Slacks, you are not attending a run-of-the-mill DJ affair. As soon as you enter the venue, you're immediately met with beautifully handcrafted decorations, warm spirits, and, most importantly, great music. You're then transported to the hypercolor world of the Hullabaloo and Shindig TV studio sets from the '60s. At the center of all this wonderment is Ms. Slacks herself, dressed to the nines, delivering rare sounds with an ear close to the dance floor and her beloved queer community in her heart. Tonight she features her favorite classic female country artists and I cannot think of a better setting than the wood-paneled walls of the (World Famous) Kenton Club to showcase that sweet honky-tonk charm that will no doubt be dripping from the turntables. CS

KINSKI, ABRONIA, LITHICS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Who is punk rock's John Cassavetes? The independent filmmaker, along with collaborator Gena Rowlands, adorns the cover of Kinski's 7 (or 8). The Seattle hard rock band joins the ranks of Fugazi (who named a song after the icon) and Philly band Cassavetes, among others, in their sly tributes and references to the director. Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon has discussed Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence—although this speaks to Gordon's status as a feminist icon as well as a punk one—and Justin Mitchell named his northwest punk doc Songs for Cassavetes in tribute to the director. Perhaps Kinski, a nearly 20-year-old band who have aged past the traditional concept of punk term limits, took inspiration from this Cassavetes quote: "In this country, people die at 21. They die emotionally at 21, maybe younger... My responsibility as an artist is to help people get past 21." MP

FROG EYES
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) I've never gotten over "Bushels." The nine-minute epic, from Frog Eyes' 2007 album Tears of the Valedictorian, remains a fascinating enigma to me, a stuttering, soaring, awkward, soothsaying piece of steadily building unease and beauty. It's stomach-punchingly great. The Canadian band—fronted by Carey Mercer, a frequent collaborator of Destroyer's Dan Bejar and Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug—has offered numerous riches since, including the recent back-to-back LPs Carey's Cold Spring and Pickpocket's Locket. The latter was recorded as Mercer underwent treatment for throat cancer, a diagnosis he's thankfully overcome. Tonight Frog Eyes make up for a canceled date opening for Destroyer last September, and the rare chance to see Mercer and his cohorts play this shambling, euphoric music in person is on the level with a prophet coming down from the mountain to dispense enlightenment. NL

THE TOASTERS, THE SENTIMENTS, HEAVY CITY
(Panic Room, 3100 NE Sandy) Warped Tour nostalgia aside, third-wave ska was a once-credible genre's dying breath. Bands like Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, and Reel Big Fish weren't just disgraces to ska's forebears—they produced some of the worst music of the era. New York City's the Toasters released their debut Skaboom in 1987, long after the emergence of 2-tone but well in advance of the third wave's peak. Skaboom remains a novel record, one that sounds like it was recorded in an aluminum can catapulted into outer space, evoking the energy and exploratory bent of groups like the Specials and the English Beat while retaining its American-ness. But the band's best-known contribution to the genre is still scene paean "2-Tone Army"—probably the most fun ska got before it literally turned into comedy music. MT

SUNDAY 2/7

GUSTAV HOLST'S THE PLANETS
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) See My, What a Busy Week!, and Saturday's listing.

SABERTOOTH MICRO FEST: BUILT TO SPILL, MIKAL CRONIN, HERON OBLIVION, BRETT NETSON AND SNAKES
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) Night three of the Sabertooth music festival is headlined by a couple of indie-rock faves—Built to Spill and Mikal Cronin—but don't sleep on Heron Oblivion, a newish band made up of Bay Area psych/freak-scene all-stars with a wonderful new album on Sub Pop. The band is Meg Baird (Espers), Ethan Miller (Comets on Fire, Howlin Rain), Noel V. Harmonson (Sic Alps, Six Organs of Admittance) and Charlie Saufley (Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound), and to be clear, all those bands in the parentheses are good bands. Of course, a bunch of folks from good bands forming another doesn't guarantee brilliance, but Heron Oblivion's self-titled debut is a killer slab of slow-burning psych-rock that showcases both its experienced players' unfuckwithable grasp of dynamics and Baird's gauzy, beguiling voice, which holds its own as the storm rises around her. It's terrific stuff. BS Also see My, What a Busy Week!

KYLE CRAFT, BOONE HOWARD, LAURA PALMER'S DEATH PARADE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Based in Portland by way of Louisiana, Kyle Craft exudes the kind of cool rock swagger that's in short supply in a cynical millennium. Anyone who's caught Craft and his excellent band live has come away with palpable awe, as Craft galvanizes finicky audiences with a full-bodied pop-rock palette, replete with Southern-tinged accoutrements like organ and piano. His relatively quick ascension within the Portland scene was cemented by a raucous New Year's Eve set at Revolution Hall. Craft & Co. seem primed for even bigger things as 2016 rolls on. RJP

ARCTIC FLOWERS, DEAD HUNT, MICTLAN
(Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway, 7101 N Lombard) Arctic Flowers raise hell. Their screeching guitars and militant drums paint a particularly dismal soundscape, while lead singer Alex Carroccio's gothy, new wave vocals unleash a tornado of anarchic destruction. Her punchy, resistant voice swoops in like a superhero, beats up the boogeyman under the bed, and vanquishes all evil in a surprisingly positive and empowering twist. Arctic Flowers' last release was 2014's Weaver, a tight full-length bedazzled with some absolute bangers. "Anamnesis" kills with warp-speed cascading drums and a slithering guitar riff, while "Tell My Horse" runs with a bassline that rears and kicks like a bucking bronco. CD

MONDAY 2/8

GUSTAV HOLST'S THE PLANETS
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) See My, What a Busy Week!, and Saturday's listing.

PANIC IS PERFECT, ANYA MARINA
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Anya Marina.

LOGIC, DIZZY WRIGHT
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) There's an inspiring and strangely old-school arc to the life story of Maryland-born-and-raised MC Logic (known to his mother as Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, and/or Young Sinatra, thank you very much): Coming from a broken home plagued by crack cocaine, the rapper dropped out of high school and devoted his life to the craft, pumping out mixtapes and amassing a not-insignificant East Coast fan base in the process. These days, the 26-year-old is signed to Def Jam and collaborating with the likes of Big Sean and Childish Gambino—a true bootstrap gripper if ever there was one. Sound-wise, Logic carves a middle path between Drake's bruised emo swagger and peak-era No-I.D.'s chopped soul, creating a mid-'00s throwback vibe that mirrors Logic's hard-fought victories slanging tapes out of trunks. The kid is alright. KYLE FLECK

HONEY BUCKET, THE STACHES
(The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont) Over the past two years, the Southern California lo-fi empire known as Burger Records has worked hard to expand beyond their Orange County capital. Most notably, the label opened a pop-up shop in Tokyo signing a slew of bands, but they also pushed hard on enlisting several likeminded European bands such as Fat White Family (London), La Femme (Biarritz, France), and the Staches (Geneva). Coming from the multilingual country of Switzerland, the Staches' frontwoman Lise Sutter sings in English, and on the group's' most recent EP (simply titled EP III) the band ranges from the garage-rock mold of Melted-era Ty Segall to a distortion-soaked Courtney Barnett with oscillating laser-beam synths. This group is by no means reinventing the wheel, but they're a lot of fun. CC

TUESDAY 2/9

BON TEMPS MARDI GRAS
(Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand) See My, What a Busy Week!

A CONVERSATION WITH PUSSY RIOT
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Pussy Riot.